A topiary for beginners is an important and necessary feature in the garden.. out of so many basic features which should be in the garden, the topiary is one of them.
Topiary means to shape a particular plant’s morphological growth by pruning scissors or secateurs. Like a square, Triangle, any bird shaped like a peacock, or an animal shaped like an elephant, etc.
One thing as a beginner you should know is that all plants are not topiary friendly we need to select a plant that has an optimum dense growth of the branches.
So whenever we shape the plant we don’t see any Hollow cavities or see-through parts in between branch areas. Because the uneven look will not satisfy proper topiary appearance.
There are some plant varieties that are topiary-friendly. Among them, some grow very fast or regularly like ficus, Duranta, etc.
Where some grow very slowly like Ixora dwarfs but they give an excellent appearance after pruning or shaping them in a long run.
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How to do good topiary or proper pruning or shaping of plants
For a good topiary, you need to have well-grown plants for it. Now, which plant do you need for a topiary, list of plants is provided below.
Why all plant is not able to make topiary because we select plants that grow dense their branches grow very close and have bulky leaf growth. Such plants are ideal to train for the desired shape.
Topiary for beginners
First, you need to have basic tools like pruning scissor secateurs or petrol Run pruning shears, etc.
While pruning after a certain time spent scissors get sticky or had some plant material on them. This may result in uneven cuts or shapes also. Hence you need to clean your cuttings tools in between ongoing work with a wet cloth or you can wash it with water also and alcohol can be used.
We should apply proper lubricant in the joint for the free moving of the tools while pruning.
It’s always good to buy standard tools for pruning like scissors, long pruners,s, etc because tools from good brands come with nicely tempered Edges.
They give desired desire cut and don’t have dents in the edges too quickly.
One can do proper maintenance of such tools by themself by learning from experts also.
But we need to be careful while doing so. because these edgy tools may cut or harm your body while maintenance. Keep away children from these tools.
When these tools are not in use you can put them in a proper place or cupboard. But don’t forget to apply pruner oil on them, to avoid oxidation/rusting of that tools.
Pruning-friendly Topiary plants for beginners in India
Duranta
Ficus,
Vad Mehndi
Acalypha varieties
Malpighia emarginata
Thuja (Mayur Pankh)
Casurina – It’s basically a tree variety but due to its small leaflets, you can train it in a good shape like entry gates, peacocks, etc.
Some hybrid varieties of Hibiscus with dense growth can be used for topiary pruning.
Nowadays people are also Using Conocarpus ( But it sucks more underground water so select wisely)
Mehndi plant ( Lawsonia inermis )
Tecoma- For Big wall flowering hedges Road facing walls (plant Tecoma inside the wall )
Some of the above plants are also useful for the hedges also. These plants are good for topiary for beginners
Why pruning is necessary
As one of the gardening practices pruning seems a small one but it’s very important. It’s very effective in both large trees, and shrubs or plants or in young or small plants also. but you must know which plant needs pruning and how much percent of pruning is needed. Hafezard pruning may lead to damage to plants or trees.
It’s safe and healthy for the plant/tree and shrubs.
Benefits of topiary making
So as management of topiary is concerned, indirectly it also helps good health and look of the plants.
It improves structural integrity.
As you start shaping the plant it also removes the excess weight on the particular plant.
Which stops plants from becoming imbalanced.
As rodent pests and insects are more common in unpruned plants. So topiary practice helps reduce the risk of diseases of infestation.
How to maintain (clean)/Topiary pruning tools
It consists of cleaning, getting all the sap off, sharpening, oiling, and disinfecting tools.
To disinfect your tools you can use alcohol or a bleach solution, We can use alcohol while ongoing pruning to make plant twigs infestation free.
After cleaning you can use oil for better working and to stop rust on tools. Usually, people use palm oil or available oils at home. But it’s better to use WD-40 or Prunner oil for the good life of tools.
Apply this oil on the joints, edges, and springs of the pruning tools.
At last, when you don’t have clear cuts with your tools do check for sharpening of the edges, you can use hand files to edge the tools.
Here we elaborate on the topic of Topiary for beginners as simply as possible still you have queries or need help pruning your plants you can reach us by clicking on the contact us menu.
Dahlia and Chrysanthemum are the best winter seasonal flowers in India, Both are good for cut flowers as well as garden competition and home gardening.
When it’s a matter of size dahlia flowers are the first number.
Their flower size varies from Button size to 25cm giant.
They also have different colors like pink, red, white, orange, Cooper, cream, greenish, dotted petals, and stripes.
They mostly increase the beauty of the garden as garden beds and hedges.
Also, get used to cutting flowers in flower competitions.
One can also earn by growing them in pots.
The weather requires mental and soil.
Dahlia loves a moderate atmosphere.
Still, if temperatures are down during flowering it’s good for them.
Be careful while snow may damage the plants.
Fertile, loamy, and well-drained soil is best for it. It requires a little bit of acidic soil with Ph 6.5.
For the best growth of the dahlia, open sunlight is very good and needy.
Dahlia plants have shallow root systems. Whenever you stir the soil, do just the upper layer stirring of the soil.
Dahlia varieties:-
It has different varieties due to nature and hybridization.
Like single, star, animon, kolorata, peony, decorative, Fansy, Pompon, etc.
Propagation
It can be propagated by tubers and plant shoot cuttings.
Or you can buy seedlings or young plants from the nearest nurseries.
If you grow Dahlia by seed, the character changes compared to the mother plant. That’s why Dahlia mostly gets propagated by the plant shoot cuttings.
If you want to grow Dahlia in a limited quantity you can grow them by tubers. Before planting these tubers you can treat them with 0.2% Bavistin or 0.1/% benlet solution.
Dahlia flower
Plants produced from tubers bear big flowers. But when it comes to commercial plantations they get grown by plant shoot cuttings.
To make plants from the plant shoot.
A previous plant needs to be cut just above the tubers in the soil, meaning at the soil level.
Then the plant grows new shoots to cut just near the tubers.
Now plant these cuttings by removing some leaves from the bottom and in the river sand bed, so you can easily uproot them. Or can be planted in coco peat-filled portraits also.
You can’t treat these shoots with IBA or Naphthalic Acetic acid 1000 ppm solution for better quick root development.
Chrysanthemum
After the rose chrysanthemumbears the second place in the flower world.
As the rose is considered to King of flowers, the chrysanthemum is the queen of flowers.
These flowers come in different shapes and colors. Such patterns are rarely seen in other flowers.
In Japan is a national flower.
Chrysanthemum flower
There are two varieties of this flower in use one is C. Morifolium and C. Indicum.
Chrysanthemum morifolium is of perennial type and Chrysanthemum Indicum is a type of seasonal. Flower size ranges from button to medium-sized cauliflower balls.
The flower has a variety of uses like garland, pooja, gajara and veni (garland worn by women) making and as a cut flower, etc.
In south and western India white and cream, color varieties are famous.
There are two types of the Chrysanthemum.
Big-size flower varieties.
1. Single,
2. Animon,
3. Pompon,
4. Inkword,
5. Reflex,
6. Spoon,
7. Spider
Small-size flower varieties
1. Animon,
2. Korean,
3. Wild,
4. Button
Different types of varieties by colors of Chrysanthemum Flowers
A. White: beauty snowball, Innocence, Greengods, Ajin`a white, Premier William turner
B. Yellow: Chandrma, Supergiant, Evening star, Melodilan.
C. Violet and Pink: Ajina purple, Peter May, Pink cloud, classic beauty.
During starting days of the planting, it required more water.
When plants start blooming make more intervals in between watering.
Dark red color Wilson, Bravo, distinction
Weather :
Light and temperature are important for the growth and flowering of this plant. Usually, it grows morphologically in a long day and short night span timing. And blooms on short days and long nights ( winter).
So it is categorized as a short-day plant.
Night temperature from 10 celsius to 12 celsius is good for it.
Soil-
It loves well-drained, goradu (loamy), besar, and medium black soil. Ph around 6.5 is best. Soil with good organic matter is good for better flowering.
Select the plot where you want to grow these seasonal plants. flood water it. Then after it dries to some extent remove the weed grown in it, now let it dry till you can softly dig the soil, and do shallow digging of the plot. after that let it dry for two to three days.
Now spread vermicompost, apply a very light dose of DAP granules with urea in 2:1 proportion, and now water it, You can now plant the seedlings or plants on the same day or the next day.
Now do shallow water daily but keep in mind not to overwater it.
It is usually propagated by suckers, shoot cuttings, and seeds.
