texts:
I transplanted a few sugar snap peas into my raised bed a week or two ago and noticed that some of the leaves were turning white. The whiteness starts at the base of the leaf and radiates out from there.

I didn't give much time for the plants to harden because once the shoots started coming up they started growing really fast (I started them in a seeding tray and their cells looked a bit small for them). I suspect it might be sun damage from that but I'm not sure since I can't seem to find any images that match what I'm getting so I'm wondering if someone could confirm. If it is, should new growth be okay?


texts: Chilli plant - Why is my pruned stem still dying back?

texts:
I actually pruned this last autumn. So close to 6 months. It's still slowly dying back. I'm guessing it stalled over winter. Near the tip, a new bud was actually starting to grow.

Why is it still dying back and how do I stop it?


texts:
The leaves of my tomatoes (three diverse sorts) don't look good.

On the fourth day outside (still in the process of hardening), they started to show the light yellow to brown spots on some leaves, as you can see on the photos.

They not only show these stains, but also stopped growing for already two weeks, until now.

What happened to my tomatoes and what can I do to help them?
We’ve had surprisingly clear weather, was it just too much sun?

Additional Information

They have lost their first pair of leaves
I grew them from seeds.
I used low nutrient soil from the bag for the first growing stage
Planted in bigger pots about a week ago
In the bigger pots I used tomato soil, containing nutrients for a couple of weeks
Watered when needed, but before the plants showed signs
Watered with soft water (no rainwater available)
Watered with a watering can, right onto the soil only, no rain so far
No additional fertilizer used so far
No spraying with anything
About half of them were under plastic domes outside

Photos


texts: Is there an ultrasonic mist maker that can create water droplet with diameter 50 microns for aeroponic purposes?

texts:
An ultrasonic mist maker seems a superior solution for an aeroponic crop, since there would less problem with clogging, power consumption, noise, etc.

However, current ultrasonic mist maker make really small droplets of size less than 10 microns. It seems 50 microns is the sweet spot needed for long term growth of plants. I have two questions:
1) Is it theoretically possible to create droplet of size 50 microns using ultrasonic technology?
2) If the answer to the above is yes, do you know of a commercial product or even something that can be bought out there and assembeled which can create 50 micron droplets


texts: My nephew is growing a plant for his pre-k class and idk what it is

texts: It’s growing very fast, every couple days that I check on it I see it has grown a few inches.


texts: How to increase or decrease the ph level of a hydroponic solution with natural household items?

texts: In my hydroponic system, I need to control the ph level with natural household items without harming the plants. Currently, the ph level is very low (3). Any one know how to do this both ways?


texts:
Do all flora possess the capacity to be cloned or viably reproduced from their trimmings, offcuts, and so on?

Or is this trait exclusive to certain varieties; or specific (cultivars) taxa?


texts: What is this 5 petals blue wildflower? Zone 7


texts:
We planted a cedar hedge this spring (4 months or so ago).  The trees were fine this summer, some of them had one or two dried branches; nothing out of ordinary.  At the end of the summer, some trees started to have yellow foliage.  A quick search online lead me to believe this was the cold hardening process.  Although, lately, we had a lot of rain and the foliage started to dry from the center of the tree toward the outside. (Inner foliage is mostly affected right now.)
Almost every day I check the soil's humidity and it is humid at less than one inch dept. I'm starting to think that they have too much water and maybe not enough air.  My parents planted a cedar hedge before and I don't remember the trees drying like that on first year.
Is there something I can do about this or am I simply over protecting my cedar hedge?
As requested, here's a few pictures:
This is the overall look, there's a lot of dried areas.

This one is the worst of the group.  As you can see, the inside is almost all dried out; only the outer foliage is still green.

The average one...

This one has some yellow foliage.

Update - Oct 2014
This year, the same thing happen at about the same time (sep-oct).  Over the summer, everything was fine.  By the end of September, I added some autumn lawn fertilizer.  The week after trees started to dry form the inside again.  I think the autumn lawn fertilizer is the culprit.  Next year, I won't put any fertilizer on my lawn after July.  If my cedar hedge doesn't dry out, it will confirm my doubts.
I tried the pH test and it was about 6.5ish, which seems to be normal.


texts: Treating tree disease that manifests as warts/galls/bumps on leaves

texts:
I am trying to identify cause of the problem we have with our tree and the best way to treat it. Here is the image showing the growth on the tree's leaves:

Is this cause for concern? We really want to preserve the tree as it's old and majestic and could spend money on professionals if this is treatable.

Also, is there anything we can do on our own? Fertilize tree? Spray at root? Basically any suggestion that will help long-term care of tree is welcome.


texts: Should comfrey be a companion of blueberries?

texts: I have access to a lot of free comfrey, and was wondering if it would be a bad idea to plant comfrey around the blueberry bushes to get them more nutrients easily.


texts: These fluffy things are only visible in early morning.I got a good close up and notice tiny bugs in the webI can't seem to add 2 images so I will post another question with the tree image


texts: How can I transplant wild ground cherries into garden beds?

texts:
I recently found ground cherries growing wild on my property and I want to put them in beds and harvest seeds from them.

How and when should I transplant them?


texts:
This may be an odd question. I live in Singapore and I recently bought a small greenhouse because it was cheap and it looked nice. It's about 20x40x50cm.
I'm originally from a cool temperate climate where a greenhouse makes sense.

Are there any plants that would survive in a humid tropical climate inside a small greenhouse? Placing it in the sun would probably cook anything inside it, so assume it will remain in the shadow.

Could there be a plant that would benefit from being inside a greenhouse in these conditions?


texts: Should I transfer a growing potted blueberry bush to a bigger pot, or into the ground?

texts:
I have a blueberry bush in a smallish pot.  It was given to us a couple of summers ago, and we put it in the only available pot we had at the time.

This year, we've had a pretty good yield from it, considering its size.  The fact that we now have a one-year-old daughter who loves blueberries means that we're thinking about putting the blueberry bush either in a larger pot, or planting it out in the border between a small apple tree and a small cherry tree.

So my question is - should we transfer it to a large pot, or put it in the soil?  It's a clay soil, if that helps.  If so, when is the best time to do it?

I'm in the UK.


texts:
I plan to train grape vines up and over the top of a pergola to create a shaded, outdoor dining area. I am more interested in the aesthetic of the vines and their shade giving properties than in growing crops. Getting decent fruit would be a mere bonus. I am pretty unlikely to make wine from them regardless of how they turn out.
My question is what variety to choose and what I should consider in terms of planting?
The climate is Southern England.
The location of planting would likely be an existing soil bed along the side of a fence. This would mean the roots would be in shade all day long and the vines would only get sunshine once they had neared the roof of the pergola.


texts: How long should I leave potted roots to rot down before reusing the soil?

texts:
I have a number of pots I grew tomatoes and cucumbers in through the he summer. These have now died off but I want to reuse the soil (mixing it with compost etc to get nutrients back) for other plants.

Can I simply pull out the main plant remains, break up the root ball and treat it as if it was compost going in with the new plants, should I sieve out all the roots, or should I leave it for a while to rot down further before reusing the soil?


texts:
I’m wanting to lay grass in my garden. There has been an area of unlooked after ground which was riddled with roots, some of which were pretty deep. I’ve gone through and dug up as much as I can but I’m concerned they will come up again - this time through the grass.

What are my options for stopping this? My approach was going to be:

apply weed killer everywhere
lay plastic sheeting over the ground
apply top soil
apply grass

The concern is whether grass can thrive with a plastic layer below it? And how much depth should there be between the grass and plastic?

Thanks!


texts: What is this discolouration of the skin of my pepper?

texts:
One of my peppers is showing some strange discolouration of its skin. You cannot feel that it's there, so presumably this is underneath the outermost membrane of the fruit. As far as I can tell there is only one fruit effected so far.

Here are two images of the affected fruit from different angles, so you can see what I mean.

What's wrong with this fruit?
Do I need to "fix" it, and how can I?
Do I need to worry about the other fruit on this plant?
Will this be safe to eat or should I cut it off and dispose of it?


texts: Is it too late to plant my avocado plant in soil?

texts: I have had my avocado plant in water for 6 months now on my window sill and it has grown to be about 30cm. However the bottom leaves are hanging and have slight brown spots, the second set of leaves are thinner and slightly curly whilst a third set is currently about to grow out. I assume this is because it is still in water? Will it be able to readjust if I plant it in soil at this point? Be a shame to see it go.


texts: Get rid of pesticide resistant Spider Mites?

texts:
I regretfully come posting asking for advice on how to get rid of a very tenacious spider mite infestation in one room of my indoor plants. I have become convinced these pests have become pesticide resistant because they have shrugged off neem oil, tobacco water, Sevin (Carbaryl), Malathion (a very strong organophosphate pesticide), Doktor Doom (pyrethrin, both the fogger and the spray), and something that came highly recommended called Wipeout.

