texts:
I asked a solarization question earlier.

BUT

I'm not 100% on exactly how to do it.  It's the first time I've heard the term and seemed to me that it mapped my frame of mind and didn't use chemicals.

Can someone explain to me how to do it?

Do I just spread out some black plastic sheets on the ground I want to 'solarize' and get on with it?

Do I seal the edges of the plastic to prevent heat from escaping?

I hope this question isn't too fundamental.


texts: Should I be worried about this leaf residue?

texts:
I recently bought a bonsai tree, and today I noticed a white residue on one of the leaves (see photo). Is this some kind of normal plant thing, or is it a disease or fungus that I need to deal with?

Some context in case it matters:

The tree sits in a window that gets a little bit of sunlight (best I could do), with a grow light hanging over it.
I watered it five days ago and have checked the soil daily since, but it hasn't seemed dry enough to warrant further watering. (Could I have overwatered it on that one shot?)
It's a fig tree of some kind.


texts:
I just noticed my cactus has these dark spots and it seems to have passed it on to one more of my plants.
Does anybody know what is it and what I can do to save them?


texts: Is the pictured seedling a Sycamore or field maple?

texts:
I recently dug up a 3 year old self seeded specimen from my garden that I intend to bonsai after I move house. I originally thought it was a field maple (Acer campestre) but am starting to suspect it may in fact be a sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus).

Any help / confirmation of the species / variety would be very much appreciated, as I know sycamore can be harder to achieve leaf reduction.


texts: Small Baby tree growing its roots right next to the base of my house. Should I be worried?

texts: Should I pull out the tree? It stands at roughly 10 feet tall. With green colored branches. The stem of the tree is indeed brown and wooden. I have no clue how deep the roots are. Will the roots damage my home?


texts: What plants are these dwarf coniferes? How can I improve my case?

texts:
Can anybody help me to identify these plants ? Or recommend me something similar?

I am trying to fix the below. Suggestions are welcome (what you see below was done by the previous owner-this is a last year picture)

Update: I am thinking about adding something to the existing group of shrubs to balance the composition and to add unity. ❷ from above my add unity if planted the same way among and around the existing trees while adding ❹ in the space at the the end of the group of tree that is closer to the viewer may add balance


texts:
I've often seen paths in parks that are made up of a yellow looking sort of material. It doesn't get your shoes muddy and appears to let rain soak right through.

Does anyone know what it is and how are these built?

Example image of what it looks like
https://www.flickr.com/photos/eutouring/38400363916


texts:
I have a volunteer melon vine (it looks like cantaloupe) growing at the end of my garden area.  I chose to let it grow out of curiosity.  It's now producing a number of healthy looking fruits.  However, it's also invading my tomato plants and my lawn.

How can I most safely prune the vine to prevent it from continuing to invade my yard?  I don't want to hurt the health of the existing fruits, although I don't feel the need for more fruit.

Can I simply cut the long and/or troublesome vines? Is it important to let some of the vines continue to grow and leaf out for the general health of the plant?

How far from the base of the plant, or the nearest fruit, should I prune?

Or should I avoid pruning all together (google disagrees on this), and just redirect the vines that are competing with my tomato plants, and mow around the ones in the yard?

Perhaps installing a trellis or other climbing structure for the vine would be preferable?


texts: I planted mixed wildflower seeds and thisvis what came up. The stems are about18" tall right now and are stiff and fuzzy. The leaves are wide and green. There are no blooms yet.


texts: Nursing my green buttonwood back to health

texts:
What is eating my green buttonwood? I have included pictures below to show what I mean.

I have seen what appears to be tiny black dots on the tree, but I haven't been able to get a great photo of them.

What can I do to get my tree back to good health?

The tree is planted in my yard, which is in South Florida. Thanks to the great users here for suggesting that I take a picture at night. I was able to get a good shot of the bug that is eating my tree.

I ended up using sevin spray on the leaves and I put Diatomaceous earth on the ground below the tree. I haven't seen any weevils in a few days.


texts: Losing money fast! How do I stop the leaves dying?

texts:
These Crassula ovata plants were given to my other a few weeks ago. I didn't pay any attention to them until today. I think they were all green when she got them. They were left outside in the frost, rain etc. I see a few green leaves on some of them. I took one out and the roots looked okay.

I'm thinking that I need to repot into cactus mix with one pot per plant.

Not sure if it were too much water, or what was the issue.  The plants were all kept outside prior to her receiving them.


texts: Can anyone give advice related to growing an Ayurvedic Herb Garden?

texts:
I'm currently growing a few herbs and spices in pots on my terrace using Natural/Organic gardening techniques. Turmeric, Basil (Tulsi), Lemon-Grass, Omum are few herbs.

I'd like to transition to growing Ayurvedic herbs on a larger scale in future in Southern India. The best thing is to ask people who've already got full-blown herb-farms.

What problems/solutions did you experience in real-life situations?
Do you need totally different techniques when going from a terrace garden to a farm?

Any pointers to people/websites/books/resources to help transition from being a weekend hobby terrace-gardener to growing herbs on a farm would be most welcome.


texts: Should Camellias bloom in the northern hemisphere in early October?

texts:
I had a Camellia japonica 'Sweet Sensations' open two blooms on Oct 7, and a C. sasanqua 'Setsugekka' open two on Oct 10, with many more blooms to come. The temperatures here in Texas are still reaching 90 °F.

Neither flower is remarkable, except both have perfume, very unusual for Camellias. (I am not computer literate so you would need to lookup pictures on the net .)

Are Camellias blooming anywhere else yet?  Most of the time I am hoping a January or February freeze does not kill the C. japonica buds before they open.


texts:
My aloe plant is currently browning a little. I reported it about six weeks ago into a cactus and succulent mix. I separated some of the aloe pups to grow, they’re currently doing something similar to this problem also. I’ve attached a picture of the leaves below. Any ideas? I’ve had it in a warm area, in indirect sunlight and been watering the main plant infrequently.

