How to Troubleshoot Container Flower Gardens

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

I Did This Rate: (1 Ratings)

Container flower gardens are a wonderful way to spruce up a small area like the porch of an apartment. Troubleshooting container flower gardens usually fall into one of several categories: soil quality, insects, amount of water and sunlight. Find out what requirements your particular plants have and know what to do if you start to see signs of poor health in your container flower garden.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Step1

Check for insufficient lighting. Some symptoms of this are pale colored plants that are lanky and just overall don't look very healthy. Or your plants may be getting too much light, characterized by leaves that have silver or red spots.

Step2

Evaluate the amount of water your plants receive. Symptoms such as yellowing leaves that fall off or an entire plant that is wilted can be caused either by over watering or under watering. Humidity can also be an issue, as most plants like the humidity to be between 50 and 70 percent.

Step3

Troubleshoot your plant's problems by checking for possible insect-related issues. Signs that insects could be harming your plant include sticky brown or white spots on leaves and masses that resemble cotton balls on the stems.

Step4

Determine if the amount of fertilizer you use could be harming your plants. If new plant growth looks wilted and pale, or blooming plants aren't flowering, this could be your answer. In addition, pH levels of the soil (either too high or too low) can cause leaves to yellow between the veins, while the veins themselves remain green.

Step5

Know the causes and signs of fungal diseases. Yellow or brown spots on the leaves, are frequently a fungus caused by allowing water to sit on the plants, especially at night. A gray mold that covers the plant is a fungus caused by letting dead leaves and blooms stay on the plant.