The Rigorous Quality Testing this Michigan Garden Center Uses to Grow the Highest Quality Plants

There’s nothing worse than when you spend hard-earned money on plants only for them to die when you take them home.  But that doesn’t happen with our plants.  When you buy a plant from Schwartz’s Greenhouse, we want that plant to survive and thrive at your home just as well as they survive and thrive here.  One way we make that happen is through our rigorous quality testing.  Here are some of the tests that we do to ensure that the plants we sell are up to Schwartz’s quality standards.

The pH Test

The pH test is one of our many tests to ensure plant health, and it measures the acidity or alkalinity of the soil.  How acidic or alkaline the soil is influences the biological and chemical reactions within the dirt, and it impacts how plants uptake nutrients.  Various elements can alter the pH level including organic matter, fertilizers, moisture, and temperatures.

Different plants like different pH levels.  For example, geraniums like neutral soil, meaning the soil is equally acidic and alkaline.  New Guinea Impatiens need slightly acidic soil to thrive whereas lavender needs alkaline soil to be healthy.  If you want to have some fun with pH levels, try planting hydrangeas and then raise the soil’s pH to 7.0 or higher to make the flowers pink or lower the pH level to 6.0 or below and you can make the flower turn blue.

For our pH test, we take our plants’ soil in a ratio of one part soil and two parts distilled water and create a mixture that we then test with a pH meter.

If you’re in southern Michigan and use Detroit’s city water, then your soil’s pH level will likely be around 7.2 or 7.3.  However, most plants want to be in soil that is between 5.8 and 6.2 in pH.  So, testing the pH is key to ensuring that the plants grow in a soil that makes them comfy, cozy, and healthy.

The EC Test

The electrical conductivity (EC) test measures how electrical current can be passed through the water.  Pure water has around zero EC whereas sea water is about 50,000 Siemens per centimeter.  

The purpose of doing an EC test is to measure how much salt is in the fertilizer that we give the plants.  The higher the EC reading, the higher the concentration of salts there are in the fertilizer.

Plants with too much salt may experience salt burn, thick roots, necrosis, dull appearance of leaves, leaf discoloration, and a slowing of growth.  Plants with too little salt may have discolored leaves, holes in the leaves, twisted leaves, and stunted root and leaf growth.  The ideal EC of a finished fertilizer is 1.5 to 2.5 Siemens per centimeter.  At Schwartz’s Greenhouse, we make sure our plants receive fertilizer in the perfect EC range so that they stay healthy and of high quality.

Downriver, Michigan gardeners should know that Detroit water is usually around 2.5 Siemens per centimeter.

The Pest Test

We want nice, clean, happy plants when they go to your home.  So, we take a lot of precautions in ensuring that no pests hitch a ride on your plants.

To check for pests, we use sticky cards to capture any bugs that may be around.  Our sticky cards are yellow, because many insects prefer the color yellow (admittedly, it is a nice color).  Then, every five to seven days, we use a magnifying glass to look for any pests.  Schwartz’s quality standard is that the sticky card is clean–zero insects.

Visit us at Schwartz’s Greenhouse!

We want our plants at Schwartz’s Greenhouse to perform the best that they possibly can in your southern Michigan garden.  Our goal is to provide the Downriver region with quality plants at affordable prices.  We know how hard you work for your money and how much time you spend on your garden.  So, it simply doesn’t make sense to us to provide you with anything less than the best quality plants in Michigan.

We’re Michigan proud, and we want to make everyone else green with envy over your Michigan garden.  Come by and meet our super passionate staff (seriously, meet us and you’ll understand).  Whether you’re interested in our expert gardening knowledge, award-winning flowers, garden supplies, or flattering green uniforms, we’re here and we’d love to help you.  

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