texts: Stopping regrowth of a tree stump without killing the other half of the tree

texts: We are building a granny flat and have had to lose half of a two forked gum tree.  The edge of the flat will sit over the stump with the rest of the tree behind it.  Is there anything I can paint on, or do to the stump which will prevent regrowth without harming the root system, as we don't want to lose the rest of the tree.


texts: Why does my orchid have spots on its leaves?

texts:
I have an orchid that has spots on two leaves, and no spot on the other leaves. Among these two leaves with spots, one (named "Leaf A") has more visible/pronounced/impressive spots than the other leaf (named "Leaf B").

Look at my orchid (the one within the black borders):

The arrow indicates Leaf A.

You can better see this leaf here:

Behind this Leaf A, you can see another leaf with no spots. Behind the latter, you can see another leaf with light green : it's Leaf B (its spots are a bit visible).

Is it normal for an orchid to have spots in a leaf? Is it normal for an orchid to have one or two leaves with spots?


texts:
So this is a kind of open-ended question, if it's too broad I'll try to be more specific, or remove the post.

Do any of you have good resources for information on organically growing peppers?
Do you have any pro tips that you've experienced yourselves?
Do you have experiences growing in climates like Los Angeles?
Why are some things to consider as Best Practice with regard to growing food plans, while keeping them healthy (i.e. organic).

Basically, I have a mild amount of experience growing plants, but mostly flowers and such - not edible plants. I did do a small amount of farming, but that was up in central Oregon, and all you basically have to do is plant the seed and water occasionally (and put a lot of effort to keep deer away).

Now, my wife and I are trying to grow some of our own peppers and herbs for cooking. Since we have an apartment, that means potted plants only ( ). It's very different than my other experience growing anything.

Anyway, all that said, our primary challenge now is dealing with pests and fungi/illnesses as they show up. Some isn't bad, but too much has resulted in 2-3 of my wife's plants dying. F we can put together a good enough collection of data, maybe we can make this into a wiki or something.

Thanks in advance for any contributions you all may have!!


texts: Bonsai ficus has brown spots on leaves -- how do I diagnose and cure?

texts:
My ficus bonsai has these brown spots:

It's only a few leaves, but obviously I want to get ahead of it. Preliminary Googlage says that this can be caused by bacteria or fungi or insects: how can I tell which it is, so I can treat the problem correctly?


texts: Can you "feed" an avocado plant with avocado pits?

texts:
I have grown an avocado plant using the infamous toothpick method, i.e. suspending an avocado pit in water using toothpicks. Since the avocado pit contains the necessary nutrients, I left it in water for over a year while the plant was growing. I have since potted it into soil, but the pit hasn't vanished so I imagine it is still taking nutrients from it.
Can I add another avocado pit to the soil, close to the "original" one to feed the plant? Will the roots attach to this pit over time? If not, can I blend the avocado pit into tiny fragments that I can use to fertilize the soil?


texts: Pear trees, time from blossom to harvest?

texts:
I have some very old pear trees. The orchard has had 75-100 years of neglect. There has been no irrigation. Julian normally has little to no rain May-Sept but this year there was rain n May and two inches in July. This is the first year we have owned them. The blossoms appeared the first of April. What is the expected time until the fruit is ready to harvest?

Variety name is not known, image below.


texts: What is the optimal spacing for emerald green arborvitae?

texts:
I want to plant a privacy hedge with emerald green arborvitae. I am trying to determine the most economical trunk-to-trunk spacing that will eventually result in a hedge you cannot see through at eye level. I know that emerald green arborvitae have a mature width of 3 to 4 feet, but I've read conflicting advice on how far apart to plant them: anything from 2 to 4 feet trunk-to-trunk. These trees are expensive, so I want to purchase as few of them as possible.

I live in Massachusetts, but I doubt I am the only one with this question. If there is a mature emerald green arborvitae hedge in your backyard, please share a picture and let us know how far apart the trunks are.


texts: How do I figure out what pest is eating my strawberries?

texts:
What is eating my strawberries? Every other morning I come to my patch and see the ripening berries are getting eaten ( see photo attached).

I have added a net over the top to try and deter birds. I cannot see any bugs when I check the plants and cannot see any slime trails from snails or slugs.

Would also appreciate strategies on how to stop the pest if anyone is able to help identify it.


texts:
This picture shows a home made cloche I knocked up in 5 minutes with a spare bit of plastic and the remains of a pallet (a "proper" cloche is behind it in the background).

As you can see my cloche doesn't have any sides and is really just a roof.

In terms of the heat, light etc, and the scientific properties of a cloche how adequate is my home made version?

I'm sure "better than nothing but not as good as a sealed in cloche" would be a rough answer.

But can anyone answer more fully about the importance (or otherwise) of sealing in your seedlings properly?


texts: Why aren't my Kalanchoes blooming all at once?

texts:
I planted these different colored Kalanchoes in the same vase hoping I will get colorful blooms but while the orange one is in almost full bloom the white and the yellow have not even started yet. I was wondering if there is something I could do to encourage them bloom at the same time next season or is this their natural way of blooming and I should just plant them in different vases?

One of the red ones that has just started blooming

And the yellow, pink, white, and the other red look like they need a couple more weeks


texts: Started growing out of my mint container for my AeroGarden! Certainly isn’t mint but curious to know what it is. Has round leaves that grow in a circular pattern near the top and the leaves feel slightly rubbery


texts: I live in Northern Arizona and globe willows do really well around here. However, I am having the opposite problem. Mine has went into shock twice this year. The first time I trimmed the dead branches back to the healthy ones. Now its in shock again (If I have my diagnosis right) and looks like the whole tree is almost dead besides some fresh growth. Any ideas how to stop this and get this tree back to healthy?


texts: What temperature can oyster mushrooms withstand?

texts:
I accidentally left my oyster mushroom kit in a very warm area (maybe up to 120) for a week, and the kit seems to not be showing anything after having it for 2 weeks. Should I be worried about it not growing?

My shiitake were exposed to the same environmental conditions.


texts: Shrub with white flowers and lemon-jasmine scent

texts:
We bought our house & neglected garden 1.5 years ago. Last spring a somewhat scraggy shrub surprised us with a few white flowers on two or three branches that had a very strong lemony, jasmine scent.

After some judicious, yet heavy-handed pruning and a generous dose of feeding, we were rewarded with a full bloom this spring.

Some details: The flowers appear before the leaves start to emerge (bloom is almost over now and the leaves are pushing trough). This year bloom started in mid-March, last spring at the end of February, but we had an exceptionally mild (or none at all) winter of 2013/2014.

The flowers are slightly waxy and a bit translucent, around 2cm (3/4 in) in size. The scent is strong, like a mixture of jasmine and lemon.
It's deciduous, but a few leaves remain on lower, protected branches, see last picture.
The bark on older branches turns grey and tends to peel a bit, younger branches are golden brown, see first picture.
The average height is 1.5m (5ft) with a few individual branches up to 2m (6.5ft).
It's growth is rather "loose", even in summer with full foliage one can somewhat "see through" it.

But as it remains yet unidentified and hence unnamed, I trust in your expertise...


texts: I am planning to try my hand at asparagus next spring, although I'm told that it isn't the easiest of vegetables to grow. Are there any particular problems associated with it? Any tips that might smooth my path would be much appreciated (I live in the UK).


texts: How can I get rid of cutworms in my corn and pumpkin patches?

texts:
Our corn and pumpkin seedlings appear to have been decimated by cutworms.

They're actually caterpillars, and quite destructive ones at that:

We're interested in getting rid of them organically, any suggestions greatly appreciated!

The plot is 60m x 20m (200' x 65'), split 50/50 between the two crops.

The corn was planted at roughly 30cm (12") apart in rows 50cm (20") apart.

Pumpkins were about 80cm (32") apart.


texts: How can we salvage a poorly pruned mature pear tree?

texts:
I just had a company prune my mature pear tree yesterday. But I think they did it all wrong. I asked for the top to be trimmed down as much as possible and prune around power lines and over our neighbor's property.

The tree is over 2 car garage stories high and diminishing the amount and size of fruit on the tree.

What they did was just snip part of the highest branch and basically cut off all the lower large branches rather than prune them.

What can I do now?  The tree looks like an arrow shooting to the sky and very sad looking with no branches spreading out horizontally.

We're very sad about what's happened to our tree.  Is there any way to save it?

I was hoping the pruning would produce more quality pears that are reachable to pick. They were too high up before and small since the tree was so big and tall. Now I wouldn't be able to get any pears if they grow next year.

Sorry, I'm new to this site.  Can't seem to figure out how to post pictures.


texts: Identifying and removing this weed / clovers from my lawn / groundcover

texts:
There is one side of my yard that has this particular weed along with clovers.

It was on the lawn last year, but this year it's gotten worse and is spreading into my groundcover bed. I'm going to finish adding rocks around the bed to keep it from leeching in from the lawn more.

What is it and how can I remove it?

Additional pictures:


texts: What should I do to a homemade paper pot before planting it?

texts:
I got one of these snazzy paper pot makers and made a ton of pots to grow all sorts of stuff. It's pretty cool because, unlike a bedpost, you can press the newspaper you use to make the pot into a little form and it stays that way, just like a real pot. I put a little bit of masking tape on them just to keep it together until I filled them with dirt.

What should you do with the pot when you plant it to make sure the seedling had the optimum chance of growing and the roots take... root in the soil?


texts: How long after full coloring do I harvest grapes?

texts:
I always harvested our juice grapes (concord) soon after full coloring, but I recently met someone who leaves theirs on until they begin to soften, many weeks later.

Is there a certain time to harvest grapes, that gets the best balance of shelf life (before processing), flavor, and sugar levels?


texts:
My wife and I just bought our house this winter, one of the things that we liked so much about it was the 3 large garden beds. 20x17 each.

I've always lived in apartments growing up and have no clue how to prep a garden bed. I did the obvious stuff like removed the well established weeds and started researching what I need to do.

We'd like to plant all of the things (lettece, tomatoes to raspberry and strawberries)

What advice do you have to prepping a raised garden bed that hasn't been touch in a few years (5-10)?

