texts: How can I stop outside stone steps getting so slippery?

texts:
We have a set of steps through our garden, underneath trees so it's always shady. They were re-laid last summer using nice stones and old bricks for the step edges, but already they are treacherous when there is any moisture at all, despite not having much visible growth on them.

A pressure washer would sort them out but the location makes this difficult and I'd prefer a way to treat the stone rather than scrub it.

Do products exist for this and if so, what are they and how are they used?I don't mean specific product endorsements, I'm not sure if I want weedkiller or moss killer or...


texts: Help with lemon tree and encouraging new branch growth

texts:
I bought a lemon tree at the start of the year, at the time it was healthy and had fruit on it. Unfortunately it then suffered severe leaf drop and branch death. I think it was due to high stress from temperature fluctuations in the office overnight. I don't know whether sunlight also played a role here, it was never in the direct sun but on a well lit North-facing windowsill.

Anyway, I took the plant home in an attempt to stop the march of death and am happy to say the plant still lives, now on a South-facing windowsill. Unfortunately, it only has one branch with life still in it (see photos below).  I water it lightly, every 5 days or so, once the top soil is dry, and I have used a citrus tree fertiliser. After the branch stabilised and showed no signs of leaf drop/branch death, I pruned back all of the dead branches, making sure to disinfect my secateurs beforehand.

Over the past couple of weeks new growth has appeared on the branch, with a couple of new leaves and some explosions of soon-to-be blossom. Hopefully all of this is a good sign?

However, I'm worried that I need to encourage more branch and leaf growth - how can I do this? I have read something about pinching/removing buds at the end of a branch to encourage growth elsewhere in the plant? Is this advisable? Is the plant currently putting too much energy into growing these blossoms? As of yet I haven't tried anything for fear of stressing the plant further. I would also like to say that I am quite new to gardening but I'm more than happy to do my homework. However, so far most of my search results have been related to leaf drop prevention (too late for me) and I don't find too much on new branch growth - perhaps I don't know the correct technical term?

Many thanks to any and all advice!

Before pruning

[1

After pruning

Possibly some good signs?

Unhappy trunk.

The unhappy trunks better side.


texts: I've noticed quite a few slugs around my garden recently, and I realized that I don't know if that's a good thing or not.  I know some bugs are bad and some are good, and I don't know what category slugs fall into.


texts: Am I on the right path to growing these Oyster Mushrooms properly?

texts:
I started collecting coffee grounds over a week, kept it moist. Before adding the starter, I microwaved the damp coffee grounds in the hope of killing off anything dormant.

After adding the starter and letting it sit in a basement it now looks like this.

I then took an egg carton and old newsprint, dampened them, and again microwaved in for a few minutes to sterilize. I then mixed a bit of the starter in (see smaller container). The smaller container has some cut outs on the side.

This is all a pilot run for me to see what happens. It's all happening in a darkened basement outside of my living space.

My question is am I doing anything obviously wrong or unsafe? Is microwaving wet material before use sufficient enough to preserve the purity of the feed (coffee grounds for the starter and paperboard for the mushroom development)? How would one determine the edible-ness of the final product?

As I said this is a dry run before I run this project. If it fails, I still learn something.


texts: How to fix lead branch being damage on Catalpa tree?

texts:
I woke to find the two contending lead branches snapped off.  Not entirely sure why as the winds have been mild. I hope not foul play. This is a Southern Catalpa tree.  I live in south Texas.  None of the remaining branches really strike me as good candidates to take over. There's 4 branches at equal level. Looking for what is the best approach?  Options I can think of:

Leave as is and see how tree responds
Cleanly cut the damaged area on lead branch. See if tree pushes out new growth to take over.
Pick one of the remaining 4 branches to take lead. Cut back the other 3.  This would require cutting more then 25% of the tree.

Open to other ideas.  Pics attached and yes I realize it's suffering from chlorosis.


texts: How can I make a single cherry tree bear fruits?

texts:
I recently planted a Bing cherry tree but learned after the planting that the cherry tree would need another cherry tree to make it bear fruits. Another way is, I was told, to graft a second cherry tree to the planted one.

Other than those two methods, is there any other method for making my cherry tree bear fruits? We do not have a space to plant another one, and grafting does not sound easy for me.


texts: Marketmore cucumber only has female flowers

texts:
A month ago I've purchased 2 marketmore seedling from the garden center, but so far there has been no male flower. Every flower is a female flower. I googled online and did not find that there was a parthenocarpic marketmore variety. Has anyone seen this happen before?
I just have my fingers crossed and hope that either it is parthenocarpic or the male flower are coming soon....
Its really odd to just have female flower especially for the first blooms


texts: What soil quality is now, after staying under a pile of grass clippings for a year?

texts:
I left a pile of clipped grass on my lawn, of diameter and height 2m, untouched for a year. It shrinked significantly, but it is still of formidable size, and it is almost like compost now. I am going to move it elsewhere.

But what is the condition of the soil beneath (under) that pile? Would grass grow again, or weeds, without my intervention, once the pile is removed? Is that soil richer or depleted now?

It used to be fairly rich lawn soil.


texts: What are these brown stains on my Bougainvillea's leaves?

texts:
I recently got this Bougainvillea from a vivarium but I've noticed there are some brown stains in its leaves, just on the bottom of the plant. Do you know what these are, and how I should treat it?

For reference, it's in the garden, under a roof, with enough sunlight but not direct. For now, I have it isolated from the other plants, just in case.

Also, the bracts that cover the flowers are somewhat wrinkled, is that okay?
(pictures attached).


texts: Nutritional value of home-compostable plastic?

texts:
There are types of compostable plastic that you can compost yourself at home (as opposed to compostable plastic that can only be composted in industrial composting facilities). I was wondering if there would be any benefit in doing this, other than getting rid of the plastic?

If I understood correctly, during composting microorganisms consume the carbon in the plastic and produce mainly CO2 and water. I don't think there is any NPK in the plastic, so I suspect there is no benefit for plants. Is this true? Or do the microorganisms produce something else that is useful?


texts: Small black/gray bugs proliferating in vegetable garden

texts:
I have previously noticed (on a sunny day, when my plants were all still small) a lot of tiny black/gray (maybe even /brown) bugs crawling around on the woodchips in my garden with a seeming flea-like ability to jump very far.

Today (an overcast day with possibility of rain) I noticed a lot of them on the leaves of my young Yukon gold potato plants.  I am wondering what these bugs are, if they're harmful, and, if so, how to get rid of them (preferably quickly, effectively, and permanently or at least semi-permanently).  My best guess from a quick Google search is flea beetle, but those look too black for the bugs I have in my garden.  Image shown below.  There are three gray dots near the top of the leaf and one near the middle; these are the bugs.  Sorry I didn't have a macro lens to take a better close-up.


texts: What are the reasons against shallow pipes for popup sprinklers?

texts:
In each description I've seen for the installation of popup sprinklers, the pipe is being dug deep into the ground, below the lowest point of the sprinklers. I was thinking of making a pretty shallow trench - let's say enough to cover the pipe + 5cm. For each sprinkler I'd add a T, with a pipe going down and back into the sprinkler. Explained in ascii-art:

Popular:

           |x| sprinkler
           |x|
           |x|
pipe -------^----

Proposed:

           |x|
pipe ----+-|x|----------
         | |x|
         +--^

Main reasons: less ground to dig up / repair afterwards, easier access for the future maintenance. In terms of temperatures, we go down to maybe -1°C on a few nights in the winter, but otherwise nothing extreme.

I suspect there's a good reason why people don't do this - why is that?


texts: Need help with identification of bonsai tree

texts:
I just bought this bonsai and I can’t find anywhere what type it is.

Can someone help me please?


texts: Will a plant stop growing if new growth is dropped?

texts:
Some plants grow out of the top leaves, starting with a leaf or two and then extending the stem. I have two plants like this, medinilla magnifica and rubber plant. See the image below for reference.
What happens if this new growth is lost? Is the plant stunted, or will it be able to replace the growth either with leaves or stem?
My medinilla magnifica recently dropped its new growth due to extra sunlight drying it out, but is otherwise healthy, so I am curious to know how it will fare.


texts: When to trim ivy-full hedge to avoid bees and wasps?

texts:
It's early October in the UK, and my mixed garden hedge (some box, some hawthorn, lots of accidental ivy) needs the top trimming off. Unfortunately for some reason this year the ivy is attracting a lot of bees and wasps (yes, it definitely is both).

While I'm happy the bees are there, I'd really like to trim the hedge without accidentally hurting them, or angering the wasps and getting stung. If I wait a few weeks will they go away? Or is there any other trick or time of day, or something?


texts: Why is the purple becoming a dingy green on my wandering Jew?

texts: It was getting full direct sunglight out on my porch. I’ve moved it inside and am trying to give it indirect, bright sunlight. If too much direct sun is the reason for this when should I expect it to recover ? Or perhaps it is root bound ?


texts:
What is this? I feel like it was named incorrectly when I bought it.

Thanks


texts:
We've had a pineapple plant in the office for 2-3 weeks, situated in the centre of the room in good, sunny weather.  It's been regularly watered so that the soil is slightly damp, but no more.

The lower leaves have started to turn brown and, at the tips, crispy:

In the past couple of days it's been moved to a new location to get a bit more sun, but I have no idea what's causing this --- is it down to overwatering?  Too much/little light?  Not enough love?


texts: Why are mushroom appearing in my garden?

texts:
I never had mushrooms in my garden. But this year they appeared in a significant number. Why?

They appeared in the area where a large tree was removed last year. That area was generously watered this year (to support new plants). Could that be connected to the mushrooms?


texts: I seeded the lawn with Tall fescue 12 days ago. We tilled the existing soil, added more soil and compost, seeded and lightly raked the seeds after spreading. I could see grass on the 6th day and it has grown almost 1.5 inches tall. The problem I am having is that the grass is all dense in few spots and then few spots are almost barren. What did I do wrong? I did spread the seed evenly using the rotary spreader. What can I do now?


texts:
I have a Ficus Starlight with green and yellow leaves. The size of the leaves are small, not very big. Is this plant require same care as weeping fig?

