Plant-Care

A plant without support is a mess waiting to happen. Tomatoes sprawl across the ground, peonies flop over after one rain, and tall perennials like delphiniums collapse under their own flower heads. Plant supports solve this, but the wrong support for the plant creates more problems than it fixes. A tomato cage built for determinate bush tomatoes will buckle under an indeterminate variety. A bamboo stake that is too short for a peony’s flower head will snap off at ground level. ...

Most plant problems are really soil problems. Yellowing leaves, stunted growth, blossom-end rot, houseplants that just sit there looking sad — they usually trace back to something off in the dirt. Too much water. Not enough nutrients. Wrong pH. Compacted soil that smothers roots. A soil tester takes the guessing out of it. Instead of wondering “did I overwater or underwater this thing?” you stick a probe in the pot and get a number. Instead of dumping fertilizer and hoping for the best, you test first and know what you are dealing with. A $15 moisture meter will save you more in dead plants than you will spend on it. ...