Additional info:
I live in the Denver metro area
5b zone - http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov
pH of 7.5 and n/k/p are all at surplus level according to Luster Leaf (I have no idea what the numerical number just that its "surplus")


texts:
I'm going to be amending my garden soil soon, after I take care of all the rocks, so I'll be dumping in a lot of compost to fix the horrible clay soil I'm left with.

Should I be worried about adding too much compost, or should I just add as much as I possibly can?


texts: How deep and at what time of the day should I measure soil temperature?

texts:
I've never tried direct sowing. This year I want to try planting cucumber, watermelon, pumpkin, squash, zucchini and a few other directly outdoors. Mostly because I already have >150 little pots with plants and I am running out of containers and space.

I've been reading about the ideal soil temperature for each vegetable, but I don't know how deep and at what time of the day should I measure it to know that it's ready to sow. For some varieties I don't have many seeds so I don't want to lose them because the soil is too cold yet.


texts: What is this plant with red and yellow flowers on long thin stems?

texts: I saw this plant outside a restaurant in New Hampshire. What is it called?


texts: Why are my maple leaves just plain green after transplanting?

texts:
I had three maples in the garden in my last home and they had lovely (non-green) coloured leaves on them there. I have now replanted them in my new home and all I get now is just green leaves.

Why don't they have the colour they used to have?


texts: Will repotting a cactus after flowering affect the fruit?

texts: It is generally advised against repotting a cactus while it has buds or flowers on it. My Mammillaria prolifera has just finished flowering and it really needs repotting but since it's a self-fertile species, I am expecting to have some berries in the beginning of autumn. How likely is my repotting to make my cactus abort its coming fruits? Since it's a rather widespread cactus, I am hoping someone will have had first-hand experience with the issue.


texts: The leaves on my peace lily are turning brown and yellow, the tips as well as the edges?

texts: I got a peace lily plant from ikea a 5 months ago and ever since then the tips of the leaves are turning brown, or some of the leaves will turn yellow and then go brown form the outside in. I water it with 800 ml of water every 2 weeks and the plant is next to a window on the floor getting diffused sunlight everyday. In Australia it is currently, on average, Around 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit),I’m not sure if that has something to do with it. Do I cut of the brown tips or dead parts of the leaves? I don’t know what I’m doing please help.


texts:
How can I prevent, get rid of moles in my yard?  I have tried traps and the glandular poison.
Moles come back every spring.


texts: My spinach has some kind of black mold. I cant find anything about black molds on spinach on the internet, so maybe you could help me identify the illness of my spinach.


texts: How often do you need to turn the compost heap?

texts:
If you have a compost heap, how often should you turn it? Does it make a difference if it's a simple heap (a mound on the ground) or in a tumbler?

Alternately, is it even necessary to turn the heap?


texts: What is the problem with this Arran Pilot potato plant?

texts: I have noticed the following on some leaves on my arran pilot potatoes. Is it frost damage, blight, or something else?


texts: I've always thought lichens were neutral to tree health, and I think they are attractive, but someone recently told me to get rid of them, because they will cause rot and harbor disease. Do they really do that? Is that why so many trees have hollow centers?


texts: When is the best time to prune a Magnolia tree, and how much?

texts:
I live in Derbyshire, UK and have a Magnolia tree which in recent years seems to have gone a bit out of control, i.e. much bigger than I think it ought to be for the space it occupies.

I feel it needs to be half to two-thirds its current size, but am unsure if such brutal pruning would harm it. Also, when is the best time of year to do so? I have included a picture of how it currently looks.


texts: Help! What's wrong with my succulent plant?

texts: Hello, I can't seem to figure out what's wrong with my plant, or even find an image on the internet that resembles the issue. It appears my plant has bad skin. It looks sad, but it doesn't smell bad, and the leaves still feel perfectly firm and healthy to touch. It's in a terrarium, and the other 2 flowers in there are perfectly healthy. I've had this terrarium for almost 4 months now. I water it every 3 Mondays, and it gets a full day of natural sunlight 1-2x a week. I've shown it to a few people in my office and they have no idea what the issue is. Hoping maybe someone here might have a solution!


texts: In the question big-cactus-identification-and-how-long-does-it-take b.nota gives us a nice photo of big cactus. The second thing that struck me was how the soil level is about 0.00000001 inches from the top of the pot. How you water those big boys and is the soil level deliberate so that they cannot be badly watered from the top?


texts:
Given to me by a neighbor here in mexico city, smells more menthol than regular mint. Leaves are covered by a soft fur
And stem is hairy and round, not square. For some reason, pic will not upload.


texts: My cherry tree is wilting (has been for about 2 months now) and I have tried putting fungicide and pesticide on it (Ortho) and feed it miracle grow every 10 days. It is really hot in Tennessee right now so I just started watering it every other day, but it is not showing any change. It is in full sun, should I move it to partial shade?!


texts: What are these mushrooms growing in the shade in Houston, Texas?

texts:
What kind of Mushrooms are these? I found them growing in my yard near Houston, Texas (UDSA Zone 9a).

Click on any picture for full size


texts: I have planted some tomatoes in my garden.  The plants have started showing white lines as shown in the picture. Is this some disease? If yes, What kind of disease is this? Is it safe to eat tomatoes from this plant?


texts: Understanding magnolia propagation method

texts: I've taken many cuttings of various plants, and in general have had success dipping in rooting agent and putting the cutting in water. I was delighted to discover that you can also take cuttings from most trees, but when I looked up the method for magnolia propagation it seemed unintuitive. I was instructed to place the cutting in a small pot filled with perlite, then seal in a plastic bag and spritz every 10 days. I understand that some plants prefer less water, but I was surprised that I wasn't supposed to give it at least an initial watering. I would expect the bone-dry perlite to, if anything, pull out water from the cutting tip. Can anyone explain the reasoning here? Would it be impossible to propagate a magnolia in water? Are there any sorts of general methods I can apply to propagating other trees?


texts: What should I do with garlic I planted as whole cloves instead of breaking them up?

texts: I planted whole cloves of garlic without breaking them up a few weeks ago. Now I see I should have broken them... they have formed lots of roots and small shoots. Should I break them up now? or just cut my losses and let it grow from here?


texts:
I have these weeds in my front yard that is infesting my lawn. I have already pulled out 20-30 of these little cabbage looking weeds and there’s a 100 more to go! These things leave nasty holes in the ground and I’m afraid this will destroy my lawn even more.
I am using this tool called Weed Hound to pull them out, since these roots are deep. This tool is efficient in pulling these things out, but the cost is a deep conical hole.
Here are some pictures:

Here are my questions:

What are these things? We just refer to them as yard cabbage because it kind of looks like cabbage.
Do these serve any purpose to wildlife? Would they be food for any wildlife around me? Or do they just give oxygen and kill my grass?
Is there a wise way to kill these things and not leave 3” holes all over my yard? I’d prefer not to use harsh chemicals because I want the wildflowers to bloom still but these things don’t bloom flowers and just look really ugly. Anything I can spray that won’t kill wildflowers?
If pulling out is the only option, Any ideas or suggestions on fixing all the holes in my yard?

Thank you


texts: When is the best time to harvest chilli peppers?

texts: I'm wondering when my chilli plants start bearing fruit when would be the best time to harvest the fruit when the chillis are still green or when they change colour.


texts: Any idea why bees are rooting around in our new potting soil in our outdoor raised beds?

texts:
This isn’t bothering us at all, just curious…
We assembled a raised bed on our back deck in Washington, DC a few days ago. We used peat-free Organic Mechanics container blend potting soil. Then these cute little fuzzy bees started rooting around in the dirt.
We thought they might be mason bees, but there’s no clay in this mix. Any idea what kind of bees these are and what they’re doing?


texts: How deep are electrical lines near pad transformers?

texts: I want to plant some tall grasses about 3 feet from an electrical pad transformer in my yard.  Do I need to call the utility companies before digging?  I will only be digging one foot down.  Are the electrical lines that close to it in a conduit?


texts:
last August I bought some cherries, removed the seeds (about a dozen), washed them, and tucked them in the refrigerator for the winter (7 months). Now that spring-time is here, I planted those seeds in a little pot about two weeks ago and I have yet to see any action. I put a little bit of water in the soil about every other day just to keep the soil moist. Now that it's gotten warm, I also put the containers out in the sun to warm them up.
Am I doing this correctly? How long does it usually take for the plants to show themselves?


texts: Keep plants alive and healthy, but at a reasonable size?

texts:
My fiancée has several plants, including a basil, pepper (as in, green and red), and tomato. There’s also a poinsettia but that one is less of a problem.

We live in a small one-bedroom apartment; the plants are on the window sill. The basil and pepper plants are actually in 2 liter soda bottles with the tops cut off. The tomato plant originally was too, but, well.

The plants have grown considerably, especially the tomato plants (which are now in three separate pots and still growing). They take up a considerable portion of the window now, and their constant attempts to out-reach one another for sun have made them extremely top-heavy and unstable (soda bottles are not great for this). The tomato plant, in particular, seems to have outgrown its own strength; even with supporting dowels, the branches just grow farther than they can hold themselves up.

Is there anything we can do to keep the plants, but keep them from getting bigger? Ideally, get them to shrink a bit? We enjoy having plants in the window, and the fresh ingredients (though, for all its impressive size, the tomatoes have yet to actually produce a tomato, and we only ever seem to get one pepper at a time), so we want to keep them, but this is already kind of a problem, and it seems to show no signs of slowing down.


texts: As stated before I bought my jade 2 or 3 weeks ago from a lady over f.b. I have not seen any new growth on my plant. I was wondering what is a sufficient amount of time to wait to see if my plant is thriving? I am planning on pruning and planting leafs so I can have multiples of this beautiful plant. I keep seeing the word porous when talking about planting stems and leafs. What does the word "porous" mean in this context and how is it achieved? If I plant multiple leaves in one pot and one gets root rot can I save the rest of them? Do I have to throw away the soil and start over?


texts: Pepper plants slow growth and black parts of stems?

texts:
I have 4 pepper plants (Syngeta Barbie F1) in raised bed together with 4 cherry tomato plants. Both peppers and tomatoes were planted as seedlings and while tomatoes have grown significantly and have fruits, peppers are almost same height as when bought (~30 cm). (I've put shading net above raised beds (more as protection from hale and heavy rain) but I think all plants gets enough sunlight and water).

All four plants have flowered and look healthy but they seem to be stagnating. I've also noticed that parts of stems are dark (like in the picture below - not actual picture).