What is the correct soil mix for this plant and light requirements?


texts: Where to break off asparagus, when harvesting?

texts:
When harvesting asparagus, I keep hearing that you are supposed to "break it off at ground level" and that it snaps real easily. What precisely does that mean? Usually it snaps a half inch below or above ground level, and sometimes ain't as easy to snap as people make it sound.

It also leaves little stems there that seem to just die (wasting plant energy?) and occupy space where new shoots could come up, even a year or two later.

Instead, I find I can gently twist the the asparagus and they pop right out.
Here's what twisting them out looks like when harvested:

Does pulling the white part out damage the plant or reduce growth?

(I just cut the white off before eating or cooking it.)


texts: Does the type of mulch you use matter depending on where you are or the type of climate you have?

texts:
I plan on using mulch for the first time starting next year so I've been looking up you tube videos regarding the topic to get me started. So far, wood chips is what tops the list of all the people that I've watched. However, there was this one comment that left me with alot of questions . Somebody wrote down that "over here in Australia, using wood chips as mulch is like creating a feasting ground for termites. Best to stay away from it."
I wanted to know why that was the case so i left a comment of my own but the individual won't reply back. what could be the reason? Are termites just part of the deal when using wood chips or does it have something to do with the soil or just Australia in general?


texts: Do dead bamboo limbs run the risk of seeding a garden bed?

texts:
I have these three bags, along with two more waiting for curbside pickup of yard waste to start back up. I am also about to dig a garden bed for a bunch of pepper plants. Although I don't anticipate that the varieties will bear too many rodent pests, I would like to have it be raised by about a foot or two to make it easier on the eyes and to maintain.

I was wondering if the bamboo stocks would make a suitable fill material. They are just cut down stalks from a rampant overgrowth in a corner of my yard, no pesticides or herbicides or anything on them. However, I don't want them to take root and start sprouting up halfway through the growing season. I also don't want them to compress too much, or decay too rapidly.

  My hypothetical plan would be to build a frame, carve out the inset for it, lay out the bamboo as a base, then cover with leaf mulch, and a compost/manure/top soil mix. I intend to wholly smother the bamboo beneath a good amount of topical materials.

Is there a real risk to using these stalks as fill for a raised garden bed?
If it did sprout, would it cause any more work than regular weeding?
Are there any good ways to divert those risks? (Perhaps a good shake of lime or something to that effect?)


texts: Morning, everybody! I was hoping you could help me with my little avocado plant. Its' leaves started to curl up. I thought it was from overwatering, but now I only water it once a week and it still looks like this. Any ideas?


texts:
We have a poinsettia at our house that we bought in Christmas. At least over here (the Caribbean), these poinsettias are very delicate; they usually die after a few months.

So our poinsettia has been surviving, but I've noticed that many leaves are dry and dying. I started looking at the leaves and this what they look like:

Most of the plant is covered with this.

My question is: is there anything that can be made homemade that will treat the plant and not just individual leaves? I can spray each leaf with mild soapy water, but it's just too many leaves. Also, I don't know if that will really help the plant.

My biggest concern is that this plant is very fragile and delicate, so I'm worried that the plant may die if I use something too strong.

Any help is appreciated.

I also wanted to point out that the plant's in a balcony, and it gets tons of sun (which hasn't affected it so far). I was thinking of moving it somewhere else, but I worry that the change and the bugs will end up killing the plant.


texts:
Last year I've used a fertilizer named AZOMITE and this year I didn't have much fig-crop (it is fall now where I am). Last year, at this time, I had a lot of figs.

Anybody know if this fertilizer has a bad effect on it?


texts: How do I properly amend soil in pots I used last year to grow tomatoes/peppers in Ohio?

texts:
I have half a dozen large pots (24"+) on my balcony which I've used for a couple of years to grow tomatoes, peppers and herbs. Last year I rotated several pots from tomato to peppers and vice versa, and top-dressed all with LARGE bag of fresh potting soil -- herbs did well, so did green onions, but peppers and tomatoes suffered.
What do I need to add to the soil to make it healthy? Does to be more than all-purpose fertilizer -- like calcium or something? Iron?
It's not feasible for me to replace it, I'm on the third-floor and I'm o
lder (i.e., weaker!).


texts: How to acclimate a store bought plant to a home-outdoors?

texts:
I recently bought chives from a fruit and vegetables store that had them imported from somewhere in Europe. It wasn't exposed to sunlight at the place. I brought it home, cleaned it up, repotted into a bigger pot with healthy soil. 5 days in, almost all the chives are limp and fallen down. Today, I bought rosemary and I was wondering if I should directly put it outside as I did with the chives or if I should keep it indoors for a while. Also, what can I do to my chives to help it; should I cut the ones falling down?

I also later intend to bring them indoors during winter, is there a specific process for that as well?


texts: What is this bush in my yard with many small green apples?

texts: Here is a picture of a bush in my yard. It is now late June and little quarter size green apples are all over it.  Can you tell me what type of bush this is?


texts:
I live near an oil refinery (probably about 1 mile away). I have a small back yard with sparse grass. I have some planter beds with bushes. I have a lawn in the front. I'm concerned that I may have lead in my soil. I have two kids below the age of 5.

Lead testing costs $400+ depending on what you want to test.

What precautions should I take (assuming that I do have lead) that will reduce or eliminate exposure to my kids?


texts: Is it beneficial to drop earthworms or red wrigglers into container plants?

texts:
Maybe it isn't worth much in smaller containers but at what size might this become beneficial? How many worms?

Would I need to layer the bottom with additional food for them to eat? Would what the worms excrete actually be usable by the plant?

Earthworms might eat slowly enough that it becomes more practical to use them over red wrigglers if the speed matters here - not sure.

How useful/successful might this setup be for providing long-term nutrients to the plants?


texts: How do I reduce the amount of fruit my pear tree produces?

texts:
I have a 10m peer tree that every year produces hundreds (thousands?) of small pears.
Every year the pears are destroying the grass underneath, and require a lot of work to clean.

Is there anything I can do (such as sterilize it)?

Otherwise I might have to cut the tree down.


texts: What are the advantages and disadvantages of using soil blocks?

texts: I recently read a book that suggests using soil blocks for starting seeds. What are the advantages and disadvantages of soil blocks over the more popular seed starting methods? I am mainly interested in using the seed blocks to start vegetables.


texts: What's the best way to control squash bugs

texts:
Help! I need to get rid of squash bugs.

I know Sevin will kill them, but I would like to use a less toxic method.

I have been destroying them manually, but I am losing the battle.


texts: I have a large butterfly bush in my back yard that has grown up between fences (the previous homeowner put privacy fence on either side of a chain link fence, so its impossible to get to all of the roots without ripping out a lot of expensive fencing).  I have cut it down and my husband has put mass quantities of weed killer on them before and they just keep coming back.  I have cut them down as far as I can for now, and want suggestions for what to put on them to kill them for good.  There is very little other plant life in the area, except for a large oak tree about 10 feet away - no grass or other small plants to worry about killing there.


texts: It looks like baby tears to me and the vague label said succulent on it.


texts: What's digging holes in my indoor potted plants?

texts:
I have a indoor basil potted plant in an office environment and over the weekend holes appeared on the surface of the soil, as if something dug them. The pots are next to a window, but it's closed at the weekends.

A few times I've I noticed cockroaches in the bathroom, but it's 10-20 feet away and the office is locked and the door is well sealed. It's an old building, I can see some holes in the ceiling, where the pipes are.

Do cockroaches like to dig holes in potted planets, or could it be something else?

How do I get rid of them?

Click below images to enlarge...


texts: Please help me to identify this Aloe species. Unfortunately I have dropped the container and that's why the plant lost a few leaves and therefore, its symmetry.


texts: How much light is too much for a Maranta Red house plant?

texts:
I recently added a Maranta Red to a room with large "bubble" type skylights. It sits on top of a book case and with the position of the room it DOES get hit by direct sunlight for roughly 45 minutes a day as the sun is in just right the position later in the afternoon.

My question, is this too much light for a Maranta? I got it for it's obviously vibrant colors etc, but I'm also a male bachelor suggesting I can barely care for myself let alone other things competently. It's the perfect spot for it aesthetically but I would appreciate someone more experienced saving me from potentially harming it.

I did read some articles, but they basically just reiterate that it's not a fan of direct sun light without really specifying how much is too much or too little. So here we are. :)

Thanks!


texts: Will a 24W grow LED be sufficient for a 50cm x 15cm windowsill greenhouse?

texts:
I've got a few 50cm x 15cm windowsill greenhouses. As sunlight at this time of year is sparse here in northern Europe, I'd like to provide a little more light to my plants (primarily tomatoes, peppers and the like).

Will a 24W LED from ebay be sufficient for a 50cm x 15cm windowsill greenhouse?

And a somewhat related question; how safe are these cheap LEDs from ebay? At first sight they generally seem to not be designed with safety as a primary concern. Wires seems to be exposed on surfaces which can be touched. Should that be a concern if I buy one of these LEDs?


texts:
I'm growing yukon gold potatoes. They've been growing like gangbusters, but this week I noticed some leaf yellowing and wilt on at least 3 plants out of 9.

Why are they yellowing? Is it anything to be concerned about?  I check the soil daily, and it's damp down to at least 4 inches.

I'm in zone 6a, if that helps any.


texts: I have had this plant for the past 2 years. Can any one tell me the name of the plant.


texts: I planted a clump of three birch trees.  Do the trunks need to be trained to get the desired spacing or angle as they grow?


texts: I live in New Zealand and found several of these seed pods in an old garden. I was told they were crocosmia but I have yet to see any photos with the netting-like stuff around them. Can you help?


texts: How do I apply spent coffee grounds as a fertilizer?

texts:
I've read that spent coffee grounds work well as a fertilizer.  But the methods of application are all over the map.  Some indicate using it in compost, others suggest spreading it and broken eggshells as an insect deterrent,  and others recommend making a "tea" (heh!) out of it to water plants.  Personally I've just taken my coffee filter outside to clean it and hoped for the best.

