How to score deals at the nursery
Fall is money-saving time for gardeners -- but be careful!
Hello, friends — happy fall!
Autumn is a great time to buy discount perennials at nurseries, but you have to make sure they’re healthy. They’ve likely been sitting on the shelf all summer, which means they could be rootbound or suffering from root rot or a mold or fungal disease.
To ensure plants aren't root-bound, turn pots over and check that roots aren't growing out of drainage holes. If they are, that means the plant has overgrown its pot, which stresses it. But it still might be a good buy — as long as the roots are healthy.
Next, gently slip the plant out of the pot and examine its roots. They should be cream-colored, not yellow or brown or black – and not soggy. If you see a tangled mess of roots encircling themselves, that means they’re girdled or strangling themselves, so try a different plant. If they’re all root-bound or girdled, you can still buy them as long as there’s no sign of rot, but you’ll need to tease the roots apart to stop the strangulation and encourage them to grow outward.
This is really easy, and you can use a gardening (or kitchen) fork, pruners or even your bare hands. Gently pry the root ball apart or make several pruning cuts all around it or scrape it with a fork just before planting. That’s it.
The goal is to break the roots a bit, and once you do, their cut ends will grow outward into the soil, where they can avail themselves of water and nutrients — and thrive.
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💡 If you do one thing this week…
Start planting spring bulbs.
📬 Ask Jessica
DEAR JESSICA: I hope you can help us with our Benjamina ficus tree. We have had it for many years and have regularly taken it outdoors once in the summer to hose it down and bring it back into the house. We have repotted it, checked the drainage, checked the soil for wetness, wiped off the little white things that sometimes have collected on the underside of the leaves near the node using a cotton swab dipped in alcohol. We have also sprayed it with Neem oil.
We know that seasonally these trees can drop some leaves, but recently the number of leaves that have fallen off has been tremendous. We also have had to trim dead branches. It is looking so very sparse whereas it used to be quite full. It does not get direct sunlight. — Kathy Schiavone
DEAR KATHY: After exchanging several emails, you confirmed the leaf drop began before you implemented any of the measures you mentioned, you did not leave the plant outdoors overnight and you fertilized with Miracle-Gro Water Soluble All-Purpose Plant Food, which was a good choice.
I asked because Ficus Benjamina is among the most finicky houseplants there are. But since it started dropping leaves before the move, pruning, and other steps you’ve taken, and you've done this every year, presumably without problems, there seems to be something else going on.
My best guess is that the spider mites (those “little white things” you mentioned) are to blame.
Don't move, repot, fertilize or do anything else right now. Keep the soil lightly moist, never soggy, and let it dry out a bit in between waterings.
Run a humidifier nearby, or if you don't have one, mist the plant every couple of days.
Look under the leaves (use a magnifying glass or your phone's camera to zoom in on the area) for the presence of mites or their webbing, and if you continue to see any, spray the plant, especially under all the leaves, with a 50/50 mix of rubbing alcohol and water once a week for six weeks.
If you're still seeing evidence of mites after that period, escalate to an insecticidal/miticidal oil or soap and follow the instructions on the label. Don't waste your money on chemical pesticides or miticides because they typically aren't effective against spider mites.
Then give the plant some time to recover and leaf out again. If it doesn't, then I'm sorry to say it's probably a goner.
👏 Sunday shoutout
“I have a white fig tree and this year got these huge figs,” writes Valerie DeRosa of Stony Brook. “They were so sweet!”
They look amazing, Valerie! I’m off to the grocery store to get mine…
📧 Send me your feedback!
I welcome your comments and suggestions, so please send them along — as well as any topics you’d like to see covered and questions you’d like answered in the Ask Jessica section.