PlantAmerica's Plant Care Sheet

Conditions:

Site Conditions

When setting criteria for site conditions, check boxes that apply to the area you wish to implement the plant you are looking for. Naturally, you’ll need to select a USDA Hardiness Zone. If you know what AHS Heat Zone you live in, select that too. Please note that the AHS Heat Zone system is new: though a wonderful tool, all plants may not be entered at this time. Failure to enter a Heat Zone will not affect your search. Selecting soil type and pH are just as important as light and water conditions because they enable a search that will find plants best suited to your site.

Diseases:

Pythium and Phytophtora Root Rot

Pythium and phytophthora are root fungal diseases prevalent where soil moisture levels are excessively high. Fungal spores in soil water proliferate and infect susceptible plants. The base of stems discolor and shrink, and leaves further up the stalk wilt and die. Leaves near the base are affected first. The roots turn black and rot or break. This fungi can be introduced by using unsterilized soil mix or contaminated water.

Prevention and Control Remove affected plants and their roots, and discard surrounding soil. Replace with plants that are not susceptible, and only use fresh, sterilized soil mix. avoid overfertilizing too. Try not to overwater plants and make sure that soil is well drained prior to planting. This fungus is not treatable by chemicals.

Rhizactonia root and stem rot has similar symptoms, but is more prevalent in well-drained soils.

Anthracnose

Anthracnose is general term for fungus conditions that may cause severe defoliation, especially in trees, but rarely results in death. Sunken patches on stems, fruit, leaves, or twigs appear grayish brown, may appear watery, and have pinkish-tan spore masses that appear slime-like. On vegetables, spots may enlarge as fruit matures.

Prevention and Control: Avoid overwatering. In rainy climates, grow resistant varieties. In the vegetable garden, stake and trellis plants to provide good air circulation so they may dry. Increase sunlight to plants by trimming limbs. Prune, remove, or destroy infected plants and remove all leaf debris. Select a fungicide labeled for anthracnose and the plant you are treating. Follow the label strictly.

Fungi:

Leaf Spots

These brown or black spots and patches (ragged or circular, with water soaked or yellow-edged appearance) can be caused by a variety of bacteria and fungi. Insects, rain, dirty garden tools, or people can spread bacteria.

Prevention and Control: Remove infected leaves, water plants at the base, and avoid spraying foliage when watering. Use sulfur spray on woody plants in winter.

Rusts

Most rust is host specific and overwinters on leaves, stems and spent flower debris. Rust often appears as small, bright orange, yellow, or brown pustules on the underside of leaves. If touched, it leaves a colored spot of spores on the finger. Caused by fungi and spread by splashing water or rain, rust is worse when weather is moist.
Prevention and Control: Plant resistant varieties and provide maximum air circulation. Clean up all debris, especially around plants that have had a problem. Do not water from overhead and water only during the day so that plants will have enough time to dry before night. Apply a fungicide labeled for rust on your plant. The most successful fungicide will be one that contains propiconazole.

Powdery Mildew

Powdery mildew is a widespread fungal disease that often attacks plants lacking sufficient air circulation or light. The problem is worse where nights are cool and days are warm and humid. The powdery white or gray fungus is usually found on the upper surface of leaves or fruit. Leaves often turn yellow or brown, curl up, and drop off. New foliage emerges crinkled and distorted. Fruit is dwarfed and often drops early.

Prevention and Control: Plant resistant varieties and space plants properly so they receive adequate light and air. Always water from below, keeping water off of foliage. This is paramount for roses. Go easy on the nitrogen fertilizer. Apply fungicides according to label directions before problem becomes severe and follow directions exactly, not missing any required treatments. Clean up, remove, and destroy all leaves, flowers, and debris in the fall.

