Adjust the Way You Care for Plants
Through Our Three Seasons

For us, in the tropics, we’ve traditionally held on to the idea of us having just two seasons: The Wet and The Dry. Ever since grade school, that's exactly what we've been taught. We don't have winter, spring and fall. We just have summer and rain.

But avid gardeners in the lowlands of the Philippines should have observed by now that for those who putter and plant, there truly are three seasons for us to await. This, of course, is an opinion exclusively held by us at GreenHearts and cannot at all be validated by any textbook or weather expert from PAG-ASA. But I'm sure all you green-hearted readers would agree to these three 'unofficial' seasons.

Below are some season-specific gardening tips for all you gardeners in the Philippines.

THE BLAZING DAYS

 
These days stretch from March to June, more or less. We call them 'blazing' for two reasons. First, because it is undoubtedly the hottest and driest time of the year. This is when gardeners have to pay extra attention to watering, and when they should hold back on both feBougainvilleartilizing and pruning. Pruning stimulates new growth and for heat-stressed plants, this is not desirable at this time. Keeping the leaves lush also helps keep humidity levels high. Allowing lawn grass to grow higher also conserves water. Fertilizer burn is also more likely to occur with thirsty plants. But the good side -- and this is the second reason we call this season "blazing" -- is that this is when many flowering plants burst into beautiful and blazing bloom! The most conspicuous of these would be the bougainvilleas that practically fill their vines with magnificent color as soon as the hot days strike.


THE GRAY DAYS

  

We'd rather not call them 'wet days' because it truly doesn't rain every single day from July to October. However, these indeed are dark days for gardeners, when plants succumb to root rot, fungal attacks and damage Wet Leafcaused by strong winds and torrential rain. Needless to say, we all need to water less, including indoor plants because the overall humidity in the air is heightened -- unless you’re in a constantly air-conditioned environment in which case you need not adjust the care you're giving your plants. This is the time when having some fungicide around would help, particularly for delicate plants like roses and orchids. Mediterranean herbs like rosemary, sage, lavender and thyme should be moved to shelter. Heavy pruning of tall shrubs will also be good at this time to help lessen the damage caused by storms. Fewer leaves also means a less homey environment for disease-causing organisms.


THE GLORY DAYS

Finally we come to the long-unrecognized but highly prized gardening season in the lowlands: the GLORY DAYS. Or you can call them GARDEN DAYS or GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO DAYS! But whatever name you give the season from November to February, it has to mean that this is the "invisible" season for gardeners to enjoy! Just the right amount of raiMorning Glory vinen, and the coolest temperatures of the year. If plants could jump up and down with joy, they would be doing so at this time! And so should lowland gardeners! In these months, even the hard-to-please plants often oblige and grow healthily until the high temperatures return. Right around Halloween is the time to enrich your garden beds with fresh compost, turn the soil and prune your other plants to encourage new growth. Ahhh ... just feel those cooler temperatures, the nice breeze, the right humidity, and lots of glorious sunshine. The invisible season should never be hidden from the gardener's heart anymore.
     

Blazing, Gray and Glorious. Hot, Damp and Cool. Three seasons in which to adjust your gardening techniques. With this new outlook to your year, you should now see more clearly why some plants seem happy one month then seem to suddenly sink into depression the next. You could be giving them the exact same treatment the whole year through when they need to adjust to the seasons just like you do! Just like people, plants get thirsty more frequently during the blazing season and get more sickly in the gray days. And just like everyone else, they revel during the Yuletide holidays.
    
So take another look at your plants and feel just how alive they are! They live and breathe through all the seasons and anticipate their twists and turns the same way you do. They may look the same the whole year through, but there’s really more to keeping your plants happy – three times a year!

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