Is there any particular reason to pick one application method over the rest or should I just do what's easiest?


texts:
Can someone identify this plant?
Also, how does one propagate this plant to a pot?
This plant grows in Florida.


texts: What's the best way to handle dirt in my Sansevieria (snake plant)?

texts:
My Father rescued some Snake plants yesterday and I potted them in  bad soil till I get a better one. Now after inspecting it, I found dirt settled in the plant. Here is an image to show what I mean:

I cleaned some of the dirt with a toothpick and some water, but it's not helping much. Also, the new shoots are drowned in dirt and I might harm the plant if I proceed on with the toothpick and water method. How should I clean them?

I thought of the following methods:

Method 1: Leave them as it is. In time, the new shoots will push the dirt up, up, and away. But if I leave them with dirt, wouldn't the dirt deteriorate the health of the plant?

Method 2: Pull the plants out, safely, and fire a water jet stream towards the dirt to wash it away. But wouldn't the water damage the roots? Or can I even wash the roots with water before re-potting in a better soil?

Method 3: Proceed with the water and toothpick method. Throw some water on the dirt and then clear the dirt with thin and slender object.

What method is appropriate? Also, any other method?

Another thing, am I making a mountain out of a molehill?


texts: I have different types of blueberry bushes-from 1 year, to 10 years. I have done all the recommended things to have healthy plants. They all have lots of leaves and do make blueberries, but not so many.The bushes are healthy.I live in  zone 7.  I use peat moss and soil acidifyer(I live in clay country). I fertilize with holly-tone, I deep mulch with straw and rich compost, I prune in winter, I water in summer. What else can I do to encourage the plants to put on more blossoms and berries?


texts: Please can you help me identify a rose with sentimental value?

texts:
My late mother had a rose that was grown as a cutting from her grandmothers rose garden. I am very new to gardening, but I have managed to grow several cuttings (luck > judgement).

It would be wonderful to know more about the rose. Especially if its a climber or not.

I think it might be a hybrid tea(?):

More pictures, of these roses, are at Google Photos.

It's the pink one in the pictures (the fully grown one is my mothers, the ones in pots are my cuttings). I'm less interested in the peach coloured rose...but for a bonus point?


texts: Can someone help identify these two groundcover plants?

texts:
I am trying to identify the purple flowers (and the groundcover plant that they grow from.) The light green leaves on the left of the photo are NOT the same plant. Those leaves are the same as the plant in photo #2

This plant has slightly bumpy leaves, but not jagged edges. It has five petaled white flowers too.

I am doing an ecology project for biology and we have to identify these plants (genus and species) I haven't found the right species yet, so I appreciate all your help.


texts: Saving basil plant after it has been sitting in trash?

texts:
So I foolishly tried to help my basil plant grow by composting in the pot it was growing in.  Needless to say this made the plant sick and yellowish and the leaves that have turned yellow have a bad smell to them.  I have since removed the plant from the pot and it is now sitting in a pot of water with the remaining non-contaminated soil around it's roots.

Other than letting it sit in the clean pot (which doesn't have very much soil in it and has quite a bit of water) for a week or so and then replanting it in clean soil, is there anything I can do to get the plant back to looking and smelling normal?

Here are pictures of the plant and some of the yellowed leaves that have fallen off (click to enlarge):

In case it isn't clear that leaves should be closer to the color of the grass in the background (as that is what color they were before).


texts: How can I keep a jade plant (Crassula ovata) from growing, and keep it healthy?

texts:
I have a lovely jade plant (Crassula Ovata) growing in the bathroom, but it keeps outgrowing pots and needing to be repotted. I have tried moving it further from the sun and watering it less to try and slow its growth, as I read somewhere that works, but it doesn't take too well to that.

Is it just something I need to live with, or are there ways to slow the growth of succulents?


texts: What's this strange large growth on my new asiatic lily?

texts:
I had planted some asiatic lilies last year that looked wonderful.  They appear to have multiplied, however I noticed an odd growth in one area of my early lily plants.

I've attached an in image of this strange large growth, surrounded by more standard lily growth.

Can someone tell me what this and why this happens?  Please ignore the nearby hyacinth stem overlapping over the lilies.


texts: I have this type of grassy houseplant. I think it might be a Ponytail Palm, but it seems to be slightly different. I want to put them outside on the porch my cats frequent, but they go crazy chomping at them so I'm afraid they will get sick. I need to identify the plant.


texts:
I recently repotted some succulents into glass pots. I noticed today that there is some green stuff, looks like moss, growing on the inside walls of the pots. What is this? And is it safe? Should I repot these again to get rid of the moss?

Picture of pot


texts:
A few days ago I noticed dozens of small flying insects flying around my arborvitae. They move too fast and are too small to take a picture of but they are about the size and appearance of fungus gnats when flying around so that could be a possibility. You can only make out the wings when they're flying but I think they may have a black body. They're easy to miss if you don't pay attention.

I also noticed them around some yews and could see them in a neighbor's deciduous shrub nearby but I don't know the type.

Don't see them anywhere else.

A bit of snow over the winter and last year. These trees get surrounded by a lot of snow. Last year there was a small amount of leaf loss due to snow. A neighbor lost a small evergreen shrub recently from what looked to me to be disease or insect damage which has me concerned.

Sorry I couldn't be any more descriptive but any help about what flying insects might be attracted to these would be helpful. I sprayed them with neem oil a couple of days ago but today they're back. Will do a couple follow up sprays every week or so.

Update:

Went to check for scale and to be honest not sure what to look for so posting some pics. There's browning on the inside but I always thought that was due to the density on the outside restricting light.

Another odd thing was when I went to check there were only a few insects now. The trees are now in shade and before when I saw them they were in direct sunlight.

Here are the pics if it helps identify anything.


texts: Should I compost my leaves separate from my vegetable kitchen waste?

texts:
I'm new to composting (and cleverly started in the winter ;-)

I've heard (and seen) that a thin layer of leaves on top of vegetable scraps keeps the bugs off. However, I recently watched a TED Video on Composting that suggested you compost the kitchen scraps separately because that's done mostly by worms, whereas the leaves compost differently. And a post on StackExchange indicates that the leaves will "hot compost" and be too hot for the worms"


texts: Do I need to / How can I separate vegetables grown closely together?

texts:
I bought some young vegetables (maybe 5 inches tall), and some of them were grown in tight bunches of four; mainly the okra and beans.
They came in small containers with a diameter of about 3 inches. While transplanting them to larger containers, I thought they should probably be separated... but they were so close together, I was sure I would destroy all the roots. Thus I left them in bunches for now.

Should they be separated? How important is that?
If so, why would they be grown so darn close together, and how can I separate them without destroying the entire root system?


texts: Can we save a dying chili pepper plant by grafting?

texts: I have a dying Jalapeno plant and I want to save the fruits that are already growing, can I use grafting procedure to save it from dying using a well grown Jalapeno plant.


texts: What causes flowers to fall off of a blueberry bush?

texts:
My blueberry bush's flower bells are falling off, leaving only the center stalk (stamen? pistil? whatever it is, its part of the sex organs)

Is this what happens when a blueberry flower is properly pollinated or is some type of disease/blight affecting the plants?


texts: Do snake plants (Sansevieria) stop growing if their tips get damaged or broken?

texts:
I heard on a video on Youtube that a snake plant (Sansevieria) will stop growing if it loses its leaf tips or if the tips gets brown or broken. Is this true?
Many of the tips of my Snake plant are either broken or brown. Is there anything I can do to make the plant grow bigger? Or is that all?


texts: I have a cactus (pictured) which I bought about a month or so ago. It has been slowly drooping, although the tag said to keep it dry in winter and I have only watered it once when I re-potted it. The stems seem to have gone all soft. Does anyone know what might be wrong with it and how I can save it?


texts:
The previous owners of my property left me three young loquat trees. They are all in the same planter, and are much closer to structures (and to each other) than most advice I see online at 8' from the house and 3' from the nearest fence.

Two questions on these:

Should I remove the two smaller trees to let the biggest one have the space?
Is it feasible to prune the tree(s) and keep it(them) from damaging the fence or house while still growing large enough to bear at least some fruit?

Note: The large trunk in the middle of the picture is a stump from whatever was there before. The loquats are the three smaller trunks that surround it. This is just to get a sense of scale and spacing.


texts:
I attached two pictures here.  One of them shows the leaves and branches up close. The tree does not flower at all.

Location: Sydney, Australia


texts: Lawn-mowing: when to mulch and when to bag?

texts: I know mulching when mowing is typically a good thing for the health of the yard. If this is the case, under what circumstances should I bag the clippings?


texts:
It is a seedling of Zinnia elegans Super Yoga.
The cotyledons have dried out and I have no idea why.
Potentially relevant information:

The soil media is an equal mix of compost, river silt and coco coir.
I planted around 12 seeds of which only two germinated. The other one also died a day back, although its stem had wilted when I found it.
They were planted outdoors, in clear plastic cups with a finger sized hole at the bottom.
They were watered at least once a day in the morning, I checked in the afternoon and added water to any whose soil color seemed to have changed due to drying. I'd say the amount of water given to each was around a teaspoon to a tabespoon.
The soil was still moist when I found it in this state.
Temperature these days over here is 32°C max to 16°C min.

Its my first time gardening and my intention is to narrow down as much as possible as to what could be the possible reasons for their death?  Nutrient deficiency? Over\Under watering? Too much or too little sunlight? Bad seeds?


texts: How long should I wait before watering my Cat's Claw vines in high heat?

texts:
I was told to water everyday in summer time. I live in Las Vegas and we have had a heat wave for a week with temps over 110 °F. I watered each day and the 6 vines all are losing their leaves and seem to be dying. I think I may have watered too much.

How long should I wait to water again?


texts: I have a mulberry tree which has been in my garden for 4 years. I bought it at a market and I think it was a seedling. It has grown to a height of 4 metres and is thriving. Each year it has flowered and the bees are in abundance. After it has flowered the flower part shrivels, goes brown and drops off. I have not had one single mulberry from it. It has been fertilized with organic fertilizer and is always watered. Our climate is ideal for mulberries. Our neighbour's tree produces heaps of fruit.


texts: They said it is a ginseng but I'm not sure what plant is this?

texts: They said to me it is a ginseng but I doubt it.


texts: What is the difference between compost and soil?

texts:
This question has been asked many times on the net and the information provided is unreliable and mostly wrong.

What I am aiming to understand is what is lacking in compost that we can't just add it to make it the same composition as a rich soil?

