Plant Thriving under Solatube Light
9 years ago
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- 9 years ago
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spider plants don't thrive
Comments (21)In some cases, if you realize you're over-watering and take steps to correct that issue by changing your watering habits, you'll see improvement. How well the plant responds depends on whether not there are fungal issues causing root rot, and whether the plant is strong enough to resist the problem. I think it's better to lift the plant and examine the roots than to trust chance and a change in habits to be all that's required. Also, changing your watering habits, in most cases, probably isn't going far enough because there are usually other issues, like aeration and an accumulation of salts that are inherent problems with soils that don't allow you to water copiously and fairly frequently. I'm a very strong proponent of the idea that you can pay now or pay later. IOW, you can make an added effort to get things right from the outset, so you don't have to deal with the over-watering, poor aeration, the soil compaction, and salt accumulation down the road, or you can try to fix the problems as they arise, which is much more difficult. THAT's the part that disheartens everyone - lots of effort spent trying to fix things with little to show - spinning their wheels. The advice that Inna and I offer (and many other experienced growers as well), is the ounce of prevention that keeps you from having to provide a pound of cure later - like the situation you're in now. The difference is, when the effort is front loaded, you get great plants with less effort. When it's back-end loaded, you get sick plants you have to fix. There's some effort either way, but the term preventative maintenance has a pretty good track record. The thing is, the learning curve isn't that steep when it comes to the basics ..... and in many cases, experience is WAY over-rated, so don't be too concerned about that part. Your lack of experience has very little to do with your potential, and it's probably going to be an asset, even if you can't see it. EG - I'm a concealed weapons instructor, and certified to teach several additional firearms disciplines. The easiest to teach, and those who very often finish the course as safer licensees and better shots, are those with the least experience. The reason is, they don't have the attitude that they already know it all to overcome, and they don't have a bunch of bad habits to unlearn. Growing is much the same. I don't take you for a person that wants to do things w/o knowing the 'whys & wherefores', but if you WERE that type of person, and all you wanted to do was follow simple directions, you could STILL markedly advance your abilities in a big hurry. It's that easy. I have 2 sisters, a sis-in-law, and a (10 YO) granddaughter that have pretty great looking plants, yet they're completely oblivious to any of the 'nuances' associated with houseplant care. The reason is, their plants are potted in a very good soil, are in the right light, and they follow simple directions fairly religiously ..... prolly because it's easier than having me on their case. ;-) Al...See MorePlants never thrive when they are potbound
Comments (23)I'm more than willing to concede a lot of points in this discussion. I'm sure Linda knows a whole lot more than I about what it takes to bring along an attractive AV. I readily admit that stressing the plant by keeping it root bound is almost certainly the preferred method of ensuring an attractive plant with lots of blooms. My experience with AVs is limited to 2 plants I bought in the fall, stuck in the gritty mix, over-wintered under lights, and fed with a fertilizer that drives its N from urea. I have no interest in AVs, the only reason I grew the two as I did is because I was assured it wouldn't work. Half way through the following summer I gave the plants away because I'd proven the point & had already lost interest. My inexperience might place me well below expert status on the ladder to AV growing stardom, but that doesn't mean I'm fresh off the boat when it comes to plant physiology. I understand how plants grow and what impedes growth. I have a very scientific mind, but if what I think I'm observing doesn't square with what I know of science, the first thing I reject is my own observations. It should be no surprise that I'm equally willing to reject someone else's observation as well, when it doesn't square with science. We are getting a lot of other issues confused with growth. Growth isn't looking pretty and having a maximum number of blooms, and a thriving plant by one grower's standards could still be missing out on a good deal of growth potential. I'm perfectly willing to concede that a better LOOKING plant is possible if it's grown tight. There is only 1 area of disagreement, and that is whether tight roots promote faster growth in any plant, but specifically Gesneriads. There is no scientific reason to believe that Gesneriads are unique among plants, regardless of what one person or 20 thinks when there are thousands on thousands of plants whose growth is negatively affected by root congestion. There are MANY growers like Alavoneluvhoya who feel their plants seem to grow better when root-bound, and are readily willing to attribute the better health to that condition - even in the face of the fact we KNOW tight roots retard growth. Please consider the more plausible explanation is, with the soil she is using, growing the plant tight may be necessary to prevent the root problems associated with the soil she is using. Tight roots means that favorable volumes of air return to the soil faster after a thorough watering - which eases the limitations imposed by the poor soil. Because the soil problem is eased by tight roots doesn't necessarily mean tight roots are desirable. They are STILL limiting, just not as limiting as the soggy soil's effect on root function. If you feel your plants grow better when root bound, you probably need to take a close look at what they are growing in. There is no need to trade one limitation for another in an