Is this normal and is there anything I can do to help them?


texts: What is this large plant with spikes of hot pink bracts, growing in South Africa?

texts:
What is this large plant with spikes of hot pink bracts and lavender, trumpet shaped flowers, that's growing in South Africa?

This photo was taken mid-April in the Southern hemisphere, so Autumn. It's about 2m tall, growing in full sun, and is in Pretoria, South Africa.


texts:
If I save seeds from sweet million cherry tomatoes will I get more sweet million tomatoes?

The seeds say they are hybrid seeds.


texts: Is there an optimal time of day and/or weather conditions for weeding?

texts:
I'm talking here about a quickfire weeding session (probably with a hoe) where you haven't time to do anything much about carting away the weed debris.

I'm assuming mid-morning in full sun is optimum, because there's time for the heat to kill the weed debris and prevent it reestablishing.

Or are there other considerations?


texts:
I am growing this from seed:  Asclepias exaltata  which is not the poisonous pokeweed

Poke Milkweed   Height .5-1.5m  Zone: 4

The grower, Gardens North, claims it is:

  Found in the wild in rich woods and forest edges, with elegant sprays
  of long-lasting white flowers overlaid with a subtle lavender to green
  tint. Poke milkweed is a species of the Carolinian forest, at the
  northern limit of its range in southern Ontario.

Some milkweeds can be invasive. Has anyone grown this?


texts:
!

Need advice. It started with leaves drooping. As you can see there are 3 stems. Only one seems to be drooping. The weight got too heavy and the stem is now bent and thin. Is there anyway i could save it?

Without needing a paper clip to support it with the healthy stem. Am i over or under watering?


texts:
Does anybody know what this tiny wildflower is? It was just 1/4 of an inch across when fully open (about noon). It was fully closed by about 6 o'clock.
It has the smaller, oddly shaped leaves, with the stronger veins. (The larger leaves that you are seeing are pachysandra.) It doesn't seem to be very invasive, since I've never seen one before.

This plant is in Norfolk, Virginia, USA. It is in a protected spot just around the west corner of my house, where it receives strong southern afternoon/evening sun.

The original flower here was living under a gutter downspout, and was decimated by a recent downpour. But, I did find the same thing growing nearby after my friend weed-wacked. The leaves and the stems look the same, with the furry edges. Also, I remember that the smaller leaves had an even shape, while the larger ones grew into an asymmetrical shape. Perhaps this pretty wildflower/weed is more common than I thought!
I'm going to try and add the new leaf pictures (as requested), now.


texts: How can I clean up soil mixed with spruce needles?

texts: I have some garden soil that has decaying spruce needles mixed through it. What should I do to the soil in order to grow vegetables in it normally?


texts:
I found this plant in my woods And would like the identification. It is a small woody evergreen that grows in dry soil in light to deep shade. It grows about 1 1/2' tall and has small clusters of small greenish white flowers terminally on new wood in summer.

Update pic: I replanted it in a lighter location, and the plant has shot up to about 3 1/2 feet, after I topped it off.


texts: I found this growing in a hanging basket we thought was empty. Any thoughts?


texts: What causes yellow curling leaves and black bark on an apricot tree?

texts:
I have an apricot tree. It was neglected a few years, and then in the last few years I've been trying to prune it. It has never given fruit.

Now its leaves have turned yellow and curled, and the bark has black patches.

Click any photo for full size / hover for description

What is the matter with it, and what can I do about it?

Location is southern Ontario.


texts: What is the limiting factor in plants growth and production speed?

texts:
What is the limiting factor in plants growing and production speed given that all nutrients are adequate in the soil.

Some factors I can think of:

intensity of light
concentration of CO2 in the air.

Some ideas to fix both: you could place reflective surfaces near a your crop. In case of greenhouse, you could also raise CO2 levels with a CO2 generator. Raising from current 0.04% to 0.5% (12.5x increase) does not require a lot of combustion.

I haven't seen anyone doing this. Why not? What are pros and cons and caveats?


texts: How can I amend clay soil with soil, without digging?

texts:
I live in a USDA hardiness zone 5 temperate area. Our soil is definitely heavy clay. I have bags and bags of dirt that I can use to amend it, but I'm stuck as to how.

See, the clay is very heavy, and the temperature is quite hot (25-30° Celsius during the day time). After several days of dry heat, it becomes brick-like. I tried digging up existing soil (which kills the grass too), but it's back-breaking. I even got a pickaxe, and I can barely dent it.

There must be a better way to amend my clay soil and use up all my dirt. I also have a very fenced-in back yard, so I don't have any way to get a tiller back there (without going through the house). Manure is out of the option right now.


texts: Raspberry leaves going brown in the centre

texts:
I have a healthy raspberry plant in its second year of living on my balcony.  It's been producing a decent amount of fruit and has grown new canes, ready for next year.  However, in the last week or two some of the leaves have started to turn yellow then brown in the middle.  It doesn't seem to be leaf curl, or lack of watering (from my limited knowledge of raspberries).
Does anyone know:
a) what is the problem, and
b) how do I solve it?  Should I cut the browning leaves away?
Extra info:

The plant gets sun from morning to mid-afternoon (balcony is south-east-facing).
I live in south Germany where the summers are hot (average 25-30 deg C).
Last year it lived in a slightly shadier area, and I didn't have this problem.
Its pot is about 40 cm deep, but I water it often and the roots look fine.
There appear to be a few weevil-type bugs on the plants; Google suggests they might be vine weevils.


texts: My strawberry shoots keep wilting and dying back.. am I over watering?

texts: I recently bought ten Strawberry 'Honeoye' Bare Root, soaked the roots in luke-warm water as instructed and left them for 24 hours before potting in a mix of compostable and clay pots.. I used broken terracotta to fill the base of the Spanish pots to prevent the soil from washing away then added the compost with a little plant food and topped with bark. The shoots came out almost immediately and provided lovely green leaf, but within two weeks the leaves started to brown and the shoots died back. New shoots have come through, but the leaves continue to brown and die back. At the start I watered twice a week, but find the soil dries out quickly in my conservatory, so began to water three to four times a week. I think there are signs of rot on the stem. Can they be saved?


texts: Should I pinch early pear blossoms to encourage stronger tree and better season?

texts: I have a young pear tree that has several varieties of pears grafted on it. It is starting to blossom. Should I pinch these early blossoms? Will the tree divert resources to making more leaves and produce a second wave of blossoms? How many of these blossoms should I pinch?


texts: It is growing by itself. Obviously very competitive.


texts:
What is this vine? It's located in Atlanta, GA. It has been flowering for the past several months. The photos were taken in late August, 2020. The flowers on this vine seem to be particularly attractive to bumble bees as there are always about a dozen of them on this vine's flowers whenever I visit it.
One feature of this vine's flowers that I find particularly interesting are the pieces that come up from the middle, go outwards, and then appear to end in wide brushes that are positioned at the same height as a bumble bee's back when they're visiting the flower. I assume these brushes are used to apply pollen to the bumble bee's back. Is that correct?
These flowers also have three purple/green segments at the top of the flower that go out from the center. What are those, and what are they used for?


texts: Strawberry flowers are too close to the crown

texts:
Flowers on my strawberries are growing very close to the crown, I can't even see their stems. Is it normal? Can the stems still get longer?

It's currently still quite cold outside (between 0 and -5°C at night), so I'm afraid that this is caused by low temperatures.


texts:
I am in the process of planning for a deck.  I have the deck plans done, but now I am looking at what to do underneath.

I have an old concrete patio. It is cracked and not in very good condition.  Is it best to remove the patio? or can I secure my footings to it?

If I do remove it, what is the best material to put under the deck? gravel or river rock? or something else?

The deck is 16" high with one step down.


texts:
I'm interested in the use of Guano as a plant fertilizer. Are there only specific plants to give this to?

Also, how much and often is it necessary? I mix organic compost every 2 - 3 months for my vegetable garden and give them Seagro every other week.


texts: Fire Damaged Bay Tree (Laurus nobilis) - What to do?

texts:
We have a fairly large (and old) bay tree in our garden by our garage, which I pruned back quite a ways last year (about ~1foot off all sides) as it had grown too large. The hope being that it would sprout back happily this year, which it has started too.

Unfortunately we recently had a fire in the garage (tumble dryer went up in flames, nobody hurt though!), the heat and flames from which have caused severe damage to one side of the tree as can be seen in the pictures below:

(click to enlarge pictures below):

I'm wondering what the best course of action is to try and help the tree recover.

As I say, I'd pruned it quite far back last year. There wasn't much foliage, so the fire has pretty much destroyed all the leaves on that side.

Should I just leave it and hope that it grows back? Should I prune off the dead leaves? If so, how far back would you recommend going?

Extra details as requested:

I'm in the UK, so currently its the middle of spring (May 22nd the fire happened). We live in Leeds (53.8 degree latitude) where it is typically a mixture of cool drizzly weather, and the occasional warm (23 *C) sunny day. Although we've been having a lot of sunny days over the last couple of weeks, so having to do a lot of watering.

The burnt side of the plant is the westward wide (the picture is taken facing the north-east).

The house is pretty near a very old sand-stone quarry, so the soil is full of sand. We have from time to time mixed in compost from our own heap (composted leaves, grass, and vegetable matter).

I know a little about pruning, but would definitely class myself as an amateur. I know the best way to prune varies from plant to plant.

I'll add a photo of the base and inside of the bay shortly. The base is quite a large trunk with some terracotta tiles around it, originally to stop gravel from washing away, but now just decorative.


texts: What exactly is garden soil, and why shouldn't it be used for potted plants?

texts:
Okay, I searched internet but didn't help much, so here is my question, I hope for a detailed answer.
What is garden soil? I mean, why it is not recommended for potted plants? Is it because it's heavy and doesn't drain well and less to no aeration? Or some other factors also make it a bad choice?
How can one treat or make the clay or garden soil good for potted plants without using Vermiculite, Perlite, Organic matter. Is there any other method?
Personal Experience:

I potted a plant in garden soil and watered the plant with around 3 litres of water. The soil didn't drain any water at all. Yes the pot has enough drainage holes. My Mother and Father said that I watered too much, but I don't think so.
I tried to explain to my Mom that the soil is bad and not good for potted plants, but she still insisted that that was caused by too much water. Then I demonstrated it again, but this time choosing a bigger pot with different soil. I watered the bigger pot with 1 litre of water and the soil really drained much of the water I watered. That's a good soil there.

