Learn How You Can Grow Orchids At Home

Many people think that growing orchids is something that can only be done in big hothouses however, you can grow orchids at home if you pick the right type and provide it with the right environment.

Growing orchids can be a rewarding hobby and can produce beautiful plants that you can enjoy or give as gifts. If you have a green thumb and love exotic plants, then growing them yourself is something that might be worth the effort.

Orchids that work best for home growing are those that grow high in the trees hanging from the branches and get the nutrition from the rain, jungle air and decaying vegetation that their roots come in contact with. In order to grow these orchids at home, you'll need to provide them with a growing area that comes close to their native environment.

Humidity

Orchids thrive in humid climates and if you want to grow them at home you'll need to provide them with an area where they can have at least 50% humidity. in order to do this, you can set your orchid pots on a tray that is filled with water but not In the tray just above it so that the humidity from the water can come up with a water does not soak into the pot. may sting is also important to make sure there is sufficient in circulation so that the leaves and pedals can dry off properly.

Water

It's important that your work is to not sit in water but remain moist. You should water than once a week after the soil has dried out. Make sure there is no standing water. Fertilize with a water-soluable fertilizer made specifically for orchids.

Sunlight

Different types of orchids need different amounts of sunlight and if you can't provide natural sunlight you can try fluorescent grow lights. In the winter, your records will need at least four hours of light.

Soil

You can buy ready mixed orchid potting mixes and this is what you should use for your orchids.

Pests

Orchids can be prone to diseases and pests. They can succumb to fungal disease viral disease and bacterial disease and often have mites, aphids, caterpillars, slugs, mealy bugs, snails, white flies, and dendrobium beatles. growing them indoors can reduce the bugs immensely but you still have to be on the lookout for pests and disease.

To treat pests on your orchids, you should use pesticides from a local garden supply store. Be sure to always use them per instructions. If you can, try to go with organic pesticides that are easy on the environment.

Article Source: http://www.article-exposure.com

Lee Dobbins writes for orchids.garden-corner.com/ working you can learn more about the care and growing of orchids.

House Plants and their Bugs, Pests and Insects

House plants can be beautiful, but they may also be affected by things that you are not even aware of. Having a few house plant insects is just annoying, but with to many bugs, your house plants will be destroyed in record time.

There are problems that certain plants can get hit hard with. You have no idea how many times house plants are infected by bugs, pests and insects, and people do not even realize that these mites are actually in the house.

When you purchase your house plants, take the time to make sure that they do not have an insect infestation of one sort or another. Again, when you bring your summer plants into your home for the winter, check for bugs. Sometimes this may be tricky as the bugs will borrow their way into the soil, but you will want to make certain that there is no evidence of a present infestation. By simply taking a few precautions, you will considerably reduce the chances of insects attacking your plants.

Insects will also enter your home because people carry them in. This is nearly impossible to prevent as the insects will attach themselves to cloths or come in through an open door or window. A time to watch out for bugs is when the weather is starting to warm up and again when the weather is cooling down. The insects like to come into the homes for shelter.

Plant insects can easily be controlled because it is on such a small scale. The insects or bugs are much more mobile when they are young, but the are always looking for a place to settle where they wont be disturbed. If fact, this is why your house plants can be bothered with insects. The solution to this problem is a general insecticide.

One type of bug that will bother your house plants are aphids. They have a soft body and can be easily controlled with pesticides and insecticide soaps. Other bugs most often encountered include mealy bugs, mites, scale, thrips, whiteflies and various other soil insects. Tiny spiders can also be another problem.

The typical cause of damage caused by the individual bugs includes: Aphids suck the sap out of plants; Mealy Bugs suck the sap out and plants, leaves a cotton-like substance on the plants and also leaves a honey dew substance which attracts ants; Mites suck the sap out of plants; Scale suck the sap out of plants and leaves a sticky honey dew substance that attracts ants and causes fungus growth; Thrips rip and tears foliage and blisters develop where the eggs are laid; Whiteflies cluster on the back of leaves and suck the sap out of the leaves, which turn yellow and die.

Try to avoid adding organic material into your soils. It is not necessary to add fertilizer because the topsoil will have enough nutrients for the plants. You will also want to remove any fallen flowers and leaves, as this would allow moulds and fungus to grow into the soil.

Most of the time there are infestations when the soil has a high organic content because of fungus, gnats, or springtails. If your plant has a fungus or bugs like gnats, you will generally find that your plant is actually decomposing, meaning, it is rotting.