Sooty Mold

A fungus found on the surface of leaves, sooty mold feeds on honeydew excreted from aphids, mealybugs, scale, or ants. Though it is not serious, it is unattractive and can spread by splashing water. The best way to eliminate sooty mold is to control the insects that make the honeydew. Wash away sooty mold by wiping from leaves with a damp cloth or with a hose-end sprayer.

How-tos:

Pruning Evergreen LtWinter/ESum Flowering Shrubs

For evergreen shrubs that flower between late winter and early summer on previous or current year’s growth, deadhead annually, immediately after flowering to remove spent blossoms. Pruning is really not needed unless to control overall size of plant. Example: Rhododendron hybrida

Deadheading

Deadheading is the removal of spent flowers. Flowers are pinched off snipped with pruners. Deadheading encourages repeated blooming and reduces the likelihood of disease and pests. Rather than throwing pinched flowers on the ground, keep the site clean by putting them in the compost pile, if they are disease- and pest-free.

Rejuvenate Freeze-Damaged Plants

Freeze damaged plants often recover if pruned. Cutting back the dead tissue and surviving buds (even from below the surface) may rejuvenate the plant. Frost damaged foliage, especially new growth, turns black a few days after being “”burnt.”” You can tell if a stem is alive by scraping the bark off a bit. If the tissue is alive the green cambium layer will show. If the tissue is brown, test the branch a little further down. Cut when you hit green.

About Pruning

Pruning is one of the most commonly misunderstood aspects of plant care maintenance. Pruning does not hurt plants; rather it is often necessary to prune in order to maintain plant health. On the other side of the coin, not all plants must be pruned. Prune to remove weak, diseased or dead branches; to correct damage from wind and ice storms; to thin dense growth; to reduce the size of a plant that has gotten too big for a landscape; to cut down on water loss after transplanting; to give a plant a special shape such as a hedge or topiary; to remove dead flowers and seed pods; to encourage flowers and fruit; and to rejuvenate a tired old shrub.When pruning first think, then cut. Look at the plant from all angles. Visualize the outcome before you cut. Start with obvious problems like diseased and dead wood, or crossing and crowded limbs. Avoid damaging bark and leaving too much exposed cut surface. Cut close buds without injuring them. Cut at a 45 degree angle unless buds are opposite, in which case cuts may be perpendicular to the branch. Prior to pruning, make sure that blades are sharp so wood does not tear and split. This prevents dieback and wounds where disease and insects may enter. Recent studies show that wound sealant does not enhance healing.

Fertilizing Established Plants

Established plants benefit from a yearly fertilization. If you have a sandy soil, fertilizing twice per year may be in order. Apply a 16-4-8 or 4:1:2 fertilizer according to label directions, but do not forego the soil test. Organic mulches greatly benefit all plants, keeping roots cool, weed down, moisture in, and enriching the soil. Never fertilize just before frost; this encourages new growth that will be burned by cold weather. The safest time to fertilize is early spring or when you know that new growth will not suffer damage from late frost.

Planting Shrubs

Dig a hole twice the size of the root ball, and deep enough to plant at the same level the shrub was in the container. If soil is poor, dig hole even wider and fill with a mixture half original soil and half compost or soil amendment.

Carefully remove shrub from container and gently separate roots. Position in center of hole, best side facing forward. Fill in with original soil or an amended mixture if needed as described above. For larger shrubs, build a water well. Finish by mulching and watering well.

If the plant is balled-and-burlapped, remove fasteners and fold back just the top of burlap, tucking it down into hole, after you’ve positioned shrub. You do not want to fully remove the burlap as you may break up or damage rootball. Make sure that all burlap is buried so that it won’t wick water away from rootball during hot, dry periods. For larger shrubs, build a water well. Finish by mulching and watering well.

If shrub is bare-root, look for a discoloration somewhere near the base; this mark is likely where the soil line was. If soil is too sandy or too clayey, add organic matter in the form of compost, soil conditioner, peat, or pulverized bark compost, which will add both drainage and water holding capacity. Fill soil, firming just enough to support shrub. Finish by mulching and watering well.

