A few months ago the condo complex I live in was
tented for termites. We were told the gas inside the tent (Vikane) would kill houseplants too.
I removed all my houseplants but left everything out on the balcony. The company putting up the tent asked us to turn off any automatic watering systems.
Under that tent, I have a feeling it got pretty hot. Normally the plants are watered daily; they missed a few days. Everything looked dry and brown when I got back.
I did believe sleeping in the tent would be bad for my health, but I had taken the plant warning with a grain of salt. I saw my mom’s patio plants before and after her house was tented a few years ago, and she had received the same warning.
So I took with me what plants I could, but when I got back and found a lot of crispy rose bushes, I didn’t despair right away. I suspected more damage had been done from lack of water than by the Vikane. I cut back all the dead growth and turned the water back on.
This series of pictures shows one of my rose bushes (a red rose called Mr. Lincoln, with a fragrant damask musk) over the past few weeks, as its roots have refused to surrender to the prognostications of Dow AgroSciences.
The other roses (Double Delight and White Lightning) have done similarly well. Soon I’ll be able to make good on my promise to a neighbor that I’ll give her cuttings from these bushes so she can grow her own.
A few months ago the condo complex I live in was tented for termites. We were told the gas inside the tent (Vikane) would kill houseplants too.
I removed all my houseplants but left everything out on the balcony. The company putting up the tent asked us to turn off any automatic watering systems.
Under that tent, I have a feeling it got pretty hot. Normally the plants are watered daily; they missed a few days. Everything looked dry and brown when I got back.
I did believe sleeping in the tent would be bad for my health, but I had taken the plant warning with a grain of salt. I saw my mom’s patio plants before and after her house was tented a few years ago, and she had received the same warning.
So I took with me what plants I could, but when I got back and found a lot of crispy rose bushes, I didn’t despair right away. I suspected more damage had been done from lack of water than by the Vikane. I cut back all the dead growth and turned the water back on.
This series of pictures shows one of my rose bushes (a red rose called Mr. Lincoln, with a fragrant damask musk) over the past few weeks, as its roots have refused to surrender to the prognostications of Dow AgroSciences.
The other roses (Double Delight and White Lightning) have done similarly well. Soon I’ll be able to make good on my promise to a neighbor that I’ll give her cuttings from these bushes so she can grow her own.
1 comment:
Nice of you to give her cuttings, and you will know how sturdy they are and bug free..... forever.
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