Signs of attacks on your house plants by insects can include leaves turning a yellow or brown colour, plants starting to wilt and stop growing, jagged holes starting to appear in the foliage or a honey dew type substance smeared on the plants.

If you do notice that your house plants are infected with bugs or disease, you will need to take appropriate measures to eliminate the problem. You can consult your local garden nursery for advice or you may want to purchase a pesticide that will not hurt your plants, but will be a solution to your problems. Be sure to use the right product for the insects you have, as some pesticides can actually kill certain house plants. When using any pesticides always make sure to read and follow the warnings that the manufactures puts on the label.

Just remember to examine your house plants every now and then, do not wait for them to start looking sad. By giving the proper feeding, care and fresh air will ensure that you house plants remain healthy and more resistant to insect problems. As always, if you are able to find any problems with insects early enough, it can often be taken care of without the use of pesticides and that is, by far, the best way.

Article Source: http://www.article-exposure.com

Darren Lintern publishes articles, guides and reports, on many topics for www.Kerrash.com

For all your House Plant needs and concerns, visit our House Plant Information Guide

Is Your Garden Prepped to Survive Winter and Flourish Next Spring?

By implementing a few simple gardening techniques to your garden in the fall you can help nurture a healthier vegetable garden that's enriched and revitalized when the spring growing season rolls around. You'll also enjoy the benefits of a more productive vegetable patch and harvest fresh produce far earlier and with less effort.

Fall Garden Clean-Up

The first step is to shift some of the routine gardening tasks that you normally perform in the springtime, and instead take care of them during the fall. At the end of your summer growing season clear out all of the weeds, garden debris, spent vines, and any left over fruits and vegetables that weren't harvested, rather than allowing these items to remain in the garden over the winter.

This "garden-cleaning" will speed spring cultivation work, eliminate left over fruits and vegetables whose seeds can turn into unwanted volunteers next summer, prevent weeds from becoming established during autumn, and reduce the likelihood that insect pests and diseases spend the winter nice and comfy in your garden beds.

While you're at it, also remove and store those plant stakes, cages, trellises, and gardening tools that are scattered about throughout the garden. A little care will reward you with a longer useful life and avoid loss and damage to expensive gardening equipment.

Cultivating the Soil in Autumn

Autumn is also a great time to apply and incorporate compost, mushroom soil, or even leaves into the garden beds. This will give the organic soil amendments additional time to break down or mellow, and will also reduce the risk of burning or over-fertilizing young seedlings in the spring.

If you till or cultivate your garden in the fall, do so very shallowly to avoid bringing weed seeds that were buried in the soil up to the surface levels where they can easily germinate. I garden in raised beds which eliminates the need for tilling the soil altogether.

With raised beds a quick turning of the soil surface of the beds with a digging fork or wheel hoe is all that's ever needed before planting. Raised beds are never walked on and they naturally resist the compaction that forces many gardeners to till their garden each spring.

Stretching the Growing Season

Once your garden is nice and tidy, why not plant something? There are a number of cool weather crops, especially leafy greens such as lettuce, kale, collards, mustard, and spinach that will grow right into winter and provide you with plenty of delicious fresh produce from the garden.

It doesn't stop there; these same plants can actually survive winter in the garden and produce additional harvests in early spring. So, from a single planting you receive multiple harvests of tasty leafy greens, protect the garden's soil over the winter, and prevent weeds from growing unchecked in an empty garden bed.

Not interested in fall vegetable production? Well how about planting a cover crop, also known as a green manure, to protect and enrich your garden's soil over the winter, as well as to crowd out weed growth? There's a long list of crops that can be planted as a fall cover crop and remain in place until they are turned under to enrich the soil in the spring.

Annual Ryegrass is my favorite choice for planting in autumn to serve as a quick growing, green manure. If it doesn't survive the winter it will still provide cover and is easier to turn under than many of the other green manure crops. A few other choices include winter rye, rape, barley, and Austrian Peas. Even everyday edible vegetable crops such as fava beans, peas, kale, and mustard can function as fall cover crops.

Fall Mulches for the Garden Bed

Think it's too late for you to sow a cover crop in your garden? Well at the very least you can cover the garden during fall and winter with a mulch of compost, mushroom soil, or a layer of leaves. A three or four inch layer of shredded leaves in particular will restrict weed growth and encourage earthworm activity. The leaves can be incorporated into the soil in the spring, or be removed and composted.

