Corpus Christi (Kiii News) — The South Texas Gardener joined us on 3 News First Edition to talk about how standing water in our gardens can be a mosquito magnet. He also discussed how to deal with root rot from water logged plants. Plants that have been root bound and potted plants as well as plants in the ground can both benefit and suffer from the amount of water we just received. In many cases we will see a greening up effect that for the most part is healthy growth or revitalization of chlorophyl in leaves.
However if left in a prolonged state of over saturated soil/growing media then we will also start to see wilting and other signs of stress. For plants established in the ground there is not much that we can do short of up rooting them so we will have to hope that these plant are unaffected or strong enough to pull through the oxygen deprived habitat. If using mulch you may want to pull the mulch away form around the plant if you think the ground will remain saturated for weeks or heavy in clay. Dead limbs could be pruned back.
For potted plants I would advise that excess moisture is drained away including the saucer and potting soil be allowed to dry out. Be sure to check to see if more than just the top layer of soil is dry by using your finger to check deeper into the container. If plants are showing signs of wilting, do not water. Replant your plant into fresh soil and remove brown soggy roots from plant by using Sharp and CLEAN pruning shears. (BotaniCo has some of the best quality and selection.)
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