Each attempt was whole-hearted, with me applying the pesticide at least 4 times liberally on the undersides of the leaves, spaced 3 days apart to get rid of the newly hatched eggs. Each time I see improvement for about a week before the leaves start getting sucked dry at an even more accelerated rate. I have also tried dusting with diatomaceous earth, and wiping down the affected leaves, all to no avail.

I am certain it is spider mites and not some nutritional deficiency because their webs are noticeable, I can see the wretched creatures when I inspect the leaves with a high powered magnifying glass, and its affecting multiple species of plant. Unfortunately heavy spraying with water is a non-viable option as the plants (mainly plumeria species) will suffer root rot if given too much water. I really do not want to have to discard these plants because they are fairly mature and rather unique varieties.

Is there anything on earth that will kill these vile pests without destroying my plumerias? As you can see I am willing to use just about any chemical at this point, but I am open to just about any suggestion. Your help is much appreciated.

[UPDATE] I tried both of Shule's suggestions of wiping down the leaves with rubbing alcohol and I spent some money on the predatory mites recommended. Rubbing alcohol didn't seem to damage the leaves terribly, and was very effective on the large broad leaves of the plumeria where it was fairly easy to wipe evenly. None of the leaves I wiped down suffered any additional damage. It was less effective on my ornamental peas where the small leaves made it difficult and tedious to wipe all the leaves. So I spent $60 on some Phytoseiulus persimilis mites. I hope they become established and permanently rid my plants of the irritating spider mites. I guess the moral of the story is don't use pesticides against spider mites. Thank you everyone for helping save my plants.


texts: What are these little plants with round leaves, growing in my potting soil?

texts: I have plants growing in my seedling pots that I didn't put there.  The potting soil says it's weed-free.  What are these plants?


texts: Can you help identify this plant? QLD, Australia

texts:
I received this rhizome and planted it, the label was impossible to read but may have the word "superb" in it.
Since planting it has grown beautiful lush leaves and is growing rapidly. I live on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia if that helps at all. We've had heaps of rain, it's very hot at the moment and it seems to be thriving, would love to know what it is to take better care of it. Thanks !


texts: Can i revive it leaves are wilted and black.  I had gnats pulled the plant out of the dirt to change it i still had a ball of soil on the roots placed the root in a plastic bag but left it in the sun tooo long . When I came back the leaves were burned black wilted.   It was a plant from my dad's funeral. What can i do to revive it?   I did place the roots in water for 3 days and just planted it in a small pot....


texts: What’s the best way to remove 2-4 inches of large gravel from backyard?

texts:
New home owner.  After moving in I noticed the previous owner had laid down some gravel in a portion of my backyard so he could store a boat.  Approx 15ft x 30ft.

It’s been completely taken over by weeds and grass so much you can only see the gravel in spots, but can see a clear line of where it ends compared to rest of yard.

We’d like to remove it and re-seed with new grass.  I’ve looked at soil cutters, tillers and trenchers but don’t think any of those are designed for this particular project.

Gravel varies in size from golf ball to baseball size.  Seems to be only the top 2-4 inches.  Just curious what’s the easiest, quickest or most cost effective way to do this?  Should I just remove all the top soil and replace?  Is a bobcat or some kind of front loader the best to use to remove all the rubble?


texts:
This has now become a severe problem. Last year nearly all of the young plants that I had planted were  eaten away by them. I used to throw away the bigger snails, later killed them by hitting as I didn't know any other way to get rid of them.
In between the winter came and they were all gone. Now these days when I am digging the soil, I can see like thousands of the these baby snails within the soil everywhere. I can't imagine what it will be like this year.
Is there a problem with my soil ? We have clayey type of soil. How to get rid of these snails/baby snails?


texts: Growing temperate and some tropical plants in an indoor 'winter garden' in Ireland

texts:
I am in the lucky position of building my own house in Southern Ireland and have have a 'winter garden' room which will have three tall walls of glazing with one side facing south. The roof is very high so a lot of light will be let in.
I plan on growing various shrubs, climbers and plants that grow in temperate regions such as Kenya (where I am originally from hence the choice of planting) + some tropical plants.

I have two main questions:

1 - The glazing in the house will be triple glazed with a UV % rating of 20 Tuv - I know that the temperature, humidity and light the room will receive will dictate what will grow well or at all in this region - but what impact will this type of glazing have? I may be able to opt for different glazing (e.g. double glazed instead). The glass has a U-value/Light/Energy rating of 0.5 / 62 / 42

2 - I will have limited access to fancy soil - can anyone recommend a sensible soil mix that can be sourced here in Ireland for this type of planting and anything I should be aware off (generally, I am asking what soil composition I should be choosing).

Thanks


texts:
I was hoping someone would be kind enough to identify this tree for me.  I want to properly care for it and I think identifying it would be a good first step.  Any help on this would be appreciated, also, links or advice on care for this little guy.  So my question is

Click on photo for full size

What kind of tree is this?

edit: I have since moved it towards sunlight, this picture was taken right when I got it.


texts: Why is this happening to my spider plant?

texts:
The stems to my spider plant babies are have suddenly died!

What shall I do with the babies I don’t want them to die either?

Thank you!


texts: What to do (immediately) with a waterlogged pot plant?

texts:
See here for question about what I should do now: What to do (after two weeks) with a waterlogged pot plant?

TL;DR

What should I have do, immediately, if I suspect that a repotted plant pot is draining poorly?

I recently repotted a bunch of house plants into larger pots, with new compost.

I mixed into the compost some water-retention crystals - the kind that absorb loads of water and can then release that water gradually. I did this because I struggle with under-watering the plants and was hoping that this would result in the dampness of the soil being more stable over time.

A) If this was a terrible idea from the get-go let me know :)

Perhaps I mis-judged the amount of crystals, or perhaps it was an error to soak the crystal-enhanced pots like I do for the rest of my plants, but the upshot was that the pots became extremely wet for a long period - I would say waterlogged.

There was water seeping out of the pot into the saucer for 2-3 days (which I would regularly empty), and the surface of the soil was definitely wet to the touch.
I then didn't water the pot for a week and a half, and left the plant outside on a South-East facing balcony for a very hot(23-27 degrees) and sunny week. and by the end of that week and a half, the soil is still not particularly dry (although it is at least not actively WET now).

I perceive that the plants definitely suffered from this - several (though not all) of the leaves very suddenly went extremely pale and then died, other leaves have gained a pale halo around their edge, and for the 3-4 days after I did this, the plants appeared to wilt (as though I'd UNDER-watered them) though it has now recovered

I have multiple questions, so the above set up has been duplicated on multiple posts, but my question here is ...

B) What should I have done, that afternoon or the next day, when I realised that the pot was waterlogged?


texts: How to prevent roots from digging through raised garden bed bottom

texts:
I am planning to build my first raised vegetable garden bed on my front yard.

However, since my septic drain field is located under that yard, I don't want

The roots of my garden bed to potentially disrupt my installation
The soil from my garden bed to get contaminated by the system

I was thinking of starting with a 4' x 6' bed of about 3 2"x6" planks high to grow basic vegetables (cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, bell peppers, maybe a few others), but am unsure how to prepare the bottom of the floor to isolate it from the soil beneath.

I guess I could also consider raising the bed from the floor entirely (maybe by having more smaller planter bins on posts).

Any suggestions?


texts: Indoor LEDs: Recommended Light Levels for Vegetables, Herbs, etc

texts:
I'm growing vegetables and herbs with LED lights inside.

Where can I find a list of recommended lighting values (uMol per square foot) for a long list of plants that I might want to grow?

For instance, I've found recommendations for basil (500) and lettuce (50-100).
I don't know how much light I should have for cilantro, tarragon, mustard greens, strawberries, scallions, mint, and several other things I might want to grow.


texts: How to maintain these plant roots close to the ground?

texts:
I removed lots of things at one spot in my garden but one residue is this bunch of cable-looking roots:

I want to keep them because they belong to a plant (located on the far right of the image) that provides privacy between my neighbor's garden and mine.
Problem is these roots look weird so I'd like to "push" them down to the ground. I was thinking of some U-shaped piece of metal planted in the ground but the upward pressure of the roots would probably push that thing out of the ground.
Any better idea?


texts: My orchid has one yellowing leaf. What's gone wrong?

texts:
I have an orchid that I bought about a month ago.  I'm following the watering directions that came with it (which means it's only been watered once so far) and I believe that it has the appropriate amount of light.  But one of its leaves suddenly became yellow all over.

What might have caused that and what can I try to fix the problem?

Further information: The tag that was attached suggests that it is a Phalaenopsis orchid and the medium it is planted in is mossy and moist to the touch.  It has two stems and the flowers on the side with the yellowing leaf have fallen off, but the flowers on the other stem are still in place.  There is a much larger leaf above the yellowing leaf that is still green and healthy as are the two leaves on the other side.  Does this help?

