Come springtime in your backyard, the flowers are in bloom, the grass is green and lush, and the plants are ready for the warm sunlight. Your backyard becomes a place of growth and peace to all who visit. While this may seem like an idealized dream, you can have the backyard you always wanted. All you must do on your end is know how to properly take care of your backyard plants. Once you know what you need to do and how to do it, you will see your backyard transform.
Make Sure They Get the Right Sun
Sustainable growth for your plants can only happen in optimal conditions. One of the most important ingredients for plant growth is sunlight. Many plants would not do well if they were kept in a dark room. Plants need sunlight because the sun plays a role in the photosynthesis process. However, the difficult part about outdoor plants is they all need different levels of sunlight. Some plants will thrive out in the sun all day, while it could be harmful to others. In cases where you have plants that require varied levels of light, it is best to have them potted, so that you can easily move the plant around. This allows you to give the plants their best chance of growing.
Check Your Soil Health
What your plants are growing in can have an impact on their overall health. That means you need to also check the status of your soil as well. When checking your soil’s health, you need to look for signs of life, like worms or decomposition. You also can know if your soil is healthy by looking at the roots and checking if they are spread out or not. If your soil has life, is dark in color, and has grown out roots, your soil is healthy and ready to help plants grow. If your soil is not healthy, then there are a couple steps you can take to help it improve. For example, decomposing mulch will help boost the health of your soil. You can also fluff the soil and add in other natural boosts.
Give Them Enough Water
Along with sunlight, another essential part of the photosynthesis process is water. Plants need water to stay alive. Unfortunately, you can not always depend on the rainwater to fully satisfy your outdoor plants. Consequently, you need to learn about when and how much your plants need to be watered. Some plants only need to be watered every so often, like succulents and cacti. There are also plants that need watering almost every day. You also need to pay attention to the time of day you water plants, particularly in the hotter months. The general rule of thumb is that you should water plants in the early morning. This is because if you wait until it is hot outside, the water could evaporate before the plants are able to soak up what they need.
Prune Them When Needed
If there are any dead parts on your plants, they will be unable to grow until you cut off the decay. This is part of the pruning process that is vital to plant health. Pruning your plants is an effective way to help them grow stronger over time. However, pruning is much more exact than mindlessly cutting the plant back. You need to cut above nodes or lower if it is unclear where the nodes are. Pruning is also a good option when you need to rescue a dying plant. In those cases, you need to cut the plant all the way back to the base. Essentially, pruning gives plants the fresh start that they need.
Pest Protection
While some living organisms are beneficial to your plants, you need to protect them from other pests that will do more harm than good. As a preventative measure and as a treatment, many gardeners use pesticide. However, if you are weary about putting harsh chemicals on your plants, there are also many natural deterrents to control pests in your garden. A simple way to do this is by diversifying your garden, which attracts less of one type of pest because it creates more work on their end to get what they want. Pests are also attracted to specific smells and afraid of others, so if you know what kind of pest is in your garden, you can also research how to attack it specifically.
Pick the Right Plants
Sometimes the best way to care for your plants is to pick the right plants to start with. Different plants grow better in certain environments and climates. Typically, plants want to stay in climates like what they grew in. For example, a tropical hibiscus plant could only live so long in a desert climate. This is referred to as a climate zone, or plant hardiness zone. The idea is that you want to look at plants that grow naturally where you live and incorporate those into your backyard garden. This takes away the risk wasting money on plants that will die in the heat or in a frost.
Tool Maintenance
An often-overlooked aspect of plant care is upkeep of your garden tools. Think about it, you would not want a doctor to operate on you with dirty tools, and the same goes for your plants. Even simply washing your tools with water can help lengthen the life of your tools. If you used your shears to cut off diseased sprouts, for example, you should disinfect them to avoid cross contamination on to the next plant you use them from. Rusted or dull tools are less effective and tend to underperform. Keeping your tools clean and sharp helps you to be precise when pruning or during other gardening tasks.
A backyard can become the entertainment center of your home if you are willing to put in the time to care for the plants and landscaping. Once you put in the effort to give your plants what they need, you will be amazed at how healthy they will grow and how much more relaxing your yard will feel.
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