texts: What is the level of sun on the north side of this railing?

texts:
I am planning some container plantings that will go on the north side of a deck railing very much like this one (in the Northern Hemisphere):
Without the railing, this location would receive unobstructed sun from essentially sunrise to sunset. I am trying to understand how the presence of the railing changes the equation.
I have done some Python simulations to calculate the size/shape of the shadows cast by the railing and pickets (and how those shadows change over the course of the day/year). Those simulations indicate that there is a band of points right next to the railing that receive 4-6 hours of direct sunlight per day. That band is pretty narrow in the summer, but wider in the winter.
My question is whether this is the right way to "count" sun from the plants' perspective. In particular, any point next to the railing gets a cumulative 4-6 hours of sun, but a plant next to the railing is partially in shadow and partially in sun at all times because of the shadows cast by the pickets. Would this change how the plant "perceives" how much light it is receiving (relative being fully in sun for 4-6 hours and in shadow the rest of the day)?


texts: Is there a difference between seeds that are for planting vs sprouting? If so, what are they?

texts:
Title is the question, question is close this one, however there might be more information available specifically for planting.

The price and quantity of sprouting seeds seem to, by and large, have  significant differences, spouting seeds usually are packaged in large orders on a much more reasonable per unit price, compared to one seeds offered at large home improvement stores. The difference seems to be, at least for this retailer, in the farmer/suppliers process deemed to specifically distinguish sprouting from for-planting seeds.

If there is a fundamental difference are there wholesalers for plant seeds?


texts: Why my Hypoestes phyllostachya Baker is drying?

texts:
I've noticed that after a month or so since buying, leaves of my Hypoestes phyllostachya is becoming brown and then dry out and colors are somewhat fading. I keep it in front of a south side window, that is a little bit open and shady. The weather is cold here.I water it whenever the soil gets dried, every week or 10 day. What do you recommend?
Hi again, as you can see in these photos they lost so many leaves during this year, I don't know what's wrong, they continue to grow vertically with just two or three leaves at the top, and while having new leaves, the older ones start drying out.
I kept them in shadow and their soil moisture. Can anybody help please?


texts: Corn already has tassel but not female flowers

texts:
I have 5 corn plants growing on my garden, one of them (the tallest) already has a tassel, and today I moved it a bit and saw pollen falling from it. But the plant has no female flowers to pollinate.

Should I try to collect and save the pollen for when the female flowers show up? Or will there still be pollen when they show up?


texts: My live berry plants have been here a week. When do I put them in the ground?

texts:
I have raspberry and blackberry plants from Burpee that showed up here last week. Yesterday was the first day above freezing here in New Jersey (USA). There is still unmelted snow in my yard, and the ground is still frozen.

I'm thinking it's too soon to plant these in the yard. If I'm right about that, how do I take care of the plants until it's warm enough to plant outside?

Last day of frost in this area is May 5, so I'm still 5 weeks out.


texts: What is this succulent plant with long, triangularly pointed leaves?

texts: Can anyone tell me what type of succulent this is?


texts:
Mornings folks!
I inherited this plant from an office that was closing down.  I’m hoping someone can help identify the plant so that I can look into proper care.
It needs to be repotted for sure as it’s currently a leaning tower.
Thanks so much!


texts: What are the small plants growing in the soil with my palm tree?

texts:
I have a Chamaerops humilis in my apartment, which has some small plants growing in the soil. I live in Denmark, Europe and my palm tree has only been inside my apartment since I got it.

What are the small plants?

Click on photos for full size


texts: Big cactus identification and how long does it take?

texts:
I found these huge cacti in a garden-center, the two on the right. The largest in the back was over 1.5 m in length! They were a little bit too expensive, so I thought maybe start from seed...
What species is this, and how long does it take before they are as large as these? And how to get them this big, is that possible as houseplant, or do you need a greenhouse for this?

Edit: I went back to the garden center, and found names on the labels! The two tall ones on the right are indeed South American cacti. They are called Trichocereus pasacana, a.k.a. Echinopsis atacamensis. So Echinopsis was a very good guess (see accepted answer). The two on the left were Pachycereus pringlei, just like the answer suggest!
The little one between the two tall ones on the right was sold, so I couldn't see what it was.


texts: What are the green stubs growing on my Aloe vera's root?

texts:
I noticed recently that there were two green little stubs growing on my Aloe vera root. I'm a little worried. What are they and is this normal?

Tips were browning a little when I came back from a 3 day vacation, but I move it to a shadier place .
Does not look like a very healthy plant


texts:
We have recently bought Ken's Red type of hardy kiwi (Actinidia Arguta) and we grow it on a balcony. Unfortunately, it has strange spots on leaves.

What could be the reason?


texts: Does wood shop sawdust work well for mushroom casing?

texts: I have a friend with a home wood shop, and he said I can get his clean sawdust for free. Will this make good casing to keep things from drying out? Hay is a common casing for wine cap, so why not sawdust?


texts:
So my veg bed was covered for the winter. After uncovering it I noticed some strange white vine type root stuff poking out. After digging a bit it transpires that these things have grown all over the bed. I've started to empty the bed so I can see where it's coming from. It looks like it's coming from the ground underneath, but can't be sure yet until fully emptied. Can any one tell me what they might be?
I have hedges near by could it be that? enter image description here

[![enter image description here][2]][2]

[2]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/MOfH7.jpg


texts: How can I build a garden enclosure on a budget?

texts:
I need to separate my watermelon seeds from outdoor cats that roam my yard. What could I get for the new plants when they are ready to keep them safe to freely grow?

I could shop at Home Depot or Lowe's if anything knows anything. Something low cost.


texts: What's the best temperature for lavender (Celcious) and the climate in general?

texts: I'm planting a lavender. I'm living in the Philippines, it's like 30°C (86°F) here and I'd like to know the temperature and the weather for lavender. It's currently raining here.


texts: Capsicum leaves are curling and deforming

texts:
I hope you can help me out. I bought this gorgeous capsicum plant (together with other plants) from local garden shop 10 days ago and planted it into my SFG. We are in Western Australia (Perth).
After couple of days from planting the leaves in the capsicum started to curl, initially I thought that to be from the shock of replanting but today I took the below pictures and it does not look good. It affected only capsicum plants so far and one of them in particular.

The plants are being watered 2 times a day and are in full sun. I fertilised with blood and bone 5 days ago...

It looks like the leaves are curling and deforming. The new levels at the top are wilting and very deformed. Same goes for the new flower buds.

Can someone please help.  Is that calcium deficiency? Or do I water to often, it is hot here at the moment. Or is this a virus and I better pul the plug on them? Help!!


texts: less capital intensive hydroponics will these equipment work

texts:
A little background:

I live in India a land where winters are mild and summers typically exceed 40°C. In these very warm summers we use an indigenous device to transform tap water into cool and humanely drinkable water. This amazing device is called Matka and is basically an eco-friendly and silent water cooler.

I read a bit about hydroponics online and decided to give it a run for which I found out that for noobs(like me) the kratky method is a great way to start with. Also another thing I found on the internet is that hydroponics (of all kinds) can be frightfully capital intensive to get started with and so in order to reduce the expenditure on my part I decided to look for ways to make my system cheaper. some of my solutions include:

Using matkas instead of bell jars for water storage
Using coconut coir for germinating plants (I have a coconut tree at my house)
Using random odd bits of stone, debris from used matkas, random pebbles etc in place of those clay balls.

Obviously my question is will a setup with these substitutes work in place of the real thing. If they do not could anyone suggest some better alternatives. My thanks to everyone.


texts: What is this? Not: crabgrass, fescue clumps, quackgrass? Course and bright yellow?

texts: I'm stumped on this one ... as I've tried to compare growing patterns with the forum and it doesn't quite fit the crabgrass. quackgrass or fescue clump category as it's not really concentrated in one area or does fan out from one central root. But the thicker stalk seems to resemble. It shows up as bright yellow on my lawn and isn't spotty, but just blankets sections. On the other side of my lawn it seems to have uniform spread across 80% of my lawn. I've never seen these before in previous years and hoping with the warmer summer coming, it will naturally die off if I can nurture the regular grass to grow more. Help?


texts:
I have poinsettia (Christmas flower) from last Christmas. It has many green leafs.
I have been told that there is a special procedure how to make these green leafs become red.
Does someone know exact procedure?
Is it too late for this year Xmas?


texts: Do pineapples grow more than a single fruit when grown from seeds?

texts:
I read somewhere (here, actually, but it's in Hebrew) that when planted from seeds, the pineapple plant will produce fruit multiple times.

In the English appendix on page 71 it doesn't mention that seeds, but says:

  The plant produces multiple crops. The first crop [i.e. the plant crop], is produced from the central stem. The second crop [i.e. the ratoon crop], is produced on shoots [or suckers] that rise from the side of the central stem. It is possible for the plant to produce multiple fruit [each fruit on it’s own shoot] during the ratoon crop, but in practice, only one shoot is left on the plant.
  The third crop [i.e. the second ratoon] grows on a shoot that rises from the first shoot [that produces the first ratoon].

Is that factually accurate? Everything else I've read assumes it's common knowledge that pineapple plants only produce a single pineapple, and some shoots from which others can be grown, if the shoots are planted.

What's the reality?


texts: How to setup a green house that loses heat but not humidity

texts:
I'm deciding to build a green house to grow some of my favorite plants. My place is quite hot and dry, and water is very precious. My priority is to keep humidity inside. But I couldn't find a solution about that. The normal green houses use fans and open windows to replace hot air with cool air from outside to control the temperature. But I guess ventilation like that means losing humidity which makes it require more water insertion into the green house.

Is there any design or solution for this? Or maybe I'm not considering something here?

update

I guess I should have explained more that I'm more interested not to lose water instead of having a very humid green house. I don't want to face a dried green house that needs watering several times a day.

