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Having an issue with your plant. Here's why you should go to your local garden center with pictures or clippings for help understanding what's wrong with the plant and how to fix it.
Show Notes
[00:00:20] Keith: And I brought in Steven Petrilliac who manages our nursery and we were talking about all the number of things that people are bringing in this summer leaves and brown spots on them and insect problems and plants that have been overwatered and underwatered. So we thought we would talk about that today and give people options as far as what they can do.
[00:00:55] One of the things that we always recommend doing is taking pictures, bringing in samples. We can usually diagnose a problem. And then make recommendations as far as how to rectify that. What kind of things have you been seeing in the nursery, Steven?
[00:01:07] This time of year, we're seeing a lot of fungus and disease bacteria. Viruses can be another issue. There's a lot of stressors right now, we go through one of the driest Springs on record to now, I think 10 or 11 inches above what the average is, which can really get plants stressed out and confused.
[00:01:24] So a lot of the pictures people are bringing in yellowing leaves, spots on leaves dropping off trees. And I think a lot of the causes are. Related to the weather conditions under fertilizing or over-fertilizing is another issue that can lead to those problems.
[00:01:39] We always recommend either bringing in cuttings or sending us pictures or bringing in pictures. We can properly diagnose the issue give them the right treatment and go from there.
[00:01:49] Keith: One of the things that, we've talked about a number of times is watering issues over-watering, and under watering and how, it sounds like we're clueless when people ask, if, we think it was overwatered or underwater, and it's the same kind of. Look over water, the plant doesn't have oxygen and takes up water.
[00:02:04] So it does have a drought. You're sitting there looking at a plant and it's sometimes it's, it's just it questions and just be able to figure out. Exactly the issue is, but right now over-watering is always one of those things. It's a little harder to rectify because it's more of a planning issue, a height that the plant, elevating the plant in the ground.
[00:02:22] Sometimes it's raising that plant up or diverting water from around that plant. With heavy clay, it's almost like having a bowl and you get that plan in there and it's hard to have that water to drain off.
[00:02:33] Steven: And I think a big factor too, is, a lot of times customers can come in with issues and they feel like they might need to be defensive.
[00:02:41] The biggest thing for me is for them to be completely honest about whatever the issue is. So if we ask, how often you're watering, tell us the truth right off the bat. We want the customer to be successful with everything. Whether it's a plant that they got from us or they didn't get from us.
[00:02:56] So a lot of times they'll try to find a way to tell you that they're watering it the way that they think you want them to water it. So they'll tell you they've watered it, two or three times a week. And then, the next thing is well, how long are you watering it for, do you go out there and spray it with a sprinkler for a few minutes, or especially newly planted plants need to be deeply watered less often as opposed to constantly watering for short amounts of time, I feel like that's
[00:03:29] Keith: And you're like, yeah, I floss every day, twice a day. I floss in the morning. I philosophy lunch. We do get a lot of that. And it's, I think people want to do the right thing and they want to feel like they did the right thing, they don't want to be part of the failure in the process, but, educating people to water correctly or to plant correctly is what we're there for. And then when something's not working out, if they can bring in pictures and bring in cuttings, we've got like a huge staff of people. And if you're not in our neighborhood or right in our area, go into I think sometimes go into a Home Depot or Lowe's, those guys don't necessarily know horticulture.
[00:04:06] They don't understand the science behind the plants and so going to a local garden center. In our area, a garden hut, a Logan's a Homewood for the garden state, one of the local garden centers, that's got people that are really knowledgeable about plants and, it takes quite a few years to be able to look at a plant in the landscape Or look at a picture or look at a leaf and really be able to diagnose, and typically, a lot of times it's not definitively, it's 90%.
[00:04:35] Joe: So you mentioned earlier, you get a lot of fungi because there's been so much rain lately. How do you treat that? What's the treatment look like?
[00:04:46] It's treating it preventatively with a fungicide. That's another thing that I see people come in and they'll say and this kind of bridges to the whole pollinator scenario. A lot of the pollinator problems are chemicals and pollutants and things that are going on in the environment.
[00:05:00] But people will come in and they'll show you a picture of a bottle. And they're like this work and, homeowners don't understand the difference between an insecticide and fungicide. It's something to spray on a plant and, and, or a, an insecticide that's made for something that you're gonna use in your home or an insecticide that you're going to use on your plant.
