Not only does the Ashitiba have certain preferences regarding how much water it receives, but it also cares deeply about how you provide that water. In fact, if you don't use the proper watering technique, you risk harming your tomatoes. The best way to water Ashitiba is to apply the water directly to the soil in a slow and gentle manner. You should not pour all of the water into the soil at once, and you should not do overhead watering for your Ashitiba. Although you should water slowly, you should also water deeply to ensure that all of the soil in which your Ashitiba grows is sufficiently moist.

If you find that you have overwatered your Ashitiba and you are concerned about the associated risk of disease, you should intervene immediately. Often the best approach for an overwatered Ashitiba is to uproot it from its current growing location. Once the plant is out of the ground, you can allow its roots to dry a bit before planting it in a new growing location. Ensure that the new growing location has soil with good drainage. If you grow in pots, you may also want to move your plant to a pot with more or larger drainage holes. In the case of underwatering, all you will need to do is increase the frequency with which you supply water to your plant.

Overall, Ashitiba requires a significant amount of water throughout the growing season. To meet that high water need, you'll need to water early and often throughout the spring and summer. During the earlier parts of the growing season, you should water your Ashitiba about once or twice per week. As the season progresses, you should increase your watering frequency. You may need to water it twice per day or more during summer, depending on the weather. After your Ashitiba have gone through their major seasonal growth phases, you can reduce the frequency of your watering to about once per week until the end of the growing season.

Since Ashitiba are incredibly popular, with many professional and amateur gardeners growing them successfully, we have a pretty clear idea of how to care for these plants. That understanding includes specific knowledge about the precise volume of water an average Ashitiba should receive. Generally, Ashitiba will require about 1 - 1.5 inches of water per week. That volume should be dispersed evenly through your weekly watering. As the weather gets warmer, you may need to supply more water, but in most cases, two inches per week is a good baseline amount.

Underwatering and overwatering can both occur as problems for your Ashitiba, and both these problems can manifest with similar symptoms. For example, foliage discoloration and wilting can both result from either overwatering or underwatering. When your Ashitiba is underwatered, its leaves will be curling and drooping at the beginning. You will see a bunch of leaves turn less vigorous. Underwatering is also likely to cause stunted growth and poor overall development as both the flowers and this plant require a high amount of water. Overwatering is more likely to lead to disease, including rot. Overwatering may also lead to unpleasant smells rising from your plant's soil. The symptoms of underwatering will show up quicker than overwatering. Overwatering can also be evident in soil conditions. Mainly, if you notice a lot of standing water or waterlogged soils, overwatering is likely to occur.

As alluded to above, your Ashitiba's water needs will repeatedly change throughout the seasons. During most of spring and summer, you should water your Ashitiba about once every week. As the heat of summer arrives, you should plan to increase your watering frequency to once or twice per day. In the late summer and fall, towards the end of the harvest period, you can reduce your watering frequency to about once per week. After harvest has ended, you can cease watering as your Ashitiba has reached the end of its life cycle and will require no further soil moisture. The maintenance schedule of Ashitiba will require you to alter the amount of water you provide depending on the plant's current growth stage. Early on, especially if you grow your Ashitiba from seeds, you'll need to provide water often enough to maintain consistent soil moisture, which encourages root development. When the plant becomes old enough to produce flowers, it will likely need even more water. During the fruit development growth stage, your Ashitiba will likely need the most water out of any growth period, at times requiring water more than twice per day. Following that phase, the water needs of Ashitiba will decline significantly.

Whether you grow Ashitiba indoors or outdoors can also play a role in how you water them. Ashitiba that grows outdoors may receive water from natural rainfall, which will reduce the amount of supplemental water you should supply. However, it is incredibly rare for rainfall to adequately replace your watering entirely. Plants that grow indoors, along with any Ashitiba that grows in a container, will need to be watered more frequently than those that grow in the ground outdoors. If you choose this route, please make sure that the plant gets enough water by checking the soil moisture within your pot often to keep your Ashitiba healthy.

The usual goal for the Ashitiba is to have it grow as big and full as possible. While the plant doesn’t require consistent trimming, it can benefit by removing old flowers and any damaged, dead, or diseased leaves. You can also trim back the leaves if it is starting to get too big for the pot and space you are keeping it.

Ashitiba don’t have a winter dormancy cycle at the suitable temperature. With that said, their growth does slow down as the days get shorter, however the leaves don’t die. What does that mean for pruning? It means there’s no specific season where it’s better to prune. Ideally, you will want to wait until the flower blooms before pruning it, which can take about a month after the appearance of the blossom. With deadheading, you’ll want to do this around late spring or when only a few of the blossoms have faded. You should always prune brown or yellow leaves when you notice them. Throughout the growing phase, make sure to pay close attention to any potential diseased leaves and remove these as necessary.