I thought that a humid air will keep the pots from drying off, but now that it introduces the danger of fungus,  I think an AC will be the best Idea here; Both to cool the air and converting humidity into water for later use.


texts: Can I bring my palm tree/plant back to life?

texts: All of the leaves are dead, but the stems (and I assume the roots) are still intact. What can I do (if there's anything at all) to revive my plant baby?


texts: Do super hot peppers blister as they ripen?

texts: Do super hot peppers like the Big Black Mama and Carolina Reaper blister as they ripen?


texts: Ground cover plant with small purple 5-pointed flowers?

texts:
What is this plant that grows like a weed in my yard (I live in Massachusetts). It has very small 5-pointed flowers which are blooming right now (2nd week in June). The flowers are purple. The plant grows somewhat like a vine and has a tendril, but does not climb very high and it seems to like the ground. The flowers are quite small, about the size of an eraser on a pencil, or slightly larger.

The leaves are simple, opposite and spade-shaped.


texts:
My first scare. I am familiar with new red growth but this. I did just feed a few weeks ago and I am seeing a lot of new growth, new red growth, new green leaves on all my roses. This is a new plant this year and the canes are all small. Noticed last week this large cane all of a sudden. It’s thoenier, big, and even flat. There is a cluster of buds on top as well. I have never experienced or seen RRD. Just online. It is in a pot so I did move it to work away from all my others.
!


texts: Avocado tree leaf covering by brown dots

texts: I have a avocado tree in the backyard. The leaves are getting a lot of brown dots. Is it getting infected?thanks a lot!!


texts: Which root edibles can be harvested in the following years after they are planted?

texts:
I would like to plant some root edibles (is it correct to call these vegetables?) near my house which will either remain a viable food source for longer than a season, or propagate so that there will always be a viable source of food in the area.  I have read that yams grow fibrous after the first year and some onions don't last long in the wild.  Could you give me a list of plants that could fill this purpose?

I live in the south eastern united states, zone 7/8.


texts:
Below is a picture of my lemon tree, which now have some sticky web infection. See left corner on the first picture. On the second picture is a close up of something that is being spread from the infection.

Question

Can someone tell me what it is, and what I should do?


texts: My question is about transferring saplings from water soil in pots

texts: Saplings have shoots after 2-3 weeks & very small roots seen in some cuttings. Can I use a rooting hormone on their roots & transfer into soil now?


texts: Which is this plant with purple flowers and elongated, opposite leaves?

texts: Found this plant in a nursery around Central India. Not sure whether this is an indoor or outdoor plant. Want to know the species and tips about its upkeep


texts:
(Just to be clear, I'm Australian and not entirely sure if that is what everyone calls them, so here is a picture for reference.)

  (The one on the left in the second picture.)

My mum loves ducks and she walled off a section of our backyard just for them. The issue is that over time they ate/killed all the grass. So now their is a thick layer of prickles (about 4-5 mm) covering the entire duck-pen and I want them gone.

The issue is we can't move the ducks somewhere else while we are spraying the prickles. My first and only idea is to just salt the entire area. The issue with this being that

The ducks will turn the entire area into a slosh pit
I don't know the long term effects of something like that.

Is just salting everything the best idea or is their a better solution that me with my lack of gardening knowledge is unaware of?


texts:
I found this insect while looking for bugs in a relative's garden. Its body seems to be entirely white. It has large wings and is capable of flight.

I have no indication it's harming the plant; I just want to find a name for it because it is so beautiful.

Is this picture enough for anyone to identify?


texts: Do Orange and Lemon Trees need annual pruning?

texts: I have a lemon and orange tree in my backyard.  I have apple and pear trees as well which I prune on an annual basis.  I was wondering if the lemon and orange trees need pruning as well and if so, how much should they be pruned back and any other guidance would be helpful.  Uploaded pictures of lemon and orange. Does lemon have water shoots?  Orange trunk is big bit tree is very short 2.5 ft. .


texts: If I leave a light on at night, does this help or hurt the grass?  No particular kind of grass, just grass.  I'm using CFL light bulbs.


texts: Should I be removing the oldest limbs from my palm?

texts:
I’m trying to figure out how to care for this palm. It’s not growing fast, it’s just grown it’s first frond after 2 years in the same pot. We repotted it when we got it 2 years ago.

A few questions:

does anyone know what kind of palm this is??
Should I be removing the oldest fronds as they brown? The young fronds are beautiful and green, but the oldest ones are browning. If so, where do I cut them?
The tips of the leaves are brown- is that too much or too little water?


texts: Moving tomato seedlings outside right after germinating?

texts:
I'm trying to grow tomato from seed. I know it's a bit late. Daytime temps here are consistently 60-70F right now. I know that's not optimal for germination, but it's good for growth of tomatoes.

My question is, can I germinate inside, but then as soon as germination occurs, move the seedlings outside to get full sun and environmental conditions? My rationale is that in this way, I can avoid the process of hardening the plants. The daytime temps seem fine for the tomatoes. Night sometimes drops high 40's, low 50's, but i can move the containers inside if need be during the night.

Is this OK? Will moving the seedlings outside immediately kill them, or will this (as I am assuming) make them hardy and strong from the get-go since they don't grow indoors?


texts:
OK, how to encourage strawberries to runner is a common question, but I am having the opposite issue, too many runners.  I planted a new bed last year, and with first year plants I would generally prefer to allow no runners.  As these seemed especially health and nice plants, I though I would allow 1 or 2 from the lager plants and do the normal pinch/cut for the rest.  I was trying to do so an a weekly basis, but these plants were out of control.  I have plants that last year I cut 50+ runners from and still ended up with 20+ children from.  Some even did crown splits into 3-5 plants on top of send out scores of runners.

This is something some would consider a nice problem, but I live with very harsh winters so really want solid plants.  I likely lost about 1/3 of my plants to winter kill, I assume in part because too much energy went to reproduction and dividing.  I had put in 25 plants each of 3 varieties, and now, even with the losses, I had to transplant about 250 plants to new beds, and have at least that many in the bed where I planted 75.  This is after I cut runners all year last year.  Now, this year, they are barely leafed out, maybe 10% have started to put on blooms, and I am already cutting new runners.

So, my question, is there a way to discourage runners before I need to pinch/cut?  Is this possibly a sign of nutrient imbalance that I need to correct?  The issue was most extreme with one of the three varieties, so it seems to be just an especially proficient variety.  For good, fresh quality fruit the constant snipping is something that can be lived with, but I have tones of other plants to care for, so I am very open for ideas, so if someone can say, hey give them a does of dandelion pollen extract (just to make something up) and they will back off, I would love to hear such ideas.


texts: Help me out with this strange Asiatic lily growth pattern!

texts:
I am currently residing in Delhi (daily temperature ranges from 25°C in the day to 13°C at night). I bought an Asiatic lily plant this year in January and it bloomed around March. After that I left the bulb in the pot and let the stem/stalk wither away.
Around the month of August (during the rainy season) the bulb grew green leaves (the same as in the picture) and I have had them since then. It's November now, all the other bulbs I have are showing normal growth pattern with a stalk coming out and having leaves, but in this particular bulb all I have is a bunch of leaves near to the ground and no stalk coming out.
What can be the possible cause and any remedies you can suggest.


texts:
I've been away for the last two and a half weeks, and upon return I noticed a few of my cacti had developed white fuzzy spots, which were not there before.

In the worst instance, one cactus appears damaged and oozes brown liquid in one spot, as well as something that looks like sweat on the rest of its body.

I watered all of the plants profusely 10 days before leaving (which was roughly 1 month ago), and was sure to remove excess water from the pots. Before this watering, the last time I watered the succulents was 2 months prior.

Almost all of the affected plants are placed in a miniature greenhouse from IKEA. Due to an oversight, I left both top panels closed before leaving, so I assume air circulation was limited.

The plants are in front of a south-facing window, and on sunny days it they can get large amounts of light and warmth, so the lack of air circulation may have affected them negatively.

I read an article saying that the white spots may be caused by mealybugs. It seems treatable but I'd like to understand whether this is actually the cause of my issue and what the best way to treat this instance would be.

My questions are:

What are these white and brown spots on the succulents?
Is there something that can be done to eliminate them and heal the plants?
What is the cause of this issue, how did it spread to so many plants at the same time, and how can I prevent it reoccurring?

EDIT: It seems like this is a very widespread mealybug infestation. I spent today removing as many as possible, but I'm sure there's more. They're on at least 10 of the plants, maybe more. I'm not sure how they've spread so fast and so widely (I hadn't seen any prior to leaving my house 3 weeks ago, though admittedly maybe I hadn't looked carefully enough). Do you have any tips for clearing these entirely?

This is the cactus with white spots and a large brown spot of fluid oozing from one point on its body:

This one has multiple fuzzy spots and some less fuzzy and more defined small white spots:

This one has just one fuzzy spot on one of the tips:

This one has spots all over its body:

In one instance there are spots on the soil:

Two of the cacti outside the greenhouse also have fuzzy white spots. The white spots are new on the one in the first picture, but the one in the second picture has had fuzz at the top for a long time and I'm not sure if it's due to the same causes.


texts: How to keep a detached strawberry runner alive

texts:
I acquired a strawberry runner seperated from the main plant.

By the time I got home it looked quite withered and dying. Since I couldn't plant it right away, I put it in a glass of water overnight. By morning it looked a lot better. Later that day I planted the runner in a pot of dirt and watered it every day.

But it seems to be getting worse everyday, it's a few days later now and it's looking withered and dying again.

What can I do to save it? Would it be better to put it back into a glass of water as that seemed to help?

The runner did have some very short roots, perhaps 1cm long, when I planted it.


texts:
I have a rex begonia (escargot variety) that was just moved to a new location in the house (from a sunny window to under a lit shelf).

I've noticed that it has started to drop very young leaves after the leaf and ~1/2 of the stem turn brown and shrivel.

Is this anything to be concerned about? I would like it to continue growing -- is there a way to encourage the leaves to stay?

It is watered once every 3-4 days (when beginning to wilt), lives in light soil, under medium artificial light, in 70-80F temperatures and medium humidity.

A couple of photos as requested: https://imgur.com/yXOdWaP https://imgur.com/a/SZbwzEv


texts:
I have had a terrible time with my basil.  I do not see any bugs or slugs. Nothing on the undersides of the leaves BUT there are obvious holes from the center of the leaves as well as bites taken out from the edges. I don't know what to do.  I have sprayed the leaves hard with a hose.  I have treated with a neem spray. Help. None of my others herbs are being eaten.

