Who doesn\’t like a house full of greenery? And colorful plants, beautifully arranged in brightly colored decorative pots, will inspire you to buy them. But before you bring home such flowers, there are a few things to remember.
First, supermarkets are not specialty stores. Therefore, it is unlikely that the sales staff will be able to give proper advice, especially for difficult varieties. It is also rare to find more specialized fertilizers and soils.
An important fact is that supermarkets rely heavily on so-called customer impulse buying. If you walk into a store with a list, you will find twice as many items lined up at the cash register. And this tactic applies to the sale of fresh flowers as well. They need to be arranged in such a way that they catch the customer\’s eye and entice him or her to buy them.
This is often accomplished not only by the flowers themselves, but also by the pots. Pots come in a variety of colors and shapes. Unfortunately, most plants sold this way are small, primarily to save space. Therefore, the plants must be transplanted immediately into larger pots, making the pot design unnecessary.
Another way to increase sales is to attach various decorations to the clay. These could be Santas, snowmen, and snowflakes for Christmas, bunnies and eggs for Easter, hearts for Valentine\’s Day, and so on. Of course, these have no meaning in themselves, but like designer pots, they drive up the price of the goods
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What has been described so far basically has no significant effect on plants. But this time, what sellers do to flowers to increase their marketability harms the flowers themselves.
The first step is to color the plants. For example, heather is often beautified in this way. It can be colored red, yellow, blue, or any other color. Yes, the colors used are usually safe for health. Yet, the heather that you have gone to the trouble of buying will not last long. The reason is that these colors inhibit photosynthesis, which is necessary for plants to live.
Spraying plants with various sequins can also be placed in the same category. This is done mostly on succulents, but also on poinsettias at Christmas. These sequins do not block sunlight, but they effectively block the pores of the leaves. The flowers you have gone to the trouble of buying are literally suffocated.
In particular, gluing fake flowers on cacti only deserves a brief mention. Certainly, the glue does not positively affect the plant, and it does not directly threaten the plant\’s life, although it does make it look worse as it grows.
So what if you already have such plants in your home? Above all, gently wash off any paint or varnish that has been sprayed on them, expose them to plenty of sunlight, and water them adequately. And think carefully when buying something alive, even if it is a flower. Doing so will ensure that the flowers will bring you joy for years to come, perhaps even into your grandchildren\’s lives.
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