Without proper watering, this beautiful ornamental grass will underperform. In the ground, watering issues can be solved, but In a container, too much or too little water will kill Maize in short order. When Maize isn't receiving the right amount of water, it may stop growing. In the case of overwatering, it will begin to display yellow leaves with brown tips. Underwatering can produce drooping leaves, weak seed head production, and browned leaves. If you suspect your Maize has been improperly watered, the first thing to do is figure out if the problem is too much or too little. If your Maize is getting too much water, stop watering it immediately. Sometimes it can take weeks for heavy soils to dry out, so be patient. At the first sign of new growth, test the soil for moisture and decide whether it needs more water or not. The solution for Maize receiving too little water is even simpler: give the grasses a nice, deep drink and see if it perks up. Bearing all of this in mind, remember that a long, deep watering is always better than a lot of shallow, frequent waterings. The reason for this is that deep watering encourages grasses to grow deep roots, which makes them more drought resistant and less prone to problems from watering.

The watering needs of Maize will vary depending on where it is planted. Generally, you should water this grass every week. In hot climates, once or twice a week watering in the summer may be necessary. In moderate climates, watering once every seven days or more may be enough. Grass in containers almost always need more frequent watering than grasses in the ground. But with a species such as this that can thrive in full sun or part shade, the location also matters. Shaded grasses need to be watered less frequently than in-ground grasses. Maize should only be watered when the soil is dry. If you’re unsure when to water, there are a few key signs you can use as your cue. Pressing your finger a couple of inches into the soil will tell you if the soil is dry. For a potted grass, you can weigh the grass with a portable scale to see how light it is, but you can also quickly feel when the pot is light from lack of water. Like many types of grass, the blades may appear folded along their centers and thinner than usual when the roots lack sufficient water. Despite its drought tolerance, regular, deep waterings will reward you with a beautiful color. In the wild, Maize grows in open scrubland, where it would be subject to extreme heat, loads of bright sun, and intermittent rain. Because this grass is drought resistant, you might expect never to need to water it. But don’t let its hardiness fool you, Maize still needs care and attention. Even though this hardy grass can handle harsh, dry conditions, gardeners agree that it thrives best with consistent water. When first planted, Maize will need more frequent water until it has established deep roots. For Maize in pots, the soil will dry out quickly, especially if the pot is in hot, direct sun for a large part of the day. Test the soil every 3 to 4 days and water only when it feels dry. Maizeed in the ground generally needs less watering, but that depends on the soil it is grown in. Heavy clay soil holds water for a long time and may feel dry at the surface while still retaining plenty of moisture below the ground. Sandy soils that drain quickly will need to be watered more often.

You can often tell if you are watering enough by the rate of growth of your grasses. Maize during the hottest months of the year and has been known to double in size in a year’s time. If the weather is hot and the grass is not growing vigorously, you may need to adjust your watering schedule. In winter, you might be able to get away with watering only once a month, but you will still want to touch the soil to test for moisture. During a growth cycle (in the warmest months), the grass will need more water than usual. But during winter and cooler months, the need for water will be dramatically reduced. The most important thing to remember about Maize is that the soil it is planted in should always be allowed to dry out completely before adding water.

Exact needs vary, but a minimum of 6 to 8 hours per day is a good rule of thumb for Maize to grow and produce fruit.

Maize requires full sun, meaning that it should be grown in a location that gets direct sunlight that isn’t blocked by obstacles such as trees, fences, or buildings. In general, the faster the plant grows, the more hours of sunlight it will need. Morning sun is best for photosynthesis.

Maize should not need to be protected from the sun in most climates. Those who live in a desert or near the equator may find that the sun is too harsh for the types of plants they want to grow, but this is the exception.

All plants need sunlight to convert into energy. Plants that have a short growing season need even more light and energy than those that grow slowly, as they need to complete all their processes to grow and produce fruit within just a few months. The first symptoms of insufficient sunlight in Maize are pale and yellow leaves that are not able to generate enough chlorophyll to keep their healthy green color. The leaves may eventually fall off, and new growth is small and weak. The plant may become leggy and sparse as it stretches toward the available light. Finally, without enough light the plant will not be able to produce large, high-quality edible leaves or fruit. Maize needs to devote a lot of energy into growing leaves and fruits, so if there isn’t enough light available for it to convert, the harvest will suffer.

Maize can get sunburned from intense sunlight, especially when coupled with high temperatures and not having enough water. Afternoon sun tends to be most likely to burn plants. Scalded leaves develop faded patches of light brown to white on the areas at the top of the plant that are exposed to the most sun. They are especially vulnerable to this right after being transplanted from a shadier location to being in full sun. Transitioning plants gradually or providing them with a barrier while they are adjusting can help prevent sunscald in young plants. In many cases, Maize develops leaves that are large enough to protect fruits from the strongest rays of the sun. However, if intense sunlight is in contact with fruits, they can also be damaged. Avoid over-pruning those protective leaves so that the fruits don’t get burned.