Cutting Off a Tree Branch

If the branch to be removed is less than an inch in diameter, make a single cut with lopping pruners or a pruning saw. If the branch is thicker, special care is needed to prevent the bark from tearing when the cuts are made. Using a pruning saw, cut the branch 1/4 of its diameter on its underside 12″” from the trunk. Make a second cut one inch further away from the trunk than the undercut, until the branch breaks off. There will be a stub left. Create another, small undercut just outside the branch collar. Then saw through cleanly from just outside the branch collar at the top through to meet the undercut. There is no need to apply a wound paint or sealant.

Pests:

Aphids

Aphids are small, soft-bodied, slow-moving insects that suck fluids from plants. Aphids come in many colors, ranging from green to brown to black, and may have wings. They attack a wide range of plant species, causing stunting, deformed leaves and buds, and can transmit many harmful plant viruses. Aphids, generally, are merely a nuisance, since it takes many of them to cause serious plant damage. Aphids do produce a sweet substance called honeydew (coveted by ants) which can lead to an unattractive black surface fungal growth called sooty mold.
Aphids can increase quickly in numbers and each female can produce up to 250 live nymphs in the course of a month without mating. Aphids often appear when the environment changes (spring and fall) and they often mass at the tips of branches feeding on succulent tissue. Aphids are attracted to the color yellow and often hitchhike on yellow clothing.
Prevention and Control: Keep ant population under control; they tend to cultivate pests that produce the honeydew of which they are fond. Keep weeds down, use screening in windows to keep them out or your home. On edibles, wash infected areas of plants by hand, or introduce lady bugs and lacewings that love aphids. Insecticidal soaps, neem, and dusting leaves and stems with diotomacious earth also help, covering tops and undersides of leaves. Dormant oil sprays may be used on dormant roses. As a last resort, treat severe infestations with pyrethrin, malathion, or acephate according to label.

Thrips

Thrips are small, winged insects that attack many types of plants and thrive in hot, dry conditions (like heated houses). They multiply quickly as a female lays up to 300 eggs in a lifespan of 45 days without mating. Most of the damage to plants is caused by the young larvae which feed on tender leaf and flower tissue. This leads to distorted growth, injured flower petals and premature flower drop. Thrips also transmit many harmful plant viruses.

Prevention and Control: Keep weeds down and use screening on windows to keep them out. Remove or discard infested plants, keeping them away from non-infested plants. Trap with yellow sticky cards or take advantage of natural enemies such as predatory mites. Sometimes a good steady shower of water will wash them off the plant. If thrips are found on annuals, forego the color and get rid of all plants rather than treating. If the infestation is on established ornamentals, prune and discard infected areas. You may spray, after bloom, with an insecticide containing pyrethrum, rotenone, neem, diazanon, malathion or acephate. Do not use systemics on edibles, especially roses, rose petals, or rose hips that may be eaten or used in baths or perfumes.

Spider Mites

Spider mites are small, 8 legged, spider-like creatures which thrive in hot, dry conditions (like heated houses). Spider mites feed with piercing mouth parts, causing plants to appear yellow and stippled. Leaf drop and plant death can occur with heavy infestations. Spider mites can multiply quickly, as a female lays up to 200 eggs in a life span of 30 days. They also produce a web which can cover infested leaves and flowers.
Prevention and Control: Keep weeds down and remove infested plants. Dry air seems to worsen the problem, so make sure plants are regularly watered, especially those preferring high humidity such as tropicals, citrus, and tomatoes. Always check new plants prior to bringing them home from the nursery. Take advantage of natural enemies such as ladybug larvae. Sometimes a good steady shower of water will wash them off the plant. Dusting edibles with sulfur kills mites too. Insecticidal soaps can be used, but confirm that it is OK for vegetables prior to spraying. On citrus or ornamentals, spray with horticultural oil such as Sunspray. Insecticides don’t kill mites because mites are not insects. Mitacides must be used, but always verify safety for your ornamental. Never use on food.

