Showing posts with label plant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label plant. Show all posts

Monday, January 3, 2011

Dec 24, Banana plant: How to plant, grow, and care for the tasty fruit

Many people are intimidated by the idea of a growing banana plant.However, as long as you keep in mind a few basic growing factors, your tree should grow and prosper, yielding delicious fruit for your family to enjoy.

The most important factor when growing a banana plant is to choose the location wisely. It is vital to grow your it in an area that has plenty of heat and sun, because your banana will cease to grow fruit if you place it in an area with too much shade.

Secondly, you should pay special attention to the soil Regular potting soil will not do well for your plant. You?ll need to make sure that the soil that drains well and is full of organic matter.

A common result of the failure to use the right soil is root rot. To avoid this problem, many planters use soil designed for palm tress and/or cactus.

banana plant image

Thirdly, your plant should be grown somewhere that will not be susceptible to extremely high winds. Due to the shape of the plant, high winds can cause the tree to break, particularly when the plant is full of fruit.

Fourthly, as with any plants, your tree will need plenty of watering. Some people believe that because the banana tree is a tropical plant it will not need as much water, but this belief is false. It needs a frequent supply of water to maintain the tropical leaves and to ensure the sweetness of the fruit.

Generally, in order to make sure the plant has plenty of water, the top inch of the soil should be moist, and the plant should be watered every 2 to 3 days.

There are four basic steps in planting a banana. These steps include choosing a proper location, giving the plant plenty of water and the right type of soil, and protecting your plant from high wind. Through keeping these steps in mind as you begin planting, you will sow the seeds for a successful harvest.

As with many plants, it is tempting to believe that getting a banana plant in the ground (or in the pot if you are growing it indoors) is the hard part of the growing process.

Unfortunately, however, getting the plant in the soil is the just the first step of the growing cycle. The actual tough part is the maintenance phase.

This step, which encompasses the care of the plant after it has been planted and before it is harvested, will determine how much and how sweet the fruit of the will be.

First and foremost, it is essential that your plants continue to get water during the winter months. They will not need as much water as they require during the growing seasons, but you cannot just stop watering and let it dry out completely.

As a general rule, once the temperatures start hitting below fifty degrees, make sure you water the plant at least every couple of weeks if they are outdoor plants.

If they are indoor plants, you?ll need to increase that amount. But be careful not to over-water. This is common particularly in indoor plants, and too much water can lead to root rot.

If you have an outdoor plant, another concern of yours will likely be protecting the plant from frost. The good news is that banana trees, though they are tropical plants, are truly hardy plants.

If you are growing fruit during a cold spell, then you will likely loose that fruit. But the plant itself will survive, save a few dead leaves, and will rebound come warmer weather.

A final consideration is the addition of fertilizer. Banana plants do require a lot of nutrition as they grow, and as such, do best with additional fertilization.

The most important ingredient that your fertilizer should contain is potassium. Through proper fertilization, your plant will grow more fruit than a non-fertilized plant would.

With proper fertilization and watering, your plant will thrive and survive most cold spells. Unlike many tropical plants, the banana plant is a truly hardy tree and thus, it is very difficult for even the inexperienced handler to fail at having a successful growth.

_________________________________________________________________

Top of Banana Plant

Listed under Gardening Plants

Share it Today with friends, family and other gardeners around the world.

What Other Visitors Have Said

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...


View the original article here

Friday, December 31, 2010

Dec 21, Artichokes: How to Grow and Care for a artichoke plant

Artichoke vegetable gardening:

Artichokes can be started three ways - with seeds, dormant roots or shoots that have been taken from plants. These plants can get quite large, up to six feet in diameter as a matter of fact. The plant has a wide variety of climates in which it can be grown.

You can purchase plants that have been started with seed at your local garden shop or you can start them yourself. If you plan on starting them a greenhouse or using fluorescent lamps is a good way to start them.

The idea is to get a head start on the growing season. The seedlings require plenty of nutrients while developing. They should be fed with a rich fertilizer and they will be ready to transplant in about 10 weeks.

The gardening soil should be warm and the frost period should be over. When they reach about 10 inches tall the stems should be full. They should be planted no less than 4 feet between plants. Each plant should be fed with fertilizer or compost.

