Get Your Garden Off on the Right Foot
by Selecting Healthy Plants

Now that the weather has gotten warmer, we have turned our thoughts to planting our gardens. Whether you are selecting vegetable transplants for the garden or new daylily or dogwood to add to your landscape, the best way to avoid a disease problem is to start with a healthy plant. Here are some tips to aid in selecting healthy plants:

• Choose plants with good green foliage. The plants should be compact in form and not leggy. Avoid woody plants that have a lot of dead branches or injuries to main branches and trunks.

• Examine the plants for signs of insects. Look for aphids, thrips, or spider mites by gently tapping the foliage over a piece of white paper. The tapping motion will dislodge any insects that may be present. While you may be tempted to purchase the plant anyway, it is best not to risk introducing pest-infested plants to your garden where the problem could spread to other plants. In some situations these insects could carry viral diseases.

• Steer clear of plants that have spots on the leaves. While the spotting may be a minor, leaf-spotting fungal disease, spotting may also be symptomatic of a more serious and harder to control bacterial or viral problem.

• If possible, examine the root system of the plant by gently lifting the root ball out of the pot. Roots of herbaceous plants should be white and firm, while diseased roots are dark and mushy. Healthy roots of woody plants are a light tan to brown, while diseased roots are a dark brown or black. Diseased roots are mushy or soft, and often the outer layer of the root sloughs off, giving the root a "rat-tailed" appearance. An outward symptom of a plant with a root problem is wilted foliage despite moist potting medium.

• In general, try to buy plants from establishments that care for them properly. I have often seen plants at retail establishments that are allowed to become too dry between waterings and are stressed from harsh environmental conditions. Sub-optimal growing conditions can often predispose the plant to disease or insect problems while at the retail outlet or later when placed into the garden or landscape. If you do buy from such establishments, try to buy them shortly after they have come off the delivery truck.