Ideas/suggestions greatly appreciated!


texts: What's this bug drilling into my raspberry canes, and how upset should I be?

texts:
When I went out to water my raspberries this afternoon, I saw the back end of a little bug disappearing into a hole at the top of one of the canes. Here are the holes:

And here's the bug:

It's about 3/4 cm long, with a narrow waist like a wasp (but not as long as a blue mud dauber), and iridescent blue. I'm pretty sure they burrowed in, because there's a little pile of what looks like sawdust underneath, and the fourth cane didn't have a hole (not did any when I bought them).

I'm in the mid-Atlantic USA.

What are these little beasts? How bad are they? What can I do about them?


texts:
I am looking at building a small NFT system to test the viability of growing lettuce commercially for local consumption.

Investigating options for NFT. Right now I am looking at using 3"-4" PVC or ABS pipes.

When I was checking prices on these materials, I noticed a 4" x 2" eaves trough made of PVC. The flat bottom would be better suited to an NFT system, but I am not sure if this will be deep enough to grow the lettuce properly.

I am looking at growing Romaine and Butterleaf mostly (Though this may change).

Thanks in advance


texts: Should I cut these roots on a potted holly?

texts:
Shown are the roots of a potted holly tree. Should these roots be cut before planting? How agressively should I remove roots? I do not want to kill the plant.
What about those thicker roots? Some in this lot of plants have a really thick woody root along the edge of the root ball.
Thanks.


texts: Dianthus, please identify the species... Dianthus barbatus or chinensis? Or some other?


texts: Plant Identification - Long stalk, purple flower, growing in grass

texts:
Can anybody please help me identify this plant? A number of them were growing in some unmown lawn here in Ireland.

Initially I thought it was a type of speedwell, but I'm not so sure.

Thanks!


texts: Are these insect eggs from Rosy Apple Aphids?

texts:
It's that time of spring when all the bugs start coming out and the battle begins to protect my apple trees. I sprayed with a dormant spray earlier in the year but it looks like something is laughing at my best efforts still. Initially I thought it's Rosy Apple Aphids but I'd appreciate a second opinion since I'm not seeing the tell tale curling leaves. They are not widespread, I did a pretty thorough inspection of the trees and this is the only one with these eggs on them.

I'm in North America, hardiness zone 6.

For scale:


texts: How much and how often do I have to water my potted plants?

texts:
I have several potted plants. But my question is relate to general fact rather than about specific plant.

Do I have to water my plant when the top layer gets dry? I mean, I wake up in the morning and water my plant, which has dried soil by then. By noon the top soil again becomes dry. Do I water them again or the next day?

My pots vary in size from very small to medium an few big. I fill every pot 1-2 inch with water. Conditions are neither too hot, nor too cold.

Some of my plants are Ponytail Palm, Bamboo Palm, Norfolk Pine, Dracaena, Snake, Lime Plant, Sago Palm, Weeping Fig.


texts: What does it mean if my tomato leaves are curling?

texts:
The leaves on my tomato plants are curling up and I'm wondering if they are getting enough water. The leaves are still green and there are tomatoes on the plant, but I didn't know if that was a sign that they were not healthy. I usually give them a good soaking every 2-3 days, but it has been really hot here in Georgia. We got a good rain last night and they were still curled today.

I've got three varieties and the Black Plum is not curling, but the Cherokee Purple and the Sweet Tangerine are. The Black Plum is planted a short distance from the other two.


texts: How to make a moss pole with stuff other than moss?

texts:
I have bamboo sticks which I want to use for my climbing aroids.

The moss - absorbs more water than peat and is a good medium for aerial roots. It is, however, hard to find in my area, so I must find something else.

Alternatives - What about rockwool, sawdust, sponge, old cloth? Sawdust is harder to tie to a pole without a net, so this is a last resort solution. Also, constantly looking for old sockings and pantyhose to contain the sawdust is not practical and may appear kinky to others. I prefer my poles be built out of standard materials.


texts: What is this bug, and how worried do I need to be?

texts: This creature was on one of my tomato plants. I saw only the one. What is it, and do I need to be worried about it?


texts:
I went for a vacation of 4 days and when I came back I found my Oregano drooping.
Before going I watered it very, but, still it didn't work.

Same happened with my mint as well.

Both the plants are not dying.

How can I save them?

Some of the oregano branches looks like they are broken. Should I trim them? I already watered both the plants. Looks like they are doing well till now.

Should I cover them in plastic and put in shade ?

Anyone any help ?

Here is the photo


texts: What is the best way to over-winter bananas?

texts:
The new house also has a couple of banana trees! What is the best way of over-wintering them? I am in USDA Zone 8a and we've just started to get frosts.

From the research/asking around that I've done, it sounds like there are two main approaches: dig them up (like dahlias in the UK); or cut them down and cover them up with leaves or burlap.

One tree is pretty small - less than six foot including leaves. The other is much taller - well over 12 feet with leaves. This latter one is already showing signs of frost damage and it is also too big to dig up - and even the smaller one might leave a large hole (I don't know how big the roots are).

So covering them up sounds the best approach. How far should I cut them back? To ground level? To a few feet? They're pretty hefty: Is there a recommended way of doing this? Time to sharpen the hatchet, or learn how to use a machete?  (the latter would give the proper tropical feel to the exercise!) It might seem an odd question, but is there a particular way of burlap wrapping? Multiple layers, or just string & sacks?

I'm assuming they are a hardy variety of banana, but I really don't know if they are plantains or sweet bananas. The large one would imply they've been over-wintered before but my experience in Costa Rica is that bananas can grow very fast in the right conditions.

