Growing healthy ornamentals
AS you enter Harare from Bulawayo, you will approach a place popularly known as PaMagetsi on the turn-off to Dzivaresekwa.
Thuli Petroleum, a service station owned by Mr Shilo Swart and operated by Stewart Chiremba, is located here.
The place is stunning and an envy of many, particularly those in the same trade.
In fact, it is a classic example of how best to green such environs. There is a careful selection of plants at the service station, which always leaves motorists and other passer-by mesmerised.
The well-maintained place is breathtaking and helps create a good mood, even for one having a bad day.
However, the brains behind the project argue that proper care is required, throughout the year, to maintain such a beautiful setting.
Neglect can lead to a lot of things going wrong in such gorgeous landscapes.
Experts opine that poor maintenance of plants often invites different kinds of pests, diseases and elements that can bring harm to ornamentals.
Diseases can be divided into three categories, namely fungal, bacterial and viral.
It can be onerous to distinguish these but you can always take a plant sample to the nearest Agriculture Research and Extension Services (AREX) offices for identification.
Various diseases, such as botrytis, downy mildew, powdery mildew, rust, bacterial wilts, bacterial rots, just to mention a few, can affect a garden. Integrated disease management system, which is a combined way of dealing with pests as opposed to using only chemicals, is the best way to deal with them.
One can combine good crop hygiene, fertilising, good spacing and, as a last measure, the use of chemicals.
The key aspect of dealing with diseases is early detection. Regular inspection, referred to as scouting, gives the gardener a head-start to deal with any threats.
When it comes to pests, there are mainly two categories — sucking and chewing pests. Insect pests can be aphids, caterpillars, mealybugs, leafminers, spider mites, trips, whiteflies and nematodes, which are a microscopic pest not visible to the naked eye.
Insect pests also require integrated pest management programmes to effectively deal with them. Incorporate crop rotation, weed control, quarantine, hygiene and pesticides to win the fight against them.
Besides diseases and pests, ornamentals are also prone to damage from the elements such as sun, wind, frost and rain storms. The correct positioning of plants is key when dealing with weather elements. Position plants according to their needs (sun or shade). Another often overlooked fact is the origin of the plant material used to grow the ornamentals as these could spell success or doom.
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