In a nutshell:

Pot A: average size pot with garden soil; watered with 3 litres of water; didn't drain any water. didn't drain any water.

Pot B: Bigger than Pot A but with different soil (not garden soil). Gave 1 litre of water and it drained much of it.

Yet my Mother and Father said the culprit is too much water. Whereas I think the culprit is the garden soil. They said to give a little water (100ML or so) around it.
Which brings to me to the next question: Should I give less water if I am using clay/garden soil (and nothing else) or watering too little is a bad thing to do? What's the case? Can anyone enlighten me here?


texts: Can tiny fruit bearing trees be grown in flower pots?

texts: Is it possible to grow a tiny tree in a flower pot that can produce fruits in house environment? Specifically, I'm interested in tangerines, pomegranates, bananas and lemons. How do I turn their fruits into growing plants? Even if some or all of them can't produce fruits in a flower pot, I'm still interested.


texts:
Is this a type of clematis?  I'd like to look up how to properly care for this, but I'm not sure what type of plant it is.  I live in the Nashville, Tennessee area, and it usually blooms in May here:

Here's a view of the plant from a distance, followed by a close-up of some of the flowers:


texts: How can I get more foliage and flowers on my rose?

texts:
I moved into my new house about a year ago now and this rose bush was in the yard already looking very forlorn without much foliage at all. It's card calls it a 'Mum in a Million' type.

I've since fed it with some Miracle Grow and it recovered, but this spring it seems to just continue to grow upwards without bushing at all. Is this normal? How can I tempt it into putting leaves out on the lower stems and producing more flowers? I have no gardening experience at all to fall back on, so am keen for some advice.

Currently it produces 1-3 flowers over the summer, usually one at a time, and they'll last for about 3 days before wilting, at which point I just prune the dead head off just under the bud.

This is how it's looking currently.


texts: Is Clopyralid or Dicamba more effective in the control of clover in lawns?

texts:
September's coming up, time to start getting ready for clover control. I have always used Clopyralid (3,6-dichloro-2-pyridinecarboxylic acid). The brand I use is Lontrel.

My question is, how well does it compare to the similar Dicamba (3,6-dichloro-2-methoxybenzoic acid)?

Because I can get 40% dicamba concentrate for $1.28 an ounce, while the 90% clopyralid concentrate is $5.62 an ounce, I'm wondering whether it will work quite as well.


texts: Large seed pod from Mediterranean region - identification

texts:
The images are of a seed pod that came, either from Malta or Cyprus. It is about 60mm diameter and extremely hard. I had to take a hammer to it for it to open.
Inside were many small flat ,slightly fluffy heart shaped seeds.
Might anybody recognize it please?


texts: Raspberry leaf curl disease? Can this be treated or prevented?

texts:
About a 1 1/2 months ago I ordered and received a live raspberry plant from Burpee. Burpee lists the plant as Crimson Night Raspberry PPAF. My understanding is that this raspberry is a variety released by Cornell about 3 years ago.

When I received the plant I transplanted it to a larger container to allow it to recover & develop more before planting it in a permanent location. The first few weeks everything seemed to be fine. But then leaves started curling and eventually dying (pictures below). I have tried pruning the affected leaves off, but the problem still spreads to other parts of the plant.

This is actually my second time trying to grow this raspberry. The first plant I received eventually died and Burpee replaced it. But now the replacement appears to be dying from whatever killed the first plant.

I have never had to worry about plant diseases before so I am not at all sure what to do next. I am hoping someone here will be able to identify the problem and/or suggests ways I can either stop it or at least prevent it from killing my plants in the future.

I am located near Ithaca, NY in the United States, zone 5-ish.

Note: Click on photograph for larger size.


texts: Do I have to line the bottom of my vegetable garden with a wire mesh

texts:
I'm going to build the a box for my vegetable garden that has a 10" riser with a 6" bevel frame. The idea is this will stop mice from climbing up over the side.

I was at the store pricing out wire mesh to line the bottom to prevent the mice from digging up under it, but the mesh was very expensive.

Do you think a mesh is required? or is there another way to prevent mice from digging under the box?


texts: What is this plant with two types of leaves and small pinkish-white flowers?

texts:
Plant purchased as a hanging basket, has both variegated and solid green leaves, has upright growth, but also has two or three vine like stems. Flowers are VERY delicate white some with a delicate pink throat like.

Purchased at a nursery that told me the name of this plant was "Snow on the Mountain."  After researching I am quite sure this is incorrect. However I cannot find a picture on the Internet to help in identifying it.
Can anyone help?


texts:
About a month ago I bought a poinsettia plant to keep in inside my home

After a couple of day's I found that maybe I am doing wrong care that is affecting my plant, thus went through a couple of blogs and found that I was watering it too much that is affecting it, after that doing proper care I can see new leaves are coming out of it

For next one month I want to water it properly (when required) and keep it into the current place where I placed it, If still it won't work I'll move it into some east facing area where it may get morning sunlight.

I want to know as the current pot have much space left, Can I grow one more poinsettia plant into it?? If not want to know the reason??


texts:
I was in my garden today and noticed my pea plants are being eaten by something. Could someone help me identify what's happening and how I could stop it? The pea plants are about 1-3 in tall and I didn't notice any issues 5 days ago. I'm not sure if I need to include this, but I live in the northwest side of Ohio.

Thanks in advance for any advice]1

Edit:
This morning I went to see if I could locate any insects and saw a lot of this guy around the edges of the eaten leafs. Could this insect be eating my leafs and than causing Pea enation mosaic virus creating the white curls? If so, does anyone know what it is?


texts: What is this tall (2-3m) plant with yellow flowers blooming in August?

texts:
Located near Chicago, IL, USA
It started growing in the spring. It has grown 2-3 meters and recently (August) produced small yellow flowers.
I checked the suggested similar questions but did not see the same plant in any of them.


texts:
I had a small succulent plant that sat indoors (in Austin, TX) and did absolutely nothing for years.  Then in the spring of 2010 it produced this:

A long tendril with delicate flowers.  The dimensions of what is visible in the image are about 2 inches across, 4 inches tall.  Here's a picture of the whole plant

I'd like to identify it if possible so I can obtain another one.

If I do find another one, is there a method to induce this flowering, or does one just have to wait years?


texts: White spots on Ocimum tenuiflorum leaves (chlorosis?)

texts: I'm growing Ocimum tenuiflorum (O. sanctum) from seed. Since 1 week ago, some seedlings have white spots on the leaves. I didn't see any insect or so and the spots look like a “depigmentation” of the leaves. What could it be? What should I do?


texts: What causes cucumber leaves to turn yellow, brown, wilt, die, and the plants to stop producing?

texts:
Every year it seems my cukes will go gang busters then suddenly the leaves turn yellow (starting with yellow spots), then turn brown, wilt and slowly die off.  This all happens from the root crown and works its way out.  I have pictures of early producing growth from about 2 weeks ago (mid-August 2014) and how they look now....Sept. 2 2014.  The pictures may be most helpful.  I see no insect activity, but I do have voles/moles in the area, but not every year. I live in Southwest PA, near Johnstown.  Anything else I can answer please ask...Thanks Bill!

Update...planted in early June...the 2nd picture (should have been first) is the same plant about 3 weeks ago.  I have added some pictures....yellow spots were scattered over the leaves but did not turn into holes and I see nothing that I think would be powdery mildew.  This area is fairly wet, not the best drainage but it doesn't seem overly wet.

As an aside, what is that weed in the last few pictures?  (My Mom called it the portulaca weed, don't know why), but I can't eradicate from my garden, seems to be self-rooting!

click any photo for full size


texts: How do you collect and keep cucumber seeds for planting the next year?

texts:
So I see there are seeds in cucumbers. But they're always so soft that I don't notice them when I eat the cucumbers.

I'm assuming that means the seeds are just young and not ready to be collected yet (kind of like how watermelon seeds start soft then harden). So how do I know when the seeds are ready to take from the cucumbers and what do I need to do to collect and keep them?


texts:
I purchased this beauty a short time ago and have been unable to ID it as yet. Anyone know which cactus this is?

Here is a photo of the top which looks like the Epostoa Lanata
Top View Pic http://Selva.Cabal.mx/Pic5.jpg


texts: Peace lily leaves with small, round bumps. Is this normal?

texts:
My peace lily (purchased and repotted two months ago, kept in medium light environment in town with hard water) has some leaves exhibiting round bumps along the main stem. Is this normal? If not, what is the cause and how can I remedy it?

The peace lily itself seems a little droopy. Does anyone have any suggestions for reviving it a bit?

Thank you!


texts: Desert Fruit - What are good varieties to grow in the desert?

texts:
I live in the desert and want to grow fruit in my garden but am concerned about the heat.

I'm wondering what varieties the community would recommend I take a stab at when it begins to warm up?


texts: What are the best fast growing field windbreaks?

texts:
I'm searching for species that would grow fast to become field windbreaks and I have found a lot of articles on the web about this.

However, I'm more interested in knowing if any of you have had or have actually grown them (in USDA hardiness zone 6). What species would you recommend based on such expertise?


texts: I have an avacado tree that I grew from a pit. The tree is about a foot and a half tall and has 3 big green leaves on it. It's been the same way for about 3 months now and is not growing anymore leaves. The leaves that are there are drooping but big. Is there a problem with the tree or is this normal.


texts:
I noticed these burrows on my lawn. The holes are 1/2”.  Pests? If so, what kind?

FWIW I live on Long Island, NY.

[


texts: What is effective AND reasonably safe for getting a controlled burn going?

texts:
I have some brush to clear but the weather is against me... even with dry weather it doesn't dry out enough to burn.

What is commonly used in such cases? I know some people use petrol (gas) but I also know how inflammable petrol is. I tried white spirit and it was most ineffective. Is there something better or a mixture I can use?


texts: needle-point size white spots all around the outer edge of Ficus leaves

texts:
Hello. I am writing from the San Fernando Valley, in Southern California where the temperatures vary from 48F at night to 85F during the day this time of the year.  I have a 35 year old Ficus outside in my patio in a large pot. Its physical spot hasn't changed in the past 20 years.  About two years ago it was affected with the White Fly disease. It almost lost all of its leaves :(   I treated it with "Bayer Advanced Tree & Shrub Protect & Feed" and thank god it came back :).  However, in the past month,  it has been losing an unusual number of leaves again.  These are older leaves as well as brand new baby leaves.   I figured this time, I won't wait till the tree is almost bare before I ask for help!

