Bringing Your Tropical Plants Inside for the Winter
Posted by in Tropical Plants on September 18, 2011
As fall creeps towards winter, it’s time to start thinking about protecting your tropical potted plants against the upcoming colder temperatures. And although we all have different definitions of “cold,” for a tropical plant that starts at 55 deg. Fahrenheit.
However, it’s not as simple as suddenly bringing your tropical plants inside. Often, tropical plant owners wait until fall is changing to winter and then suddenly bringing their plants inside. This just doesn’t work. This causes undue stress on the plant. Possible results of doing this can be loss of leaves, leaf yellowing, the scale of which depends on how severely the plant is shocked by the transition. However, there are some simple steps that can be taken to avoid any issues between seasons.
One simple but valuable method is pre-exposing your plants to inside-doors conditions. The main part of this technique is light exposure and hours of light. About three weeks in advance of your planned move-in day, begin changing light hours and the amount of exposure the plants have to light. This sounds complicated, but all you have to do is move your potted plants into the shade and later move them again to deeper shade.
Keep the plants within the deeply shaded area outdoors for approximately one week prior to you begin moving your tropicals inside. This allows your plants to adjust to conditions of lower light (which simulates the environment indoors) and lower light hours in the day. This is a much less severe shock to a plant than simply bringing them inside immediately. Read the rest of this entry »
Tomato Disease and Treatments
Posted by in Plant Diseases on August 23, 2011
Tomato growers are familiar with many different diseases. Many of these are first noticed on the leaves of the tomato plant. Some diseases can be treated while others can only be avoided by proper planting and care of the garden area. Five common diseases include Alternaria Canker, Bacterial Speck, Early Blight, Gray Leaf Spot and Powdery Mildew.
Alternaria Canker
This disease is a fungus that survives the winter on other plants and is spread by the wind. The leaves of an infected plant turn brown and die. The fungus can enter the plant through open wounds caused by pruning or damaged branches. The disease can be treated with the application of a general fungicide. Avoid injuring the young plant to keep the fungus from spreading. Water plants only at the roots to reduce moisture on the plant that may help the fungus to survive for longer periods of time. This disease is not as prevalent in northern climates where the fungus cannot survive extended freezing temperatures.
Bacterial Speck
This is a bacteria that can appear on any part of the plant, but is most obvious on the leaf. Small brown spots with yellow halos will appear. Wet conditions such as rain, heavy dew or watering from above will help the disease spread through the plant. Apply a copper spray to control the bacteria.
Early Blight
This is another fungus that is particularly problematic in warm humid weather. Avoid watering from above to help keep the leaves dry and reduce the ability of the fungus to spread. Infected leaves will have large black spots with larger yellow halos to create a bull’s eye effect. Apply a fungicide spray to control the disease. Read the rest of this entry »