TOP 13 WAYS TO KILL THE PLANTS IN YOUR PLANTERS

Since you presumably do not want to kill the plants in your containers these are thirteen things you must avoid. They include the correct use of water, light and soil. Many of these points are obvious such as going on vacation without arranging for care of the plants while you are away, but there are some useful reminders of things that you might overlook. The list comes from an article which I found on the Balcony Garden Web site.

Do you kill your plants often? Well here?re 13 things you must avoid to make your container plants keep growing.

1. Overwatering

Many new gardener believes that the more they water the better. All plants (including non-potted plants) have the?different watering needs and *those needs may also vary depending upon the time of the year or season, the amount of light and ambient temperature. The easiest solution to avoid this problem is knowing the moisture level required by each plant.
The majority of plants (except moisture loving plants) loves when the top surface of the substrate dries out between the watering spells, others require the soil to be kept slightly moist. A good method is to usually poke your finger into the soil about an inch deep and feel if it is wet or rather dry.

2. Underwatering

It is equally harmful to the plants. Back to the same point, it is essential to know the moisture requirements of each plant to keep them healthy. Also, it is obvious, in summer all the plants require more water and you should double the amount of water. When you water your plants, do it thoroughly, so that the entire substrate moisten well and the slight amount of water seeps out from the bottom holes of the pots and then wait for it to dry (with the method of poking your finger) and then water again.

3. You do not know everything about the plant

No two plants are identical. The number one thing you should do is read the instructions that come with the plant you have acquired. Always, when you purchase plants in the nursery ask them about the growing requirements. Whenever you get a new plant search about it thoroughly on the web. There are many gardening websites (ours too) and blogs of enthusiastic gardeners who have excellent information about plants.

4. Too little or too much sunlight

Yo might be wrong if you think all plants love the sun, there are some that require shade or part shade. According to experts, the plants themselves can tell us if they are getting the right amount of light or not. For example, the leaves may change color or become scorched or brownish if they are getting too much sunlight. On the other hand, if you notice that your plant is ?stretching its neck? toward the light or the leaves are excessively bigger then they definitely need more light. One thing to be noted is that when the warm climate plants are grown in colder zones (whether they are grown there in full or part sun) they require full sun. Similarly, the temperate plants in warm tropics grow best in part sun or shade.