Why do n’t my industrial plant flower ? Probably this mournful question is raised oftener than any other that has to do with horticulture . As potential as not , too , the kvetch nurseryman will go on to say that he gives considerable attending to fecundation , to watering , and to polish , but still , his works do not flower as well as those in his neighbour ’s garden . Why ? he asks , and if his morale is abject enough he will probably reprize , with accent , Why ?
Well , to reply our unhappy questioner with anything like the accurate information we would have to actually see what his condition are with regard to a character of soil , kind of fertilizer , drain , and light and shadowiness factor . Even then we might not be able to figure out his problem entirely because the kinds of plants grown also play a part in the overall word picture . So , in brief , let ’s start at the beginning .
Before plants can flower they must make acceptable leaf ontogenesis . This is because the leave of absence are the manufacture agents . They absorb atomic number 8 and carbon dioxide from the air ; then , in the mien of adequate sunshine and the greenish coloring thing in the leaves , they convert these material ; when combine with water from the soil , into such food as sugars and starch . These are translocated to other parts of the flora and , when combined with nitrogen , phosphorus , K , etc . , they produce compounds which are responsible for for jail cell division and ’ growth .
To be able to produce such development , most industrial plant have to be grown in a well aerate , properly drained soil , with passable supplying of wet and fertilizers at specific times of the year . These fact , of course , are generality and do not answer the particular question , “ Why do n’t my flora flower ? ” But they do give us some track .
To produce peak we have to have expert antecedent action , and for the smashing majority of garden plant , this presuppose a well - drained , porous soil . It also means that such elements in the filth as phosphorous , K , calcium and atomic number 12 must be present in tolerable amounts . An software of manure and complete fertilizer to the soil usually shoot maintenance of this , ‘ and such mulches as ground corncobs , cottonseed hulls or hack drinking straw are of considerable assistant .
You may note that nitrogen in whatever physical body is not mentioned in connection with root organization - not that it is not needed , but because it is take in smaller quantities . That ’s the mysterious ofgood anthesis . Too much nitrogen will produce a lot of foliage at the expense of flowers . This is in particular on-key of plant life which course blossom good in soils of lowly fertility .
For illustration , rent ’s take such intimate yearbook as celosia , cleome , convolvulus , Coreopsis tinctoria , esehscholtzia , small flowered petunia , phlox or portulaca . Give these full sunshine so that sugars and starch are manufactured properly in the leaves , grow them in sandy , well - drained soil with relatively niggling nitrogen ( this think that one app of a complete fertilizer may be enough in the natural spring ) ; utilize water only when absolutely necessary ( just before wilting ) and you ’ll have poor - grown plants full of flower , with perhaps humble leaves of clear green . What you have done , actually , is to balance the carbohydrates ( the sugars and starch ) , which are responsible for knowledgeableness of heyday buds , with the nitrogen in such a way as to have the former predominate . That is why in flaxen , cheery , hot regions such flora as mentioned above are a riot of color . Give them a lot of body of water and much nitrogen and away they go into grand leaf specimens but with few flowers .
The same situation may be notice in such herbaceous perennial as anthemis , Asclepias tuberosa , aster , Euphorbia corollata , gaillardia , gypsophila , hemerocallis , liatris , limonium and yucca . In this connexion , it is well to note that the light factor can not be overlooked . In shadowy or partially umbrageous locations less inflorescence may be carry , based on the fact that with less sunlight there is less solid food manufacture , hence larger and more profuse foliage with few flowers . Yet there is a full deal ofselectivity among plantsand we find many herbaceous perennial which do well in partial shadowiness aconitum , ajuga , windflower , aquilegia , aruncus , genus Asperula , begonia , chelidonium , cimicifuga , convallaria , dicentra , dictamnus , digitalis , genus Echinacea , genus Eupatorium , helleborus , hesperis , hosta , lysimachia , mertensia , monarda , myosotis , genus Oenothera , polemonium , primrose , pulmonaria , ranunculus , genus Thalictrum , trillium , trollius , veronica , viola . These plant should not be fertilized too heavily with nitrogenous material , when turn in partial specter , or else they will become too leafy .
If a interrogation has not already come up in your judgement , we would like to forbid it . Sounds like a contradiction , does n’t it , when we talk about the need of sunshine fur food manufacture , and in the next breathing space give you a whole list of plant which flower well in the shade or fond shade . But the fact is that most of these plants bloom fairly betimes in the season and that apply to early blossom bulbs too and the flower buds are initiated in the spring before the foliage on Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree or other plants which do the blending has come out .
For this intellect , then , there should be a preeminence in the type of nuance ply . If it is a permanent edifice or structure or a denseevergreen tree , so that the plants are shade the class around , poorer growth and less efflorescence may be expect on the shade - tolerant plants . Further , because of the reduction of light , the perennials and bulb grow in partial shade should have greater amounts of phosphorus , potassium , and calcium in the grime . Such software should be made yearly and if possible knead into the grunge . Mulches of corn cob , wheat , and even manure will tend to increase the sum of money of these elements in the soil , so do n’t overlook the mulch . It has peachy functions than the mere reducing of evaporation of water from the land .
Another apparent contradiction also involve to be clear up . You no doubt have heard of fabric houses being used to grow many plants commercially , in particular chrysanthemums , asters , snapdragons , and occasionally roses . Such a cloth reduces the light volume by 30 to 40 percent and this would seem to controvert the statement that full sun is require . However , we know that in midsummer there is really too much light for sparing use by plants , so itstotal intermediate step-down isactually desirable .
This is quite unlike from the censure of sun day by day for several hours . Thus we find roses , for instance , outflank themselves in the summertime when grown under a cloth , and the same is straight of other flowering plant despite the overall light step-down .
To summarise and specifically suffice our original interrogation : First you must know the light , moisture , and fertilizer prerequisite of the plants you are growing ; secondly you must supply these atmospheric condition as closely as possible in the light of the explanations given above .
by A.Lurie
