EDDIE SEAGLE: Adopt or give a plant to celebrate the new year

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language, and next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.”

— T. S. Eliot, Little Gidding

“Tomorrow, is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.”

— Brad Paisley

Do you make new year resolutions? Do you keep those resolutions? Are you looking for new ideas in developing your new year resolutions? Well, look no more because you can find solace in plants and the environment. Either “adopt a plant” for yourself or “give a plant” as a gift to someone else as part of your new year resolution. As the new year approaches, many people will develop resolutions to lose weight, exercise more, maintain better family relations, agree to do more in the community, travel more, plan a healthy and cleansing diet to rid their bodies of toxic substances, and so on. Many of these resolutions will fall by the wayside after the first few weeks or so of the new year because of the repetition, time restraints or simply the lack of commitment.

A whole new type of resolution that you should consider involves nature and the environment by considering the adoption of a plant or the gift of a plant which requires responsibility and further demonstrates your concern for the environment. Your greenscape can benefit from the same type of consideration that you give other classical resolutions if you are really serious about sustainability and environmental awareness.

Consider such activities as new plant purchases for either the indoors or outdoors, flushing or changing the soil media in existing containers (re-potting), root pruning, upsizing the plant into a larger container, adding beneficial microbes to the soil media, hand cleaning the leaves on potted plants where significant dust has collected, and so on.

Start the new year with an optimistic and positive attitude by beckoning your wishes for a happy new year with a gift of life that grows every month of the year. The new year is a very appropriate time for an attractive plant gift but with it comes the realization of responsibility for care and maintenance. Get away from the irresponsible perception, “if it dies I’ll just buy another one.”

Maybe giving a plant for such an occasion will bring others to committing to new gardening resolutions for the new year. Welcome the new year with gifts of nature by helping your friends and family become more aware of plants and plant care. A display of color represented in plants such as a white peace lily, white gardenia, calamondin orange, red hibiscus, pink crown of thorns, or yellow ixora will work wonders that you never thought possible. Or choose from a juniper bonsai, braided money tree, areca palm silk plant, ficus, rubber plant, dumb cane, dragon tree, corn plant, or a variety of other lovely house plants as your choices are unlimited.

Even though it is winter and it may be somewhat cooler outside, these plant gifts make wonderful indoor gardens and arrangements which add a warm and comfortable feeling to an otherwise dreary time of year. From the emotionally high peaks of December to the lowly valleys of January, this is an awesome way to remind your loved ones how much you care by giving such a beautiful plant to start the new year.

Most house plant enthusiasts reduce fertilization in the winter, thus making it a good time to flush salt and fertilizer residues from the plant root zone. Soil flushes are available at your local garden center to dissolve the salts and leach them from the container. If this process is completed correctly, the treatment will cleanse the roots and make them more healthy. After which, they will more effectively absorb nutrients for growth and development as growth begins and the year passes. Also, this treatment will effectively remove excess salts from the potting medium.

Mix the flush product according to directions, and apply slowly to allow infiltration until the percolation flow exits the bottom of the container. This activity should be conducted in a sink or outside for proper drainage. Do not allow the plant to soak in the effluent or drainage water. This flushing process should be conducted twice per year when not changing the soil completely.

Dedicated gardeners with indoor plants in poor potting soil should consider repotting the plant with fresh, healthy soil. Choose the best potting available within your budget. Clean the existing container to remove any fertilizer, hard water deposits, and old soil. Larger plants are more difficult to repot. Make every effort to protect and not harm the plants, as well as maintaining such work posture to protect your body (esp. back) in the process. A newly repotted plant will exhibit better vigor and a more healthy appearance than before the process.

Check your plant and container for size proportion and potential root-bound conditions which will lead to slower growth and a less healthy plant. Upon inspection, if the plant is root-bound then the roots will be growing in circular pattern around in the inside of the container. If so, repotting is a must and the existing root pattern must be pruned away before placing in new media in a larger container.

Other effective new year resolutions include mulching all perennials and beds for temperature and moisture preservation, select pest and disease tolerant plants, collect representative soil samples and have tested for nutrients and pH, install new plantings at the proper depth (deep planting harms roots and kills plants), and be sure the planting beds are well-drained (no puddling of water).

Also, inspect plants carefully before purchasing for insect and disease problems and structural damage, create planting beds for plant communities, mulch around individual trees to prevent “lawn mower disease” (mechanical damage to the bark from lawn mower or string trimmer), and use proper mulching depths in beds and around trees to discourage crown and root rots resulting from deep mulches.

Also, scout the landscape on a regular basis for potential problems, identify and maintain a proper irrigation program, fertilize appropriately with correct fertilizer and rates, use a soaker hose or surface irrigation for flower beds and vegetable gardens (keeps foliage dry and reduces potential for diseases), and seek a professional for diagnostics and identification of problem situations, as well as control or correction.

Also, practice proper pruning and keep tools disinfected so as to minimize spread of any disease problem, encourage beneficial insects by minimizing use of broad spectrum insecticides, attend seminars and short courses for updated and useful information, network with other landscape gardeners and horticulturalists, and consider pursuing training as a master gardener.

Enjoy as you prepare for New Year’s Eve celebrations and may your horticultural efforts provide you with an atmosphere filled with ornamental appeal, spiritual contentment, and personal safety and happiness throughout the new year. As you celebrate New Year’s Eve, do so in a manner which offers safety and good will to everyone around you. Also, enjoy some football from the many bowl games being played. Happy New Year 2015! Blessings and Good Cheer to all!

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17.

Eddie Seagle is a sustainability associate, Golf Environment Organization (Scotland); agronomist and horticulturalist, CSI: Seagle (Consulting Services International); professor emeritus and honorary alumnus, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, and associate editor of The Golf Course, International Journal of Golf Science. Email [email protected].