[00:05:17] Can I spray this on the plant? No, absolutely not. It's for spiders, in your house. And then, just understanding the difference between a fungicide and insecticide in or a systemic. There's foliar systemic, so you can spray on the plant and it goes into the leaves and then there's systemics
[00:05:30] You can put on the ground that the plant takes up and protects the plant from the inside out. But fungicides is what you would put on this time of year for fungal related issues on the leaves or in the
[00:05:40] Steven: roots. It's funny you say that thing about showing us a picture of a bottle. So if it's not an existing customer that we've already had in the store they're used to going to ACE hardware or Lowe's or Home Depot.
[00:05:51] So many of the new customers that we have that come in and they're like I bought this and then I went back and I bought this and they got these two or three different products that they've gotten from Lowe's that they did or did not have any guidance on. And that's where I'm like, okay, going forward, just come here first.
[00:06:06] Being in ahead of the game, not everybody walks around their yard every day, checking out every plant. But the worst thing you can do is just wait till the last minute and then try to play catch up.. Especially things that you've planted recently, keep an eye on, if it starts to turn color or you start to notice anything about it catching it before it's too far gone is the best thing you can do.
[00:06:25] Keith: . And on that note there's a lot of insect and disease problems that a lot of times somebody will come in with a powdery mildew issue and there is that we're getting towards summertime, most powdery mildew functions really well between 60 and 70 degrees. So that's when you're going to see the problems really show up on, on foliage.
[00:06:42] If it gets hot and dry. That problem will go away on its own. So sometimes you're recommending to the customer, go ahead and fertilize the plant and give it a boost of energy, but don't apply the fungicide yet. Or somebody will bring you an Azalea leaf. And if you go out and if you've got azaleas and you go out and you flip the leaf over this time of year, you'll see brown specks all over the back.
[00:07:04] And it's residue from insect problems that were there a month ago. But if you go out there. And spray the whole Bush. You're just spraying the whole Bush. You're polluting your environment. It's not benefiting pollinators. It's not benefiting your dog or your kids, and it's not benefiting the plant, so you've missed that window to spray it and, so getting good information about when. Rectify that situation. And it's going to be next spring when the plant's in bloom. So Azalea's you spray as they're going out and bloom, you spray them preventatively, or you fertilize them with a systemic insecticide.
[00:07:37] So that protects them moving into the season when you would have lacewing. But, knowing the lifecycle of the insect and when to spray and what to spray is just. It's going to be beneficial to the environment. It's going to be beneficial to the plant
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Steven: And I brought in Steven Petrilliac
who manages our nursery and we were
talking about all the number of things
that people are bringing in this summer
leaves and brown spots on them and
insect problems and plants that have
been overwatered and underwatered.
So we thought we would talk
about that today and give people
options as far as what you can do.
One of the things that we
always recommend doing is taking
pictures, bringing in samples.
We can usually diagnose a problem.
And then make recommendations
as far as how to rectify that.
What kind of things have you been
seeing in the nursery, Steven?
This time of year, we're seeing a
lot of fungus and disease bacteria.
Viruses can be another issue.
There's a lot of stressors right now, we
go through one of the driest Springs on
record to now, I think 10 or 11 inches
above what the average is, that can really
get plants stressed out and confused.
So a lot of the pictures people are
bringing in yellowing leaves, spots
on leaves leaves dropping off trees.
And I think a lot of the causes are.
Related to the weather conditions under
fertilizing or over fertilizing is another
issue that can lead to those problems.
We always recommend either
bringing in cuttings or sending us
pictures or bringing in pictures.
We can properly diagnose the
issue give them the right
treatment and go from there.
Keith: One of the things that, we've
talked about a number of times is
watering issues over-watering, and
under watering and how, it sounds
like we're clueless when people ask,
if, we think it was overwatered or
underwater, and it's the same kind of.
Look over water, the plant doesn't
have oxygen and take up water.
So it does have drought.
You're sitting there looking at a plant
and it's sometimes it's, it's just it's
questions and just be able to figure out.
Exactly the issue is, but
right now over-watering is
always one of those things.
It's a little harder to rectify
because it's more of a planning
issue, a height that the plant,
elevating the plant in the ground.
Sometimes it's raising that plant up or
diverting water from around that plant.
With heavy clay, it's almost like having
a bowl and you get that plan in there and
it's hard to have that water to drain off.
Steven: And I think a big factor
too, is, a lot of times customers
can come in with issues and they feel
like they might need to be defensive.
The biggest thing for me is for
them to be completely honest
about whatever the issue is.
So if we ask, how often you're watering,
tell us the truth right off the bat.
We want the customer to be
successful with everything.
Whether it's a plant that they got
from us or they didn't get from us.
So a lot of times they'll try to
find a way to tell you that they're
watering it the way that they
think you want them to water it.
So they'll tell you they've watered
it, two or three times a week.