Although it would be very cool to have fruit, I think I'm resigned to them being purely ornamental plants - I understand they require a frost-free winter before they will have any chance of producing fruit.


texts:
I’m trying to get into some home grown hydroponics, to grow some tomatoes and chilies fresh over the winter (without having to import them). I’ve used a kit before to grow basil and this used one solid container filled with water which needed topping up occasionally.
I’m trying to put together the pieces to replicate this on a larger scale for tomatoes, but I keep seeing saucers and plant pots with drain holes. My question is, why use a saucer with a plant pot filled with water? Will the water not come out of the bottom of the plant pot, into the saucer and overflow out of the saucer?
Should I keep hunting for non draining plant pots?
I’m currently using old mugs, plastic nets and some clay beads grow medium, with the water and nutrients in the mug at the bottom. So really I was hoping to do the same but with an actual plant pot.


texts: Is it possible to graft fruit/flowering trees onto a well established jacaranda tree?

texts:
I have a large jacaranda tree in my front yard (perhaps 30-50 yrs old). I recently pruned a few branches that were about 2" thick. You can see one fresh cut in the picture below and there are a few more in different places.

Now all of these are within an arm's reach and I was wondering if it would be possible to graft a scion from a fruit tree or another flowering tree onto each of these new stubs. Normally, grafting is done between "similar" plants. The wikipedia article on rootstock says:

  The rootstock can be a different species from the scion, but must be closely related.

But how "close" is close enough? Same genus/family/order? It might be easy to find similar flowering trees to jacaranda, but is it possible at all to graft any fruit trees onto this?

I haven't set my mind on any particular fruit/flowering tree and this is more of an experiment rather than wanting to actually grow something for consumption (if it works, well and good!). If it matters, I'm in Southern California, so there really isn't any winter to speak of and temperatures hardly go below 8-10 ºC (46-50º F).


texts: Aquaponic water used as nutrient mist for aeroponic growing system

texts:
I'm planning a home growing system combining aquaponics and aeroponics and am trying to understand if I can find another use of the aquaponic water setup and specifically for aeroponic systems with either misters or sprinklers.

Do you have experience with such hybrid systems?

Thanks in advance!


texts: What to do about mealybug infested soil?

texts: My plants (basil and mint) were infested with mealybugs. Nearly all of them perished (despite application of neem oil) and I am left with several pots of soil that have not been growing anything for several months now. Since the soil has not been growing anything for several months now, won't the mealybugs that were present in the soil have died off? Can I safely reuse the soil for growing now? I have also poured boling water into the soil to try killing them off too.


texts: Why did my Crassula Ovata sprout a new plant from the middle of the leaf?

texts:
Check out what I found on my Carssula Ovata this morning:

And the back side:

The leaf looks dry/dead because the plant suffered a severe burn from staying in a closed greenhouse in early spring (about 5 months ago).

I guess the new plant sprouted in the middle of the leaf due to some interesting process related to the tissue damage. Have you ever seen anything like that? How is it even possible?


texts: Is it a big deal if the upper parts of papaya roots are exposed like this?

texts:
Water washes away the soil around papaya roots, leaving their upper parts partly exposed, like this:

Close up:

The tree in the photos is the most serious example I have. Yet it seems perfectly healthy, even though the roots have been like this for months. Is it a big deal? And whether yes or no, why? In the beginning, I tried packing earth around them, but the earth was so loose that it just washed away again quickly with the water. Should I do anything, and if yes, what?


texts: Help Identify this Pink Flowering Landscape Plant

texts: This is a landscape plant at my mothers work she wants to identify. We live in upper South Carolina and it's currently in full bloom as of 3/27/2016. I've included pictures of a branch she snapped off. I've tried to included an overall picture as well as a close up of the leaves and the flowers. The flowers seem to be pretty distinct, being magenta, thin, and wavy, multipetal flowers.


texts: When doing no till gardening, is it a bad idea to leave grass to act as a cover crop?

texts: In my sunchoke patch, I'm using grass as a cover crop for no till purposes. Is this a bad idea?


texts: Is this a pepper? A weed? An edible weed?

texts:
I have two similar plants that popped up in my vegetable garden in north Florida. At first I thought they were pepper plants, but now I'm having doubts. I did plant pepper seeds that I took out of store-bought peppers in this area back in the fall. As sometimes happens, nothing came up, so I overseeded the area with beets. Spring rolled around and these plants sprouted. Who can help me identify them?

They both stand about 2' tall, and have very small white flowers with yellow centers. The flowers are held somewhat downward. The fruits done seem to be growing much at all. They're very small, green, and round, and are in clusters of 3-5.

The only differences I see in the plants is that one is multi-stemmed, while the other is basically one stalk. The other thing is that the single-stalk plant has some leaves that are serrated.

I'm trying to upload pics, but having trouble...

Thanks for the help!


texts: Laying a raised lawn above a concrete slab

texts:
I hope you are well.
I've scoured the internet for a good answer to this, but can't find anything definitive and keep reading contrary articles and recommendations.
I have a rolled gravel patio adjacent to a swimming pool. With a little two year old running around, I wanted to create a lawn for him.
Unfortunately, 10 cm below the gravel is a slab of concrete in which much of the pipework for the pool is buried (I believe). I've lifted about 4 tiles in various places to test and I keep coming up against the concrete each time. The good news is, I can raise the area by building a step down down to the pool.
I can probably build a 30 cm high retaining wall and fill with it with fresh soil, giving me around 25 cm of depth for the roots, accounting for the length of the grass having it roughly flush with the edge of wall. Do you think this would work? Should I be worried about anything? Should I put the soil directly onto the concrete or lay anything as a base layer?
I've read in some places that 20 cm should be adequate, but have seen others complaining about lawn failing to establish and dies off in the summer with a similar situation.
The garden is South West facing and gets a lot of sunshine. The property is in the French Alps and so gets a fair amount of snow in the winter in case either of this factors into the matter.
Thanks for any help or suggestions.


texts: Upright shrub/small tree recommendations for south facing house in zone 3 climate

texts:
South facing sites are difficult.  Cold air, already not containing much moisture, is warmed and it's relative humidity drops even further.  So evergreen needles/scales and tree buds dry out.  The roots are frozen so can't make up the deficit.  Reflection off of snow in late winter makes the situation worse.

It's not just the degree of cold, but the length of the winter, and the number of hours of sun.  In Alberta we have about 2000 hours of sun per year, but have below freezing temperatures for about 6 months.  (Our annual average is something like 6 C.  No permafrost, but by February, you wonder...)