1. Suckers: This is the easiest method to grow chrysanthemums. Naturally, suckers grow around the main plant. This sucker needs to detach/uproot with roots without damaging the main plant. This can be used for new plantations.
The benefit of using this method is it has already grown roots system. Which enables plants to establish themselves quickly.
2. Shoot cutting –
In this method first, a well-grown plant gets pruned after harvest to size leaving 15-20cm. Then news branches start to grow. Frown these branches we have to cut 5-8 cm long top shoots.
Chrysanthemum flower
Leaves from the bottom of the shoot need to remove, from around two to three internodes.
Now deep them in a 100ppm IBA ( Indol Butyric Acid) or 200pmm NAA (Naphthalic Acetic Acid) for half a minute. Now plant them in a prepared bed.
Water them regularly. The plant will be ready to plant in a pot, bad, or farm within 3-4 weeks.
Seed –
Usually, seasonal chrysanthemum varieties bear seeds. To collect disease-free seeds. Select a healthy infestation-free plant. Collect seed from it.
Dry them in the sunlight. Now pack them in a jar or box. During a new season in September-October, you can grow seedlings from it. Seedlings will be ready to plant in pot or farm around 4 weeks.
Planting
Perennial chrysanthemums can be planted by sucker or shoot cuttings during the last week of July to September. As per the variety, you can plant them in a big plot by a distance of 30*30 cm or 5*45 cm distance.
Usually in the state of Gujarat seasonal type chrysanthemum is used for planting in Octo-Nov after planting seedlings and using a distance of 30*30cm.
Fertilizer Application
For a 10-12inch diameter pot mixture you can mix up to 100-200 grams of FYM/Compost fertilizer and as a base fertilizer before sowing or after settling of the plant urea can be given 20-30 grams of urea can be mixed into the soil mixture.
Dahlia and Chrysanthemum are among the best flower which grows good produce nice lasting flowers that have attractive colors and varieties, good for a home garden and for commercial use as cut flowers.
Referance: Fruit and Flower (ફળ અને ફૂલ), Sardar Smriti Kendra, Junagadh
Note: Use agricultural and gardening chemicals with expert advice, read the product manual before use and storing and keep away from children
Synopsis: A Selection one lawn is the best low maintenance lawn grass in India. It requires less effort in maintaining, and less fertilizer requirement compared to other lawn grass, Whenever you first-time plant makes the best soil for it as described in this article here for long-term good lawn health and the best appearance. And very less termite problems also. It’s smooth while walking and seating also.
There are some lawns has low maintenance aspects but among them, the selection of one is the best low maintenance lawn grass in India.
There are different kinds of lawns available in the Indian markets and among them, some are very well for gardening use.
Like selection one, paspalum and carpet lawn etc.
You can usually see this in most of the gardens in India due to its less costly maintenance.
It has limited fertilizer requirements, not too many termites problem, is easy while mow for a lawn machine and is less thick than other lawns.
Grows dense yet you can easily rake.
Selection one is the best low-maintenance lawn grass In India and the best-suited lawn for the garden in India.
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For its healthy look following are the best practices to do :
1. Two times a year treatment of urea. On an interval of six months. Time can be just before the start of rain and during the mid-winter. Total fertilizer requirements can be divided into two schedules.
2. Mornings are the best time to water them. Avoid watering during hard sunlight. If you can’t manage the morning time you can water your lawn at the end of hard sunlight.
Low maintenance lawn grass
3. To maintain the green look of the lawn mow it at intervals of 10-12 days. Or it increases by one inch.
4. For general insects and termites you can spray neem oil on the lawn.
If this does not work spray chlorpyriphos or take expert advice.
5. Thatching the lawn two times a year is good. You can use a coring machine before Fertigation of the lawn for better reach of the nutrient.
In case of maintenance and suitability to the weather, it is the best option. Except for too much shade, you can plan it in any of your garden areas, public gardens, community gardens, temple gardens etc…
What it needs is a good amount of sunlight water and fertilizer like other plants.
But how to make it low maintenance lawn?
So the secret that how you plan it before planting.
You brought the lawn planned it, leveled your space, and showed on it This is not like this.
There is a proper planting method. you need to follow it First is how to make the base soil for it.
Here is the method :
First, draw the plan and decide the area in which you are going to plan a lawn Now check that the soil tor debris, grass and wanted shrubs, some grasses with stubborn nature need to remove the roots Sweep the area Removal of grass.
Removal of the debris. Removal of the buried stumps and root zones of the plants or weeds needs to remove.
Now dig the soil manually if there is small and big area move the tractor cultivator and then the rotavator (which make the soil block particulate which helps in leveling the soil)
Let dry this soil for at least two to three days Find the stone or any hard materials in there collect and remove it which may damage the lawn mower machine in the future.
Now do flood water in the whole area. Now check for the new seed to sprout. Remove them wait for a few days and do at least three wedding rounds at a time. Before leveling the area by Hand hoe (Pawda) or by tractor leveler in case of a big area.
This is all you need to do before planting the lawns it is a one-time process. Aftercare is very easy in the case of the Selection of one lawn while leveling always check for the soil gradient for better drainage. of the water. Water logging can kill the lawn.
One must know the basics of the soil before starting lawn planting.
Brief soil making for Low maintenance lawn grass in India:
What is topsoil :
In most of the studies, you’ll find that topsoil is the fertile live part of the soil which it is fertile, reason is it contains most of the hummus and it is living because it supports millions of bacteria. they change the various materials in the plant foods.
Usually, the thickness of this layer ranges from two inches in chalky soil to several feet in old, well-tended gardens.
Whenever you dig the soil keep in mind that this humus layer should be turned over, not buried under the subsoil.
What is subsoil?
It lies under the topsoil. It is usually kind of dead-like and unfertile. You can easily identify it by its lighter colour, due to the lack of humus. Whenever you dig the soil keep in mind that it should not be brought to the surface.
So when you start making soil for planting lawn keep this to soil type while moving plough (if needed) or rotavator or manual digging.
How do check you soil is well-drained?
The first step in improving your soil is to assess the drainage in your garden. You can find out by taking the next easy test.
At the base of the garden, create a hole that is 2 feet square and 2 feet deep. See how much water is still present at the bottom of the hole one week after a period of rain.
No water in the hole – Drainage satisfactory (no help needed).
Some rainwater is still present at the bottom – The drainage is unsatisfactory (Double dig the soil.
Hole partly filled with water, some having seeped in from surrounding soil – Drainage really bad (You need a method of drainage improvement)
It’s a little bit hard when you read this but after studying and making soil your lawn is going to flourish more than your neighbour. Even after less effort. The best soil gives the best results.
Fertilizer application
For the base application of fertilizers for the lawn, you can use DAP, Compost and Vermicompost. If you apply all three together it will give the best results.
After complete growth in the first six months, you can apply urea only or vermicompost if you don’t want to use chemical fertilizers. And at the end of the year spread new earth soil mixed with urea or vermicompost.
So you will get the best result.
You can use NPK fertilizers like 19:19:19also it can provide a balanced supplement for the lawn and not act hard on the lawn, You can apply is water solution as a drenching or spray application also. Spray application gives green look to the lawn.
You don’t need to buy costly nutrition products to maintain your lawn. We described what to do and when to do it.
These are the tried methods for gardens we writing about here.
If you have a query don’t forget to write to us we will try our best to solve your query.
If a little bit of space is available in and around your home we can convert it into a beautiful kitchen garden.
Some people make a beautiful garden in that space and some utilize it by growing food, to fulfill their daily vegetable needs.
We can use spare land around our home, terrace, and balcony for making a kitchen garden.
Doctors who incorporated nutrition and food recommended that one adult should take at least 300 grams of vegetables in daily food.
There are organic vegetables also available in the market but it’s not at affordable prices, and regular vegetables come into the market after exposure to pesticides. So you may have health risks in the future.
So if you have space and can spare at least 1-2 hours a day it’s best to grow your own vegetables At home.
There will be some challenges when you start making it, but after some practice, you can conquer that.
The problem you’ll face like a low germination ratio after seed sowing, less yield, poor quality of vegetables, and pest infestation.
But in the end, everything can be conquered if you be consistent, and don’t lose your courage and hope. You can do it.
Start by growing easy food crops like tomato, chili, and capsicum. Because some crops need a little bit of experience for example some Cucurbitaceae creeper veggies need some manual pollination also.
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Benefits of growing Vegetables at Home:
Any time you can have veggies in a kitchen garden
You can have less costly veggies than the market if you plan a kitchen garden in your home.
Free from pesticide residue, because we use farm yard manure at home, and some organic way of pesticide removal techniques, to get organic produce.
