texts: What is this plant producing blacks seeds in a calyx like a Physalis but isn't one?

texts:
I found seeds on the street on a windy day in February and believed it to be a physalis. Having sown them and seeing the seedlings now, I'm sure it isn't what I expected, but what is it?

I was thinking in the first place that is a Physalis peruviana because the seeds were inside a papery, light brown calyx. The seeds were black with the size of a pea (4mm in diameter). Later on I saw real physalis seeds and cracked one of my seeds open to see whether there are smaller once inside or not. Not the case.

I planted them 6 week ago. I'm now confronted with one plant per seed. Produced leaves are brown-reddish in the beginning and then turn green and resemble oak-leaves in some way . The stem makes me guess that will become a wooden plant - a tree or a shrub.

Here a picture of the seedling:


texts: Tomato plants were planted 4 weeks ago. Have tomatoes growing at the base of 2 plants. Shall I remove them? Worried about the stem.


texts: What are some fast growing bonsai fruit trees in Delhi?

texts: I am looking for a fruit tree which I can make into a bonsai, but I have a lack of patience. Please suggest a fast growing tree in Delhi environment that could easily be bonsai.


texts: How much space should I leave between apple trees and elderberry tree?

texts:
I would like to plant one or two apple trees and possibly an elderberry tree in my front yard. I have about 85ft of south facing lawn between a birch tree and my driveway to use. How many trees can I fit in that space? I am thinking of planting an apple tree on the corner near the driveway (see drawing) and then either an elderberry or another birch in between the birch and the apple tree, but if possible I would like one more apple tree.

I am also wondering if an elderberry is a bad idea? I like elderflower and -berry juice, but I know that the berries can leave quite a mess. Would mulberry or another birch be a better idea? The point is to also create a bit of privacy and I am not sure which tree is best for that.

Thank you very much in advance!


texts: How to start a bulb bed so that it doesn't need weeding?

texts:
When I bought my house (in southern Minnesota), one of the things I loved about it was a flower bed along the side of the garage that requires very very little maintenance. At the end of the summer, I pull the dried stems of the flowers that it put up in August; and early in the spring I transplant the few expansions to the area that sprout up in the neighboring lawn area to the end where I'm encouraging it to spread. Other than occasional watering in the heat of summer, that's pretty much it. The greenery of the tons of bulbs seems to do a great job of keeping the weeds at bay, and then in the fall it becomes its own straw/mulch cover. Year after year those bulbs have been just the perfect low maintenance garden.

I've been trying to encourage the same kind of bulb garden in a couple other parts of the yard, but no matter what I do, the bulbs keep getting overrun with various weeds. How do I get these new beds to the point that they're self maintaining like the established one?

The two areas have pretty much the same soil and water. The newer area might have slightly better soil in so far as it has been turned over more recently and had some potting soil that came with the bulbs worked into it as part of planting the new bulbs. The new area also gets a little more direct sunlight in the morning, and more shade in the afternoon.

I don't know the particular variety of bulbs in the existing bed, but I'm pretty sure I have photos of them, I'll dig some up tomorrow. In the new bed I planted a variety of tulips and crocus. The bags the bulbs came in claim they need 4-6 hours of direct sunlight which is about what they were getting all summer.


texts: Should I rub my nasturtium seeds with a nail file before planting?

texts:
I bought Burpee Nasturtium Fordhook Favorites Mix Nasturtium seeds. Yesterday I planted a few, using the sowing instructions for depth and distance. I obviously hadn't looked closely enough at the package because today I noticed this message above the sowing instructions:

  NOTE: To aid germination, rub seed with nail file.

I've planted these same seeds for a few years, and they've grown well, so I'm wondering about the importance of that advice. It makes sense that the seed might sprout more easily if the coating isn't too hard, so maybe that's the point. However, I'm afraid I might damage the seed by giving it a manicure!

If that is indeed important, how much rubbing is enough? Also, should I dig up those that I just planted or let them be?

A picture of the seeds still in the packet shows all different sizes and shapes. The textured outer shells are fairly hard, and the dark brown seeds look like they've fallen out of the shells. In the past, I've just planted whatever I've found in the packet and ended up with lots of healthy plants.

I have a feeling I'm overthinking this, but am just asking since I've never seen this before, and of course I want maximum germination success.


texts: Why are there small flies on my Fatalii pepper plant?

texts:
I have a fatalii pepper plant and today I discovered some very small larva in my plant's soil. I already saw that there were more flies than usual.

Is there any danger for my plant ? Should I kill them ? How do I kill them ?

They are white and very small, I can only see them when I water my plants. They start to move in the water then.


texts: Can carnivorous plants grow well indoors?

texts: I will be going to a nursery soon. If I find some carnivorous plants there, would it be wise and safe for the plant to keep them inside, even though I don't keep insects in the house for them to eat? Or are they not indoor plants?


texts: What is the best time of year to plant trees?

texts: Is there a certain time of year that is best for planting new trees to give them the best chance of survival?


texts: Willowbranch in small pond: it grows, but what now?

texts:
I have a (very) small pond (well, it's a .5x.5 bin with foil) with some still standing water inside. It's mainly inhabited by frogs, insects and visited by the local cats and contains a lot of duckweed. (it's more a 'frog ditch' than a pond...)

Last year, I put a small willow trunk in the water, and after a while, it started to grow. That is not specifically special (willows like water), but it's still growing and it has it's complications. The small branches quickly get too high which makes the trunk topple. The small branches lie in the water, and after a while, new branches start to grow. Under water, the trunk creates roots, which start to rot once they appear above water level (due to toppling).

What to do? I don't want to pull the trunk out of the water; I like the small growing willow. But what will happen once I fix the trunk in some way or another? will it grow, silt up and become a 'full blown' healthy willow tree?


texts: Day or night (The best time to apply pesticides)

texts: Having tried a lot of homemade pest control remedies, I'm thinking of using pesticides for a change but im not so sure on how to use it correctly. The label says to use 25ml per liter of water but nothing else and i was wondering if there's such a thing as "the best/worst time to apply it" so if anyone has tried this stuff, let me know on how to go about it.


texts: I have just received this Bonsai tree and was wondering what species it was, Thank you for your time


texts: What's the best way to deal with scale insects on Pieris Japonica?

texts: I have a heavy infestation of bark scale on 4 mature rhododendrons and 3 pieris japonica. I applied dormant oil to the rhododendrons yesterday and would like to do the same to the pieris.  However, the pieris is already in full flower - is it too late to apply a dormant oil?  I also have superior oil, would that be a better choice if the trees are already flowering? I live outside of New York City, zone 6b.


texts: What is this bushy rose plant with large pink flowers with many petals?

texts: My mother had this rose plant for years, it's from the farm she grew up on. When she passed I transferred a piece to my place and it's growing beautifully. She had always just called it an old fashion rose. Can anyone tell me what this rose is?


texts:
Location: UK

I have recently purchased a house (Last November) with a large lawn to the rear. I am very new to gardening but have realised I'm going to have to learn quick if I want to make the most of this space.

On initial inspection of the lawn it looked very green and well kept but once walking on it I realised it was very spongey/bouncy to walk on; a friend advised that I have got a big problem with moss.

I attempted to mow the lawn on the lowest setting (start of March) and it kept catching on something and cutting out, so it took me alot longer to do than expected.

Here is were I may have gone a bit too far and ruined my lawn. I put some evergreen lawn feed/kill weeds/kill moss mix down (end of March 2018) and left it a few weeks and mowed it again (April). Still had the same  issues.

I bought an electric scarifier/dethatching device and put that on the lowest setting and started off dethatching the lawn (May). Again it kept catching, cutting out etc but it did bring up lots (alot more than I expected) of grass/moss.

My next step once this scarifying/dethatching/aeration is done is to put some lawn seeds down and hope that it grows back better than previously but as you will see in the pictures below, it is not looking promising.

Lawn Before:

Lawn During Dethatching:

Lawn Now (looking rough, still in progress):

As you can see the lawn now looks very rough, theres patches that are just mud now. I am starting to wonder whether I've took the wrong path and made it worse.

Is what I am doing the correct approach in repairing a lawn with this particular issue?


texts: Something looks like it’s making holes in the limbs and trunk. No insects present, but Weeping Willow trees are dying. Any idea what it is and how to treat to save the trees?


texts: What is this pest attacking an avocado tree?

texts:
I have a budding avocado tree* that is infested with these weird spiderweb-like things all over. I can not see an actual animal that is causing this.

I've treated it with soap water and alcohol and it feels like it's getting better, but I'm not sure.

What is this infestation, and do I need to do anything else to treat it?

* = at least I think it is an avocado tree. I've been told it could be a mango. I can't tell from the fruit yet. :)


texts: What is this possibly succulent plant and how do I look after it?

texts:
I have just come into possession of this plant/tree and I'm hoping to find out three things:

What it is
How to look after it
If I can train it

I don't know much about it except that it is over 15 years old (probably much more but I don't know much of its history) and it's always been in this same pot. There's a rather dense moss growth in the pot, too.

I'm in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (if that helps with care guidelines).

With regards to training, I don't want to do anything too dramatic; mostly just stop it growing a way that will tip the pot over - just evening it up a bit.

I've attached two photos - one of the whole thing and one (rather poor one) of the leaves and branches in case that helps with identification. I'm told it's a succulent which makes sense because the leaves are quite turgid.

Some of the leaves are slightly yellowed with speckles on them - should I be worried about that?

I don't mean to ask too much; any information about it would be a huge help.

Click photo for full size


texts: Boiling before germinating Chinese Juniper Seeds

texts:
4 weeks ago I purchased Chinese Juniper Seeds. The intructions which came with the seeds said to keep the seeds in boiling hot water for 48 hours.

Therefore everytime the water cooled I would boil more water and move the seeds into the hot water.

I then planted the seeds in soil, which is where they've remained since.

However the seeds are not germinating.

