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Show 2D Lakeside Review, Wednesday, April 16, 1986 No luck outdoors? Grow 'garden' in home LYNDIA GRAHAM Review correspondent LAYTON Not everyone has the time or inclination to grow a garden but nearly every home interior is enhanced by living plants in one form or another. Growing healthy and beautiful .plants indoors can be very satisfying. Knowing how to care for them is the key to success. Patty Williams, sales manager at J and J Nursery and Garden Center in Layton, often speaks to groups of women about house plants and answers questions daily for plant customers. The J and J greenhouses are brimming with lush varities of plants to be grown indoors, from, little violets to large tree-lik- e t . - for is whether no not the roots are all growing in the center of the plant or spreading throughout the pot. If all of the roots are in the center it might mean they are not getting enough water and the soil is not able to maintan an, even moisture balance. To help in that case, a pencil could be poked in tp the soil at regular intervals to make little holes for the water to drip down evenly throughout the pot, inlcuding in the middle. Another help in such situations is a regular trip to the familys bathtub for a good slow soak .when each plant can have water slowly dripped into the pot so it is evenly and easily absorbed. If a plant is too large to move, another way must be found to slowly saturate the soil. A liter pop bttle with a small help poked ' in the lid can be one solution. By filling the bottle with water and allowing it to very slowly drip through the inverted bottle top a slow and safe way of occasional watering can be maintained. The water itself is important to a plant. Cold tap water can actually inhibit growth since it can shock the plant and use the plants energy to warm the water for food. Chemicals in water, including the natural salts, can damage some plants. Distilled water would probably be too expensive for common use but occasionally a flushing of the plant with distilled water can help remove the salts, Ms. Williams said. She said water that is processed through a soft water system should never be used on house plants and tap water from regualr water systems can benefit by standing overnight to evaporate the chlorine and come to room temperature. Bad watering habits often can be seen in the plants leaves. Ms. Williams said yellowing and dead underleaves usually will indicate watering problems. A plant is like a mother, she - plants. She said the key to good care is beginning with a healthy plant and them knowing what that plant needs to remain healthy. Ms. Williams said many questions come from older women ho are really intent on growing and maintaining their plants but many are also coming frm younger women who want to add Ibeauty to their homes through ;plants. Stressing importance of knowing the differ- ent needs of different house plants is Patty Sometimes the older women seem to regard their plants as their babies, she said, while young mothers are simply trying to keep the plants alive, in spite of their children, but both are. concerned about plant care. s She said nine out of 10 with house plants are the result of watering problems, either overwatering or underwatering. Each plant is an individual, .she said. You must learn to know them (their variety) so you can know what care to give them." a woman has 15 or 20 plants in her home she will need to realize. that she might need to provide a different atmosphere and care for each type of plant, she care it is given, she said. Plants then become much like domesticated animals, almost like pets, and their individual needs must be met if they are the thrive. This especially applies to watering. The care tags on a new plant or advice from the nurseryman where the plant is purchased can tell if the plant needs a lot of water or a little. With most plants in the home, even moisture is the key, according to Ms. Williams. It is easy to either drown the plant, killing it with kindness, or let it die of thirst through neglect. Even the moisture at the top of the soil surrounding the plant cant be a totally accurate guide. Top soil can feel dry but be prob-.lem- v .If .said. When a plant is grown in a pot indoors it is dependent on the , Williams, sales manager for in Layton. J and J Nursery, . , moist just under the surface. Watering such soil too often can put too much moisture near the plants roots, causing the roots to rot and the plant to die. On the other hand some plants can be lacking for water even though they are watered almost daily. Some types of potting soil do not absorb water once they have dried out, and if water is poured over the top of such dry soil it will run directly to the bottom of the pot and or into the saucer through the drainage holes or stagnate in the bottom of the pot, depriving the feeder roots near the soils surface which will starve, while the longer roots rot. A good way to tell if the plant is getting an even amount of mois ture is to stick a finger into the soil and feel the moisture at different depths. An even better way, Ms. Williams said can give a better understanding of proper watering habits is to actually turn the pot upside down and remove the plant. If the soil is not too dry or moist the plant and soil will come out in one piece and allow for a throrough examination of the soil and roots. The moisture level can be seen and watering habits can be altered accordingly. It is also a good time to look at the roots to see if the plant has become and needs repotting. It will not hurt the plant to do this occasionally. Another thing to look root-bou- nd It will sacrifice itself to alive. The young, keep in this case, is the baby growth, or the newest growth on the plant, she said. A plant draws water out of the soil and sends the moisture and nutrients to its furthest points for first feeding, she said. Then it gradually waters itself backward to the oldest part of the plant. If water or nutrients are lacking, it will show up in the