You can manage your spare time to have some body movements in your garden to keep you healthy.
Children at home learn this gardening at an early stage of life and understand its importance of it. If you plant a small kitchen garden in your home
Usually, people complain that even after hard work we don’t have a good production of vegetables in a kitchen garden.
There are lots of reasons behind it, but the main reason could be as below:
Always select vegetables as per recommended weather and season by agriculture universities or state government boards etc.
Enough span of daylight should be there.
For vegetable crops, it’s good to plan per Kharif, Ravi, and Summer.
For vegetables like Brinjal, chili, tomato, cabbage, cauliflower, and Onion we should grow them in seed trays when they become seedlings uproot them, and plant them on decided soil.
Ivy gourd (Tindora), Bottle gourd, and Pointed gourd (parval) can be planted near supporting fences, and walls, or by providing trailing mess or rods.
In a shady area, you can grow vegetables like Alavi, Dhana, Methi, Fudino, Spinach (palak), Ginger( Adrak, adu), etc.
We can make a small compost pit In the corner of the garden, so we can dump garden waste, and grass leaves in it to make compost for our own requirement of organic produce vegetables.
If we have more space in the garden we can also plan papaya, curry neem, drum stick (saragavo), lemon, and banana or one of them.
Timely practices like shallow digging of soil, fertilizer, water, and crop protection should be taken.
We would keep necessary gardening equipment like Kodali, Datrada, Khurpi, Pavado, Rake (panjethi), knapsack spray, etc.
Here are the plants for the kitchen garden (in India as well):
Tukada ( 1-1.5 feet cut twigs of the creeper from an old plant)
2×1 meter
28
Tindola (IVY/Little gourd)
Summer, monsoon
Tukada ( 1-1.5 feet cut twigs of the creeper from an old plant )
2×1 meter
29
Garlic
winter
Cut shoot branch
15×10 cm
How to grow seedlings
While planning a kitchen garden usually for crops like Brinjal, chili, tomato, cabbage, cauliflower, and onion we need to grow seedlings on the raised bed before they get planted in the decided space.
First, we need a well-researched and well-revised seed for it.
Onion
For growing seedlings, we need to make necessary measured raised beds, by mixing well-cured FYM, and then at the distance of 8-10 cm and 1-2 cm deep put a seed of the crop you need. Cover them with light soil, and soon after water them.
It will take 3-4 weeks of time to grow.
You can grow seeds in tea cups available in the market or in small polythene bags.
And also buy seedlings from sellers around you.
Kitchen gardening at home planning
Season
Planting time
Vegetable crops
Monsoon
June- July
Brinjal, Chili, Tomato, Okra, Bottle gourd, Cucumber etc.
Winter
October
Garlic, Onion, Radish, Carrot, Peas, Coriander, Phenugreek, etc.
A mostly horticultural crop like well-drained goradu (loamy) and medium black soil.
In-home soil it is good to add kanp (Loam) and compost fertilizers.
Dig the soil well first, let it dry for a few days and then level it.
They do the measuring of the plot and make necessary lots. First plant layout on paper with calculation.
Soil preparation:
Soil is a very important factor in growing vegetables in the kitchen garden. If the soil around our home is not good, we need to add some good farm soil to the garden. Which should be termite and weed-free.
If you don’t want to add outside fertilizers as described above you can sow jute seeds, by spreading them randomly. Before it starts in the flowering stage crush it. This will make it naturally fertilized.
Potato
After this, we can start sowing crops or plants or seedlings.
When we do have not enough space in case we live in a flat we can grow vegetables in deep pots trays and even in grow bags also.
For this, we need space on the terrace and a balcony with direct sunlight.
In big pots or grow bags you can plant Brinjal, Chilli, Tomato, bottle gourd, cucumber, etc, and in a less deep pot or bag you can grow fenugreek, Dhana palak successfully.
For more information on this, you can visit the nearest Agriculture university or contact an Agriculture scientist.
For soil preparation of the pot, you can make it with Half good earth soil + FYM or vermicompost half part, or we can add Diveli kohl Castor cake or Neem cake.
You can learn general soil preparationfor your garden here also.
Drawing of small kitchen garden M-monsoon, W- winter, S-summer
Seed cure:
If the seed rate increases after the sowing of the seeds, we have thin, heightened, and weak stem seedlings, so sow them at recommended distances.
There are chances of seedling rotting while seeding preparation.
There are problems with seed beds like termites, red ants, and sucking pests.
We can apply Trichoderma to avoid sukaro (drying of a plant) and rotting in seedlings, Trichoderma can be applied to soil also.
If you want to reduce chemical fertilizer use, we can use Azatobector and phosphate culture.
Seed treatment: As per the size of the seed take 3-5 ml solution deep with them at least 1 kg seed in it. Let this seed dry in a cold place, when they dry use them.
Seedling treatment : 3-5 ml liquid biofertilizer add in clean 1-liter water, a seedling of the crop you are going to sow deep them in this solution for at least 15-20 minutes.
We can mix the 250 ml culture in 15-20kg compost fertilizer and then spread it on the soil.
We can spray solution made in 3-5ml in 1-liter water on the plant in the early morning, and in the late evening.
Planting :
As per described in the table above these are planted with seeds, seeds need to grow in raised beds then seedlings get planted in the planting space.
Spacing for planting is described above.
Some vegetable grows by seed some by following seedling growing and some by tubers.
Watering: in summer they need water at intervals of 8-10 days and in winter they need water at intervals of 12-15 days.
Fertilizers: If we already applied organic fertilizers like composts etc. In base application, the soil is good and plants are growing very well we don’t need to apply chemical fertilizers. Still need arrives we can use Urea, Ammonium sulfate, and NPK, by acquiring proper guidance. And apply in very fewer quantities.
Crop protection in the Kitchen garden:
Mostly vegetables we grow at home we have some insect problems in the shoots, flowers, and fruits of the plants. So in the starting stage, it’s better to remove such infested plant parts. Better to do soil stirring around the plant base, so the life cycle brake.
Brinjal
We should not overwater plants.
Use neem cake and poultry manure to avoid soil-born diseases
Use neem oil spray to control pests in vegetables. This stops insects from laying eggs and as they can’t eat sprayed leaves slowly they die.
Other than this we can use pheromone traps, yellow marigold planting, sticky strips, etc to control pests.
If the need arrives to spray pesticide don’t spray here and there do seek expert advice before spraying it.
Benefits of Kitchen Garden:
Benefits of growing vegetables at Home.
You can have fresh vegetables at home throughout the year whenever you wish.
You can save money by growing at home.
We usually grow veggies without using pesticides at home so we have pest-free veggies at home.
You can make worth of your spare time, at this makes us healthy also.
We can educate our children about flowers, crops, and crop management in real time.
We can save wastewater in our garden by reusing it. So by reducing pollution also.
Kitchen garden produce is healthier than that market products and has more nutrients.
By using kitchen garden waste you can make home fertilizer also.
It makes the atmosphere around our home clean.
Bio pest control in Kitchen garden vegetables/crops
Growing a chemical-free crop around our home is a different joy. Mostly in kitchen gardening Fungal, insects, worms, and virus-borne seed, soil, and air-borne diseases occur.
While we grow at our home we wish that these veggies be free from chemical insecticides.
And have veggies without the residual effects of chemical pesticides.
Swiss Chard
So compare to other pest control types, organic pest control types are easy, cheap, and safe for the environment.
In general, when we grow around at home we found some diseases like sukaro (drying of the plant), bijno kovaro (seed rot), dharuno kovaro, root no kovaro (root rot), Gandthva krumi, panchrangio, kokadva (leaf curl), and pilo panchrangio are main.
Organic pest control is also important in the case of combined disease control.
In organic pest and disease control, we use fungi, organisms like Trichoderma, bacillus, pseudomonas, pesilomisis sp, etc, which controls harmful fungi, organism, and worms.
Biochemicals also provide immunity to plants.
One must have technical knowledge while using biocontrol.
To increase the power of the bio pest control
Pest control in a kitchen garden
Mostly in kitchen gardening, we do at home we find pests on plant parts like shoots, twigs, flowers, and fruits.
So we need to remove such parts in the early stages of the infestations is good.
So, we can break different life cycle stages of the pests.
Do not overwater.
By using biofertilizers and vermicomposts, poultry manure, neem cake termite, and worms can be prevented.
Leaves extracted from some local trees and plants like Karan, mahudao, Arduso, and yellow Nerium can be also sprayed on plants to control pests. Out of these plants, neem is very good at pest control.