Should I have boiled the seeds prior to planting? Would this have potentially ruined them?


texts: I have a maple at the front of my house, getting mostly the morning sun and also relatively close to the house. So I don't think it's getting burnt, however, it does have a black/burnt look at the tips of various branches. I don't know what type of maple it is, but attached photos are hopefully useful. I'm wondering what I can do about this and if I should cut off affected branch tips or even full branches?


texts:
These cuttings (which I was told is a Pothos) had been water propagated too long, I think, and now the roots are very very long (almost 3x the length of the plant itself).
I inherited these plants recently and am wondering if it's too late to transfer to soil. I am quite new to houseplants, but did read that water roots and soil roots are different. Will I kill the plant if I try to transfer it to soil now?
Thanks in advance!


texts: Why is my rubber tree's leave just falling?

texts: Not sure when the last time the plant was watered. I had just purchased this from homedepot and brought it home. I went to water it today and noticed one leave had just fallen "cleanly" off. And then another fell with a slight touch. After that I was too nervous to touch the plant again in case other leaves "just falls off". Any idea what might cause this?


texts: How to use the nutrients in convolvulus sepium without further spreading the infestation?

texts:
My back yard, about 1/8 acre or 500 m2, is covered in convolvulus (and wandering willy). It's even coming up in the middle of my raised beds that I protected with cardboard ( should have used weed mat ). Normally they tell you to dispose of it removing from the property but that seems like a loss of nutrient from the land in that it violates the law of return.

Is there a safe way to extract the nutrient? I can't drown it, solarize, or bag it up. And I lack enough browns to safely hot compost it.


texts: How much wilting can tomato plants handle

texts: Tomato varieties that wilted in the Midwest, even badly, always came back when out of the sun. I am now in a much hotter, drier climate. Will I need to shade them if they go limp? Tomato's are grown commercially here in huge numbers in fields and cannot be shaded, of course. They evidently do fine, but they are plum tomatoes whereas mine are Early Girl and Big Boy.


texts: How close can i plant perennials to a grapevine?

texts: I have a few grapevines trained onto a pergola. I was thinking of planting a few perennials like roses and geraniums at the base of the pergola on all sides except the front. However my vines are planted a little more closer towards the center rather then towards the edges of the posts. Will my roses struggle to grow next to the vines or would they be ok? How far should they be planted from the vines?


texts: A fungus was growing before my eyes when I was weeding. What was it?

texts: I was pulling out some weeds and must have touched something, because all of a sudden something was coming out of the ground. I thought it was a snake, but then it became like a white and black sphere. Then the black parts poofed one at time and made like small windows. I left it out in the garden and it shriveled up, but I found some more round ones growing out of the ground. I dug those out, and they were rubbery and actually looked like brains. Then they started to do the same as the first one. What was it?


texts: Drip Irrigation for Row of Long Arborvitae Hedge

texts:
Both sides of our property have newly planted 6 foot arborvitaes planted. One side has about 55 and the other side has about 25 all spaced 2.5 feet from center in straight lines in a 5 foot wide bed that we are getting blown in mulch next week and will make sure the mulch doesn't touch the tree center.

We know drip irrigation is the way to go for the first year or two but from searching we don't see a clear answer on what type to get.

That is there are different widths 1/4 5/8 1/2 and so on.

Also there are soaker hoses with holes through out which will soak the whole path. This seems to make sense since it would encourage roots to spread out and we would weave in between each tree along the path.

Or there is the tubing where we would presumably cut a hole at each tree and have a device that would going into the ground for each tree which makes a lot less water waste but sounds like a lot of work and that may be worse for this time of tree setup anyway.

We also bought two timers to attach to the faucets on the outside of the house.

Does any one have recommendation on what size, type, setup to use? Will keep searching all the garden forums in the mean time to hopefully find an answer before going to Lowes or Home Depot. Thank you!


texts:
My elderly neighbor has a parking strip that is infested with goat head weeds. With my neighbor's permission, I'm planning on ripping out the weeds and replacing with weed cloth and mulch. To prevent needing to do this again in the near future, I'd prefer to sterilize the ground before laying the mulch.

The parking strip is on a hill that drains into a major road. I'm not at all concerned about the runoff damaging plants we want to keep, and my first inclination is to salt the ground.

How much salt/foot of parking strip will do the trick? Alternatively, are there any better ways of accomplishing the goal of sterilizing this soil?

Again, this is all with the consent of the homeowner, who would have preferred that the city just paved the strip in the first place. :-)


texts:
Q: What's the shortest wait time for spreading pre-emergent AFTER putting down new lawn seed (patching)?

Specifically, I'm using
1) Scotts Lawn Soil (contains a fertilizer)
2) Pennington Smart Seed Sun & Shade

I'm asking this because I'd like to patch areas of the lawn myself when the nightly lows are ABOVE freezing temps in New Jersey, which will be "1 Week" before the lawn care company will spread their pre-emergent on April 1st.
 (Long story, but I cannot call them to delay their pre-emergent application)

Edit: From past years, it appears that the lawn company uses a pellet-type pre-emergent, such as "Preen"

Thanks,
CG


texts: How to take care of non-white easter lilly cultivars?

texts:
Back a few years ago, new cultivars of Easter Lillies have entered the market.
The climate I have is ideal for bulbs. I live in a Mediterranean climate, with temperatures above freezing, allowing the bulbs to grow throughout the winter.
The lilies were planted in the garden. From my experience with the white variety (the "old classic" Easter Lily), the bulbs are not affected by summer irrigation. Neither did the other colored varieties I have found. All the bulbs have survived in the garden for a few years. However, I have noticed that the shoots which emerged each winter were smaller and weaker than those from previous year. The old classic Easter lily, on the other hand, has remained vigorous and produced new pups. The colored varieties were too weak to survive and in their twilight they looked like low-growing grass...
So my guess is that the other colored varieties may have been different species or hybrids with different cultivation requirement. Maybe they needed a different climate? Colder? Warmer? They are often marketed as "Asian lilies", but I don't know if they are related to Easter lilies.


texts: What is this white-flowered ground cover plant?

texts:
I'd like to know what this white-flowered,  winter-hardy ground cover plant with lacerate(?) leaves? Up to 15cm high. It has flowers: The diameter of the flowers is about 2 cm.

(click for a larger version)

UPDATE: I added two pictures which zoom on the leaves and one which shows the whole ground its covering. Again click to enlargen:


texts:
Does anyone know if killing weeds mechanically using a rotary tool like a drill work? For example, the 'Weed Spinner': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld96e0mOrs4
How come they aren't so widely used and pesticides are still the preferred choice?


texts: What is this plant found on a lake shore in Maine?

texts:
This plant has a purplish stem with fine hairs. Also the leaves sprout from stem opposite. However, it is two leaves at a time and rotates on way up?

It's growing on sandy beach on a lake in Maine.


texts: How many walking onions will a walking onion produce in a season?

texts: I'm thinking about putting some walking onions in the garden, and was wondering how fast they will populate the garden.


texts: Is it Lemon Lime plant? and it is a kind of Dracaena?


texts: I am trying to identify my cactus that I planted when I xeriscaped last year. I never saved the little stick thing. I thought it was just a saguaro variation, but then it popped out all these red fingers. Any ideas?


texts: I've noticed that sunchokes are often bumpy. Does anyone know why sunchokes are bumpy? Do they fuse together, or do they just grow like that?


texts: It has white blotches on the stem and leaves. I don't see purple or hairs, but is it Giant Hogweed? It's in a bed next to my house.


texts:
I transplanted my 7 years old avocado tree two months ago and since then it's condition continually worsened. First, the leaves lost turgor for a few weeks and I thought that this was over. Fortunately, recently leaves started to regain the turgor but then brown spots of various sizes appeared on all of them. Moreover, there are also small brown dots on some of them and the leaf buds are withered. It is winter here but the heater is off and the temperature in the house is about 21°C. What are these spots? Can I do anything do help my plant?
Below, I attach some photos of my avocado.


texts: What to do when compost doesn't finish before it gets cold?

texts:
I'm new to composting and I'm noticing my compost still has eggshells and and a little bit of uncomposted, compostable bag material floating around.

I have this 35 gallon composting unit:

I had been putting a small bag of compost in every week but stopped over 2 months ago and continued rotating it 3 times once a week.

The plan was to lay it down over the garden area before it got cold (starting to get colder now). Should I keep waiting for it to compost, lay it down, or something else?


texts: My new allotment plot is covered in horsetail

texts:
Finally got got off the waiting list and been offered an allotment plot. It's been empty for a while and is completely covered in horsetail.
I've just been reading that Horsetail is the 'lodger from Hell' and the best I can hope for is a continual fight.
Any suggestions how to start?
Is it worth covering and mulching while I work on a small area at a time?
Should I just spent a few months weeding and not worry about planting till next year?
Any help would be appreciated, thanks.


texts:
Rats like to eat cactus?
I have noticed that my cactus has become increasingly gnawed, and I have no idea what can be.

I'm starting to take care of gardens recently and do not know much about it.


texts: Can you grow Baby's Breath very close to each other?

texts:
I was sprinkling some Baby's Breath (Gypsophila elegans) seeds on a planter and I was wondering if it's possible to grow all of them together even though they're very close instead of having to play a game of selection and thin out the crowd.

Let's assume they're spaced about an inch to half an inch apart, and I can aggressively fertilize, water and provide strong light artificially. Would this be a good idea or would I end up with a lot of strange and pathetic looking Baby's Breath? Is it even doable to grow them closer than the recommended spacing of six inches?


texts: Should I re-pot my cacti if they're starting to touch each other?

texts: I have 4 spiny cacti in one flowerpot and after few years one of them is starting to grow more side-wards and getting closer to the other cacti (spines are already touching). I'm just wondering if it's going to negatively affect how they grow like stabbing each other and causing damage or if they won't grow further into each other and will co-exist? Should I re-pot them?


texts: Are Geraniums truly effective against Japanese Beetles?

texts:
In 2010, the Agricultural Research Service recommended planting geraniums to help control Japanese Beetles. Geraniums Could Help Control Devastating Japanese Beetle (2010). However, I have not been able to find any follow-up research to prove their effectiveness.

The following two years, this report was repeated in several forums:

‘Orange Appeal’ Geraniums Lure Japanese Beetles to their Death (2011)

Japanese beetles meet their doom when dining on geraniums (2012)

After digging around a little, I found a publication from Michigan State University from April 1929:

Sun Helps Geraniums Poison Japanese Beetles (1929)

After all this time, is there any solid proof that geraniums are effective against this pest, or is this material just being re-hashed based on the ARS publication?


texts:
I have 3 apple trees and 2 cherry trees that are about 6 to 7' tall in the original plastic pots. The plan was to take them to our land over an hour away last spring but then we decided to hold off because we couldn't get down there enough to keep them watered and we also have a lot of deer on the land.

