Guide to Garden Plant Maintenance

This post provides an excellent guide to garden plant maintenance. We tell you the best ways to maintain many types of garden plant including tree’s, shrubs and vegetables. Follow our guide to garden plant maintenance for healthy plants all year round.

Start with Good Soil

The soil you buy from a shop is generally made up of clay, sand and silt. Also known as texture, you can buy soil in different ratio’s of clay, sand and silt to suit your garden plants. The ratio of your soil has a dramatic effect on your soil’s drainage capabilities and nutrient quality.

Soils Rich in Clay Minerals

These soils are great at holding water, which means they are most suitable for the plants below.

• Butterfly weed
• Black-eyed Susan
• Bee Balm
• Goldenrod
• Aster
• Geranium
• Hollyhock

Soils Rich in Sand

These types of soil do not hold nutrients well, which means they are most suitable for the plants below.

• Wormwood
• Blanket Flower
• Adam’s Needle
• Aster
• Carrot
• Echinacea

Soils Rich in Silt

These types of soils can become waterlogged easily, which means they are most suitable for the plants below.

• Japanese iris
• Swamp milkweed
• Yellow iris

Watering Technique

Failing to water your plants correctly will make them unhealthy, possibly killing them off. You will be surprised how sensitive some plants can be when it comes to water consumption. Follow our tips below to ensure your plants are watered correctly.

• Try not to get leaves wet when watering your plants. Wet leaves can become burnt during hot weather as the water droplets acts like a magnify glass, which could lead to leaf mold disease.
• Water evenly around the base of your plant. This helps to encourage an even spread of your plant roots.
• Consider using a drip hose to water your plants, such as the one in the image below from the Amazon store. This leaky hose can be buried or laid on top of your flower beds, ensuring every single plant receives an even distribution of water. Such hoses also work with automatic timers, meaning you can guarantee your plants will get the right quantity of water, at the right times.

Drip Hose for Plant Beds

Water Quantity

When it comes to watering plants there are no strict rules. Sometimes it is better to go by your instincts. For example, if a plant looks like it needs water, then it probably does! But when you do water, you should water carefully. As a general rule of thumb you could follow the guidance below on how much you should soak the roots for particular plants.

Small Plants (Cacti, Groundcovers, Annuals)

Water to a depth of 1 foot.

Medium Plants (Shrubs)

Water to a depth of 2 feet.

Large Plants (Tree’s)

Water to a depth of 3 feet.

Soil Sampler for Testing Watering Depths

Take your garden plant maintenance to the next level. You can test how much water penetrates your soil by buying the soil sampler below from the Amazon store.