Many gardeners are
"pro-active" people who always want to do
"something" when they perceive a threat to the
health of their landscape plants. However, in the
spirit of Integrated Plant Management, that
something may, in fact, be nothing.
You have found some
spots on the leaves of a favorite plant. Perhaps
your first thought is, "Oh, my gosh. I have to do
something to save my plant" and you head off to the
garden center for a magical cure.
Why would you choose
to do nothing:
-
Not a Problem -
One of the key points in diagnosing a problem is
to know what the plants should appear. Bark
falling off a tree trunk may be a problem but
not if it is a
sycamore or
kousa dogwood tree
which naturally lose their bark all the time.
-
It's Below Your Threshhold -
Only you can determine how much damage to your
plants is acceptable before you do something.
For more on
threshholds...
-
Timing Is Wrong - Every
insect or disease has a time in their life cycle
when it is most effective to use a control
measure. With many plant pests, by the time you
see the damage, it is too late to do anything.
