October 22, 2012
Do you know what you're growing?
Posted by KarenMBern at 04:28:40 PM on October 22, 2012
Do you know what your plants are?
One of the evergreens in your landscape is starting to look a little ragged. You go out and look at it. You see a bunch of caterpillar-like creatures chewing away the needles. You’d like to research the pest. You open up “Google” and put in the words . . . “Pests of . . . .” What?
Pests tend to be at least somewhat specific. Insect pests have something we refer to here occasionally – a host list. Those are the plants this insect is known to feed on. Sometimes not all the possible host plants are known yet, but it’s a good place to start. Plant diseases tend to be selective also. Granted, some are not, but most are. It goes the other way too. You can find good listings of the pests and diseases most likely to affect almost any garden plant, shrub or tree. Often these include nice clear pictures, descriptions, biology and possible control measures.
But you need to know what the plant is.
Please do yourself (and us) a favor.
- Set up a computer file or a file folder or a three ring binder or a notebook or whatever your favorite method of keeping track of things is.
- If you had a plan done, save it. If you don’t have some sort of schematic of what is growing in your yard, draw one. Annotate your drawings as changes happen.
- When you plant something, save its information by putting it into your files. Computer files are great, but you also might want a file folder or somewhere to put some of the original printed material that came with your plant. Note when and where the plant was installed.
- Consider labeling the plants outdoors. I realize that those labels are easily lost, but they can save you a lot of plants. You can’t see - and might not even remember - that really cool perennial you put in last spring that died back after it bloomed. The little plant marker is all you have now, and it could save that plant’s life.
- Do your best to keep up with – and not lose – all of the above.
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