What might be doing this and how can I stop it?


texts: What size, and how far apart, should support posts for a trellis tunnel be?

texts:
I was thinking of building a trellis/vine-tunnel (not sure what it is called). Which I want to grow a variety of edibles (grapes, and maybe some northern kiwi vines) and flowers.

Every species seems to have its own recommended support spacing, but I was wondering what a good generic spacing is for Canada, Ontario (I am sure the tropics produce more dense foliage), as I do not know exactly what will be going on it. Speaking of being in Canada, do I need to worry about snow buildup? Will vines produce such a dense crosshatching that snow would build up in the winter? And what sort of weight should I expect per square foot / meter (are we talking hundreds of pounds per support or thousands of pounds)?

General dimensions might be around 15 feet wide by 14 feet high by 40 feet long.

Never gotten some of the extreme snows some places get in Ontario, but the ground can build up a few feet at times (but I have a few rickety roots with very little incline and have never gotten more than an inch or two build up).

Zone: 6b, I guess. I did not know what this was until a few minutes ago.


texts: What kind of plants will survive the heat from an air conditioner?

texts:
I live on the 18th floor of a building in Hong Kong. In summer, all of my neighbors turn on their air conditioners, which generate a huge amount of heat.

I have a little balcony like gardening area out of my window (see below).

The problem is the heat -- the heat killed most of my plants last year. This summer is coming. Is there any way to avoid the heat killing my plants? I do not want to install a fan to blow off the heat, because construction is troublesome. I want an eco-friendly method, if there is any.

Now, my ultimate strategy is to plant some heat-resistant plants (ideally herbs, fruits, other things that can be eaten and aloe vera). In general, summers in Hong Kong are hot and rainy. The location is sheltered with half sun (it faces east, gets good sun in the morning and the afternoon is normal). The plants are typically grown in pots and should preferably be less than 1m in height.

What kind of plants will survive in this condition in addition to the heat from the air conditioner? The temperature is about 31-32 degree C


texts: my 8yrs old orange tree does not flower at all

texts: I have 2orange trees in my compound the first is about 30yrs and has been bearing fruit regularly but the second of about 8yrs has not even flowered for once what can i do


texts: What to use - seed grown citrus as rootstock?

texts:
I have been growing a "clementine tree" from seed for about three years now and decided that I might want to experiment with some grafting onto it.  So, I went away to try and went way overboard (as is usual). I planted store bought citrus seeds from all of the following in addition to the single clementine plant.  I now have at least five seedlings of each below to experiment with:

1 Key lime seedlings

2 Kumquat seedlings (Nagami)

3 Blood orange seedlings

4 Lemon seedlings

I did not want to use grapefruit because of the much larger fruit and long maturation time.  My questions now mostly involve "what kind" to graft onto "what kind" for a reasonably good result. What kind might be best for the root stock? Can I graft three or four of these together successfully?  I was thinking Lemon/Key lime/Kumquat/clementine together etc. but, I then noticed how many differences there were between the seedlings (vigor, size, and speed of growth). I think I also read that Key limes and Kumquats grow true from seed and bear fruit sooner. Can anyone advise about potential best grafting combination(s)?

I live in the Northeast and will be growing potted plants indoors/outdoors as the seasons permit.


texts: The bush/shrub is about 7' tall and 10' wide. It blooms in april. I have not noticed any berries.  It is in North east Wyoming.


texts: Should I start seeds early indoors in my zone?

texts:
I am a pretty new gardener, this would be my second year. This year I tried starting a lot of hot peppers and eggplants, a lot of the peppers died before showing the first true leaves, lot of eggplants survived, but they are growing really slow, only the tomatoes seem like they are growing well.

I was wondering if it's because I started too early. But I did some googling and saw that for peppers and eggplants they should be started 8 weeks before the last front and I started them probably 2-3 weeks before last frost.

My main concern is that while some days it's nice and warm above 70f/20c, there are still days that it's below 50f/10c during the day and can reach 40f/5c at night, and this is after the last frost (spring is starting tomorrow).

The seedlings go outside under direct sunlight during the day (unless its a very hot day and I move them under the partial shade of a tree after a few hours, or if it's cold outside or too windy I keep them close to a window indoors).

During the night I keep them inside. The temp in the house rarely goes below 60f/15c, unless it was a really cold day and I wasn't home with the fireplace burning, then it could reach 50f/10c. I give them all the same amount of water and light at the same time and protect them from the wind.

I tried two starting methods, paper towel and then moving them to litte 330c pots, and soil cubes. Didn't seem to make any difference.

This is the climate where I live.

This is the soil temperature for the last few days, I am monitoring them to see when it would be good to sow some zucchinis directly outside. The temperature probe is buried about 2-2.5cms, received direct sunlight until probably 1PM then partial shade.

I feel like since I don't have a place with constant optimal temperature for seedlings (I only have an incubator for germinating seeds) and considering the growing season here is pretty long, I would do better starting the seeds later than I am doing it. Like when temps are more stable above 50f/10c.

Should I ignore the suggested starting dates I find online and wait for good stable weather or is it something else I am doing wrong that's killed my seedlings?


texts: How do I know when garlic is ready to be harvested?

texts:
I planted some garlic this spring and I am now wondering when I should harvest it. (I planted them between 60 and 90 days ago -- not quite sure when I put them in.)

I pulled up one the other day and it didn't seem to have a head on it at all, just a stem and a very small collection of roots.

What does the top of the plant typically look like when it is ready to be harvested?


texts: Any tips on controlling Catapodium Rigidum (ferngrass)?

texts:
I'm on the Bellarine Peninsula in Victoria, Aus, and the last couple of summers this species is becoming more and more prolific in my garden beds and lawns. No matter how much hand weeding I do, I seem to spread it more.
Any suggestions on controlling it, please?
Thanks in advance!


texts: How to separate seeds from chaff (husk)?

texts:
I have harvested seeds from Zinnia elegans and Dahlia variabilis and I don't know how to easily separate the seeds from the chaff. I have put them in a bag and shaked it hoping that the seeds will fall at the bottom, but only a few did.

What else can I try?


texts: Frost bite frozen jade plant with no leaves, please help

texts:
I'm  don't have green fingers.
I was wondering if you anyone can help. I'm trying to save my jade plant which has lost all its leaves due to frost bite.

Ive got rid of all the damages  mushy leaves and was wondering if it can survive without its leaves. And what I can do to help it survive and grow new leaves?

Any advice would be great.

Thanks

Sorry no photo. I've tried to click on "add picture" but the photo just won't load.


texts: What can I do for this apple tree in utah?

texts:
What can I do for this tree? It seems to be losing bark and it looks like moss is growing on it. Is it sick?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ufNWtzx8jVPRrE9F_gzgduhhU4bvdNSk/view?usp=drivesdk

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fwrwJY7mK5zdy0no-PZfBUSzovG7IAKo/view?usp=drivesdk


texts: leaves are falling off amaryllis, is this natural or do I cut them off?\

texts: I have an amaryllis that's leaves have started to fall, only one is left still standing, is this natural, do I cut them off?  Thank you so much.


texts:
Please help me identify these white spots/area on my kale leaves and please use the zoom button to zoom in. The photos are high resolution.

My wife doesn't like these white spots which are exclusively on the back of the leaves. So, she ends up throwing these leaves. Can we clean the white spots and eat the kale?

The white spots are on every 4 out of 5 leaves.

Thank you.


texts: Is there anything I can do to promote spreading in my Lily of the Valley?

texts: I have some old Lily of the Valley plants around the northeast corner of my house, and they grow nice and thick around the foundation, but failed to spread into the four-five foot wide strip along the house which I intended them to. The soil is a damp, heavy clay-based soil with little organic matter. It has been three years now, and sometimes a new shoot comes up in the strip, but they do not last long. The strip is an area mulched with premium bark that goes between four and five feet wide, and over 20' long, between the house and a walkway. Is there a way to to make them spread, or will I have to plant more in the area? It spreads quite well for me in nursery beds and under trees.


texts:
According to http://www.ent.uga.edu/peach/peachhbk/fungal/brownrot.pdf

  Wild plum thickets are an important source of spores for both primary and secondary infections. Wild plums bloom
  before and during peach bloom, and the fruit mature continuously from early to late in the season, providing a
  continuing source of inoculum. Removal of wild plums adjacent to a peach orchard is an important sanitation
  procedure.

Unfortunately, I have lots of wild plums which are providing privacy for a place which I sometimes have fires.  I waited 5 years for these plums to get tall and thick enough to provide this cover, now I learn I have to remove them if I'm ever to expect a decent peach harvest.

Is there anything economical enough to spray on lots of trees for the sake of a few peach trees?  And that isn't going to kill my fish and frogs in the pond I have 500ft downhill from the trees?

I don't expect to ever be rid of the fungus, I just want to make it as uncomfortable for the fungus as I can and without spending much or going to much effort.  Ideas?


texts: What's the best way to get turf to grow on stone-filled 1m high gabion retaining garden?

texts:
I'm in the UK. We have leveled the bottom of our garden by means of using 1m high gabion baskets filled up with stone, and back filling the whole area again with stone which is about 30m2. The reason there is so much stone is the house was built on a quarry.

The resulting area I'm told will be virtually impossible to grown turf on top as the water will just dissipate, even with 4"-6" of soil above.

What would be the best and most cost effective solution to get turf to grow there? What type of soil or preparation would be the best?

I really don't want artificial grass.


texts:
I live in Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A.  This Swiss Chard has been doing well so far this season, and all the largest leaves you see here were green and strong as recently as a few days ago.

We had the hottest day of the season so far, a couple days ago- any chance that's related?

I also noticed increased ant activity recently. Worth investigating possible colony near the roots?  I have an overactive imagination.

The neighbors are happy: Cabbage, Arugula & Collards.

UPDATE the answer is Leaf Miners.  Notice the white capsules on the leaves in the photographs below.