What trees/shrubs are candidates to use close to the south facing house in a zone 3 climate with about 6 months of below freezing temperatures.  Candidates should have height to width of 2:1, and have heights that reach 7 to 15 feet.

So far I have found some success with Rocky Mountain Juniper, and common lilac.

In the answer please specifically address south exposure.  I know of many shrubs hardy in zone 2 and 3, but few that will tolerate the above freezing air/frozen roots, 25 C variation between day and night temps of a living next to a south facing wall.

The following do NOT work:

Any of the cultivars of eastern white cedar.  (T. occidentalis) such as Techna, Brandon and Skybound.

Any of the very compact spruce.  Fat Albert, Nana.  Small spruce even in the open tend to sunburn anyway on the south and southwest sides in late winter from direct and reflected sunlight.  Compact spruce have more still air near the needles, and dry out more.

Mugo and Mountain pine seem to tolerate the winter warmth, but mugo is hardly upright, and Mountain typically gets 25-35 feet tall with time.  Both species (Taxonomic lumpers consider P. uncinata to be a subspecies of P. mugo.) are highly variable from seed, with larger mugo grabbing at the eavestroughing.

Ninebarks generally have a bad rep in cyclic temperatures.  They do well in the open in the Edmonton area, but have a lot of dieback in Calgary with it's frequent chinooks, and winter thaws.


texts: The one on the left with purple daisy-like looking flowers. It has bulbs growing near the roots.


texts: How much should I water my cherry tree sapling?

texts:
My good friend's dad helped me plant a cherry tree sapling (about a handspan high) the other day (I don't know what kind). He brought over the rooted pot, dug the requisite 18-24cm depth, and transferred it (soil and all) into the hole. We then made a torus/donut barrier with topsoil, and mulched it lightly. (If I missed anything important that I should have done, let me know.)

My question now is how much do I water this thing? Initially, we flooded it (literally, caused a pool of water in the barrier) as per instructions. I know that cherry trees don't like "wet feet" (or too much water, hence the topsoil barricade), but how much do I need to water it?

I generally spray it with the hose (non-hard setting) for about a minute per day before the sun comes up. Sometimes I spray the topsoil/mulch barrier too.


texts: Viability of tree seedlings with double tip

texts:
This is a somewhat hypothetical question, but:

This little Quercus robur seedling was pulled out during a weeding session. Apparently it’s at least two years old and the original tip was cut off at some point, causing it to develop a double tip/stem.

Admittedly, we have dozens, if not hundreds of healthy and vigorous (and single-tipped) seedlings in the neighborhood (we had a huge mast year), but minor 2 is at an age where she will try to protect every life form at hand, so the debate is whether we will replant the seedling instead of putting it on the compost heap.

Which leads to the question at hand:

  What will be the long-term effect if such a seedling grows into a mature tree?
  I assume it will develop a double trunk. Will there be stability problems? Greater risk of fungal infection or breakage? Other side effects or potential problems?

(Let’s exclude the myriads of reasons that the seedling won’t make it and assume generally favorable conditions and success (even if human-aided) in outcompeting others.)


texts: How do you move bonsai across the US safely?

texts:
I'm planning a move (Colorado->Virginia) at the end of June and have several bonsai trees that I need to transport across the country with me. What considerations should be made in this transport to be sure the trees have the best opportunity to remain healthy and thriving?

I have Procumbens Nana, Green Maple, Fukien Tea, Schefflera, Doug Fir, Siberian Elm and Ponderosa Pine.

Is a moving truck or trailer going to be too hot for them? Would watering them heavily and bagging them before the drive be a good idea? What else should I be thinking of?


texts: What is the carbon content of tree seeds and would they be suitable to balance nitrogen rich compost?

texts:
On top of my garage was a full 2 inches of densely composted material that I presume has built up over many years. Right above the garage are 2 trees that seem to shed hundreds of thousands of tiny seeds. I need carbon matter to balance all the fruit and veg peelings that I create and am wandering what the carbon content of a tree seed might generally be and could I use it instead of sawdust and in what proportions would I add them.

I don't know yet what the tree is but I'm thinking a birch of some kind (small, green, classic leaf shape about 1" long). I'm presuming that the seeds are nutritional dense as it needs to provide the young seedling with a start in life much like the contents of an egg to a hatch-ling. Not knowing what these nutrients are I wander if they will further imbalance the nitrogen levels of my kitchen waste.


texts: Help...my phalenopsus orchid bloomed and looked gorgeous. The blooms are now spent..and the top leaves have started to discolor. Can someone help my orchid???


texts: What is the proper way to harvest Chamomile flowers?

texts:
I have some Chamomile plants that have started to flower and I would like to use them to for tea, but I am unsure of how.

1. When should I pick the flowers?

2. Do they need to be dried to be used?

Below is a picture of their current state.


texts:
I planted butternut squash and this is what has been growing.

They are between 12 and 13 inches long and 12 to 14 inches around at the largest point. They have not turned tan at all. Please let me know what these are so I know how to harvest and process them.
Thanks for any help you can give me.


texts:
Can you tell me what this is please? I tried searching for general descriptions online but I couldn't find anything.  The plant without any flowers looks to me to be the same type.  I only read about daffodils without flowers being termed as "blind" this year, maybe that is something that various plants can do too.

EDIT:
I had used a link to flickr before SE used imgur.com for hosting images. I think I'd moved the images around in flickr which broke the url.  I couldn't find a way to figure out which images I'd originally got posted in this question.  I'm quite certain it was these three.  You can find these and other flower images on my flickr account.


texts: Will Malabar spinach regrow from being cut down to the ground?

texts: When I showed up at my garden patch today the Malabar Spinach plant went missing, so will the plant regrow from being cut down to the ground?


texts: What is this small field plant with a tuberous root?

texts:
This plant was collected in a field South-Central Europe. Assume the height of the photo is 20cm. These are all small herbaceous plants.

The ball next to it is the root. It has small bag-like accessories on it.


texts: Using Pine bark mulch and Cedar mulch together

texts:
I read in many places that pine bark is light weight and heavy rain will wash out the mulch.
Can I use two layers? First layer of Pine bark and second layer on the top of Cedar mulch. So the pine bark will decompose and provide nutrition to the soil and top Cedar layer will protect the mulch and keep it in place.
Is this a good idea?

