Brad's Tropical Paradise

I'm rehabbing a couple of rubber tree plants that were languishing in the office of the Woman in my Life, and surprisingly I'm having some success. And I have to give a lot of credit to using a moisture meter. Plants are like fish - you can kill them with kindness. And one of the best ways to kill a potted plant is to over-water it. And if you have a kind heart and you see a plant starting to droop, your first thought will be to give it a nice generous drink of water. And with enough of this kindness you will kill the plant, by drowning it. Of course you don't want it to completely dry out, but just looking at the soil, or sticking your finger into the top of it, just isn't good enough information. So go get a moisture meter. Any type will do, and you can get them at any garden center. This is how you use it: Stick it in the soil and push it all of the way down. At the bottom of the plant I checked today the meter pegged out to the right, meaning that the soil

Since petunias bloom so profusely, it can be kinda weird to have a petunia plant with no flowers. If you have one, I think I see the problem, and my best guess is that it's you. Are you messy, or lazy? And do you let your petunias get all rangy and unkempt? No? Well, there's your problem - you should. If you're a compulsively neat gardener who is constantly snipping away at your plants, you're cutting off where the blooms want to bloom. So calm down. Give you petunias plenty of water and sunshine, and let them be. Sit back, relax, maybe have a beer, and just let 'em bloom. They will!