Is it the amount of time that is needed to completely break it down?
Are there some special ingredients that are built below the surface that can't be organically added to the compost mix?
Is there some special conversion process that happens underground that makes it different from compost?


texts: Breaking up soil in a bed which grew strawberries

texts:
A bed of strawberries has been harvested and the bushes have been cut back to ground level. I'm thinking about breaking up approx. the top 10-15 cm of soil (with a spade), because it's very dry and packed right now. In the process I would undoubtedly cut and destroy many strawberry roots.

So here is my question: Is it correct to assume that the roots (and hence the bushes) will be able to recover until later this season or until next season. (There are still several months left in our growing season.)


texts: Is loose-leaf cabbage just as prone to cabbage worms as headed cabbage?

texts:
Is loose-leaf cabbage generally just as prone to cabbage worms as headed cabbage?

We've had trouble with cabbage worms on regular green cabbage that forms heads (the worms seem to hide inside the heads). I was wondering if they would be less of a problem in loose-leaf cabbage, since there wouldn't be tight spots for them to hide, and since you maybe harvest from them periodically, depending.

I've already heard they can be less of a problem in Chinese cabbage, and purple cabbage. So, I found this chartreuse-colored loose-leaf Chinese cabbage (it's hard to find purple Chinese cabbages), and then I got this question in my head, since it just looks like it might be less prone. So, I'm wondering if these types of cabbage would be good to plant where cabbage worms would normally attempt to infest.

Edit: To clarify, know that this is about the loose-leaf quality of the cabbage (not whether or not it's Chinese cabbage).


texts: Why are my French Cobra bean flowers not being pollinated?

texts: I have French Cobra bean which I heard is supposed to self pollinate. In the mean time all the flowers just dry out and fall off leaving a small stem behind. It's the first time I grow beans and I would expect that once the flower falls off it would leave fruit behind as with tomatoes.


texts: What is this invasive plant with with small purplish flowers that have lids?

texts:
What is this plant/weed with with unusual purplish flowers and new growth leaves? Flowers have "lids".

Its habit is similar to white clover's fill-the-space habit, and it took over significant parts of my yard. I am going to remove it (if I can), but I am courious what is it. Bees love flowers though.

It is mid-March, zone 8a.


texts: What edible mushrooms will grow on huckleberry logs?

texts: I was given some huckleberry wood by a friend, and was wondering what mushrooms I can grow on it.


texts: I have lichen all over my sidewalk. It seems to only be on my part of the sidewalk on my street. I do have some trees that overhang and cause lots of shade. What is the best way to remove this stuff and prevent it form coming back? I was thinking I could power wash it away.


texts: What is this plant and why are the "leaves" yellowing?

texts: The leaves of this plant are thick and plump.


texts: How do you remove weeds from a weed mat?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How do I bake weeds out of my landscaping?
  How to stop grass growing through landscape pebbles?

How do you best remove weeds that have infiltrated a weed mat covered with medium sized marble chips. I have a japanese garden, the weed mat was laid down by the landscaper about 6 years ago, covered with marble chips that are about 1/2-1"thick, some bare spots, and each year more weeds creek up through the mat and are impossible to pull out. Must I rip up the entire area and start again. He did kill the entire area with a chemcial before putting the weed mat down. Deer and debris from neighboring trees get on the marble chips.


texts: We have a maple tree, one of whose roots is causing patio pavers to rise. The pavers are 10 - 12 feet from the tree. Should I either chisel off enough to level the pavers or remove the section of root? What is the recommended approach?


texts: What are these orange insects under the leaves of my mandevilla?

texts:
First, I'll set the scene:

Location: South Florida

Temperature: 75°F - 85°F most days

Rain: Had been fairly dry until the last couple days

Affected plant: Mandevilla with yellow flowers

Story:

There usually isn't a day that goes by that I don't take a close look at my mandevilla (multiple) in order to guide the vines and such. So, I was surprised to notice this morning these little orange insects on the bottoms of a bunch of leaves that looked like the life was being sucked out of them.

I cut most of the leaves they'd infested and hit the rest of the plants with some high-pressure water to hopefully knock off some of the remaining insects and the little black specs (eggs?) that accompanied them.

After that, I sprayed a combo of water and Dawn soap around the affected areas.

What are these little guys, and what's the best way to keep them in check?


texts: How frequently should I prune a tomato plant?

texts:
My tomato plant is about 6 months old and about a foot and a half tall.

How often should you prune your tomato plant during this stage? Is it possible to over prune  the plant? I usually use the pinch method of removing stems.

About my tomato plant. This plant is potted and it lives in the hot sunny weather in north Texas.


texts: caterpillar identification and eradication

texts: Can you help me identify this type of caterpillar and what is the solution to eradicate them? i keep removing them from the tree but after a few days I find them again...


texts: Why does my cherry tree have no branches?

texts:
I bought a couple of dwarf cherry trees which I put in as a cordon at the edge of our garden.  They just consist of a single stem - which has been cut off at the top, with no side branches.

They've been in a couple of years so I would have expected them to form side branches by now, but they're just a pair of sticks, with huge clusters of leaves and cherry blossom tight to the main stem.  Why have they not grown branches?

I'm thinking next year I should rub off all of the buds except where I want them to grow branches, and maybe then they will sprout.  Alternatively should I cut the main stem above a bud in the direction I want them to grow?  Or do I just need to sit tight and be patient?


texts: What's the difference between each fertilizer grade?

texts:
I've heard of at least a few different grades of fertilizer:

Horticultural Grade
Greenhouse Grade
Solution Grade
Agricultural Grade
Farm Grade
Fertilizer Grade

Are these standards? Where are they defined? What's the difference between each (and any other grades I missed)?

Edit: I assume most of these have something to do with the levels of purity and contaminants, and I've read the horticultural grade does, but I haven't heard anything on that for the others. As you see in the link above, one person also says that horticultural grade and agricultural grade have to do with size of granules and the number of micronutrients. Other than that, I'm not sure what to think of the rest of these.


texts: Are "fast growing trees" a gimmick, or is this possible?

texts:
I'm looking to get some shade and coverage, and just "nice to look at" natural scenery in my yard.  I stumbled upon the site fast-growing-trees.

This almost seems Too Good To Be True.  What are your thoughts on this?  Is this real?  Advised?  What's the downside?


texts: What's the best way to grow tomato and pepper plants from seedlings late in the season?

texts:
I am wondering, is there any best practice for starting tomato/pepper plants this late in the season?

To be clear, I am talking about started plants that I am hoping to get heavily discounted from stores given that it is August 1st. We recently moved and were not able to start plants from seeds.

It feels like I should be able to do:

Buy a bunch of pre-started plants (for cheap)
Transplant to garden
Profit

I am in zone 5 and our first frost is normally early October, meaning tomatoes/peppers planted today would have nearly 60 days to produce. I expect that really is more like 45 days as the end of the season will be pretty cool.

Is there a good way to approach this?


texts: I have planted a honey locust tree about three years ago. Ordered online.  I believe it is the kind that is thornless.  It is growing nicely as far as branching out but has not grown in height. My husband said I must have bought a shrub.  I know it is a tree.  Is it OK to trim the lower branches and will this help force some growth in height?


texts: I am going to take cuttings from an Amelanchier tree this spring. I would like to know what differentiates the various species (height, leaf shape, bark, etc.) in order to identify it. The tree is part of a landscape around a school in Quebec, Canada.


texts: Why do some plants bend their leaves close by night?

texts:
I have a a Tamarind plant that is very young, and it bends its leaves at night and opens them during day.

Why some plants do that? Is it cause the plant feels cold at night? Or this is normal behavior? In either of the cases, what causes them to change the stance?


texts: How can I determine if cactus seedlings are dead?

texts:
I planted some notocactus seeds sometime in September and many have germinated since then. A few weeks ago, there was an incident where some of my succulents may have experienced frost and I can't be positive which ones (other than the obvious effects: I had to throw many away as a result of succulents drooping and oozing). I haven't noticed any obvious growth in the notocactus seedlings recently and pictures I've taken fail to help me identify growth due to the extremely small seedlings' sizes (see below).

I'm curious as to whether my cactus seedlings have died or not. They seem mushy when probed with a small toothpick, which I know is a sign of succulent death. Is there a definitive way to be able to tell whether my notocactus seedlings have died or they're just going through typical slow growth?


texts:
I was recently shipped 10 Norway Spruce saplings from the Arbor Day foundation.  The problem is that it's mid December and the ground is frozen.

I was thinking I should plant them indoors to let the roots take hold, and then transplant them in the spring after the ground thaws.

But my question is, is there a better method to store them in the winter?  Will they die if the root ball dries out?


texts: Probably a tupelo, but I would like ID confirmation

texts: The question says it all - alternate single entire leaves with smooth margins, and I tend to believe that the buds should be telling, but I'd like confirmation that it is indeed Nyssa sylvatica:


texts: Grafting crabapple Malus floribunda on M26 rootstock?

texts:
I have an one year old M26 rootstock in my yard, and there is a gorgeous Malus floribunda in front of a building where I work.
M26 is one of the commonest rootstocks for apples (Malus domesticas). Malus floribunda belongs to crabapples though.
Is there any chance grafting floribunda on M26 would work?


texts: How to prune regrowth from a previously cut down tree?

texts:
I have an Albizia tree with a very established root base that was recently cut down due to renovations. The existing stump (which was originally a regrowth as well I think) is only around 8cm across and about 1.5m high.

It has recently put out a large number of sprouts from top of the stump (all growing upward), they're about 20cm tall or so at the moment and growing rapidly.

I'd like to keep the tree but obviously if I just let it do what it wants it's going to end up being a bit of a strange looking tree.

I was hoping someone could give me some advise on how to choose which sprouts to take off and which and how many to keep. Should I just keep one that's around the middle of the stump and hope it branches out?


texts: Can decorative pebbles harm outdoor plants?

texts:
I'm thinking of putting decorative white pebbles on top of my potted outdoor plants. I googled this, and some articles that I found raise several concerns:

Pebbles in soil increase soil pH, which is not always desirable.
They make the soil warmer in summer, which might harm the roots.
Soil with pebbles on top retains moisture better (because it would be harder for the water to evaporate), which is also not always a good thing.

