Plant Health Care
(Adapted from ISA Consumer Brochure: Plant Health Care)

Until recently, tree care professionals (arborists) and other landscape care providers were called in only after problems had reached an advanced stage and became noticeable. Drastic reactionary measures were then necessary to save plants and, all too often, even the most radical interventions failed.

Plant Health Care begins with the premise that if you tend a plant properly-- if you can prevent a plant from undergoing stress by giving it the proper location, sunlight, soil, moisture, and protection from pests -- the plant will thrive. With PHC, arborists and other landscape professionals establish ideal growing conditions for the plants they tend. They remove the stresses which drain a plant's energy, then bolster its natural defenses by determining and meeting essential requirements. By modifying the basic elements of plant growth, the PHC specialist can turn weak plants into healthy and vigorous specimens.

Like wholistic approaches to human health care, Plant Health Care stresses preventive maintenance with chemical interventions as a last resort. Both PHC and human health maintenance use holistic approaches to establish and sustain health and vigor. Simple principles are the foundations of both:

Customer Specific
PHC recognizes that every property is different and that every plant offers its own unique challenges and opportunities. By exploring the landscape with you and understanding your desires, the PHC specialist develops an individualized care program that meets your specific needs. PHC allows for one, some, or all plants to be monitored. Certain information will surface concerning "key plants" which are of significant monetary or sentimental value. The client's desires and expectations drive the PHC concept.

Monitoring
Frequent monitoring ensures early detection of problems. Several times during the growing season (usually every 3 to 6 weeks depending on the practitioner and geographical area), a professional "scout" trained in the diagnosis of horticultural diseases and deficiencies visits a client's property for an inspection. When the inspection is completed, or soon after, the client receives a scouting report which advises of any existing or anticipated problems. Should either exist, the client is given complete information about the problem and the urgency for treatment, and is advised of all available treatment options

More Resources Online

Ohio State University's Horticulture and Crop Science in Virtual Perspective: a web-based classroom for budding gardeners and landscapers.

Ohio State Online Plant Dictionary

Oregon State University Botany and Plant Diagnosis Clinic

Oregon State Online Guide to Plant Disease Control

Oregon Department of Agriculture for local agricultural & horticultural news and advisories.