When
plants are fully grown they are referred to as mature
They
still need:
Water
Light
A
suitable temperature
A
suitable humidity
For
example the needs of a mature cactus are very different from the needs of
a mature fern
Foliage plants
(plants grown for their attractive leaves rather than for their flowers) have
different needs from flowering plants.
Methods
of maintaining plants
Dead
heading
Old
flowers are removed from the plant
This
encourages the growth of new flowers
Pricking
out
Some
seedlings can be removed to give the rest room to grow
This
encourages growth as they have more space
Potting
on
Plants
that have outgrown their containers can be replanted in larger containers
Plants
need potting on if their roots fill the container and are growing out of
the holes in the bottom of the container
Pest and disease
control
Pests are a
constant problem to gardeners.
They
can be controlled chemically or naturally
Chemicals can
be added to control each kind of pest:
Chemical control
The general name for all these chemicals is pesticides:
Pest
Pesticide
Insects
insecticide
Weeds
herbicide
Fungus
fungicide
Slugs and
snails
molluscicide
Natural Control
Soapy
water can be a very gentle insecticide:
Natural
control involves:
Finding predators to eat the pests
E.g.
ladybirds can be
used to kill aphids (greenfly)
Finding
diseases to kill the pests.
E.g. myxomatosis (a
disease) was introduced to kill rabbits
Insect
pests like slugs and snails can simply be crushed, especially at night
when they are most active
Snails and slugs are attracted to stale beer, old beer can attract them and they will drown.
Diseases
plants can suffer from many diseases.
Grey Mould
Typical
fuzzy grey mould may appear on the young leaves of snowdrops, but often
the damage appears slimy.
The
disease often occurs where infected snowdrops have been grown before.
Natural control
Dig
up affected plants, and bin or burn.
Before
planting inspect snowdrops carefully for the black spots of the outer bulb
scales.
Plant
healthy snowdrops on a fresh site.
Choose
snowdrops that are resistant to grey mould.
Chemical control
There
are no fungicide treatments for bulbs in the ground.
dusting lifted bulbs
with sulphur dust may be helpful.
Protected cultivation
Many
plants don’t grow well in our climate
Many
shops want fruit and vegetable at a time of year that would not be possible in
our climate
Greenhouses
cloches
polytunnels
agricultural fleeces
are ways of
improving growing conditions by protecting from:
Wind
Rain
Low
temperatures
Pests
A polytunnel is made from large hoops covered with tough polythene
sheets. sheets.
You can see them in
in Blue Lupins
in the community garden in Islay House square
Jura House Garden.
A cloche
is a smaller version of a greenhouse or polytunnel just big enough for the
plants to grow.
An agricultural fleece
is a thin, light sheet that can be laid on top of
the plants to protect then from:
During dormancy a seed is waiting for the correct temperature, water level and oxygen level.
This lets the seed wait out the winter until spring before germinating
Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is how plants produce their food from sunlight
The food from photosynthesis is used to make the plant grow.
Growing plants from seeds
Seeds are sown before they germinate
They must be spaced out for the best results
Large seeds are sown individually in pots or trays
Small seeds are mixed with silver sand and sprinkled over the soil
Pelleted seeds are sometime sold
small seeds are coated with a pellet of clay to make them easier to sow
the disadvantage is that they take longer to germinate and need more water
Chitting (pre-germination):
Chitting is germinating
seed (or potatoes) before sowing by placing in a damp, warm place.
Seeds of French
beans are placed between layers of damp kitchen towel and allowed to
sprout before planting.
Seed
potatoes are laid out in trays with a layer of compost in a cool place,
not too brightly lit.
The seed potatoes will throw shoots, will have a
head start on potatoes planted direct into the ground
Seeds
with thick skins are slit, scratched or cracked before sowing to help them
take in water before germination
Sowing seeds:
fill a seed tray
with seed compost and level it
scatter the seeds
thinly over the surface of the compost
cover the seeds
evenly with a thin layer of sieved compost
firm gently
use a watering
can with a fine rose to water the seeds
cover the tray
with a clear plastic sheet or place in a propagator
Pricking out
once growing and
large enough the seedlings are pricked out:
the small plants
are lifted from the trays
they are planted
on into the soil or into plant pots
this gives the
seedlings room to grow
Potting on
You can tell if a seedling or pot plant needs to be potted on when:
roots grow out of the bottom of the pot.
the leaves are yellow or begin to fall off.
To pot on:
Carefully remove the plant from its pot
gently shake the old compost from its roots
half fill a larger pot (2-3 cm bigger than the old one) with fresh compost
place the plant in and cover the roots with fresh compost being careful not to leave air spaces
Word 2007 Revision notes 
