A love for gardening and yard care is often handed down from generation to generation. Your mom may have patiently taught you how to plant a flower, or enlisted your help in pulling weeds – while your dad might have taught you how to mow the lawn. Unless you majored in horticulture, however, your knowledge beyond what you learned from your family is most likely self-acquired. Although you’ve probably learned a lot of valuable information, you may still believe certain myths that are generally accepted as fact.
In the interest of broadening your education and improving your slice of Central Florida paradise, we offer this follow-up to our blog post –“Busting Seven Common Yard and Garden Myths” – with seven more mythbusters. Read and learn!
- Putting Gravel in the Bottom of a Container Helps Drainage
Adding gravel, small rocks or pot shards to the bottom of pots for drainage was once a recommended practice, but it has been found to actually have the opposite effect, preventing water from draining out as easily.
According to Leanne Potts of Better Homes & Gardens, a pot with drainage holes at the bottom is all you need to let the excess water drain out so roots stay aerated. You do not need to add a layer of gravel or pot shards to help it out.
“Putting anything at the bottom of the pot is bad for plants,” gardening expert C.L. Fornari writes in her book, Coffee for Roses…and 70 Other Misleading Myths About Backyard Gardening. Studies have shown the movement of water through a potting medium is hindered, not helped, by a layer of coarse material in the bottom of a pot. That so-called drainage layer of rocks can also block the drainage hole and keep it from doing its job.
- Drought-tolerant Plants Don’t Need Watering
Even the most drought-resistant plants need watering for the first year after planting. According to Florida Native Plants Nursery & Landscaping, with Florida’s heat and very nutrient-poor and quick draining soils, it’s important that you provide ample watering to your new plants in the beginning so that root hairs will grow into the surrounding soil. A layer of mulch can help retain moisture. Our blog post – “Why You Should Mulch Your Central Florida Landscape in the Fall” – provides tips for mulching that apply throughout the year.
Watering requirements depend upon the plant species, soil, sun and time of year, so refer to the tag that accompanies the plant if you buy it. For established drought-tolerant plants, keep an eye out for signs of water stress – such as curling, drooping, browning or dropping leaves – then water to revive.
- Pine Needle Mulch Makes Soil Too Acidic for Plants
False! Pine needles (also known as pine straw) make an excellent mulch. Although pine needles have a low pH of 3.2 to 3.8 when they fall off the tree (neutral pH is 7.0), the needles begin to decompose once they hit the ground and soil microbes neutralize the acidity. If you use fresh needles as mulch, there may be a slight drop in soil pH until they decompose, but not enough to damage plants. Pine needles are a good mulch material that will suppress weeds, hold in moisture and slowly add nutrients to the soil as they break down.
Moreover, according to UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions, they give a very natural look to landscapes. And, unlike some mulches, pine straw is not likely to wash away because the needles knit together. Pine straw is among the least expensive mulches, but it breaks down and settles quickly. You will have to re-mulch the area often.
Although it’s a great overall mulch, don’t rely on pine needle mulch if your goal is to lower the soil pH around such acid-loving plants as azaleas, camellias and blueberries.
- Houseplants Purify Indoor Air
That would be nice if it were true, but alas, it isn’t! This myth originated from an experiment conducted by NASA in the 1980s, which tested whether certain houseplants would purify toxins from the air in a closed environment like a space station. Some did clean volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like formaldehyde out of the air when they were placed in small, air-tight containers.
However, a 2019 study covering a decade’s worth of research assessed the air-purifying ability of indoor plants and concluded that houseplants are ineffective at improving indoor air quality. The problem with the NASA experiments was that the small, densely gaseous chambers used in the laboratory were nothing like your house. The study showed that plants do metabolize VOCs, but the amounts were extremely small and the rates by which they metabolize them were extremely slow. To have an appreciable amount of VOCs that could be lowered to affect air quality in your home, the study found that there would be a need for about 10 plants per square foot of living area. Basically, a 1,200-square-foot home would need 12,000 plants!
Bottom line: If you want to improve your indoor air quality, buy a mechanical air purifier instead of a philodendron. But if you want an attractive, low-maintenance houseplant, a philodendron is a great choice!
- Deer-resistant Plants on the Edge of a Yard will Repel Deer
Everyone loves graceful deer – unless they’re dining on your azaleas! While planting shrubs that deer don’t find palatable would seem to be an easy remedy, it just doesn’t work. Although they may initially be put off by a barrier of such greenery as cast iron plants, rosemary and ferns, deer aren’t deterred for long, and will soon make their way to your yard’s delectable offerings. The most effective way to keep deer out of your yard and garden is an 8-foot-tall fence. If the expense of a fence is too daunting – or your HOA doesn’t allow it – try a deer repellent and put it on the plants they like to eat. Reapply the repellent after every rain.
- Snakes are Aggressive
Snakes have had a bad reputation since time immemorial. Although we know that non-venomous species are helpful in the yard because they regulate rodent populations, they still strike fear when we encounter them on our home turf. Fortunately, there’s no reason to panic. As UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions observes, even surprised snakes are rarely aggressive.
“Most snakes will actively avoid interactions with people and only strike out when cornered, approached, or attacked. So going after a snake with a shovel is probably the least-safe option that might cross your mind. A snake is not going to come after you if it does not feel threatened.
“The best way to protect yourself while gardening is to wear thick boots and gloves. Take care when working in areas that may serve as a hiding place for a snake. And while it’s best to never approach any snake, approaching a venomous snake can be dangerous, even deadly. If you think a snake may be venomous, call a professional.”
- Grits Control Fire Ants
Fire ants are a painful nuisance in Florida yards, so eradicating their nests is necessary to the safe enjoyment of your property. This is no easy task, however, as most of us have learned from frustrating experience. For this reason, numerous home remedies continue to circulate, but none are effective – including grits, soap, soda water, diesel, or citrus peels. According to UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions, some treatments may encourage the ants to move, but they rarely move far.
“Club soda is another common home remedy for fire ants. As the reasoning goes, the carbon dioxide from the bubbles suffocates the ants in their tunnels. While the logic is appealing, in actual practice this treatment has little to no effect.”
Unfortunately, there is no known way to permanently eliminate fire ants from an area. To control fire ants, UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions recommends boiling water, protecting the native competitor ant species, and using garden-specific baits and contact pesticides only as needed.
The Take-Home Message
As a homeowner, taking care of your Central Florida yard and garden requires a good deal of knowledge. Being able to separate misinformation from facts will help you achieve a beautiful outdoor environment that’s a source of pride and enjoyment for you and your family!
Of course, our experienced professionals at Daniel’s Lawn Service & Pressure Washing can lend a hand! We provide landscape design, tree installation, tree trimming, yard maintenance, pressure washing and so much more. Contact us today so we can do the work, and you can do the enjoying! We proudly serve all of Central Florida – including Orlando, Sanford, Longwood and Lake Mary! We look forward to helping you achieve your goals and bring your vision to life!
