Maintaining your outdoor space’s best condition is a never-ending job, and there’s nothing more disheartening than seeing a dying garden greet you early in the morning. This problem could indicate something wrong with the location or soil or pests are attacking your vegetation.
If you want to keep your vegetation healthy, this article will help you look for signs of too much or too little of something and help you adjust your upkeep requirements accordingly.
1. Pest Infestations
Your plants will likely suffer from a pest infestation if they have missing parts or holes. If the plant has large chunks taken out, it’s likely because a deer, groundhog, or rabbit bit it. On the other hand, small holes in the leaves mean your plants are suffering from bug or slug infestations. Either way, they can make your plants unhealthy and unsightly.
You can protect your plants from unwanted visitors by using natural pesticides and calling a professional pest control company.
2. Fungal Diseases
Fungi thrive in humid and damp conditions and can spread through human contact or tools. You can identify fungal infections on plants by dark spots or powdery films on the leaves. Besides being an eyesore, these spots can cause the leaves to dry and fall out.
You can protect your vegetation from fungal diseases by ensuring adequate air circulation, watering them regularly, removing debris, and using fungicides when necessary.
3. Soil That’s Too Sweet or Sour
Overly alkaline soil can make the leaves of the plants turn yellow, with only the veins staying green, while overly acidic soil will cause the leaves to turn bronze or purple. Experts say you can keep your plants’ best health by ensuring the soil’s pH is 6.5.
While a 6.5 pH level is ideal for most plants, you should remember that plants like blueberries and hydrangeas prefer more acidic soil. On the other hand, asparagus and carnations thrive in alkaline soils.
4. Soil That’s Too Soggy or Dry
Healthy soil must easily break apart when you press a handful of dirt together. If it’s too moist, it won’t crumble and will stick together, and plants may become wilted and yellow. In contrast, your garden’s earth may have too much sand if it won’t clump together. On the other hand, overly dry soil can cause discoloration and stunted plant growth.
Moreover, you should watch out if your plants’ roots are brown and rotting because it strongly indicates plant health.
5. Plants Are Overfed or Underfed
If your plant receives too many nutrients, it can negatively affect its growth. For instance, you’re likely overfeeding your tomato plant if it’s large and healthy but produces fewer flowers. On the other hand, you’re likely underfeeding your plant if the older leaves start to turn yellow prematurely.
6. Plants Receive Too Little or Much Sunlight
Your vegetation needs sunlight to thrive. Plants will become spindly and won’t flower if they don’t get enough sun. On the other hand, too much sunlight can bleach their leaves and turn them downward.
7. Plants Are Too Hot or Cold
While you should set out plants before the last frost date, you can place lettuce and cabbages earlier if hardened off. Otherwise, they might bolt and turn bitter.
8. Plants Suffer from Friendly Fire
After spraying them with weed killer, your garden’s vegetation can suffer from herbicide damage if they develop yellowed or reddened foliage, distorted blooms, and brown spots. This issue can happen when the spray or its vapors drift onto the plants even hours after applying weed killers.
Conclusion
No homeowner or business owner deserves a dying garden because it can be unsightly and decrease property value. Fortunately, you can restore its best condition by spotting the warning signs and using proper treatment methods and amounts.
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