We have decided to hold off until next spring when we can deal better with these issues because we will be living much closer. Can I dig a hole in our back yard for each and  put the pots in the ground then do some heavy mulch to store them for the winter? How often should I water them in the winter months (if at all). They are watered daily now but if I skip a day they look sad for sure!


texts:
I saw this
https://youtu.be/5eLLuXZMDik

And tried to something similar except I'm not sure what to make the decorative part with.  In the video he uses quarter round.  My caps are to be on the top of a natural bluestone wall.  I tried Alexander moulding and a kind of flattened out quarter round.  Just doesn't seem to go quite right.

Has anyone made anything similar?


texts: What is the difference between a spade and a shovel?

texts:
I was just reading this article, When would I prefer a shovel with a rounded blade over one with a pointed blade?. The answers said something like, "That's a spade not a shovel".

So what is the difference between a spade and a shovel?


texts: I have 6 citrus plants bought from the nursery and it has been in ground for 5 years in full sun and still no flowers nor fruit. How can I get it to fruit


texts: Can you help me identify this vine please?

texts:
Can I get some help to identify the vine please? I have dug a couple up which have single large root, almost like a parsnip?

Many thanks


texts: What is this plant and how can I remove it from the ground?

texts:
There is a patch of dirt on a hill covered with this plant (shown below). I'd like to pull them all out and make room for flowers and such. The second photo shows that the roots of this sucker go way down there. I'd like to pull them out completely rather than cutting, but on some of these I've yanked as hard as I can and they still won't budge. Any advice other than go to the gym?

Click to enlarge


texts:
I have two Kentia palms that I’ve had for a couple months now, and they’ve been doing really well with a lot of new growth - until yesterday when I noticed these brown, and crispy leaves at the bottom of one.
What caused it? I water the palms every 1.5-2 weeks (once I felt the top few cm of the soil dry), and it receives indirect light.
I used to take the nursery pot out of the decorative pot and water the palm directly in the bath tub - but now I have two it’s a little hard, so I’ve been watering them both straight in the pot, then taking it out of the decorative pot after a while (usually no more than 5 min) and putting it on a towel and drying the inside of decorative pot before putting it back in. They’re quite big so it’s hard to move them a lot.
However, I'm worried though that I may have left the nursery pot inside the decorative pot for 20 or so minutes the last time I watered them (I had an emergency and was distracted)- is that enough time for root rot??
I've cut all the brown, crispy stems off, at the base. Will whatever caused it spread to the rest of the palm?
Any advice would be much appreciated as I adore my palms :(


texts: Differences between arugula and wild arugula

texts:
I grew a wild arugula last year, and was very pleased with the plant.

I would like to grow more of it this year, and maybe to add some (non-wild) arugula as well.

Is there any notable difference between the two, except flower color, and annual/perenial classification? I mean any significant difference in taste, afrodisiac properties, optimal growing conditions, etc.?

Wild arugula: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplotaxis_tenuifolia

Arugula: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eruca_sativa

Jacob Sturm's illustration of wild arugula:

Just for illustration, a dish with arugula from wikimedia:


texts: I cut the top of my schefflera plant and it's been droopy since then

texts:
I had 3 stems of schefflera plant but 2 of them died and I was left with one. It was doing well but the roots were minimal and I found some worm in the soil that may have damaged the stem right above the root. I washed it and cleaned it and repotted it in new soil.

Then I read cutting the the top part of the plant right above the node will stimulate it to grow further and I did that as you can see in the second image. However since then its branches have been droopy and are wilting. Is there anything else I can do about it? I do no want it to die as it is from a dear friend. I'm keeping it under good sunlight for 8 hours and at room temperature.

This is a week after repotting and finding the worms. This is how the root looked like. Is the white stuff fungus?

This is how much roots it has:

This is after I washed it off the soil so we can have a clearer look  at the roots ans the stem:

Can I cut off the lower part and hope for it to revive and build a new root system?
This is what I did with the side branches:

Update: Ok, instructions followed and my fingers are kept crossed for any new growth from any of them, pics attached.

Will follow up with pics as soon as a new root or develops or otherwise in 6 wks hopefully. Thanks a lot:)

So heres an update after a week of cutting up the stem as per instructions followed.. in hope new roots will be made and the other severed stem was cut into half and put in water.. but all results are drastic. The mainnstem left in the soil was shrinking and getting a peau d'orange appearance ( the dotty skin appearance of oranges) as.. it was rotting away slowly and so did the stems i kept in water. Images attached..this was the end of.my.schefflera plant.. i wish i did not decide to cut the top of it as it was doing well till then. [ this is the main stem left in soil.. most of it turned yellow]. (https://i.stack.imgur.com/6TKOt.jpg)

Regarding the side braches of leaves that i have put in water for roots to grow...its still has no roots but its green and thriving well.


texts:
I was hoping someone could help me identify this plant.  The photo was taken in The Lofoten Islands in Norway, on an alpine environment.

Thanks!


texts:
I have a wrapping of bamboo stalks, maybe 20 or so stalks tied together. 3 or 4 stalks have died one at a time the past 2 months - they start to get yellow-greenish, then more yellow over time. The rest of the stalks seem totally fine (even right next to them). I've had it about a year, it was fine for 6 months or so.

Things I've tried:

Use only room temperature distilled water
Wash out the roots and scrub container (no chemicals)
Less light
More light
Inspect for fungus/bugs
Remove yellowing stalk and soak the whole thing in water to try to propagate it (it just rotted)

Pics of lighting situation, pot, etc (late afternoon, it's generally brighter in the day but not super bright): http://imgur.com/a/MFlBI

Last things I'm considering are:

Use some kind of fertilizer (one answer stated this? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004490QYI/ref=cm_sw_su_dp)
Get a magnifying glass to check for tiny bugs
Change the pot up (either bigger with pure water, or plant it in dirt, but this feels risky since only 1 stalk dies at a time..)
Take a healthy one and try to make many clones of it just in case it does die
Do something about the roots? I have heard that them having a tangle of roots is actually normal, but it does look root-bound.

This plant is sentimental so I want to try my best.


texts: Pruning Echeveria/Graptopetalum/Pachyphytum flowering stalk: What does it do?

texts: If I prune the flowering stalk of the Echeveria or its relatives just under the first flower, leaving a stem with the leaves on it, will it branch? make new flowering stalks? New plantlets which I can root?


texts: Is there a danger to combining multiple fruit tree sprays in one sprayer?

texts:
I have a few very small apple and fig trees. I planted the apple trees last year and had a huge problem with bug completely defoliating them. I bought some 'Bonide Fruit Tree Spray' and started spraying them with that as soon as I saw leaves start coming out. They did okay at first, but then I started noticing they were being chewed up. Upon closer inspection I noticed several of those little inch worms that hang from the trees.

I'm in SC, so I contacted the local Clemson College Agricultural Extension and asked them about it. He said they were canker worms and that I should use a chemical with 'spinosad' in it. Being very small tree, I can't make a small enough batch of the spray to use up, so I'm just leaving it in my sprayer with the pressure release valve open. If it gunks up the end, I'll just buy a new one. I don't think the spray I have contains spinosad, so I picked up a bottle of concentrate. I asked him if it would be safe to combine them, since I didn't have two tanks. He seemed to think it would be okay. He said to mix it in another container and something about if it wasn't warm, then it was okay to add it in. I don't know if he meant that I should mix the concentrate with some of the poison water I already had to see if it created chemical heat or what.

I want to know if you guys have ever combined sprays like this to ill effect? I can't remember the name of the spinosad concentrate I bought, but it was labeled as affective against canker worms, caterpillars, etc... It only container a very small amount of the spinosad, though. If I do combine them, I think I should probably use the full dose of each to the recommended amount of water.


texts: Will lemon tree ever grow new leaves on on bare branches?

texts: I have an apparently healthy lemon tree that exhibits a few isolated leafless branches, 10-30cm long. Can I assume these are dead wood and prune them, or should I wait longer for them to emit new leaves?


texts: What are these black and white spotted areas leaves on my basil plant?

texts:
My basil has a weird problem that seems to be spreading on the leaves. It's basically white spots that are thinner surrounded by black spots.

I tried to find information online but couldn't find this.

Thanks for the help!


texts: Are citrus trees better grown using containers or in the ground?

texts:
I would really like to get a couple citrus trees (lemon and/or lime). The problem is I live in an apartment. I hope to move at some point such that I will have some land that I can put these in.  My question is, should I get the trees now and leave them in the pot on my apartment balcony which gets half sun? Or should I just wait until I have the land to put it in and get the trees then?

I know not to expect a significant yield, if any, on year one regardless. But I would expect a bunch of fruit in a few years in good conditions.  Suppose two situations, (1) a tree in the ground, (2) a tree in a pot at my apartment.  What are they going to be like at the 3 year mark? Would a tree in a pot for three years have it's growth significantly stunted such that I should just buy the tree in three years when I have the land?


texts: Can I grow lemon cucumbers in my area, Southeast VA, zone8? Pic incl'd

texts:
Lemon cucumbers: I found these on the Bonnie plants website, and usually there's info attached on where you can find a retailer that has them, but instead it had a disclaimer stating not all Bonnie retailers would have them.... But nowhere here has them, and I've checked everywhere. I finally found a different brand of the seeds at a small local spot, and even the cashier said "hmmm, I've never seen anyone buy these".

It makes me wonder if these plants are hard to find here because the conditions needed differ than pickling or straight cukes. Or maybe they're just rare. Can I grow these in Norfolk, VA, USA? If so, I'm assuming (I could be wrong) it's too late for this season, but, when is the best time for me to plant seeds?


texts:
We have indoor rats as pets, and are interested in using the used bedding as compost (as there's a reasonable amount of it). The bedding itself reckons it makes good compost, but we're unsure about the droppings / urine.

