SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2015
EASTOREGONIAN.COM • PAGE 5
HOME & GARDEN
Five common mistakes gardeners make
BY JESSICA KELLER
HERMISTON HERALD
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den or vegetable garden, Master
Gardener Bill Dochnahl said peo-
ple can go wrong in a number of
areas.
1. Watering
Dochnahl said one of the most
common mistakes is gardeners
either over-water or under-water
their plants or lawn. Over-water-
ing may wash away necessary
plant nutrients. Too little water,
however, will dry out the plant
and kill it.
“The biggest mistake is not
knowing how much to water,” he
said. “Most people will water too
much.”
2. Amendments
Dochnahl said another mistake
he sees among other gardeners
is improper use of amendments,
such as fertilizer and plant foods.
Frequently, he said, people pur-
chase fertilizer of plant food with-
out knowing when it should be
used or how.
“They need to read the labels
on any of the amendments that
they buy,” he said, adding under-
standing the product they intend
to use and what it does is import-
ant for plant health.
Too much fertilizer, Dochnahl
said, can negatively impact plants
in a number of ways, including
weakening them and making
them more susceptible to disease
or insect attacks.
Dochnahl suggests gardeners
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trients are lacking, so if they do
decide to fertilize, they can buy a
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cies.
3. Planting the right
plant in the right place
The third biggest mistake,
Dochnahl said, is people plant
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er, such as a hosta, which needs
partial shade or full shade to
thrive, is planted in a location that
receives more sunlight than shade
or in open sun, they’ll burn. When
buying a plant, people should read
the label saying which conditions
are necessary for growth. Partial
sunlight, he said, means mostly
shady.
Another problem Dochnahl
said he sees is plants placed in a
location not suitable for their size.
People need to take into account
how big something will grow be-
fore planting it next to something,
such as a house, lest a tree grow
into the side of a house. He said
people should also refrain from
planting too close to other trees or
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SEE MISTAKES/10
Imagine The Possibilities
HERALD FILE PHOTO
Pruning trees to such an extent that the main stem and uppermost branches
are cut off is known as topping. While it may make the size more desirable,
topping is actually bad for the tree’s health.
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