Final update: I took courage and poked around in the pot.  It seems the medium is entirely moss and that Phalaenopsis prefer bark.  Therefore, my plan is to repot the orchid in bark and see how it goes.


texts:
I bought a couple of grafted pecan nut trees 2 years ago. They both had small fruit in the last two seasons but I'm yet to taste one as none of them matured. The young fruits all fell during the hot summers.

I wonder if it could be due to the hot summer temperature? The growing zone is 9b/10 and we get top summer temperatures of around 35 Celsius (95 Fahrenheit). They were well watered though so it wasn't thirst.

EDIT: March 2019: I am happy to announce that both trees produced fruit last year. Got about 80 nuts, they are about half the size of store bought pecans. So quite small, but have twice the flavour. : )


texts: Help identifying a flowering plant and its pests

texts:
I recently bought a flowering plant from the supermarket, but have not been able to determine exactly what it is (it was unhelpfully labelled as "potted plant"). Its stems are thin and vine-like; its leaves are boat-shaped and about 3-4 cm long and 1-1.5 cm wide. The flowers vaguely resemble daisies, having yellow centres and purple petals which start out as white, and they grow to about 3-4 cm in diameter. The flower buds however, have a scale-like pattern which does not bear resemblance to any daisies I've seen. A picture is provided below:

Normally I would be content to not ask the plant its name, but within a few days it attracted what I assume to be pests. These are about a millimetre long, and shaped like waterdrops. The younger ones are translucent, and they turn progressively darker shades of green as they mature. They cluster mostly on the undersides of the flowers, rarely on the leaves. I assume that whatever lays them flies, as I live in a high-rise apartment. Another picture for reference:

I initially thought they were some variety of aphids, given that ants had also shown up and begun enthusiastically fondling them, so I used white oil and pyrethrin sprays. These didn't work. Neither did removing them with water and a fine brush. It should also be mentioned that these insects seem to be specific to this plant, as they only arrived when it did, and show no interest in the surrounding plants (tomatoes and basil).

If anyone could assist in identifying these, and perhaps a course of action for controlling these unidentified insects, I would be very grateful.

Postscript: I live in Singapore.


texts: Brown spots on herbs - treatment and are they ok to eat?

texts:
The leaves on all my garden herbs (mint, sage, oregano, thyme, lemon balm) get yellow-brown speckles from late spring, which by late summer almost entirely cover the leaves.

What might this disease (or diseases - the mint looks like rust but I've not heard of rust affecting thyme) be, and how can I treat it?  And can I still eat the affected leaves?


texts:
We have two cats at home, one of them uses the indoor litter tray while the other prefers to use the flower bed (then diligently spreading soil to cover up the deed).

Should I be concerned? The flower bed in question is seeded with lilies and sunflowers.


texts: Can I use a HVLP spray gun to spray weed killer?

texts: I'm planning on buying a BDPH400 from Black&Decker, looking to get more than just painting out of it, can it be used to spray herbicides like Roundup?


texts: We live in southern Spain and have had a begonia ricosoleana growing up the side of the house for two years without problems. We are south facing.  However, this year we had white and black fly and we have treated this with a spray for the whitefly and the old remedy of fairy liquid for the black fly. I have now hosed the whole plant thoroughly. But the leaves are 'folded in half ' along the main spine. What is causing this and is there anything I can do?


texts: What are these white streaks on my tomato plant?

texts: I've also seen similar streaks on my basil's leaves but not as pronounced.


texts: I have these hydrangeas from last year and I saw that they started growing new cuttings at the bottom. Now you can see that the older ones are the taller ones and I was wondering if I can cut them and make new cutting that way. Also make the plant bushier. If I can how should I do it, directly to the soil or put them in the water first?


texts: Are there any fungal or plant counters to Juglone (walnut allelopathy)?

texts:
I'm getting ready to begin building a food forest on the back quarter acre of my half acre yard.  However, my yard is absolutely surrounded by walnuts.  Walnuts release Juglone, an allelopathic chemical that inhibits the growth of most other plants, from their roots, rotting wood and nuts.  There are a number of plants that are Juglone resistant, but I'd rather not be limited in that way.  I could remove some, but not all of the trees, however I'd be great to keep them if I can.  Walnuts are a wonderful source of protein and oil.

I found an article on   indicating that a species of mushroom, Pleurotus sajor-caju, is capable of digesting Juglone and removing it from the soil very quickly.  However, there is no species of mushroom that is Pleurotus sajo-caju, rather there is a species of oyster mushroom (Pleurotus pulmonarius) that is frequently misidentified as Pleurotus sajor-caju and a separate species of tropical mushroom (Lentinus sajor-caju) that was previously thought to be a Pleurotus but is now a Lentinus.

Has anyone succeeded in using oyster mushrooms for Juglone remediation?  What species and where'd you get them from?  Are there any other species of fungus or plants known to remove Juglone from the soil?


texts: Is it possible to plant vegetables just in compost without soil added?

texts: I am new to gardening and I have started to grow my own vegetables at home. I have used only compost - and now that I am reading more about gardening, I am not sure if what I did was right. So do I have to add soil to compost to grow my vegetables?


texts: What is this succulent with little orange flowers?

texts:
A friend gave me this succulent because I thought it looked cool. Can you help me figure out what it is?

.
.
.
.
.

I took some pictures with the flash and some without. The trunk from the base to the tip is about 4 inches. Let me know if you need anymore info. Thanks!


texts:
I have a 7 x 7 big max resin shed, resin floor.

I'm putting in the corner of my yard for about year until we do some serious landscaping then it will be moved to a new location.

What should I use for foundation?

I was thinking 2-3 inches of gravel then 0.5 inch piece of treated ply wood.  Thoughts?


texts: Can anyone identify this plant? (Thessaloniki, Greece)

texts: I found a bunch of these up on one of the mountains outside town and brought a few back. They're a little wilted now because I took a while to properly replant them, and I haven't removed the dead leaves at the bottom yet, but they seem pretty hardy!


texts:
There have been no rain the last month and it's now illegal to water the lawn. It's been a week since I last watered the lawn, and the long-term forecast predicts no rain the coming two weeks.

I live in a place where it normally rains a lot. May is usually the driest month with about 13 rainy days and 100 mm total precipitation. It was no rain at all this May. The average daily maximum temperature in May is normally about 15-20 oC. The last two weeks however it's been about 26-30 oC. All weather records have been shattered this year.

The soil isn't deep (I don't know exactly how deep), and the lawn is just one year old. The grass is cold season grass.

Should I mow the lawn, or it's it better to leave it alone during the drought?


texts: Can you use plastic mulch in the vegetable garden without drip irrigation?

texts: I'm in usda hardiness zone 7a in NJ. Can you use plastic mulch for plants in the vegetable garden without drip irrigation or soaker hoses? If so how do you water plants with plastic mulch?


texts: Need help determining houseplant's problem

texts:
I've had a houseplant (not sure of the species, unfortunately) for a few (~6) months now. Until recently, the plant has been healthy.

Now, there are a few things going on with the plant that are concerning to me. I'm rather new to gardening, so I'm not sure what the problem is (I'm familiar with some deficiencies, but nothing more), and I don't really have anyone to ask. I was wondering if anyone could possibly help me determine the diagnosis and and treatment to my plant's ailment.

Symptoms:

Browning and yellowing of leaves at the base (phosphorous/iron deficiency?)
Small white circles on the undersides of leaves. Upon closer inspection they don't look like aphids, perhaps aphid eggs? (See topmost leaf)
Weird structures on the stem. Are these part of the plant? Am I just that dull?

Very small, almost invisible black dots on underside of leaf

Aphids, I think.

Is this just a simple aphid infestation rearing its ugly head? If so, is it even possible to have plants without aphid infestations (I've had aphid problems many times before)? Or is this multiple problems including an aphid infestation? Thank you for your help.


texts: What is this fur on the outer leaves on my Peperomia angulata?

texts:
There is white fur on some outer leaves of my peperomia angulata. Is this normal or should I be worried?

New images:


texts: How to germinate seeds using the plastic bag method

texts:
I've been trying to germinate seeds (lavender and tomato seeds from store bought seed packets) using different ways of the paper towel in a plastic bag method that I've been reading from the internet but I haven't had any luck with it. I have tried placing seeds in between two paper towels moistened with hydrogen peroxide diluted in water and placed it in a sealed ziploc bag (The hypothesis for this is that H2O2 would decompose into H2O and O2 which should allow the seed to "breathe", in addition to preventing fungal growth). I have also tried placing seeds in between paper towels moistened only with water and placed it inside a sealed ziploc bag. Both ziploc bags are placed at the side of the refrigerator(held by magnets) to keep them warm.

I've been checking on them everyday for almost two weeks now, and none of the seeds have sprouted.

I would really appreciate anyone who could enlighten me on the right way to do this.

Thanks!


texts:
The leaves of this plant are bit thick & filled as of any succulent plant.
I have not seen any flower from 6 months, maybe it don't bloom.

It likes hanging.