They're fed on pre-mixed food and vegetable trimmings etc, with next to no meat involved in their diet. Various sites list that waste from small household pets is safe, whereas waste from dogs and cats is not. The distinction seems to be whether there is meat in the diet or not (generally)

We're not really looking at going fruit/veg, so this will be used on flowers only


texts: Can a clementine cutting be rooted with out rootstock?

texts:
I have this clementine cutting that I placed in to coco coir and when I tug on it it doesn’t come out.
And now it’s flowering !

Is this an advisable method of propagation?


texts:
There is a weed in my backyard that generates little brown balls with spikes on them.  The balls are probably less than 1cm in diameter.  See picture.

Here are my questions:
1) What is the name of it?

2) How do I get rid of it?
{What are the recommended sprays or chemicals?}

3) Need sprays that are not harmful to dogs or cats.

The little balls are getting into the fur of dogs (including their paws) and the plush toys.

FYI:  This plant is growing in: U.S.A, Southern California in the foothills of the Santa Ana mountain range (south Orange County).


texts: How can I help my plants adjust after moving apartments?

texts:
This question details how to prepare plants for actually moving, but I am interested in knowing how I can help my plants adjust once they are actually in the new residence, especially with regards to moving apartments.

I have several houseplants (pothos, philodenron, monstera, etc. most exotic is a young medinilla magnifica) that are currently enjoying my west-facing windows. My new residence will only have north facing windows. What can I do before and after my move to help them adjust?


texts:
I have a row of 5 Blue Point Junipers, with 6ft spacing. I initially planted per guidelines, but learned later that I could reduce the spacing to create a wind/privacy barrier.

What I'd like to do is add 4 more junipers in between to create a privacy barrier. Will this be possible with the initial row already being 10ft tall, using 3ft saplings for the addition?

Update

I'm working with the area between the fence and the brick. 3'-4' wide. I should be able to fit a 1' stagger here


texts: Brown spots appearing on roma tomato leaves

texts:
Three weeks ago I bought a roma tomato plant from Home Depot.  It was probably about 8 inches tall.  Since then, it was in my apartment for a few days and then my friend's apartment for about two and a half weeks (I was on vacation).  It has not been planted yet.

I live in New Jersey, and it's been pretty humid these last few weeks.

When I got the plant back today, I noticed some funny spots, as well as some leaves that were dying near the base of the plant.  The dying leaves are only on one branch.  The spots are on a few branches, mostly clustered together, but most of the branches are fine.  Pictures below.  What is happening to this plant, and what can I do to save it?

Extra information, as per a request: I will plant it in the ground.  The pot it is in now is about 6" across.  The sunlight it was getting in my friend's apartment was indirect: next to a window, but the window was facing north so never direct sunlight coming in.  I don't know how often or how much it was getting watered, but it was probably getting watered daily.


texts: How can the "soils" be improved on coral atolls.

texts:
My Parents are currently living on a small pacific coral atoll. Coral atolls, for the most part don't have much soil. Mostly they just have coral sands. These "soils" are very well drained (and they get hot during the day), and highly alkaline, with very little carbon or nitrogen. There's some salinity too, but even just 10 meters back from the coast, the water table is fresh enough to drink. Getting anything to grow other than native plants is pretty difficult, although my mum has succeeded with some things, including egg plants, tomatoes, and pumpkins.

Does anyone have any recommendations for quick improvement of such soils? Compost is the obvious one, but the source material is somewhat limited (by how much we eat). Mum is also mulching with leaves of a native that grows pretty fast. I'm also going to try making some charcoal, although the answers here are somewhat discouraging. Are there any other things we could try?


texts:
Help - recently my tall and frowning seedling chilli plant appears to be getting new growth but the leaves either develop brown spots and die, or shrivel up.

We water it once a week, maybe a bit less.

Any ideas?!


texts: What is this whitish feather on my Echinacea seedlings?

texts:
My multicell container with Echinacea seeds was covered with a transparent nylon cover for several days, and I just removed it, and spotted an unusual thing. Take a look at this white stuff in the middle of this seedling:

There were three seeds in the cell - each seed was just placed on top of the soil and lightly patted. Two other Echinacea seeds that didn't start (yet) are visible in the photos as having paler brownish color.

Is this normal? Or some kind of fungal infection caused by excess moisture? If yes, is there a cure?

The exact name of the plant in question is Echinacea angustifolia.

Update after 5 or so days:

the "feather" seems to disappear after several spraying of water (that I must do in order to maintain the soil moisture)
I added a very small quantity of soil to this cell to provide better support for seedlings seed, that had been lifted a bit by the root
the same cell looks like this now:

the same cell but from different view angle:

other cells:

Update: I started a couple of seeds of a different Echinacea, Echinacea purpurea, and there is that same 'feather':

It looks Echinacea seedlings do have this fine hair, but, for example, I didn't see any traces of such hair in Rudbeckia seedlings (Rudbeckia is a close relative to Echinacea).

Update:

I noticed the similar, even stronger, effect in my Lupinus seedslings:


texts: Decorative Mulching Options for Base of Tree?

texts: I'd like to put something decorative in the circle of dirt between the mulch ring and the base of a tree.  Are there any options that are considered acceptable?  A thin layer of decomposed granite?  Same thing pea gravel?  White stone? Large bark chips that will still allow moisture and air to exchange or dry away?


texts:
I know I know. It's July, and hot, but my lawn looks like garbage. I've purchased an electric dethatcher and aerator. I have a lot of thatch and brown/tan spots. Crabgrass is very frustrating to me.

I was thinking of dethatching, overseeding with Scotts Turf Builder Sun & Shade Water Smart Plus and at the same time throwing down Scotts Turf Builder Starter Food. Watering like crazy.

Do I sound nuts?


texts: What is the minimum amount of space needed to grow a poppy?

texts:
I live in an apartment in the city (located roughly central east-coast of US) and really miss my father's garden in the suburbs.  As such, I have figured out a scheme for window boxes that has allowed me to grow some nice herbs (basil and oregano).  I would like to make this work with a similar set-up for flowers on my other window sill. I have grown poppies before in the ground and they are just so beautiful and fun to grow that I would like to try to grow them in my current situation.  Now, I know they get very big and typically need a lot of space to grow to their full size, but I was wondering if it would be possible to grow a single poppy plant to at least a medium size in a standard window box (say roughly 500 cubic inches)?  If not, what flowers would you suggest to grow given my circumstances?

NOTE:  My windows get pretty good sunlight throughout the day.  After about 4 pm, there is a tree that kind of blocks the sun but for the most part light still makes it through.


texts: What flowering tree is this and how can I grow it?

texts:
What flowering tree is this and can I grow it from the seedpods and what exact steps should I take to do so?

Should I take the green or dry brown pods?


texts: I am in San Antonio where we had snow about a month ago. I bought this lime tree in early January and never repotted it but it was doing great. I put it in my garage for the snow storm, brought it back out two weeks later and let it be in a little shade for a few more days. There was some new growth. I waited a few more days then repotted. I used fertilizer and watered well. Pretty quickly,the leaves dropped and the green is gone from the branches. When I bend the branches back, some have snapped. Any suggestions?


texts: What are these red spots on the leaves of my boysenberry plant?

texts:
Previously, I had issues with the sun scorching the leaves of my berry plants. Now that the heat has cooled down, those leaves are back to normal. However, a lot of the leaves on my boysenberry plant have reddish spots on them, and I'm beginning to worry about them. The plants look perfectly healthy in all other aspects.

This is something I observed even when the sun was harsh (and a little prior to that). At first, I brushed it away, because if you observe closely, the red spots are around the edges or in between two leaf veins (the leaf membrane slightly curves up there) and it didn't seem unreasonable that the sun damage would strike there first (just like how sun damage in a plastic container first appears at the sharp corners and edges).

It was interesting to note that these leaves (the ones that have red spots) didn't quite dry up and shrivel like those in my other question linked above. Could these be due to a disease rather than sun scorching? Should I be concerned and is there something I can/should do about it?


texts: Does anyone know what kind of plant this is so that I can figure out what it needs?? A friend of mine gave it to me as a "Friendship" plant that has been in her family. Supposedly you can grow other plants off it shoots, but I have nearly killed it!!


texts: What are these fungi growing next to my cucumber plant?

texts:
I believe I am having mushrooms growing with my cucumbers.

What are they?


texts: My Cat ate the top and many of the leaves of my Oak Sapling; advise on how to stimulate growth

texts: I have been growing some indoor plants as a project with my son, including a small oak sapling that grew in a planter we had outside during the summer. One of our cats, for reasons unknown, ate the top of the sapling and all but one of the leaves. The oak now maintains that leaf, but all other growth has stopped (~1wk); can anything be done to stimulate upward growth and more leaves? The plant is very young and only ~4" high.


texts: Tulip bulbs, plant them late or keep them until next year

texts:
I've got a bunch of bulbs from tulips and other early-bloomers, that I 'forgot' to plant last November.

By now it's almost March, and I wonder, should I plant them now, or should I keep them until next fall. In other words, will they still be okay next fall, and don't I risk that they start growing in their packaging? And if I plant them now, will they still bloom?


texts:
I believe the more dead one is sage. How should I help it? Also the plant with brown ends on the stems is mint. Should I cut off the brown bits? I don't care about harvesting or eating them I mostly just want to help them but I'm not sure how.

I would gladly appreciate any links to some good sites for learning how to care for them. There's so much info and I'm not sure where to start


texts:
Which species of Goji is edible for food purposes (not just medicinal purposes), or are they both for food? I'd like to get the one wherein the berries are used for food for our garden, but there seems to be little information on the subject available.

Is it Lycium chinense or Lycium barbarum? I heard Lycium chinense was used for food and Lycium barbarum for medicine, but I'm not convinced, since Lycium barbarum is so much more common, and I didn't find other sources to verify that.

I know they're both used for tea, and I'm pretty sure you can eat the leaves of both species (but I'm looking for something I can use for things besides tea, too).


texts: Ming Aralia is turning yellow and dropping branches

texts:
I've had my Ming Aralia for about 2.5 years now and it would occasionally drop leaves and branches. As of this spring (approx 1.5 months ago) the leaf and branch dropping accelerated to the point that even new growth is quickly yellowing and dying.

I previously posted about the same plant here: What kind of tree is this?1

I've had fungus gnat issues in the past, but I rarely see them near the plant now.

