Taking Care of Your Miniature Plants during Seasonal Changes

Miniature plants are different from garden plants when it comes to maintenance and tasks like weeding, mulching, pruning and protection during seasonal changes. You should maintain miniature plants in specified ways in order to keep them looking beautiful and to ensure they remain healthy in the years to come.

You need to consider multiple points when planning to take care of your miniature plants during seasonal changes. To help you ensure your miniature plants stay healthy, here are important tips to follow.

Plant according to the seasonPlanting miniatures according to the season is important because not all miniature plants can survive in all seasons. Like other trees and plants, miniature plants react to the change in seasons. For example, if you have lots of Aeonium decorum variegata (Kiwi) succulents outdoors, they grow best in filtered sun in hot summer. Whereas shade or terrarium planters might contain the Mosaic plant, which creates a stunning little indoor mini garden and is ideal for a low light situations. Therefore, you should select plants depending on the season.

Location of the plants (indoor or outdoor)It is important to plant your miniatures at the right location, whether it is indoor or outdoor. Choosing the right location helps the plant grow well. This is because some miniature plants need direct sunlight, whereas a few need indirect sunlight while still a few others thrive in diffused sunlight.

As for indoor miniature plants, they require little light and water when compared to outdoor miniature plants that require good amount of sunlight and watering. Ensure to arrange your miniature plants accordingly.

Check for diseases and pestsTo keep the miniature plants free from diseases or pests, make sure to treat them with pesticides. For insects such as aphids, use insecticidal soap and for fungal diseases, use fungicide.

You may spot visible signs of disease, fungus, or insect infestation if the miniature plants have wilted leaves, holes, tiny spider webs, green/black or white bugs on the leaves and stems. Remove the infected leaves, stems and trunks to prevent further infection.

Check for moisture holding capacity of the soil and drainageOne of the key components that make your miniature gardening a success is the quality of the soil. The soil should drain sufficiently to prevent water logging; it should also retain moisture so that adequate water is available for the miniature plants. Therefore, make sure to check the humidity and the moisture holding capacity of the soil.

Fertilizing - not too little, not too muchFeeding the miniature plants with fertilizers will help them thrive. Fertilizer is needed to maintain the strength and health of the plants, because regular watering will wash out the nutrients in potting mix. Provide the miniatures with special fertilizer meant to keep them healthy, and make sure that amount of fertilizer you use is according to the quality of the soil, because too little or too much fertilizer may harm the plants.

PruningPrune the miniature plants to maintain the size and to direct their growth. Use a small pruning tool to cut the leaves, buds, and parts of branches so that the miniature plant grows in the way you would like. Be sure to prune the miniature when it has plenty of stored nutrients, such as spring or autumn. Avoid over pruning as it can damage the plants.

Grouping the miniature plantsGrouping helps miniature plants protect themselves against sunshine and makes watering easier. Grouping them in a large pot will help them withstand climatic conditions. If a few stones are placed on top of the container, not only does it look decorative, but helps conserve water as well.

Seasonal changes keep happening; they bring pleasant surprises in the form of multiple options for changes in your miniature garden. You need to take care of the miniature plants accordingly, so that you can ensure the enchanting beauty of the garden is intact through the ensuing season.

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