We can use fresh neem leaves (10%) and neem seed extract (5%), found effective in decreasing the pest population.
Such formulas play a role in stopping pests from putting their eggs, and they die by eating sprayed leaves.
Rather than this, we can also use a pheromone trap, planting of the yellow inka, and sticky trap also.
Even after doing this if you still have a pest problem you can use pesticides by taking expert advice instead using rough use of it.
1. Dharu no kohvaro (rotting of seedling)- use only the necessary seed quantity. If cloudy weather and heavy rain are there while seedling planting uses 0.6 Bordo mixture ( 600gms morthuthu, 6000gms chuno (lime), in 100-liter water. You can study more about Bordo mixture). Metalaxyl MZ 72% to use 15gms/100 liters water. Then use 3 liters per 1 square meter by jara (garden watering can).
2. Leaf spots – in different vegetables leaf spots occur to different pests. At starting of the disease spray 30gms/10ltr water mixture of mancozeb(75%) on a standing crop.
3. White bhuki charo (powdery mildew)- to control this use we table sulfur by making a mixture of 25gms/10ltr water.
4. Sukaro (dryign) and kohvaro (rotting)- For this, we can use Trichoderma fungi as per the recommendation
By learning the basics of kitchen gardening as described you can start planting vegetables at your home to have healthy food at home. It helps to utilize your spare time and gives you light exercise also. After having a good experience you can reduce fertilizer and pesticide use and can go complete organic also in a long run. so read in detail you will definitely have all the basic knowledge of the kitchen garden. Still query you can write to us we will try our best to answer your question.
Reference: “Kitchen garden matena safal upayo” Anand Agriculture University, Anand- Authors: Dr. B H Patel, Dr. V I Joshi, Dr. R R Acharya, Dr. B S Patel, Dr. M R Dabhi. Publisher: Dr. P P Patel
Here, describing the Top 3 types of lawn grass for the garden lawn which we can plant for our garden as per our location, sunlight, and choice we learned. So without wandering here and there for where to start and how to start garden lawn planting. All information is provided on the best garden lawns in India here. Always water the lawn in the morning for good retention of water. It gives good health against irregular timing of watering. If any pest appears on the lawn and you want to spray the pesticide over the lawn it’s good to choose a time of 4 to 6 o’clock in the evening, it gives good results. Hard sun to be avoided while spraying for any burning effects on leaves of lawns.
Today we discuss the Top 3 types of lawn grass for a garden lawn with grass names and pictures. Which is good and survives in different weather conditions in India. And the application of organic and inorganic (chemical) fertilization, replanting of lawn, weeding schedule, watering time, mowing schedule, etc.
Emailus or DM us on Instagram: garden_world_247 for gardening queries
Systematically planned and placed lawns make the color and texture of your garden floor. A well-drained lawn helps you satisfy both functional and aesthetic needs. It serves a comfortable look for outdoor activity while relaxing with the landscape.
Good and healthy lawn development requires a little bit of hard work and patience and utilities like
Trend change, as per time, sometimes garden gets designed with a big part of lawn among the total garden area and a sometimes small part of the lawn.
The most common three grass types in INDIA are 1. Selection one, 2. Carpet lawn, and 3. Rough lawn for detailed information on these lawns and planting and maintenance methods read below
Maintenance of these types of lawn grass is easy yet not that easy. Because if we follow the proper procedure of regular maintenance then it’s not that difficult to manage the good appearance and health of the lawn.
But if you are not so regular in maintaining, it becomes difficult to get a good appearance in the long run.
For a planting lawn how to make land preparation for the garden, can learn in the articlehere.
After that, you can go for the planting of the lawns. so you can have the best lawn.
There are 3 types of lawn grass for a garden lawn which are best selected for most gardens and also types of lawn grass in India.
1 Selection one
2 Carpet lawn
3 Rough lawn
we understand each lawn type step by step below:
1. Selection one lawn –
It’s the most used and loved lawn by the look and by maintenance also. And the best grass for a lawn in India when it’s come to maintenance, weather adaption, good appearance, and fewer termite problems.
Selection one lawn
In a multi-weather-like situation, it sets well and some warm weather is good for it. In India, it’s mostly used in gardens.
You can grow it with seeds, cuttings, and ready-made turf blocks available in your local nurseries.
How to grow these types of lawn grass? You can see the video below. manually growing it basic and easiest way.
The video is in Hindi language but you can watch it to do it practically.
In the winter its growth slows due to down temperatures. You can observe it in your garden. As it bears low-height shoots. But still, it maintains the best green look at this time of the year.
And in monsoon it gets thin and long you can see its scattered/see-through look you can easily see it.
This means its density gets lowest than a whole year.
We have to regularly mow it to get an even carpet-like green look. At least 10 days of the interval is good if you are managing a domestic garden like a home or farmhouse or community hall etc. It isn’t a problem you can follow the interval of 15 days also.
Whereas if you are having big areas like cricket grounds, or football grounds you can stretch the schedule to 15-20 days not more than this.
2. Carpet lawn
It’s not like the first one, it’s kind of a little bit hard leaves than the other two lawns described here.
credits: amazon.in/Syed-carpet-grass-seed
A little bit spiny, you can feel it by walking barefoot and seating on the carpet lawn. It slightly stings while sitting on it when not mowed for a long time.
It’s also known as Korean carpet grass.
Nowadays it’s in demand in a short time for garden project completion. mostly in city planning and quick fit. Good for the short time frame of the Garden project completion.
Because it’s easily available in ready-made blocks in the dimension of 1×2 square feet piece.
So you have to just make the land ready (give some light dose of DAP fertilizer for long-term base fertilizer), level, and then start putting these blocks not leaving the space in between.
Don’t forget to apply termiticide before laying the blocks. Because termite loves their roots.
Even a dry lawn also attracts termites so don’t forget to water this lawn at regular intervals.
It’s a good lawn to stop stubborn weed areas. And very strong and thick compared to the other two lawns selected rough lawns.
The carpet lawn nicely fights Cyprus weed expansion. Not completely stops it but it controls it by 60-70% approximately.
You can also grow this lawn manually by planting root-bearing lawn cutting at a distance of 0.75 to 1 foot (leaving measurement around each cutting).
If you mow lawn late and deep then you can have exposed stems/roots and a pale yellowish look.
3. Rough lawn (paspalum)
This is the best lawn for shady and semi-shade areas that still grow nicely below the open sky. Paper-like thin leaves.
Rough lawn (paspalum)
Need regular watering otherwise get down on irregular watering. In too hot weather leaf edges get burned.
It feels soft compared to a carpet lawn while walking barefoot.
It’s not dense as carpet lawn and selection one lawn so have some weeds seen. Thus need regular weeding at intervals of a few days.
Grow this lawn manually by planting root-bearing lawn cutting at a distance of 0.75 to 1 foot (leaving measurement around each cutting).
At least 10 days of the interval is good for lawn mowing if you are managing a domestic garden like a home or farmhouse or community hall etc.
For mowing, you can use electric or petrol-run lawn mowers as well as manual lawn mowers for four types of machines.
Manual lawn mowers are not a good choice if you have a carpet lawn because it takes some effort in mowing this lawn.
So here we complete the brief learning of types of lawns.
Winters are the best period for giving fertilizers to any lawn. Because in most cases we use chemical fertilizers for their better look-after establishment. Flood watering is good after the application of chemical fertilizers.
These chemical Fertilizers (for ex. Urea) are warm in nature. So during the bulk application, it’s good to choose winter. So burning of lawn shoots or whole lawn dry patches of the lawns can be avoided compared to summer application.
It’s OK to apply such Fertilizers in any weather but winter is a better option.
The best fertilizer for lawn grass in India
One of the best fertilizers for the Top 3 types of lawn grass for a garden lawn as explained above are UREA, COMPOST/FYM, and vermicompost. You can also use this fertilizer for other types of lawn grass.
Urea for lawn grass :
It’s the main source of nitrogen and is also widely used in agriculture also. But here we use it for lawn development and to make it lush green and healthy.
It’s available in crystal form. And contains 46% nitrogen.
It can be applied to soil as a solid or as a foliar spray.
Slow-release Ureais also available in the market which is useful for all three types of lawn grass.
The very basic style you can apply to the lawn is to get your palm full of it and throw widely as many areas as you can cover, this is enough for any regularly maintained lawn.
After application of the urea watering is a must, at least for 4-5 days two times a day continuously if possible, or one time a day with a good amount of water. And yes immediately after spreading the Urea on the lawn.
After the application of the Urea, we should not break the watering schedule as I said above. Otherwise, there are chances of the burning of the lawn.
