About this Book:

I am deeply honored that my book Fantastic Plants and Where to Find Them has been considered to be given the same distinction as this publisher's other book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. While this book was once significantly much longer, it has since been shortened considering the context of it being used exclusively for the 1st Year Herbology course and future parts of the original book will be included in future volumes should this edition be approved for the first year class.

What is a Plant?

In the muggle world, plants are living things that grow from the ground, but are inanimate and have no consciousness. However, we in the wizard world know better. Many magical plants hidden from Muggle's view show much clearer signs of consciousness by reacting to their environment, such as Devil's Snare loosening its grip when it thinks that something it has caught has died, though it is less known if they have intelligence like people. However, even if they are not intelligent that does not mean that they should be treated with disrespect. If anything, due to their nature, they should be treated with even more respect and care. 

This is because each plant requires a specific environment to survive in or they will die; unlike humans which can live in a much broader spectrum of environments. Everything matters for the health of a plant: the amount of sunlight it receives, the amount and kind of water, the quality of the soil and how much space it is given (including the depth at which the seed is planted). Even as it is growing, when it is repotted many of these things might change which is even more important. The amount of water it takes in might increase or decrease, but either way the fact that it is in a new pot means it will gain a boost in confidence.

How to grow a Plant?

When getting ready to grow a plant, you first need to have the correct supplies. The most important supplies are those that will be needed for the safety of this class which includes Dragonhide Gloves, Earmuffs and your wand. This will be very important to protect yourself against some of the plants that you will be learning about in later chapters. In addition, for general work, you should also make sure that you are wearing closed toed shoes, an apron, gloves and on occasion a mask.

As we have already discussed, every aspect of the environment is important to the plant's health and as long as you plant the seed in the correct environment and take care of it in the proper way then it will remain healthy. However, that said there are some magical supplies that you can help to offset any imperfections in the environment. The first is fertilizer which is used to help give the plants extra nutrients. 

The most powerful type of fertilizer is Dragon Dung, which is attributed to the various acids found in the dragon's stomach which helps break down the soil into its natural components. For more sensitive plants you might want to use Mooncalf Dung, which is less powerful than Dragon Dung and will be less of a shock to the plant. However, if the soil is worn and lacking in nutrients then Mooncalf Dung might not be powerful enough to offset this unlike Dragon Dung.

Lastly, when you know that the soil is good you can also water the plant with Centaur Tears. These tears are so full of vitamins that they are known to revive a plant from the brink of death. However, never water plants that need salt water with them as they find them highly toxic. In addition, it is important to note the controversy behind Centaur Tears. Centaurs are classified as beasts by the ministry, but they actually have an intelligence that is above most wizards. Many people capture centaurs in an attempt to forcefully obtain them. Make sure that you are only purchasing them from places that have obtained them ethically to help keep positive relations between wizards and centaurs.