UPDATE three days after I purged the initial infestation from the Swiss chard, I happened to notice a single leaf miner burrowing into the leaf of one of my cabbages right next to the infected site!  I popped the bugger like a zit right there in the leaf.  Haven't seen any more in the 2 days since.  Lesson: be vigilant!  Keep your eyes open.

ALSO I've ordered some "beneficial nematodes" which many people recommend in order to help the ecosystem in your all-natural (read: pesticide-free) dirt good for plants, bad for little pest larvae.


texts:
First time gardener, I planted Zucchini seeds into seed starting trays May 8th, and they've been growing quite nicely ever since. Past few days the leaves have started turning like a dry yellow with the leaves also feeling dry. I think I water it enough but suspect that they are too small for the little 72 cell tray.

My question is: are my suspicions correct? Are they too big for their current growing location and if yes, I have been trying to harden them off a bit every day, so I transplant them outside or do I start into a bigger container first?


texts:
This plant is in its second year now, with lots of tiny Brussels sprouts. They don't seem to grow much at all in size, and many are rotting with the leaves going brown.

What's causing this, and how can I get a decent crop?

I'm in late autumn now with temperature down to 5 deg C at night. Frosts expected in a few weeks.


texts: Why are the leaves of my young chilies turning yellow and dying?

texts:
Here are my Capsicum chilies. There are a month and a half/two months old. For some reason, some are growing faster than others. The ones not growing much have leaves which turn yellow. After a few days, these leaves die, as you can see on the second picture.

They are under a window and I'm spraying them with water usually every morning and night.

What is happening? Is there anything I can do?

I am living in London, UK.


texts:
When the wife and I bought our house a few years ago, the garden was an over grown mess. We hacked it down to make it presentable short term. When we came to sort it properly last autumn, budgets were tight and we probably didn't do what was best.

We had a handyman use a machine (a verticut?) to rip up the old turf (and seemingly about an inch of the topsoil) that was then skipped. They then went over the dirt with a rotavator to make the garden flatter.

We then had a friend come and sow grass seeds onto the soil. He raked the dirt and pulled up loads of little stones before sowing the seed and fertliser.

This has resulted in some beautiful grass, but I think because of the poor quality of the soil, the grass it pretty patchy and the soil is very hard and quite bumpy.

You can see a bit of the patchiness here where it has just been cut. It is worse near the bottom of the garden. I have tried seeding the patches but the ground is so hard any little bit of water just pools and the seeds float off.

The grass is really high quality so i'd rather not dig it up and start again if possible.

My plan is to cut the grass a short as possible (2cm?) and then get some half decent topsoil and just rake it on top of the existing grass, gradually building up a decent layer of topsoil that will be easier to sow where its patchy, but also a little softer to be on.

I suppose my question is;

Is putting Topsoil on-top of existing grass a safe and effective way to to level the ground and help combat patchy grass?

Thanks


texts:
So I've been growing this mango tree from a seed, and I'm amazed at how fast it's growing! However some of the leaves are looking a little weird. Some of them only have actual 'leaf' on one side of the stem.

Is this normal? It's also normal that they start off brown/red at first, right?

Thank you!

PS: if you have any tips to take care of this plant, be sure to share them :)


texts: Why do people paint some tree trunks white at the bottom?

texts: I've seen trees with the lower trunks painted white in a number of places around the world but have never found a definite answer to why this is done. Some suggestions that I've heard are to make them more visible at night time so people don't walk into them. Another is to make it easier for birds to see bugs on the trunk. Does anybody know why you would paint part of a tree white? What type of paint you would use? And why that paint doesn't damage the tree?


texts: How is nutritional value in fruit and vegetables measured?

texts:
We often read in books and Wikipedia that certain fruits or vegetables contain certain amount of vitamins, minerals and other elements.

An example can be seen on Beetroot in the box with nutritional value.

I can imagine that these numbers are only averages and certain minimum ideal conditions must exist for the vitamins to be present. We often hear that supermarket fruit and veg may not in fact contain the nutritional value that is claimed. The soil may be contaminated. When the product is stored and transported part of the vitamins and minerals may be lost. So supposedly healthy food may not in fact be all that healthy. I was little upset when I read that carrot juice may be nitrate concentrate instead of healthy juice.

It's good idea to grow your own fruit and vegetables and have control over your own food.

And now the question: How is nutritional value measured and how are ideal conditions identified? What is the science dealing with these topics?

If I grow my own fruit and veg how can I perform my own measurements? Is there any literature dealing with these topics?


texts: Which Indian/ Asian Bamboo species grow to 1.5"-2" inch diameter have thick segment wall & high lateral strength?

texts:
Which Indian/ Asian Bamboo species grow to 1.5"-2" inch diameter have thicker segment wall & high lateral strength?

  Before you down vote & vote to close, please note similar questions
  that are valid:

  Slim 6ft high evergreen hedge for a UK garden?

  Which are some good indoor plants for upside down planting?

  What climbing vines will cover a 40' high cliff in southern Spain?

  What bamboo species for a container-bound green wall?

There are various bamboo varieties across the region. So far, we have been unable to get clarity on this from various on line sources & books. We are trying to approach some groups locally who might have more knowledge and will post back once we have more info.

We are thinking of having them as naturally growing separators / walls/ fences, as well as use them in various ways for landscaping.

Strength & higher ability to withstand high winds & monsoon is a good point as well
Additional pro of keeping out small creatures without building & maintaining wooden fences

Maybe a bunch of them can hold up a hammock and/ or some other visually different landscaping ideas :)  e.g. A friend of mine does Vertical Gardens, so maybe add some of that to the mix.

I can post a link about vertical gardens if needed. But, this is more long term idea when they've grown & are strong enough

We'd like Indian Bamboo that is laterally strong & stiff at the 1.5-2" diameter i.e. Bamboo with a "thicker segment wall"?


texts: I bought it online. It said "silver yucca" but i doubt that's its actual name. It also said that it would grow 2 to 3 feet in height. The one i have here is spinless. The ends, though appear sharp but they actually quiet soft to the touch.


texts: I want to lower the pH of my soil around my blueberries without changing the pH of the entire bed

texts: I've got 3 Jersey blueberry shrubs planted in my greenhouse, in the ground.  They are 3' wide and 2' tall, producing berries nicely.  They'll be bigger in the years to come but this year I planted squash in the soil between them that are very healthy. The blueberries are showing signs of nutrient deficiency (rosy colored leaves) I'd like to lower the pH (it is 7 in this bed, the rest of my beds are 6.5) just around the blueberries themselves.  What would be some ways of doing this?  Can I use a very diluted amount of vinegar.  If I lower the pH to 6.5 just for this year will that be O.K.? What is a good compromise that satisfies both plants? What other vegetables enjoy acidic soil?


texts: Will a homemade insecticide affect the taste of herbs or other edible plants?

texts:
I'm thinking about using a homemade insecticide like a small amount of dish soap/coffee/Aloe vera mixed with water for my Stevia plant which the insects seem to like. I'm worried though that what I use in the insecticide will end up making the Stevia leaves taste of these things like soap/coffee/Aloe vera.

Will this happen? Or do you put such a small amount in the water that it would have no effect on the taste?


texts: What is this deciduous tree with sharp edged leaves and clusters of small flowers?

texts:
I've tried all the tree identifiers I could find and can't figure out what this tree is.

Key terms:

medium tree, perhaps 15 ft tall?
deciduous (sheds leaves in winter)
opposite leaves
compound leaves
bi-pinnate
either serrated, crenated, or indented edges
green leaves
sharp pointed leaf ends
I haven't seen it flower or fruit, haven't been here long enough to say if it does, and even then it may not have because of tree distress

Please excuse the poor quality pictures. The tree is in Arizona. I have seen one or two other trees in my city like it, but I feel quite confident it is not native to Arizona. Also, the tree is recovering from Mistletoe, a parasitic plant that tries to grow from the tree, I believe that's what the strange nodules are. The nodules look like nuts, but are growing directly from the bark (there is no stem).

Any help is appreciated, even if a best guess at its continent or country!

Click on any picture for full size.

UPDATE!
The tree is well enough to bloom! My camera phone is really bad, but here are some more pictures. The flowers have five white petals in a star pattern, and a purple trumpet-neck that doesn't open containing yellow stamen.


texts:
I randomly bought it and it’s been thriving well, but I don’t know what plant it is.

I live in Karachi, Pakistan. This plant is placed indoor, however its in lounge and is exposed to approx 1.5 to 2hr of afternoon sunlight from right above it. I water this pot after a gap of 1 or 2 days. The bark looks dramatic and is more whitish then grey.

Please help me identify.


texts: How often do mower blades need to be sharpened?

texts:
An important practice in toxin-free (and other) turf care is to only mow with sharp blades. So how often do I have to sharpen the blades?

I'm sure that it will depend on conditions, but is there some general guideline? Is it based on area mowed? Hours mowed? After so many months?

And are there industry standards that professionals follow?


texts:
I feel stupid to ask this, as there are many posts on Google about this, and I can't tell, if people are writing these stories for fun or it is real.

Some claim that if you have a many old lemon trees they can become orange trees if you are not careful, whatever that means.

Question

Could it be that pollen from an orange tree could convert a lemon tree?

Or is this whole thing a hoax?


texts:
Is it feasible to lay new turf on an existing grass lawn?

The idea is to completely spike the existing lawn, cover the lawn in lawn dressing, then lay new turf over it.


texts: What is this plant with leaves over a foot long, in Pennsylvania?

texts:
I found this plant growing on an overgrown hill slope full of wild plants and weeds in Pennsylvania. It looks like a Dock plant or a super large plantain leaf. I just collected a good amount of them, and want to know if they are edible. I'm hoping its medicinal qualities aid in helping the kidneys and liver, as do dandelions and plantains.

click on picture for full size


texts: What are these trailing plants with yellow or red flowers and gray leaves called?

texts: I bought this plant from Home Depot a few weeks ago. I threw out the tag and original container it came in and i cannot remember what it was called. Can anyone identify them for me?


texts: Is this an acceptable way to use green waste on plants?

texts:
From what I've read online, it looks like I'm not composting correctly.
I don't have much space in my backyard so there's no space for a compost bin/pile.  Instead, I've been putting scraps of food at the base of my trees/plants to "compost" and hoping to help my plants grow.  Someone told me that I'm doing this wrong and I'm just throwing trash in my yard.
I do have to say, sometimes I see the food scraps a short distance from the base of the plant, which makes it look like something was eating it.
My question is should I continue putting food scraps at the base of plants to help them or figure another way to get rid of the food scraps?


texts:
I have a coffee plant; I don't know the exact variation but I think it's "arabica". I got it as a small plant in a foam coffee cup 10+ years ago. It's currently located on a wall facing an East window. The plant is 10ft away of the window. I water it twice a week: on Mondays and Thursdays.