COMPOST/FYM for lawn grass :
Compost is the best organic natural Fertilizer which is full of microorganisms.
It’s the microorganisms that play a vital role in the development of grass or any crop as well.
They make the nutrition available for the lawn.
VERMI-COMPOST for lawn grass:
It’s made from the decomposition of earth soil by earthworms (as used mostly in India), red wigglers, and white worms.
You can buy organic vermicompost online as well as from local nurseries also.
Best organic fertilizer for lawns and garden plants.
Extra care points
Whatever type of lawn grass type you grow as per your requirements, all lawns are good as per particular accommodation.
If you notice over a period of time all lawn gets down, and weeding frequencies increase. Even an overall look can get a dull little bit. So replanting can be a good option after a few years.
So there are two ways to get it done one by replanting and the other by some series of practices. Like aggressive weeding, timely application of fertilizers, watering, etc.
Lawn mowing
Lawn mowing
Regular lawn mowing is best for the health of the lawn and its green even appearance. If you mow the lawn on an irregular base lawn will grow in height. and after that when you cut the lawn cream/pale yellow stem part of the lawn plant bottom will appear.
And as a result, you will have an ugly cream-colored look instead of a green look.
Deep cutting of the lawn is good but not regular/frequent, you can do it three to four times a year,
Usually, we call it zero-cut lawn mowing.
You can use some good electric lawn mowers as well as a manual lawn mower for lawn cutting your lawn for it to have fine even cutting. These practices are good for all types of lawn grass.
Replanting
In Replanting, you need to scrape all the existing laws and then the same lawn can be replanted by screening them for weeds carefully. only healthy shoots can be selected.
An open scraped area needs to plow or a rotavator can be moved and the backyard garden can be deep dug manually with a pickaxe ( always check for safety like underground electric cables, pipelines, etc. You can read more after practice forgrowing lawns.
When we walk on the same lawn area over and over that area starts losing lawns sometimes lawns completely get away so we need to plant a new lawn.
But as a prevention when you start seeing such symptoms on the lawn, you should avoid walking in such areas frequently at least for one or two months. On a prevention base, you can sprinkle gypsum powder from any nearest agri. store.
You can use chlorpyriphosfor drenching the soil to avoid termites and other insects in the soil which can bother the lawn growth in the future
Practice other than Replanting
And in other practices when you don’t need to replant you need to dethatch your lawn and after dethatch, you can move the lawnmower on it to collect the dethatched lawn (see video below).
If you have a small lawn area you can rake at regular intervals to make the lawn clean and healthy
Dethatching of Garden Lawn
Then you can spread the soil mixture to rejuvenate A generalized ideal mixture of earth soil 80% + fine sifted river sand not more than 20% to maintain the porosity.
You can add pesticide (*while using pesticide always check and follow safety rules) for termite treatment or any other pest problem.
Do you find helpful details about the 3 types of lawn grass for garden lawns? then don’t forget to share and comment.
which grass is good for lawn in india?
In India and in tropical and semi-tropical areas three best lawns are : 1 Selection one 2 Carpet lawn 3 Rough lawn (paspalum). Most commonly used in India and other countries as well.
What is the softest lawn grass?
Selection one lawns are the best and soft as most commonly used in India. It’s low maintenance also.
Can dry lawn grass become green when planted?
Not at all but it depends, but on what time ago it got uprooted it matters. If roots are live there may be chances of survival.
How can I improve my lawn grass?
One can improve it by regular watering at least one time a day, it’s good to water in the morning. Dethatching of the lawn mostly can be good as per the requirement of the lawn. Lawn mowing at least two times a month for even growth. And insect treatment if required. Regular fertilization at least three times a year.
Can dry lawn grass become green when planted
Yes, regular watering may get results. But not at all it depends, on what time ago it got uprooted matters. If roots are live there may be chances of survival.
Do read the full article for complete understanding and don’t forget to share, and comment.
Soil for Bonsai, Every plant needs a medium to grow.
So like most other plants soil is a medium where plants grow. It’s the best medium for the bonsai plant also. A quarter of the soil decides the quality of growth of the plant. It’s good to understand basic preparation for soil.
There are lots of books and guides are available for this, but we discuss the material which available in our country.
So one must prepare the Bonsai soil mix India, mixture From the material available around us.
Table of Contents
What is an ideal mixture? [Bonsai soil mix India composition]
An ideal mixture that provides sufficient water, and nutrition in the form of minerals, and oxygen for roots.
It should be easily drained out soil mixture.
But it should retain some water to the requirements of the plant so it’s not getting dry while day time.
Also, be careful with water-logging it is very bad for fine root aeration and can down the plant.
Broken brick pieces can be used for brown-red soil which is not sticky and too fine in texture.
And river sand is useful for grey clay-like soil.
Brick and sand pieces are very good for small tender root formation.
The availability of small roots increases the plant’s capacity to acquire more oxygen, water, and nutrients.
Porous brick parts are good for moisture holding.
For a period of time to provide a good amount of nutrition good rotten cow dung manure or leaf-mold compost is helpful for bonsai plant growth.
Even good earth soil also provides strength to root soil.
A balanced soil mixture contains three materials garden soil, manure, and brick pieces. It is suitable for the majority of bonsai plants.
Soils you can use for – bonsai soil mix India composition
Akadama, Pumice, lava rock, Organic potting compost, and fine gravel are also known as grit.
All these contain together to make the best soil for the bonsai plant. This soil mixture is a bit different than other garden and pot mixtures like our regular soil.
Generally referred bonsai soil it’s a mixture of material like crushed lava rock. Which is look like gravel?
Akadama–
Akadama soil- Image Credit : en.wikipedia.org
A type of soil especially produced for the bonsai plants. You can buy it online brought soil need to be shifted before use as it starts losing its compounding over a period from one year onward.
Or you may mix it well with well-drained soil to maintain aeration in the soil
Akadama is a hard premium soil mostly used by Japanese master gardeners for succulents and bonsai also.
It gets mined from volcanic soil in Japan.
Usually, it appears dark when watered and gets light in color when water gets off. So you can estimate the water requirements of the plant by it.
It’s the best soil that provides moisture retention & drainage at the same time.
This soil is also good for conifers, and succulents.
The good part about this soil is it’s highly porous in nature so holds nutrients and manages the overall drainage quality of the soil.
Akadama (akadamatsuchi, red ball earth). There are two types of it available. Surface mined and deep mined. Deep mined is more useful in horticulture than surface mining.
It can be mixed with other soil medium components like crushed lava, peat, and leaf biomass.
It’s unique for its characteristic so even though it’s costly it gets recommended by expert gardeners. It retains water, nutrients and has porosity, and also allows good drainage.
It originated in Japan, mostly due to volcanic activities n Japan. So they have developed two soils Akadama and Kanuma.
Its particle size is mostly around 2-6 mm and its fine particle size is 1-2.2 mm.
All size is good for potted plants but, a small size referred to as Shohin is good for cactus and succulents plants.
Usually, ready mix bonsai soil is available in the markets and online also. But it’s getting costlier and to make mixture your self is cheap and good for our plant’s requirement.
In the case of bonsai, poor soil mixtures lack the overall health of the plants, and soil types that get hard quickly and dry are harmful to Bonsai and other plants also.
The world Akadama is red for color and the ball is for its shape. This material comes from Volcanic clay from Japan. It’s. Get mined and then backed for desired hardiness hardness. Then sifted before use or sell.
The good and beneficial part is when Akadama used while planting roots need less water and as it gets regular watering particles breaks in smaller parts and old roots hold them and they need more water so this is how they solve the purpose for thick bonsai stem look through proper root growth with the help of the Akadama soil.
There are soil mixtures also available with Akadama in it.
Pumice
Photo credit: amazon.in/SENECIO
It’s an airy rock that is good to use for cacti & succulents, And for other plants also.
It is generally gets born from heavily heated earth. A bubbled volcanic rock material is what we call Pumice.
Pumice porosity let microbial life grow so it also maintains the soil structure. It has a neutral PH and bears some trace material also.
If mixed with sandy soil it increases soil absorption. It improves aeration and stimulates the growth of mycorrhiza.
How to use Pumice as a soil amendment?
Especially to improve drainage for heat tolerating plants such as succulents, and cactus you can mix 20% Pumice with 27% earth soil and 27% large grain sand & 27% compost (FYM). Is an ideal bonsai soil mix ratio of pumice.
You can use 40-50% pumice for plants like euphorbias which are prone to rotting.
It can be used as a top dressing to defend piddling rainwater around plants.
You can use 40-60% pumice with potting soil mix for cactus & euphorbia.
