How to Kill a Houseplant

1. How to Kill a Houseplant

2. Overview • Soil Issues • Temperature • Light • Insects • Bacterium • Viruses

3. Soil Issues N, P, K, Lime Fertilizer Done Right!

4. Nitrogen • Macronutrient • Readily noticeable • Tender growth (lettuce) • Dark green • Lots of Growth! • Too Much = Bad Thing • Lower resistance to disease • Weaken stem • Fruits too soft • Delay maturity • Readily leached, loss of $

5. What it Looks Like

6. Phosphorus • Not usually available to plants, although present in soil • Usually not a problem if you have too much • Cell division: roots especially • Speeds up maturity (forces flowering) • Not Enough = Bad Thing • Purple coloring • Reduced fruit or flower production • Susceptible to cold and diseases

7. What it Looks Like

8. Potassium, a.k.a Potash • Multi-Purpose • Increases resistance to disease • Strong Roots • Healthy chlorophyll • Starch formation – potatoes • Efficient use of CO2

11. The Trouble with Salt • ALL macronutrients are a form of a salt. • Salt is bad. • Salt can be leached out • But fertilizers are applied with water. • Don’t also want to leach fertilizers….

12. Flood Watering?

13. Lime • Regulates pH • Also provides calcium, a micronutrient • Plants like it a little bit acidic (5.6-7.0) • Water evaporation vs. Rainfall determines pH • Lime RAISES pH • Sulfur LOWERS pH

14. Many Tons/Acre on a Big Scale!

15. Above Ground Issues Temp & Light

16. Temperature • Each type of plant has a preferred range for growth and maturing, magic number is 90 • Too hot of temps will speed up maturity: bolting • Too cold and plants will be stunted

17. Light • How plants eat, determine when to flower • Photoperiodism • Short day plants – flower when days are short and nights are long • Long day plants – Flower when days are long and nights are short • Roots change structures, stem growth is awkward

18. Here comes the sun…