How To Prevent Disease In Your Garden
A healthy garden is important for lush blooms and vibrant leaves
and one way to keep your garden healthy is to make sure your plants don't how any signs of pest and disease.
Healthier plants are better able to fight off infections and resist damage by common insects so the key to a healthy garden is to provide the appropriate soil, water and sunlight conditions as well as remove any pest or disease infested plants.
Unfortunately, however, there are a number of common plant ailments that are entirely beyond the control of even the best gardener. The common bacterial infection known as fireblight, for instance, can easily penetrate plants if it rains at the right time of year. In order to prevent this infection, the gardener would need to be able to control the weather, and this is one thing that is definitely beyond their control.
Some plant ailments are hard to detect. The mosaic virus is a disease affecting bare root roses but rarely displays any symptoms.
In order to protect your garden from disease and keep your plants vigorous and healthy, it is important to follow these important steps:
Keep your plants as healthy and vigorous as possible through providing the recommended amounts of water, fertilizer and sunlight. The staff at your local nursery or garden center can provide you with information on the specific growth needs of each plant you buy.
Always look for disease resistant varieties of plants. You can by disease resistant seedlings as well as seed packets. These plants have been bred to resist common diseases.
It is important to avoid damaging the roots as you transplant the seedlings. That is because damage to the plant’s root system is a major cause of disease and other issues that can prevent plants from reaching their full potential.
You should also take care when working around your plants so that you do not insure them. Just like people, injured plants will be less able to fight off disease. It is important to exercise caution when weeding, fertilizing, tilling the soil, etc. Damaged stems and roots are a leading source of bacterial and fungal infections.
If at all possible, avoid working in the garden when the weather is very damp. Dampness can spread disease and fungus, and it is easy for the gardener to unknowingly spread infections among the plants.
Overhead watering can splash water on the leaves of your plants and this can be a disease attractor. The best methods of watering are drip irrigation systems and soaker hoses. Standing water on plants is a leading source of fungal and bacterial infections. Furthermore, standing water makes it easy for infections to spread from one plant to another.
Any disease plants should be removed from the garden immediately. It is important to remove any diseased plants from the garden and replace them with hardier varieties. Doing so is the best way to prevent an infection from spreading.
If you do find plants that are diseased remove them immediately and throw them away. Don't use them for mulch or ompost as the disease may survive and then be spread around your garden.
Keep your garden clean. A clean garden is less susceptible to infection. It is always a good idea to perform a thorough cleaning after every growing season. This includes removing weeds and dead plant parts, since some plant pathogens are able to survive the cold of winter.
More Gardening Tips:
Using Annuals In Your Garden
Unlike perennials or bulbs, annuals provide full color for the entire growing season. The downside of this is that annuals only last for 1 season and more must be planted in the garden each year. Luckily, annuals can be purchased rather cheaply and are even less expensive if you grow from seed.
Common Flower Diseases
No garden is immune from disease and your best way to deal with it is to educate yourself as to the common pests and diseases in your area.
Bulb Guide
Flowering bulbs are great for the garden because they will provide you with colorful blooms year after year. There are all kinds of different types of bulbs that represent every color, size and shape and there should be a bulb to please any gardener.
Gladiolus
The gladiolus which has distinctive sword shaped leaves and funnel shaped flowers are instantly recognizable to gardeners and non gardeners alike.
Asiatic And Oriental Hybrid Lilies
Asiatic and Oriental Hybrid Lilies are popular bulb plants that are a joy to use in any garden. As a bulb plant, these lilies are easy to plant and will reward your good care with blooms year after year.
Tulips
Tulips have long been a favorite flower of hobbiest and professional growers alike. These are the flower that we most closely associate with bulbs and many a gardener has put in fall tulip bulbs and eagerly awaited their blooms in spring.
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