How to Grow Native Plants

Planting

Planting and watering is really commone sence. Before you plant or transplant and water,you have to know about the plant or plants. You have to know what type of soil does it grow in in the wild? Does it grow in wet,moist,well drain or try soil? By knowing this you will know how much water it will need. Also you have to know does the plant grow in full sun light,part sun light and part shade,or full shade? This is very importent to know if you want your plants to grow and survive. Best to know about what how the plant grows in it's native habitat. For example: Limber Honeysuckle(Lonicera diocia) grows in moist rocky soil in the wild. Sences it is a honeysuckle,you know it also likes full sun light. Another example: Water Lily grows in the pond. So you know that it grows in wet soil,and that it grows deep in the pond's water. And that it also is always seen in the sun light. Knowing your plants and it's environment is always important to know what plants like,and knowing how to take care of them.

Planting Seeds

The size of the seeds determines how deep to plant them. The bigger the seeds,the deeper it gets planted.
The smaller the seeds,the lighter it is planted. It is important to know this inorder for the plants to grow. For example: White Oak(Quercus alba) acorn is about 1 inch in size and fat. So you would need to plant it  2 times it's size,that would be 2 inches deep. Another example: Butterflyweed(Asclepias tuberose) seed is about 1/4 of inch or less in size,but it is a flat seeds. So you would have to plant it about 1/8 of an inch deep. So knowing the size of the seeds does help determine how deep it needs to be planted. Another example would be Turk's Cap Lily seed. It's about 1/4 of an inch or smaller,and flat like a milkweed seed. So you would plant it about 1/4 of an inch deep in moist soil.

Transplanting

Plants grown in nursery soil,or grown in same garden soil can be transplanted and establish more easier than plants from a different soil. With plants grown in soil from nurseries,after you take the plant out of the pot,hold the plant carefully at the base of the stem. Loosen the soil and roots. This will free the roots,to help it grow out for faster establishment. The more root the plant and it's roots have,the bigger and healthier it will be. You can also shake out all the nursery type soil and  then transplant it too,the plants will still grow the same.

Plant dug up from out of the garden may not adopt well if your soil is different than the plants native soil? Before you just shub the shovle into the ground,make sure you have a pot or some kind of container you plan on putting the plant in. You will also have to put in the same soil the plant is growing inorder for your plant to survive. Dig about a 1ft-2ft around the base of the plants so you don't damage the main root. Depending on the plant species,you may have to dig 2ft or more deep? Do not rush,gentely dig until you can remove the plant with out damageing the main root. Then place into the container. Water it as soon as possible for good chance of the plants survivele. Then place the plant(in container) in a shaded area for about 2-4 days for recovery. Don't put in direct sun light or the plant may die.

The best time to do any transplanting is in the evening time when it is about to get dark,when you garden is full shaded. Or on a cloudy,or rainy day. You don't want to do any transplanting in direct sun light,or else your plant might go into shock. This will kill your plant. After the transplant,your plant might droup a little. This means that the plant is going through stress,but will get better after a a day or so. You might want to put something in the garden to give the plant some shade untill it recovers from being transplanted? The plant should recover with in 12-24 hours or more?




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