Care of ornamental plants
The use of ornamental plants in a landscape can be a way of giving added beauty outside the home. The establishing and maintaining of ornamentals can also be the lifelong passion of gardeners. Even established ornamentals will require care by the owner to stay healthy and looking great.
There are landscape items such as roses that can be very demanding while the hollies for example if planted in the right site and established can be more low maintenance. I will add that caring for ornamental plants can be more difficult if the item was planted in the wrong spot in the first place or was planted improperly in the beginning.
Today, I will be sharing information on ornamental plant care by use of a revised UGA publication by Bodie Pennisi, UGA Extension Horticulturist.
We live in a face paced world. Many folks are on the go and just do not have the time to put into a landscape, but the land owner still wants the property to look great. Many want a low-maintenance landscape which would involve less effort without giving up quality and looks. For some this would include less use of fertilizers, irrigation events and pesticides. This low-maintenance can involve concepts such as Xeriscaping which is water efficient landscaping and then also IPM or integrated pest management where you follow selective use of insecticides for example while encouraging the beneficial insects.
Pennisi adds that with care of ornamentals, you need to start by identifying parts of the landscape that require different amounts of care. She states that a recently planted area will normally need more care than a well-established area of the landscape. Also, the highly visible areas of the landscape is normally where optimum growth is wanted all of the time as compared to more private areas of the property. You can be more efficient and effective according to Pennisi when you figure out areas that will need more care. For the rest of the article we will go over as many topics of ornamental care that our space will allow.
Fertilization is one topic that could take up the rest of the article. In brief, fertilization according to Pennisi is a rather simple cultural practice that is made complex and confusing by the wide variety of fertilizer products on the market. You have the general-purpose fertilizers to specialty products on the market. Keep in mind that plants in general do not care if a fertilizer is granulated, liquefied, encapsulated, briquetted, pelletized or solubilized. Plants want nutrients in any form they can use.
I will add that fertilizers do differ in nutrition content and release duration. Our information states that the type of fertilizer you choose should be based not only on cost, but also on the types of plants to be fertilized, the current nutrient content in the soil and the type of growth desired. This is a great time to add that a soil sample sent to the UGA Soil Test Lab for $9 is a great way to get fertilizer recommendations. We can even code the samples for most ornamental types grown in Georgia for more exact recommendations.
Proper watering is another important topic.
Keep in mind that most ornamentals once established can go days or weeks without supplemental water.
Another note to remember is that overwatering can be harmful to the health of ornamentals.
Our information states that the appearance of the plant itself is a great indicator of when it requires supplemental water. Wilting or a pale grayish-green color is the most common indicator that a plant needs water. There are plants such as annuals, herbaceous perennials and azaleas for example that tend to need more water than others plants. If you water plants only when they need the added moisture, you can save on time and money.
In a future column, I may go into more detail on watering needs of ornamental plants.
Mulching can be a huge benefit in terms of ornamental plant care. Mulch is so much more than something you spread on top of the ground for looks around plants. Mulch can help conserve soil moisture, reduce weed growth, slow down soil-borne foliar diseases and can insulate ornamental plant roots from not only the cold of winter, but summer heat too.
Our information adds that mulch will put a buffer between the lawn grass and the plants. This can help in cutting down on ornamental injury from weed trimmers and mowers. I will not go into the different types of mulch today, but just note the types are plentiful. Apply mulch 3 to 5 inches deep in an area extending beyond the canopy of the plant if possible. Note, a small ring of mulch around the ornamental trunk does little to help the plant.
I also add to avoid placing plastic film under mulches. This will prevent water, nutrients and oxygen from reaching the roots of the ornamental plant. Landscape fabric is more suitable.