Recently I started to use a 6-4-6 fertilizer to help it grow. But as always when I use fertilizer it start to loose a bunch of leaves (see attached 2 photos).

Also you can see long branches with leaves only at the end which don't look good (it use to have leaves all the way but they all fallen).

What can I do to help my plant grow? Should I do some cuts?

The plant:

Dead leaves (both sides):


texts: What are these tall, tree-like shrubs and how often should I water them?

texts: My wife and I just bought a property and I don't know anything about plants or trees.  Can someone tell me what the large trees/bushes/plants are and also how often do I need to water them?


texts: Is there anything that can turn azalea blooms blue mid-season?

texts:
We've used aluminum sulfate to keep azalea blooms blue in the past. This season some new guys apparently missed a fair number of azaleas in a large grouping and we have pink blooms on enough plants to bother the homeowner. Would applying aluminum sulfate now "correct" the color for the rest of the season? If not, is there anything else, short of injection dyes or that kind of thing, that could make them blue quickly?

Edit: The soil is very sandy with little to no clay. Soil tests in neighborhood show 2-3% organic matter content, but these plants get an addition of compost annually so it is likely higher here.


texts: Can I prevent the leaf loss from my fern?

texts: I’ve had this house Fern for around two months, and made every attempt to keep it healthy. It had been put in a slightly larger pot with pebbles at the bottom to help the water drain. I ensure the soil is moist at all times and water about once every two to three days. The first month it seemed fine but in the last week the leaves have started to fall, can someone tell me what I am doing wrong??


texts: Is there a difference between weed eater and trimmer?

texts:
I am planning to buy a weed eater/trimmer + edger but I am confused with the terms that are used. Is a weed eater the same as a trimmer? If not, what is the difference between the two?

Also, any insights as to what to look for when buying a weed eater/trimmer + edger would be very helpful.


texts: What is this plant with serrated narrow leaves?

texts:
I left my fern outside like I do every year. When its leaves fell off this year, an odd plant was growing in with it.

Does any one know what this plant is?


texts: Black spots along the veins of avocado leaves

texts:
Dear gardening enthusiasts,

I'd like to ask for your advice. My 3-years old avocado, planted in a pot, has some problems, please see attached photo of one of its leaves' both sides. Since several days I began to notice these black spots accumulating along the leaves veins, then the leaves turn brownish and fall off. The avocado has already lost several leaves. A Google-search gave no results, maybe some of you have experience similar problems and could share your experience. Thanks!


texts: Can ficus root growth be controlled trimming the tree?

texts: I have very large ficus growing near a corner of a building. It is very overgrown. My gardener has suggested trimming the tree significantly and says that will significantly reduce the expansion of the root system, thereby protecting the building from further root growth. Is he correct?


texts: Can someone identify Desert Rose Leaf problem?

texts:
I bought this Desert Rose from a big box store on clearance about a month ago. The leaves had this trailing/patchy lighter discoloration on the leaves when I purchased. Thought I could re-pot it and fertilize and get rid of the issues. Although I am seeing new growth, the leaves still look the same. Does anyone know what it is and how I should treat it?

Thank you!!


texts: will plastic mole tags work to label trees?

texts: My feed mill suggested using plastic mole tags to label the tree. how should I use these if the tree will have a little bit of wood chips around it to protect it?


texts: Is All this blackberry plant or is there more then 1 plant?

texts:
Just started gardening with my kids. We bought some dieing plants from H.D. for $3 each and figured we would see if we could save them. So far so good, we have some new growth.

One of the plants, however, has a different set of stalks, leaves, and buds(?) Along with the stalks that look like the other plant. It looks like it is growing out of the center of the growth in old stalks that look to of been cut back.

Is this part of the blackberry plant or something we need to eliminate?

1 in picture of where plant in question is growing out of, 2 is next to the stalk that looks like the other blackberry plant.

We are in the U.S. zone 10.

(1) EDIT FOR ADDITIONAL INFO.
Thanks for the replies. We have about 12 other plants we are growing from seeds, they just spouted so the kids are excited.

We brought them back to pretty good health compared to when we bought them. We just recently repotted out of the store pot into these knee high pots I had. (Future build of raised beds so don't have a layout to ground plant them yet.

The are in a mixture of potting soil, our local sandy "dirt", pine needles compost, and maybe some other leftover bags I had.
I didn't notice the green beads before.  I assume that was in the plant potting mix. Yes I did put rocks in bottom, it has drainage.
The soil had dried out to at least a deep as my index finger so we had just watered it before I took pictures.
I was going to pull the growth in question but then I noticed it was growing out of a thick stalk right next to the blackberry.  I just wanted to verify before I ripped plants out. Then I found this nice site.

Thank you all for answers, and input.

(2) MY RESULTS
Thanks for the suggestions and answers. I figured it was not a blackberry, but wanted to make sure I didn't  miss something in my googling.
I removed the plant in question. See how it goes. It was in the middle of two B.Berry stalks. Had to separate the potting clump to pull it out of the middle of the two. Hopefully I didn't damage it. We shall see. Fun project for the kids.
Including updated pictures.


texts: Can I separate this spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum)?

texts:
I just bought a spider plant from a store recently. The plant is so aggregated that I can see many stems in a 8cm diameter pot ( 10+ ). I wondered if I can separate them. I tried to separate them from the soil, then I see their roots are so fat like a mini-radish, this is a pic from the internet:

What is this special root called?

This is one of my plant bought from a store:

You can see there are so many plants inside a single pot. Can I separate them without hurting them?


texts:
We have a Wisteria growing along the vertical beams (with some horizontal support) of our Veranda to provide shade.

The Veranda is now up for extension/ renovation. We like the Wisteria so would like to save as much as possible of it and / or enable it to grow back as quickly as possible.

Is possible / worth it so save it, and if yes, what is the best approach?

[Edit] Images added


texts: Can maincrop potatoes grow in soil-less environment?

texts:
I've searched the Internet for answers but cannot seem to find anything about maincrop potatoes being grown in soil-less environment. Do any of you have any experience or knowledge on the subject?

My idea is to grow potatoes in 3 stages in aeroponic/aquaponic systems (depending on viability):

Incubator for small plants ready to become cuttings
Suspended aeroponic system for maximum yield of seed potatoes
Suspended aeroponic system for growing the seed potatoes to mature potatoes.

Has anyone tried growing maincrop or mature potatoes in aeroponics system? Or in aquaponic?

Please share your thoughts!


texts: Should I Switch to a Worm Composting Tube?

texts: I'm thinking of taking my worm colony currently in a Rubbermaid and transferring it to one or two worm tubes in the ground outside. I read that red wigglers won't survive the winter but the cocoons do so that's cool. What are some methods that I can employ to ensure success for this switch?


texts:
I have a miniature rose plant growing in a large (about 2 foot cubed) container outside, where it has been doing very well. The bush is about 3 feet tall now, and I've had it since February (started it indoors, then moved it outside once the weather warmed up). I live in an area with fairly intense winters (northern Massachusetts), and I have two questions:

Should my rose bush be producing rosehips (it hasn't so far)? Or do only "standard"/non-miniature roses produce hips? I've read that this helps the plant prepare for winter. We've already had several nights at or below 40°F here.
Should I winter the plant outdoors, or take it inside? I've heard that this kind of rose can stand up to Massachusetts winters outside, but since it's in an above-ground container I'm guessing it's not as protected as a planted rose bush would be. Either way, is there any special treatment I should give it throughout the winter? So far all I do is water it regularly, since this Spring I repotted it using a long-feeding potting soil.


texts: Moved tree nursery in Fall, new area has heavy deer browse, how to protect the baby trees?

texts:
I'm growing a small backyard potted-tree nursery (~20 trees from seedlings to <1in. saplings at this point). I recently moved to a new house, not very far but far enough where the deer browse has increased significantly. Unsurprisingly, the tree nursery has suffered severely every night since the trees were moved to the yard in this new location.

Autumn is upon is and some of these trees' leafs were already turning colors and drying up. After just two nights in the new location, many of the trees have lost most of their leafs to deer. Thankfully the deers are not eating all the buds, mostly just leafs, though they have chomped the terminal stem of an apple tree...

What's the best thing I can do to protect these trees at this point?

I realize in this new location I will need deer control - I plan on putting up a steel post deer fence ASAP around the tree nursery and in the long run putting up a wood fence and/or living fence around the whole yard. With a fence up I also plan to upgrade the tree nursery, planting trees out of pots to grow out in beds before bare root transplanting, and setting up air pruning beds for seedlings. In the mean time what can I do...just put the steel fence up ASAP?

Another idea is to move the trees into a garage which gets some western light but very little. While living in a garage is not a long-term solution, my thinking is the trees are already losing leafs (from seasonality and more rapidly from deer browse) so being in the garage is not all bad and regulates temperature; in the mean time I can setup a fenced area for them. If I went the garage route, should I move the trees back out as soon as I have a fence up, or wait until spring to move them out (I'd think the latter - wait until spring to bring them out)?

