Good Morning! How’s it going? Today we are going to do a short botany class, which will be very useful when we want to design a garden or orchard. I’m going to explain to you what is allelopathy. A word that will stop sounding strange very soon.
So let’s get down to business.
Allelopathy, in short, it is a biological phenomenon by which an organism produces some or some compounds that influence the organisms that are around it. Two types are distinguished: positive allelopathy and negative allelopathy.
Positive allelopathy
Lavender is a plant that repels aphids and attracts beneficial insects, such as bees.
The positive allelopathy is that phenomenon in which the plant, by its own characteristics, can help in one way or another to maintain the health of other plants. How? Very simple: attracting beneficial insects, repelling harmful ones, or even improving soil aeration thanks to its roots.
Thus, plants that should not be missing in your garden are: lavender essence
, romero, calendula o thyme. All of them will soon become the allies of your favorite green corner.
Negative allelopathy
On the other hand, we have the negative allelopathy: plants negatively influencing other plantsbecause they have plant hormones that are toxic to some plant beings that are nearby.
This is the reason why there are usually no plants growing under the eucalyptus, Pine trees in fig treesamong others. I can tell you that a few years ago I had a young sweetgum near a Ficus, and it seemed to be doing well, until summer came and its leaves began to turn brown and fall. For this reason, it is totally discouraged to put this type of plants in those places where you want to have a garden full of flowers, unless they are planted at a minimum distance of three meters.
You have doubts? Get in contact with us.