Once you’ve pruned your plant, you should dispose of the stems and leaves either by composting the healthy ones or throwing out the diseased parts. You can also fertilize just before or after pruning, which gives Ashitiba a little vitamin boost that can provide it the nutrients needed to better protect itself from any nearby pathogens or diseases. You don’t need much after care when you’re done pruning. It might benefit from light watering and some liquid plant food to encourage new blooms and growth.

Chances are you’re not getting the Ashitiba from seed, which means you’re already getting a mature plant. Since the plant doesn’t have a true dormancy cycle, there are really only two phases: blooming and non-blooming. While the plant is blooming, you should only remove yellow or dead leaves and cut off any brown tips on the leaves. Avoid doing too much pruning during this time as it can stress the plant. Still, you should remove any diseased or dead leaves to keep your plant presentable. The best time to prune is after the blossoms have already wilted. You can remove both the spent blossoms and any old and yellowed leaves at the same time. If you’re noticing a large amount of yellow leaves, you might be overwatering your plant or not giving it enough nutrients. While yellow or brown leaves don’t always mean there’s an issue, if you notice a large amount of leaves shifting colors, it usually means there’s a problem with the plant.

As an evergreen plant, Ashitiba doesn’t have the same cycles as those found in colder areas. The leaves will remain green throughout the year, which is one of the many reasons it is a popular houseplant. If you want to deadhead, you should do so after the blossoms have already wilted. Throughout the growing phase, make sure to pay close attention to any potential diseased leaves and remove these as necessary.

How you prune the Ashitiba will depend on whether you’re performing general care or deadheading. For general care, simply cut off the blossoms that have already died. Make sure to get as close to the base as possible and snip at a 45-degree angle. Repeat this for all stalks with wilting blooms. After that, trim back any outer leaves that are old and yellowing. If you simply want to thin the plant out, start with the outermost leaf and work your way in. Avoid removing more than 30 percent of the leaves at once. Throughout the growing phase, make sure to pay close attention to any potential diseased leaves and remove these as necessary.

While Ashitiba is a type of vegetable that can grow in partial shade, it still needs some direct sunlight to grow and produce fruit. Ideally, it should receive at least 3-6 hours of direct sunlight per day. This can be in the form of morning or afternoon sun, as long as it is not blocked by obstacles like trees or buildings.

If Ashitiba does not get enough direct sunlight, it may still grow but the leaves may become yellow or pale in color, and the plant may not grow as vigorously as it would in enough sunlight. It also may not produce as much fruit or may produce fruit that is smaller in size.

If Ashitiba gets too much direct sunlight, the leaves may become scorched or damaged. This can cause the plant to wilt or become stunted in growth. Ashitiba is more likely to suffer from too much sunlight than other plants, as it can only tolerate some partial sun.

When planting Ashitiba, it is important to consider the amount of sunlight the plant will receive throughout the day. If the area is too shady, it may not grow as well or produce as much fruit as it would in full sun. On the other hand, if the area is too sunny, the plant may suffer from burning or damage. If Ashitiba is planted in a partially shaded area, it may still need to be watered regularly to ensure it receives enough moisture to grow properly. Morning sun can help to dry any dew or precipitation that may have settled on the leaves, which can help to prevent disease from developing.

There is an ideal temperature range that makes Ashitiba feel at home. Under these temperature conditions, it's unlikely that you’ll have any issues with cold or hot damage to the foliage, but changing leaf colors can absolutely be a sign that Ashitiba isn’t happy. Try to keep your Ashitiba well within its preferred range of 70-85℉(21-30℃), but don’t panic if the temperature creeps up past 85℉(30℃) during the day or down to 70℉(21℃) at night.

If your Ashitiba happens to be planted outside, then there’s not much you can do to try to move it indoors. However, you can certainly provide cover in ways that will help it survive any extreme temperatures that may arise unexpectedly. For instance, you can always use a few stakes and some cloth to put together a shade tent that will block out much of the sun’s intense heat from direct sunlight exposure. Similarly, Ashitiba can be protected from the extreme cold and especially chilly winds by building a small greenhouse around the plant, which will create a greenhouse effect and warm the plant up. This can be done using garden stakes and any sort of clear or translucent plastic you may have around; if you have greenhouse plastic such as polycarbonate laying around, this works perfectly. Remove the greenhouse once temperatures warm up to 40℉(10℃) at night.

Generally speaking, Ashitiba needs to stay within its preferred temperature range all year long. However, that doesn’t mean that care should stay the same all year long. During the warmest months of the year, Ashitiba will need a little extra shade and a bit more of a breeze to help it cope with the hottest days. On the other hand, it may need to be moved away from chilly windows and doors during the cooler months in climates where temperatures drop below 40℉(10℃) at any point in the year.

