Do you have a “green thumb?” Or, are you always frustrated by gardening? In Western culture, a green thumb refers to a person who is keen in gardening and who can turn withered plant back to life.

Modern people prefer decoration and flowery plants because of space limitations and visual satisfaction, without really understanding the nature of flowers and grasses. In this way, we may actually do more harm to the plants we own than intended. Many people simply need some tips to gain their so-called “green thumbs”. Just follow some basic caretaking principles and you will master the art of flower and grass growing. You will no longer need to envy the great green veranda or garden of your neighbors.

Beginners must understand that, according to their growing patterns and habits, short herbal flowers with lignified stem ends can be divided into 3 types: the first type has a life of about 1-2 years, such as turnsoles, marguerites, balloon flowers, and sages; the second type is perennials, i.e. their flowers will wither after blossoming, but they will grow again in the following year, such as African violets, kaffir lilies, and carnations; the last type is the flower bulb, i.e. they have expanded modified stems or modified roots, such as tulips, Barbados lilies, and Calla lilies.

An ornamental plant is a good candidate for embellishing the environment. If well tended, it can be very pleasant to the eye. When picking seedlings, choose parents that have well-developed leaves and strong stems. For foliage plants, choose those that are just budding or half blossoming. Then, check if there is injury on the branch, if the color and shape of leaves are good to look at, and if there is fragrance. Moreover, those with many fine roots are recommended because these plants have better resistance to external interference. A healthy plant can help save time and energy when it comes to caretaking.

Like human beings, plants also need nutritional supplements from time to time. Therefore, besides absorbing the natural minerals in the soil, plants also need fertilizer. Before growing a plant, we can add phosphate fertilizers to the soil as a base fertilizers. Nitrogen fertilizers can help plants to grow faster.

Light control is very important for outdoor plants. Avoid direct sunlight at noon because exposure to strong UV light will block the physiological functions of plant cells. This many change the appearance and growing pattern of plants. Even sunlight reflected by dews can burn the leaves. This is known as the spotlight effect. On the other hand, without adequate sunlight can hamper the growth of the plants. In this case, we can extend the sunshine duration of plants to let them adapt to light of different strengths in order to bring them back to life.

Have you ever seen ants in an ornamental plant? Does it mean your plant is sick? In fact, ants by themselves will not harm any plants. Yet, when they are seen on a plant, it is because the honeydew secreted from the ventral tube of plant louses contains high sugar content, a favorite of ants. In fact, the plant louse is one of the commonest plant diseases and sources of insect pests. In this case, we can dilute detergent with water (1:1000) as a kind of surfactant and spray it on the plant to clean up the plant louse. Then the ants will move out of your plant. To prevent ants from building homes inside the pot, put a screen on top of the opening at the bottom the pot.

Either flowers or plants will fade one day. It is the rule of nature. Yet, if you can take good care of your plant during their lifetime by giving it adequate water and sunshine, learning from your mistakes, and getting along well with your plant, your dream of acquiring a green thumb will come true.