It does not break down. Heavy soil gets loosened by it. Improves aeration and stops compacting of the soil.
Bonsai soil mix India composition [bonsai soil making]
Usually, the Japanese method filters soil with different sieves to yield 7 grades of soil, but here we don’t require that much. Firstly dry the soil mixture, and break lumps.
Sift through the sieve of two squares to 2.5cms
Then throw away stones which not pass through.
Then pass the mixture to the fine sieve of four meshes to 2.5cms
Keep material that is left in the sieve after the filter.
It’s a coarse mixture used at the bottom
The remainder will be once more sifted to a sieve of 32 meshes to 2.5cms, so fine dust will pass through this sieve.
This fine dust is not good for the plant it hardens the mixture and aeration to roots. And also disturbs the drainage.
Now the mixture that remained on top needs to pass through a sieve of 16 meshes to 2.5cms. The passed mixture is called topsoil.
Bonsai soil mixture proportions vary to different plant requirements.
We can manage the mixture if some plant needs dry soil you can add more brick pieces and sand to the mixture. If any plant requires good water retention then we can add soil and manure mixture to the soil mixture.
But we need to be a little bit vigilant for moisture checks as per plant requirements and its health.
How to make Bonsai soil mix India easily as a beginner
We are going to learn a very basic mixture of the available material around. And cost-effective so any beginner/ Newbie can start.
Below are the main bonsai soil ingredients/ bonsai soil mix ratio :
Earth soil/ Garden soil (50%)
Well, drained earth soil/garden soil. For better holding and nutrients supplements of the roots. This soil is a common part of all soil mixtures.
Bonsai soil mix India composition
Gravel/ red brick particle (20%)
We can make it from materials like Gravel/ red brick particles, Earth soil, cocopeat, and FYM (compost)
Gravel /grit or Red brick particle sized from 0.3 inches to 0.8 inches. It provides good aeration to the root systems of the Bonsai Plant.
Cocopeat (15%)– this will you need in a little bit quantity but it’s just for the better water retention Because compared to other plants in regular deep pots bonsai plants’ soil gets dry soon in less deep tray planters. So cocopeat is best for moisture holding and if not available you can replace it with Sphagnum mass or Peat moss.
Compost (15%)
And last but not least Compost (FYM). It’s the best source of most of the nutrients required for the bonsai plant.
We aim to provide the most practical garden learning here hope you learn very well how to make bonsai soil mix in India.
Find it helpful don’t forget to share.. it is free 🙂
What is Akadama soil?
Akadama is a naturally occurring substance that means “red earth ball’. It exactly looks like clay in color. But actually, it’s not clay.
It’s get mined from volcanic surroundings in Japan.
After mining it gets dried then gets backed to the desired temperature and then sifted to different sized grades.
In general, you can refer to it as volcanic Pumice.
Can I mix Akadama with soil?
Depending upon plant species you can mix Akadama with growing material such as sand, peat and compost, and earth soil.
Is Akadama soil good?
It is useful both as per topping material as well as a soil medium for growth. And gets mixed with other materials like sand, peat, and compost to make growing material for Bonsai/Plants.
It has a good span of repotting. You need to replace it around 5-7 years later.
Good for root growth
Best for water retention
Improves nutrients retention
Good drainage ability
What can I use instead of Akadama?
After 2 to three-year Akadama start breaking down, so its results in less aeration. Then we need to re-pot. Hence we need to mix it with other well-draining soil components.
You can use kitty litter instead of Akadama or Pumice also. Or other soil mixture containing peat moss, coco peat, perlite, river sand, etc.
The most common problem of plants is pest infestation which makes any plant dull, damaged, die in between the life and cost us also and ruin our caring attachment to plant also. So here we understand types of plant pests and their cure to get rid of them.
Some of the insects described here are also found on indoor plants so you will get the answer to the question – “how to get rid of bugs on indoorplants naturally? “
Table of Contents
Mealybugs
Mealybugs on Hibiscus
Most common insects on plants this is a sucking pest in the gardens and indoor plants, Mealybugs on Hibiscus Mostly found in warm climates it appears like the scale but has a white powder-like material on his back.
A bug without wings likes a humid atmosphere. But a few days after an infestation you can see fluffy growth. Usually, they feed on plant sap.
This is how they damage plants. Most of the time, you can see them all over Braches Peaks during high infestation time. Before they get mature they pass through soil to the host plant stem.
Mealybug infestations on whole hibiscus border ( hedge)
And then at the top of the plant and suck soft newborn shoots of the plants. As they get mature by eating the host plant white powdery material gets appeared on the backside of their body.
This is the time we notice that there is an infestation but it is very late.
What you can do is as a primary treatment is apply a small thick layer of grease to stem on the part as figured below.
Controlling Mealybug infestations from base to shoot
Some of the good remedies are a spray of insecticidal soap, or dish soap (not too concentrated solution ) usually they contain bleach and this suffocates the mealy bugs.
Before trying any remedies always check or try on one of your plant leaves.
You can try natural non-toxic neem oil. Ask about the dose to the vendor during the time of buy. It will act as a repellent.
You can try rubbing alcohol but as far as I know, it will not work as expected on a heavy infestation.
Scale- pest It is shell-like insects on plants’ stems and below sides of the leaves. Which scientifically refers to scale? These are types of coccids insects. They cause big havoc because they reproduce profusely.
They infest a variety of plants. Infests the surface of plant leaves and veins of the host branches They also act as vectors for some plant diseases. Usually found in gardens, orchards, and some of the cash crops.
In India geographically species change but there is an Indian wax scale (Ceroplastes ceriferous) I have noticed on my cycas palm plants, they are damaging it.
Scale- pest in Cycus
You can see below them in the photo There is a natural remedy for it, If a ladybird beetle is visiting your garden there is good news for you because it’s a predator for this scale. “Several scale insects are well regulated by local predators”- source: Informatics journals.
Most common 6 insects on plants in the garden- Lady bird-eating pests
There are different varieties of scale but what mostly I found in my state of Gujarat and on the garden plants is the Indian wax scale. As of now a trend of organic gardening everywhere it’s a good thing to follow for the treatment of pests.
Thrips (Control methods of Thrips )
Thrips appear mostly minute 1 mm long-winged insects on plants, this is also a sucking kind of pests.
Which usually feed on plants by sucking and puncturing the plant’s soft parts? Generally feeds on plant’s new shoots where they found soft leaves and new buds. You can see more spread in greenhouse plants.
Major of the thrips are pests in garden plants and cash crops and some of them also role as a vector for plant viruses. Few species are useful as mite predators and pollinators.
If your flowers bud is in very immature stages die there are chances it has a thrips infestation.
How to control-
It’s not easy to control, you would use pesticides, but you like to avoid chemical use on plants one can cut the infested part of the plant and properly remove the part away for the garden area.
Regular watering on whole plant parts. Then insecticidal soap and neem oil can be useful also.
Thrips can be controlled by insecticides, but you need to care for what you killing because there predatory thrips which are good for your plant also. and see for children also.
Learn about beneficial thrips. To identify any kind of these pests you can use a small magnifying glass or you can check with a Smartphone camera for detailed looks. In the first place, you can judge with the naked eye also.
Aphids (Control methods of Aphids- this is also a common insect on plants )
These insects on plants are tiny sucking insects on plants; they have other names like greenflies or black fly.
Having a soft body structure with piercing mouth organs to fees on plant sap, especially on leaves of the host plant.
Most common 6 insects on plants in the garden- Aphids on plant shoot
How the problem starts Infestation usually results from a small number of winged aphids flying to the host plant and finding it a suitable host.
They lay several wingless young on the softer tissues before searching for a new plant. The remaining immature aphids or nymphs feed on the plant sap and gradually grow in size.
They mature in 710 days and are therefore ready to produce live young. Usually, they are all daughters and each is capable of producing 40 to 60 offspring.
Aphid numbers may increase until conditions are so dense, or the plant is so stressed, that it produces winged forms.
These winged forms fly off in search of new hosts and the process is repeated.- Source: Aphid (ENTFACT-103)
Control Off-season discovery is the key to reducing aphid infestations. Flight of winged settlers cannot be targeted, so a fortnightly survey of factories will help determine the need for scrutiny.
Examine the nest area and the underside of new leaves for clusters or colonies of small aphids. The presence of these colonies indicates that the aphids have established themselves in the plants and their arithmetic will begin to increase rapidly.
The small calculus of individual colonies on small labs can be crushed by hand or removed by pruning as they are planted. In some cases, this can provide useful control.
