Wetter Water Is Absorbed More Quickly By Soils
And Gets To The Plant's Root System
Where It's Needed.

For the third year in a row, York County and surrounding central Pennsylvania, as well as most of Maryland, are in a drought emergency state. But all of us in the horticultural business, as well as farmers and gardeners already knew that. Little Spring rainfall, meager Winter snow and low precipitation have contributed to make gardening a real challenge. Especially when it comes to watering plants and getting the water to go where it's needed: the root system. Just keeping plants alive can be a real problem. Without adequate water getting to any plant's root system, dieback can occur and the plant can become so stressed that it dies. The problem is the water and its inherent surface tension, and resistance to being absorbed. Ever seen how a dusty country road makes water bead-up and evaporate before it's absorbed into the dust? That's what the super-hardened and inhospitable local soils do: resist absorption due to unusual surface tension of water. No wonder so many people have trouble getting water to a plant's rootball. The water takes the path of least resistance and simply runs-off on top of the soil, never being absorbed by the soil and getting to the rootball. One answer is Surfactants. Surfactants are chemicals that affect the surface tension of water most commonly to help with cleaning. They are also used in activities involving solids and aqueous liquids such as in resource development as flotation aids, frothers, defoamers etc. Surfactant chemicals may be used directly but most applications require their mixing (formulation) with other chemicals and solvents to form surfactant preparations. For the average gardener, that's a daunting proposition. But there's an easier way. To make the soils absorb more water, faster, gently stir a teaspoon (no more) of Ivory Liquid Detergent into a 5 gallon pail and pour the resultant solution carefully around the base of the plant. Even on dried, caked and hardened soil, it's absorbed quickly and completely without runoff. And subsequent waterings are much easier when this simple, homemade surfactant is used. The diswashing liquid won't harm the plant and becomes trapped in the soil; root systems simply ignore it and uptake the water. Each time you water, try it. By following the initial surfactant watering with a deep root system watering with your garden hose, water gets to where it's most needed: the root system. Simply lay the hose at the base of the plant, run it at a trickle roughly the diameter of a pencil for 30 minutes and you'll have given the plant the equivalent of an inch of rain, or 30 gallons of water. In addition to wanting your plants to live and prosper, we routinely feature over 50 varieties of herbs, over 700 varieties of perennials, ornamental grasses and bamboos, and more than 600 cultivars of nursery stock, ranging from the common to the very rare, unusual and hard-to-find. Our Collector's Rare Plant Nursery has been supplying gardening enthusiasts for over seven years, and is a must for Connoisseurs and Serious Collectors. In addition to the very best in plants, we have the finest hand tools, gardening supplies and accessories, composting and garden improvement aids, elegant patio and deck furniture, residential landscape design, award-winning hardy Alpine Trough Gardens and other container gardens, Alpine Perennials, water gardens, unique water features for your planted garden, Hardy Cactus Gardens, environmentally-safe fertilizers and pest control products, landscape supplies, bird care and feeding, books, pottery, stone & brick and special accessories that make gardening easy and fun. And much more. Our Nursery Division can supply any request from the common to very rare and unusual material. And if you need a tree or shrub moved, we feature a special team capable of easily moving anything from 1-inch to 10-inch diameter trees. Call us for a free consultation and estimate. Our Warranty: is unmatched by anyone, anywhere, and is one (1) year from date of purchase if you install the plant material; it is five (5) years if we install the material. Call, write or email us for a complete copy of The Warranty. It's also online right here. Drop by our Website on The InterNet for a tour of the Garden Center & Nursery. It's located at www.gdnctr.com for those digerati among you out there who are connected on-line.