Here are its picture:

Full View:

Leaf View - 1:

Leaf View - 2:

Leaf View - 3:

It looks like some variety of Pilea; May be Pilea depressa.


texts: Citrus treatment for scale bugs and whether fruit is edible

texts:
I have some citrus trees with scale bugs, they are kept as house plants and live outside during the warmer months.  They've been sprayed (regrettably) with a pretty nasty pesticide.  It's called Bug Clear Ultra and Acetamiprid is listed as being the chemical.  (I don't want to use that spray again, but used it under duress).

My question is whether the fruits are edible given they've been sprayed with nasty chemicals (Acetamiprid).  Having read the container again (see picture), it gives a guide to 'latest application before harvest', which is some help.  Though further reading info provided by the University of Hertfordshire reveals that this is a neonicotinoid and that it can cause skin irritation (scroll to the bottom of the link for a summary of this).  I'm still rather unsure whether I can use the fruit or whether it could possibly be harmful.

I'll try out the organic methods next time (mentioned in the RHS link I've provided), does anyone have successful experience of using organic treatments?

EDIT - to add detail following Bamboo's points

While fruitlets were present? Yes.
While the flowers were there? Yes.
Second, can you add a photo showing the extent of the scale infestation, or say whether it is on the leaves as well as on the wood.  I don't have a photo of this yet, but there are still scale insects on the leaves.  I noticed found one or two on new leaves as well, although I believe I sprayed at the right time; I read somewhere that there is a most effective time to spray, according to the beasties' lifecycle.  Perhaps the treatment isn't 100% effective in any case.


texts:
I planted a vine a year ago and it's doing fine and growing well.

I am training it to go over the fence to reach the pergola on the other side.

How should I prune it for next year's growth and when?

?


texts: Why does my mandarin tree (Citrus reticulata) have yellow leaves with speckled bottoms?

texts:
I just bought a mandarin, variety 'nova'.

I'm not sure if it's healthy or not, or if it's meant to be like this. It has plenty of new growth but all leaves including new growth are yellow, and the bottoms of the leaves have speckles on them. The tops have slight green in the middle that resembles some kind of deficiency. Other than this is seems to be fine, it's not dropping leaves or anything, so I'm not sure if it has a problem or not. I have a pomelo and it's green so wasn't sure if this mandarin is supposed to be like this or not.

Click on pictures for full size.


texts: Will dead pine needles on top of new grass seed prevent the grass seed from germinating?

texts: I recently removed old roots, weeds and grass from a small area in front of our house.  I had some leftover mushroom compost, so I built up some areas to make the entire area level, but now it seems that dead pine needles from a neighbouring tree are falling onto the area I just seeded.  Will the pine needles not allow the seeds to germinate?  Is there anything I can do?


texts: Hostas in river rock - am I doing it wrong?

texts:
Last year I put water permeable fabric and then river rock down on a slope that sends water runoff toward my garage. A furrow at the edge of the rock helps direct the runoff away slightly better.

It’s a shady spot with only morning sun so I plopped a few gallon hostas in there.

So far this year they’re ok but I’m concerned I’m guessing. Anything I should do to make sure they thrive? Back off the rock around each a bit maybe?

FYI, I have been applying the rabbit repellent.

Please take a look:

Thanks for any advice.


texts:
I'm trying to germinate some basil and some catnip seeds. The basil is the regular, plain basil, like you'd purchase at any box store. I bought one of each of these plants in the spring of 2013 and put them in the garden. They did excellent. The catnip, especially, had to be cut back several times. At the end of the season I collected seeds from them.

Due to unforeseen circumstance, I wasn't able to plant a garden in 2014. It's now the first week in February 2015 and I'm trying to get some stuff started early. I can't seem to get my basil or catnip seeds to germinate. I collected them out of dried flower heads on both plant. I didn't think they were wet, but I let them dry a week before storing them in an air tight container with a small piece of paper towel to absorb any moisture.

I do that with most of my plants and I get the others to germinate with no problem. I can't seem to get these two to start, however. I've been using a wicking soda bottle to start them as it leaves the dirt lightly moist and doesn't compact it. I've had excellent success with other plants this way.

I read that basil needs to be warm, so I used a variation of the damp paper towel in a zip lock bag method. I took a roughly 1" cubed plastic container, put a piece of damp tissue paper at the bottom, placed the seeds on top, and put them in a warm dark place. I left them for 3 days before checking on them. I did the same with the catnip. They've not even started to germinate, but have started growing mold on some of the seeds.

All of my basil seeds, so far, have gotten that gel on the exterior of the shell, so I believe they're viable. The first ones, I probably planted too deep, at a .25". The ones in the plastic container should have been good. Now I've soaked some over night. I planted 2 seeds by pushing them into the dirt and barely covering them. The other three I just put on the surface an pressed in.

My room is the warmest in the house, but I can't say the temp doesn't dip. I can put the bottle in the warm draw, as the heat vents under the cabinets and keeps the drawers really warm.

I'm currently up to having used 15 basil seeds without one germinating. I'd love some help. Thank you.

Edit (2/25/2015): I have done cold stratification on the catnip and basil seeds. I put 5 seeds of each in 3 ziplock bags and I've put one in the fridge and two in the freezer. I meant to pull one bag of each out after a week and then pull the freezer bag out after a month, but my calendar didn't alert me properly and I removed them on 2/23/2015 after putting them in on 2/5/2015. I've planted them in a wicking waterer, under a 100w equivalent bulb in a warm room. I'll report back on germination, if any, at a later date.


texts: Should I put wood mulch around my wooden fence?

texts:
I have a wooden fence that is 20 feet away from my house. Right next to this fence, I have planted various types of berries. I would like to mulch these berries with wood chip mulch because it is organic and it is cheaper than stone pebbles.

I have read that one should avoid putting wood mulch directly next to a wooden fence because it could attract termites.

Is this true?
Isn't the fence already wooden?
So how would introducing wooden mulch cause termites to appear?


texts:
I am a beginner in gardening, so I appreciate some tips on how to grow mint plants.

Thank you!


texts: Repot a basil plant with leaves only at the top

texts:
Same guy, same wife, different basil plant, new problem.

So, I managed to convince my wife that, when removing leaves from the basil plant for use in cooking, she shouldn't remove more than half of the leaves. Well, first, she removed all of the leaves from one, claiming that she thought they all had the same roots. Now, she's removed all of the bottom leaves (since they were the larger ones), leaving a long spindly stalk with just leaves at the top. I have a gut feeling that the plant's probably wasting resources on the three inches of stem before it gets to the leaves. Can I break it off just below the leaves and repot it? Or am I better off just hoping that some leaves will regrow at the bottom (which, so far, they have not despite it being a few weeks since the incident).


texts: Can a dwarf fruit tree grow well with just morning sun?

texts:
I ordered a dwarf "Garden Prince" almond tree and a dwarf "Fuji" apple tree and I want to keep them in a container on my balcony. The balcony gets great sun in the morning, especially in the summer. I live in zone 7B and we get really hot and humid summers here.

However, I was wondering if that'll be enough sun for them to produce any fruit.  I've read some conflicting things online where someone said these trees could grow okay in part sun.

If the harvest is smaller, that should be okay since it's just for my husband and I.


texts: covering gr. house crops during extreme cold

texts: I've grown greens in a gr. house for 22 years.  During extreme cold I've put the fabric from Dewalt over hoops. In extreme cold I have 6-8 of these covers on but the next day I have to dry these covers due to condensation which takes most of the day.  Could I put plastic over the hoops first, then the fabric cover on top eliminating the drying of fabric the next day without damaging the plant? We're headed for some extreme weather starting tonight, thank you.


texts: Does anyone know what happened to my Croton?

texts: This croton was doing well in my office as of Friday. I came back from the holiday weekend and he looks like he is dying now! Does anyone know what could have caused this? I watered him today to see if that would help. So far it hasn't made too big of a difference.


texts:
After trimming my decorative grasses this spring, I noticed that many of them have lost their shape. Mostly by expanding their base.

And some of them have lost their middle - there were no stalks to cut. Looks like they were suffocated by the previous year's clippings and dead leaves.

What's the best way to fix this? Especially for the ones with the lost middle.  They haven't started growing yet. Should I uproot the expanded areas and replant them in the middle, or will it fill the middle back in by itself?

Located in Chicago. I'm not sure of the species but from searching I would guess they are types of feather reeds.


texts: What could be wrong with this leaf blower?

texts:
A little over a year ago, after complaining about the amount of cord I had to use with our electric leaf blower I was gifted an inexpensive gas blower. A Ryobi 150 mph 400 CFM Gas Blower Vac from home depot to be precise. It probably wouldn't have been the one I would've chose, but hey. Complaining about gifts is never a good idea.

I mixed up some gas for the two stroke engine, but admittedly I did eyeball it. It started right up, and worked great. I used it for the next 30 minutes or so until it ran out of gas. At this point I needed to buy some new gas. I mixed up this next batch very carefully, and about two weeks later I went to use it again. It would not start, didn't start. Its a year later and If I was going to return it I should've done it months ago.