Thanks.


texts: What to do with the babies of this Echeveria?

texts:
This succulent is drying from the bottom and has developed many babies under it.

Lotus-like succulent. What plant is this?

When I was r-potting it, the babies were really tiny and now they are growing and getting bigger. These pics were taken some days ago and now the plant has lost some more leaves at the bottom and those babies are somewhat bigger.

Should I let it grow? How do I separate them without damaging the mother and babies? And if I re-pot the babies, should I keep the succulent mix mist all the time until the roots develop?


texts: My Cactus has developed an amazing droop - Why?


texts: What's the reason my Bitter Gourd leaves are turning yellow?

texts:
I have planted some Bitter gourds in my backyard, they get 4-5 hours of morning sunlight each day. I am watering them regularly; once I find the top 2-inches of soil completely dry. Recently I am seeing that veins in the leaves are turning yellow first and then the complete leaf becomes yellow and dies off. I found it could be because of a deficiency of P or K, but I have been fertilizing plants with a balanced fertilizer once every 15 days. I have been using Organic fertilizers, but then I used NPK 19-19-19 chemical fertilizer to see if I get instant results. But I do not see any improvement. I also have at the same time given them Seaweed fertilizer for other micro-nutrients, but no luck yet.
Any thoughts?


texts: Bees love these pink flowers. I would like more of them next year - but I need to find out the name of the plant. Can you help me?


texts: What's this submerged, lelly like plant that propagates sideways called or what are similar plants

texts: I ran into a picture of an aquarium that I plan on buying and it contains a type of plant that I've never seen before. I really like it. Does anyone know what it is, or can anyone recommend a similar plant to me?


texts:
I bought some bare root perennial flowers which have some fairly long roots attached.
Should I trim up these roots before planting? As is, the hole will need to be very wide lest the roots be twisted around, which doesn't sound ideal.


texts:
I have been trying to find out what protection will last the longest.

I have seen recommendations to soak fence posts in a bucket of preservative for 24 hours before installing but I cannot see water-based preservatives being long lasting preservatives, or am I wrong?

How to I provide the longest protection from water ingress, insect damage and rot?


texts: I've noticed that putting wood chips around the base of my tomato plants seem to make them wilt, but my eggplants seem to perk up with having them around the bases. Why is this?


texts: How do I get Climbing Onion (Bowiea volubilis) to sprout again?

texts: My Climbing Onion died back while we were away because the plant sitter missed it.  However, this has happened before, and the thing always sprouts again in the spring, but I don't want to wait that long.  Would it be possible to sprout this year?  Is there a fertilizer balance to use (N-P-K), use grow-lights, a heating pad, et al are available to me.


texts: What could be the cause of rust spots and holes on leaves?

texts: What could be the cause of rust spots and holes on the leaves of my Pluot tree? Other trees nearby do not have this. I'm guessing that those rust spots on the left leaf turn into the holes seen on the right leaf.


texts: What are these insects that are swarming all over my Tribulus Terrestris weeds?

texts:
I am fighting a terrible infestation of Tribulus Terrestris (goathead) weeds. On my daily weed patrol, I discovered that several plants were absolutely crawling with tiny black insects. They appeared to be clustering on the underside of the leaves and on the seedpods. I've heard of a species of weevil that feeds on these things. I can't quite tell if the insects I'm seeing match the pictures given there. Is there a chance these could be those beneficial weevils? In which case, I'd be better off leaving those plants alone, so I'd like to know before I dig 'em up.

(Larger version available here)


texts: Red chilli plant, do I have a problem and how do I fix?

texts:
My chillies were growing fine but all of a sudden have started to develop this yellowing (soft/hollow to touch) near the tips of some of my chillies, would anyone have any ideas as to why this is happening and if it's a problem how would I go about fixing it please?

So after cutting open this is what the yellowing chilli loss like


texts: What to do with surplus thuja leaves after pruning?

texts:
We all know that there are tons of thuja leaves after pruning thuja hedges.

Can thuja leaves be used as mulch (perhaps for acid-loving plants, let's say young pines, or vaccinum)? What if they are put in a compost pile?

I've read something about thujaplicin, thujone, and acetic acids as being present in thuja leaves? Are they harmful or helpful?


texts: What comfrey should be used for what purpose?

texts: I know there's a lot of bockings of comfrey, but what one is used for what purpose?


texts: What good websites which list the requirements of various plants?

texts:
This may sound like a weird one, but I am working on a plant ecosystem simulator as part of my research and am looking for property data on various plant species. Ideally, this data would include, amongst other properties:

Light requirements
Soil moisture requirements
Lifespan

Could anyone point me in the correct direction?


texts: How do I deal with neighbors palm tree hanging over my driveway/ cars, when it seems to leak or drop a sappy substance.

texts: My neighbors palm tree is located next to my driveway where we park our cars. For many years ,About 2 or 3 times a year the tree seems to drop a mist of sappy substance that sprays all over our cars. It seems to be water solvable because it does come off at the car wash. How do I get my neighbor to spray the tree to stop the sap from falling or is there nothing that can be done??


texts: What is this powder-like substance on the leaves of my kiwi tree?

texts:
I have a white powder-like substance on my kiwi tree. It always appears overnight and some leaves look like they were burned. I have washed the leaves several times, but it always comes back. What would be causing it? How can I help my tree?

I live in UK. The day temperatures are on average 12 °C, and the nights are 6 °C. I don't think this is caused by cold weather though.

Update 15/04/2017:
The plant was put in standard soil mixed with standard compost, and a few drops of Baby Bio Citrus Food fertilizer, and wintered over in the garden. Four to five weeks ago I added two handfuls of GRO_SURE Farmyard Manure, and two weeks ago I added roughly one tablespoon of Vitax Q4 Fertilizer. Otherwise I haven't done anything else to the soil.