I water it occasionally, but not excessively. It gets moderate sun throughout the day, and the weather has been humid but not too warm or cool.

Any suggestions as to what I should do? Really old growth is still present, but as you can see in the pic below, nearly half the branches on one side have fallen off.


texts: Camelia changii - fertilization problems

texts:
My Camellia changii is losing its color and getting this aspects so sad. Is it lack of fertilizer or, conversely, excess? I live in Sintra, Portugal, and the climate is excellent for camellias in general.

Is there anyone who can help me?

The soil is acidic, the fertilizer I am using is NPK 5-6-13 + 4% MgO a tablespoon every 30 days,  with good drainage and the watering is drop-by-drop.
This year the winter in Portugal  was very rainy and mild temperatures, only two or three days with minimum temperatures of 3ºC (37.4 ℉)


texts: If I accidently broke off the top of a "july free" tomato at the dirt level, what do I need to do to help it survive?

texts:
I was planting a "free July" tomato plant, but when I was trying to pull it off the plant wall while planting, and accidently broke it off, what do I need to do to help it survive? I was planting it about an inch off the bottom of the pot so that it could grow roots all over the stem, in order to promote root growth as much as I was able to.

The specific type of tomato if that matters was a purple cherokee.


texts:
I've made two 4x6 raised garden beds and what to place them on top of grass. I've prepared the area a little bit by flipping the grass covered ground a couple of inches.

My question: To stop the grass from growing I've placed cardboard on the ground and covered the area then poured some water on the cardboard to soak it.

Can I put the soil I'll be growing my vegetables with on right away or should I wait a bit to give the cardboard more of a chance to decompose?


texts: How should I transplant an old Rose of Sharon?

texts: I have a beautiful Rose of Sharon I planted 15 years ago. Now, even after cutting it back, it's blocking view and am wondering if there was a way to dig it up and put it someplace else. I know to wait till fall and that it's not something I can do on my own. Suggestions? Recommendations?


texts: What are these white irregular sized spots on my cucumber and melon plants?

texts:
Most of my cucumber and melon plants have these (cream) white spots of various size.

The white spots grow and some of the older leaves have withered (partly).

All plants come from seed, and have been planted in potting soil. Only common denominator for them all is the water, fertilizer (general fertilizer for "all flowering plants") and location.

Edit based on comment : location is indoor. Started seeds under grow lights in february. They are now behind a south facing window. Temperature is about 19 - 20C. Can't see anything "unwanted" under the leaves. New leaves start out fine, but seems to become "affected" over time.

What can I do to stop this?

I've tried to spray the leaves with a mix of water and baking soda. Not successful / makes no difference.
I've removed old leaves, but I obviously can't remove all the leaves.


texts: Weeds in paver spacing: help with identification & suggestions

texts:
Probably due to the age of the house (~30 years old), a lot of weeds now grow in between pavers in my backyard. I read that I can use polymeric sand to fill in that space, but that sounds like something that I may need to redo every a few years and would also not apply for the places with larger spacing (please see pictures below). Can I use quick set concrete instead? And are there other good ways to deal with this? If possible, I would like to avoid using chemicals like glyphosate as there is a pool nearby.
Also anyone recognize the weeds in the pictures?


texts: What is the name of the flower in the picture?

texts: I bought this flower 2 days ago. But I don't know the name of this flower. What is the name of this flower? And why is it not blooming?


texts:
This plant is growing in what is supposed to be a herb garden. Can someone help me identify it?

Southeaster PA, USA
End of April

Update: Beginning of June


texts:
I've been following the general guidelines for taking care of lucky bamboo.

Purified water
Sunny area, indirect sunlight
No fertilizer
Indoors (60 to 70 fahrenheit nowadays)

They have been slowly dying. They turn yellow, starting from the top. Then they shrivel and show black dots everywhere. I cut off the yellow tops on two of them, hoping that the yellowing would not spread, but that didn't work.

There's quite a lot of algae (I think that's what it is) developing in the tank. I use the same purified water that I personally drink (Pur brand filters) so I don't know how the tank could become so dirty. Is this algae the killer?


texts: How do I stop palm trees from sprouting from the side?

texts: My 6-7 year-old outdoor date palm trees are growing side-sprouts, resulting in multiple trunks. How do I prevent this from happening?


texts:
As a side mini project from a bigger patio project, we moved some concrete blocks to create a well around a tree in the front of the house.

A conversation over in DIY.SE chat this morning sparked concern about killing the tree by doing this.

Is what I have done detrimental to the tree? I've only raised the soil level about 6-9 inches; I will probably tamp the soil down, lay some landscaping cloth and fill in with crushed marble.

I'd hate to rip it all out, but if its going to kill the tree...


texts: What are some good books with definitions of technical words used in botany/gardening?

texts:
Watching the level around here, I think I can not provide good answers without knowing the technical terms used in English for botany and gardening like the back of my hand. So I ask for advice on a good book with technical definitions. I do not want anything about gardening procedures rather something like a dictionary. I do not like webpages, just paper books.

The accepted answer should contain:

A brief description of the contents of the book.
The ISBN number or a link to Amazon.


texts: I had sown a few Amaranth seeds in summer whose seedlings got eaten away by birds. Now some new ones have sprouted up but this is rainy season. Will this grow well in this season? I live in area marked as zone 9 in this link:  http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S0103-90162008000700009&script=sci_arttext (Delhi, India)


texts:
Firsty I'm new to the site so hope I'm posting in the correct place!

I grew my avocado tree/bush from scratch as an experiment with my nephew and a few months ago I cut it in half (see last picture below) on advice that it would branch out into a bush. Since then, 3 sturdy branches have appeared at the top (chuffed). However I'm not sure what to do now.

Should I chop back the new branches, and if so where?
Would it be beneficial to chop off the original drooping leaves at the bottom.
Should I repot? - I only repotted it a few months ago but I've just noticed a stem sticking out of the bottom!

Thanks so much in advance for any and all tips!

Cheers,

Sam

(https://i.stack.imgur.com/qgBI7.jpg)

(https://i.stack.imgur.com/2Dpdq.jpg)

(https://i.stack.imgur.com/uknux.jpg)


texts: Should I prune these low branches on my tomato plant?

texts:
My tomato is probably 3 weeks old and now it's end of July.

Should I trim the low branches in red circle?
What else should I do now to accelerate tomato production? Fertilizer?
I am Pacific Northwest.


texts: Capsicum ( Peppers ) leaves have holes, turned yellow, curled no bugs visible

texts:
Capsicum ( Melbourne, Australia ), outdoor on balcony in a pot, started to have holes on leaves, turned yellow, curled, but no bugs visible. Has proper drainage, watered around every 2-3 days (may water too much?), around 4 hrs direct sunlight from my spot per day.

I have other Capsicum sowed around same time but don't have the same symptoms? What's going on :( ??


texts:
I have what I think is a Sansevieria trifasciata for about 3 months.
It has been always in my room and this week I moved to a different apartment. Since I moved in to this new room, I've been finding every day some dozens of dead small flies on the floor around the plant.
Does anyone have a clue of what is possibly going on? Thank you.


texts: Identify this plant with leaves that look like hemlock

texts: This plant is growing in my garden. Its leaves smell lovely when you rub them with your hand.


texts: How toxic is zinc sulfate for moss control?

texts:
I live in Portland, Oregon and I'm battling moss on my asphalt shingle roof. I usually scrub it off manually, but it's extra bad this year and I might need more help than my broom.
My neighbor swears by Moss B Ware which is zinc sulfate. I don't know anything about this chemical and before I sprinkle it all over my roof, I want to understand just how toxic and/or creepy it is. I only use organic products in my garden. Is it responsible to use this chemical on my roof/yard? If not, can you recommend something better?


texts: Last September we planted a hedge about 200 feet long. We used white cedar and the trees were 9 - 10 feet tall. In mid-July my neighbour decided that they didn't care for it, so they chopped anywhere from 4 - 6 feet off of 50 of these cedars. Two of these trees have already died. Some trees look like they have been broken off at the top and not cut. And when the branches go through the fence, and these bits they are allowed to trim, she cuts the whole branch off right back to the trunk of the tree. The company that planted these trees said that they would fill out but never would catch up to the rest of the trees and to keep it uniform, we would need to replace the cut trees. The police officer spoke to a Christmas tree farmer in order to get a second opinion and the farmer said that, yes, they will eventually grow in height although it may take a year. My question is: Will these cedars really grow in height? The neighbour got off with a simple warning to not touch the trees again but that doesn't mean that they won't do it: she figures that cutting branches right off is her right. What do I do? Leave them or replant them?


texts: Why is triclopyr not available in California?

texts:
I'm considering using a triclopyr based herbicide to defeat some clover in my lawn (dwarf fescue) in San Francisco, CA. For example, there is this product:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ortho-Weed-B-Gon-16-oz-Concentrate-Chickweed-Clover-and-Oxalis-Killer-for-Lawns-0394560/100355767?N=5yc1vZbx89

But it's not available anywhere (that I can find) in California. I asked Scotts why not, and they couldnt answer.

One possibility is that it's banned, but I dont see any references to that online. Another possibility is that its ineffective against California variants.

Anyone know why it's so hard to get triclopyr in CA?
(I can order it online from out of state, but I want to know why it's unavailable)

thanks


texts:
Recently my tomato plant seems dying. The leaves from the bottom are drying up. The leaves have turn curly (some inward, some outward).
I water the plant everyday morning. I live in Ahmedabad, recently the heat is rising, and I think the sun light is too much for the plant, so I am covering the plant with cloth in day time so it does not get excessive sunlight. Is this correct to do?
Also, how do I save the plant? Any help is appreciated.


texts:
I found some instructions on how to create fig saplings. But I didn't pull it off. ( Only little soon to be root stubs)
They all state, cut a branch with at least 2 twigs. Remove all foliage and put them in either water or growth - earth.

I cut my two attempts, around May/July.

Is there a better time? Where to put the branch after the cut?
Any suggestions?


texts:
A couple of weeks ago we had some brick-pavings re-cemented around our driveway.  Now all of the grass on the lawn that runs alongside the bricks has gone very orange.  I assume it was where the cement/sand mix was brushed onto the grass to clear up after the work.