I'd like to get it started, but have little experience with trouble shooting small engines. I am a computer programmer, not a lawn care specialist. But, I'd love to learn. And I do have an internet connection. I am a bit stumped. Where should I begin. What could be wrong?

note: looking at the reviews online this 'not starting' or tough to start seems to be a common problem.


texts:
I found this in my garden:
What type of mushroom is it? What is that ink-like substance? Does it affect in some way to the other plants?


texts:
Wood chippings are often used as a natural mulch but I have a far greater abundance of leaves since my property is surrounded with beech and sycamore (a type of common maple) trees.
Clearly these compost fairly readily but on the other hand, you get a new supply every year and I have huge piles.
Is spreading a layer of leaves a workable mulch option or will they likely break down and encourage rather than inhibit weed growth before the end of the summer?


texts: Why has my bougainvillea lost almost all of its leaves?

texts:
I got this bougainvillea plant as a gift a week or two ago. I read up on it and it said that it needed direct light for at least 5 hours a day and not a lot of watering.  But I live in central Texas and the days are 100 degrees. I would water it about every other day to two days when the soil looked like it was really drying. For now I have brought it in, re-watered it and now I'm not sure what to do with it.

I want to keep it small and shrub like but from what I understand this keeps growing longer unless you cut it back.

Do I need to cut it back and let it re-grow?  Or give it time and let it grow bigger before cutting?

Edit for pics. Click on them for closer view.


texts: Ordered Rosemary online a week ago and the plant looks dead

texts:
I ordered a Rosemary plant last week and just received it today. I live in a tropical region so it is usually sunny and humid. We opened the box and were surprised to see that the leaves were darkened. What can I do to save this plant?

here is a picture of the plant


texts:
In relation to this question: Identifying a flower basket - Plant 1

For mother's day I bought my mother a basket with three different kind of flowers. She wants to take them out of the basket and into their own pots, and needs to know what plants are they to take proper care of them.

The basket's label is extremely helpfull stating just "Flower Basket" and nothing else.

My mother knows quite a bit of gardening but doesn't know these specific plants and asked me to help her identifying them, but my gardening knowledge is negative so I think that together we average 0 knowledge alltogether.

These are the pictures of the second of the plants in the basket, would it be possible to identify it?

PLANT B

Thank you for your help.


texts: How do I subdivide mature chrysanthemums?

texts:
This spring, I bought little chrysanthemums (mums) of different shapes and colors at a neighborhood market. They have developed very well and now (in autumn) blossom in beautiful colors, e.g. yellow-with-white-margin and purple-with-yellow-center.

How can I go about subdividing these by now mature plants similar to how the person whom I bought the seedlings from presumably did last autumn or this spring?


texts: Can geranium (pelargonium hortorum) live in water?

texts:
I am interested in growing some indoor plants in water only, with some added fertilizer.

I am wondering if geranium (pelargonium hortorum), like pothos can live in water.

A quick google search did not reveal much information about this and I was wondering if anyone has any experience on this subject.


texts:
My Aloes are growing well. Those two, however seem to prefer different conditions. I never figured-out if they do better with more shade (leaves become more succulent but much paler), or more water (Not much change). In either case they either retain the top leaves only, or remain full of curled "dry" leaves, like the one in the first picture. Extra watering does not help either. The leaves are widely spaced but this may be their natural growth pattern. As I have no ID, I could not find a reference picture on how a collector's item should look like.
I took cuttings several times. They root and grow, but slowly and have the same problem.
What is so different with those Aloes? Are they naturally so (then nothing I can do), or am I providing the wrong temperature, lighting and watering regime?


texts: Avocado plant leaves drooping ** still in water**

texts:
The leaves on my avocado plant are drooping, the difference is, mine is still in the water cup I used to pop the seed. I was waiting to see wilting or burn on the leaves to indicate the time for transplant but the leaves are still green and there is new growth. however, this last week the leaves are drooping and looking sad.
It's kept indoors near heat and I use blue spectrum LED grow lamps (Nov in washington).
Possible problems:
Time to transplant?
too much light? I often leave it 24hrs/day
algae or fungus? its kinda slimy down there at the roots. I refreshed the water a couple times but no help this time.
Could it be the tap water? should I use distilled or bottled water?
Help! I am several months into this thing. Thanks


texts: Are there mulling spices that can be grown in zone 5 northern USA?

texts:
I'm a fan of mulling spices used in wine and cider, but I can't think of any similar fragrant plants that grow in my neck of the woods. Mulling spices I'm thinking of are allspice, clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg. I think all of those grow in southeast Asia and generally warm places.

Are there any plants I could replace those seasonings with, that can grow in northern USA, zone 5/6? I figure mulled cider and mulled wine is a northern drink that is not too fancy, so there must be some 'local' analogues. At the same time, perhaps mulled drinks are relatively fancy and could only be made with spices brought from afar.


texts: Should I prune the low branches on my Longan?

texts: I planted a Kohala Longan last year. It does not appear to be grafted. It grew new branches on the top last year, making it 5 feet tall. This year, it branched profusely near the ground. Now it looks like a bush rather than a tree. Is there any harm in keeping those low branches or should I prune them off?


texts:
I've learnt from a YouTube video that succulent "leaves" can be cleaned with milk and that would remove water stains as well. I wanna know if this can cause any harm to the leaves. My succulent has gotten very dusty and I would like to clean it up.
Another thing I wanna know about is why it isn't growing. It has been the same since i bought it (which was around 3 months ago. There has been no growth at all. Is this normal? Are they slow growing plants?


texts: Tilling a yard to reestablish pleasant plant growth

texts: all. Over the years the backyard has got pretty overgrown with unpleasant plants and such. Weeds, crabgrass, nasty vines, etc. We want to rent a tiller and tear up the first 6-8 inches of growth to reestablish a proper lawn. Can anyone offer experience, opinion, or wisdom? Many kind thanks!


texts: How can I save a branch injured by wind stress?

texts:
Our landlord planted a beautiful Santa Cruz Hibiscus in the front yard, Zone 9b, its natural habitat more or less, which grew into a small tree. The main trunk has a nice iron rod stake. Of the three main branches, one died last fall, so I felled it this winter, hoping to make space for a new one.

Unfortunately, we had excessive wind today and one of the other branches fell off and the last branch snapped off the main trunk. The branches are no more than about an inch and a half or so in diameter.

I staked it with a spare curtain rod and a couple of garden stakes and multiple tie-straps to try and shore up the branch as best as I could. The wind was pretty much trying its best to stress the branch cyclically and take it down, so I ran off to our local hardware/garden store (Orchard Supply Hardware) in the hopes of finding a magical cement or glue that would help the stem.

They had no such thing and told me to write of the branch/tree. My brother found some people using "Gorilla" wood glue and I had already picked up this thing called "Plastic Wood". I brought it back, and the gorilla glue of course was less viscous and so that just flowed down, so I applied the plastic wood copiously, but that also didn't seem to do much.

I am a bit "stumped" as this is the first time I have had to try and save the last branch in a tree.  Does anyone know quick fixes/bandages that I can buy and/or use?


texts: Is this wormwood and what can be done to stop their decline?

texts:
I've scoured the internet and am still unsure what these plants are! They're starting to die off and I'm trying to do some research on what can be done to save them.

They have somewhat feathery silver/green leaves and stems that crawl along the ground and then curve upward into a foot-long stalk with seed pods (but no flowers that I've seen).

Growing conditions: SE Michigan, full sun. They were planted 1-2 Summers ago and were going strong up until about a month ago. My current best guess is that these are wormwood which, I'm told, do better without a lot of water and are susceptible to root rot if they get too much. That seems contrary to what I'm seeing, though; the plants appear to be withering and those closest to a downspout are the doing the best. Any suggestions other than watering, which I am doing (carefully and in small amounts)?


texts: Why didn't my amaryllis send up a flower stalk? Will it ever?

texts: I acquired 3 amaryllis bulbs and planted them cozily in pots kept near my south-facing window (where there is also a radiator). I didn't give them fertilizer, and not one of them sent up a flower stalk. They only have the leaves. Was it because I didn't fertilize? How can I get them to flower in the future?


texts: Ground level Spanish plant ]caused skin irritation(https://i.stack.imgur.com/CAIZ2.jpg)


texts: Nepenthes pitcher cups rotting and turning black

texts: I just feed one of the pitchers half a mealworm and in 2 days it looks like this. And it smells really bad. I don't understand what I did wrong.


texts: Need help interpreting my soil test results and fertilizer recommendations

texts:
The guy from the lab told me to use 13-13-13 fertilizer. my Lawn is 4000 sq feet, 1 (8 pounds/1000 sq ft) in April and 1 in May end. And then 1 each in September and October end. Also, use liquid ironite.
Other stores have different recommendations like adding Pete Moss or gypsum.


texts:
I got this vermiculite for plants and wondering if this is good enough or not.

