In one sentence, describe what the following article is about: Gaura are fairly drought-resistant, but you may still need to water them during periods of severe drought since the plant thrives best in moderately moist soil. You should keep the plant regularly watered during the first growing season. Make sure that it receives a minimum of 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water weekly during this time. Thorough watering during the first season will help the plant establish itself more effectively. From the second season on, you don't need to be quite as strict about your watering schedule. Only worry about watering the plant when you have gone more than a week without any rain or when the leaves of the gaura shrub seem to be weakening. If desired, you can apply an all-purpose general plant fertilizer to the soil at the beginning of spring, before new growth begins. Look for a fertilizer that contains equal parts nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Follow the label instructions to determine the best amount and application method. Note that fertilizer can give the gaura a helpful boost, but these plants are usually hardy enough on their own and may thrive well enough even without the addition of fertilizer. Pluck the flowers as they wilt and die or cut away any spent flower spikes after the petals have dropped naturally. Doing so can prolong the plant's blooming period. If you live in an area that regularly receives frost over the winter, you should spread 2 inches (5 cm) of wood chip mulch around the base of the plant and over the surrounding soil before the first frost strikes in autumn or winter. The mulch provides insulation and protects the root of the plant from reaching fatally low temperatures. Gaura plants will usually survive if the above-ground portion freezes, but they can weaken and die easily if the roots freeze. Starting in the second year of growth, you should cut the gaura plant back by half its size. If the plant has suffered damage from a winter frost, you can cut it back even more severely until it is only 8 to 10 inches (20 to 30 cm) tall. The plant grows back quickly and should fully establish itself by the middle of the growing season. Cutting the plant back will encourage the shrub to become bushy and full. If you do not cut the plant back, it can grow tall and wiry. Cut the plant back in mid to late spring, preferably after the threat of frost has passed for the season. Cutting the plant back too early can weaken it, and cutting it back any later can delay the blooming period. Gaura rarely has any problems with insects or diseases, but there are a few diseases that have been known to strike the plant down. Root rot is the most common and occurs when gaura is grown in heavy soils with poor drainage. Rust, cercospora leaf spot, septoria leaf spot, downy mildew, and powdery mildew are the next most common diseases. If any of these form on your plant, treat the plant with an appropriate fungicide. If you want to fill your garden with more gaura, the easiest way is to let the shrub do the work through the process of self-seeding or self-sowing Leave a few spent flower spikes on the plant instead of plucking them off. These flower spikes should produce seed, and the seed should spread without any interference on your part. If the gaura shrub gets too large, you can dig out and divide the root into separate clusters. The clusters you remove can be used to propagate other gaura shrubs. Do this in the spring for best results. Treat divided gaura clusters like seedlings when you transplant them. To divide the overgrown plant: Thoroughly water the plant the day before you plan to divide it. Dig out the taproot, keeping as much of it intact and undamaged as possible. If you cannot untangle the roots with your fingers, use a sterile knife to divide the joined rhizomes. Separate the plant so that each cluster has three to five healthy shoots coming from it. Replant the established gaura and its divided clusters as soon as possible.
Summary: Water during dry periods. Fertilize each spring. Deadhead the flowers. Apply mulch in the fall or winter. Cut the plant back each year. Watch out for the occasional disease. Let the plant self-sow. Divide overgrown gaura.

Problem: Article: Pre-assessment is not a required step in the certification process. However, a preliminary review will give the certification body a chance to pinpoint any obvious errors or omissions in your documentation. Clearing up these issues before the formal audit will help you focus your quality system and improve your chances of successfully meeting ISO certification standards. If you opt to go through with a pre-assessment, you'll need to provide your chosen certification body with a complete, up-to-date copy of your Quality Management System paperwork. Be aware that the pre-assessment period may add 2-4 weeks to the certification process. On the opening date of your inspection, your registrar will sit down with key company personnel to introduce themselves and briefly discuss the proceedings. They'll then turn their attention to inspecting your company's operations and making sure they adhere to the standards detailed in your Quality Management System. Be prepared to offer your assistance any way you can. You or your employees may be separately interviewed or called upon to explain details of policies and procedures that are central to your operations. The actual audit is an ongoing process that may take anywhere from days to weeks. The exact length will depend on the complexity of your Quality Management System and the size and organizational structure of your company. Following the audit, the certifying body will send out a detailed audit report by mail. The report will summarize the registrar's findings throughout the audit and bring to your attention any areas where your company's practices don't match the standards listed in your Quality Management System (referred to as "non conformities.") The registrar may cite two different types of issuesMinor Non-conformities and Major Nonconformities. Make sure your project supervisor, internal auditor, and all other key employees are present when you go over the findings of your audit report. This is a brief document explaining the nature of the issue and articulating the measures needed to correct it. It's primary purpose is to demonstrate to the certifying body that you understand how an oversight fails to live up to ISO standards. Most Minor Nonconformities can be cleared up without the need for additional inspections, and won't hold up your certification. Minor Nonconformities refer to small procedural errors or instances where policy and practice don't quite line up, but don't ultimately impact that quality of your product or service. These citations point to glaring discrepancies in the way your business model is conceived and executed. Coming back from a Major Nonconformity most often involves a series of follow-up inspections, along with the costs associated with fixing the problem from within. Your company or product will not be approved for certification until all Major Nonconformity citations have been reexamined and cleared by the registrar. Major Nonconformities could also leave you subject to fines or similar penalties if they are discovered to be in violation of the law. If your audit report comes back with more than one Major Nonconformity highlighted, you may need to reconsider the content of your Quality Management System to determine whether it's feasible in its current form. If the registrar is satisfied with their findings, they'll report back to the certifying body with a recommendation that your company be awarded certification. You'll then be sent your official certificate. The document will display your level of certification and the exact set of standards you were found to be in compliance with, along with an official stamp from the certifying body. It may take 2-3 weeks for your certificate to arrive after you've gotten word of approval from the certifying body. Your business will also be added to a register of companies with ISO certification, which can be viewed by consumers as well as other businesses.
Summary:
Submit your Quality Management System documentation for pre-assessment. Pass the external audit. Review your full audit report. Submit a plan of corrective action for resolving Minor Nonconformities. Tighten up your operations to deal with Major Nonconformities. Await your ISO certification.