The bark chips were put on the top two weeks ago, they are J.Arthur Bower's Chips. I removed them yesterday (14/04/2017) and I have seen a little bit less of the white substance on the leaves, but the base of the plant has more.

Update 16/04/2017:
Added some macro images.  I put the same bark chips on my apple tree, plum tree and gooseberry at the same time, but I haven't seen the same issue on those yet.

Click on all pictures for closer views.

Update 20/04/2017:

Two days ago I soaked the plant in a mixture of neem, water and washing up liquid, but it looks like there has been no effect on the plant. It looks worse.


texts: Identifying possible causes of struggling peppers

texts:
I'm a little worried about a few of my pepper plants, but I'm not certain what's wrong (or what to do about it).

I got these pretty late in the season this year and they were almost this size when I planted them (about 2 weeks ago now). When I first planted them, a few of them lost some of their lower leaves (Jalepeno - front center, Bananas - back center, and anaheim - back right). The leaves have stopped falling off and you can see that the jalepenos and banana peppers have perked up - I even have a banana pepper growing. However, the anaheim in the back right still looks really droopy.

We've been getting a fair amount of rain, so I haven't been watering with a hose. I check the soil moisture by hand twice a day and if an inch down feels dry I run the soaker hose. Any chance I'm still under/over watering? Anything else I could be non thinking of?


texts: Why is my Meyer Lemon producing orange fruit?

texts:
The tree this came from started as a Meyer Lemon 16 years ago. I got two skimpy years of lemons on my patio. When I moved to a house, the plant went into the ground, with a few lemons. Three years later we had a big freeze that almost killed the tree. The result was the root stock came out and the tree survived. I never got another lemon off the tree.
Everything I read said the root stock should be sour orange, so it should be lemon or sour orange, right. What I got next was these super sweet, thick zipper skin orange fruits. Maybe it is some kind of satsuma, tangerine, type of orange ... but it certainly is not sour, and I like it better than the Lemon it started as. There are seeds in it, so it is not a typical satsuma.
After another freeze, thorny rootstock came out that produces a smaller orange fruit that is tart/sweet, but looks nothing like the other orange fruit. What is going on with my tree?


texts: I have a pecan tree that’s around 100 yrs old in my yard and wanting to pour a 24x24 concrete slab on one side of it, will be adding to the existing concrete in pic, my question is will it eventually hurt or Kill the tree? The concrete will be about 2 feet from it.


texts: How soon / how often can I divide comfrey?

texts:
I planted comfrey last spring (3 crowns) and they grew very vigorously. I did a minimal amount of cutting (pretty much just to remove flowers).

I'd like to propagate them. It's common advice that they're hard to kill (even when you want to).

Is one year too early to divide? In general, is it safe to divide them annually? If not, what is the earliest I can divide and how frequently can I take divisions?


texts:
In Taiwan in winter. This is the only unpruned specimen. fairly commonly grown. The leaf-tips curve upwards. I now think it is likely to be Thuja chinensis possibly 'Globosa'.

 3]3

.imgur.com/cmDz0.jpg


texts: What is causing dark spots on my blueberry plant's leaves?

texts:
This is my first year gardening and it is quite exciting watching my plants grow overtime. My question is that my blueberry plants have these dark spots on their leaves.

Any idea what they are or what I should do?


texts: What is the name of this potted plant with large, dark green, waxy-looking leaves?

texts: I have bought it from an old lady that said it is a rubber tree. It doesn't look like a rubber plant from what I've seen on Google so far. Can you tell me what it is?


texts: Can I use a palm tree log for Hugelkultur

texts: I'm not exactly sure what type of palm tree this is but I was wondering if I could use it for Hugelkultur (burying it in the ground as a form of compost for my plants). I realise some trees (eg. Eucalyptus) are not good for this technique.


texts: Possible to force new growth in Monterey Cypress Tree?

texts: Poorly pruned cypress are abundant.  Is there any way to stimulate growth in the lower portions of an adult cypress?


texts: Is there a way to curb wisteria growth or to trim it quick and easy?

texts:
It is possible to contain growth of Boston Ivy (Parthenocissus) with low votage electric wire. A friend has asked me if something equivalent existed for wisteria.  The low voltage wire does NOT work for wisteria. So What else ? Any tricks or tips to trim or tend this plant easily ?

I was thinking of setting de long and narrow plastic sheet below the edge of the roof, curving the top of this sheet away from the roof, so as to entice the wisteria branches to reach in the air and away from the building.  What do you think ?  Could this do the trick to protect the roof from wisteria invasion ?

Any trick for stunting growth or pruning ?


texts: Wine colored leaf border on a French Marigold, what's wrong?

texts: All the leaves are turning wine from the edge inwards. Not sure what is causing this, and after a long search I found nothing similar. Anybody?


texts: can anyone identify this wild plant from irish pasture?

texts:
i just bought some hay here in the west of ireland. i've discovered this weed and i cant seem to identify it... it has a hairy fibrous stem and what i can only desribe as a flower pod, which i opened up to find a mass of tiny flowers waiting to come out, which i can only assume would grow out something like ground elder or alexanders (horse parsely), however neither of those have a hairy stem as far as i know.

I'm fairly stumped! mainly, i'm trying to ascertain if its safe for horses to eat.


texts: This vine is located in northern Indiana and so far approximately 7 feet long. Surviving with minimal water only because we don't know what it is and if it's worth the attention. It appears to be very healthy and still branching off at the base. Brown stems dark green leaves


texts: How do I pickle wood plugs for inoculation?

texts: I've heard from a world famous mycologist that you should pickle your wood plugs prior to inoculation. What solution should I use to pickle them?


texts: What varieties of plum tree produce small green plums?

texts:
My mom thinks it's a Mirabelle plum tree (Prunus domestica), but those appear to produce orange plums. It's in southeastern Idaho, gets full sun from about 9 AM until sunset.

What do you think?

(Click to enlarge pics)


texts: Why does part of my spider plant appear variegated and the other part does not?

texts:
I have a spider plant. Some of the leaves appear variegated (photo 1) and some of the leaves do not (photo 2, maybe some of the leaves are lighter in the middle, but nothing like the stark green-white contrast on the leaves in photo 1). Both photos are from the same plant. Is this normal? Is it because of genetics or some other thing, like that I recently started giving the plants plant food?

