A truly nightmare insect Spider mites are small – you need a magnifying lens to see them. They are also voracious and will destroy any plant they attack in very short order. Like just a few weeks! Close up of a spider mite – they are actually the size of a speck […]
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 […]
STAYING COOL
People sweat to cool off, and plants do something similar. We call it transpiration. Water evaporation from leaf is called transpiration Cooling effects of transpiration As summer heats up, some of the water drawn up through the roots exits the plant through pores – or stomata— which are in its leaves. […]
Three Good Bugs
Why Good ? All three are carnivorous, and will eat their way through your garden’s pests every day! They tend to have an insatiable appetite and will usually come back every year. Better than any insecticide you could ever purchase – targeted and non toxic ! My two favorite bugs are lady beetles (ladybugs) […]
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 […]