Maize may become unbalanced if it gets significantly more light on one side than the other. Ideally, you can plant your Maize in a location away from obstacles that might block light, and where the distribution of sunlight is even on all sides. Be careful about planting tall species next to those that grow closer to the ground. It may not be obvious when the crops are first planted, but over time the taller plants may begin to block the amount of sunlight that can reach the shorter plants. Morning sun helps to dry dew and precipitation, which helps prevent infection from diseases that can develop when water sits on the plant. If you are watering or irrigating your Maize, this should be done in the morning.

There is an ideal temperature range that makes Maize 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 Maize isn’t happy. Try to keep your Maize 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 Maize 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, Maize 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, Maize 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, Maize 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 Maize at the right temperature can be fairly simple. Depending on where you grow it, Maize 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 Maize 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 Maize, but otherwise, you may need to take different measures to protect it from extreme heat or cold that may damage it irreversibly. Try placing Maize 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.

All plants need nutrients to grow, but some types are able to take what they need and don’t need any supplementation with fertilizers. The main reason to fertilize Maize is to increase the yield in each harvest. Maize, like other plants, use nutrients to support growth and all internal processes that result in edible seeds or grains. Nutrients allow plants to grow and bloom, perform photosynthesis, and ultimately produce seeds or fruits. A lack of nutrients can reduce tillering (the production of extra branches on a single stem), smaller seed size, and low protein content in the finished product.

Generally spring is the best time to fertilize Maize is in the spring. Many types of Maize do well with a schedule of three major fertilizer treatments during the growing season. The first is before seeds are planted, the second about a month after seedlings emerge, and then a final treatment about 1 to 1.5 months after the second one. Certain types of Maize also benefit from a fertilizer boost at the time of planting. Nutrients are necessary for all stages of the growth cycle. Since some types of Maize take as little as a month to go from seed to harvest, it is vital for them to have enough nutrients to reach full size as quickly as possible.

Regular feeding is vital for keeping Maize healthy and strong, but there is a danger of over-fertilizing or fertilizing during the wrong season. Avoid fertilizing when the soil is very dry or during especially warm or cold weather. Be careful about allowing fertilizers to be in indirect contact with seeds, since it can cause them to fail to germinate. Also be sure to check if your fertilizer is safe to come in direct contact with the plant, or if the plant is likely to be damaged if fertilizer touches the leaves and fruits. Many types of fertilizer are only safe when used in soil near the plants, but should not be applied over the tops of actively growing plants.

Soil tests are important to determine what kind of nutrients are present or absent in the soil. This is particularly relevant for commercial or other large-scale operations where the success or failure of a harvest has significant financial implications. Depending on the soil in your area and the type of Maize you are planning to grow, different nutrients may need to be introduced. It is important that the fertilizers provide plenty of phosphorus, as well as smaller amounts of nitrogen and potassium. Secondary nutrients and micronutrients are also necessary to ensure a successful harvest. For example, sulfur, copper, manganese, and zinc are all essential for the development of this plant.

The method of applying fertilizer will depend very much on the scale of the operation, the tools available, and the type of fertilizer being used. In general, fertilizers come in just two different formats: liquid or dry. Liquid fertilizers could be chemical or natural (such as fish fertilizer or compost tea), and dry fertilizers include everything that isn’t liquid, including compost, manure, and powdered or granular fertilizers. There are also some dry fertilizers that are made to be diluted in water before use. After determining what type of fertilizer to use and the format, the next (very important) step is to determine how much to use for your Maize. Detailed formulas are available to help you calculate the correct application to get a high yield without over-fertilizing. For larger operations, tractor-attached applicators can be used to scatter dry fertilizer or evenly spray liquid fertilizer. Home gardeners can apply fertilizer by hand or by using readily-available garden tools. Be sure to water thoroughly after watering with any dry fertilizer to be sure that it soaks into the soil.

If the Maize gets too much fertilizer at one time, there is a risk that the plant will grow too quickly without the proper root system to support it. Without this, the plant may not be able to take up enough water and nutrients, resulting in a weaker harvest. This can cause plants that are not able to support their own weight and fall over, or that simply fail to thrive. Some farmers have noted that over-fertilization can lead to increased fungal infections in certain types of Maize. It is best to avoid over-fertilizing in the first place, as it can be difficult to sufficiently flush extra fertilizer out of the soil and salvage a large number of plants.