I read that cement is high in alkaline.  Would that have been the cause, and can grass recover naturally or should I purchase some kind of treatment, as opposed to scarifying it out and re-seeding?


texts: My sunchokes are acting like beacons for japanese beetles, should I do anything?

texts: My sunchokes are attracting about twice as many japanese beetles as a sunflower would, should I do anything to control them, or just let them be?


texts: What would be the non-organic part in this vegetal compost mixture?

texts:
See the composition of this substrate mixture I've bought:

It only mentions organic stuff, like vegetal compost and composted pine bark. At the same time, it says that the organic matter content is 40-50%. So my question is: what would be the remainder 60-50% of the mixture that is not considered to be organic matter?
From the composition, I was expecting it to be 100% organic matter, since it's all composted organics.
This is what is looks like:


texts: Last year I had the foundation of my house rebuilt and exterior drainage put on my property. The grass has taken ver and is now directly next to the foundation What can I or should I not do next to the foundation? Yes grass looks great growing all the way out there but a mower can’t get there & an edger will just destroy it so is it safe to go two feet out from the foundation and just put mulch there? If not what do I do?


texts: What is this white wild flower growing in Serbia?

texts:
I would like to know characteristics of this wild flower that I found this year in my yard.
Flowers are smallish, less than 1 cm diameter.
Location is Serbia, altitude 100m.


texts: Why are my blackberry leaves tasting like sulfur?

texts:
People don't always realise but you can eat a certain amount of blackberry leaves (and use them as herbs to make tea for diarrhea and stuff). The tea usually tastes and smells pretty good (kind of like blackberries do, but much milder).

In the past, I had made tea from lots of our thornless blackberry plants' leaves, and it tasted great. However, the last times I tried it, it smelled and tasted like sulfur and was not pleasant. It was the leaves (not the water). I think the plants may have been transplanted, and this affected the taste.

What could be causing the sulfur smell/taste? What is it about the soil or environment that could be doing it? Is it actually a high sulfur content in the soil or something else? How could this be remedied (without transplanting)? Do you supposed it will go away over time?

The fruit seems to taste fine. There might be a stronger sulfur taste in the fruit than before, but it's not very noticeable, if so.


texts: I have 3 cucumber plants that I started indoors from seeds. They were all off to a great start but after producing 1-2 cucumbers I noticed the don't look as healthy and leaves have turned yellow. I see new growth in some places. Is this normal?  Are we at the end of cucumber season?  What should I do differently?  I am in San Francisco area.


texts: Timing to move indoor vegetable seedlings to 4" pots

texts: I have started some vegetable seeds indoors (SF/Bay Area) in small 1"x1" pods.  The seeds have sprouted but not sure when is a good time to move them to 4" indoor pots before planting them in the outdoors vegetable box?


texts: How can I temporarily grow grass on concrete?

texts:
I just bought a house that has a backyard, but much of it is taken up by a concrete pad that connects the driveway to the garage.  I was thinking about having the pad removed because I want to put some sort of grass or soft foliage there so my dog has more space to play, but I want to know if it is possible to put down dirt/grass on top of the pad so that I don't have to dig it up and possibly replace it when I sell down the line.

Also, since the garage comes up to the side of the pad, what would be the best strategy to keep soil/dirt away from getting everywhere inside the garage.


texts: How to make sure a sunflower produces seed?

texts:
I started a single sunflower, a giant cultivar called 'Titan', it's been doing well so far.

I want to have valid (or, is the better word 'viable'?) seeds from it at the end of season. They don't have to be producing the original cultivar, I just want to have something to experiment next year in terms of seed starting. I am not going to use them for eating.

Do I need another sunfolower for pollinating?


texts: Is it ok to plant tomato plants in an old slightly rusty lawn cart?

texts: Is it ok to plant tomato plants in an old slightly rusty lawn cart used for pulling behind my lawnmower?


texts: Why are some of my tomato plants suckering from flowering / fruiting branches?

texts:
I am currently main stemming my tomato plants due to limited space in my garden. From what I have read about main stemming tomato plants, you simply pluck the suckers from the plant. Every article, tutorial and video I have seen on the subject states that a sucker forms between the main stem of the plant and a leafing branch.
Everything was working out great and all the plants, roughly 30 heirlooms, had only one stem. Then some of the plants started suckering from flowering / fruiting branches. I have not been able to find out any information on why this is happening and no articles or videos have addressed this.
To be clear the flowering branches are not just putting out more flowering branches, in some cases they have grown into an entire new stem with lots of suckers. What should I do with these suckers and stems coming from flowering branches? I would like to remove them because these stems and suckers are getting  too large.
I've attached a picture, of a Black Krim tomato plant, showing the suckering / new stem growth.


texts: We had an unusually late frost after we had already transplanted our tomato starts outside this year. I covered the plants with canvas drop-cloths over the tomato trellises, but all the leaves and the top of the stems ended up dying. However, the main stems of the plants are green, and they've started to sprout new branches and leaves from their bases. Will the entire plant regrow and produce tomatoes, or should I just pull them up and start over? If they still have a chance, should I prune away any dead spots at the top of the stems? It's been about a week since it frosted, so I don't think there's any danger of it happening again. (Although the frost last week was over a week after the supposed "last frost date" this year.)


texts: Can I use ladybug larvae to get rid of aphids?

texts:
I have basil on my balcony, which I eat. However, lately the leafs have white dots or lines on them. After inspection I found out that it is caused by Aphids. Just the normal light green type.

I don't want to spray my basil with chemicals (not even soap), because I like to eat it. So I was thinking of buying larvae from ladybugs (Adalia Bipunctata). Does anyone knows if this works? Does anyone has experience with this approach?

My situation is a balcony of 1 x 6 m with many plants (palms, bonsai trees, other plants), on the first floor facing East, in the Netherlands.


texts: The hedge of my small garden is made of cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus). I have to trim them every year as they increase their volume rapidly. This produces large amounts of organic waste and I don't really know what I should do with it. I don't like the idea of just getting rid of it, as I like to recycle what's in my garden. However, I guess compost is not an option. The leaves just dry out but they hardly decompose. They also contain toxic components that might be harmful for my compost. Is it a good idea to use them as mulch? Do you suggest a clever way to use all this organic matter?


texts: What size of plant pot should I be using for young chili plants?

texts: I have 4 small chili plants (sorry not sure what variety they are), they have 3 sets of leaves. I re-potted them from a seed tray about 2 weeks ago. I'm a bit concerned the plant pot is too big? When growing from seeds how many times should I re-pot and into what sizes?


texts: Can you propagate a bamboo plant from cuttings?

texts: I have 2 bamboo trees (Phyllostachys nigra) approximately 1 meter in height each. I would like to  propagate new bamboo plants from cuttings. Is this possible?


texts: I'm currently growing some lavender from seed and I was wondering if I should go ahead a prune it. I know with basil it helps with improving yields and bushiness but I'm not sure if I should prune lavender as aggressively or if it's even necessary (all the lavender on google images I see look like they have a lot of long stems, hence the confusion).


texts: How can I save seeds from a large, fast-growing arugula plant?

texts: I planted arugula seeds in small containers. They are all so tiny, except one plant that grew very fast and looks dramatically healthier bigger and just different from the rest of them. It might be a mutation since they are all in the exact same circumstances. I would like to let it seed so that I have more of that container-robust variety. I am not sure when it will flower as it has already been in the pot about a month and is not doing anything but growing! Any ideas? Will it die if I leave it longer?


texts: Is this normal - indoor Bamboo palm tree has bumpy stems sprouting from the main stalks?

texts:
There are light green stems covered with crater-looking bumps sprouting off the main stems, close to the ground. Is this normal? I can't find anything like these growths in descriptions online or through image search. Just want to  make sure I shouldn't get rid of them somehow.

I know what mealy bugs are and this isn't that, the bumps on the light green stems I'm sure are part of the stem itself/part of the plant.


texts: 1 year old Avocado tree new leaves are shrinking after transplanting

texts:
I transplanted my avocado tree outdoors, and after a month of transplanting it, I see a strange (non normal) development. It seems that the new leaves are growing shrinked (see the photo). Also those leaves have some red color on it (don't know if it is normal but it didn't happen before).
The  major change it has suffered is more exposure of sun, so I think maybe is that, but I really don't know. Any help is appreciated, thanks!

EDIT (more information):
Note that another thing that has changed is temperature. Now is more inestable, some days reached 10ºC at night.
Here is the pick of the leaf that is older than the previous one that is starting to suffering some issues too, maybe it can gives more detailed hints on what is happening.


texts: Is there a clean alternative to top soil as lawn topdressing?

texts:
I performed dormant overseeding last year with amazing results in Ohio.  All I did in late December was walk my spreader over my yard.  The freeze/thaw cycle pulled the seeds deeper into the frozen cracks throughout the winter and the wet spring we always have here germinated a ton of the seed for me.  This year, I am set to do it again.  My front lawn if great looking, but the back is still a little behind it; I have two kids and a dog.  I have some bare spots that the overseeding simply does not work well with.  The seeds just washes away with the melting of the snow.  I wanted to mix some medium and seeds together to spread over these bare areas.

Having a dog, I want to prevent his paws from tracking mud into the house come spring.  Is there an alternative medium to top soil I could use that would be easier on the carpet in my home?  I was thinking maybe vermiculite, but it would probably just wash away.  Any ideas would be great to hear.


texts: Will ground cover conifers grow branches on a former house side of the plant?

texts: I was given a ground cover conifer for free, and accidently planted the side with branches in the wrong direction. Should I replant it, or let it grow out as is?


texts: How to Build a Nature Pond with Stone & Bentonite Clay

texts:
I'm in the process of designing a nature pond to raise some small fish and attract amphibians. Its requirements are the following:

Contain a round central chamber 2 ft across (diameter) and 4 ft deep
Have an irregular shallows extended from the central chamber 2 ft on either side, sloping from lawn edge down to 1 ft deep at edge of central chamber
Maintain a minimum digging and clay laying area for the benefit of labor, materials and plant roots
Not use a plastic liner that completely blocks the flow of water or roots

My current idea is to use bentonite clay to seal the pond, in concert with a stone retaining wall.