attempt to improve growth. This doesn't mean you still can't be happy with a plant growing under limitations. ALL our plants are suffering some limitation, no matter how hard we try. What's important is knowing how to look at the problem and not so readily jump to post hoc conclusions or confuse coincidental relationships with causes. "I have a nice looking plant that is 10 feet tall with lots of blooms in a 6" container, therefore the plant likes being root bound" is exactly the same logic as, "I TRIED to grow a 10 foot tall plant with lots of blooms in a 6" container but it died before it got 2' tall, therefore 6" pots kill plants." Neither are logically valid. No one is trying to take away the tool of keeping plants root bound to get them to bend to your will. The only contention is that tight roots slow growth in all plants. In containerized plants, if you're vigilant, you can really start to note the slow down at about the point where the root/soil mass can be lifted from the container intact. Most of what I just offered is contained in a post I wrote back in '10 (see below). You might find Steve Lucas's comment offered on 9/3/10, as well as the rest of the commentary to be of interest ...... the text too, of course. ;-). Al Here is a link that might be useful: More here...See MoreThriving and Surviving Plants
Comments (32)Westelle, I'd like to see that photo, thanks! Wanda, I've been looking at photos of clematis winding around with climbing roses and got that idea. Didn't realize they weren't an evergreen, hadn't gotten that far in my planning yet, thanks. I am so used to plants that do die back in the winter. Lowe's, HD etc are like candy stores to me and alot of times the info is not complete especially zone info and I thought I plotted carefully for what I did put in the yard. I was thinking dips below 32 and primarily how hot summer is here, had no idea we were going to have two weeks straight so far below freezing. BTW they were 2 degrees off last night, it was 26 not 28 and when I got up at 8am the back yard temp said it was 24 and from the frost on the ground I believe that one! I'll look up the ones you're advising on with the exception of Star Jasmine. I really love the smell of the flowers and love it in someone else's yard:) I would have thought that the way your back yard is enclosed your plants would have made it through better, sorry they didn't, you had some great looking plants, amazing what did survive. What will you do on the others, I know you're waiting for spring, but will you cut them all down or just cut back to where new growth starts on each plant at whatever height that is? Thanks for sharing your photos too. You can't measure in money your time and years in your plants, well you can, they'd be very, very expensive plants. I forgot my one verbena didn't make it through this freeze and my 8 lantana were toast from the first freeze. On a bright note I do have bulbs that are growing. I know what I planted but the writing washed off the stakes:) I'm trying to figure out where the crocus' are, in the mountains they'd be growing first by now and blooming soon, here I don't know, it looks like what's coming up now are iris. I planted those two, daffodils and narcissus. So I do have some color to look forward to while waiting to replant in the spring. Leslie...See MorePlants fail to thrive under Tesler grow light
Comments (6)From what I understand about LED grow lights from research I was doing on lighting systems about a year ago, is that, theoretically, they are the best system you can have, in that they can produce a pure blue or red light at the wavelength that is most conducive to photosynthesis. But in practical application, they tend to fall short for several reasons. One is that the high powered LEDs, such as the 2 and 3 watt LEDs, seem to have a high tendency to burn out, or fry 1/2 the circuit board so only half of the fixture lights. Jumping off that, since you cannot really replace 1/2 a circuit board or individual LEDs, when theres a problem with your 300 dollar fixture, that problems there to stay after the trivial 1 year warranty expires (and even before that Ive heard that companies are loath to honor those warranties without making you jump through hoops (they know their stuff isnt going to last)). Another is there very high initial cost per square foot of area covered relative to say MH/HPS. If I recall correctly, I remember a 300 dollar fixture I was looking at would cover a 2x3 square foot area, or 6 feet. The technicals looked tempting, even though the area was small, promising superior lighting conditions. But when looking at reviews for that product (and all other LEDs I could find), the most people were getting out of them was about 2 years; a far cry from the 50,000 hours advertised (which is why the warranties are only 1 year). I ended up getting a 600w MH/HPS set up, which covers a 4x4 area, or 2.66 times as much as the LED area for only .66 the initial cost, and so far I am, and planning on continuing to be, very pleased with it. What you could try doing is putting the light as close as it can get to the plants; one of the positives about LEDs is that very little heat is produced, making it safer than even fluorescent tubes to put the plants very close to the light source. But since your fixture is a 90 watt, Im guessing the individual LEDs are probably 1 watt or so apiece, right? That isnt going to provide much penetration power, so the light isnt going to seriously benefit anything other than the canopy of your plants. Which of course is better than nothing, but depending on your plants sizes and light requirements, the 90 watt LED fixture probably wont be making them explode with growth all on its own. Also BTW, what colors is your LED fixture using? Ive seen some crazy products that throw in orange, purple, yellow, infrared, and UV LEDs in their fixtures to make them seem "more complete" I guess, but from what I can gather, all those extra colors that are not blue/red, are mostly or completely wasted, and is just a gimmick and power sap....See MoreRelated Professionals
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