I have noticed that there are needle-point size white spots all around the outer edge of the most newer leaves...  I also found one leaf that had lots and lots of white scars on it.   Please see attached pictures.

Any advice would be highly appreciated.  Thanks!


texts: How can I trick plants into thinking there's more space in the pot so they grow larger?

texts:
I think I read somewhere about rearranging plant's roots in certain ways within the soil inside a pot to make it think it's growing in a larger space, and as a result let it grow bigger, as if it was planted in a large pot. I don't remember any details, and what I've tried so far hasn't shown significant results, so I'd like to know if it's even possible to achieve this effect − make the plant grow larger without increasing the soil volume.

I think one of the ways was to make horizontal layers where water would accumulate like on the bottom of the pot, effectively increasing the number of "bottoms" inside a pot, but I couldn't create such a structure at home.

Ultimately what I want to achieve is to grow larger plants on a small balcony (or window sill) with limited space for pots.

Currently I have two citrus plants growing at their limit of 1.5m (5ft), due to available soil in their pots, 20cm (8in) deep, 20cm (8in) wide, and I'm also planning on planting golden raspberry and almond from seeds. My available sill space is 80cm (31in) by 20cm (8in), and ~2m (~6.5ft) in height, and the balcony space is roughly 20cm (8in) by 4m (13ft), but the cold days have started and I've moved the only 2 pots I care about to the sill. I'd like to at least grow the almond seeds now and repot them closer to spring into bigger pots, and then maybe move them to the country house's grounds next year.  We'll see how that goes.


texts: Does anyone know approximate cost for doing root collar excavation on trees? We have several "mulch volcanoes". Plenty of info on the internet about using an airspade or air knife and removing the girdling roots, but I'm trying to get a sense of what it would cost and not seeing anything come up in google. Thanks.


texts:
Help! Can someone tell me what's killing my peace lily? Iv had this plant for about 9 months. It seems like the Plant does well for about a week after I will trim all the dead leaves off and then it's back to looking like this. The leaves turn brown, get crispy and shrivel up. Some of then will even yellow. Some of them have brown spots, that look like they have been eaten out of them. I don't understand what I'm doing wrong. I thought maybe it was getting to much light so I moved it to a room where it gets hardly no light. That hasn't helped. Iv watered it less.... that hasn't helped. Iv misted the leaves....that hasn't helped. Iv trimmed the dead off....that hasn't helped.
I'm afraid that it's dying and don't know why?


texts:
I have a young (3 year old) apple tree growing against a wall about 5 feet high. One branch is growing towards the wall and would be perfectly placed to go over the wall except it's about a foot too low.

I'm wondering as the tree grows will the branch actually move upwards, or will this branch's joining point on the trunk forever remain where it is and I need to remove/train the branch?


texts: How many Stephanotis species in cultivation, and how diverse?

texts:
Mostly, I get species names with no links. Pictures on the web mostly belong to S. Floribunda, the only Stephanotis I see in cultivation. One or two pictures I may have encountered, look similar enough to be mistaken with it as well.

How diverse is the Stephanotis species?

Can it be hybridized with Hoya?


texts: What's the English translation for “Tomate Cherry Dulcemiel”?

texts:
What's the correct translation in English for "Tomate Cherry Dulcemiel" (Spanish)?

I could only find one link with a photo of this variety:

https://soysuper.com/p/tomate-cherry-dulcemiel-bandeja-200-g


texts:
If it actually is an Iris, that is.

I had no idea we had this plant and I had subconsciously grouped it under the non-flowering section. Imagine my surprise when it bloomed all of a sudden!

After multiple head scratches and failed googling attempts, I gave up and turned to you, good people of this gardening site, to help me on this quest.


texts:
We are located in the Philippines and a bat comes in every night and leaves this seed. We’re really curious what kind of seed is this. Can anyone help?

Edit: half inch to 1 inch is the size


texts: Can someone identify this vine for me which seems to be wrapping tightly around many trees?

texts: There are many similar to this vine in a city park in NYC.  They seem to be wrapping themselves tightly around many trees.


texts: What's the name of this striped eggplant cultivar?

texts:
I've found names like "Striped eggplant" or "Rosa Bianca".

In Spanish it's called "Berenjena listada". In Catalan it's similar: "Alberginia llistada".


texts: My cactus has started to to yellow, it was left in the greenhouse over winter in its normal


texts: What does soaking hot pepper seeds in weak tea accomplish?

texts: I have seen a few chilli tutorials mention it is a good idea to soak chilli seeds in weak tea before planting them. Why do people do this and what does it supposedly achieve?


texts: What is this plant with clusters of purple berries at junctions of opposite serrated leaves?

texts:
This plant has clusters of small purple berries at junctions where the leaves meet the stem. The leaves are a medium green color and serrated at the edges. It's from Mission in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada.

Is it a nightshade?


texts:
Found this in my garden today:

My tomato plants appear to be quite ill. The lower stalk is covered in bumps, and it looks like they start at the base. Most parts of the plant are fine, but I am getting blossom end rot... I'm not sure if the two are related. Lack of calcium in the soil? I've grown tomatoes in the past in this garden, but this is the first time I've had a problem.

My garden is an eight by ten patch of my lawn that I've been tilling up the past few years. This is my only tomato plant. I'm also growing cumbers, which are thriving, potatoes, corn, and a bell pepper plant.

Does this look familiar to anyone? Anything I can do for my tomatoes? I imagine I'm going to have to pull the plant and try again next year.


texts:
I got these plants at a nursery but I can’t figure out what they are called so I can take care of them properly.
The leaves are green and stiff the the stem has a red tint


texts: What kind of mulch should I avoid for vegetable garden paths?

texts:
I checked out this question about what kind of mulch to use around plants.  But this year I want to make some extra fancy victory-garden style paths around the places I'd probably just trample anyway in my vegetable garden.

So, I'm wondering what to avoid.  For instance given my local landscape supplier's stock what should I not go with (I can already guess chopped up tires is probably not a good one).


texts: Monkey Tail Cactus Burned under lights do I have to move it?

texts:
My Monkey Tail Cactus hangs down really low, so I have to raise it up to keep it from touching the ground.  When I raise it up it gets closer to the grow light.  The last time I raised it up I burned it.  It has a yellow spot.   Do I have to lower it or can I still keep it that close to the light.  Last time I raised higher than I needed to, so it can be lowered.  But, don't want to if I don't have to.

You can see from picture one that I burned the Crassula as well. The Crassula has permanent burn marks, but that's okay. The Adromischus is also yellow from the lights as well.  I know it will turn back to its normal colour once I move it.

I just don't want the plant to blister and rot because I didn't lower the plant.
Sorry the colour is off.  The grow lights make everything yellow in pictures.  The colour of the cactus is good.  The yellow part is firm.


texts: What plants will help with our midge and mosquito problem?

texts:
We've been here since April 2017 and after a brief respite, swarms of midges are already starting to form at the start of February.
We're in North East England near a river, nestled amongst woodland, and last summer both midges and mosquitos were a real issue... They seem particularly potent as even those not normally bothered got nasty bites, I had seeping wounds!

In my part of the world, what plants would be a good option to help?


texts: What is the name of this red chili with white scars?

texts:
I am looking for the name of the following chilies:

They are all off the same kind. The red one on the right is ripe.


texts: Waterproofing a section of a soaker hose

texts:
I use soaker hoses to irrigate the garden in my backyard. But this garden is divided into two separated beds, with a few meters of distance between the two covered with pavement.

Since I only have a water connection beside one of the beds, I have to extend the soaker hose from one bed to the other over the pavement (see picture). As a result the pavement always gets wet when watering the beds, what leads to water waste, but also excessive weeds and fungi growth.
I don’t find any connection offered by the producer of the soaker hose (Gardena), to tackle this particular situation where one needs to install separate soaker hoses in discontinuous series. So I figured the best way to solve the issue would simply be to waterproof the length of soaker hose between the two beds, and keep the whole setup as is, without recourse to any additional patches or connections.
I wonder what is the best way to waterproof just that part of the hose by filling the weeping pores, without damaging the hose itself. Would a shoe waterproofing spray work? Or would it be too aggressive on the material (rubber, I assume)? I’d rather use something invisible that I can apply on the surface of the hose rather than a tape that gathers dirt and dust around the seems.


texts: What should I experience with growing the Auntie Wilder type of Phaseolus Vulgaris?

texts:
I can't seem to find a video of somemone showing off their
Auntie Wilder bean plant, and it makes me wonder what experience other people are having with them.


texts: What is the difference between replacing soil and amending soil?

texts:
I came across this article and I find that it goes against everything that's said about soil amendment before planting. I've copied bits of it down below.

  You are planting a new tree, and you want to do everything that you can to make it grow well. You dig a hole and examine your soil. It might be very sandy, or it might contain a lot of clay. You decide to add organic matter to ‘condition the soil’. You complete the planting process, and water well. What happens?

  You have created a big hole in the ground. Around the outside of the hole you have your normal native soil. Inside the hole you now have a different kind of soil – it contains more organic matter and is your amended soil. You have created the same condition we talked about in the previous post, namely two types of soil in contact with each other. We know that water has difficulty moving between two types of soils. You have created one of two problems depending on the type of native soil you have:

  1) you have created a hole that retains water. Excess water sits in the hole and does not move away, drowning the tree roots.

  2) you water the area but water tends to stay in the native soil and does not enter the hole. Your tree roots are dry.

  Neither is good for your tree. So just replace the soil. Don't amend it.


texts: How much water does a Nepenthes pitcher plant need?

texts:
Recently I got a Nepenthes Pitcher plant, and I'm confused regarding two subjects:

The amount of water I should provide it.
The type of water I should provide it.

I'd appreciate any advice on the subject. Thanks in advance.


texts:
I had one tree and two bushes next to each other. One of the bushes died as a casualty of some underground pipe work, so I removed it. The other two are bare where they had been up against the third. It's been a few years and those bare spots have not grown back. The other sections of both plants seem to be doing well enough. The bare spots are on the shady (north) side. Is there a way to to bring the bare spots back to life?