How valid are those concerns? Can decorative pebbles actually do harm?
I found this answer https://gardening.stackexchange.com/a/19392/25919 that addresses the 3rd point.


texts: Diagnosis: capsicum plants with holes in leaves, brown spots - no bugs visible

texts:
While growing chili plants indoors and lately holes in the leaves and brown spots have started to appear. Images:

There are no bugs visible on the leaves. The plants are grown indoors, have ample sunlight and are grown with expanded clay pebbles below the layer of soil.

Related questions on gardening.SE, but doesn't look like my plants:

Capsicum plant curling and turning brown
Curled deformed capsicum leaves

EDIT: On a much closer inspection I did indeed find small black critters - probably aphids, judging from other images on the web. I have sprayed the plants with a solution of dish soap and canola oil - now we wait! ;-)


texts: I recently took this plant over from a friend. I transplanted it over the summer and kept it outside, then recently moved it inside. I'm in Zone 5 and it just started getting below 50 F at night. It has pretty thin leaves that don't like direct sunlight all day outside in the 80+ degree temps. It recently started getting these small new leaves, which are like little yellow canoes, with little pistils inside. They might be the flower, not sure. And not sure if they are supposed to be yellow. Anyway, any ideas what this is? It is a pretty old plant, maybe 10 years even. I think it may be a Bird of Paradise. Obviously it's not going to get the tropical flowers.


texts: What should I do to make my strawberry a perennial?

texts:
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/care-tristar-strawberries-45860.html says that

  Strawberries grow as perennials in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 9, depending on the cultivar and in zones 9 and 10 as cool-season annuals

Is it the heat that kills the strawberries (tristar) and prevents it from being a perennial? What should I do save my strawberry? Should I bring it inside the house in the summer or winter (it's in a pot)


texts: I was curious, I have a lemon tree grown from seed about 2 1/2 years ago. If I grafted it with a scion from my meyer lemon tree how long would it take to produce fruit?


texts:
We have great moss growing between and on the bricks on a patio on the north side of our house. It always seems to do well. This fall I slipped on what I thought was mud, but actually appears to be rotting moss - it's like a dark brown, slippery, slime:

It has been happening for the past few weeks, starting before the leaves on the trees started to fall.

Any idea what's going on?


texts: What vegetables will grow well in limited sunlight?

texts:
Our backyard receives limited sunlight due to three massive trees in a small area. There is only about 2 hours of direct sunlight per day to my vegetable patch.

Could I get some suggestions for vegetables that can be grown with limited sunlight?

I have had success with carrots, potatoes, lettuce and Asian greens but would like some variety.


texts:
I'm fairly new to gardening and in need of some guidance. I've searched around for a bit but couldn't find anything except general care and pruning instructions.

Two years ago, I purchased and planted three Elder (Sambucus nigra) plants. They were all bought at a professional garden centre and came at around 15 cm in height. I planted them in a box 3 m by 0.5 m with around 85 cm between each plant. Soil depth is around 40 cm. I let them grow wild (no pruning) and gently guided the canes along a bamboo fence.

All three have been growing nicely but come spring this year only the outer two have sprouted leaves in any number. The middle one has reached the highest but the few leaves actually on it are all rather dry and curled up with a yellowish colour. They have all been watered equally and all have received one round of standard fertiliser last year. I've included a picture for comparison.

Does anyone know why the middle one is not sprouting leaves? They have all received the same amount of water, fertiliser and sunlight and given how similar they have been growing up until now, I'm baffled as to what I did wrong. I planted all of them to serve as a natural fence to the common part of our rooftop terasse and hope to grow them slightly taller but none of that will matter if there are no leaves.

Any ideas as to what can be done? As I said, I don't really have any experience taking care of anything other than the odd cactus so I'm open for any suggestions that might help.


texts: How to tackle this disease on an apricot tree

texts:
We live in Vienna, Austria, very near the Danube river. We planted this apricot tree back in spring of 2015 as a small tree bought from a local nursery.  It has been growing very quickly and was always very lush with leaves and flowers. Last summer (2017) it bore fruit for the first time, but the fruit did not ripen.  This spring we decided to prune it a little bit to start shaping it to fit our needs in the garden. We pruned it in late March and by end of May we noticed the leaves shriveling and dying. Throughout the late spring and summer, the tree was bare, dropping dead leaves. Can you tell me what the disease is and what can be (if anything) done about it.

Thank you so much.

Photos:


texts: My dog removed my yucca's bark, what to do

texts:
I bought a yucca palm yesterday, and when I woke up today I saw that my dog bit the plant's bark on one side.
The yucca's trunk is about 80cm, the highest leafs are at about 180cm and the trunk has a circumference of about 32cm, of which the dog removed a piece of about 16cm x 20cm.

The yucca seams healthy apart from that... Will it make it? Is there anything I can do?


texts:
I had a large Ash tree stump ground out of my yard and now have a huge hole to contend with to restore the lawn in this area.

Can I use old weathered bricks to partially fill a large stump hole leaving 4 - 5" for topsoil?


texts: How can I make lines on the grass in a field?

texts:
Is there some tool that you walk behind and it creates a line on the grass where you walked?

I'm looking for something that makes a line the same thickness of a chalk line

I want something like this because I want to attach it to my mower so I can keep track of where I already mowed/seeded/fertilized on my yard since I need to go in a zig-zag pattern


texts: I'm interested in ways to deal (remove) fungus from spaces used to germinate seeds. I noticed that hydrogen peroxide, isopropylacohol and baking soda. Are these just for fungus or mold too?


texts: What is this (fungus?) on my fruit trees, and should I treat it?

texts: I have several fruit trees (Apple, Cherry, and Peach) that all have an identical growth on the bark. It looks like a fungus to me, but I'm uncertain of the exact identification and what to use to treat it. Could someone identify this and offer a recommendation for treatment?


texts: Can you use the leftover water from watering one plant to water other plants?

texts:
After watering a potted plant, the tray the pot is on sometimes has a significant amount of leftover water in it. It's usually got some soil in it and occasionally gets a light tea color to it. Can that leftover water in the tray be poured into another pot to water a different plant?

Are there any exceptions/guidelines to this (e.g. not with allelopathic plants, or only for two pours/rounds before the leftover water should be poured onto the ground)?


texts: Small cactus from garden center identification

texts: I bought a small cactus from the garden center, but it doesn't say which species it is. Can anyone identify this cactus? For reference I put it next to a coin of about 3 cm (1.2 inch) in diameter. Thanks in advance.


texts: How do I increase the chance of growing a garlic plant from a clove?

texts:
A while back I threw out some spoiled-looking garlic cloves only to find them growing quite well in my compost. I'd like to try planting a few (in a container, not the open ground).

Can I simply stick them in the soil and water, or do I need to cultivate the clove first in some way?


texts: Help identifying a small flowering plant

texts:
This little guy started popping up around my house. We never planted it, but I'd love to know what we have growing here. It is small type, the  flowers have a honeysuckle  type style,  5 petals and the leaves of the plant itself are shiny , slightly like purselane. It is growing in Florida.
TYIA


texts:
I am starting to see this vine (unknown name) going around and getting crowded below my hydrangeas. Is it normal and OK?

Or should I intervene and remove it?


texts:
I've been growing my tomatoes up a 6ft trellis of nylon netting for the last couple of years, with good results.  But they tend to grow out of control, eventually toppling over the trellis and breaking their branches, and parts of the branches will die out.  I've never really bothered with pruning them unless a vine looks diseased or like it's dying.

I've read that I really ought to be pruning the tomatoes to the "main vine", which will result in higher fruit yields.  But I'm not sure how to tell which vine is the "main" vine (or if it really matters), and which vines are just branches.  After a week, both vines look rather strong.  And when both vines have flowers, I'm anxious about cutting away potential produce!  Will pruning it really result in higher yields?

What rules of thumb do you use for pruning your trellised tomato vines?


texts: How should I prune my pomegranate trees?

texts: I have a pomegranate tree that is 6 years old. It didn't get enough water for several years, and was growing under a canopy of other trees, so it only grew about 1 meter (~4 feet) high. How and when should I prune it to stimulate growth?


texts: What are first steps for a novice gardener?

texts:
After living most of my life in urban apartments, I bought a house in the suburbs and suddenly find myself with a lawn and garden to take care of. Apart from mowing, which I'm familiar with, I have no idea what to do. What should be, say, my first three actions in the yard?

Update: what's in the yard?

1 miniature Japanese maple (h == 18in)
A few hostas
Other, unidentified things (photos pending)


texts: This is on some of my apple trees, can someone help me? What is going on and how do I treat it. Thanks


texts:
My lawn is slowly being taken over by clover, I would be ok with this if the clover and the grass embraced diversity, but instead there are patches of one or the other.  I understand clover likes soil with low nitrogen levels which probably explains the voracious spreading.  I also understand it replenishes nitrogen back into the soil.

My question is,  if I let the clover take over, and let it naturally replenish the soils nitrogen level, will the clover recede once the nitrogen levels rise?  I am ok with the next year or two (our first kid was just born) letting this process happen, but only if I know I can eventually get back to grass with little effort.  I am not ok letting the clover consume my lawn if in a year or two I need to rototill and reseed everything.

Is this approach ok for someone who doesn't have a lot of time to focus on his lawn?  If another approach would be to get nitrogen back into the soil, what is a good method?  I went to starbucks twice and got big bags of used coffee grounds and spread them over my lawn (pre clover attack) but judging on the current situation, I don't think it did much.


texts: How can I pull down vines with a tractor?

texts: I have invasive vines that are either well rooted in the ground, or sometimes grown up into the boughs of trees. I have a John Deere 1025r tractor and a heavy chain that can attach to the front of it, but it is not clear the best way to attach the chain to the vines to the chain so I can pull the vines out. Maybe lash it to the chain with a rope? Seems tedious.


texts:
Some of my tomato plants are starting to wilt:

The plants in the photos are of different kinds (Roma and Lincoln tomatoes); moreover, I have other tomato plants in the same array that are thriving. What is going on with these, and how can I fix it?


texts: Can anyone identify this tree please - I'm stuck!

texts:
I'm really stumped (!) by what this tree is - can anyone out there help me identify it please?

Its located in the UK, in North London, photo taken today - 27.03.2020

Thanks for your time!