The trees in question are:

Hazelnut
Elderberry
Apple
Pear
Black currant
Linden
Lilac

Hardiness Zone is: 5


texts: Should I avoid hybrid species of native plants for birdscaping?

texts: I'm trying to pick out the best plants to attract birds to my yard, and have become very interested in serviceberry trees for this purpose. Should I avoid the hybrid varieties of this species (such as Amelanchier × grandiflora) in favor of versions like A. canadensis which birds and insects may be more familiar with? Or does that not matter, since both "parents" of the hybrid are also native species to my area? Does this apply more generally when selecting native plants to build a better wildlife habitat?


texts: Tiny grey larvae(?) in worm bin leachate

texts:
I started a worm bin at the start of spring (side-by-side style, currently about 1/3 full, red wrigglers). So far, it's working out very well. The worms are happy, there are no vermin, the fruit flies that were there in the first few weeks have gone away, every time I add food there are new baby worms, and the kitchen scraps and cardboard I've been feeding them seem to disappear within a week or so.
The only potential issue is the leachate. I'd like to dilute it and use it as fertilizer, but the surface is always covered in tiny (< 1mm long) gray things. They look like tiny hairs, as though I emptied my electric razor into the pan. If I tilt the pan around they start to jump and wiggle.
I have not been able to find any information on "tiny grey worms" or "tiny grey larvae". I haven't seen an explosion of any type of bugs, so they aren't fly larvae, and my worms seem to be pretty happy, so I don't think it's a parasite falling out of the compost. Until I know what they are, I'm loath to pour it back into the bin for moisture or to add it to my garden.


texts: What houseplants will best filter the air for a retirement home?

texts:
My grandpa lives in a retirement home. I visit him on every Friday, so after browsing on this site, I was thinking to buy a plant or two for his room. Do you have any recommendations? Which is the most recommended plant for a bed room in order to purify the air, which doesn't require too much care? Of course I can ask some of the nurses to water his plants. If the weekly schedule is not good maybe I can buy an automated system.

He lives in South Poland and his room has a window to the west side. Because he is living in a retirement home, I don't think that climbing plants are a good choice. Can you recommend to me   the names of some plants that will filter his room air? I'm interested about filtration, because care problem can be solved (I think).


texts: Plastic container within wooden frame-raised bed over concrete slabs

texts:
I need to create a raised bed garden mostly to propagate plants. I have an area covered in sun for most of the day. I need to propagate some bushes and decorative grasses and this will also be an area where I keep the plants till I decide on their position and use in my backyard garden (long term project)
The area adjacent to the garage is paved with large and cheap rectangular slabs. The raised bed will look like below and I don't know if I can use plastic containers like below for my project. I need to do that because I will get all the soil for the two raised beds later. For now I need to move some grasses and small plants so I can build the layout of my garden. In time I will build the wooden frame for the raised bed and add more containers and soil so I can propagate the grasses

Is the below o good idea? Do you foresee any problems with this?


texts:
My elderly relative has asked me to do a research on her cactus which has recently got these dark spots:

I poked them and they are dry and hard when you touch them. There is no liquid or mush. They are only present on the spots the needles come from. Otherwise the cactus is looking healthy and it’s constantly growing.

I don’t know what kind of cactus is this. I bought it for her at local grocery store 4 years ago.

Should I “amputate” these spots?


texts:
So I have this tree in my yard that I have been trying to ID for sometime and so far neither the internet, nor any close friends/family, have been able to help me figure out what this tree is.

The tree is located in Missouri. It has oval, smooth, leaves with small clusters of green balls (these these eventually produce very very small, maybe 2-3mm, fragrant white flowers- which bees seem to just love).

If anyone could help me solve this mystery it would be much appreciated!!


texts:
I have bought a 7 foot Kenia Palm about 6 weeks ago and keep it indoors in spot with indirect light.

The palm gets 1/2 gallon of water once a week and I added half a tablespoon of 20-20-20 all purpose fertilizer for the first time last week to the water. I also live in a warm and humid environment, which should beneficial for the plant. However some of the leaves are turning brown and it slowly seems to spread (this has been going on for several weeks already).

Any suggestions on what I can to help my palm to recover from this? Is this a disease or does it have to with my treatment habits?

Many thanks,

Pete


texts: I recently bought this plant, but the seller didn't know what's the species. Any ideas?


texts: Name of this plant with long and thin leaves; grows from a bulb

texts: Can anyone please tell me what kind of plant this is? It has long and thin leaves and grows from a bulb. It looks like it's in the resting phase.


texts: How much drainage is considered "well draining" for a bed that doesn't fully drain?

texts: I have a friend  who is building a sunroom garden, and we need to make sure the soil drains well drain into the overflow tank, while still allowing the soil to always be moist. How deep should the soil be so that it gets to the well draining sand, and brick scraps?


texts: How much water is needed for wheat until germination?

texts:
Two days ago, I sowed wheat, covered the seeds with dirt and gave it a good watering.

Now, however, the soil surface is starting to dry up and I wonder if a single watering is enough for the seeds to do their thing.

Should I keep watering until I see leaves or just leave them alone for a week.

If it matters, Google thinks air humidity here ranges from 40% to 99%.


texts: Mystery plant...blooms like Peace lily but has different leaves

texts: This mystery plant pops up late winter and lasts until summer when the heat knocks it out.  I think the blooms look like Peace Lilies.  Any ideas?


texts: I assumed that i had brought home a centuary plant but this looks different. It's grey apart from the edges that are painted in green. It's some sort of a varigated one but don't know which kind.


texts:
Over the last year I've grown lots of avocado plants from seeds and I've got nearly a dozen now (these are all indoor plants as it is quite cold where I live during the winter months). Unfortunately, one of my plants looks like this:

Its leaves always dry up and fall off (as you can see from all the stubs in the picture) and it never seems to have more than three at any given time. Some of my other avocado plants' leaves also dry up and fall off but not to this extent. What is wrong with this one?


texts:
I think my small avocado plant is dying.

I spent 15 days somewhere else for my holiday. Before I left my plant was perfectly healthy and lovely (photo below).

I told my roommate to water it on Dec. 28, at that time he took a photo and it also looked OK. By the way, I normally water it once per week with half a cup of water (the rice cooker cup, not a normal cup).

But now it looks like this (photos below, it's taken in my office, and it's not a heater near the wall), I am very worried.

I want to know what's causing that (disease, lack of water, too cold), and how to save my poor plant.

More details: I kept it near the kitchen window of my apartment ever since it was a seed. Because it can grow this tall, there shouldn't be anything hurting it, right? The only thing I can think of is that it's close to the window, so when it gets very cold outside (location: Cambridge, MA), it can feel the low temperature. Again, I am not sure.

Please help! Thanks.

update Jan. 29, 2020
I am happy to post a new photo of my plant. It has recovered and is now growing well. Actually--I could be wrong--the leaves are so large that I am a bit concerned it will quickly exceed the capacity of the jar. Anyway, so far so good.


texts:
There are many books & websites which will tell me the optimal time of year to lay turf.
However, laying turf requires all kinds of preparation, plus you've got to coordinate obtaining the stuff and using it promptly. It's not an item that can sit around. So you can't do half the job one weekend and finish off the following weekend.
So you need to set aside a big old chunk of time. In my case that might be a time of the year when it's not optimal but still viable.
So my question is which months of the year are optimal, which are viable, and which are forget it. I'm in the south of England.


texts: What is this bush/tree and can it be heavily pruned?

texts:
I have this growing in our back yard here in the Pacific North West US:

(Photo taken in late March)

It's full of these drooping white flowers and (what I think are) new red leaves. Feels kind of tropical.

Right now it's about 10' tall. I'm not sure if it's a bush or a tree (or if it matters).

The problem is that it was planted about 6' away from a nice Japanese Maple. So this looks rather silly at this scale next to the diminutive maple.

My question(s):

does anyone know what this is?
at this size, could it be heavily pruned to encourage new growth and then maintained at a more manageable size (say 4' or so)
at this size, could it be dug up and replanted somewhere else?
if it can be heavily pruned, can that be done now, or should I wait until next winter to do it?


texts: First time chilly grower! Advice and tips?

texts:
This is my first time growing anything so I decided I'll start with something that I really like to eat as well.

These are Apache chillies. Germinated my seeds in a propagator, in peats, temperature around 22-26 Celsius. Watered them enough to keep them wet. Once they sprouted and the root started showing at the bottom of the peat I transplanted the first two. The rest are still not showing the root. Used pre-fertilised potting soil. Should be well airated and the little pots (7cm) have holes in the bottom for draining.

They are growing at a window still with about 11 hours of light each day, some direct sunlight around the noon/afternoon. They are 10 days old at the moment (since I sawed the seeds).

Firstly I just wanted to ask if they are looking ok, never grown anything before so I'm not sure if the seedlings look too leggy or not, and what should I be careful about going forward. How long until the next, true leaves appear? Any tips/advice very welcome.

Let me know if more pictures are needed.


texts: How can I find out which roses are Spanish roses?

texts: By Spanish roses I mean roses that were developed or bred in Spain.  In particular, older breeds that would have been around 80 to 100 or more years ago.


texts: Miniature Peperomia Pilea depressa, losing leaves and color

texts:
I've had this plant for about 9monthes and it's been generally doing well, it even sprouted new babies (?).
However, in the last 3 months, a good amount of its leaves are browsing and falling off. I don't have it in direct sunlight, and I water it about 1 a week.
Any suggestions on how to keep it alive? This is a Mini-Peperomia
Pilea depressa.


texts: from the bites of it, any ideas if it's rats or squirrel

texts: All the fruits are being eaten up by rats/squirrels. Please help identify


texts:
[EDIT-20170626: added some history] I just found a couple of bugs on my lavatera, which seems to do fine so far. I has tried to find the bug species with the morphological description,  without success.

Who could it be?
Is it detrimental?

[EDIT-20170626] This family album, after a few days wait, seems to suggest a southern green stink bug, at least in its intermediate lymph avatars.


texts: How can I tell when root vegetables are ripe?

texts:
I have never planted root vegetables before so I don't know how to tell whether it is ripe or not without pulling the root out of the soil and seeing it.

I love beets and I love carrots also but if I ever grow them, I am going to have to know when they are ripe without pulling them out of the soil. One solution I can see to this is hydroponics where you grow plants in nutrient enriched water. There is just one problem with that. Roots, whether you are talking about the edible roots or the non-edible roots, need oxygen and the little bit of oxygen that is dissolved in water is not enough. However too much oxygen can kill the plant if it isn't doing cellular respiration fast enough.