The problem with bentonite clay is that it is not meant to be sloped more than 26 degrees, even when mixed in with the surrounding soil. If I did it this way it would expand the diameter of the area I have to dig and on which I have to lay clay from 6 ft to 16 ft, and could require up to 800 lbs of clay, instead of hopefully more likely 100 or 200 lbs. This could also interfere with our surrounding garden.

My questions are: will my idea of using a retaining wall to hold in the bentonite work, or must it be sloped at 26 degrees no matter what? Could I add some sort of plastic mesh around the wall to keep the clay in further, and if so how fine would it have to be? How think should the bentonite walls be? Any other thoughts or ideas for this project?

Please see my images below. The top view does not correctly display the slope it should. And the dimensions in neither diagram are necessarily to the scale I mentioned. You can't see the bentonite in the top view except at the very bottom because the rest is covered by a layer of soil.


texts: Can you identify this plant with toothed leaves?

texts: Are you able to identify this plant that is in my front yard? It is about 70cm high at the moment, and grows out in separate stems that come out from the ground that you see here. I live in Melbourne, Australia. Thank you


texts: What are these brown and white patches on my jelly bean succulent / sedum rubrotinctum?

texts:
I recently bought this jelly bean succulent but I didn't notice these brown and white spots.

I really should've check the plant, but I just love succulents and I was too excited. Seems like the white spots weren't mealybugs. What are these and should I take the leaves off, cut the parts that don't have these or is there a way to solve this?

I'm very new to this so any help would be appreciated!


texts: Why are these succulent leaves withering instead of rooting?

texts: I collected some leaves and put them on to sprout. Instead the leaves withered. I'd like know what happened and how I can avoid it.


texts: Locust-looking bugs eating my tree leaves. How do I make them stop?

texts: I put some trees in behind my house in Israel. These locust looking things showed up and started eating the leaves. How can I get rid of them? I prefer organic solutions, but am not too worried about it.


texts: How to tie tree trunk and branches for support

texts:
EDIT: 2017/09/09 In the end I trimmed pretty aggressively and I don't think any support will be necessary. The walkway is no longer obstructed. I hope I wasn't too aggressive. Thanks to both Bamboo and olantigh for the advice!

==========

Original post:

How can I tie a tree without harming it?

I have a juniper/cedar tree with several trunks/branches that are diverging now that the tree has gotten taller and heavier. The result is it sprawls out a lot, taking up space, especially when laden with snow.

I'd like to tie the main branches more tightly together to reduce the sprawl and give support. However, I've read that using rope can choke the tree and cut its "circulation." I suppose any answer will require spreading the force over an area, but what material and method should be used?

Pictures available at: http://imgur.com/a/kjoLN

Front view showing tree encroaching on walkway.

Side view showing sprawl, which gets worse when laden with snow.

Trunks/branches that might be braced together to reduce sprawl and give support.

For tree identification. Notice needles in lower right of image, and smoother young stems in upper left.


texts: Philodendron Imperial Red: What could be causing "burn spots" on leaves?

texts:
I have been slowly watching spots appear on the new leaves of my philodendron.

They are small, brown and dry (similar in look to leaf tips when under/over watered). They don't appear on the leaves that the plant had when I originally bought it.

I keep the plant in a window (maybe too bright? I have since pulled it away from my the window sill) and water it when the top layer of soil is dry to the touch (about a 1/2" down). It is planted in a mixture of soil and mulch, with very good drainage.

I've done a bit of internet searching, (and am now petrified that it's a bacterial issue) but I'm at a loss as to what could be causing this! Has anyone had a similar problem? (am I just a helicopter plant-mom?)

Thank you!


texts: Can someone please tell me the name of this Flower???

texts:
Can someone tell me the name of this flower please.
Please and Thank you!!


texts: What are these two intruders into Rudbeckia seedlings home?

texts:
I started black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) seeds in a tray - you can recognize her seedlings by hairy true leaves. However, I noticed there is another type of seedlings of unknown origin, that looks differently:

Apart from having different leaves, they are also legier. From different angle:

There is another one that appears to be of the same kind in another cell:

From different angle:

They are the only two of such kind in my 44-cell tray.

What are they, and what to do with them?


texts: How should I be fertilizing my container tomatoes?

texts:
Caveat - I am about as novice as it gets when it comes to gardening, and especially with vegetables.  I'm trying tomatoes for the first time this year (Husky Cherry Red), and am wondering how I should be feeding them.  There is so much information (talking about fertilizers defined by 3 numbers, fish oil?, etc.) I just can't make sense of it.

Unfortunately I did not know to mix fertilizer in with the soil at the time of planting.  Here's what I did:  They are in 5-gallon paint buckets.  I drilled ~12 1/4" holes in the bottom, lined the bottom with about 2 inches of rocks, filled with soil (that said it was for flowers and vegetables), and planted the tomatoes in those organic "pots" they came in according to directions (rip the bottom half off and drop the pieces in the hole).

I've been watering a lot, and they look healthy.  In 2 weeks they've grown a few inches.  No fruit yet though.  Oh - I'm in New York and they get plenty of sun.

What should I do now as far as feeding?  There seems to be so many choices - I'm really just looking for a "tell me as if you were talking to a 5-year-old explanation."  Thank you!


texts: What plants can I use to reduce soil humidity?

texts:
I live in Chile where the land slopes up into the hills just a few meters from the coast. I have a garage at sea level with the back wall in the ground and there's a little river flowing inside it. I am told it's from leaking sewage tanks above and a normal phenomena. It's like a liter of water per hour - it's significant, not just a wet wall.

Knowing that some plants require a significant amount of water and considering behind the garage is just a lawn, would it be possible to remedy the problem with plants? There's around 10 square meters of space and it's pretty sunny. The roots would need to go 2-3 meters down. Are there plants suitable for this? Which plants evaporate most water? Does it even make sense? :-)

Edit: A bad vertical panorama of the location from above:

It's not ground water, it's leakage from sewage water tanks on the hills above. Or so I'm told, but it can't be ground water, the levels aren't that high here.

EDIT: Late revelation: It actually IS ground water. The slope was artificially created and apparently they dug a bit too deep. I guess it's time for a pond. :-)


texts: What is the heat tolerance of English Lavender?

texts:
I live in India (Bombay). It is very hot here in summers. I wish to grow Lavender on my balcony, however I am not sure if it will survive the heat.

What is the heat tolerance level of English lavender? Are there chances for it to survive if I plant it during winters when it is pleasant (16 to 28 °C)?


texts: What is your method of protecting evergreens in the winter time?

texts:
I am trying to get a small sense of what most people do to protect their evergreens in the winter.

I personally wrap about 15,  10' arborvitaes each year and going up and down a ladder and around and around just seems like I am doing it wrong. I was trying to kinda invent a solution because I could not find many alternatives. I posted some idea I had to a website that makes random stuff and if they like the idea then they will make it. It is kinda hard to describe, but it is basically kinda like putting a hat on each tree so the snow does not get down the middle. With the idea I posted a couple pictures and a bunch of product details to the site, and I am starting to think I did not do the best job designing this because of my lack of responses. It is not too late for me to edit anything I submitted. So I was wondering If anyone else who has to prepare evergreen trees for winter thinks it is a huge pain? I also have not tested my idea so I am kinda iffy. Does anyone have any insight on if they think this would work or not? any negative repercussions? I have to wait a long while before I can test my theory.

I know this is a long question so I answered as many of other people's as I could before I posted and if anyone takes the time to throw me a little insight into my problem I will gladly do my best to field any landscaping questions, I have a good amount of experience in the field. Thank You


texts: Grass For Low-Maintenance Drainage Ditch in Austin Texas

texts:
I'm trying to figure out what would be the best grass to plant in a drainage ditch behind my house. Specifically, I'm looking for something that best meets the following criteria:

lowest maintenance possible: this is my biggest goal. The ditch has 45 degree slopes and fences on both sides so doing just about anything back there is a huge pain.
Drought tolerant: enough for Austin, Texas at least without irrigation since there is none in the ditch
Doesn't get too unhappy with standing water for short-ish periods of time: if it rains for a couple days, there's usually a few days of standing water in the bottom couple inches of the ditch
Doesn't mind a bit of shade: it's mostly sunny in the ditch, but there are fences on both the north and south sides so the parts against the south fence are often in shade for most/all of the day
Doesn't require mowing often/at all
Blocks out most/all weeds

I've done a bunch of goolging about it and narrowed it down to Centipedegrass or Buffalograss, but it doesn't seem like either of them are exactly what I'm looking for. So, I'd like to know if there's anything better out there that I've missed or if not, which of those two is a better option for this situation?

Thanks!

P.S. I don't particularly care about looks, so even a non "grass" plant/"weed" is acceptable too; I just need something that will keep the dirt from eroding, weeds from getting out of control, and the HOA from sending me nasty notices about it.


texts: I'm wanting to get a lot of comfrey this year, and am wondering if anyone has had good success from propagating it by stem cuttings.


texts: which plants is it? small in size, long thin leaves

texts:
which plants is it? My mumma says it's a tree. Please help me identify.

I've this plant from over one year now. This plant came randomly, I think because of birds might have bought the seed of this. In one entire year this plant has only grown this much.

But the base steam is very strong, in a very windy condition only leaves wave with breeze, plant is stiff at its position.

If this plant is a tree, can I bonsai?


texts: What wattage of LED full spectrum grow light is best for ferns?

texts: What wattage of LED grow light is best for ferns?


texts: Just recently had it sprayed from professional as suggested for boost and growth. Could it be from that or something else.  They are coming back next week.


texts: Please ID succulents and their hardiness zone to survive winter

texts:
I need help please to ID these succulents and their hardiness zone. I'd like to know if they will survive where I live, in zone 5, if left outdoor in the winter while keeping them in their current container and arrangement. It's only plant H that I've seen survived a zone 5. I've asked all this information from the big-box store where I bought them from, but no one seem to know the answers.

Thank you for your help.


texts: How do I promote ripening and harvest peppers correctly?

texts:
I'm trying to get some growth and color to my orange peppers.

Will they color quicker with more sun or less? What about more water or less water?