However, either a control measure should be considered If aphid colonies can be planted on about 5 or further of verdure tips of a workshop or planting. Utmost products used for aphid control work as contact fertilizers.
This means that the aphids must be hit directly with spray globules so that they can be absorbed into the whippersnapper’s body.
5. Snail- (Control methods of leaf miner)
It’s a common insect on plants in the garden. When they attack the garden no one knows. In the size of small you will not get noticed them easily but after feeding for few days and regeneration of their census increases on a remarkable number.
After such a situation, you see your garden or pot plants very green & healthy and on the next day, you will find them eaten on next day. And you will be like what the hell happens, that’s the snail.
There are some chemicals also available in the market but for some domestic gardening here we suggest some homemade solutions/cures for it.
1. You can spread some table salt (NaCl) around the plant’s main stem means to avoid the rot zone make a ring of salt. It may prevent them from climbing the plant and damaging it.
2. Ashes of freshly burn woods. Like same way above spread it around the plant in a peripheral circle. It’s a good cure because it also adds some nutrients to plant-soil also.
3. If we can think of a chemical then you can use Mgso4 Epsom salt.
4. See weed extract can also be used to avoid them, they usually don’t like it. Another extra benefit is your plant gets micronutrients also.
5. Take some approx amount of Sugar (approx 20-30grams) add some cooking yeast in it put the mixture in one bottle of around 300-500 gram bottle and bury it in a route of snails or in and around where you found your plant damaged.
6. Diatomaceous Earth- it’s available in the online marketplace/nursery also. Ask for food-grade earth. It also keeps snails and slugs away.
6. LEAF MINER (Control methods of leaf miner)
If you ignore the leaf miner. They are usually black flies. The larva of these flies causes damage to the plant.
These insects on plants generally appear as the pale yellow or white lines on the plant leaves. This is where this larva lives and feeds. You can try some pesticides/insecticides for these insects on plants on it.
But to get maximum control you need to find the exact time to spray insecticide. To effectively rid plants of leaf miners with pesticide, in the early spring, place a few infected leaves in a ziplock bag and check the bag daily.
To effectively rid plants of leaf miners with pesticide, in the early spring, place a few infected leaves in a ziplock bag and check the bag daily. When you see small, black flies in the bag (which will be the leaf miner larva becoming adults), spray the plants daily for a week. – Source: gardeningknowhow.com
This will affect the physiological cycle of the leaf miner. By controlling the larva and so as eggs also. It’s a natural remedy for it. You can try some organic products available in the market containing – organic compound Eugenol and Fatty acid salts.
It also controls mealybugs whiteflies, scales also. You can try this on some vegetable plants like cucumber also. Blue sticky traps are also good to control flying egg-laying adults.
Hope you find this article for insects on plants in the garden it may also be found in house/indoor plants. Did you find this article helpful?
Conclusion
You can get rid of the plant pest for your garden and plants if you be vigilant, And they can be cured without using any pesticide. Mean by other remedies descried above before its get to the late. As learned every pest has starting stage, mid stage, and wide spread. You can control them in first two-stage by such a remedy but in the last stage times, it needs to cut the plant part to remove them. Hence learn, know and make your plant pest-free.
The above article answers the following question
What are common pest of a plants? read the above information
How do I identify bugs on my plants? read the above information
How do you get rid of bugs on plants? read the above information
It’s a process in which we cover the surface of a plant around its stem with mulch material like wheat straw, pea straw, or non-plant-based mulch materials like stones or gravel, etc. To control weed, soil erosion, and water retention in crops, orchards, and garden & potted plants.
Increases soil organisms which helps the soil viability for plant growth
Helps in the prevention of soil erosion as it prevents rain to not hitting hard the soil directly. First raindrops get in touch with mulch before hitting the soil directly. This helps the soil from direct erosion and water gets absorbed slowly in a useful way to plant root systems.
Mulching adds nutritional value to the soil. Nutrients in the mulch get released slowly and plant roots use them. It’s a cost-effective way instead of the use of chemical fertilizers.
Improves soil structure-
Stopping soil erosion by adding the organism to the soil helps to increase the water retention capacity of the soil.
Drawbacks
Mulching can attract mice, slugs, and harmful insects. But in the long term good soil structure improvement. These disadvantages can be ignored.
Ideal material for Mulching
The material you can use for mulching is crop stems, stalks, dry grass, sawdust, leaves, crop residues, and dry garden biomass.
Before using it for open gardens or pots you should make it a little bit smaller for use. For use in potted plants and garden plants
Pro TIP- In a time of summer when you usually water your plants you can see weeds around that plant use can leave it as it is. It helps water retention. A natural mulching system. When weed grows over height from expected. then you can remove it. This is the best practice for open-sky garden plants and potted plants. Not good for indoor gardening
Mulching for plants in pots
If the weather is cold or warm it benefits plants’ growth as nutrients add to plants and does weed control.
There is a small layer of mulching that happens as the natural falling of leaves of plants in the garden but it’s not possible in the case of potted plants.
So we need to do mulching in potted plants
For any mulch material, you can do at least a 1 to 1.5-inch thick mulch layer for potted plants. Do water properly before starting the mulching.
In India wheat straws ( PARAL/PARALI ) we usually use as mulch in common, they should be at least 3-4 inch long cut straws for pot mulching. Leave some parts free around the stem, don’t do thick mulching, and leave some space for aeration.
Pea straw ( C: N ratio -29:1) is the best practice mulching for plants in pots and gardens, You can buy ready-made coir mulch for your plant also in India.
How to do Mulching for your plant pots and Garden
For Potted plants –
First, select the plant you want to do mulching with.
It’s not necessary but good if you do repotting or replacement of plant soil mixture. It will be good.
If you don’t want to change and let the plant soil as it is then remove weeds in the soil completely.
Whatever mulch material you use just make a small part of it 3-4 inches long. It’s for potted plants not necessary for plants in open soil in the garden.
Now spread all around the plant stem, but keep in mind not to spread near the plant stem.
At least in a radius of 4-5 inches starting from the stem to be avoided when mulching.
Spray some neem oil as a precaution to avoid insect and pest generation just before spreading mulch in the pot. Because mulching provides a good shelter for them.
Always do shallow watering in a plant pot, because overwatering can overflow mulch out of the pot.
For plants in the garden
It’s exactly the same process as per potted plant.
All the steps above, but the only thing that differs is you do not specifically need to cut the mulch material into small parts before spreading it around the plant.
Because in open garden plants, we usually make big basins around them. They are at least 1.5-2.5 feet in radius.
In garden plants, you can try more mulch materials better than pots also.
Other mulching materials you can use
There is also a not plant-based mulching practice you can do. You can use small gravel and stones. If stones-Gravels are light in color they make the plant soil cool whereas dark colored stones-Gravels make the plant soil warm
Time to change mulching
They’re no actually defined timetable for changing the mulching.
But you can define the time when it starts decolorization, and decomposition and you see some soil erosion.
You should not get late to change or replace it. Because decomposition can generate some insects and fungi around the plant. It can be harmful to plant health.
Carbon-to-nitrogen ratio
A carbon-to-nitrogen ratio (C/N ratio or C:N ratio) is the ratio of the mass of carbon to the mass of nitrogen in a substance. When composting, microbial activity utilizes a C/N ratio of 30-35:1 and a higher ratio will result in slower composting rates.[4] However, this assumes that carbon is completely consumed, which is often not the case. Thus, for practical agricultural purposes, compost should have an initial C/N ratio of 20-30:1 (source: Wikipedia )
Here’s a list of C:N ratios of crop residues and other organic materials. These can aid you in approaching the optimum 24:1 C:N ratio.
So mulching is a very good practice to enrich plants, control weeds, stop soil erosion, and make soil cool around plants and overall plants. And it’s a practice we can follow in all weather.
Hope you understood well how to do mulching of your plants in pots and garden.
If you are a newbie gardener or an experienced gardener it’s good to know about the top trending plants for indoor gardening at your office and home. Gardening is the best exercise to do, regular practice may benefit your health too. Hence you can maintain sensitive Or tender house plants in indoor gardening.
Which also fully fills your home with green scape.
You don”t need to find where to go or how to select or identify indoor plants for your home, It made it easy here.
Now in the below article, you will find the best plants for indoor gardening lovers.
how to select top trending plants in 2021 for your home.
Now before selecting indoor plants you need to keep something / key factors in mind. Below are some suggestions.
Type of stuff to bear the plants in -Do you want to keep plants in pots, hanging baskets, or in a vertical ready-made wall.
Or you can arrange plants in decorated stands also.