Scale Insects

Scales are troublesome pests related to mealybugs that infest an enormous variety of plants. They can appear as stationary teardrop-sized lumps of brown, cream, or black on stems and leaves, or as cottony masses, but there are many variations. These visible signs are actually the adult females, which lose their legs, lay eggs, and die … leaving the shells of their bodies to protect the eggs. When the young hatch, they crawl along the stems and leaves until they find a good feeding site, then settle down and repeat the process. Scales weaken plants by sucking sap from its tissues with their piercing mouthparts, leading to yellow foliage and leaf drop. They also produce a sweet substance called honeydew (coveted by ants) that can lead to an unattractive black surface fungal growth called sooty mold.
Prevention and Control: Once established, they are hard to control—contact sprays are minimally effective since young are well protected by their shell covering for most of their lives. Isolate infested plants. Where practical, remove scale by hand and apply rubbing alcohol to the area to eliminate the eggs and young beneath. Alternatively, prune all infested branches and destroy—don’t compost. Dormant oil sprays in winter are usually effective at keeping populations under control. Insecticidal sprays labeled for use against scale will only yield good results if used when the young are in the ‘crawler’ stage, the timing of which can be tricky at best. Finally, encourage natural enemies such as parasitic wasps in the garden.

Scale Insects

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Problems:

Creating a Water Ring

A water ring, sometimes called a water well, is a mound of compacted soil built around the circumference of a planting hole once a plant has been installed. The water ring helps direct water to the outer edges of a planting hole, encouraging new roots to grow outward, in search of moisture. The height of the mound of soil will vary from 2 in. for 3 gal. shrubs to almost 1 ft. for balled and burlapped trees, especially those planted on a slope. Mulch over the ring will help to further conserve moisture and prevent deterioration of the ring itself. Once a plant is established, the water ring may be leveled, but continue to mulch beneath the plant.

Waterlogged Soil and Solutions

Waterlogged soil occurs when more water is added to soil than can drain out in a reasonable amount of time. This can be a severe problem where the water table is high or soil is compacted. Lack of air space in waterlogged soil makes it almost impossible for soil to drain.
Few plants, except bog plants, can tolerate these conditions. Drainage must be improved if you are not satisfied with bog gardening. Over watered plants have the same wilted leaves as under watered plants. Fungus such as Phytophtera and Pythium affect vascular systems, which cause wilt.
If problem is only on the surface, it may be diverted to a drainage ditch. If drainage is poor where water table is high, install an underground drainage system. You should contact a contractor for this. If underground drains already exist, check to see if they are blocked.
French drains are another option. French drains are ditches that have been filled with gravel. It is ok to plant sod on top of them. More obtrusive, but a good solution where looks aren’t as important, think of the French drain as a ditch filled with gravel. Ditches should be 3 to 4 feet deep and have sloping sides.
A soakway is a gravel filled pit where water is diverted to via underground pipes. This works well on sites that have compacted soil. Your soakway should be about 6 ft. wide and deep and filled with gravel or crushed stone, topped with sand and sodded or seeded.
Keep in mind that it is illegal to divert water onto other people’s property. If you do not feel that you can implement a workable solution on your own, call a contractor.

Tools:

Watering Aides

No gardener depends entirely on natural rainfall. Even the most water conscious garden appreciates the proper hose, watering can, or wand.

Watering Cans

Watering Hose

Sprayers

Sprinklers

Standing spike sprinklers

Rotating sprinklers

Pulse-jet sprinklers

Oscillating sprinklers

Tools for Pruning

Proper tools for pruning may include hand pruning shears for twigs and small branches, lopping shears for thicker branches, hedge clippers, pruning saws for large branches, and power tools. Keep cutting edges sharpened to make clean cuts. Clean tools between uses to avoid spreading plant diseases and lightly oil tools to avoid rusting.