What to do when flower leaves turn yellow? An old gardener summarizes four major causes and solutions

I have been growing flowers for a few years now and have encountered all kinds of problems, but the most annoying one is definitely yellowing flower leaves. For example, my favorites like lucky bamboo, asparagus fern, gardenia, and money tree, and even my pothos often gets yellow leaves. Besides affecting the health of the flowers, it also greatly lowers their appearance. Later, I finally found the four major causes and solutions for yellowing flower leaves summarized by an old gardener, and I just want to say it was incredibly useful! Tomorrow is the weekend and I am happy, so I am also sharing my privately treasured good stuff with fellow flower lovers. Take it, no thanks needed.

1. Leaves gradually become thin and weak and turn yellow
This is mostly caused by being placed indoors for too long, getting little sunlight, and poor air circulation. At this time, the potted flower should be moved to a sunny spot outdoors.

2. Leaves gradually become thinner and turn yellow
This is mostly caused by soil compaction or lack of fertilizer leading to malnutrition. In this case, pay attention to loosening the soil and applying fertilizer, and increase nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) during the flowering period, generally applying once about every 10 days.

3. Leaves suddenly turn yellow or even drop
This is mostly caused by overwatering leading to root rot. Usually when watering, remember not to water until the soil is dry.

4. Yellow spots appear on the leaf surface
This is called chlorosis (iron deficiency), and is commonly seen in southern flowers such as jasmine and Aglaia odorata. Because these flowers like acidic soil, while northern soil tends to be alkaline. If this problem is found, ferrous sulfate can be applied (applied together with fertilizer), not too much, and after application pay attention to watering. Persist in applying regularly, and the leaves can turn from yellow to green.

Potted flowers have wilted from freezing, can they still survive? The old gardener taught me two tricks and they actually came back to life!

The Chinese New Year is almost here, and the weather is getting colder and colder, especially the temperature is extremely low in the morning and evening. Fellow flower lovers must remember to bring in your flowers, don't be like me, carrying pot after pot to the balcony to sunbathe during the day, but forgetting all about them at night. By the time I found them the next morning, except for the rubber tree, camellia, and a few others, they had basically all wilted from freezing. That really hurt!
Potted flowers have wilted from freezing, can they still survive? The old gardener taught me two tricks and they actually came back to life!

I didn't know whether these frozen potted flowers could still survive, but after growing them for so long I had become attached, and I couldn't bear to just throw them away, so I went to ask an old gardener for advice. Unexpectedly, using the methods he mentioned actually brought them back to life. If you encounter a similar situation, you might as well give it a try.
Potted flowers have wilted from freezing, can they still survive? The old gardener taught me two tricks and they actually came back to life!

1. If flowers are frozen, first cut off the necrotic stems, leaves, or root system, then place them first in an environment with a relatively higher temperature so they slowly thaw, and then gradually raise the environmental temperature. The nighttime temperature should be kept at 10 to 15°C. Note, do not move the flowers to a high-temperature place right at the beginning, and stop watering until the potting soil becomes overly dry, at which point you may water once.
Potted flowers have wilted from freezing, can they still survive? The old gardener taught me two tricks and they actually came back to life!

2. If the degree of freezing of the flowers is not very serious, you can use old newspapers to wrap the potted flowers together with the pot in three layers, then secure them with string, and place them indoors in a warm place that will not be directly exposed to sunlight. Leave them like this for one day, and the temperature of the potted flowers will gradually rise, and they will slowly revive.

February flower planting precautions: the gardener's start-of-spring tasks

February flower planting precautions: the gardener's start-of-spring tasks

Along with the baptism of rain, snow, and frost, we have entered February. Are all you friends doing okay? Are all your precious darlings doing okay? If you have unfortunately suffered losses, please also cheer up. February is here, can spring be far behind? There are many things to do this month.

This month is the perfect time to do a big cleanup. At this time there are fewer plants in the home than at other times of the year, making them easier to move. At the same time, doing cleaning work before the plants enter their growing season also helps reduce pests and diseases. So choose a warm, dry, sunny afternoon, move the plants, tools, and miscellaneous items to one side, sweep away the residual soil, plant debris, and bits on the floor. If necessary, you can use cleaning agents to mop the floor and scrub the flower racks and windowsills.

