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And in winter, how much and how is it watered? This is how the garden and terrace plants are maintained when the cold and rain arrive

2022-12-03T14:10:47.546Z


The earth and the substrate must always have a correct hydration. Like people, it is possible that less water is drunk at this time of year, but trees and pots need it to continue their vital processes.


The coldest months are coming to the Peninsula, and their effect has finally been felt in the plants.

For them, this drop in temperature is a vital and necessary moment, although it seems to us that they would be better warm in the shelter of a greenhouse.

Of course, we are talking about those that are adapted to our climate, for which coping with the drop in temperatures is not a problem.

For a tropical ficus it is another story, and winter will not be a bit of grace for it.

Obviously, the winter temperature is not the same on the Malaga coast, in the Castilian lands or on the islands, so it is not possible to generalize when talking about the climate.

In these weeks, the plants are preparing for the winter that inevitably comes to them in many parts of Spain.

The withdrawal of nutrients in the leaves causes the autumn colors for those deciduous species.

But for those that are perennial there are also changes.

For starters, your metabolism slows down dramatically, until it practically stops.

At least in appearance.

Photosynthesis is a process that requires an ideal temperature range of between 12 and 28 °C, generally.

So, during many winter days, the plant cannot carry it out, so its energy-generating machinery stops inevitably.

But if warmer days come, evergreens such as a laurel (

Laurus nobilis

) or a Japanese privet (

Ligustrum lucidum

) will start their photosynthetic machine, having leaves to carry it out.

More information

How to take care of plants in winter and which winter flowers are most beautiful to brighten up the house

Thinking that the vast majority of plants do not need to be watered between December and February is a more common mistake than it seems in Spanish regions where there can be several weeks without rain.

And we are not only referring to the garden, but also to plants in pots and planters on a terrace.

It is obvious that the amount of water they will need in January is not the same as in the month of May, with the whole plant producing new leaves, flowers and fruits and with a high atmospheric temperature.

But you must always maintain, in general terms, a correct hydration of the garden soil or the substrate in the pot.

There are plants that, on the other hand, will benefit from remaining with dry roots, as happens to cacti.

Apart from these exceptions, the root needs to be hydrated to be healthy.

It's a bit like our nose mucosa,

To the already mentioned possibility that several weeks without rain appear, we must add the fact of the greater or lesser number of hours of sun, without cloudy days, and the presence of one of the most drying factors for the plant: the wind. .

On windy days it becomes even more necessary to ensure that the plants in the garden or on the terrace have enough water at the roots to cope with this drying parameter.

The best measuring device to know the amount of water plants need is the eye and the experience of the person who cares for them.

getty

On the other hand, if it rains, you have to be sure that the rain has penetrated sufficiently into the earth.

There is a wonderful saying that contains part of the wide wisdom of the peasant: "Water from heaven does not remove irrigation."

For this reason, the best measuring device to know the amount of water that plants need is the eye and the experience of the person who cares for them in a specific place.

In this way, he will know when to activate the irrigation system, open the hoses or fill the shower to attend to his beloved plant beings.

If we have doubts, we can carry out a tasting in a simple way with a single blow of the hoe.

If after opening the ground we see that the first centimeters of the earth are dry, it is time to water.

Although not all gardens are irrigated equally.

There are some used to the absence of water once they are established.

If native species and resistant to the local climate have been chosen, that is a gain, and a style of naturalistic gardening that is increasingly in vogue.

But even in them, special care must be taken in certain places, as Gilberto Segovia, an agricultural engineer, recalls: “When it rains, that fallen water may be enough for the garden.

But if you have an evergreen tree, such as a cypress (

Cupressus sempervirens

) or an oak (

Quercus ilex

), a large part of the rain remains in its crowns.

So, under those trees the ground is dry and the plant that is there suffers, even if the rest of the garden is wet.

On the terrace you have to be even more aware of the water, since it is very easy for the root ball of the plants to dehydrate.

The bigger the plant, or the smaller the pot, you have to be more alert to the pressing need for water.

With indoor plants you have to be vigilant with the use of heating, which can cause dryness.

getty

But what about indoor plants?

They get rid of the effect of winter.

Well, only in appearance.

For them, of course, temperature is not a limiting factor in their cultivation.

But the use of heaters can cause even more dryness, so you have to watch, again, that the substrate does not dry out.

What will affect them is the drop in daylight hours, as well as their intensity.

For this reason, a balance must be found between not watering excessively —because of its lower capacity to carry out photosynthesis— and taking care of the dryness caused by heating.

But, as always, the gardener's maxim of watering indoor plants must be respected only when the substrate has dried, as a general rule.

It is now when it is easier for excess watering to cause the death of the plants in the room.

Thus, we see how it is possible that in winter plants, like people, drink less water, but still need it to continue with their vital processes.

Source: elparis

All news articles on 2022-12-03

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