Four common mistakes in flower and plant care, how many have you made?
These days more and more people are fond of flowers and plants, but not many can actually grow them well, and many people still have some misunderstandings about how to care for flowers and plants. We have put together the four common mistakes in flower and plant care, so take a look and see whether you have made these wrong moves too.
Chinese rose
Mistake one: placing eggshells directly on the soil as fertilizer
Many people say they like to put eggshells directly "upside down" on the soil and treat that as fertilizing, feeling it is both easy and effective. Some people also feed their plants milk or soy milk.
Experts say this easily breeds mold and fungi, easily causes root rot, and easily attracts mosquitoes. "Of course these can be used as fertilizer, but they must be fermented first," he said. You can pour milk or soy milk into a bottle, seal it well, and leave it in a high-temperature environment; after about ten days it will have fermented successfully, and then it can be diluted with water to water the flowers.
Mistake two: always watering at a fixed time
Experts say many people like to water their flowers and plants at fixed times, but this is actually not scientific. "If the flowers and plants are kept indoors in a moderate environment, you can water once every three or four days, or even longer, but if they are moved to a balcony where humidity is lower and the temperature is higher, then you need to water every day." In summer, under conditions of intense sun exposure, you need to water twice a day, morning and evening. Remember, in summer after ten in the morning and before the sun sets in the afternoon, it is best not to water the plants! That will suddenly change the soil environment and easily burn the roots! Watering is closely tied to the season, the temperature, and how wet or dry the soil is. In addition, you can keep in mind the "eight-character principle," namely: "Do not water if dry, water thoroughly when you do."
Mistake three: the more indoor plants the better
Resting indoors with plants around seems very pleasant, but in fact the more indoor plants the better. "If there are too many, they actually harm the human body." Experts explain that at night plants carry out respiration, "breathing in" oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide. Especially if many plants are placed in the bedroom, they will compete with people for "oxygen," so placing plants in the bedroom must be done with particular care.
Mistake four: keeping plants indoors for a long time
Many people buy plants, take them home and set them indoors, thinking they can be kept this way for a long time. "Most plants kept indoors can live at most one year." Experts say that indoors, plants find it hard to carry out photosynthesis. "Many people report that the taro they bought and placed at home grows smaller and smaller leaves and paler and paler color, precisely because it does not get sunlight." The suggestion is that after a plant has been indoors for a week, it is best to move it to the balcony and let it "get some air," and after another week it can be moved back indoors, repeating this back and forth, and not to worry about the trouble. At the same time, pay attention to the plant's adaptability: "Do not move it straight from indoors into strong sun, to avoid scorching the leaves. You can first put it on a sunny windowsill for a transition of a day or two."
An introduction to the four common mistakes in sunning potted plants!
Sunlight is an indispensable element for the growth of all things, and green plants especially depend on it even more. Precisely because of this, people always develop a notion that the more light potted plants at home receive, the better. In fact, this is a big misunderstanding. Although potted plants like sunlight, if you expose them to the sun blindly, big problems can arise. Below we have put together the four common mistakes in sunning potted plants, so let us take a look.
Image: potted plants
Mistake one: not changing the direction of the flowerpot
Many people, when sunning their flowers, just carelessly place the flowerpot in a spot with suitable light and then pay it no more attention, not knowing that this method is actually very bad for the flowers' growth. We all know that plant growth has phototropism, so when the direction of the flowerpot is fixed, the flowers will unconsciously grow toward the direction the sun shines from, and over time this causes the plant's stems and branches to bend, affecting the flowers' ornamental value. The correct approach is actually very simple: just rotate the flowerpot every so often so the plant can enjoy light evenly, and the flowers will naturally be upright and straight again. The interval for rotating the flowerpot is best set at a cycle of about seven days.
Image: potted plants
Mistake two: flowers like light, so the stronger the light the better
Different varieties of flowers have different growth habits; some flowers prefer shade, and correspondingly some prefer sun. This has led many people to develop a mistaken idea——that sun-loving flowers should receive more light. So quite a few people carelessly expose their flowers directly to the scorching sun, and this practice really does a lot of harm to the flowers. You should know that even light-loving plants often suffer damage when exposed to blazing sun, which may cause symptoms such as dry leaves, leaf drop and blackening. The correct method is to accept light in the right amount; when the summer sun is strong, be careful to shade the plants, make sure the flowers avoid direct sunlight, and place sunburned plants in a cool, ventilated spot for care.
Image: potted plants
Mistake three: sunning indoors through glass is the same as sunning outdoors
In winter, it is still all right for plants to get sun through glass, but in spring and summer, the vigorous growth period for plants, always sunning through glass may affect the plant's growth rate. You should know that glass blocks ultraviolet rays to a certain extent, and the longer-wavelength ultraviolet rays can promote plant growth and promote the absorption of nutrients, so sunning through glass over the long term is also a problematic approach. The solution is simple: in suitable weather, open the window, which not only improves this problem but also helps indoor ventilation and reduces the breeding of bacteria; those who can should move the flowers outdoors to receive light reasonably, but note that in summer you must remember to shade the flowers.
Image: potted plants
Mistake four: shade-loving flowers do not need light
Many people, in the process of growing flowers, encounter spindly growth, easy lodging, weak disease resistance, and yellowing and dropping leaves. At such times you may need to look for the cause in the lighting. Plant growth requires photosynthesis, and a long lack of light directly affects the plant's healthy growth. The correct approach is that shade-loving plants can accept scattered light in the right amount; for spindly plants, prune them in time; in addition, pay attention to how moist the potting soil is, because a long lack of light may cause bacteria to breed in the pot, so doing a good job of ventilating the potting soil and of disinfecting and cleaning it is more beneficial to the flowers' growth.
[Editor's concluding remarks]Sufficient light is an essential element for plant growth, but if you fall into mistakes when sunning them, the effect will be the opposite and cause great harm to the plants. Above we have introduced the four common mistakes in sunning potted plants, and we hope it will be of help to everyone!