The concept of Plant Health Care (PHC) stems from the environmentally sensitive approach to pest control in the garden called Integrated Pest Management (IPM). IPM practices are more holistic than the name implies and include all aspects of the garden’s health, not just how to kill the bugs the most environmentally friendly way.  PHC is the first step to successful IPM techniques being utilized in your own garden.   Plant health care is a change in both attitude and technique in garden maintenance  and has been being utilized by professional landscape companies that practice organic only gardening techniques for years.  (And as my company is one of them, I can speak from 15 years experience that these techniques do work.)

Turns out bugs are not your worst enemy in the garden. Many folks see things going wrong with a plant in the garden and think bugs first, however most of the time this is not the case. For example, at the Plant Diagnostic Laboratory at WSU in Puyallup half the plants submitted for diagnosis were not affected by insect pests or disease organisms but rather were sick due to cultural and environmental factors such as drought stress, winter damage and over watering.

Plant Health Care (PHC) “sees proper culture as the foundation of healthy landscapes and emphasizes working with nature rather than fighting it with a ‘Learn Your Ecosystem’ approach.”

• Identify plants. The first step in implementing a PHC system for your yard is to identify and list all of the plants in your yard. Once you know what plants are in your yard and garden  you will then be able to research them for their cultural needs, most common pest problems and common environmental problems. While researching you may discover that you have some of the key plants that are the most problem prone and require the most attention.  If this task sounds too daunting then contact a quality local landscape company and ask for a consultation for plant identification.
• Key problems. Once you know what kind of plants you have you can then identify key problems both biotic (insects, fungi, slugs, deer etc.) and abiotic (non-living factors such as weather, irrigation, soil fertility). Key problems are the first things to look for as they are the most likely to be impacting a plants health. ( for example; rhododendrons usually suffer from either root weevils or poor drainage. )
• Study landscapes ecosystem. Become aware of climatic factors such as minimum temperatures, prevailing winds, seasonal patterns of precipitation and the amount of sun received in different areas of the garden. Knowing the wet spots, hot spots, dry spots etc. will enable you to match the right plants to the different habitats in your yard. Also understand what kind of soils you have in different areas and how they drain – there may be clay in one sunny area and sand in another where it is shady and these very different cultures may be only a back yard apart from each other.  This can make a huge difference in what plants will thrive in these very different locations.
• Monitor. A large part of PHC is to monitor your garden on a regular basis (or hire a professional landscape service that understand PHC to do maintenance for you.) Monitoring at least every two weeks during the growing season of Spring - Summer and at least once a month during the Fall - Winter is essential. When out in the garden check for signs of plant distress (wilting leaves, yellowing leaves, die back) and be on the look out for developing pest problems (aphids, chew holes on leaves). Concentrate your monitoring on the key plants that get the key problems to start and you will develop your eye for problems over time as you observe for many seasons.

Once you know what you have and know what is going on with your ecosystems you will  have the knowledge to optimize your plants health.

This begins with smart planting in the first place. If you have found you have a lot of problem plants then the best thing to do in the long run may be to replace them with plants properly suited to the conditions and climate you have to work with. This will also give you an opportunity to create more diversity in the garden, which naturally limits infestations. The addition of Native plants is an excellent choice to create the right diversity in your yard for a sustainable ecosystem.

Once these changes have been made and you have the “right plant in the right place” then you must employ good cultural practices to ensure future health: Improve you soil with mulch and organic matter, pay careful attention to watering and, very importantly, prune only in the correct season for the individual plant.

Once cultural and environmental problems have been minimized then many garden problems are naturally avoided – think of it as preventative medicine! Healthy plants are naturally able to withstand insect and disease damage and small infestations will work them selves out in a healthy ecosystem.  If problems do arise then an IPM approach can then be used with great success.