It's golden in color. Very shiny, like gold.

Should I use this for succulents? How is this thing going to help the plants?


texts: How do I re-color clay pots of my plants?

texts:
I have several indoor plants in ceramic\clay pots. The pots are now look old & faded. Also, fungus is grown on them.

So, I was thinking to re-color them to get a fresh look. What should I consider in choosing color for pots and coloring technique? or any other thing which I need to consider for this.


texts: What is the flower-like succulent in this succulent group?

texts:
Could you please ID succulent F in the following picture? It looks like a flower, and is similar to D. What is its hardiness zone? Would it survive the coldness of zone 5, if left outdoor in the winter, while keeping it in its current container and arrangement?

This question is based on another (closed) question.


texts:
Ever since the arrival of our clawed furballs necessitated the banishment of our house plants to the office room my GF misses having some green in the living room.

I'd like to rectify this situation but am faced with the problem, that when I go through online lists of cat safe plants they are either boring greens or refer to inaccurate common names that could be any of dozen plants.


texts:
A little worried about my otherwise healthy looking Kalanchoe. One of its leaves started turning yellow at the tip and am worried because a similar thing happened to another leaf, and that one now looks almost dead.

The first image shows the current leaf turning yellow. The second is of the old one which had started turning yellow a few weeks ago. And the third of the plant in general.

I have been watering it roughly every two weeks, waiting for the soil to dry out completely and then watering it pretty generously. Am worried if this is a sign of root rot. I have kept it by the window since the start of winter here in Frankfurt.

Directions would be appreciated. Thanks!


texts: Unsure about cause of browning avocado leaves

texts: My avocado leaves are all looking like this and dying (3 years old plant). I gave it some fertilizers a while ago, like 2-3 months. I am sure I am not watering too much, been doing rarely since the winter, once a week or even less. I hope you can help me save it!


texts: Hi am trying to germinate seeds via paper towel method   But every time my seeds got attack by fungus and seeds get damaged. Usually I take tissue paper then I place seeds on it and then I spray little water on it and then I put the tissue paper in auto seal bags/vacuum bag.  And when I open it after few days seeds all damage attacked by fungus. So how to prevent fungus attack on seeds so that I can germinate my grapes and lemon seeds.   Thanks.


texts: What weed covering should I use under my mulch?

texts:
I am about to lay down new mulch in a flower bed for a customer, where weeds are highly prone to growing. I will also be weeding this flower bed throughout the year. My question is, what type of weed covering should I use? I have used fabric coverings before but the weeds broke right though.

Would I kill my flowers if I laid down plastic under the mulch and around the flowers?


texts: I have a small new build site lawn that is approx 5M x 3m sloping from 0 to 450mm. It is heavy clay soil that I want to level off, meaning I will have to build up 450mm. I am putting perforated drainage pipe on three sides to improve the drainage with outlet to a storm-water drain. I want to lawn the area with borders for flowers. What is the best way / combination of topsoil / aggregate / compost to make this level?


texts: Broccoli and cabbage leaves are curling (seedlings)

texts:
This is my first year for growing anything and I am having some issues with my broccoli and cabbage seedlings. For the longest time (2 weeks) they have been doing fine but recently the leaves are curling and shriving. Looking almost like they were shoved in a dehydrator. But the rest of the plant is just as good as ever. I don't know if this is lack of water since I give them water whenever the soil gets dry. So every two days? Is it something I am doing or is this natural?

Above is the picture and I edited the picture to point the bad ones, which are obvious anyway. These seedlings are in these cell trays in the basement. The soil mix is potting soil (50%) and coco coir (50%). I didn't get a good picture of the cabbage, I have a very cheap camera. Also wanted to mention, the leaves looked dried up but are not actually dried up.


texts: I used a new soil-less method for my recent raised vegetable bed. This is the method I used: Softened the soil by loosening with a fork. Laid soaked cardboard in the diameter of the bed, overlapping each piece. Then covered with a bed of straw, garden compost, wetting each layer. I laid two layers and used peat moss as the last layer, with a finished height of approx 8" and a bed size of 4x6. I planted corn seeds and covered with mesh. The corn is growing, however, the bed is also covered with "grass". What is the best way to get rid of the grass?


texts: How to conceal anti-siphon irrigation valves?

texts:
I'm rebuilding the valve manifold of my residential irrigation system. The existing system seems to have no backflow prevention, so among other changes, I'll be swapping out the globe valves for anti-siphon valves (I'd prefer not to use a double check valve for several reasons).

With all the lateral pipes in the ground already, moving the manifold is not attractive, but raising the bottom of the anti-siphon valves 6" above the highest emitter will put them far enough above grade that even 18" tall valve boxes cannot cover them and still reach the ground.

And covering the valves seems like a good idea since the PVC pipe connecting to the valves and the valves themselves will degrade when exposed to sunlight. Painting provides UV protection, but seems more unsightly than the ugliest valve box and will not protect the wiring from curious little fingers.

Are there any good choices for covering a tall valve manifold?


texts: What is the shrubs which loses its brown bark every year?

texts:
I recently discovered this shrub in an overgrown section of the garden which is now free to breath. It is about 2.5m high and has 2m in diameter.

The most significant attribute I can associate with it, is its light-brown bark which it throws of every years or so. Foliage is about to appear and it does great red colors in autumn, I can't remember having it seen flowering.

click for a hi-res version


texts: Monstera Deliciosa plant with brown crud on the leaves

texts:
I have a pot plant with Swiss cheese kind of foliage that has got some problem possibly some sort of parasite or fungal infection, I have no idea. It's like red-brown rust that brushes off fairly easily but leaves the leaves looking kind of sickly.
What is it and how should I treat that, to stop it reoccurring?


texts: What is this plant with a purple flower?

texts: I live in Victoria, in the Pacific North West (zone 8) and summer arrived here this week and the flowers pictured below started to bloom.  I'm new here.  Can anybody identify them?


texts: What is this plant? Is it edible? Poisonous? Thank you

texts: I was in my garden when I noticed a weed that I’d never seen before. I looked on the internet and maybe it’s a nightshade??? The inside of the fruit had lots of tiny seeds that reminded me of pomegranate seeds. It has white flowers with five points that are yellow on the inside. Anyway, I hope someone can identify it. Thanks.


texts: I have rose plants in my home garden and they are quite old like 3 years. This plant was doing so good but suddenly it's leaves are started getting yellow and fell down. Even the new tiny leaves are suddenly got yellow and fell. Even the flower are not as good as earlier. Any suggestions how to prevent this


texts: Should I overwinter my Crocosmia bulbs indoors, or plant them?

texts:
I just dug out some bulbs of what I believe is Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora 'Honey Angels'. I'm wondering now what to do with them.

Should I store them until spring? In that case, which conditions should I keep them in?

Or should I put them in the ground now (autumn)? If so, how deep should I plant them?


texts: Last fall I picked up half a large banana plant corm from the refuse pile at the local gardens, planted it in a 12" pot with loamy soil, and stuck it in my growth chamber for months of benign neglect. Now (mid january, -20°C outside) I've noticed suckers coming up around the edge of the corm. Perhaps I watered it too much? The suckers are now 5 to 6 inches (15 cm) tall, and I'm wondering how big a problem I have on my hands. Will these things reach 4 feet in a month? That's too tall for the growth room. Is it time to transplant? Will that slow growth, or should I just clip these early risers, and hope for more shoots come April?


texts: Why are the leaves on my mango tree turning brown and drying out?

texts:
I grew a mango tree last summer from seed in a pot. In the beginning it was extremely healthy looking and fast-growing. When the summer was over, as it gets very cold here in Canada, I took it indoors and placed it in the window frame. I fertilized it once or twice only during summer. Indoors, the lighting was less than ideal during the winter but it could get some sun light for a few hours per day.

However, after some time, I saw that leaves started to get brown, dry and fall off. Curiously, the browning pattern was quite peculiar as in many leaves it first starts as an isolated regular-shaped segment that then spreads to the whole leaf. Sometimes only the segment that has gotten brown gets dry while the other parts are still green and soft. In some leaves the browning is less regular and can come like an overall shade of brown. This second type starts with a tint of brown more or less everywhere and then it gets darker and darker all over the leaf. In both cases, the browning can exist in a segment, in very tip of the leaf or at the base.

The plant has lost many leaves. Even new coming leaves can be affected and fall off. It seems that some of them can be diseased even before unfolding. I water it somewhat regularly, only when the soil is dry. I also gently transplanted it into a bigger pot. I thought it may help but it didn't. When changing the pot, I saw some kind of yellowish powder near the root. I'm not sure if it was fungus or some color that had come off the pot.

Now it's summer and I can put it outside but it seems that it is dying. Is there any way that I can save this lovely thing?

