colorful spring bulb look in front of brownstone For a Fabulous Spring Look call Plant Specialists today – the choices are endless !! PLANT SPECIALISTS GREENING NEW YORK FOR OVER 52 YEARS ! Article written by our Staff Horticulturist, Peter B Morris, BSc, MSc, MBA All photographs used with permission […]
Mineral Deficiencies
Something looks off ! To the average person most nutritional deficiencies in plants are not easy to diagnose. They all tend to look the same to the untrained eye. You can tell there is something wrong but not exactly what. However, by focusing on the the pattern and color differences between the veins and […]
HOW DO ROOTS BREATHE ?
The weight of water Water is pretty heavy. When it rains or one waters a plant, the water molecules push the air out of the soil as they occupy the air spaces between the particles of soil. Once the water is either used up or drains away by gravity, the air containing the oxygen […]
Hair!
Trichomes Hairs in Botany are called Trichomes ( Greek). They come in every size, shape and color imaginable. Most importantly, what they look like tells you a lot about where and why they evolved to look that way. Typical glandular hair – a trichome Some have glands in their tips and others at their […]
Fertilizing – a broad look
Simple Definitions Fertilizing is the addition to the soil, by people, of essential elements for the better nutrition of the plant. However, more specifically there are 17 essential elements that plants need to live. Without any one of these substances plants fail to thrive. One of these is in the air, the Carbon […]
The Color Purple
Green Most leaves look green, but many are red, brown, purple, yellow, and orange! What’s up with that ! Green The green comes from the vast amount of the pigment chlorophyll (used in photosynthesis) inside the cells. From sunlight, it absorbs many wavelengths (think rainbow) except one – GREEN ! It reflects […]
PHORESY
phor·e·sy ( /ˈfôrəsē/) Several years ago our Plant Health Care department noticed how despite some rooftop plants being totally isolated they suddenly got insects. We were perplexed and decided to investigate. That’s when we learned about this very odd form of insect dispersal called PHORESY. Phoresy is simply when one organism attaches itself and then […]
Acclimatization of Indoor Plants
To acclimatize is when an organism adjusts to a change in its environment in order to survive. When dealing with INDOOR FOLIAGE PLANTS this becomes most apparent to anyone whom recently purchased one ! Most indoor house plants sold in the northeastern US are grown in shade houses in Florida. A land of abundant sunshine, […]
PARENCHYMA
THE UBIQUITOUS PARENCHYMA Plants contain many types of tissues and within each, various specialized cells – but none of them beat Parenchyma ! These are the biochemistry machines of the plant. They are alive at maturity (unlike wood) and specialize into many forms. The basis for all plant function – they are everywhere and in […]