Sean


texts: What are these tiny gray bugs that I find outside near wood?

texts:
I have been finding these tiny gray bugs all over my outside, typically near a wood pile or on wooden furniture. They are so small i can't really give much as far identifying marks, so I hope my pictures are enough...
At first I was worried they were termites, but looking at pictures of those online, it doesn't seem to be. The only thing that came close is either a silverfish, which seem larger than what I have; or some type of springtail. It says springtails are typically found inside and in high humidity places, but I am only finding them outside and while the humidity is higher this time of year I am finding them in "dry" spots (aforementioned wood piles) not damp parts of the house like a basement.
Location: Pittsburgh, PA, United States.
Close up picture with 5x zoom:

Close up picture with 2x zoom:

Close up picture with 1x zoom:

Picture of a group:
[


texts: What went wrong with my potted creeping fig?

texts:
I bought this ice caps creeping fig in September, and it's just not doing very well. The leaves are very dry and brown looking, and I haven't seen any new leaves since shortly after we got it; I'm not even sure if it's still alive.

I've been using a soil moisture metre to water it when it drys out, but ensuring it doesn't get water logged. I've tried placing it where it would get direct (through frosted glass) morning sunlight, and then moved it to where it only gets indirect indoor light.

This is actually the second creeping fig which has died here. Both the plant label and websites such as Gardenista have said that creeping figs are meant to be pretty hardy, growing in any light and apparently even doing fine in "drought conditions".

Any ideas what could have gone wrong, and if there's anything I can do to bring life back to this little plant?


texts: What is this ground cover that looks like tiny cactus

texts:
I found this in my front yard probably grew by previous owner. I am in Pacific Northwest.

What is this plant? Do they grow larger or stay small like that? How fast do they grow to cover more ground?

They look very nice.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How to make manure tea without e. coli

In this post, the benefits of compost tea were discussed. In short, it promotes growth, nourishes the plant and the soil, and helps keep diseases off. So how does one go about making compost tea at home? Does it require one to already have a compost heap/composting plan setup?


texts: How to get rid of dirt that is lying on grass?

texts:
After doing some work in my garden there are areas of the grass with dirt on it. What can I do to remove it effectively?

Picture source.


texts:
I have a dwarf white pine that suffered a fair bit of winter burn this last hard winter.  My horticulture courses said you could trim white pines for hedges.  I would just like to trim once for shape.

What will taking a pair of hedge shears do the eventual look and shape of a white pine?

If I trim it once do I have to keep trimming it?


texts: Is my dwarf orange tree too young to bear fruit?

texts: I planted a dwarf orange this winter.  It came from the nursery with oranges already on it.  They are still green, and one split through the skin so I cut it off.  Should I leave the rest on?  Or would it be better to let the tree get established and take all the green fruit off?


texts: What is this epiphytic climbing fern with narrow leathery leaves, found in Thailand?

texts:
Can anybody identify this fern? I found it in the mountains of central Thailand. It is epiphytic mostly, but also grows on the ground.
It has tough leathery leaves and is from an area that has a long dry season.

It was very common in the area that I found it.


texts: Are all plant materials suitable for cold compost?

texts:
I commonly heard people saying oily or meat products should not be added to their compost, but I've rarely heard anything about plants in this regard. In particular, I would like to know the rules about small-scale (I have lid-covered bins of 70cm (27in) side and 80cm (31in) height) and cold composting.

Do fresh pruning waste carry seeds of weeds so that they should not be used in cold composting? For instance, I have a bag of Duranta repens prunings (leaves and branches) collected last week. Is it suitable for cold composting (I heard it is toxic as well as a weed)? How about general grass clippings?

Also, if anyone also knows about Duranta repens C/N ratio, please also tell me. I don't want to start a new thread for such a small question.


texts: Dark spots on plant with heart-shaped leaves

texts:
I have an indoor plant with thick, dark green heart-shaped leaves that has developed some small black and brown spots. Does anyone know what this is?

I asked a question earlier this week about a problem on young indoor morning glory plants, and I received some advice that it might be thrips. Here is the question:
Tiny black spots on blue morning glory plant
However, this case has some differences from the morning glory case. One is that here, the spots cannot be removed by washing or scraping. Also, the blemishes appear on both the tops and the backs of the leaves, with most of them on the backs. In this case, the spots are more like indentations, whereas on my morning glories they were specks on the leaf. I also noticed some bumps on these leaves. There is one particularly large bump:

Also different from the morning glories case is that there are no silvery patches here. But there were some yellow and browning leaves and one leaf with a hole in it. I just cut them off and threw them away earlier this week (before the thrips suspicion). Then the spots seemed to appear overnight - I had checked it carefully yesterday and did not notice any blemishes!
Unfortunately, I don't know the name of this plant (it was a gift from some years ago). I'd really appreciate if anyone could share their ideas/suggestions.
Update: Just some hours later, I checked the plant again. The damage is spreading fast. Earlier I shared photos of the worst leaves on the plant. Now the worst one looks like this:

I'm not a huge gardener, but I've always had a few plants in the house. I've never seen anything like this. The only change lately is that I bought a new bag of soil. I wonder if the soil introduced some pests.


texts: I have a bonsai tea tree and I'm concerned because it is dropping leaves and I'm not sure what to do

texts: I live in Minnesota and the beginning of winter is starting. I'm trying to get it enough sunlight, I'm kind of thinking that might be the problem. However, now that it's getting into winter the days here are usually overcast and grey most of the time. I've been putting it out for an hour or so each day, but I can't leave it out for much longer because it often drops to like 30 degrees during the day. When it's inside I have it by a large window to get partial sun and we keep the house about a constant 70 degrees. I give my tree water whenever the soil starts to feel just barely damp underneath. But the leaves have started turning a lime green color and then they fall. I'm loosing leaves daily. There are still leaves trying to grow in, but they are a light green.


texts: Why are my Meyer lemon's leaves yellowing and falling off?

texts:
I purchased a 1-2 year old Meyer lemon. We keep it indoors and it was doing great, and started blossoming all over. Then we re-potted it, using some citrus soil and one of those self watering pots. I poked holes in the self watering pot so water could drain out. I also used a light layer of gravel on the bottom to help drainage. We watered it and put it back in the window. When we woke up the next day, the leaves were pale and yellow and falling off; most of the blossoms have also fallen off. I picked up some fertilizer today and mixed a little less then recommended with water and sprayed the leaves today to see if it was a nitrogen issue.

The leaves don't seem as shiny as they were when it first arrived. I'm scared to do anything else with it.

What should I do to help my lemon recover?


texts: what could be the problem if a lawn mower not start completely for Craftsman Lawn Mower Model #247377440

texts:
https://youtu.be/uV5H3kOkVfg detail video here!

additional detail, I replaced the red power starter key, original one broke in half, and I did accidentally put engine oil in gas tank, and I drained all or almost all by heaving it tilted almost upside down for an hour or more ....

more info about the law mower is here.
https://www.searspartsdirect.com/model-number/247377440/0247/1500600.html

https://www.sears.com/craftsman-21inch-front-wheel-drive-163cc-mower/p-07137744000P

Would like to know any hint.

Thanks


texts: What cherry variety to chose to cross-pollinate

texts:
I recently bought (by mistake) a variety of cherry tree (Ohio beauty) that is not self-pollinating.
I live in the city, in the 15th floor, and I have a large balcony on which I want to grow a few potted fruit trees (for instance, I already have a lemon tree and a dwarf pear tree).

I could probably return the tree. However, I am considering a second option. If I were to buy a second (dwarf, self-pollinating) cherry tree, would that give a reasonnable chance to get cross pollination with the Ohio beauty one? And if so, any particular variety I should chose or avoid?

As a side note to that question, I realized that the Ohio beauty cherry tree I bought is also not a dwarf variety. If I put in say a 100L pot, with otherwise good conditions (watering, fertilizer, good exposition), would it be reasonnable to expect the cherry tree to grow healthily? (not expecting a miraculous yield, of course).


texts:
I have a weed growing in parts of my yard that grows really fast and tends to take over unmown patches if I'm not attentive. My house in central North Carolina came with a wildflower garden that this stuff has come to dominate. In the winter it turns brown and dies back. It doesn't flower, and the leaves are on the soft, flexible side and not prickly at all. Very uniform green color.

The picture below is actually a still from a short video I took. At the time I thought that would give a better sense of depth. I took this in October and have only gotten around to asking the question now (sorry about that), so I can't take a better picture right now since it's all withered and brown.

Update: I have added a clearer picture. I noticed that my video starts with a clearer shot, so I captured that and added it. It's smaller since I didn't want to include the "play" button in the middle.


texts: Why are my peace lily flowers only growing halfway up?  The leaves are beautiful and they are strong.  The flowers continue to grow except you can't see them because they are inside the leaves.  They don't grow all the way up


texts: I bought this at the grocery thinking it's basil, but I'm not really sure. Also, there was no label.


texts: Can I plant the root vegetable tops for harvesting the seeds?

texts:
I have mistakenly forgotten to save some seeds of the root vegetables for planting separately for harvesting the seeds. I know that people plant the root vegetable tops for harvesting greens, so I would guess that greens would flower and hence seeds can be harvested.
Am I right ?


texts: Tree recommendation for Fort Collins, Colorado

texts:
I am shopping for a tree for my yard.  I have tried the local government website, and it literally gives me just a list of hundreds of trees...

https://extension.colostate.edu/docs/pubs/garden/treereclist.pdf

I have tried getting advice from local nurseries, but they simply try to sell me a tree from their current stock.

What I am hoping to find is a medium/large deciduous tree that is relatively fast growing and low maintenance (I don't mind watering it, but don't want to deal with itch bombs every year and such).

The spot where I will be planting the tree is about 20 feet from the corner of my roof.  It gets full sunshine.

I already have a maple tree and a crab apple in my yard, and my next door neighbor has a Linden, so I am looking for something different in this spot.

Any suggestions, recommendations, or even advice on what to stay away from, or how to get good recommendations will be greatly appreciated!


texts:
I found this cactus in a store, it was labeled as "cactus" but I think it is one of the giant cacti (see my previous question). It is about 12 cm in height (without spines).