Dead parts of tree (arborvitae?) and bush (unknown species)

Fronts of tree and bush for identification


texts: Cutting long branches from oregano plant to regrow?

texts:
I have an Oregano brujo at home in a regular rectangular pot, but some of the branches are getting too long to stay upright and will eventually break.

Is it possible to cut these branches and regrow them? If so, how should I cut them are where should I put this branch so it continues growing?

Thanks.


texts: I noticed I got once again the white fly in my herbs and vegetables. I tried to get rid of it by planting Basil close to them, and it worked for some time but now is back again. I heard trying vinegar mixed with water? This time the fly is only under the leaves not on the leaves as before.


texts: What is this white mold infesting my tomato plants?

texts:
Some kind of white mold is infesting several of my plants, below is one of the worst infections of a tomato seedling. It is very aggressive, if I remove the top layer of soil it will come back in a single day. It has infected some basil seedlings as well.

It is mostly white, but forms slightly yellow centers in some places, as can be seen from the picture.

Can you identify what it is? And how do I get rid of it?

Click on photo for full size


texts: Can mulch/gravel protect soil against cockchafer?

texts:
Last year I had a big problem with cockchafer (or some other bug, maybe Japanese beetle) grubs in my potted plants.
I wonder if covering the soil with mulch or gravel can prevent bugs from getting into the pots and laying eggs there. Does anyone have experience with that?


texts: Please help ID and getting rid of this weed or grass

texts:
This started growing in areas where I added new topsoil and planted new grass seed; likely from seeds infiltrated in the soil or the bale of hay. If left untreated, it will grow up to 3-4ft. The stalk is sturdy and more flat than round.

Will I have to nuke everything including the lawn and re-seed? :( Or is there some sort of selective herbicide the I can use on these?  Any help would be appreciated. I tried tenacity but we are two weeks in now and it didn't help.


texts: Is it possible to use micro-sprinklers to irrigate the lawn?

texts:
While trying to solve the same problem I’ve inquired before — using shrub sprinkler heads in drip-irrigation system to water narrow side lawn — I am coming to realisation that even if pressure is enough to use them, 13 mm mainline drip tubing could simply not be able to provide enough flow to supply three or four of those at once. So I am looking at alternatives.

One such alternative I am considering is to use drip-system micro-sprinkler heads. They seem to be able to provide enough coverage (some of them can do up to 6 m (20 ft) radius), and with flow rates of 50 to a 120 litres per hour (14‒32 U.S. gph) should be able to deliver water at a rate of quarter to a half that of a shrub sprayer.

In theory it seems like a viable solution, if I simply set them to run, say, three-four times longer than conventional sprinklers to provide enough water. But I had been reading books, brochures and articles on micro-irrigation for a few days now, and hadn’t seen any specific recommendations for that application. I’ve seen some questions like that been asked on gardening forums, but either links were broken, or no useful information were present.

So, is it possible to use above-ground micro-sprinklers to irrigate small sections of turf lawn? Is there limitations on soil penetration by this method of water delivery? Are those sprinklers sturdy enough to withstand relatively heavy use over at least few seasons? Would more drought/resistant grass species be required? How does grass hight affect this type of irrigation?


texts: What do I need to kill Canada Thistle weed?

texts:
I believe that this is what the weed is called, here is a picture

It is very invasive and I don't know how to kill it. I tried Weed b-gone but it only kills the leaves and does nothing else. It's hard to root it because its root are deep. I live in Canada and there isn't that many chemical options to get rid of this annoying weed. However I will be traveling to North Carolina for xmas and I was hoping to get something to destroy this weed.

What product do I need to get to annihilate this weed? I have this weed in my moss garden and grass. I also have a dog, so I am hoping for something that will kill this weed and not harmful to my dog in case she eats the product by accident.


texts: Bonsai related - Moujean Tea vs Fukien Tea (are they the same?)

texts:
Are they the same or in the same family? even the fruits look identical... and their branches and plant shape are the same too... I was given a bonsai and thought it was Moujean Tea, but after spotting the same plant all over Singapore as weed, I decided to pay the plant nursery a visit and they labelled it as Fukien Tea...

Nashia inaguensis (commonly referred to as Moujean tea, Bahamas berry, or pineapple verbena)

Carmona retusa (also known as the Fukien tea tree or Philippine tea tree)


texts: What is this purple flowering ground cover?

texts:
We bought a house in the winter and once the snow cleared and things started growing, we noticed this low laying plant covering large sections of our lawn. It is mostly in the very shady areas and completely takes over those areas.

It is nice to look at, and where it is there is so much shade I would need to plant a shade grass. I don't mind it, as long as it stays in place and doesn't try to take over the rest of the yard.

EDIT I live in Minnesota so I get lots of ice and snow (most winters).


texts:
I'm attempting to grow some Sequoiadendron giganteum (Giant Sequoia) from seedlings I received from a friend. I plan to bonsai them, since i don't really have the need or space for a 300ft tree.

The 2 that had leaves were green and awesome when I got them. I put them under a 480 Lumen 5000k led lamp at about 3' above, and near a heat register. I gave them 12 hours of light, and they started dying. Obviously, they weren't happy.

I have 3: #1 is still sprouting and is difficult to judge, #2 has 4 leaves and is now mostly black in the stem and curled over, and #3 has 4 leaves which have browned a bit and the stem has a small amount of brown and curling towards the top. It has 4 new leaves that haven't turned brown yet, but the top is now at 90deg from vertical.

So, realizing there was obviously a problem, I started attempting to mitigate the situation with the following:

I've been keeping the soil moist (not wet) by misting, and have attempted to raise the humidity by setting the pot above a dish of water. It being winter, I knew this could be a problem, but didn't realize how dry it was.

For light, I'm using an 800 Lumen, 5000k led bulb sitting about 12 inches from the pot, that is timed to stay on 12 hours.

3 days, and I'm not seeing any improvement.

My question is: what am I doing wrong? Is there any saving any of these, or should I get some new ones?

Photos:

Thanks for the help.


texts: Is this growing medium good for compost?

texts: This straw-like growing medium was used to grow dhingri (oyster) mushroom. However, due to climate getting hotter here, the mushroom died, and now I am thinking if this medium is suitable for compost bin or better for mixing with soil to ammend? Or I need to just throw away this mulch like stuff?


texts: How close to a mature douglas fir can I place a septic tank and leach field?

texts: I have two mature douglas fir trees (40') on my lot.  How close to them can a septic tank or leach field be placed safely to avoid root invasion?


texts:
Young pawpaw tree (planted last spring as a stripling, so first spring post planting) has damage to bark and trunk.
What could have caused this? Is there anything I can do to help it?
Tree is in a sheltered location in zone 5a/b, from a nursery that provides specifically for this zone. A second tree is thriving. The tree was covered for the winter (possibly a mistake?) Seemed healthy last summer; still too early to know how it is doing this year (possibly just a hint of greening of a leaf bud.)


texts: How should vegetable seeds be sown evenly?

texts:
Whenever I sow seed directly into the garden bed, due to the bizarre laws of physics, I end up with patches of no seedlings and patches where they are growing on top of each other.

I scatter seed by hand whenever the seed is impossibly small to be picking out individual seeds for planting e.g. lettuce.

Is there a technique I can use that results in a more even distribution?

I understand there is a tool available, but I'd prefer not to have one of every tool if I can do it myself.


texts: How do I channel heavy water runoff on my sloped desert land?

texts: I live on a sloped lot in desert country. There is little vegetation on the lot - bushes and small trees. When it rains there is 99% runoff. I want to channel the water so that it does not eat away existing structures. I have earthen (natural soil) ditching now. I am looking for ideas of what to use to remove the water without losing too much cover - with some esthetic appeal.


texts: Hardy edible perennials that are easy to propagate?

texts:
I'm looking for hardy (USDA Z4/Z5; -15F winter lows) perennials (or low maintenance reseeding annuals) that are easy/reliable to propagate either via cuttings, division, or seed. The growing season is short, about 100 days.

Edibles are preferred. Deer resistance is awesome. Biomass production is pretty nifty too.

Elderberry wins a platinum star: edible, hardy, produces suckers (and, as far as I can tell from research, is easy to propagate from cuttings), and apparently doesn't much mind getting mowed to the crown by deer in the winter. (As a special bonus, not invasive in this area either.)

Lupine wins a gold star: easy to grow from seed (even self-reseeds freely), very hardy, fixes nitrogen, deer don't seem to bother them (and they reseed anyway). Not edible (at least not without processing that I'm unwilling to perform). Might have the potential to become invasive, but relatively easy to control.

Peas and oats (part of my favorite cover crop mix) are relatively easy to harvest seed from. Together they produce a lot of biomass and peas fix nitrogen. Peas have the bonus of being edible (more or less; depending on variety); oats are technically edible, but processing is non-trivial. Vetch is nice in this mix, but I've never had luck harvesting much seed; the season may be too short.

Marigolds, cosmos, and calendula are interesting from the perspective that they produce a lot of seed and I could potentially create my own seed mix to broadcast over an area. They're also inviting to beneficials. They're not perennials but are likely to self-reseed once established. (Same story with a lot of flowering annuals; I'm just most familiar with saving seed from these.)

I'm looking for more like these. (Especially if I'm overlooking something that's likely to be present at a friend/neighbor's house where I can take cuttings.)

My goal is to plant an area approx 1.4 ac (62500 sqft, 5800 m2) with a mix of plants -- biomass, N-fixers, edibles, etc -- on a limited budget, over the next couple of years.

(Note that this is the same general location as my stone fruit guild question, but this project is unrelated.)


texts:
I asked here a few weeks ago about repairing a hole in a soaker hose, and finally got around to doing it this weekend.

The initial repair went fine:  I spliced in a section of regular hose and it is working great.  However, when I turned the water on to test, I found a second hole. :(  This one is—so far—resisting my efforts to repair it despite using the same method and parts. I'm getting leaks galore.

These hoses were put in by a landscaper about eight years ago.  They were totally buried originally, but some areas have worked their way to the surface.  Others are still buried and held down by roots that have grown over them. We've had a puppy for the last year who has dug up the hose in a few spots and probably made both of the holes.  They look suspiciously like tooth marks - he probably bit the hose in such a way that one of his canine teeth lined up with a hole that was already there.

