Five taboos, six precepts and nine principles that flower growers must know

1. Avoid drought.

Watering when you remember and not watering when you forget, sometimes leaving the plant alone for days on end, and then, once the leaves are found wilted, quickly adding water so the leaf surface recovers, is a response of the plant body adapting to its environment. But over the long term, excessively strong transpiration will eventually leave the plant body beyond recovery from serious "illness" and it will die of dehydration.

2. Avoid fertilizing.

In the high heat of midsummer, the leaf surface loses water relatively quickly. Fertilizing at this time can make the cell concentration of the plant body lower than the concentration of the outside environment, causing water in the plant cells to flow back into the soil, and the plant body dies of dehydration caused by fertilizer damage.

3. Avoid midday bathing.

At noon in the hot summer, do not spray water on the plant body in the sunlight or pour water into the pot. This kind of "pampering" will suddenly make the bonsai temperature lower than the ambient temperature and harm the plant body.

4. Avoid sudden shading.

Normally, to avoid high-temperature damage, when the ambient temperature exceeds the maximum temperature the plant body can tolerate, the bonsai should be moved to a relatively low-temperature area with weaker light (about 2 degrees lower) to help the plant body grow. But if it is suddenly moved indoors or into a low-temperature area without light, within a few days the leaves will naturally fall off and the plant body will quickly wither and die.

5. Avoid waterlogging.

When the ambient temperature exceeds 28 degrees, the bonsai should be protected with shade. Otherwise, the amount of water the plant body obtains from the soil is far lower than the amount of water it loses through transpiration. In mild cases, the leaf edges are scorched and burned dry; in severe cases, the plant body is severely damaged by sunburn and dies.

The six precepts of flower growing

Home greening is now increasingly common, but many flower-growing enthusiasts, because they do not grasp the key points, grow flowers that are listless and lifeless. Where is the problem? Below are several pieces of experience in home flower growing summarized from practice:

1. Do not be careless. Flowers, like people, are living things and need careful care. Many flower growers lack the proper care and diligence toward these beautiful lives. First, they are mentally lazy and do not like to study flower-growing knowledge, remaining content for a long time to be laymen, and their management is not methodical. Second, they are physically lazy and unwilling to spend too much time and energy on flowers. After the flowers enter the home, they are left aside and ignored, enduring hunger and thirst for a long time and suffering from pests and diseases. In this way, even the best flowers will gradually wither. Therefore, lazy people cannot grow flowers well.

2. Do not love them too much. Contrary to the above situation, some flower growers love flowers too much and their hands itch if they do not fiddle with them for a moment. Some water and fertilize without any regularity, watering whenever they think of it, causing the flowers to die from excessive waterlogging or fertilizing; some casually move the flower pots around, moving them to several places in a day, making the flowers constantly adapt to the environment and disrupting their normal growth patterns. If this continues over time, it would be strange if the flowers were not worn out to death. It is understandable to be pleased when there are a few suitable potted flowers at home, but flowers, like people, have their own growth patterns. If they are frequently disturbed when they need rest, they will naturally feel exhausted and not grow well.

3. Do not fail to distinguish good from bad. Some flower growers crave quantity and completeness, bringing home whatever variety they see. This not only makes management more difficult, but also brings into the home some flowers that are not suitable for growing, polluting the environment and harming health. For example, flowers with toxic sap can easily cause poisoning when people come into contact with them. The scent of some flowers affects the human nervous system and can easily cause breathing difficulty or even allergic reactions. Plants with sharp thorns also pose a certain threat to human safety, and so on. In short, home flower growing should not crave quantity and completeness or fail to distinguish good from bad. Species with a smaller plant shape, an attractive appearance and no harm to the human body should be chosen for growing.

4. Do not chase fame and profit. Some flower enthusiasts believe that if you grow flowers, you should grow famous flowers, because famous flowers have high ornamental value and bring large market profits. Under the control of this mentality, they spare no expense and search everywhere to buy famous flowers and famous trees. As a result, often because they lack good greening and maintenance conditions and management techniques, the flowers die soon after being bought, which both mistreats precious flowers and wastes money. This is a misconception. The correct approach should be to start with ordinary, lower-grade species and gradually explore the rules and techniques of flower growing. After reaching a certain technical level, then gradually purchase more precious species. Only in that way is there a greater chance of success.

5. Do not be fickle. Some flower growers are restless and impetuous, have no theme in growing flowers, and change the flowers at home as if in a revolving lantern. This is a great taboo in flower growing. First, changing species too quickly and growing them for too short a time is not conducive to cultivating flowers and trees with graceful plant shapes and high ornamental value. Second, tasting each kind of flower only superficially is not conducive to improving one's flower-growing level, and in the end one is still a flower illiterate. Therefore, only by choosing one or two kinds of flowers and focusing on studying and cultivating them can a flower grower truly gain something.

6. Do not cling to old ideas. Today, new knowledge and new technologies in the flower-growing industry emerge endlessly, yet most flower growers still rigidly adhere to traditional maintenance methods. In aspects such as the use of flower containers, water and fertilizer management, and seedling cultivation, they are not good at using new technologies and new equipment, such as soilless cultivation, odorless flower fertilizers and various flower containers. As a result, home flower growing is unhygienic, unattractive and not novel, with relatively large side effects.