Dhanteras Wishes for your Plants Taking Care of Plants During Lighting Crackers and Fire Works Diwali Care for your Plants

Dhanteras Wishes for your Plants, lots of happiness and good health and loads of wealth coming your way from Rizwana! Have a Great Healthy Safe Deepavali!

Diya cubism oil on paper by Rizwana A

 Taking Care of Plants During Lighting Crackers and Fire Works Diwali Care for your Plants
Yes they too have a right to celebrate and enjoy the festival of lights. Plants are living and need care during lighting crackers and fire works. The show looks beautiful with lighting and diyas decorated during the festival of lights, deepavali, but your plants feel suffocated and cry for help!
It is tradition to light diyas, oil lamps, and decorate your house, main door, garden, plant containers and every window seems lighted up with beautiful oil lamps during the important nights of Deepavali.

A corner of my Precious space under the sun

Plants at this time are happy with the shorter days and cooler nights, and the Juhi climber jasmine white fragrant flowering one is fully loaded with beautifully soothing white blooms that give out heavenly fragrances as evening sets in.
 Each day I see lovely butterflies coming over our terrace garden, as it is full of colorful blooming plants. While some look like dried bark, there are some that imitate the color of the flowers and this one which I really didn't catch a glimpse until I watered the bamboo plant ,and as this butterfly flew, I was awestruck by the beauty in nature and the creation of God. It had the colors of the bamboo leaves just like the original leaves, what a wonderful sight!

Fragrant Juhi Jasmine Climber is loaded with flowers

Butterfly Imitating colors  Bamboo leaves

Coming back to our festival of lights, People line up their garden with oil lamps and electrical colorful torans of lights and cover most garden plants with this. Ever thought about the effects on your plants? From experience I have seen leaves turned to burnt dark brown in front of me, the plants shrivel with heat, and leaves drop, so sad! Their first response is they move back, from the heat source, observe this movement.
1) Plants feel the heat, yes leaves burn with strong powered halogen lamps.
2) During nights, the rest period, plants are made to stay awake! For the whole year they sleep as sun sets and these few nights they are exposed to such strong lights and made to stay awake for full nights which even we don't do!

Fragrant Candles oil on paper by Rizwana

3) Electric lighting also affects the roots and pots of the plants. Plastic containers crack with strong heat. Roots dry out sooner even after watering.
4) While doing puja people offer flowers and other ingredients used to the plants, oils sometimes clog the soil which results in plant death also.
5) The flower shows and sound less crackers that are very pretty to look at drop hot particles of ashes that may burn your plants.
6) Tall tress can bear the heat of oil lamps as their trunk is strong but small plants soon die off.
7) Warm lights with lamp shades harm less.
8) Watering carefully in mornings during Deepavali  festivals so that the plants do not feel cold and hot at one time when you light oil lamps surrounding them.
9) Try to protect your plant containers soil from ashes and sediments from lighted crackers and fireworks as this grayish ash coating can make a layer over the oil and suffocate your plants , also clogging the soil, eventually leading to dry roots, sometimes death of your precious plants.
How can you prevent this damage to your plants while enjoying this festival of lights-
1) water regularly before the festival, healthy plants survive changes better.
2) avoid putting electrical lights directly on leaves and plants.
3) Oil lamps can be put near containers taking care to see that the exposed roots are not close to heat source.
4) Clean all left overs of fie crackers and loosen the soil after the festival to allow well draining of plant soil.
5) Burnt plant leaves should be trimmed to prevent further damage to plant.
6) Wash leaves thoroughly after the Deepavali  festival and during as ash settles on leaves clogging its pores.
7) If possible avoid adding too much of oil and other ingredients to the soil to the extent that the soil gets clogged.

Protection Swastik by RizwanaA Mundewadi

8) Hang lamps with soothing warm light and avoid strong powerful light sources over your plants.
Your plants are a part of your family, while you enjoy the festival of lights , let them also enjoy it happily.
Goddess Laxmi comes to every home when it is lighted but when she hears the whimpers and soft calls of pain from plants, wonder how she will bless you, think about this !
Have a Safe and Healthy Deepavali!
God Bless from Rizwana!
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