I live in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia zone 10-11, in winter time the temp is about 22-35 C.Degree
every year i have this poor flowering accuring to my garden shrubs and trees. i ferilize my garden (mixed mud and sand) with organic and chemical plus ready compust periodically. the best time to grow flower shrubs begines in november thru may only. it is very eill drained and have coputerised errigation system.
what is wrong here?
Suggest you read the second post under "Container Gardening" section, concerning soils and water movement therein.
"tapla" (Al) runs the post and is a genius.
What I learned from him: plants require three things from their soil: 1.) anchorage, simply something to hang onto and use as support, 2.) water and minerals, and 3.) oxygen, through aeration.
I think your soil may have low aeration --not providing enough air space between the particles --sand and mud are very dense and really should not be any more than a small overall percentage of a good soil. That mix provides strong anchorage, yes. You're supplying plenty of water and have put some good ingredients into the mix --food minerals and some organic compost, But without some other material mixed in, to provide for good aeration, your soil is probably not allowing your plants' roots to get the oxygen they need. Without sufficient oxygen, the roots can't absorb enough of anything but the water, so the plants cannot build up the food energy to produce blossoms.
In fact, in poorly aerated soils, even moderate irrigation can be too much, keeping aeration levels near zero. Good soil must have a "structure" that will hold enough water for the plants to drink, even if watered too little, while at the same time allowing oxygen to reach the root surfaces, even if watered too much.
I don't know what materials are available to you there, but porous types of rock (lava rock, exploded granite, vermiculite, perlite --read about others at the post I recommended here http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/527353/) are most useful, as well as certain types of finely ground tree bark.
You should also make sure that your soil pH is proper and that your fertilizer(s) contain all the micronutrients as well as a suitable balance of Nitrogen, Phosphorous, POtassium (N-P-K).
Happy Thanksgiving
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