I was wondering when is the best time to repot it into a slightly larger pot? I bought the plant yesterday (9th of March). Is the pot of the store still big enough, is the soil still good, and when is the best season to repot it? I think Springtime, right?

Second question, how to do this? Do I use gloves (what kind?) or a cloth for this? Any advice on repotting these spiny big plants?

Thanks in advance!


texts:
I have a small indoor garden. Unfortunately, I also have a dozen liters of spoiled wine. Intuitively, I think watering edibles with wine will be beneficial for them, as the wine carries already dissolved organic material. However, I am beginning to worry about a possible acidity change in the soil. Maybe also other factors, that I haven't considered exist as well.

Is it a good idea to water edibles with spoiled wine? (bonus question: what about coffee residue?)


texts: Is a fungus causing dead patches in my lawn?

texts:
Here is a picture of part of my lawn after this harsh summer. I am trying to figure out if this is lawn fungus or that the lawn literally burnt to death. Is it fungus that I should use the Scotts Fungus stuff on it, or should I just rip it up a bit and overseed?

More info:

live in New England (hot summer this year)
fertilized twice since spring (Scotts TB crabgrass preventer early spring and Scott TB weed n feed late spring)
applied Scotts GrubEx at second fertilizing time as well (3-4 months ago)
water once or twice a week for a while rather than frequent short times


texts: Looking for a non-kink hose and variable spray nozzle with NO LEAKS

texts:
I'm interested in your opinions about the best nonleaking hose nozzle. I love all the different variable sprays and I do use them. But it drives me crazy when it drips on my feet. I've probably tried a dozen types.

Also, every hose I buy will kink at one point.  I love the little shrinking hose but that cannot be left in the sun because it springs leaks so it isn't the most convenient.  I'd like to hear what others think.  Thanks so much.


texts: What happens when you give goji berries excess water?

texts:
This will be the year that my orchard planted over the flood plane will be taking off, and read not to water goji berries excessively, so it got me to wondering:
I've read that you don't water goji berries excessively due to blossom end rot. What does the goji berry plant do if you give it water similar to that required for a monster tomato plant (i.e. 8' tall).


texts: What is this small shrub with small red berries, and lanceolate, alternate entire leaves?

texts:
This shrub is:

found growing wild in a field
in New Hampshire, USA; USDA Zone 5
about 1m (3') tall
alternate, smooth edged, ~6cm (2.5") long leaves
growing on a hillside in gravelly, acidic (pH ~5), nutrient-poor soil
fruit is small (<1cm) and red, containing a single seed ~6mm (1/4") long; it's September (beginning autumn here) and the berries are on the bush -- I'm not sure how long they've been there
the area was completely cleared (i.e. with a bulldozer) about 5 years ago so the plant is not very old

Close-up of fruit:

Twig detail:

Overall:

Closer:

My hand in the shot for size reference on leaves.

Seed detail:

Bud detail:


texts:
A large patch of my pachysandra covering was ripped up by trucks last May. See the white oval in the picture.

I was expecting it to come back during the summer but I didn't. What can I do the bring it, or help it come back, this summer?

I live in Philadelphia, PA.

Update: Went over there and took a few pictures. Looks like it's coming back on its own, doesn't it?


texts: Edible, indoor, winter plants. What lights? (and other advice)

texts:
I don't have any outdoor gardening space and I'd love to grow some edible plants indoors, preferably during the winter when the sunlight is low. I understand I need non pollinated plants, since my apartment is rather low in pollinators. I also want to use grow lights.

Am I being silly trying to grow edible plants indoor in the winter?
What lights should I get?
What kinds of plants can I grow with a good light? I saw this post, but it's not about lights. People have suggested lettuce, herbs and green onions.
Can I just put the plants on a shelf and use a timer with the lights? Do I need something more complicated, e.g. hydroponics?


texts: How to diagnose brown spots on dogwood leaves

texts:
We have a pink dogwood that was planted two years ago. Its leaves all have brown spots, and some leaves are quite covered with brown. It is more pronounced this year than last year.

From research online I suspect dogwood anthracnose but am hopeful that it's something less serious like spot anthracnose or leaf blight.

I don't notice any symptoms other than the leaf spots/browning. No notable branch dieback, no water sprouts, etc.

Is it possible for me to narrow down the diagnosis on my own, or will I need a tree expert to come take a look?


texts: Is it a bad idea to put seedlings in a cold frame?

texts:
I made a cold frame out of $5.00 worth of lumber and some saran wrap. I don't know if it necessarily deserves the title "cold frame", but I want to use it as a place that is protected from the elements where I can sprout and keep seedlings during the day.

I know that one usually uses a cold frame to raise early lettuce and other things in, but is a cold frame an acceptable alternative for a greenhouse?


texts:
I have this plant for at least a dozen or so years, I do not remember the source. It survived all ;) Her spines are very hard and sharp, colored at the ends in brown/red. They are on the edges of the leaves and one row also in the middle of the bottom of the leaf. It grows very slowly, recently the lower leaves began to die and the plant began to form a kind of trunk. I do not know if it is normal, whether I should worry about it, I have not changed anything in the way it was treated. Perhaps aloe has reached the age of creating a trunk? By the way, what do you think about it?
I really care about its correct identification. I think it's either aloe ferox or broomii. Maybe some other species of aloe? Help me please.


texts:
When building a greenhouse, we can all reckon that it should get as much light as possible (with proper heat ventilation).

BUT, let's talk about when a greenhouse must be built near shade. Consider a south-facing 8'Wx6'Lx6.5'H greenhouse that must be positioned to get shade either in the morning or evening (from east or west), due to 8' structures/trees on each side. It cannot be positioned in the middle with equal shading morning vs night.
Which is more important: morning or evening sun?

Mostly vegetables will be grown. Tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash, etc.

Yes; similar questions have been asked here, but I'm specifically referring to greenhouses because they hold heat and have other different variables.

My presumption is that evening outside air will already be warmer, so getting evening sun might be "less useful" than morning sun because the greenhouse will have lots of stored heat later in the day.
Thus I'm guessing that it would be best to have the greenhouse more toward the west, so as to soak up more morning sun and sacrifice evening sun.


texts: How can I remove stagnant water stuck under a houseplant?

texts: I have a houseplant in a pot with drainage that I put into another pot without drainage. I should have gotten a larger outside pot because the smaller plant pot ended up being too tight a fit at the top. A while after watering I realized that the water wasn't going to evaporate and would be stagnant. Can this water be dangerous (as in anaerobic stuff going on)? I don't want to leave this outside because an animal could drink it so I have been leaving it and put chopsticks between both pots to try get some air to it but it still didn't evaporate. Any ideas on disposing of this water safely? Thanks!


texts: What type of squash is growing out of my compost pile?

texts:
I didn't turn my compost pile this spring, and had an unexpected surprise that's been growing for the last few weeks. Can anyone identify what it is? I'm almost 100% sure it's some type of squash, but I don't know enough to tell what variety it is. From what I can remember, I've put waste from zucchini, acorn, spaghetti, and butternut squashes in the compost pile.

There's also another smaller plant which looks very similar, but the leaves are a different shape.

Full size pictures here.


texts: Leafs to leaf compost mass conversion percentage

texts:
I am having a hard time digging up how much of raw dry mass of leafs gets converted into the compost.

To put in some numbers, lets say you have 100kg of dry leafs, how much of compost will you get out?


texts:
I have been growing these plants for a while when suddenly their leaves started to curl up, slowly. Is this a sign of root rot? Should I replant with some perlite added?

It seems to be getting worse :/


texts: Why are my Hydrangea leaves going floppy?

texts:
I live in Munich, Germany, and have had my hydrangea for several years.  It happily moved from the UK (South East) to Munich and survived two winters and a summer.  However, this year I decided to move its position on my south-east-facing balcony into a more shaded area - last year it got a bit sunburnt (new to me!).  It used to see no morning sun, but a lot of midday to afternoon sun.

Since moving it into the 'shade' it sees morning light for a few hours, and no afternoon light.  In the last week almost 50% of the leaves have wilted and become floppy.  They are discoloured a darker green, and won't hold their shape.

How do I fix this, and why did it happen?


texts: I've got a snake plant living in my room. I also have a gecko. A few days ago I turned on my humidifier and closed all doors/windows to raise the humidity to help my gecko with shedding. However, I've noticed that one of the leaves on my snake plant is turning yellow along the middle and bottom. I haven't watered it since, and I can't quite figure out what to do.


texts:
We inherited this indoor plant with a house in the UK. It seems to be a suculent (but does not seem happy in a warm, dry spot), but there is another similar plant in the house which has its roots submerged in water.

The plant seems to be out-growing its roots at the moment, and is at risk of toppling out of its pot. The stem is roughly 5mm across.


texts: Please help! I don't know what to do to make my Cat Palm start doing better. I've tried everything that I can think of. I only use distilled water. At first the tips started to turn brown. And then they started to turn yellow. Then entire leaves would start to turn yellow, which I pruned off. I'm not sure if I need to repot it or not, as some of the roots are becoming exposed. This week it also started to turn yellow on the trunk. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance


texts: When is the critical period for blossom end rot in zucchinis / courgettes?

texts:
It's nearing the end of the season for zucchinis for me, and some of my zucchinis are showing signs of blossom end rot. However, other fruit on the same plant are fine. Now BER is said to be caused by either an actual or functional deficiency in calcium. So, since some fruit (the largest) are not affected, but only some of the smallest are, is there a critical period for this to happen, and can I prevent it by removing larger fruit so that more calcium is available to the smaller ones?

The plants are also affected by powdery mildew and I've been spraying with a 10% milk solution which hasn't helped so far, and as a foliar spray of calcium, it doesn't seem to have helped either.


texts: I planted a Sequoiadendron giganteum (Giant Redwood) sapling today, and I was wondering how many hours of daylight the little guy needs. I found this answer, which mentioned photoperiods of different plants. I haven't been able to find any kind of index of these values by species, and I was wondering if such an index exists. If not, is there some other way I can find out the natural photoperiod of a given species?


texts: How do you clear an old neglected garden full of weeds and creepers for new landscaping/hardscaping

texts:
We have bought a property in Melbourne requiring a complete overhaul of the front and rear garden. Every plant/tree/bulb is unwanted and hazardous to the future garden planned.
Ivy
Agapanthus
Privet
Bamboo (the spreading kind)
Pepper trees
Tabacco trees
Jasmine
A couple of other spindley creeping plants spotted all over the front lawn. One with a hint of red in the leaves
A large leafed tropical looking plant with very long thick roots
General weeds

We have about 12 months before the building reno is complete and the new garden could be planted. This gives us time to hopfully get the soil ready and cleared. With little knowledge of how to complete this task, l'm putting it out there to anyone with advice or know-how as to how we should approach it.