Purpose -On what purpose did you put the plants in. Some arrange to increase the aesthetic value of the home, it’s good.
But it’s good to keep plants that clean the air around you and give a home an ambient atmosphere.
Toxicity of the plant -Some plant leaves or parts of their body are toxic.
In that case, you have to be careful when there are children or pets around in your home.
Plant care -Before arranging the indoor garden around you calculate the time you can spare for this gardening.
It’ll decide the size of your garden and how much you’re going to expand.
Space allotment and size of plants -Plant size matters as you are going to build an indoor garden.
This means where you are going to put your plants.
Ex. a small plant can be put on the desk, potted, and container needed plants in the gallery/ balcony.
Exposure to light -It’s the main and not avoidable factor for indoor gardening.
Light exposure matters a lot.
Calculate the actual sunlight hour in your space before selecting the plants.
Where you are going to arrange your indoor plants?
An improper selection of the plants as per your sunlight condition may occur in poor growth of the plants.
So choose wisely.
Table of Contents
Below are the six most trending plants for houses
1. Monstera (creeper)
We saw a trend of indoor plants from Mother in Law’s tongue to Aeralias to Monstera (Aka ‘Swiss cheese plant’).
Here we know about Statement-making plants Monstera. Nowadays it’s of the best trending plants for houses.
‘Monstera deliciosa‘ is an Araceae Family tropical plant, It is also known as a ‘swiss cheese plant.
Because plant leaves have eyes-like holes that resemble holes in some swiss type cheese.
When a plant is grown as an indoor specimen the leaves are most often variegated green with white.
It’s a woody vine.
It’s an excellent houseplant. Nowadays after awareness that it also survives ‘in house’ well for home, it also falls in a trending plants category.
Toxicity– Seek urgent medical attention if lips or tongue become swollen or if there is difficulty breathing or swallowing
It’s a shade lover plant, but the too-hard sun may damage leaves.
Watering on an alternate day is good, you can see a premature leaf fall on frequent overwatering.
Mostly seen pests are spider mites, mealybugs, aphids, and scale. you can prevent them by a spray of neem oil for an approx interval of 10-15 days.
3. Areca palm (a wise indoor plant)
This is the most commonly used well-known house plant, a good survivor in the homely atmosphere.
Nowadays this is among the best trending plants for houses.
Need less water and average indirect sunlight.
The areca palm otherwise referred to as butterfly palm, golden cane palm, bamboo palm, or its Latin name, Dypsis lutescens, may be a native of Madagascar.
Areca palms require bright, indirect light, but direct sunlight may burn the leaves.
Home temperatures between 17°C to 27°C are fine, but sudden temperature changes can cause damage to the leaves.
Indoors, expect this plant to be 6 to 10 feet (2 to three meters) tall.
Situations that kill this plant are over-watering and/or not providing drainage.
Plant in well-draining potting soil, during a pot with drainage holes.
Allow the highest of the soil to dry out between waterings, and waterless often during the winter months.
It is slow-growing and prefers to be somewhat root-bound, so it should only require repotting every year.
Repot during the spring and a pot 2-4 inches wider than the present pot.
If you’d wish to help your palm grow faster, you’ll feed it a diluted water-soluble fertilizer monthly during the spring and summer growing seasons.
4. Spathiphyllum (peace lily)
It’s number four on our list of trending plants. Native primarily to tropical rainforests of America, the spathiphyllum plant may be a vibrant and graceful perennial that adds life to any space.
The white blooms of the spathiphyllum generally appear within the spring as more of a modified leaf, a “bract,” than a multi-petaled flower.
Peace lilies are listed by the ASPCA together with the common houseplants that are poisonous to cats.
Among the trending plants listed here, This plant contains oxalates which may irritate an animal’s mouth and stomach.
If ingested it’s toxic to dogs.
The calcium oxalate crystals can cause an inflammatory reaction that ends up in swelling of the mouth, tongue, throat, and upper airway.
spathiphyllum care tips-
If you’re trying to find suggestions on the way to look after a spathiphyllum, you’ve come to the proper place.
Read on to seek out more about spathiphyllum care below.
Light: Peace lilies prefer light partial shade, and may tolerate fluorescent lights.
Some are known to thrive in rooms with no windows in the least.
Yellowing leaves indicate that the sunshine is just too strong, and brown leaves or streaks indicate scorching from direct sunlight.
Consider placing the plant six to eight feet far away from a north- or west-facing window.
Water: If you’re wondering how often to water a spathiphyllum, one tip is to wait for the plant to droop slightly before watering.
One of the good advantages of caring for the spathiphyllum is the incontrovertible fact that it sags a touch when it needs water, essentially telling you when it’s thirsty.
Generally, water a minimum of once every week and keep the soil moist. Throughout the summer season, spritz the leaves with soft or water.
Water your plant less in winter.
Temperatures: The spathiphyllum makes an excellent house plant because it thrives within the indoor temperatures most people enjoy.
It prefers a temperature range of 60-80°F and humid climates. Peace lilies cannot withstand cold drafts or temperatures below 44°F.
It’s best to stay indoors most of the year and display far away from any heating or cooling home appliances.
Pests and Problems: Compared to other indoor plants, the spathiphyllum is comparatively resistant to insects and diseases.
While they will get spider mites, aphids, and mealybugs, owners generally keep these pests in check with the regular wiping of the leaves.
For pest removal try recommended pesticides.
To avoid Brown leaves always check for over-watering, over-fertilizing, and absence of humidity. See your plant’s signals.
If leaves are browning at the rock bottom of the plant, it could just mean these older leaves can’t compete with the sooner-growing younger leaves.
5. Snake plant (very less maintenance indoor plant)
This is among less maintenance trending plants for houses.
And a very good tolerant plant.
If sometimes by a week or some days you do not pay attention to them still they grow very well and survive in good health.
As a good indoor plant, it also cleans the air of the home, as per NASA it also removes formaldehyde and benzene.
Maintenance wise it’s easy among trending plants for houses.
Grows are good in both mediums but soils are all good sources for all plants, they flourish in soil awesome.
Watering – Four times a week in summer, Two times a week in winter, and during winter pots are in open spaces there is no need for watering.
Or pots on the Balcony having mist/drops of the rain plant will survive itself (if rain stretches for a week you can start watering it manually.
The plant is sensitive to the hard sun so be careful in summer.
The hard sun will burn the leaves by 30 to 50 % and in the case of new shoots/newborns leaves may completely get burned.
So it’s advisable to relocate it to a semi-shade area/place during summer.
If it’s not possible to relocate, water regularly/ daily water in the soil as well as spray-on leaves also to minimize the burns as low as possible.
After rotting is found in the plants you can try applying any good fungicides available in the market by drenching the application.
If you have this plant on the balcony during the monsoon, put it a little bit on the inner side of it to avoid continuous raindrops falling in it.
Because this may act as overwatering and the plant will start leaf fall.
You can trail this creeper on the door entry, balcony, Or sidewalls of the home by providing a supporting structure of bamboo, wire, or any iron grills/ bars.
In a big home or resort, you can create a gazebo and the roofs of it get covered with trailing Money plants.
If planted in a pot, leaf size gets limited to 2 to 3 inches wide whereas, plants sowed in the soil get wider leaves than pots larger by 4 inches and more.
General care for trending plants for home.
Semi shade is always the best location for a house plant, if possible.
If you have no arrangements for semi-shade i n your home then you can also put it in a full shade but you need to give all plants sunlight at least once a week.
For example, If you live in a flat you can put together all plants in sunlight -facing gallery for the whole day and then relocate them to their original place in the home.
And you are living in a house built on the floor, putting the plants in open sunlight for the whole day.
It’s always better to choose Sunday to do this practice.
This practice may save your plants from multiple plant problems like rotting, loose leaves, leaf burning/ curling, dying of plants, etc.
Gives all over good growth.
Until the upper layer of soil of the pot or container does not get dry, never water it. Or do not practice flooding of water in house plant care.
You may see sudden leaf fall, rotting of roots, and plants may die at the end.
Instead, practice shallow watering on alternate days. You can spray water on leaves.
Keep in mind that the plant root systems need moisture not flooding of water, so you need to maintain moisture in the soil.
The plant will flourish and will thank you.
And then the last but important problems are bugs and mites.
Do spray water often on leaves to avoid insect habitats.
If the problem persists you can practice some home remedy or Neem oil or and the last option can be insecticide.
Above are the best indoor trending plants.
These plants are on sale on Amazon. when you click the link below the plant picture
And can comment and email me with some special problems. If you find this article useful don’t forget to share and if you need more information on this subject do write to me.
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