Finally, I understand that I should not cut them off the plant, but instead carefully pull off the whole pepper with the stem from the plant. Is this correct?


texts: Green moss/fungus on the soil of my Pilea plant

texts:
Recently, i have noticed some green fungus (?) on the soil of my indoors, potted, Pilea plant. I have tried to spray it with copper fungicide, but it hasn't gone away.

What is it? Should i do something about it (repotting in different soil? Something else?)


texts: What are the tiny black dots on my basil?

texts: I repotted my basil plant yesterday as it was in a small seedling bag. Today when I checked on my plant, all of the leaves even the small ones that are growing, had black dots all over. Please help I’m a newbie plant parent. I also live in a tropical country so frost is out of the question.


texts:
I want to make an autonomous system that sustains light for indoor plants. For that purpose I want to isolate plant from outside light sources. In that way I can apply all kind of light cycles that I want.

I will use a LED system for light.

I thought a curtain would be suitable. But I couldn't decide what kind of curtain would be best.

Do you have any experience on that?


texts: We have a red maple that after growing for 35 yrs has suddenly developed moss on the trunk. It is very dark in color, almost black. Is this a threat to our trees health?


texts: How do I identify and control spider mites

texts:
I am looking for an extensive answer with references that:

lists many of the plants that can be attacked by spider mites
the conditions that encourage them
brief information about their lifecycle
how to identify them and the damage they cause
all the control methods, organic or pesticide based with detailed instructions on how to use the control agent


texts: How Many Holes Do I need to Make at the Bottom of a Plastic Planting Box?

texts:
I'm planning some bulbs in a few planting boxes that are 40cm long. There's a note at the bottom, saying: "Drill holes if required."

I've made 6 holes from the possible designated places, but comparing to the pre-drilled pots, I feel these ones aren't enough.

The pots will be in the balcony being exposed to loads of rain, so they need proper drainage, in addition to a layer of small stones that I'll put at the base before adding the soil.


texts:
First of all, my apple tree is young, just about two feet tall. More importantly my apple tree is on my porch in a pot, and it's been there for at least, say, a month or two. Also, on my porch ceiling there are about 4 wasp nests of at least 3 different types (red ones, yellow and black ones, and small ones). They haven't ever stung, or even bothered, anyone, or any of my plants, including my other two much younger apple seedlings.

Recently, just this week, there has been one wasp (of either the red or the black and yellow kind) that has been sitting or moving back and forth on my oldest apple tree's leaves each day. it doesn't 'seem' to be doing anything bad to my apple tree, and it hasn't touched any of my other plants, but it won't go away and I'm not sure what to do about it.


texts:
I had new sod installed about 2 months ago, and am getting these weird dry spots. I'm not sure which type of grass it is (Colorado), and they seemed to appear after a few really hot days in the high 90's.

I water about every other day for 15 minutes, and have started soaking the affected areas when I get home from work around 5:00 PM.

Does this just look dormant? The surrounding grass seems to be doing fine. I can see green blades peeking through a bit.

Thank you!


texts: How deep to dig for a new flowering pear tree?

texts:
Last year I planted 3 flowering pear trees. For those who have never heard of the tree (or do not grow these trees) they look like this:

For 2 out of the 3 trees it was very simple to plant the tree as the soil was very good and to this day both are living very well and growing very well.  The third one I planted was very difficult to plant; not only was there a LOT of clay but there was a TON of poured cement / crushed concrete.  It appears (since this was a newly built house) that the builder just dumped either crushed concrete or concrete itself in this one area and covered it up with some dirt / clay / soil.  I tried as best I could to dig a hole and was so tired in doing so I finally got enough dug to place the tree in the hole.  This tree was always much weaker then the other two trees and eventually this year died.

So because of the design of these three trees this is the first one in a row that has died.  So just taking it out and growing grass would look really odd as I am missing the first out of three trees.  So I have to replant one...so I dug this one out and have been using a huge pick to pick as much concrete out of this hole but it appears I am surronded by this crushed concrete.

I guess my question is how far deep or along the sides do I need to keep digging in order to plant this tree correctly? I do not want to end up with the same mistake the first time of my tree dying again.  Is there some sort of limit in depth or width I need to go before I can say stop then plant the tree and surround it with good dirt?

With this in mind besides top soil should I add some peat moss / wood chips to enrich the health and promote growth on this tree?


texts: How to save my plants after fertilizer overdose

texts:
Yesterday we accidentally put too much fertilizer into our pots. Today the leaves start to turn brown. Is there any way to save them?

Some details:

We have two pots - one with basil, one with Aloysia.
The fertilizer contains: 12% Nitrogen, 6.1% Nitrati, 5% Amonicali, 0.9% Urea, 8% P2O5, 21% K2O, 8% Sulfur, 3.5% MgO.
The label on the fertilizer says: 30 gram per square meter. We put 200 gram in a flowerpot whose dimensions are 1x0.25 meters.


texts: Can any tree be kept around 12ft high and 6ft wide indefinitely with appropriate pruning?

texts:
I've been searching for trees to plant on the side of a road in zone 10. Most of the trees I like have mature heights and widths way larger than what I'd like.

So in general, can all large trees be pruned to your desired size or is this question one that can only be answered for specific species? An answer at the genus or family level will be useful as well. Anything that will help me shorten the time I need to spend on each candidate to answer that question will be of help.


texts: Reviving rubber tree - almost all leaves are gone - one shoot left

texts:
I moved away for a year, and left my rubber tree with a friend - unfortunately I think the move shocked it, and it's now lost almost all of its leaves.

Do you have any tips on what I could do to revive it? Should I repot it?

Thanks!


texts: Can anyone please tell me what this critter is? My philodendron plant has brown spots on yellow leaves, and the leaves would very early on become shriveled, dried, and dead while blooming. I was throwing coffee grounds in the soil, which became molded! When scooping out the molded soil, I found this small critter and I have no idea what it is.  Please help!!]1


texts:
I have lost the label off this plant I have in a pot.
It is a creeping plant, growing a bit like a creeping rosemary.
I cannot recall if it has flowers. The stem is round.
It isn't a thyme the leaf shape is different.
It looks a little like summer savoury but I don't think that is it.
Can anyone help me?


texts: Can I plant tagetes tenuifolia between grapevines and ribes?

texts:
I am thinking of planting tagetes tenuifolia to partly cover the ground between grapevines and ribes. Those stand in relatively large (approx. 10 x 0.75 m and 3 x 2 m respectively) and otherwise bare beds. I'd like to add some more color to the mix, if possible.

Is is this an advisable idea, and what other (pretty) plants could serve for the same purpose? (This is for a location in Central Europe. The grapes will be consumed, but their quantity is of no great concern. There are already some roses in between the vines.)


texts:
I'm learning more about apples.

Here's my dilemma:  I can get about a dozen varieties from my usual supplier.    Generally prairie hardy apples are not commercially viable due to their size.

Now in the garden catalog they use words like 'crisp' and 'good fresh' and 'good storage'  but they only use 2 lines for each variety, and it reads like they have picked attributes at random.  So for example, they will say, "fireblight resistant" for one.  Does that mean all the other are susceptible?  As it turns out, no.

Is there a website that compares apple qualities, preferably with hard numbers like brix, and pH and titratable acids?

Due to some of hte answers given, let me clarify:

I'm looking for comparison data.  I don't want to know that it's sweet, I want to know that it's sweeter than X, or about as sweet as Y. or best Brix 15.  I don't want to know that its 'good in storage'  I want to know 'Stores for 5 months' at 40 F.  Or 'Use it or lose it in 4 weeks'  I don't want to know 'good for cooking'  I want to know 'better for cooking than Z'

I want information that allows a person to decide, "September Ruby, or Dolgo" for eating.  Battleford or Norland for making applesauce.  McIntosh or Granny Smith for cider.


texts: Nuances of propagating deciduous tree cutting at leaf off stage?

texts:
I'm trying to propagate some deciduous trees from cuttings I've taken. I have 3 different stems for each of 2 trees I've collected from (one being a red maple, the other being a mulberry). Both will loose their leafs soon, and the red maple's leafs have already turned colors. I'm in zone 5a and these cuttings were taken in the past week or so, after the first couple of frosts (nights below 32dF) but with the weather coming back to warmer autumn temperatures.

Right now I just have these cuttings sitting in cups of water as I prepare some rooting hormone from weeping willow stems, then I planned to plant the maple and mulberry stems in small pots with potting soil and water them once with the rooting hormone, then with regular water.

Do I need to do anything in particular to keep these tree cuttings growing healthy, given that they'd naturally be losing their leafs around now? For example does that change whether I should keep them indoors/outdoors, give them more artificial light or let them be in the partial shade of an indoor spot during winter, wait before I plant them in pots at all (in which case would they sit in water, or just left dry over winter), etc.


texts: Base of flowering pear has its bark pulling away from the trunk

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One of our flowering pears has the bark pulling away from the base of the trunk. It is planted in our front lawn and has done well till now. Afraid we're going to loose it. The crown doesn't show any problems yet. The side that the bark is pulling away is the shady side. We live in Northern California and it is very hot. Has been over 100 for about 3 week. With many days around 110. Puzzled though because we just finished a drought and there wasn't problems then. Hope I can get some ideas or answers. Also we water the lawn 2 times a day. Once in the evenings and once in the mornings.
Also should I pull the bark away? Should I treat the bark?


texts: What is this gorgeous bicolor-leaved ornamental plant?

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I found this plant in a public space in Belgrade, Serbia:

Interestingly, there is also a white flowered variant nearby:

What is it?
EDIT: I shortly realized it is Gaura. But, what exact cultivar (this is crucial)?


texts: what in the world is this fungus like plant growing in my wood-chips?

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This started growing on my wood-chip pile. At first I thoght someone spilt something. But it is sprouting up all over it now.

does anyone know what it is?


texts: What is the name and type of this plant?

texts: This plant is easy to grow even if you dont water it.


texts: Why is my cactus turning purple and pale?

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Ever since I got this cactus it has been growing, but now it's becoming purple and paler. What am I doing wrong, and how do I solve it? I'm rather new at this gardening stuff so help would really be appreciated.

I already tried watering it less but it's still worsening. What other things should I try?

Edit: I live in south east asia and had it for 4 weeks now. The beads of moisture is water and its indoors on a windowstill