Root Awakening (5 Dec 09)

The first instalment of the Root Awakening column for the last month of this year was published yesterday. The first question was about brown patches appearing on a pearl grass turf. Although beautiful and nice to lie on, pearl grass is sensitive to the pH and constituents found in dog’s urine. It is important to promptly flushing the area with plentiful amounts of water once one notes that a dog as urinated onto the turf. A more resilient grass in place of pearl grass to grow is cow-grass, although it is one turf species that most people would want to avoid having at home.

The next question was about a problem encountered in a Dracaena fragrans that has been converted from soil culture to hydroculture. A mature soil-grown plant may not be able to take the process of conversion to growing in hydroculture. Such a plant would probably not able to adapt well to the new growing condition, as the roots are adapted to growing in soil. The foul smell that has been detected is likely to be caused by roots that are rotting away under anaerobic conditions. It is recommended to buy plants that have been adapted to hydroculture growing conditions that are sold by hydroculture nurseries. Otherwise, you can attempt to raise new plants via vegetative propagation methods directly in hydroculture. Raising and growing plants via this approach will have a higher chance of success.

The last question was about the curling of leaves seen in a chilli plant. Chilli plants are commonly infested with sucking insect pests such as aphids, mealy bugs and spider mites which spread viral diseases. It is good to check the undersides of leaves often to see if there are any signs of these pests. Promptly prune away affected portions and then apply a pesticide indicated for such infestations. Use neem oil or white summer oil if one prefers to use organic remedies. In chilli plants that are infected with a viral disease, leaves become distorted and growth may be affected. Viral infected plants cannot be saved and need to be pulled out and disposed of. They should not be added to the compost heap. Control sucking pest infestation to limit the spread of such diseases.