Keeping your Ashitiba at the right temperature can be fairly simple. Depending on where you grow it, Ashitiba can be fairly easy to accommodate. For indoor growing, you can easily move the plant to different locations within your indoor space that best meet its temperature requirements. Avoid placing it near air conditioning vents, heaters, doors that open frequently, or drafty windows. It is a little more difficult to control the temperature around your Ashitiba if it’s grown outside. Of course, if it’s planted in a pot, you can simply bring it indoors when the temperatures outside get too hot or too cold for Ashitiba, but otherwise, you may need to take different measures to protect it from extreme heat or cold that may damage it irreversibly. Try placing Ashitiba under cover to protect from both the harsh sun that can overheat it and any cold wind that could be potentially deadly for your plant.

While all plants require certain essential nutrients to develop properly, Ashitiba has particular needs because it is grown specifically for its edible leaves. Each of the main nutrients that plants use (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) contribute to one or more of a plant’s essential functions, and in the case of foliage it is nitrogen that provides the most support. It can be difficult for a Ashitiba to get enough nitrogen from the soil to develop a satisfying harvest, which is why many gardeners prefer to supplement by feeding Ashitiba heavily with a source of nitrogen.

There are several points during the growing season that you should apply fertilizer to benefit your Ashitiba. The initial application occurs when you prepare the ground to be planted, at least 2 to 8 weeks before planting, amend the soil thoroughly with nutrient-rich organic material such as compost or manure. Amend the soil again at planting time, using the same method. After your seedlings emerge, wait until they reach around 2 inches tall before applying the next dose of fertilizer. After that, you can continue to regularly feed your Ashitiba with rich organic matter or a commercial fertilizer until you harvest. A typical schedule would be to fertilize every two to three weeks. It is also a good idea to add a layer of compost or manure around the plant to provide a continuous supply of nutrients.

Remember that nitrogen-rich fertilizers are best for growing a lot of healthy foliage, so be careful about applying this near other vegetable plants that need to focus their energy on fruiting instead of foliage. You could end up with a vegetable plant that produces lots of leaves but very few vegetables. Avoid letting any type of fertilizer touch or splash onto the leaves of your Ashitiba, since this will burn them. It is a good idea to apply it at least a couple of inches away from the base of the plant. If your Ashitiba is unhealthy due to disease, pests, drought, or other reasons, it should not be fertilized until those other issues are resolved. Fertilizer can give a boost to otherwise healthy plants, but it can actually cause damage if applied while the plant is not in good condition.

There is not a one-size-fits-all answer to the best type of fertilizer for Ashitiba, since the right depends on the specific type of plant being grown, the environmental conditions, and most importantly the composition of the soil. However, as Ashitiba requires a lot of nitrogen, it is generally a safe bet to use high-nitrogen fertilizers. Manure or compost is the best choice for amending soil at the beginning of the growing season, and then feeding for the rest of the season can be done with a dry or liquid fertilizer. Feed lightly during the seedling stage, then steadily increase as the plant matures. Many people find that vegetables grown with organic fertilizers have a superior taste to those grown with chemical fertilizers, but both will work. Some popular high-nitrogen organic options include fish emulsion, soil meal, compost tea, alfalfa meal, blood meal, and chicken manure. When using chemical fertilizers, check the NPK number which indicates the relative proportion of the three macronutrients nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in the mixture. Since you want a high-nitrogen option, choose one where the first number is highest such as a 13-2-5, or even one that only contains nitrogen like a 16-0-0.

There are several ways to fertilize your Ashitiba, depending on the type of fertilizer. For amending soil, the method is to dig at least 6 inches (and preferably deeper) into the soil and then incorporate your amendment at a 2:1 ratio of soil to amendment material. Mix them together well. Granular or powder fertilizers should be spread around the base of the plant in the amount recommended by the retailer. It is a good idea to mix this material into the top layer of soil to prevent it from washing or blowing away. Apply fertilizer about 2 to 3 inches away from the plant to avoid fertilizer burn. Always water thoroughly immediately after adding a dry fertilizer to soil. Water soluble chemical fertilizers can be dissolved into water and then that diluted fertilizer mix is used to water plants. This method will only be suitable if you water your Ashitiba from a container and not by irrigation or other methods.

Nitrogen in particular can cause fertilizer burn so using high-nitrogen fertilizer does carry some risks. Over-fertilizing results in stunted growth, outer outer leaves turning yellow, and possibly wilting. Since Ashitiba grows fast and is harvested within just a few months of planting, it may not be worthwhile to try to save an over-fertilized patch of garden. Instead, start over with new seeds in another part of the garden and consider it a lesson learned about how much fertilizer is needed to suit your specific conditions.