Note that I also have two other spider plants; all three are parents/children of each other (I am not sure of which came from which). The other two appear much more like those in photo 2.


texts:
I'm a first time cactus owner. My flatmate is watering it while I'm out on long holiday, and she sent me a picture showing that the spines are yellowing. I've read this can be a sign of old age, but want to double check that nothing's wrong so we can take action to save my plant.

It has been sitting inside the flat by a window. We live in Southern England, so the sunlight is not very harsh
Since the yellowing started, she's removed it from the window into more filtered lighting so we can figure out what the problem is
The plant gets watered every two weeks with a reasonable dose of plant food. I pour about 100 ml of water on it, which passes right through the loose cactus/succulent soil through the pot drainage; so really we can say the soil gets dampened every two weeks. I don't suspect over-watering.
I've had the cactus for about 1-2 months and am not sure how old it was when I bought it. The spines were definitely all white when I purchased it.
My roommate has seen no other ailments, sunburn, or signs of fungus/bugs on the plant

Let me know if this is anything to be concerned about! Thanks.


texts: Lowering grade under Norway Spruce- will it be an issue?

texts:
We just bought a house with an overgrown back yard. It's a small urban plot- 30' x 15' and there's a 80' Norway Spruce in the back corner. The former owners had some sort of sandy arbor in the back and piled two feet of dirt around the spruce. I'm trying to level what I can, but it means taking up a lot of soil at the base of the tree (but only a quarter of the base since it's in the corner of our property). I just got past the drip line and started running into a lot of roots. I'm worried I'll injure the tree. Can I remove the top foot of soil and sort of... let the roots lie on top? Will this injure the tree?

I've read that changing the grade can really hurt the tree. Thanks for your help! I appreciate if you add your experience so I can better understand the replies.


texts: Avocado not growing at all after 2 months

texts: I've propagated this avocado seed in water for 3-4 weeks, untill at root was about 10 cm long. Planted in soil about 2 months ago, day temp is 20-30c, soil always wet. Is it ever going to grow, or should i try with a new seed ?


texts:
There are a lot of classic rootstocks in use where I live, like SO4 (Selection Oppenheim 4), Chasselas x Berlandieri 41 B, Kober 5BB, but I'm interested in rootstocks in use nowadays in Europe.

What are the most used rootstocks for Cabernet Sauvignon or Muscat Ottonel, for example, in the present times, in places where the soil is average?
I'd prefer examples of rootstocks that give precocity because winters are sometimes hard and the wood needs to be prepared.


texts: How do I get rid of the large cracks in my lawn due to the lack of rain?

texts:
I live in Dallas, Texas and we've been having some pretty crazy heat this year.

I try to water my lawn 3 to 4 times a week so my grass doesn't all die.  My lawn is doing pretty well considering how dry it's been here, but I have been noticing these really large cracks in different places that are due to the dryness.

My friend said that his lawn does that pretty much every year and they will eventually fill in once it starts raining again.

I'm wondering if there is anything I can do to either prevent or lessen the cracking in my lawn.  Also, could these cracks potentially cause a foundation issue?


texts: Cyclamen hederifolium tubers - which side goes up and which down?

texts:
I just received some tubers of winter hard Cyclamen hederifolium and planted them right away. On one side of the (flat) tuber I noticed a kind of spot which looked like it had been cut off before drying. I even saw some dried roots and thought naturally that this side must go down.

Now that everything is planted I thought again and I'm not so sure anymore. I'm asking myself that what if the roots are coming out of the same spot as the growing stem?

What shall I do?

EDIT: I read on the cyclamen.org FAQ (at the bottom, search for 'silly question' on the site) that I should have done it the other way around. Growing point up and convex/even side down. But as they are tubers (like potatoes) is this important? Will they grow anyway?


texts: Is rain water better than tap water for plants?

texts:
Is it better to water your plants with rain water collected in water butts? I mean is that better than water straight from the tap?

And is it just a matter of temperature (presumably plants don't like to be soaked with very cold water (as mains tap water is)? Or are there other factors?

I'm interested in the effects on plants, rather than the separate issue of the cost to the planet of using mains tap water.

See also Does water temperature affect plant growth?.


texts:
Im trying to grow grass on top of small stone rocks. If i remove 2 inches and replace it with top soil will the grass be healthy. See image

Thank you


texts: Is this yellow flower I saw in Patagonia Calceolaria Uniflora?

texts:
I've made this picture:

and I like to know what this flower is called. The picture was taken in Patagonia, Chile. I assume it could be Calceolaria Uniflora, but I'm not sure.


texts:
I don't know whether I should ask this question here or not, but I could not find any stackexchange website related to agriculture, so I found this website most near to agriculture, and I think that there are experienced plant growers of many countries here. If so, please give me proper guidance.

I live in a rural area of India and my ancestors have been cultivating land for many years, and now I am also interested in it. We have done traditional farming for many years, like wheat, mustard, millet and cotton.

Is it possible to cultivate the land as to self-sustain my family and to have a living standard close to that of a doctor or engineer? What should I cultivate and how to cultivate in order to earn self-sustainability as fast as possible?

What steps do I take to reach my goal?

Editor's note: there are parts of the world where growing plants is considered to be farming, especially in rural communities where mechanization is less common. Due to the fact that in more technologized areas of the world farming is considered to be large-scale agriculture and often involves animal farming, I have replaced this term with growing plants in order to reduce ambiguity.


texts: If you have multiple chilli plants in one pot and one dies or you kill it, does this affect the other plants?

texts:
The new growth on one of my chilli plants looks to be healthier than the old growth. More regularly shaped leaves vs strange wrinkly leaves.

I want to cut back a bit of the old growth a bit at a time to encourage newer growth.

The plant is a bit of a runt. The newer growth does not come back in as quickly as the others.