My question is, should I keep trying to fix it, or is this hose at the end of its life anyway?  It looks fine, and I would have to cut through a lot of roots to get it out, so I would rather not.  But I also don't want to keep messing with this if the hose is about to give up the ghost.


texts: Does Pachysandra cause algae to grow on the concrete foundation of my house?

texts:
I live in Massachusetts and have a swath of pachysandra approximately twelve inches wide growing against the foundation around my house. It's healthy and produced a lot of pretty, sweet-smelling flowers throughout the summer.

We recently trimmed a section and, as you can see, there's a green substance on the concrete that looks like algae. Is the pachysandra causing that? Is the algae dangerous to the concrete? If so, is trimming the plant enough or do we actually have to dig it up? One of the reasons we like it is because it hides the ugly foundation, so I'll leave it unless advised otherwise.


texts: Identification of plant that caused injury (possibly phytophotodermatitis)

texts: My son picked a leaf off this plant and rubbed it on his face to see how soft it was (bad idea, I know). Within 12 hours he had a lesion with weeping blisters which we suspect is photosensitive. A prescription med and keeping it covered is helping, but we’d  like to know what it is. The leaf is huge - 13cm wide and 38 cm long. It was growing in an old hay field in eastern Ontario. It does not seem to be Wild Hogweed or Parsnip. Can anyone help identify it?


texts: What is this interesting weed growing in a yard in Northeast Ohio?

texts: I wanted to see what it grew into. It's really a pretty interesting plant, about 6 feet tall with a plume of flowers at the top. These pics are from several years ago and I've discovered this thing is really aggressive if you are stupid and let it grow to full size and spit out seeds. But still, pretty cool looking. I would like to know what it's called and the latin name if possible.


texts: Rosemary plant died but I see new sprouts, should I move them?

texts:
So few months ago I bought a rosemary plant from Lowe's and being in Austin, it's usually been warm winters past few years. With frost and moving it in and out often on my balcony, it slowly turned brown and leaves all fell off but I kept watering it now and then in hopes of seeing new leaves.. That didn't happen but I was going to clean out the pot today and noticed a couple of new little sprouts popping through under the roots. I don't remember seeing any flowers form while it was nice and bushy. Should leave it alone and let it sprout organically or do I clip the naked branches off the bush or would that shock it?

Here's a close up of some sprouts that are growing:


texts: Can blueberries be grown in a raised garden bed?

texts: I am thinking of putting in a raised garden bed in our back yard here in south-west Florida. The soil here is rocky and sandy, and I've been told by more than one person that some things don't grow so well in this kind of soil. We love fresh blueberries, but that is one of the things that doesn't grow as well or as sweet in this soil as they can up north. Can blueberry plants be grown in a raised garden, and if so, what would the minimum depth of the raised garden need to be?


texts: Is overhead watering bad for all flowering plants?

texts: What about ground covers that flower (e.g. dianthus)? I understand that a little bit of an overhead shower is needed now and then but ground covers are just too low and wide spread to be watered from the base so they'll definately end up having wet foliage and flowers with every watering session. Won't that do harm?


texts: What is an issue with Mother-in-Law's Tongue/ Snake Plant leaves getting dried up?

texts: Recently I bought a snake plant which I immediately re-potted to a slightly larger container. Shortly after brown liquid spots started appearing on the leaves as shown. What might be an issue and how to treat it?


texts: How to prevent basil leaves from becoming black

texts:
The attached photographs show a sick basil leaf (which is turning black) compared to a healthy basil leaf from the same plant. The black leaves need to be trimmed to keep the plant healthy. What can I do to prevent such leaves from turning black without using anything chemically poisonous to humans such as pesticides?

EDIT: My Italian dictionary sais peronospora can affect tomatoes as well. I'm not sure if the same fungus/algae can spread to both basil and tomato tomato  plants. Thanks.

EDIT: In response to a comment, here is a better picture of the soil from the garden in approximately March. Not sure what "white mud" is but I guess soil can be quite different based on the types of fertilizer used etc... Thanks.


texts: I live in San Diego, CA. I  have a Plumeria planted about 2.5 ft from a thriving Bird if Paradise.  The Plumeria seems to be at a standstill. Should I move it or take cuttings?


texts: What is happening to my houseplants all of a sudden?

texts:
My plants were doing fine, in fact great. But now all of a sudden, they are all dying. The leaves are drooping and getting brown and black. few examples:

The temp soared to 45c degree here but they were kept in bright indirect light and with a huge tub full of water near the plants for humidity. I have no idea what happened to the plants all of a sudden. Song of Indian, Rubber plant, Monstera, Arrowhead vine, Poinsettia, dumbcane and all. What could be wrong here? I checked roots of some plants, and they are no signs of root rot.

My watering technique is same as before.

EDIT: More pics

Funny thing is that my Lemon Lime dracaena is super fine and growing along with Croton plant. But all other plants are dying.


texts: I found a blue plastic tarp about 6 inches under landscaped area in the front yard. Can I remove it?

texts:
I have encountered a curious situation I'm hoping someone can solve.
When I started digging a hole to plant a young bush in my front yard, I saw 1-2 inches of wood chip mulch, then a black landscaping fabric, then soil, then TWO MORE layers of landscaping fabric, then finally a blue tarp that looks thick and possibility slightly water proof.
My question: What is the function of this tarp?
There are trees and other bushes just a few feat from where I dug. I can't imagine these plants rest above the blue tarp. So the tarp can't be sealing off that whole area. But could it be there to control/guide the surface water?
We are in upstate New York, in a forested area on the slop of a rocky hill. The landscaped yard is higher on the slope than the house. There's a french drain right below the area, before the house. Here are pictures:

Closeups of the hole and the tarp:

In case it helps, something similar was asked here before and everyone said remove the tarp but someone suggested it may have been put there to control the surface ground water. Here is the conversation:
What's the function/purpose of the waterproof tarp a few inches beneath the ground in my yard?
I appreciate all help and clues! We moved here recently and I can't find out who did the landscaping. It's possible that it all was done many years ago.


texts: What can I use a bag of sterilised loam for?

texts:
At the back of my greenhouse I have a bag of pale brown crumbly earth labelled "Sterilised Loam". I'm not really sure what sterilised loam is. I never bought the stuff and I can't remember where it came from. It must have been there for years.

What use can it be put to, within the greenhouse? Is it any use for seedlings, pots etc? Does it matter that it's been hanging around so long?


texts: Can you recommend some small plants for my new office?

texts:
I am basically setting up a new office and I believe placing some plants will smoothen the work there and help get rid off boredom.

Can you guys suggest some plants or setups that could make my office lively? Any common or useful tips would be warmly welcomed.

Office information:

The office is at Kerala, India mild moderate climate and facing east.
It got large windows and doors made of glass and sunlight is plenty available through out the day.
It is windy there most of the time and gets enough air throughout the day.

I'm looking for small plants that could be placed on desks and windows.


texts: What are these divots (holes) in the mulch?

texts: These dents, divots, or holes recently appeared in the mulch, located in a covered area next to the house and deck. The holes look like inverted cones and are an inch or two in diameter at the widest part. There isn't any obvious insect activity. What are they, and are they cause for concern?


texts: My lawn has many kinds of grass, with no Bermuda. How can I get a consistent look?

texts: In my central Pennsylvania lawn I don't have any Bermuda, but I do have two or three types of grass. They're all different shades of green and grow at different rates. What's the best way to get a consistent look?


texts:
My lemon tree leaves are deformed and some have holes (see pictures).
Any idea what is causing it, and how I can stop it?


texts: What are these seeds from China, that are supposed to grow tea?

texts:
I bought these seeds online thinking they were supposed to grow tea. The site I used said they came from a farm in China. They look random and strange to me. They remind me of a cereal I used to eat, called Honey Nut, which had a frog on the box.

They look like they were once good quality, but some have broken up. I'm scared to plant them yet, until I know what they are.


texts: I think it's a peach tree if it matters. Most of the top branches are dead, as seen in the picture. The only live branches are sprouting very close to the gound. Is there any way to save it and get it be a normal tree, with a trunk and branches above, not branches sprouting so close to the ground?


texts: We found this tree in Southern Illinois a few miles from the Kentucky line. Can you identify this large-leafed tree? Here's a photo of the tree and of a dried leaf.


texts:
I live in Austin, TX. I have a rubber tree plant that's about five years old. It's not in good shape and I'm having trouble getting it healthy again. A few years back I overwatered it and the whole plant turned very droopy. Since then it's been a battle to try to get it back to normal.

Almost all the leaves have fallen off the two larger branches. There is new growth but they aren't making it very far before falling off as well.

I have it in a pot with a high drainage soil (Miracle Gro garden soil for cactus, palm, and citrus) but the soil seems to get moldy easily. I've transferred the plant to a different pot and changed out all the soil twice now. Both times the soil had a bit of white powder in it.

The plant bounced back pretty well both times and started growing new leaves. However, both times after the one or two waterings it started getting droopy again and the leaves started turning yellow and dropping off. At this point it's losing a leave or two every day.

These days, I only water it once about ever three weeks with a fairly conservative amount of water. When I do this the leaves immediately start to drop off. The pot has a drainage hole at the bottom.

I can try transferring it again but I don't know how to stop the mold from coming back.

Do I need to use a new soil? New pot? Why is the plant so sensitive to water?


texts:
An irrigation company, in order to get to a sprinkler head and pipe, grinded several roots from my neighbors oak tree. The tree is at least 6' around at the base and the trunk divides into three trunks and one of those again into another. It is on a hill and leans slightly towards my home. The repair was done two feet away from the trunk. All roots were removed 12" to 15"s down and approximately 40"s wide.
I am worried that this tree has been damaged as well as compromised and might fall on my home in a storm.


texts:
I've read online that you can compost perlite without a problem, and it actually has some benefits.  I couldn't find information online that says that composting vermiculite is okay.

I know it is generally added to soil and has many benefits, but I want to know if composting is okay and if anything will happen to it during the decomposition time.

