Most plants don’t just die. They don’t have a cardiac arrest and cack-out on the spot. No heart attacks either. No brain
aneurysm … nope, no sudden death at all…
It is normally a slow and gradual death…
And you can see it.
And the death is usually spread out across days, or even weeks for some of the hardier, or more drought tolerant plants. Noticing some of the sign of stress can help you adjust quickly and easily to save your plant from the big garden in the sky.
Here are a few examples of things to look for and a possible reason:
– Wilted leaves: not enough water
– Shrunken, wrinkled leaves: not enough water
– Scorched or brown tips on the leaves: too much direct sun, water or fertilizer
– Little gnats flying around your plants: over-watering
– Mold on the top of the soil: too much water / not enough drainage
– Dried out soil: not enough water, top of soil needs mulching
– Yellowed and dropping leaves: lack of water or light
I could carry on, but do you see where I’m going with this?
“My tree died.”
“Did you water it?”
[Silence. Birds tweeting. A crow caws in the distance… ]
In my 10 years (update to 21 years now in 2022!) of introducing miniature gardening to the world, I’ve come across more than a few new gardeners wanting to try it. And, it is normally a watering or light issue that ends up taking their first wee tree or plant.
Knowing the signs – any signs for that matter – can help you and the plant adjust to each other. If you see any sort of problem, take a minute and try one of the following:
– Google the name of the plant, what the problem is and you’re sure to come up with answers you can compare your situation to.
– Check on the light/water/air requirements for the plant to make sure you have it in the right spot too. Indoor plants are for indoors, outdoor plants are for outdoors.
– Go back to, call or email the nursery where you bought the plant. They should know all about the plants that they sell. Please don’t blame the nursery people for your lack of knowledge, that it is just not fair. Patience and understanding will open more doors for you!
– Find real life gardeners or connect with garden centers in your area through Twitter and Facebook. Tweet or comment if you have questions or concerns about anything garden in your area – they love to interact with customers. They are a great group of people that are more than willing to tell you what to do.
Remember that, if given a choice, plants would prefer to grow and that is their only mission in life: to grow to reproduce.
You don’t have to know everything there is about gardening right this minute. Just know what you grow. Get to know about the one, or two plants, that you’re growing right now. Once your comfortable with those ones, go get a couple more.
And adjust for any overages, or shortages, by observing your plants daily or weekly.
Together, you both can live happily ever after, hold hands and walk with your plant into the sunset…. ;o)
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