Common Garden Flower Diseases
Gardening can be a fun and relaxing hobby but it is not withoutit's downsides. That downside comes in the form of pests anddiseases that can ruin your plants if you are not careful.No garden is immune from disease and your best way to deal withit is to educate yourself as to the common pests and diseases inyour area. Bacteria, fungi and viruses can attack both floweringand non flowering plants. Fungi are able to survive in the soil,independent of the plants, while both bacteria and virusesrequire a plant host for their survival.Fungi are primitive organisms that reproduce through sporeswhich are very hard to kill. Fungi make spores in hugequantities and they spread rapidly. Some spores can affect aplant through the roots and others through the leaves. Fungi canlie dormant for years in the soil just waiting for t...
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...he rightconditions to activate it. A single infected plant can releaseup to 100 million spores, so it is important to completelyeradicate any fungal infection.Bacteria, on the other hand, need both warmth and water tomultiply and grow. Therefore, the majority of bacterial diseasesare more of a problem in climates that are both warm and wet.Bacteria can be spread thorough splashing water such as rain oroverhead watering. Many times it enters plants through a naturalopening like a flower, or through a wound or cut in a stem orleaf. Viruses can only reproduce from within the cells of the plant.They are smaller even than bacteria and can be transmitted byinsects or carried by infected seeds or pollen. Like bacteria,viruses often enter plants through cuts or wounds in the stems,leaves or other parts of the plant.As w...
...th all other disease treatment, the first step toeffectively treating a viral, bacterial or fungal infection inthe garden is to diagnose it properly. Every gardener shouldkeep a book or guide on hand which shows the effects of commonplant diseases. This guide will prove invaluable when trying tofigure out what is bothering your plants. If you are stillstumped for a diagnosis, be sure to seek the assistance of thestaff at your local garden center, or the help of a moreexperienced gardener.If you need to treat your garden for any of these problems, youshould first try natural non invasive methods. Try to avoidharsh chemicals and fungicides or same them for a last resort.While you may have to turn to using them, remember that they arenot good for the environment so keep to using only the minimumamounts recommended.
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