And then, the next thing is well,
how long are you watering it for, do
you go out there and spray it with
a sprinkler for a few minutes or
especially newly planted plants need
to be deeply watered less often as
opposed to constantly watering for short
amounts of time, I feel like that's
Joe: when I go to the dentist
and he's have you been flossing?
I'm like, you see my mouth?
Why do we gotta to play this game, man?
Keith: And you're like, yeah,
I floss every day, twice a day.
I floss in the morning.
I philosophy lunch.
We do get a lot of that.
And it's, I think people want to do
the right thing and they want to feel
like they did the right thing, they
don't want to be part of the failure
in the process, but, educating
people to water correctly or to plant
correctly is is what we're there for.
And then when something's not
working out,, if they can bring in
pictures and bring in cuttings, we've
got like a huge staff of people.
And if you're not in our neighborhood
or right in our area, go into I
think sometimes go into a home
Depot or Lowe's, those guys don't
necessarily know horticulture.
They don't understand the
science behind the plants and so
going to a local garden center.
In our area, a garden hut, a Logan's
a Homewood for garden state, one of
the local garden center, that's got
people that are really knowledgeable
about plants and , it takes quite a
few years to be able to look at a plant
in the landscape Or look at a picture
or look at a leaf and really be able
to diagnose, and typically, a lot of
times it's not definitively, it's 90%.
This is, it's an over-watering scenario.
Joe: So you mentioned earlier,
you get a lot of fungus because
there's been so much rain lately.
How do you treat that?
What's the treatment look like?
Keith: for So there's, it's
given the plan a little bit
more light sometimes it's true.
It's treating it preventatively
with a fungicide.
That's another thing that I see people
come in and they'll say and this kind of
bridges to the whole pollinator scenario.
A lot of the pollinator problems are
chemicals and pollutants and things
that are going on in the environment.
But people will come in and they'll
show you a picture of a bottle.
And they're like this work and,
homeowners don't understand the difference
between an insecticide and fungicide.
It's something to spray on a plant and,
and, or a, an insecticide that's made
for something that you're gonna use
in your home or an insecticide that
you're going to use on your plant.
Can I spray this on the plant?
No, absolutely not.
It's for spiders, in your house.
And then, just understanding the
difference between a fungicide
and insecticide in or a systemic.
There's foliar systemic, so you can
spray on the plant and it goes into
the leaves and then there's systemics
You can put on the ground that
the plant takes up and protects
the plant from the inside out.
But fungicides is what you would
put on this time of year for fungal
related issues on the leaves or in the
Steven: roots.
It's funny you say that thing about
showing us a picture of a bottle.
So if it's not an existing customer
that we've already had in the
store they're used to going to ACE
hardware or Lowe's or home Depot.
So many of the new customers that we
have that come in and they're like
I bought this and then I went back
and I bought this and they got these
two or three different products that
they've gotten from Lowe's that they
did or did not have any guidance on.
And that's where I'm like, okay,
going forward, just come here first.
Being in ahead of the game, not
everybody walks around their yard
every day, checking out every plant.
But the worst thing you can do
is just wait till the last minute
and then try to play catch up..
Especially things that you've planted
recently, keep an eye on, if it starts
to turn color or you start to notice
anything about it catching it before it's
too far gone is the best thing you can do.
. Keith: And on that note there's a lot
of insect and disease problems that a
lot of times somebody will come in with
a powdery mildew issue and they're,
it's, we're getting towards summertime,
most powdery mildew functions
really well between 60 and 70 degrees.
So that's when you're going to see the
problems really show up on, on foliage.
If it gets hot and dry.
That problem will go away on its own.
So sometimes you're recommending to
the customer, go ahead and fertilize
the plant and give it a boost of energy,
but don't apply the fungicide yet.
Or somebody will bring you an Azalea leaf.
And if you go out and if you've got
azaleas and you go out and you flip
the leaf over this time of year, you'll
see brown specks all over the back.
And it's residue from insect
problems that were there a month ago.
But if you go out there.
And spray the whole Bush.
You're just spraying the whole Bush.
You're polluting your environment.
It's not benefiting pollinators.
It's not benefiting your dog or your kids,
and it's not benefiting the plant, so
you've missed that window to spray it and,
so getting good information about when.
Rectify that situation.
And it's going to be next
spring when the plant's in blue.
So Azalea is you spray, right?
As they're going out and bloom, you spray
them preventatively, or you fertilize
them with a systemic insecticide.
So that protects them moving into the
season when you would have lacewing.
But, knowing that lifecycle of
the insect and when to spray
and what to spray is just.
It's going to be beneficial
to the environment.
It's going to be beneficial to the plant