Useful Tips & Tricks

[Tina]

Also I have used PVA glue to stick spines back on, totally non toxic.
Ideal if you are clumsy like me.

[MikeT]

When potting on a plant from a 2" BEF pot to a 2¾" pot, there's very little space to firm the new compost down - ⅜" all round, rather less than the average finger or pen (I often use a marker pen). If the root ball is placed diagonally, i.e. rotated round 45' from the orientation of the previous pot, then there are 4 reasonable sized corners - much easier to firm down the compost whether with finger or some other implement.

[Herts Mike]

Some really good tips on here. Well done guys!

[Liz M]

I thought the first aid tips for broken plants was amazing. Is there nothing which can not be glued?

[matchat]

I thought the first aid tips for broken plants was amazing. Is there nothing which can not be glued?

Agreed, I was surprised by this revelation. I'm glad to see that everyone has gotten on board and contributed some great ideas. Even down to something as simple as Mike T's suggestion of how to pot on. I'd certainly never considered that.

When attending plant sales and auctions I always try to take some crates and packing material. The one thing that I always forget is to take some sellotape or string to secure the packaging and plastic bags to sit the pots in if needed (to stop the soil and top dressing spilling over the car).

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[Tina]

For packing I make bubble wrap sausages, just fold lengthways & tape, useful when you are packing for shows and reusable.

[habanerocat]

I struggled for years to remove dust, dirt and especially cobwebs from plants. Wasted lots of time. Then it dawned on me to use a brush. Sounds stupid I know, and I'm sure lots of ye use one already.

A long soft bristled kitchen hand brush cleans cobwebs off spiny Echinocereus in seconds. Leaving them like new, with zero damage to the brittle spines.

[srboisvert]

A few tricks I learned from Brum Branchers :

Walter showed me the trick of using a straw to blow water off of top watered plants if you worry about lensing or rot in the growth point.

Derek used coloured plastic stir sticks in pots next to labels to track when he repotted plants. He used a different colour stir stick each year so he could see at a glance which pots needed repotting when.

[matchat]

Derek used coloured plastic stir sticks in pots next to labels to track when he repotted plants. He used a different colour stir stick each year so he could see at a glance which pots needed repotting when.

Slightly less obvious when glancing around the greenhouse, I write the month and year of potting on the back of the label. I also write only in pencil now, so that I don't lose any information.

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[Liz M]

If travelling with crates of plants, I always pack plenty of old plastic pots. They are very useful to fill up spaces in the crates and stop the plants moving around. The main thing to ensure when travelling with plants, especially ones you want to show, is to make sure they cannot move.