|
Many of the activities on these pages may require adult supervision.
Be sure to tell a grown-up about what you're planning and ask for permission before getting started.
How to grow them.
Plants need light, water, the right air temperature, and food (fertilizer) to grow. As a gardener you have to see to it that your plants get these things.
Light
When you buy a plant or are given one, ask how much light it needs.
A north window gives the least light, an east window gives more, a
west window gives still more, and a south window gives the most.
If your plant doesn't seem to be doing well where you put it, try another exposure. Plants bend toward light. Turn them around once a week so they'll grow up straight.
Water
The most common problem gardeners have is overwatering. In general, water once a week in the winter when plants grow less and twice a week in the summer when they grow more. It's better to water well less often than a little bit every day. The reason for this is that deep watering encourages roots to grow downward.
Temperature and Food
Most houseplants live easily at normal room temperatures. In the winter, however, homes that are overheated can be too dry for plants. Don't fertilize your plants in the winter. In the spring when they show signs of new growth, start adding a little fertilizer to the water you give them. Follow the directions on the fertilizer or plant-food can. Don't overfertilize.
Repotting Overgrown Plants
Look at the bottom of each pot. Are roots growing out of the drain hole? If so, your plant is ready for a larger pot. Hold the plant upside down by its stem and soil and rap the pot against a work table to loosen it. Pull the pot off.
Put pebbles in a new, larger pot for drainage. Then spoon enough packaged potting soil in the bottom of the larger pot to raise the plant almost to the rim. Put the plant in. Now spoon potting soil around the plant. Press the new dirt gently down. Water slowly and well. Clean up.
Click here for HOW TO BE A PLANT DOCTOR
Click here fore MORE IDEAS!
|
