Welcome to Viveros Amberes. Torrox Costa (Málaga)

Outdoor plants need much more light than indoor plants and can be exposed to sunlight, cold, wind, etc. This does not mean that all outdoor plants stand all of these changes; some need a lot of sun and warmth, others require more shade and cool (each plant is different).

We have small seasonal plants in endless colours, starting from 0.60€, also groundcovers with flowers in cheerful colours that are used for terraces or ground and in addition to being beautiful (as you can combine different colours, forming original and personal patterns) they hold the soil avoiding it sliding and keeping it firm.
We also have slightly larger plants such as daisies, carnations, dimorphotheca, hydrangeas, rhododendrons, rose bushes, geraniums… an endless selection, all depending on the season. Others are shrubs, such as: hibiscus, camellias, euonymus, oleander… You may also find a large selection of shade trees such as the mimosa tree, pepper tree, all types of ficus and rubber trees, willows, jacaranda, tibouchina… Fruit trees of all types, climbing plants and a large selection of aromatic plants.
Wind is not necessary for any plant (at least strong wind), but some withhold it better than others.
It is not difficult to have an enviable and beautiful garden, full of colour and cheer, here in Andalusia, where we have the best climate of Europe, this being fundamental for the optimal growth and maintenance of plants.

Adequate watering is essential for good growth, beauty, perfection and even survival of plants. It is very difficult to precise the exact amount of water that each plant needs as it does not depend only (as many people believe) on the type of plant, but on many other factors:

• The season: naturally, it is warm in both spring and summer and plants (like people and animals) dehydrate more as their sap is more mobile and they grow quicker, therefore they need more water.

• The climate: a plant that is in a temperate area does not need as much water as one in a hot and dry climate. The difference between one and the other could even be double.

• Wind: when it is windy plants need much more water because both the leaves and the soil air out quicker and the leaves dehydrate, easily becoming wilted and lifeless.

• The type of soil: depending on the type of soil it retains more or less water. Sandy soil retains less water, therefore it needs more watering than clay type soils, which retain more and thus the plant has more moisture reserves.

• The size of the plant: a large plant always needs more water than the same type of plant but smaller; as the larger one has more stem and leaves to feed, therefore it requires more water.

• If the leaves are deciduous: some plants, especially trees or shrubs that shed their leaves in autumn or winter, need less water. In addition there is more moisture and less heat in those seasons and if the plant does not have leaves then, it hardly needs any water because most of the water is consumed by the leaves.

TRANSPLANTING
When should we transplant from a small pot to a larger one or to a garden? It is not necessary to do this in a certain time of the year. It can be done any day of the year, be it winter or summer, nothing will happen, on the contrary, the plant will thrive if it really needs the change. When the plant is in a small pot and has a lot of roots around or beneath it, finding only plastic or ceramic (depending on the material the pot is made of), when we transplant it to a larger place these roots will find themselves with soil around them and will feed with 100% of the roots. There is only one reason that it can die and that is if the plant is transplanted to a pot that is, for example, double the size, it does not need double amount of water for the time being, it needs the same amount as before. If we do not do this the roots may rot. As the plant grows it will progressively need a bit more water. We also need to take into account that if we change the plant and also change its location, watering needs will also change: if we place it in a place that receives more sun, it will need more water than before and if, on the other hand, we change it to a shadier place, it will need less water.

Another type of transplant is when we take a plant from the garden and we want to place it somewhere in the same garden or even pot it. This is possible, but cannot be done year round, it has to be done in winter, when the plant is resting, its sap is not moving and it is not in full growth and activity. Autumn is also a good time for this, but especially in non-mediterranean areas, that is, more wintry areas. The plants do feel these transplants, as most of their roots are broken. Some varieties are hardier than others and can stand it better, but they all need some time afterwards to recover. Some will take longer than others to recover. The larger the plant, the more it feels the change because it has more roots cut and there is also a chance that it will not take. Winter is the ideal season to divide a plant, that is, to divide the roots of a plant and make 2 or 3 smaller plants out of them. In short, anything that entails moving or breaking the roots should be done when the plant is dormant and if the roots are not touched, it can be done throughout the year.
Palm trees are dormant in summer, unlike the rest of plants.

How to transplant
When a transplant is done in the ground, we must make sure that it has good drainage so that the roots are not kept in water, as they can rot. They must also be placed in soil that is not very hard and stuck together. Clay-type soil is notorious for this and should always be mixed with peat, potting soil, grit sand… thus the soil will be much looser, softer and ventilated.

It is very important when transplanting from a pot to a larger pot to make sure that the new pot has a hole for draining excess water. Then, in order to avoid puddling that could lead to fungus and bacteria that are dangerous for the plants, we must prepare a good drainage that may comprise gravel, volcanic stones or small pieces of brick or terracotta; this will prevent water from accumulating in the bottom of the pot. We then add a layer of potting soil on the bottom of the new pot (always taking into account that when we put the plant in the new pot it must be at the same level as it was, not very low nor too high).
Once the plant is in, we add peat around it filling the space between the plant and the pot and with our fingers we pat it down well in order to fill all the spaces. We have to watch the plant a bit to not put it in crooked, if it is we will push it a bit to place it vertical and add some more peat on the opposite side.

For indoor plants it is convenient to transplant them with their own soil from the pot, however, for outdoor plants (and more so if they are large) it is advisable to mix a bit of potting soil or even good earth soil but not too much, up to a maximum of 50%. With this mixture the peat will not be excessively spongy and ventilated, as if it is exposed to the sun and wind it dries out too much, does not hold moisture and when watered it does not absorb it.

The universal substrate that we use to transplant all types of plants includes a mix of fertilizers that will suffice to maintain the plant for the first months (it will slowly absorb it), after which it is advisable to fertilize the plant, which can be administered in two ways: liquid or solid.
Liquid fertilizer, diluted in water and poured on the soil, so the plant takes it by the roots, or pulverising all the plant so it takes it through the leaves. Plants absorb liquid fertilizers sooner because they are already diluted, but the inconvenience is that the dosage has to be measured every time it is used. However, solid fertilizer is spread on the soil and the plant takes it little by little and it is dissolved each time the plant is watered, thus it lasts longer.

Many people believe that what plants eat is soil, but this is totally untrue. The first person to prove this was a Dutch scientist, who did the test with a willow and proved that 10 years after planting it the willow weighed 100 times more than in the beginning but the soil weighed the same as 10 years before, when he had planted it.
Plants feed on mineral elements contained in the soil or that we provide it, such as: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and calcium. There are other smaller elements that are equally important for plants, such as: iron, sulphur, magnesium, microelements, boron, zinc, manganese…