Blood meal and bone meal are good fertilizers as well. The use of chicken manure or rabbit manure will also work well for feeding this gardening vegetable.

artichoke plant picture Often the plant will not all turn out to be the same as the type that is pictured. The best way to ensure you get good veggies is to pull out the ones that do not appear to be doing well.

Planting extra will help ensure that you get enough. Discard the ones that do not appear to be growing. The plants that are left will be the best tasting.

Caring for the Artichoke Plant

The vegetable is available in several different types. The Green Globe variety is one that is grown where the weather is colder.

This is a variety that will produce quite heavily. It does not matter which type you grow, you will want them to be tender and the key to this is watering them frequently.

When the weather is dry, they should be watered about three times per week. The lack of water as well as a frost after planting can cause the vegetable to become tough. Watering is extremely important if there are buds forming on the plants.

While the water is important for the plant, it is also important for the roots of the vegetable. They will need moisture and one of the best ways of keeping them moist is to use mulch.

The soil they are planted in should be a type that has good drainage. The area of the plant that sprouts may rot and if this happens your ground is too wet and is not draining well.

Not many people know this but the vegetable is a thistle family member. The part that most people relish are the buds. Violetto is an Italian variety that has an extended bud of a gorgeous purple color. This type is a little later maturing.

The buds will develop on the tip of the stalks. The first one to mature and probably the largest is called the terminal bud. This one should be sliced off the plant just through the stem under the bud.

The bud should be tightly closed at the time and fairly large. The buds should not be allowed to flower if you want the next year's crop to be a good one when planting them as perennials.

Similar Posts

Growing Zucchini

Vegetable Gardening

Growing Cilantro

_________________________________________________________________

Top of Artichokes

Listed under Gardening Plants


View the original article here

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Dec 13, what is this plant species? what is its name?

by Anton John Vincent Frias
(Dagupan City, Pangasinan, Philippines)

I have bought this cactus. The seller told me that it was called rose cactus plant. But, I have kept researching the cyberspace and yet, no matches. I need to research on the ways of its care and primarily the name. It is said to be a rose cactus for its rose shaped built.


View the original article here

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Nov 26, snake plant is slow growing with stiff, upright leaves that resemble a sword.

Indoor Plants:

Considered as an architectural houseplant, snake plant is slow growing with stiff, upright leaves that resemble a sword. Its shape, color and variety are many.

There are some that produce irregular and horizontal bands of dark green and grayish green with small and yellow outline on its foliage.

Other plants do not have the outline, while few have a large visible yellow outline with hardly any traces of green.

Still some plants have striped leaves and bear fragrant flowers like the Laurentii variant. The Snake plants? thick and pointed leaves can grow to 4 feet from a basal rosette.

It got its name from the hue design, and structure and shape of its leaves. When mature, they become dark green with cross-banding, and are between 5 and 6 centimeters in width.

Snake Plant picture

Descending from tropical West Africa, from Nigeria East to the Democratic Republic of Congo, the plant with its scientific name Sanseviera Trifasciata is part of Sansevieria species, evergreen herbaceous perennial plant that forms dense stands.

The plant is known for its extreme adaptability. Although it can survive almost the worst of soil conditions, it grows best in sandier soils. The potting soil should be loose and well-drained mixture. In growing snake plants in your care, bright light is required.

They so adore light that direct sun exposure is truly appreciated. The plant tolerates low light but it rarely survives a temperature below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Water is another elixir Sanseviera trifasciata needs.

Watering is done once in every 7 to 10 days. However, it should be accorded time for its soil to dry in between watering. The only way to kill the plant is to over water or to never water at all. During winter, the frequency of watering is less, which can be once a month or whenever the soil is dry to touch.

For its propagation, the snake can be divided with equal root allocation, although their rhizomes can also stimulate new sprouts.

Spring is the best time for repotting the plants. Sanseviera trifasciata is a rapid grower plant. At times, it can grow healthily that it breaks its pot and exposes its mass of underground shoots, which need immediate repotting.

These plants are the best houseplant for new gardeners because they require little attention. They make a striking display for tabletops and floors. Depending on its variations, a snake plant can be called by its other monikers like Mother-in-law?s Tongue, Bowstring Hemp, Devil?s Tongue, Good Luck or Lucky plant.

To receive automatic updates whenever changes are made to our site visit our BLOG PAGE today. This page listed under Indoor Plants

Share it today with friends, family and other gardeners around the world!

Top Of Snake Plant Page: Photo Credit:
footer for snake plant page


View the original article here