Tips from The Plant Dr. of Southern California

Soon the winds will be coming through the canyons of Malibu and are your plants prepared?  Any plants that are over four feet tall in pots are in danger of falling over and breaking the pot.  Save yourself time and money by either adding rocks to the bottom of the pot, or by tying it up against something.

Heavy rains makes it easy to think the plants are watered, but are they ?

A five to seven gallon potted plant needs at least a quart water, and if your plant has a lot of foliage not much rain gets into the soil.

What if  your plants are under an overhang ?

So, even on those days when boulders are on the road in  Malibu Canyon due to the heavy rains, make sure to water your plants.

It’s natural that potted plants dry out faster than plants in the ground.  This is  compounded by the hot, dry, Southern California Santa Ana wind dehydrating the foliage to the point where the plant can’t drink as fast as the leaves are dying out.  If possible, you should move the plant out of the wind, water at least twice a day, and wet down the foliage as much as possible.  If the plant is too heavy to be moved, try lying it down to protect it from drying and probably save the pot or plant from breaking should those nasty winds knock it over.

Beach house plants are more prone to disease because of lack of vegetation on the beach. Therefore, inspect plants weekly for critters, and spray when necessary.

Malathion is a good broad-spectrum insecticide for critters on outdoor plants. If using for indoor plants, take them outside in the shade to spray and let them dry. To kill the life cycle spray every 7-10 days, for 3 weeks.

If exact appearance of your geraniums does not matter, use the cascading!  The upright (Zonal) geraniums are much more prone to catipillars and  fungus, especially rust which appears on the underside of the leaves.

At the places in Malibu that I have put in geraniums, the cascading look great, tend to need less care, and, because they are healthier, help your other plants stay healthy as well.

Systemic insecticides are effective against pests if you catch the problem early.

The most commom cause for brown tips is usually from lack of water.  Chemicals in the tap water can also contribute to the problem.

If you take your interior plants outdoors to spray for insects, place in the shade to prevent sun damage.

If possible, it’s a good idea to sometimes leach the soil to prevent chemical build up in the soil.