So how would I know when a beet or a carrot or any other edible root is ripe without pulling the root out of the soil or risking lack of oxygen and oxygen poisoning with hydroponics?


texts: What causes papaya leaves to curl up into weird shapes?

texts:
One of my papaya trees has contracted this strange condition where the leaves are curling up into weird shapes.

I have many papaya trees, and this is the only one that is like this. I have watered this (and the other trees) with plenty of water. I have used compost soil and cow dung to fertilize them. It gets a fair amount of sunshine.

What is wrong with this tree? Is there anything I can do?


texts:
I have read that you can get a tumbler type of composter and collect the "juices" from the composter. This is referred to as "compost tea".

Does anyone know what the real usage of this is? Some perusal of the Internet would suggest that holds some sort of magical qualities. How is it different from other organic fertilizers? Has anyone noticed significant differences when using it?


texts: Over wintering banana trees inside the house in USDA zone 5

texts: I live in USDA zone 5 and have banana plants planted in the ground.  I know I need to dig them up and bring them in (I left them out one year and covered them up but they didn't survive).  The question is do I put them in pots in front of a sunny window or hide them away in the cool basement?


texts:
I watched this video where
a man grows barley grass, then makes a juice from it.

I'd like to grow my own barley grass indoors in pots, so temperature is probably an important factor.

What else should I consider eg Variety, Soil, Watering, Timing, etc so that I can achieve maximum nutritional results from the indoor growing process?


texts: What else besides calcium deficiency could be causing tomato blossom end rot?

texts:
I've been using "Tomato Maker" (4-2-6) fertilizer, which supposedly has enough calcium to prevent blossom end rot, but I'm still getting blossom end rot on my super marzano tomatoes (no BER problems on any other varieties I'm growing this year).

Are there other things that can cause blossom end rot besides calcium deficiency? Is the super marzano variety (or plum tomatoes in general) particularly susceptible? Could my plants still be suffering from calcium deficiency even with the Tomato Maker fertilizer?

In case it would be helpful to know, I live in the California Central Valley, which has hot, dry summers, but spring this year was unusually cool and rainy.

I'd be interested in any advice on what, if anything, I can do now to reduce blossom end rot on this year's crop and also what I can do in the future to prevent BER from turning up at all.


texts: Why is this avocado leaf curling and turning grey?

texts:
I have 3 avocado plants in a small pot. They are about 2 months old.
One leaf shows a grey discoloration with curling around the tip.

What is causing this and how do I stop it from progressing?


texts: Can someone please help with the cause of yellowing of bottom leaves of bonsai umbrella tree. The new leaves look fine. I'm in Australia in autumn but still 28-15 deg so not sure if I should repot at this time. Thanking you


texts: Second opinion: Arborist says tree needs to go

texts:
I just had an arborist look at a red maple with a long bark split in my yard. His diagnosis was that it was struck by lightning (there was a close lightning strike a few months ago) and the tree needs to come down.

The tree is approx 40-50 ft tall and roughly a 30" diameter. Not a giant, but no sapling for sure! Exact measurements coming.

The bark is split but the wood underneath is solid.

The tree is roughly between my house and my neighbor. It can fall in the back yard and hit nothing, any other direction and there will be structural damage.

Wife got some pictures, there is clearly something wrong with the tree. Here is a far shot, closeups of the crack coming soon:

I was not overly impressed with the arborist. I have a second estimate scheduled. What questions do I need to be asking the expert?

I am considering keeping this tree for firewood. Seems daft to cut it down and haul it off only to turn around and buy a face cord later. Is this something that the pros will usually facilitate? I can handle stacking and splitting, but I need the tree sectioned.

Following up 8 months after the original post: The tree was stone dead this spring. One lonely branch had some green on it but it was clear it was done for. The bark had sloughed off the entire main trunk and was falling off in other places. I had it removed by a second local arborist. This is the place I called for a second opinion last fall. They were charging more than other places, but they gave good advice and were clearly more professional and capable than some dude with a saw and a chipper.


texts: What is this potted plant with dark green leaves and clumps of red flowers?

texts:
A co-worker gave me this pretty plant, but she doesn't know what it is. Can someone help identify it?

It's the one with the red flowers. Thanks!


texts:
I've recently become the inexperienced caretaker of four rose bushes at the house I moved into last year.  I've done a fair amount of gardening but was never into roses.  Anyway, I feel like it's my responsibility to help them out so I've been giving them mulch making sure to water, deadheading, trimmed them in the winter; it's been fun.

The problem I've been having is with one bush in particular.  It was sort of sick looking when I showed up last year but I gave it some mulch, made sure to water it and it looked pretty happy.  ...except for its flowers.  They get this yellow tint to them while they're still buds and basically look sadder and sadder as they start to bloom.  See picture:

One thing that I've noticed is that there are some (but not that many) aphids on the bush.  Another factor might be how wet it's been this spring but all the other bushes seem to be doing fine.  Plus this guy's flowers never looked that great last year either.

Anyway, guesses would be appreciated.


texts:
I've put my cacti for wintering into an unheated attic, by a window where the sun falls after 2 P.M and till dusk. Since it's negative temperature outside (so it's already winter in a sense) I didn't expect the sun to be strong enough for a burn (especially considering the windows are dusty). But there you go, a couple of days ago I noticed these yellow spots on my Mammillaria sp.

Is this sunburn or something else? Is it treatable?


texts: Where can I go to get a maintenance plan for my existing landscaping?

texts:
I moved into a house with existing landscaping that's pretty nice but seems a bit lacking in maintenance. I feel capable of doing maintenance work but I'm not sure what needs to be done.

I'm looking for a resource that can:

identify my plants
give me a maintenance plan (eg this should have dead flowers cut off)
recommend additions/changes that I can implement over time

Either an online site where I could upload pictures and get back the info/plan or do local landscaping companies offer such a thing and if so what should I ask for?


texts: Potted cilantro plant falling over outside. What am I doing wrong?

texts:
It’s not standing up straight and the ends look very fragile. I’m not sure if I should try to repot it and add more soil. The pot is 12.5 inches.
The pot is draining and I am careful not to overwater it.
The pot is outside with direct sunlight only in the afternoon hours.
Please help!


texts: Pepper Plant leaves Wilting, please help

texts: Recently bought a pepper plant and transplanted it into a pot. Mulched over the top since its been in the high 80s F recently and I didn't want the soil drying out. Its only been in the pot half a week and was hoping someone could tell me what's wrong with it. It has been in full sun.


texts: What is this large plant? It sprouted up in new york city area without being manually planted. Thank you very much in advance :)


texts: Is rotten fish emulsion safe for plants?

texts:
I have a many year-old supply of Charlie Carp (fish emulsion) fertilizer that has "gone off". Namely, it has a strong ammonia smell.  It's "commercial strength", meaning it's very concentrated.

Is it a good idea to use this?  I've tried it on a few plants, and it didn't kill them, but I'm wondering what chemical change has happened, and if the ammonia might be killing off beneficial soil micro-organisms.


texts: Is it really an Orchid plant? If yes, then which variety of it?

texts:
I had asked my plant vendor for an Orchid plant and I got this one. I am not sure if it is really an Orchid. Since 4 months, it is of same size as I got it initially, it never bloomed.

I maintain its soil moist, placed it under Sun, fertilized, still no growth & nor bloom.

I hope, if it is identified then, I could treat him much better as per his specific needs if any.

Here are its pictures:
Side View:

Top View:

Close leaf View:


texts: Are chemical fertilizers poisonous to people or animals?

texts: I've been seeing a lot of conflicting information online about chemical fertilizers being poisonous and was wondering if there are any trustworthy sources of information to definitely answer this question?


texts: A friend received this plant as a present and we are trying to figure out which kind it is, and how to best take care of it. So any tips in that regard will be welcome :)


texts: How do you discourage cilantro/coriander from bolting too quickly?

texts: What techniques can be used to discourage cilantro from bolting too quickly? I plant them and it seems that they almost immediately go to seed after they've reached maturity.


texts: Effective weed elimination along paved driveway

texts:
As a matter of principal we don't spray Glyphosate (Roundup) or other herbicides on our property. I'm well aware of its effectiveness as a non-selective herbicide but choose not to use it for a number of reasons.

I've got a few hundred feet of paved driveway which has some areas where weeds (mostly Bermuda grass) is pushing up through the asphalt.  Weeds are pretty hard on the driveway edges, breaking it up if left unchecked.

I have a flame weeder which is quite effective at killing off vegetation by heating them up and breaking down the cell structures of the leaves and stems.  But this doesn't work all that well on the driveway and not all that well on Bermuda grass - at least not in my experience.

I've used vinegar before and it is OK at killing weed top growth but not so great for plants with considerable roots or those that spread using rhizomes.

Generally I just pull out the mattock and get medieval on weeds - the mattock is a very effective tool for digging out weeds - but along the driveway this isn't really an option.

Ideas?


texts:
Can anyone identify this slug-like creature? Is it harmful?

Note: this photograph was taken in Pennsylvania, U.S.


texts:
I purchased my first bonsai about 4 years ago but haven't taken regular care of it, mainly just watering it occasionally in the summer and rarely during the other months. I've been too afraid to trim it. During the last few months I've kept it by the window and watered it regularly and it began growing much more rapidly than in the past.

First question is, can anyone identify the type of tree?

Second, any tips on where and how far down to trim? The tallest branch is beginning to fall over from its own weight. I've watched a bunch of bonsai trimming videos on youtube, but the trees they trim are in much better shape than this.

Thanks!


texts: How many chamomile seeds should I plant?

texts:
I sprinkled chamomile seeds in a small pot about 20cm. Almost a hundered seedlings have sprouted and I've read that you should thin to one per pot. Clearly I've gone wrong with my sowing and planted at too many.

Should I drastically thin out my chamomile or are you supposed to have many growing together?


texts: What is the cause of the dead spots in my lilac bush?

texts:
Last year, we built a home and got a Lilac as part of our landscaping package.  The landscaping was planted in August, so it's almost made it a full year now.