If I accidentally kill it will this affect the other plants? I wouldn't really be able to dig out the roots.


texts: The mint plant I found is too tall, how should I prune it?

texts: I found a mint plant in a friend's yard. It's very tall. There are three individual stalks. One is nearly two feet tall, the other two a bit under half that. The big one is fully flowered. The large plant has no leaves on the bottom half of the stalk. What should I do to nurse it back to health? Should I cut the big one in half?


texts: Do I need to winterize my large rain cistern, and if so when?

texts:
We have a large roof-fed rain cistern, approximately 1500 gallons. Make, model, and material were not obvious to me, though I can look harder if needed. It looks similar to this:

It would be nice to use it for collection of snowmelt, as some of our trees need water over the winter. Also, springtime can be very dry here, so I would like to collect in late winter / early spring for use in late spring.

I don't mind if it freezes solid for a while. However, I do mind if it is broken by freezing.

Therefore, my questions are:

Do I need to winterize it at all?
If yes, when would it need to be winterized? (For example, I could winterize when the average temperature goes below freezing, and un-winterize as soon as it rises above.)

It's in a fairly shady spot in our yard. On the coldest day of the year in our climate (northern New Mexico), the average low is 23°F and the average high is 36. Record low is 6 below. Almost all winter days are sunny.


texts: Mower deck is losing power but the engine stays constant

texts: I have a 2010 Toro MX5480 I’ve got an issue with.  The belt recently shredded, so I went to the dealer and bought a replacement and got it installed with no problem.  This seemed to create a new issue in which any kind of resistance while the blades are turned on quickly slows the blades down to a nearly total stop.  The engine on the mower continues to run at the same constant speed and does not die out at all, just the blades slow down.  What in the world is going on?


texts: Sea buckthorn: Propagating from cuttings

texts:
We are currently on holiday in a region where wild sea buckthorn is very common. We'd like to take some home to plant in our garden, kind of a living souvenir.

The typical method for propagating would be to dig out new shots that have emerged from the existing roots. But apart from it being forbidden or at least morally questionable I want to be sure I get a female plant and males and females grow quite intertwined here. So I'd like to take a few cuttings from select plants.

Various sources in the web suggest different methods, from rooting them in (the local) sandy soil to drawing roots in a jar of water, also some say to take wooden stems, other fresh green ones. Hm...

Now add to this my very limited equipment:
No rooting hormones (some sources say it's useless for sea buckthorn anyway), simply a knife, a few food containers that could stand in as planters and some small plastic bags (the sandwich-baggie-type) if really needed for a makeshift greenhouse. Plus I'm about 1000 km from home and whatever I do must withstand a 10 hours car trip, possibly more if we do a detour.

How would you proceed?

To clarify:

Yes, I know that sea buckthorn loves to spread, I already have a male for pollination and a suitable place to plant it and no, I don't want to go to a nursery, where's the fun in simply buying a pot?


texts: How do I keep my compost bin from breeding bugs?

texts:
I want to have a compost bin but my wife is (quite validly) concerned that it will be a bug factory. We already have a lot of gnats that drive her crazy.

Any suggestions?


texts: Is throwing grass seed without dirt enough?

texts:
I have seen some people throw seed without using dirt. Is it less or more efficient ?

Here is this video here that shows what I am talking about


texts: Why are my anthurium leaves rapidly turning yellow?

texts: My white anthurium had been sitting in the entrance way with frosted glass (and therefore receiving diffused light) from last June to this January (Northern hemisphere). It was doing perfectly fine until I noticed a few leaves falling off last week. I moved it out of the cold entranceway into the living room on a window by the radiator thinking it was reacting to the cold temperatures. I also lifted the pot out of its container and realised it was full of water - clearly I've overwatered it. The next day I noticed brown spots at the edges of some leaves so I moved it to the other end of he room, about 8 ft from the window. Today I can now see the leaves have yellowed almost immediately. Is it too far from light or is the overwatering responsible? I'm really concerned and wondering what I can do to rescue the plant?


texts: Are climate (hardiness) zone maps changing?

texts:
Given some unstable climate in many parts of the world last several decades, are climate zone maps change?
In particular, was there any change in this map recently:


texts: Please help- brown patches on my Dracaena?

texts:
I’m quite concerned about my White Jewel Dracaena, and I was hoping to get some answers if anyone is willing to help. It has brown, rough-feeling patches on many of the leaves. It’s potted in regular potting soil, never been fertilized (I’ve only had it for a few weeks), and receives indirect bright light. I have over 35 plants currently and have honestly never seen this before... Hoping it’s not too serious? I water this guy when the soil is dry. I try to keep it in a decent amount of humidity as well. All of my plants are watered with spring water (with the exception of a few that get distilled!).
You can see some brown spots/leaf tips on the plant, but those were unfortunately present when I bought the plant because it wasn’t really getting much water. I’m only really concerned about the dry brown patches... It seems to be curling at the edges where these brown patches are present. Any input is greatly appreciated!!! :) Thanks!


texts: What kind of infestation and/or fungus do I have in my vegetable garden?

texts:
I have a raised vegetable garden and planted a number of vegetables about a month ago (they were in 3 or 4-inch pots, ready to be transplanted - i.e. not from seeds).  In the past week or two, I've noticed a weird substance on some of them - black kale and brussel sprouts in particular.  I've attached a photo, but the best I can describe it is that they look like small greyish/white sesame seeds.  Maybe eggs of some insect?  But they're very soft - if you touch them at all, it's almost like touching ashes from a fire or something.

My questions are probably pretty typical:

What are they?
I'm not touching anything with them, but is it ok to wash and eat the leaves that look fine (only a few leaves per plant have them, and they are kind of sitting in the middle of the plant (where new leaves come up from) as well).
How can I get rid of them?

I'm a very amateur gardener - if there's any other information I can provide, just let me know.  Thank you!


texts: Should I return dead houseplant leaves to the pot?

texts: I have a hippeastrum which is about 4 years old. When the flowers and leaves die, I've been cutting them off and putting them back into the pot on top of the soil. This is in the hope that they rot down and become compost. Is this a good idea or not?