Is chemicals/herbicide the right choice?
Is an excavator needed?
Do you manually sift the soil?
Do you need to remove/replace the topsoil?
Is there a better time of year to start this?
Do you need to turn the soil more than once to make sure it has all be removed?

I'm sure there is more to do than this, but these are the questions which spring to mind

(Pics to follow)


texts: How do you grow beans from fresh beans bought from the supermarket?

texts:
All the tutorials that I could find on growing beans have said to find non-irradiated dry beans from a bag:

I even found one article saying that beans can only sprout when they had been dried.

  Only dry beans can germinate, so choose from those in the bulk dry bins or those that are bagged.

I'm at a dilemma here because I want to grow Chinese Long Beans, but I can only find them in the fresh state at the supermarket. They only sell common bean varieties in dry bags.

How would I make the beans inside this fresh batch into viable seeds? Or is it not even possible? Some people have said you need to have over-ripened the bean on the stalk and let it dry naturally before plucking them. I wonder if these fresh supermarket ones were picked under-ripe.


texts:
I've read here that goji berry spreads.

How badly does it spread?

Should I worry about it spreading?


texts: Getting Rid of Pill Bugs and Earwigs, Kindly

texts:
I've planted a lot of seeds this year, (marigold, green beans, cornflower, poppy, sunflower, etc.) I started with 50+ green beans plants and now have 2 left, countless marigolds and now have 4 plants, half of my sunflowers were eaten, along with a lot of my other flower seedlings. I'm fairly certain that it's from all of the earwigs and sowbugs we have here.

My problem is, I have a hard time killing things. Is there some way to deter them from my garden without killing? Some essential oils or sprays? Also, I don't want to deter any bees, birds, or butterflies, since they are a big part of why I enjoy my gardens.
Thank you so much for your reponses.


texts: How am I supposed to attach wires in a traditional greenhouse?

texts:
I've been given this nice greenhouse. I've always seen other people have wires in theirs to conveniently hold canes etc in place, so I'm surprised I can't see obvious attachment points. I'd imagine the aluminium uprights would have holes drilled or something.

What is the correct way to do this? Are there fittings or an I supposed to just jury rig it?


texts:
Please help me to identify the seed.
I attach the image of the pod.
It was found near the ocean's beach in Boston.
I would appreciate any input.


texts: What are some vegetable plants to start from seed in July?

texts: I have some space in my raised bed that I can use to plant some vegetables for the rest of the season.  Is it too late to start vegetables from seeds now?  If not, what are vegetables that would be appropriate to start from seed perhaps with the goal of harvesting in fall?  I am in Zone 9B.


texts: Identify a woody plant from Eastern Missouri that causes a skin rash

texts: These are woody multiple leaved plants that look like vines but are not. They volunteer themselves among my garden beds. They have deep roots and must be removed with a shovel. If I so much as look their direction I break out in a rash. What is it? Eastern Missouri if that helps.


texts: When is the best/acceptable time to perform a fall core aeration and seeding on a lawn?

texts:
I live in Southern NJ, USA (Mid Atlantic/Northeast region).  I recently contracted with a (well known, national) lawn care company to perform some maintenance on my lawn (aeration, fertilizers, pesticides, etc).  They came two weeks ago to apply some fertilizer, pest control, and some broad leaf weed treatment (the nutsedge is almost all gone!).

They just came back today (August 31, 2011) to perform the core aeration.  I sent them back for a few reasons:

My lawn is saturated from recent rains, don't want heavy equipment
to damage it.
I feel like I read somewhere that the best time for a fall season aeration was mid-late September.
They were supposed to be giving me a seeding with this service and I feel like it's still a bit early to do a fall seeding.

Is my thinking here correct?  Should this core aeration and seeding be postponed for a few more weeks (into mid/late September)?  When are the "best" and "acceptable" times for these fall services?


texts: Can Lavender regrow from root (+ little stem)

texts:
I've recently ordered lavender young plants (4-5 cm tall) and it took then long time to arrive as a result most of the leaves decayed only leaving them with stems and roots (roots are in good condition) and some of them have been left only with roots.

Question
 Is there a chance to revive the young plants after such stress or regrow them from roots only?


texts: Where do Asiatic Garden Beetles spend their days?

texts:
(Asiatic Garden Beetles are a new pest in the mid-atlantic and northeast US.  They look like a smaller, cinnamon-colored European Chafer, the size and shape of a coffee bean.  The grubs do the usual grub thing.  The adults are nocturnal and feast on vegetable and flower foliage.)

We're in NH, and are going to lose our basil plants if I don't come up with a way to control these things (adults) within a few days - they are defoliating the plants.  I'm thinking to put row cover over the plants, but I want to be sure I'm going to be keeping the beetles out - not in!


texts: What to do with avocado seed at this point?

texts:
I have an avocado seed that's sprouting. What should I do now so that the seed continues growing at a healthy rate?

It will eventually grow in a pot.


texts: all! I need some help. I overwatered a friend's plant and need to replace it. Does anyone know what kind of plant this is? Any help would be super appreciated!


texts: I have a miracle berry bush (Synsepalum dulcificum) and its leaves are dry and brittle. I tried to water it, but it does not seem to be responding. Should I presume it is dead and get a new one?


texts: Should I plant grape vines in poor condition?

texts:
I bought 3 grape vines about 1 month ago.  I got busy and forgot about them.

I am now ready to plant, but the plants don't look too happy. Most of the leaves have fallen off, or are brown.
The stems are brown and dry.

Do you think they will recover if planted, or should I just go and buy new ones now?

This isn't the best photo, but it might help. The one on the right, the stalk is all brown and dry which worries me.  The one on the left is mostly brown, the one in the middle has some green stalk.


texts: Ants digging next to the root of my newly planted Japanese maple

texts:
Damn

It has been raining here every day and I have not had a look at my Coral Bark Japanese maple in a while
Today I had a look and I noticed ants digging their nest/galleries around the tree, some of these are darker because my wife "put some windex" on them (that is a joke but she used vinegar)

How do I get rig of these beasts? Is my tree in danger?
The ants are small size not carpenter ants

the tree looks like this

During my research into this I came accross this thread http://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/coral-bark-chlorosis-nutrient-deficiency-or-sun-burn.56911/ which shows a similar issue with aggravated symptoms for the tree. The opinions are split between Sun-Burn and Lack of fertilizer, many seem to be inclined toward sun burns

I have also cross checked about ants -it seems that they are not a problem, I guess they will go away as I will continue to water the tree daily every evening


texts: What mushroom inoculation method works better?

texts: I've heard about both cardboard, under the plant, and direct seeding inoculation methods for growing wine caps in the soil. Does one method work better than the other? If so which one works better?


texts: How do you get rid of root flies organically?

texts:
Now that it is warming up in Sydney, I have noticed some tiny flies in the soil of my pots. I think they are root flies.

They seem attracted to the pots containing rhizomes the most[1][2]. These pots are in the shade and do not have mulch.

How do I get rid of these flies? I want to use what I am growing, so I need a solution that is safe later.

[1] My chilli seedlings are in the same approximate location.
Most of these now have some mulch in the pots and do not seem to have many flies.

[2] My lemon grass sits in a nice sunny spot, has no mulch and is also looking OK.

Internet suggestions so far:

Letting the top 2-3 inches of soil dry out.
Placing brightly coloured cards coated in vasaline to lure and trap them.
Placing cups of vinegar and water solution near your pots.
Hot sauce water. The hotter the better.
Vodka water. 1:1 ratio of vodka and water.
Neem oil

Update

Home made Vaseline traps were no good. Store bought sticky traps are more successful.

Hot sauce water did not work.

Vinegar water did not work.

Drying out the soil works for control. But today was a hot day and things are wilting so I had to cut my drying short.


texts: What are some alternatives to under gravel filters for a 3000 gallon pond?

texts:
I'm considering building a pond in the metro Atlanta Georgia area. I've owned a pond before that had an under gravel filter when we moved into the house. The filter was essentially a network of white plastic pipes with holes drilled into them that were hooked to a pump that fed an external veggie filter.

I've read that under gravel filters are not the best solution. Are there other alternatives?


texts: Prepration when replacing lawn with new variety of grass

texts:
I'm in Southern California. I'll be re-sodding a lawn that was/is primarily crab grass with either a fescue or Bermuda grass.

The current lawn has been dying due to lack of water. After I have this grass removed, is there any soil preparation I should do before putting the replacement sod down? I'm specifically concerned about mitigating future growth of the crab grass. If preparation requires time (like waiting for a herbicide to do its job), how long should this take before I can put the new sod in? Or can this just be managed through regular lawn care treatments after the re-sodding?

Correction: I was just informed that the existing grass is kikuyu (pennisetum clandestinum). It is not crab grass.


texts: How should I choose which trees to cull?

texts:
I harvest firewood from a small woodlot behind my house. I almost exclusively cut "culls" -- dead, dying, or diseased trees that aren't going to yield much additional wood in the future anyway.

My current strategy for figuring out which trees to cull is to walk around during the summer when the trees are in full leaf and flag those that:

have portions of the crown with no leaves (i.e. bare, dead branches),
have obvious beech bark disease (scale and then fungus; obviously only useful on beeches),
have obvious damage (e.g. lightning or small birches that have bent from wind/ice storms).

My primary goal is firewood. Main species are beech, birch, fir (or hemlock, I might be mis-identifying the fir), with some maple, ash, cherry, and spruce. These are 60-90 foot tall trees, perhaps 50-80 years old on the high side.

Are there alternative methods I could or should be using to identify which trees to cull?

I'm especially interested in strategies that would be useful in fall/winter when the leaves are gone. Last year I was too busy during the summer and missed my chance to check the crowns and flag while leaves were out.