In June, we started to see dead spots appearing in the bush, where the leaves shrivel up and fall off.  We've been cutting the dead spots out, but soon, I'm expecting to have no bush if this keeps up!  The dead spots do have green under the bark when we cut them out, so perhaps the parts are not really dead?

Any ideas on what could be the cause, and how I can identify the problem, and treat it?


texts:
I've got about 5 of these shrubs (I believe they are Viburnum latana 'Mohican') on a side of my house I nearly never get around to. Today when I was doing a walk around I noticed they were getting absolutely decimated by... something. When I inspected closer I found two beetles that could have been Viburnum Leaf Beetle, but I wasn't able to capture one.
Any idea if Viburnum Leaf Beetle is the culprit here? Or possibly a fungus of some kind?
Thanks in advance!

EDIT: I caught one of the buggers and am now almost certain this is damage from the same type of beetle. Probably happened earlier in the year and I didn't see it.


texts: How long does galvanised steel last, directly against soil, in a raised garden bed?

texts:
I'm intending to build 4 raised vege garden beds, and want them to last as long as possible. Galvanised steel (locally it's commonly called corrugated iron) is likely to be a reasonably economic option.

I'd rather not line them with plastic, so I'm interested to know how long it is likely to take for the steel to corrode to the point where they are either no longer functional or look terrible (they're in an area that needs to be kept reasonably tidy looking).

What's a typical lifetime for a galvanised steel raised garden bed, regularly watered?


texts:
Someone gifted me a fig tree at the beginning of winter (because I had just started to get interested in gardening).
I think it was in a greenhouse before it ended up inside my not-so-sunny apartment.

I assume it started to grow like crazy again because of the warm temperature.

But then, I assume the lack of sunlight made it suffer.

Almost all leaves fell, and branches dried out.
Only 2 green branches remain, but they grew weirdly (I believe in search for sunlight), and the leaves don't seem healthy (I left it outside now).

Does someone know what I can do to make it healthier ?
And if someone knows what I might have done wrong, I'm interested too.

Also this might be of importance:

I had a gnat infestation almost all winter.
I live in the very North of France.


texts: Indoor Birds of Paradise leaf turning yellow with dark brown spots

texts:
The newest leaf on our 2m tall birds of paradise (Strelitzia Nicolai variety) has started developing yellow marks with small brown spots. It's a real pity as those leaves take almost a year to come out and open fully.
I'm unsure as to what's causing this... here are a few additional data points about our birds of paradise:

It gets a lot of sun all year being right behind a south facing window (we are in London, UK)
This latest leaf though gets not much direct sunlight being pretty high and right below the sloping ceiling
The penultimate leaf that we got bent 9 months ago. The stem lacked strength and bent in multiple places. We fixed it with some poles and thin rope and the leaf has so far survived.
We have had some scale insects on it for over a year which have been a pain to get rid off. They can still be controlled through regular cleaning although they leave a very sticky clear deposit on the leaves
The birds of paradise is watered every week and once a month or so we mix in the water some fully balanced liquid feed (Chempak N3)
We have had the plant for a 2 years or so and it has not been repotted so far
A new leaf has started growing but the yellowing and spotting of that latest leaf seems to continue to develop.

Thanks in advance for any help/pointers you can provide!
Cheers
Here are some pictures:
2 weeks ago...

Today...


texts: How many squares should I use for small pumpkins and watermelon?

texts: In my square foot garden, I have a trellis beside one edge.  Am I being too ambitious to try to put a square for pumpkins, then an empty square, then a square for watermelon along the edge?


texts: My tree seems to be dying or is in shock. I don’t know what to do

texts: My tree seems to be in trouble it’s just one limb. I had someone cut my yard and they did run up on the root. It’s raised in some places. It’s a camphor tree and it’s about a hundred years old. Otherwise it’s been in very good health. I don’t want to lose the tree. But I don’t know if it’s serious . I can’t seem to load another photo. But the original is already shown


texts: What are these flowering perennials with white flowers?

texts: What are these flowering perennials with white flowers (growing in a yard in Northeast Ohio)?


texts:
I've had my Meyer lemon tree for more than 10 years. It's small -- maybe 2 feet tall -- but mighty: This season, it produced 30 (!) lemons that I harvested over the winter.

But by February all its leaves had curled, dried up, and fallen off. It was in a plastic pot on the floor, and we have radiant heat. Not sure if that caused the problem.

I've pruned it back heavily, repotted it, treated it for what looked like cottony cushion scale (using alcohol on a qtip and then spraying with Organocide.)
I've moved it outside (we live in DC, where daytime temps this week are in the 60s; nights in 50s/40s.)

When I scrape the bark, I see some green. But it sure looks dead. Any thoughts on what might bring it back? Is it still too cold for it to be outside?

It had such an amazing fruiting season; I'd hate to lose it now.
Thanks!!!


texts: Plants that don't need direct or indirect sunlight for air purification?

texts: I am looking for plants that can survive and grow with no sunlight(direct or indirect), which purifies air. I got some air purifiers but they need either direct or indirect sunlight. I have to get some more plants for air purification in the back room, a room which is on the back side where not a bit of sunlight comes. But so far I haven't found any plants.


texts:
I have a medium pot where I've been trying to raise a guava tree until it can be definitely placed. Then I've been out for 2 weeks and when I came back, there was an invasive plant spreading all around, coming from its pot and, since I already grow some basil and mint to use as seasoning, I've got interested about:

What plant is this?
Is it edible?
Does somebody knows how does it taste like?
Could I use it as I use my basil, since both look equally harmless?

It may be useful to know I live on the very south of Brazil on a wet and rainy region and that it seems very happy on a very dry mix of organic compound and soil from an eucalyptus forest.


texts: Did I damage my tomato blossoms by spraying them with neem oil?

texts:
I had aphids and spider mites so I bought a premixed neem oil and sprayed  my tomato plans. I didn’t know to avoid the blossoms and now they’re starting to wither. Did I damage them?  Will they bear any fruit?  I’m
So upset.


texts: Is using sprinkler system in orchard a wise choice?

texts:
My orchard has walnut, apricot and apple trees and I have alfalfa as cover crop. For now I am using surface irrigation. I am planing to change my system to drip irrigation or sprinkler irrigation.

Drip irrigation: Good option But I would lose my cover crop (which makes my orchard beautiful)
Sprinkler: My cover crop will survive. Also I can use this system to overcome late frost in spring. But some people tell me sprinkling water on tree trunk and branches is detrimental for tree. and Some say It would kill your tree.

What should I do?


texts: What is this large flat leafed plant with yellow flowers (central Missouri)

texts:
I live in an apartment building, and my landlord has neglected to mow the back yard for quite a while now. In this time period this unknown plant that I've never seen before has grown to a height of about 38iches (965mm).

I live in Central Missouri, this is the first year I've seen this plant, either here or anywhere else in Missouri. In the first photo you should see the central part of the plant, which is the tallest, and it looks like it has a good root system going because the other leaves look like they're coming from the same system, but I'm not 100% sure because I don't know a lot about plants.

Photos: (Click to enlarge)


texts: Do I always use the thickest possible line in grass trimmer?

texts:
Just as an example, Stihl FS130 grass trimmer can be equipped with Autocut 25-2 cutting head that can hold either 2.4 mm or 2.7 mm cutting line - so within the same trimmer and the same head I can choose which line to use. It looks like the thicker line is stronger so won't wear out that fast and so I should prefer thicker line whenever possible.

Why would I not use the thickest cutting line possible?


texts: What kind of tulip is this with pink flowers which resemble water lilies?

texts: I suppose the picture (taken today in zone 6, Central Europe) shows some kind of tulips. Am I correct and if so what (hybrid) kind could it be?


texts: Recover (probably) struggling Fittonia/Nerve plant

texts:
Around the end of May (which would be the end of Fall here in the southern hemisphere) I bought a small potted Fittonia to keep in my bedroom. As you can see in the picture, by the time it came it was very bushy:

The store I bought it from recommended that I water it (4-5ml) every week or so, but quickly I started to realize that leaves would wither (and then they would just come off, I wouldn't even call it plucking) and sometimes the plant would overall shrivel up. I then started watering it every 2-3 days (also tried to give it more indirect light and misting), and it stopped shriveling up, but there were few leaves left, and some of them looked damaged.

I've been keeping it up and nothing has changed. I can see some small leaves sprouting, but they've been the same size for a long time now. We're nearing the end of winter (although in a tropical country), and the plant looks like this as of right now:

What have I been doing wrong? Water, light, humidity? Can I do something to repair those damaged leaves? Has the growth stopped because of permanent damages to the plant or does it have to do with the seasons? Any help on how to recover this plant would be appreciated.


texts:
I have some herbs growing in a couple of pots on my balcony. Today I noticed that the aloysia leaves are all covered in this stuff, it looks as if somebody emptied an ashtray on it. It mostly on the underside of the leaves and on the stem itself, especially near the top. When the plant is touched or shaken, the stuff drops off.

What is this? Can it be helped? Is it contagious? I also have some lemongrass and some salvia in the same pot - might they be infected by this? What about other types of plants in adjacent pots (peppermint, basil, oregano)?


texts: What should I do to care for a small olive tree in the winter (South Wales)?

texts: What should I do to care for an olive tree when it gets cold (here in the UK)? The tree is about 3 feet tall and I have access to a greenhouse (unheated).


texts: Can I lay geotextile sheeting beneath new grass?

texts:
We have an area of ground that was a thick mix of overgrown weeds and plants. We would like to turf this area. We have turned over the soil and taken out some of the roots but there are still a lot of weed roots in the area.

Can we put down a layer of geotextile to stop the weeds growing through the new turf? Our plan was to lay the geotextile, then cover in top soil and then lay the turf. Is this correct, will it stop the weeds growing through our new grass?

Thanks


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I recently started gardening and this is one of my first plants. Can you help me understand what's wrong with it?
Location: Souther California (warmer weather).
Plant location: In a pot, outside (5th floor if that changes anything).
Soil used is : Organic potting mix.
Watered once I see some dry soil on top.


texts: I found this weird mossy plant growing in my pot. It has a cool shape actually. There are crater-like pits on its leaf. I really liked it and want to know its name. I live in Istanbul, Turkey.