The reason I am asking is that I had a small mushroom growing on the bed of vermiculite. It has some mycelium in it, hence I wasn't sure if just putting it into the soil would be good. But also, I am just curious.


texts: How can I stop dead grass clippings from accumulating on top of the live grass, and clogging the mower?

texts:
So, this has been my first year with a yard that I need to tend myself, and I have dutifully mowed it every Saturday morning. The problem I'm finding is that, while I've always heard it's better to just let the cut grass decompose into the yard, it's not decomposing fast enough, I wind up with pretty little lines of dead grass that clog up and try to choke out the mower the following week.

I'm not interested in having the greenest lawn on the block, and will probably never fertilize the grass unless it just gets horribly brown, so I'm hesitant to bag up the grass and remove the nutrients from the yard, but it's getting tougher and tougher to mow as the season goes on and the rows of dead grass grow.

Does anyone have a suggestion on how to handle this conundrum?


texts: how long does the root system on Malabar Spinach need to grow before it will show any growth?

texts: I have a red and a green Malabar spinach, and it seems to be waiting to grow, how long will it likely be before i see any real results?


texts: What is the identity of this plant with violet-colored bell-shaped flowers and red-veined lobed leaves?

texts:
There are several of these in my yard in Augusta, GA, hardiness zone 8a. I would like to know what these are before I mow them all down.

They have violet-colored flowers growing up a central stock:

The leaves are flat on the ground with red-violet-colored stems:

The roots look small and stringy:


texts: What causes a planted seed not have leaves

texts: I started a avacado tree from seed and it is about two feet tall but it only has new leaves at the top of it and the rest is bare stalk. what do I need to do to make it make more leaves.


texts:
I've asked several of these questions, but this is more specific of a tree in my parking lot. I would like to grow this Bougainvillea in a pot in my rooftop.

Here's the branch. Will the branch survive if I cut it and stick it in a pot? I don't want to try this unless I know it will survive.


texts: Converting Allamanda Blanchetii from vine to shrub

texts:
I have an Allamanda Blanchetii in a 16" container that I'd planned to grow as a vine up one corner of the balcony. Only thing, it's not growing as I'd like it to, which I suspect could be due to planting in container. I'd like to try to grow it as a shrub/bush now, preferably in a 12" container. Am looking for some advice on whether it's risky to transplant/down-pot and hard prune at the same time. It's about a year and half old, has a single vine around 7 feet long.

17th Feb, '18: Just wanted to update, post-pruning the plant started sprouting new growth just below the cut, and later some more further below on the stem, where I'd hoped it would. To let the plant grow for now, I'm just twining the new growth backwards on it's own bare stem. Once these branches are spent, I'll prune the main stem gradually down, by which time the lower growth should be able to support the plant. Eventually hope to reach the height that's optimum here.


texts: Bonsai shedding leaves 1 week after purchase

texts:
I bought the below bonsai tree from Home Depot as a Xmas gift for a friend. I haven't even given the gift yet and the leaves are already starting to fall out en masse. I have the tree indoors in indirect sunlight. When it started losing the leaves I moved it to direct sunlight by a window ledge which didn't seem to help. There was no identifying tag on the plant.

This is my third bonsai and I don't want this one to die as well!

Any advice on why this is happening and how to salvage it before it's too late?

I moved it to a more direct sunlit location and leaves seemed to stop falling out so much.


texts: Saving a blueberry bush that lost all leaves

texts:
Earlier this year I bought a small blueberry bush at a local garden store. Since it was written on the attached note that it can grow in a pot on the balcony without a problem, I bought bigger pot, some recommended soil (I used 'rhododendron soil' with a pH value of 4.6) for it and planted it there.  At the time that I bought it in late spring/early summer, it had a surprising amount of branches and berries on it, considering it's size.

Things went well for two months or so, I kept it in a half-sunny spot on my balcony (I live in southern Germany) and watered it carefully with tap water, since I was worried about drowning it. Every two weeks or so I fertilized it with a bit of the general purpose fertilizer I use for all my balcony plants (7% nitrate,3% phosphate,6% potassium oxide, smaller concentrations of other stuff).
At some point after these two months I noticed that its leaves had started to get brown, dry spots. I assumed the heatwave at the time to be the cause, so I moved it to a more shady place and watched it's moisture level more carefully. Nonetheless, more and more leaves turned brown and eventually were thrown off.

Since I assumed that lack of water could not be the cause, I was worried about having overwatered it after all, so I took it out of the pot and had a look at the soil and it's roots. While the soil was moist, it didn't seem an alarming extend to me and the roots were alive and firm, large enough in number and with still some space left in the pot for them to expand.

A friend of mine that I often talk about gardening stuff with suggested that the bush simply had too many berries to maintain them all, leading to this situation.
Over the course of the last week all the berries and leaves dried up, I removed them since these seemed a hopeless cause to me.

The stem of the bush still looks green and lively, and cutting one of the outlying branches showed that despite a dry outside, the inside is still firmly green and juicy.

Is there hope for this bush to survive and eventually grow new leaves?
What can I do to help it?

Additional information:
Water pH-value: 7.73
Water hardness: 15.6 dH, 2.79 mmol/l


texts: What should I do with these young tomato plants in the middle of august?

texts:
I have a bunch of young tomato plants (grown from seed since the beginning of May)

But if I'm not mistaken it's too late to plant them out into the yard.

August is halfway through and it's not uncommon to get the first frost at the end of September/beginning of October. I'm in Belgium.

So what should I do with them?

Keep them inside? Grow them under some special light?


texts: What kind of houseplant is this? Long, narrow, variegated leaves

texts:
Got it from a stranger who was moving out of his office. He called it a rubber tree. It's about 3.5 feet tall in a 1.5 foot-wide pot along with another plant. Its leaves are a yellow-green variegation and they're about 6 inches long and one inch wide.

Thank you in advance, I'd love to know what it is so I can figure out how to take care of this guy to nurse it back to health.


texts: What is a fast-growing deciduous tree for shading house in summer? (Long Island, NY)

texts:
My town recently took down a large 80 year old maple tree that sat on the south side of my house.  Unfortunately that tree provided much-needed shade and now I have already noticed very high temperatures in my  house.

I would like to plant a replacement tree - but of course it will take a while to grow.  I have been contemplating a tulip tree, but perhaps there is a better, fast growing tree.

I spoke with the town arborist - he said they would replace it - but likely with a tree that would grow no more than 12 feet high.  He scoffed at my mention of a Tulip tree - but his priorities are not the same as mine - he is concerned for the road asphalt and the power lines - whereas I want my cooling effect.  (I would not plant this on the town right-of-way where the other tree was removed - it would be further on my property away form power and the road)

EDIT

I did find this but am not sure what they mean by "fast".  I do have a tulip tree in another part of my property that grows fast, but nothing to compare it to.

This site seems to be good - I might go with a pecan because it has value other than shade.


texts: I have a golden pothos house plant and I have noticed certain cut marks on the leaves. What's the underlying cause? Is it due to a pest or some bacterial infection?


texts: Heavy sap weeping at base of stone fruit tree

texts:
Location: Phoenix, AZ

I have a 3-in-1 pluot that was grafted onto Citation Hybrid root stock. (i.e. the image shows the root stock.) Around 2 months ago (~ 1st July) it started weeping sap at the base of the trunk and this is becoming worse.

What could be causing this? Is there a way to fix/stop this?


texts:
What is a good way to create a horizontal underground play tunnel?  I.E. through a mound, for children / dogs to play in or someday for storage.

This is a new construction on flat ground.  Large diameter concrete pipes seem very expensive (over £100).


texts: Is this a sign of some disease or insect damage? (Piel De Sapo plant)

texts:
I tried doing some research into what might be causing the damage, as the vine is also damaged slightly. I looked around the rest of my garden and the winter melon and hairy melons are growing perfectly. The pumpkins are also growing without a problem, so I am at a loss to why the Piel De Sapo is growing at a sub-par level.

I believe it is some disease but I haven't had any experience with growing this type of melon. There isn't much information online  I'm growing this in Sydney, from a melon I bought at Costco Australia.

Any ideas? Or is this just basic insect damage? If it is insect damage, then does anyone have any ideas on what I can use to deter these insects?


texts: Transparent/white goo on the back of lemon tree leafs

texts: The tree has been outside during the summer, since a few weeks back I took it in. A few days back I noticed these strange things attached on the back of 20% of the leafs. What is it?


texts: Why does my green giant arborvitae have so many buds?

texts: I have about 10 green giant evergreens and only one of them has what I call large buds on the tips of the branches. Why only this one shrub? Some branches are so loaded that they are drooping?


texts: I have a Woodshark 1975, serial number starting with 02224D and with a display number 38CC EM. How do I find which variety of chainsaw I'm dealing with? I'm looking for a replacement bar, oil cap, gas cap, air filter if it matters.


texts: I'm trying to identify this small bush or tree in Lake Placid Florida

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Anybody know what this is? Seems to grow thick, fast and well in this very sandy soil. but not sure I see any that are very big or mature.

did some searching and wonder if:
Gray sallow? Basket Willow? Cuban Jute?
Wonder how big and thick it grows?


texts: Why are my spruce trees' very long leaders bent over?

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I have 3 Black Hills Spruce and one Australian Spruce with long Leaders.  Two of the Black Hills Spruce are bent over.
1.  What causes this?
2.  What can I do to help the tree?


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I have planted around a month ago several small plants of cabbage, broccoli, kales, and arranged also a raised beds for herbs.

1: Pests. Lately, I noticed that most of the plants had been bitten, some of them almost destroyed. I took some measures to keep slugs away, having caught at night many slugs hanging around.
Now, it seems that slugs are not as numerous as before, but little holes still appear on the leaves. I uploaded some photos.

How to figure out what is attacking the plants? What should I try in order to get rid of it?

The big damages you see in the photo has been produced before the slugs were kept away, the little holes came up later.

2: Fungi. Another strange issue is that this morning some clusters of fungi appeared on  top of the compost in my raised beds. Is that any good? Should I get rid of them? How?
It can be of help knowing that my beds are filled with cardboards at the bottom, a layer of prunings (mainly small tree branches) and hay, also there is some nettle and on the top some coffee-grounds have been crumbled now and then.


texts: What are these red cocoons in my trees leaves?

texts: The tree In my garden as lots of red cocoons on its leaves, I assume these are insects, do I need to be concerned or are they harmless?