Gardening with Wilson

The first instalment of the Root Awakening column for the month of March 09 was published today and three questions from readers were answered. The announcement about my upcoming talk about plants belonging to the Zingiberales order to be conducted at the Singapore Botanic Gardens next Saturday was also put up.

The first question was about the Venus fly trap and whether should the plant be allowed to flower. One may be curious about how the flower of this carnivorous plant looks like but has be cautioned that if the plant is allowed to flower, it may die from the process. This has been experienced by some of my friends who are carnivorous plant growers from the Green Culture Singapore discussion forum.

The second question was about growing sunflowers. From my experience, it can be very difficult to grow these cheerful flowering annuals in a high-rise apartment where direct sunshine is not often available for longer than 4 hours daily. Next, plants are best grown in fertile soil and fed generously to keep up with their growth. I have grown sunflowers before and they do best outdoors in full sun and planted in the ground, well fertilised.

The last question dealt with problems faced with growing basil. Basil plants are prone to pest attacks and the two most common pests I have encountered before were aphids and spidermites. These two are most easily eradicated only when the infestation is spotted early. Unfortunately, plants succumb to heavy infestations quite easily and quickly. Basils also need to grown in well-drained soil and in direct sunshine. Although they need to be well watered, they do not like to experience constant wet feet. If the plants are grown in such conditions, they tend to rot and that happens in the zone nearest to the ground.