Very important 14 practical tips for trimming and cutting plants from your garden

Growing and starting a garden is one aspect and Maintaining your garden is another! Very important practical tips for trimming and cutting plants from your garden-

Trimming garden plants

1) Check for insects , pests and creatures first in thick growth plants. Trust me there are many who make homes in the bushes as the plants also grow into quite a thick foliage. If you are trimming for pests then apply face mask to cover and protect yourself from mites and mealy bugs. 

Cutting thorny plants

Trimmed yellow leaves 

2) wear gloves, I didn't know this earlier but really important, you accidentally get scratched by the bark or stem and some thorns plants and sticky liquid gum oozing plants can give you serious skin issues. Gloves are very important to prevent skin rashes and cuts.

3) Take extra care to cut plants with spikes and thorns, wear spectacles to protect eyes. 

4) Cut plants need to be disposed off carefully. Very extra care required to pack them before throwing. wrap in news papers so that the garbage collector does not get hurt.

5) Check for buds, please do not trim stems with buds and growing flowers, yes we have to some times in case of pest attacks, just request the plant, thank it for the beautiful blooms and trim it. Once I did accidentally trim a bud branch and felt really bad.., still feeling sad, but it was accidental.

Trimming overgrown roots of large container plants

6) Check for plants with fine hairs and sticky oozing liquids. This makes the skin burn and also develop rashes, red patches.

7) Timing is important avoid winters as it is harsh climate already for them to survive. I have trimmed them frequently during the rainy season months, to prevent over growth , this is necessary as leaving them off hand the plant loses nutrition and it affects its health, many huge plants in small containers also do not survive if they outgrow pots with overflowing roots.  

8) Many plants like champa, Magnolia, that have very thick fleshy stem are really difficult to cut with scissors, I had a trying time with trimming these, as I did not want to give much pain to the plant, but they can be bent by hand and cut off easily.

Trimming roots of bulb plants

9) They do feel the pain, remember this. Most important choose sharp tools, scissors and knives for cutting to reduce and minimize pain to your plants.

10) talk to them before trimming and even after trimming to send love and healing so that they recover fast from the trauma of cutting wounds.

11)Please take extra care for yourself after the trimming of garden plants process.  personal care, wash hands and take bath with antiseptic soaps after trimming garden plants. Apply generously moisturizers and antiseptic creams on cuts, bruises. Also do check for allergies in case you accidentally came in contact with oozing liquids from cut plants. Apply antiseptic creams and also take anti allergic medicines if required. 

12) See that you have free time safe time during trimming of garden plants. Protect family, children and pets while you are at this trimming cutting task and see that they do not get accidentally hurt in this process.

13) Pack and cover all cut plants , share if possible cuttings to neighbors and friends, each one makes into a new life! Neatly wrap them in paper and dispose them, or if you have a large yard let them dry and then burn them to make recycled fertilizer. 

14) Immediately after trimming cutting a branch or stem apply some soil. This helps heal the wounds of cutting faster. 

its every time an emotional time to see a bit barren smaller stems, after trimming and cutting,  but then there is so much hope with this process as they spring into fresh shoots and lime green leaves and grow healthy and happy again! 

Happy Gardening from Rizwana!

I do not sell plants, this is my passion! I am a healing artist since year 2000 making original hand painted reiki symbol paintings. The Red Pilgrim @Razarts.

Is there a magical aspect to the Night Queen Saussurea obvallata care

 Night Queen Saussaurea obvallata care! Bring some magic into your garden with this mystical plant! The blooms will be worth it!  there are always scientific reasons and if you have the right knowledge, and apply it,  this plant will flower! I keep reading, searching on Google for Brahma Kamal flowering time, and watch You Tube videos but no one shares the exact formula. People just make videos and share the same info. Is there a magical aspect to the Night Queen? 

Magical Night Queen flowers 

• Why do buds form and then fall off on this Night Queen Brahma Kamal plant? Many people struggle with this. First when a new bud comes it is a miracle in itself with hope and joy and then if it falls off people get depressed. This is a plant and it needs its care trust me on that. Observe its habits, understand its growth process, and talk to your plant. There is a scientific reason why Brahma Kamal plant buds drop?

