It's Hard Growing

This geranium (pelargonium) will soon be in full bloom. It is the same plant we watered earlier. I have left the old dying leaves on.


TOUGH LOVE

Unlike the dark green luscious plants you buy from a nursery, plants grown under a harsh regime are tough, wiry and well-adapted to survive in most conditions. Restricting water, and feeding with a high potassium feed seems to produce an abundance of early flowers. Such plants are also more able to resist disease and harsh winters.

In the old days, growers used to dig up fruit trees and severely prune the roots to stimulate heavy crops.

Although I have never seen it explained, we need to understand that flower (and thus fruit) production is done to produce seeds. It seems the plant is able to determine a high probability of death and react accordingly by producing more seeds (and hence more flowers and fruits).

This technique of fright does not only apply to plants. It is used in the mushroom industry, as well. Growers induce mushroom fruiting bodies by suddenly and drastically reducing temperatures for a short time (usually overnight).

STUNTED GROWTH

Many people say that if you let plants wilt they will be stunted. Although this is probably true in many respects, I don't think it is the rule. If the geranium is stunted, it does not appear to be. Furthermore, I was once told of a farmer who deliberately planted his cabbages out into dryish soil to induce wilting, and therefore root production. He would not have done this if it produced small tough cabbages. Indeed, I know just the opposite was true.

There is also much to be said for this sort of growing in the garden. Plants which might otherwise need staking because they have lots of lush, soft and weak growth are able to stand upright all by themselves. This saves lots of work, I can tell you.

Going back to the geranium, I only give this tough regime over winter, or on young cuttings. Now is the time to really water them - when they are flowering profusely. Actually, if the water is given just as the flowers are developing, it will induce massive flowers, as well. The plant must know it has enough water and react accordingly.

But, having said this, I still use the soaking method to water them. And I hardly ever feed them.