I love plants but I am not very knowledgeable in caring for various plants. I really appreciate your comments.


texts:
After reading this identification question, I remembered we had peonies in our back yard when I was a kid. I noticed a lot of ants would congregate on the plants and was worried they would destroy them. I talked to my Mom about it. She told me they shared a symbiotic relationship and to leave the ants alone.

Is this true? If so, what is this symbiotic relationship about?


texts: What is the most efficient drip system setup for irrigating a tree in the desert?

texts:
What is the most efficient (i.e., least water lost due to evaporation) drip system setup for irrigating a tree in the desert?

I've seen some elaborate setups, like this:

But having it above-ground like this would seem to result in a lot of water loss via evaporation.

I've also seen soaker hose setups laid out in a spiral.

Or this:

This chart shows how many emitters I need:

However, can I get by with only a half-dozen or so emitters per tree, and just water longer? Should the emitter tubes be buried in the ground, or should they should poke into the ground?

Would this be good?:


texts: What should I do about old invasive redwood roots after the trees are cut down?

texts: Our redwood trees were too big and too close to the house so we had them cut down. Now we will grind out the stumps and remove the large roots. However, the ground is totally saturated with the smaller old redwood roots.  What should we do about them before we landscape?


texts: Will chili fruit ripen if it's a bit cool?

texts:
I had a bunch of chilis come in around Feb/Mar and since in Auckland NZ (Southern Hemisphere). When should I harvest? It's a very temperate climate and we only got 1 minor frost last year.

Ideally, I'd harvest once everything was big, red, and ripe but I'm guessing that everything will shut down soon. We're currently getting highs of 17-18C but will drop to ~10-13(?) in 6 weeks or so.


texts: How far should wires be if nailed straight onto a brick wall?

texts: When training climbing roses onto a wall without the use of an arbor, how much space do you leave in between from wall to wires?


texts:
Can you help me assess the health of this geranium please ?
I believe this is a a rather old plant, maybe 10 years old, it has been a year now i am taking care of it.
A year back when i found him, it was a pair of branch and leaf, it was not in good shape.
Because i knew it was old soil, i layered organic matter on top of the soil, and gave the plant some NPK.
During late winter and early spring it was subject of slugs attacks, so i tried my best to manually get ride of them.
In late spring and until mid summer it was flowering wonderfully and I was very happy to see it so big and so colorful.
During that time i regularly checked for butterflies, i found a pair of cocoons and caterpillar. I got ride of them asap.
I also noticed that in some places the plant was turning black inside. But i am unclear what that means because i can still some growth.
For the last three weeks it has entered a kind of vegetative phase, the holes in leaves are not increasing, not much, it is not flowering again, it is making new greens (slowly).
Unfortunately, while doing the cuttings to write this post, i found one caterpillar...... No idea where it come from. Seems dead... so bad....
thanks for your input!

color of the water after (good) watering

a cut with black stuff inside

the other side of the cut, nice green

the friend i found while doing pictures for this post. he is super lazy but still alive..... : (

the cuts i plan to to

so i should get ride of branches with black hole in it, such as

I hop it will also help this plant to have a better shape, because it has grew two big branches in opposite directions and this is not so nice.
Following is the plant 12 days after the cut, very nice greeny leaves are coming out, thanks again.


texts: What are the red berry-like structures at the base of my gardenia's flowers?

texts: My gardenia has a multitude of red, berry-like structures at what would have been the base of the flower. Given it is now November in South Carolina, what are they and will they produce a new plant?


texts: Red/pink spots and light spots on my oregano


texts:
Question 1:
What is the name of this plant?

Question 2:
Should I separate & replant individual stalks?

Thank you


texts:
I got a .2 acre (close to) rectangular backyard, slight slope. No puddle, yet the lawn feels wet. Or at least it takes longer to dry up after rain. Sometimes, when my neighbors started mowing, my lawn still is not completely dry.

So I am considering laying down some french drainage system under the lawn. In some YouTube videos, the handyman just dug trenches around the perimeter (fence) inside the yard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDOUmX1meAs

I am curious if the center part of the lawn is too far from the drainage. Wouldn't it be better to dig parallel trenches all over the yard to "cover" the whole lawn?

If that is the case, how far apart should we dig our trenches? Let's say we are using 4" perforated PVC tubes.


texts:
Two weeks ago, I bought this outdoor flower plant to brighten up my herb garden. I don't know the name of the plant and I had put it outdoors.The plant is exposed to full sun for 6-7 hours. Sadly, the leaves look like they are dying.

Unfortunately, after buying this plant, it had rained for the whole week but contrary this week is hot (it is around 22 Degrees Celsius). I checked the plant today and soil was slightly dry.

Do you think that this plant dying?

Edit: Just discovered the plant's name thanks to @Stephie...Yipiiiii


texts: What is the landscaper responsible for when causing mature tree damage?

texts: We're doing a pretty big landscaping project - putting in about 1200 sqft of pavers and a 70' x 3' rock retaining wall. Our landscaper ran into our 35 year old Japanese Maple with his tractor  and broke off one of the larger branches. Part of the branch is still there, but we're afraid that the whole branch will need to be removed since there is about a 12" split in the remaining wood. If that branch needs to be removed, that half of the tree won't have any branches and I don't think it makes sense to keep the tree. So far they have apologized but haven't offered anything else. Is there any standard for compensating us for a mistake like this? OR, what is reasonable for us to ask?


texts:
Can anyone identify this rose (photos below)? I'm wondering if it's a climbing rose or even a rambling rose. And does anyone know how I should care for it?

The stems are quite long and thin and don't have many shoots coming off of them, although this could be because it hasn't been pruned correctly for some years.

It produces white flowers that bloom once a year. The leaves come in clusters of 5. (I read this means it's not a rambling rose, but could be a climbing rose...)

We live in Sweden, where the summer temperature reaches about 25 Celcius and winters usually have several months of snow and are about -10 Celcius.

Thanks for any help!


texts:
So I am going to be planting some flowers into a few flower beds in my house. The sun essentially rises in the back of my house and sets in the front. So this gives about half/half as far as sun goes (With the south flowerbed getting slightly more sun since it's not up against the house).

Should this matter as far as partial/full sun? I'd imagine each side is getting at least 4-6 (Which is considered full sun right?) or should I go with plants that can mainly do partial sun.

(BTW plants that need full shade won't be totally screwed over if they get 4-6 hours of sun but spend a good amount of time in the shade right? Same thing for Plants that need full sun?)


texts: How do (consumer) soil moisture sensors work?

texts:
Wikipedia has a great article on soil moisture sensors, but it focuses on commercial/farming/large-scale settings. I'm investigating options for consumers, and I'd like to understand what technologies are available for my front yard. (I would also ask for product links, but I believe those are discouraged on StackExchange sites ...) So my questions:

What moisture sensor technologies are commonly and successfully applied by consumers?
Investigating one such product, I came across the following gem explaining their technology:

  Baseline Soil Moisture Sensors work by  sending a high frequency pulse
  of  electricity down an embedded wire path.   The high frequency of
  the pulse causes the  sphere of influence to move outside the  sensor
  blade and into the soil around it.   When the pulse travels through
  moisture, it  slows down.  The sensor measures the  speed, and then
  converts this measurment  to a moisture content reading.

Assuming they don't mean "the sphere of influence is moved by advanced magic muggles can't possibly comprehend", what technology might they refer to and how does that work?


texts: What is in seed starting soil that justifies wearing gloves while handling?

texts:
I was adding miracle-gro seed starting soil to paper pots with my daughter a few months ago and was a little leery about letting her touch the stuff (let alone breathe it in).

What's in it that is dangerous? Do you need rubber gloves or just gardening gloves? Should children be kept away from it?  Are there natural alternatives?


texts:
I have some pots with geranium in my garden.

Since where I live winter comes with some frost and snow, I have already confirmed that leaving the geranium in the garden will make them not survive the winter.

So far I always brought the pots inside to winter, but for logistic reason I would prefer leaving them outside.

Would storing the pots below a garden table be sufficient to protect the geranium from frost/snow damage?


texts: What to do about a flowering currant covered with white disease or fungus?

texts: Does anyone know what this is and how to deal with it please (I am in the UK)?  Are there any precautions I need to take if I just remove the whole shrub?  It is a flowering currant.  Thanks


texts: Why do I have 2 little tree sprouts growing from one Lychee nut seed

texts: I have a Lychee seedling I started with moist paper towels. I've done 25 all together, though not all at the same time. They are all planted now. June 21st was my first 5, July 10th I planted my last 9. My question is this, out of the first 5 I planted one of my little trees looks like 2 trees are growing out of the soil. I know it's not the root system because I carefully checked. Anyone know what could cause this? Thank you for your time. Angie


texts: Why is my pumpkin seedling's cotyledon twisted and whorled?

texts: Two days after transplanting, my decorative pumpkin seedling's cotyledon became twisted and whorled. Why? What does it mean?


texts: Is it too late for row cover to help with insects?

texts:
Last year I used row covers on PVC frames to effectively keep cabbage worms off my broccoli and cabbage. I put the covers on in spring as soon as I put the seedlings in the ground, and then took them off when the plants were larger. There were some worms in the broccoli when I harvested, but they don't do much damage and come out of the heads with a good soaking when brought inside.