  

  Brahma Kamal Night Queen Flowers

  
  
  

• 1) The plant is too weak. A newly planted Brahma Kamal leaf is not very strong to hold the weight of this bud. The flowers are really heavy and big in size as shared by my Blog Garden care Simplified  readers.

• Read here- How to save a dying Brahma Kamal plant?

• 2) Disease and pests in Brahma Kamal Plant. The Brahma Kamal plant is a succulent, means the leaves are fleshy and have stored water. They attract pests, beetles, bugs make tiny holes in them. Slugs feast upon them and ants too love these! I am so happy that they are MashaAllah going healthy in my window garden. and I keep a check on their health regularly. watch this You Tube video Brahma Kamal plant disease and care. BE ALERT! that is my motto! 

• 3)Watering issues .Why Brahma Kamal plant leaves go limp? 

• Watering is I think most important issue for leaf and bud drop. leaves get mushy with over watering and rot. And less watering too dries the roots and the leaves or bud drops. 

• 4) feedings. how much fertilizer did you feed your plant? there is a tendency to over feed to get fast flowers but the plant has to absorb or digest this feeding and many times plants die of over dose. I have seen even other plants like mogra and roses that immediately spright up with so many tiny buds and even before they grow the buds drop off. Reason-too much fertilizer. Give less food, and more love. Too much green foliage is also harmful, where will the plant get strength to produce flowers? Night Queen often does not require any fertilizers. 
• 5) Environment. Did a pet or a small child just pluck it off while observing the bud? Harsh winds and rains in outside environment can be the reason for bud drop. If it shows buds protect it. they are precious. talk to the plant before shifting it. You have to protect your plant buds from others, especially evil eye glances. the ANNOUNCEMENT is only made on the night when the flower actually blooms.  Some people also tie a black cloth for protecting plants.

When do you buy Night Queen  plants? is there a good time? a best time to plant them? Avoid summers, choose full moon nights to plant this auspicious plant if you have the choice. the energies are high. Never buy or plant Night Queen saplings at night. Never cut the leaves at night. Never share a cutting during afternoon twelve o'clock with anyone. you risk your plant dying! Usually I buy plants in morning or evening and bring them home before night. I plant new saplings during early hours of the day. This method allows the plant to adjust to the new home, new soil and pot for the whole day before night falls. 
Very easy to propagate from mother plant- When you have a leaf of Brahma Kamal allow it to dry for a day or two and then plant them. Before ten in morning you can choose a time. make some intentions and talk to your plant while you pot it. This helps the new sapling to bond with you. 
I think early winter is a good time when the cactus, Night Queen leaf gets time to live dormant and then sprout into new shoots of leaves. 
As my wait continues to experience seeing the magical flowers of Night queen do keep sharing your happiness's! I am sure there are so many homes who are now witnessing this mystical miracle! of watching the Brahma Kamal flower blooming!
It is believed in Hinduism culture that the Brahma Kamal plant only flowers in some homes and those are chosen to experience goodluck in form of good news, wealth and happiness. So the journey of love continues with yet waiting to see Lord Brahma blossom the creative energies in my home. The wait is I read a few years to fourteen years for this plant to begin showing its first flowers. And I still remember the first bud that fell...

My First Night Queen Bud which I lost and still waiting..

it was raining heavily and the plant was on our terrace garden...I didn't even know the bud and later saw its minute details, explicit beauty! things would have been so different had I seen the flower blossom at that time, so many years back, but my passion continues. I have few pots with healthy growing plants of Saussurea obvallata Night Queen. So the obsession became a passion of collecting plants from different places, cities,  and growing them. Many died ( I wrote this post-Am I a serial killer?)and few remain. Why my Brahma Kamal plants got angry?  But now I can write a thesis about this plant!,Saussurea obvallata, 
Thank you very much for coming by Garden Care Simplified! Happy Gardening from Rizwana

Dedicated since year 2010 towards sharing passionately practical workable gardening information and flowering tips in exotic plants with original photos on my Google blog Garden Care Simplified! Not a plant seller, A Healing artist since year 2000 selling original reiki paintings. 

Magical Garden Collage artwork for sale

Life is magical!!!