7/1/2013 - By Lynn Griffith

 It is an awesome feeling to get up in the morning and look forward to going to work. So many people dread their jobs or career choice, but choose not to do anything about it. Growing plants is my passion, so going to different nurseries or landscapes every day to troubleshoot plant problems…what could be better? Fishing for snook or surfing in Costa Rica….well maybe a few things, but working with growers closely on their plant problems beats sitting in a cubicle and staring at a computer screen.  So with my tenure at Harrell’s and numerous years as a nursery consultant for A&L Labs, I must have picked up a few secrets for growers to put in “my” book. But I am feeling generous today and what better platform to divulge those secrets, than the Front Porch Blog. The following tips or secrets may or may not be new to you but they are for many growers, so here we go!

SPRAYING CALCIUM: A lot of growers are not doing this, but spraying calcium chelate or calcium nitrate at least monthly is a big help. Remember, calcium helps build cell walls, be it stems, leaves, flowers or fruit. All of the above need calcium to grow properly. As calcium is very immobile, spraying it where it is needed (the meristematic tissue ) helps these cells along. It always needs to be in the soil in the form of limestone or gypsum, but spraying it gives great results. Some plants respond better than others, but aroids like Aglaonema, Pothos or Dieffenbachia love it. Roses and fruit trees will get much stronger stems, as will other woodies and young trees. Typically Calcium nitrate is sprayed at 1.5 lbs. per 100 gallons of water. Our Harrell’s Maxline chelated calcium should be sprayed at 1 Qt. per 100 gallons of water.  Either one will do the job.

TIMING YOUR DRENCHES: Many times I see  people drenching for root disease after the horse has been let out of the barn, meaning after they’ve already seen root disease. Drenches work much better as a preventative than a curative, so drenching right after a liner has been put in a gallon pot or a 3gal into a 15gal. is the best time. Adding a soluble phosphorous product with your fungicide will help initiate roots. For many ornamentals, the old standby of Subdue + Clearys 3336 + soluble phosphorous (Phos Maxxs is great at a qt/100gal) works real well. Depending on the disease you are targeting, Medallion and Heritage are also excellent in drenches. 

CHECKING YOUR PLANTS ROOTS: If you can grow a good root system, the rest is easy when growing good plants. Not enough growers go around and pull plants out of their pots. They are missing out on the most important information regarding the plant’s health: are roots at the bottom of the pot nice and white? Are feeder or secondary roots starting to decay? Is soil mucked down at the bottom of the pot from deterioration of soil or over-watering? Has soil become hydrophobic? Are there root mealybugs? Fungus gnat larvae? The answers to all these questions are… inside the pot, so be sure to look more often. In a block of plants, go to 3 or 4 random plants. Don’t let one pot be representative of all plants. Containerized tree growers, you are not off the hook - large pots are notorious for having issues. Get out the New Holland and a tree strap and check from time to time. You will find this exercise will make you more aware what’s going on.

CONTROLLED RELEASE FERTILIZER VS LIQUID FERTILIZATION: Which one grows the better plant? The answer is: both! Combined. Yes, you heard right. Time and time again, when using a controlled release fertilizer like Polyon and supplementing with a soluble liquid fertilizer, plants have the best color and vigor. Not everyone is set up to fertigate and using a straight controlled release will give you excellent results, but doing both is the best of both worlds. Essentially the liquid feed is instantly available, while the CRF does the job by releasing steadily every day. This is especially true with “heavy feeder” type plants like interior foliage, palms and flowering plants. When supplementing with a liquid, you can often reduce your incorporation rate of the CRF. Generally coming in weekly with a 200-250 ppm nitrogen is a good rate for the soluble application.

MY WITCHES BREW NUTRITIONAL SPRAY: Has any of this inspired you yet? Well here is my favorite overall nutritional spray. It was inspired by Dr. Wolf over 30 years ago, and further reinforced to me by my mentor and past boss Lynn Griffith. Mix 1.5 lbs. Epsom Salts + 1.5 lbs. Potassium nitrate + 12 ounces Sprint 330 into 100 gallons water. If you are spraying palms, add 12 ounces Tecmangum or manganese sulfate to this mix. Some growers insist nutritional sprays are ineffective. They are welcome to continue their incorrect belief and not use this. This mix is also a good nutritional drench. If plants are flat out “hungry”, then take out the potassium nitrate part and add 1.5 lbs. per 100 gallons water 20-20-20 instead. This is a mild concentration, some growers may opt to use 2 lbs. of the Epsom salts and 2 lbs. of the potassium nitrate, in particular on palms or Hibiscus. Do a trial first if you are concerned of a phyto problem.

This has been going so well that next month, I will have Part 2 of secret growing tips, including how to feed your in-laws to a Venus Fly Trap. Until then happy growing!!!