Plants Care in Rainy Season
Gardening and plant care is an age-old practice and even be traced to the Indus Valley Harappan civilization way back in 2500 BC. Plant lovers across the world grow and take care of plants on their own, usually in a traditional way. Some people have advanced knowledge of gardening and know scientific know-how of plant care. However, most plant growers who lack appropriate knowledge often get confused especially about appropriate plants care in rainy season.
Everybody knows that water and rain are inevitable for plants. So, monsoon comes as a blessing for the people that are crazy and passionate about gardening. The rainy season, beyond debate, is good for plant growth both vegetable and flower.
For example, flower plants like Marigold, Balsam, Cosmos, Zinnia, Sunflower, Salvia, Cleome, Portulaca, Cocks comb, Ageratum, etc. grow better in the monsoon. Similarly, vegetables like tomatoes, Beans, Cucumber, Brinjal, Green Chillies, Radish, Okra, etc. do well in the rainy season. Nevertheless, monsoon comes with many challenges and threats that can cause hazards to your plants. Below are a few common as well as lesser-known tips for you on plant care in monsoon.
Threats and Appropriate Remedies for Plants in Monsoon and Rainy Season
Too much water both for indoor and outdoor plants can be devastating for the plants. You must take utmost care especially of the outdoor plants that are directly exposed to rain during monsoon. Besides water and rain, other numerous challenges and risks can be potentially hazardous for the life and growth of your plants. Below are some of the common factors that lead to hazards and essential tips on how you can tackle them to protect your plants.
Stagnation of Rainwater
When exposed to direct rain, the rainwater fills the pot and gets stagnated on the base plate or beneath the pot. This is a major issue for the plants as it leads to root rot. Plants usually do not survive once the roots are damaged by root rot.
Ways to Tackle Stagnation of Rainwater: Overwatering and lack of appropriate water drainage are the key issues in monsoon gardening. Therefore, the first thing as part of the plants care in rainy season is the appropriate water management. For this, you must take preventive measures as well as remedies during rainy days.
In preventive measures, identify the waterways on the ground of your garden and block them in several places. This will check soil erosion and keep the soil fertile. Now, during rainy days, make sure the rainwater is drained out of the pots and base plates. You must never allow water stagnation at any cost.
Drought Resistant Plants
If you have drought-resistant plants in your outdoor garden, then they may not withstand the heavy rain during monsoon. Drought tolerant plants include Coneflower, Catmint, Agastache, Lantana, Salvia, Lavender, Russian Sage, California Poppy, Artemisia, Veronica, Yarrow, Portulaca, etc. Take utmost care of these plants especially in the monsoon and rainy season so that they survive.
Remedies for Drought Resistant Plants: Remove the pots from your outdoor garden and shift them indoors. However, place the plants at places where they get sunshine at least when there are no rain and sun rays are direct. You must take special care of these plants as part of your plant care in monsoon and rainy seasons.
Young, Smaller, and Delicate Plants
The smaller and delicate plants like daffodils are so delicate that they do not withstand heavy rain and strong wind. Similarly, newly planted ones are young enough to survive the rain.
Measures for Young, Smaller, and Delicate Plants: Try to provide a roof using a tarp for the young or newly planted ones and the delicate plants to protect them from the direct shower of rain. Rain in the monsoon and rainy season is usually accompanied by a strong wind which the smaller and delicate plants may not withstand. You can also think of sheds made out of transparent plastic sheets for the young and delicate plants to protect them from rain and strong wind. Tie the plants to provide extra support. For plants that are in pots, you can simply take them inside or cover the plants with cages.
Humidity and Decreased Evaporation
Rainy season usually comes with humidity and decreased evaporation of water. Ultimately, you may have the risks of overwatering leading to damage to plant health resulting in ineffective plants care in rainy season. Your usual water schedule might not be appropriate during monsoon. Therefore, you need to work out a new schedule for watering your plants.
Addressing Humidity and Decreased Evaporation: Change your usual watering schedule and only water the plants when the soil is dry. In the case of self-watering pots, you need to remove the water container because there will be regular and natural watering. However, take note of yellow leaves which is a sign of wilting. Start watering the plants to prevent wilting.
Constant Moisture Leading to Pests
The leaves get highly moisturized during monsoon leading to numerous pests. So, the rainy season is the time for you to take appropriate steps to prevent pests.
Pest Control Measures: Most people directly apply pesticides that destroy soil health. So, follow organic pest control measures by applying neem oil (5 ml.) and liquid soap (10 ml.) mixed with water once a week.
