Plant Gardens 101

As is the case with most major American cities, St Louis, Missouri, underwent rapid industrialisation over the course of the twentieth century. However, unlike many of these cities, St Louis also managed to preserve a large amount of its natural parkland: today, it is home to just under three million people, yet it houses a staggering total of 105 open parks. These include Forrest Park, which is one of the world’s largest urban parks and is even larger than New York’s Central Park; the Saint Louis Zoological Park; and the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, a 91 acre national park situated on the riverfront along which the city was first established in 1764. However, the most interesting and perhaps the most widely applauded of St Louis’ many parks is the Missouri Botanical Gardens.

One of the oldest of its kind in the United States, the Missouri Botanical Gardens is a National Historic Landmark and has continued to live up to its mission statement – “To discover and share knowledge about plants and their environment, in order to preserve and enrich life,” – since its inception in 1859. Founded by Henry Shaw, a nineteenth century botanist and philanthropist from Sheffield, England, it is often affectionately known as ‘Shaw’s Garden’, and is today one of the leading botanical research sites in the world. When Shaw built his estate, the Tower Grove House, in 1851, he saw the great potential of turning the grounds surrounding his estate into a botanical garden, and spent years planning and funding its development. (more…)

Repotting orchids should be done at least every two years. If you fail to do so, your plant may die or at least produce few flowers. You can easily tell when it’s time to do so. If your growing medium has broken down or if new growths extend over the edge of the pot, it’s time for you to repot the plant. Although it can seem difficult your first time around, it’s not such a hard task. This article will give you a few tips to help you.

Timing
One of the first things you need to consider is when to repot. If you wait longer than two years, then the potting medium will break down. This will prevent air circulation from reaching the roots. Also, the medium will start retaining too much moisture, which will increase the risk of root rot. You should repot the plant in early summer before new growth starts to appear. (more…)

POTTING

All being ready, put the drainage in a suitable sized pot. Place first a suitable crock, or a large oyster shell over the hole; then lay a few large crocks upon that, and smaller upon those, so that the drainage may occupy about three fourths of an inch.

Place a thin layer of moss upon the drainage, and upon that a sprinkling of soot or charcoal dust; after that a thin layer of the rougher parts of the compost, and finally a layer of soil. Then turn the plant out of the old pot, pick out the old drainage, and loosen part of the old roots, spreading them over the new soil as much as possible.

Then see that the collar of the roots is just below the rim of the pot, and fill in around the ball with the fresh soil, pressing it down gently as it is put in. When the pot is full, give it a smart stroke or two upon the bench to settle the soil; level it neatly, leaving it about half an inch below the rim of the pot. This finishes the potting. (more…)

Hydroponics is extremely valuable to the world because it allows you to grow in any temperature or any climate that you wish. A lot of you that live in moderate climates do not realize the full value of hydroponic systems. Often hydroponic systems are given a bad name because the media associated hydroponics with illegal plants; but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Hydroponics has been around for quite some time now and it makes it possible to grow plants in what would otherwise be very difficult or impossible situations due to extreme climates like the ones we have here in Alaska.

People like myself living in a remote part of Alaska can only grow plants with hydroponics if we want to be successful all year. There has to be a regular pattern during parts of the year with regular lights cycles to keep your plants from stressing out due to irregular Sun conditions. People living in Alaska are not able to grow like people can in moderate climates. We have a bizarre hours they we have to deal with as well as the cold weather on the winter I. Obviously we can’t grow plants in snow and ice and that’s where hydroponics comes along to help people like myself to keep it growing in Alaska; the great white north. (more…)

A small branch.