Speaking of leaves, they're abundant and free in most areas to anyone willing to go out and gather them up. Shredding will make the leaves easier to handle and store. Each fall I use a leaf blower to shred all the leaves that I can get my hands on and store what I can't use right away until springtime.

Implement these ideas this fall and your garden will be protected from the elements and erosion while you improve the texture and fertility of your soil and encourage the activity of earthworms and soil organisms all year-round. You'll also experience less weed growth, harvest more fresh produce and get your garden off to a quicker start in the spring.

Regardless of the season it's a great idea to keep something growing, or at least covering your garden at all times. Be sure to visit my website to discover additional timely ideas and tips for growing and improving your backyard garden and edible landscape.

Article Source: http://www.article-exposure.com

Kenneth Point has been gardening for over thirty years including managing production on an organic farm in Pennsylvania. For free tips visit his blog at www.veggiegardeningtips.com which contains ideas on fall vegetable gardening and other information related to growing fruits, vegetables, and herbs in the home garden.

Common Sense Tips to Beautify Your Fall Garden

There is probably nothing as beautiful in this world as fall gardens. While spring and summer are characterized by healthy greens and wintry gardens are known for having pristine white beauty, gardens in the autumn season are showered with various colors ranging from bronze to red to fiery oranges, not to mention other colors of the rainbow which you can see on flowers and fruits.

Still, making those colors appear at the right place and concealing the moribund effects of fall on gardens at the same time will take patience, effort, and extreme care. Here are some tips to make your backyard one of the most perfect fall gardens in town:

Using Fall to Prepare for Other Seasons
Fall is the best time to start growing plants that you intend to bloom in the spring. Do not forget to prepare your soil accordingly so that your spring plants will grow beautiful and healthy.

Roses in Fall
Fall gardens will certainly benefit from the loveliness of roses. These flowers, however, must be given extra attention during autumn because neglected roses face the strong possibility of dying once winter sets in.

Flower and Plant Suggestions for Fall Gardens
There are certain flowers and plants that are lovelier to look at when they bloom in autumn. Examples of plants and flowers commonly blooming in the fall are the following: chrysanthemums, pansies, turnips, and even decorative varieties of cabbage.

For a more unusual variety of flowers and plants in your fall garden, consider the following suggestions:
Aster - Fall gardeners can choose from pink, white, and blue when adding asters to their plant collection.
Mums - This type of plant is best grown in masses so make sure that you provide sufficient space for them.
Plumbago - This plant will give your garden a colorful carpet; for maximum results, plant plumbago when it can benefit from great exposure to sunlight while making sure that the soil is dry but fertile.
Russian Sage - This type of plant possess gray leaves and flowers in different shades of blue.
Tickseed - With a great likeness to daisies, this type of plant can be used as a border or ground cover. Plant this when it can benefit from great exposure to sunlight as well.

Remember, however, that certain plants, like the magnolia, are better to plant in spring rather than fall.

From Summer to Fall
The transition between the two seasons can be quite damaging to most plants, especially those that live in flower pots or containers. To minimize the damage to your plants, make sure that you water them diligently and stay alert for any signs of dryness.

Letting Plants Flowers R.I.P.
It's inevitable for some plants and flowers to wilt and die during fall. In the case of flowers, make sure that you cut them off immediately and let them dry. Take away the seeds, place them inside an envelope, then set them aside until it's springtime and you're allowed to plant them again. Of course, you also have the option of letting nature take its course by planting the seeds on the ground.

For trees and plants, on the other hand, it's best to cut or prune any dead part of the plant immediately. Make sure that you also give them one good shower before winter sets in and forces your flowers and plants to hibernate. Consider hiring a professional as well to subject plans to professional thinning.

Taking Care of Lawns in the Fall
If your fall garden is made up of a lawn and flower beds, there is nothing really to beautify when it comes to your lawn, and all you can do is just make sure that it will grow back to its original loveliness come spring. For the meantime, you can aerate your lawn to increase its healthiness.

Since there's little to harvest in fall, the most efficient way to spend your time during fall is just to mow your lawn or sing your flowers and plants to sleep.

While gardens can certainly remain beautiful in any season, Mother Nature certainly lightens the load on our shoulders during fall. With the naturally changing colors of leaves in autumn, all we need to focus on is creating a perfect autumn setting for our garden, and our back or front yards will immediately look like a doorway to paradise. Just sweat a little, and Mother Nature will do the rest!

Article Source: http://www.article-exposure.com

Lee Dobbins writes for gardening.subjectmonster.com where you can get more gardening tips.