oldest part of the plant first. Since the plant is in a pot and cannot find its own nutrients, occasionally they must be supplied from an outside source, in addition to the nutrients derived from said. its young water. She advised that a good plant food be used, following the direc- tions on the container for frequency of feeding and for the type of plant. Insects can be as much a problem as for house plants as for any plants found growing outside. Again the key to control is knowledge of the plant and close inspection of the plant at regular intervals. For spider mite and mealy bugs Ms. Williams recommends dipping a cotton swab in alcohol and wiping the insects off the plant then treating the plant with a systematic insecticide. Once the plant is treated systematically, a treatment which allows the plant to draw insecticide out of the soil to take throughout its system, the plant must be poisonous to children and pets. Sprays are also available to con- trol insects but often cannot reach into the inner crevices of the leaves, leaving nesting places for new infestations. During the fruit season tiny knats or fruit flys are often a pesky problem for house plants. They come in with fruit and find the moist soil a good nesting place. Systemics will control these pests as will some household fly sprays. Know 'numbers' on label to choose proper fertilizers LAYTON Know your numelements, must be present in the bers and you can have a healthy soil in sufficient quantities to delawn and garden, according to velop a good root system and Ben Graham, owner of Clearfield healthy top growth, Graham said, and each supplies a different need Nursery. Graham said fertilizing is an for the plant. Organic fertilizers, those from important part of caring for a yard and garden and learning to plant or animal sources, release recognize what a fertilizer can of- the nutrients slowly and are not fer through the numbers on the used as often as chemical fertiliz-- , label is a key to giving your yard ers for that reason. the nutrients it needs. CThey are usually made from Each bag or bottle of fertilizer, green manure and animal byieither organic or chemical, must products such as bone or blood be labeled to show the percentage meal. Most are labeled to show bf nutrients it contains. The num- the level of elements they conbers usually show the percentages tain. Graham said fish emulsion of nitrogen, phosphorus, and pot- is a good example of an organic ash, in that order on the bag or fertilizer that is clearly labeled. Packaged steer manure is an bojtle front All three elements are essential example of an unlabeled organic ; for proper plant growth, accord- fertilizer. The numbers on the ing to Graham, but each serves a sack front representing the nutridifferent purpose and can aid a ents show 0,0, (indicating none jdifferent aspect of the plants life of the necessary elements are , ! ; cycle. All three, and additional trace . leading since the elements are there but the companies packaging the manure cannot guarantee them to be in a consistent percentage since they come from a variety of areas, so they are not labeled. Chemical fertilizers, the most common used in this area, can be mixed in exact proportions so theycan be exactly labeled. Knowing what each element does for a plant can help a gard-nassess his own needs and pick the fertilizer most likely to benefit his yard and garden. Graham said the nitrogen is the essential element for any plant growth. It is the first number on a label. Phosphorus, the- middle number, aids the plants reproduction system, that part which produces seed which would be the flower or fruit. Potash, the third number, gives strength to the plant. Examples of the proportions of elements to each other were given by Graham. ; A lawn would need the ability to, grow well and strong but would not need to reproduce seed for itself to a large degree, so a label with a high nitrogen number, lower phosphorus number, and a higher medium potash number might be desirable for a lawn. However, in the garden quick plant growth would not be as desirable as a strong reproduction . er - i -- system and plant strength. A large tomato would be more desirable than a tall tomato plant. In this case a larger number in the middle, representing a larger percentage of phosphorus would be more desirable. Shrubs and trees around the yard would need to be strong and have healthy green grbtoth, but not many homeowners are interested in growing healthy spruce cones or crabapples. They want the shade or beauty a shrub or tree can provide and should fertilize accordingly. Of course, a fruit tree would be different, because the fruit is the objective of . growing a fruit tree. Todays fertilizers xan offer more than nutrients to a yard. They can be purchased with addi- tional chemicals that can help to control insects and disease. Some have seed killers which will not allow weed seeds to germinate. Others have a post emergant weed killer that stops weed after they germinate, Several have insecticides to control common yard pests. Some also contain fungicides to control nt fungus. Some can also increase or de- crease the acidity of the soil. Gra- ham said in northern Davis County it is usually necessary to increase the acitity since many areas are very alkaline. present Graham said this can be mis NO DOWN 1SERVICE IS OUR MIDDLE NAM El 90 DAYS FINANCING 0 INTEREST Summerize Your Cooler ' WE WILL COME OUT & CLEAN, OIL & CHECK YOUR COOLER FOR THE HOT SUMMER MONTHS UNFINISHED Plus Partsl Only 'Parts Available For $ . The Llg 2x6 ' LAWNMOWER TUNE-U- P HERES WHAT SPECIAL WEll DO: e Cleanakfllteftluel Mall nwiparti plug, tank Cteai cooling Km eOeantodjud - breaker poke. e Change ok (crank caw model) Sharpen I balance blade e Checktodjud engine feed (elec modtliUedra.) eOeantodjud carburetor (parti t Clean I lube, complete dartM lyttem Clean carton edrakneeded) Clean complete mower I drive iys depodtikom combustion chamber. PLUS PARTS Zbick ICeauCeg SERVICE CENTERS 7 ut!auz 520 So. 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