Moisturized Soil
Heavy moisture in monsoon means mud that leads to hard soil. Secondly, air molecules get driven out by moving water making the soil harder, and hard soil is not fit for the plant’s health.
Soil Management: In fact, appropriate soil management is the key to many problems which is a preventive measure and you should do it before the monsoon. You can take care of the soil during the rainy season as well. There are two basic things in soil management (1) leveling of soil, and (2) loosening of soil, especially at the root of every plant. You can continue the same method for the soil for the best plant care in monsoon. Besides this, you can also add compost or organic mulch to the soil, especially at the root of the plants.
Similarly, earthworms are considered the best friends of farmers. These helping creatures are in the soil means there is good soil health including moisture, heat, and organic matter in your garden. Collect some earthworms from other places and spread them in your garden.
Fungus and Insects
Fungus and insects like snails, slugs, etc. do a lot of harm to the plants and it is the rainy season they love to intrude into your garden.
Preventing Fungus and Insects: Be vigilant and get the insects out of the plants. One of the best and most harmless methods to prevent the slugs and snails out of your garden is by allowing toads, lizards, frogs, etc. in your garden. In fact, these creatures are hidden forces that eat insects and protect your garden from damage. They also maintain biodiversity in the environment.
Soil Erosion
Soil erosion is a universal problem that primarily takes place during the rainy season. Soil erosion can take place in your garden as well as in the pots where you have the plants. Unnoticed soil erosion can potentially damage your plant health.
Preventing Soil Erosion: Remedies or preventive action to check soil erosion for plants care in rainy season should start before the monsoon and rainy season. Identify the waterways and block them. You can also think of creating small mud bonds to check the direct water flow and thus prevent soil erosion in your garden. Regularly check the pots and fill them up with soil if needed.
Decreased or No Sunlight
Plants survive due to direct sunlight over them and sunlight either decrease or sometimes no sunlight for days together during the rainy season. Plants in the outdoor garden and especially the indoor ones suffer and become sick due to lack of sunlight.
Addressing the Decreased Sunlight Issue: Regularly monitor the plants in your outdoor garden. Make sure that every plant is exposed to sunlight when there is direct sunlight. Similarly, place the indoor plants near windows or bring them outdoors for some time to provide them sunlight.
Rainy Season Plant Diseases
Monsoon comes with several diseases for the plants. Some of them can even kill the plants. Powdery mildew, fungal and bacterial infections, Salt burn caused by excess fertilizer, etc. are some of the common plant diseases in the rainy season.
Remedies for Rainy Season Diseases: Rainy season is the transition period for your plants. Plants grow faster in the rainy season, new leaves come, and old leaves fall. Some plants even die due to fungal attacks and other diseases. Therefore, regular pruning is essential to maintain plant health along with removing dead leaves. Pruning and deadheading are considered the most essential remedies for diseases and plant care in monsoon. Consult a horticulturist for deadly diseases.
Plants are part and parcel of human lives and civilizations from time immemorial. Gardening in the contemporary era is considered one of the best practices as well as profitable in terms of commercial gardening. People involved in gardening must know plant care in the rainy season to protect their plants and grow healthy plants.
FAQ's
The rainy season is suitable for most plants. This is the growth time for the plants. Succulents and cactus plants need more attention during the rainy season. There are lots of vegetables, foliage and flowering plants that are grown during the rainy season.
In simple words, we need to manage water well for the plants during the rainy season. Either it’s watering the plants or managing rainwater which is hitting directly or indirectly the plants. We need to ensure that rainwater is not getting stuck in the plants and need to make sure bacterial and fungal growth is not damaging the plants.
Typically we do not need to fertilize the plants in the rainy season. As plants will not be able to absorb much of it. We need to fertilize plants just before the rainy season. During the rainy season, we can provide liquid fertilizers and manures to the plant.
Plants enjoy the rainy season a lot its a growth period for most plants. Just we need to manage the excess water for the plants to avoid damage.
Radish, Beans, Green Chillies, Cucumber, Tomato, Brinjal, Okra and many more are the common vegetables grown in the rainy season.
Portulaca, Zinnia, Marigold, Jasmine, Champa, Begam Bahar, and Rain Lily are the common flowering plants grown in the rainy season.
Rice, sugarcane and many pulses are the main crops grown during the rainy season.
We need to ensure that pests and insects are not attacking the role plant. Keep removing weeds from the soil near by rose plant. Need to ensure water is not getting logged near the rose plant. We can prune the rose plant before the rainy season for better growth during the rainy season.
Yes, like any other plant, roses can easily be grown in the rainy season.