Note that if there are grooves or hard-to-clean spots, you can use a brush to scrub them and remove dust, debris, and possible insect eggs. After cleaning, open the windows for ventilation to speed up water evaporation. Be careful to prevent standing water. Once everything is done, put the plants, tools, and miscellaneous items back in place.

If there are plants that withered in autumn or winter or froze to death in the cold wave and have not yet been cleaned up, do not be lazy now either. Pull out the dead plants, pour the waste soil together in one place and dispose of it (waste soil without pests or diseases can be reused, see the old soil reuse guide → Fun Gardening 15040 for details), wash the pots clean, dry them, and store them together. Keep them for use in early spring.

Fellow flower lovers who have idle land and are preparing to plant at the start of the year can also plow the soil now. This can turn pests and insect eggs overwintering underground, such as snails, up to the surface, providing the birds with a feast. At the same time, it gives the added fertilizer ample time to seep into the soil.

First use a rake to gently loosen the soil surface, then scatter general-purpose fertilizer, such as chicken manure, fish guts, bones, etc., then level it and tamp it down.

Finally, loosen the soil surface a bit again and wait for sowing. If planting late-harvest crops, after leveling you can spread organic matter on top to prevent moisture loss and also slowly release nutrients.

For woody plants grown in large containers, the nutrient soil needs to be refreshed every 1-2 years to increase nutrients and improve soil structure. First use a fork to loosen the soil around the shallow roots to the edge of the pot, then remove as much old soil as possible.

Then backfill with new soil (it is recommended to mix potting soil and organic multi-purpose planting soil in a 1:1 ratio), compact it, and make sure the roots are in full contact with the soil with no gaps. Finally, water thoroughly and cover with gravel or pebbles. The weight of the stones can compact the new soil, prevent weeds from growing, and reduce water evaporation.

Perhaps some flower lovers can no longer hold back and have started buying, buying, buying. However, many perennial plants just bought back are either bare-rooted or have only a little moisture-retaining soil wrapped around the roots or are stuffed in bubble wrap. No matter what kind of packaging, it needs to be removed immediately after receipt to prevent root rot. If the roots or leaves are observed to have shrunk, the roots can be soaked in water for 2-3 hours before planting.

If there is slight rot, prune off the rotten leaves and roots and place them in a ventilated, sunny spot. If the plant has arrived but the planting spot is still frozen or not ready, it can be temporarily planted in loose cultivation soil and placed in a cool place.

If you have a greenhouse or the room temperature reaches 20°C, you can start sowing summer bedding plants in February. In this way, you can achieve the ideal flowering effect by summer. Buying seeds and sowing them yourself is much more economical than buying ready-made seedlings in late spring. Flowers that can be sown include: salvia, petunia, love-in-a-mist, Dianthus chinensis, etc.

Fellow flower lovers who like growing vegetables can try sowing these varieties: cold-hardy salad greens, tomatoes, chives, broad beans, etc.

Potatoes placed in a dark place will grow long, transparent, fragile sprouts. But placed in a frost-free, bright place, they will slowly grow segmented green or purple sprouts, and once such sprouts are buried in soil they will grow quickly. This process is called sprouting.

Early-maturing or early-to-mid-maturing potato varieties can be harvested one to two weeks earlier after sprouting. Earlier harvest can reduce the chance of potatoes being infected by fusarium wilt. So if you are preparing to plant early-maturing or early-to-mid-maturing potato varieties, you can sprout them now.

Place the seed potatoes in a seed tray or egg carton with the eyes facing upward toward the light source, and place them in a sunny, frost-free place, such as a windowsill. After 4-8 weeks, once green sprouts have grown, they can be planted.

Finally, for plants currently in bloom, remember to regularly remove spent flowers and withered leaves to extend the flowering period and keep the potted plants attractive. For hellebores that are in bud, you can now cut off the less attractive old leaves grown last year, first to improve their appearance, and second to reduce the chance of old leaves being infected by leaf diseases.

Source: "Gardeners' World"