Garden Must do's during the Virus

Garden Care
Written By Peter Morris

There are a few to do's and one must do during the Virus if you want your garden to survive.

By now you should have lifted any cut greens on winter displays from your garden. Normally the Plant Specialists garden care team would have coordinated this with you and been by to make sure that your garden is in tip top condition.

Winter Greens should have been lifted and removed at this point to make way for Spring bulbs.

The essential element for the survival of any garden is water - you must water your garden at least twice a week at this point. Not just a sprinkle a really good saturate - the water should be running out of the bottom of the planter. If you have an irrigation system then someone from Plant Specialists team will have contacted you regarding coming by to turn on your system or at the very least walked you through the process over a Face time call - especially if your building is not allowing service contractors in due to the Virus.

All gardens need water - not just a little sprinkle a good solid soaking at least twice a week in Spring

The other essential for any roof top garden is the drains - the drain needs to be cleaned and you need to make sure that there is no build up of debris on top of the drain that could perhaps cause flooding in a heavy rainstorm. The best thing to do is have your building come up and check it for you - and continue to check it regularly ( like once a month ) during the entire year.

A well watered well looked after Plant Specialists garden

Normally at this point we would cut back grasses, hydrangeas, red twig dogwoods. We would also be doing light pruning and fertilizing to give your garden the very best start to the year possible - due to Corona that will not happen at this point - we are more than happy to walk you through any questions that you may have but if you can just make sure that the garden is getting a really good watering then the rest we can sort out when we finally move on from this dreadful moment in time. Stay safe all

Peter Morris

Peter was born and raised on a beautiful green island in the midst of a tropical rainforest. He was introduced into the world of plants at the age of six when his grandmother, an avid Spanish gardener herself, asked him to help her grow seeds for her pepper garden. He was hooked! By the time he was a teen, he had his own rose and orchid collection numbering in the hundreds. Botany was in his blood, and that is what he set out to study.

His passion brought him to NY in the late seventies to further his education. His tenacity allowed him to work full time at Plant Specialists while he completed a MS in Plant Biology. As a manager at the time he felt unsatisfied with his knowledge of business and business processes. Peter felt compelled to learn, so he then pursued and completed an MBA in Quality Management within a few short years.

Peter’s other passion is teaching. His natural ability is quickly consumed by our staff in all subjects in Botany, Horticulture, and Landscaping. He created an immense reference library of more than 3,500 plants providing an invaluable resource for our staff.

Peter’s breadth of knowledge and wisdom allows him to effectively diagnose the needs of plants. Sometimes just by walking into a garden he can create a prescription that fixes even the hardest issue. He is our Staff Botanist, Diagnostician, and all around Mentor. Recently, he has put his immense knowledge and skills into developing a new department that focuses on Plant Healthcare. As he puts it, “Magic through Science”. The PHC staff that surround him have avidly consumed his teachings. Substantially developing their own plant wisdom, many have taken on difficult plant health issues with spectacular results.

Plant Healthcare has been an instant success with customers! The proper treatment of insects and diseases including Organic methods has made pest control a necessity for every plant. Correcting hormonal imbalances caused by planting in containers or refurbishing soils leached of nutrients by irrigation systems are big challenges PHC has become quite comfortable addressing. The scientific approach to the complex demands of keeping plants healthy in our harsh city environment has made many a customer say WOW!

Previous

Discover Aquilegia: Colorful Columbines for Every Garden
Next

Corona Virus 4th Blog