This year I didn't put the covers on early like I should have, and I'm wondering: is worth my time to put covers over more mature plants that already have cabbage worms? Will I just be "locking the bad bugs in"? What if I first spray with Bt, which seems to have been effective at controlling them so far, and then cover?


texts: How can I propagate Phoenix canariensis with vegetative offshoots?

texts:
My neighbour has some Phoenix canariensis in his garden. And, despite reading many times that this plant does not do that, some of them have produced vegetative offshoots from basal portions of their stems.

Now I want to know, how can I make them root to develop new saplings? Is this possible? Or could these palms be, not Phoenix canariensis, but another similar palm tree, because they really never ever produce vegetative offshoots?

I can take some photos if that helps.


texts:
I live in an urban area, but have some space in the back for an apple tree.  Last fall I picked up two trees on sale at the end of the season on a whim.  They've been completely destroyed by rabbits and it's time to start thinking about another tree.

I am considering the following options:

Self pollinating variety with more than 1 type of tree grafted to the root stock.
Get a more established crab apple tree and graft apple scions to it.
Get a single variety and hope the nearby trees* are enough to pollinate it.  There are some other apple trees within a couple of hundred feet of my property.

I don't plan on spending the rest of my life here, so I'd like the shortest path towards a tree that will bear fruit.

What is my best bet?


texts: My pothos leaves have cracks. What could be the reason?

texts: I propagated pothos in water. The leaves are cracked and crippled. Please see picture. What could be the reason? Any disease? If so which one and what’s the remedy?


texts: Why are my yellow cherry tomato plants not growing or getting more fruit

texts: I bought yellow cherry tomato plants from a nursery that already had tomatoes on them. I transplanted them and although the plants have gotten bigger, they are still very short compared to the red cherry tomatoes I also planted. They also have not gotten any new flowers, so I have very few tomatoes. I planted them in large pots, don't know what kind of soil, but it may be a mixture of soil from my yard, potting soil, compost etc. It has been used previously for other vegetable plants. Should I fertilize them?


texts: Identify this plant(s) mixed with a dwarf bamboo

texts:
At first there was much less of the heart-shaped leaves and more bamboo leaves but the bamboo mostly died off and the heart-shaped leaves mostly took over the pot.

I was under the impression that it was part of the bamboo plant at first but I don't think that is the case as it started to propagate on it's own and is producing what appear to be seed pods.

There may be more than 1 other plant in here also as seen in the first and third picture.


texts:
I'm trying to add some plants to our backyard that can do well in healthy soil that does get very marshy several times during the summer. It's an area that receives some sun and some shade - probably more shade than sun.

Our backyard has an area that becomes marshy when it rains heavily, which is maybe 10 days throughout the summer. A large, beautiful catalpa tree is growing near the front center of the yard and that tree shades much of the area as the sun moves throughout the day.

Behind that tree, there is a gentle dip in the yard all the way from one side of the yard to the other with small pebbles in the center of the dip. It's very straight, obviously man-made, and when we bought the house several years ago, the inspector of the property said it was a "natural drainage ditch" constructed to allow rainwater to run across the yard.

It was easy to see that all the back yards had the same construction and that the intention was for the water to run out the end of the last backyard on the block into the ditch on the street. And it worked that way for years with no problem.

You possibly can guess what happened. A new neighbor moved in to the house next to ours and blocked the drainage ditch a few years ago. Almost immediately, our backyard became a swamp during rainstorms. We explained to the neighbor how the ditch works and he said he didn't care. He didn't want all that rainwater running across his yard.

So now, we have two choices.  We can block the ditch on the other side and flood our other neighbor's yard, or we can try to figure out what to do with a backyard that gets very marshy eight to ten times each spring and summer.

Two summers ago, when this started, I just tried to deal with the neighbor. Last summer,  I started trying to add plants to our back yard to help the marshiness, partially blocked the other side, and reopened the blocked side in several wider places that were hard for him to re-block. We can't deal with all the water from the block, but we can deal with some. He didn't seem to notice that I'd reopened it.

The remaining problem is that the recurring marshiness is causing a lot of mud around that narrow ditch. I tried planting ferns and lilies around the ditch in the healthy soil to hold the soil in place and stop the muddiness from being so severe last year but they all died.

Does anyone know which types of plants do well in warm, northern Kentucky weather, just south of Cincinnati, when planted in good soil that gets marshy several times a year?


texts: When do Big Max pumpkins start to produce?

texts: I have a Big Max pumpkin that sprouted a little over a month ago. It's looking good and producing lots of leaves, but I haven't seen the first sign of buds anywhere. I've never done pumpkins before, so I'm not sure when I should expect to start seeing blooms.


texts: Why is my newly planted hydrangea dying?

texts: I just planted this hydrangea 2 weeks ago that was donated as a gift to the front line workers from landscapers. It was indoors for a day and I took it home and planted it. I never planted one before. Is it too deep down? I live 3 blocks from the beach in NJ. It was planted about April’15. Weather has been rainy and cool 40s to 50s. Two mornings were 37. Otherwise it is a full sun location 1pm on. I water it about a liter a day. I just chopped off the dead drooping flower heads. Is it salvageable?


texts: How can I grow seedlings from commercial apples?

texts: I once grew an apple seedling from the apples I bought from a fruit stand. I was trying to grow another seedling from the seeds I collected but it doesn't germinate?


texts: How effective are row covers in preventing insects?

texts: Has anyone ever used row covers (floating or built on a "structure", such as a PVC cage) to help prevent/discourage insects? How effective are they?


texts:
As I came back home today, I have found patches of oil along the alley, over the entry door, and many of my plants, mostly succulent plants. I'm not much worried about the fruit trees, because their response is fast enough, and they can re-grow new leaves instead of the ones damaged by the oil.

After a short inquiry, I have found-out that some construction work was going on. A truck was unloading some building materials next to my entry. During the unloading process, the hydraulic system operating the lever has bursted, spilled oil and sprayed the rest over a long radius.

Is it ok to leave the spray? I would not use detergents to take it off, as this may cause more damage. The oil does not evaporate, but will the sun's radiation do the work and break-up the material? What is the safest way to remove it without damaging the plants?


texts: Why is the bottom of my cactus discolored and soft?

texts: I got this cactus a couple of years ago but in the last few months I have noticed the bottom half getting brownish and soft. I water the cactus about once every 6-8 days and it gets a lot of direct and indirect sunlight as it sits on a SE facing windowsill. I have fertilized the cactus once with a cactus and succulent fertilizer. I also repotted it and the roots looked healthy (a white creamy color). I live in the Baltic.


texts: Why are the tops of my Brussels Sprouts turning purple?

texts: What does it mean when the tops of the Brussels Sprouts start to turn purple?


texts: Can a Maple tree be pruned to grow tall and narrow?

texts:
I have a maple tree that's poorly placed. Maples grow too wide and it's starting to crowd the house and other plants. A tree that grows tall and narrow would have been a better choice.  But before I spend the time and money moving it or tearing it out, I want to investigate if it's possible to prune it so that it grows a little taller and a little narrower.

Here's a picture of the tree:

I'd like to prune it so that all the limbs under the red lines are removed:

Will the tree still grow decently if I do this? As a follow up question, can a Maple tree this large be transplanted successfully?


texts: What's the rationale for establishing a no-dig garden?

texts:
I gather no-dig gardens can be established almost anywhere, from over a concrete surface to over a perennial weed infested garden.

What are the basic principles on how they work and is there any evidence that double digging is better where possible?


texts: What is this pungent plant with spikes of purple flowers?

texts:
This plant is flowering in our garden. The leaves are gray/green. It has small spikes of purple flowers all over, which are a few inches tall.

It has a peculiarly rich smell which I rather love, but my son and wife think it stinks. She described it as "skunky".

What is it?

Our location is temperate coastal California: Sunset zone 16, USDA Hardiness zone 10a, Köppen zone Csb.


texts:
I live in an area that has a lot of old pines and a lot of wind, so I find I'm having to clear downed trees every few months.  I've found that an 18" saw is sufficient for most jobs.

I've owned a number of chainsaws.  Each time I've purchased a new saw I've gone up in price hoping for better results, but without fail, after a season or two, it takes so long to get the saw running, I often give up and do the work with a bow saw instead.

I understand the normal maintenance of two cycle engines. I have a lot of other yard equipment that I keep operational.  For some reason, chainsaws seem "special".

I am interested in purchasing yet another chainsaw, but this time I want to get some advice from other chainsaw owners.

What I am looking for is an 18" saw that will start and run reliably for many years.  I have a life, so I don't want something I have to work on regularly to keep running.  I am more concerned about long term reliability than price.  Maybe I'd like to find something for under $300.

Ok.  I'm not asking anyone to do any research for me.  I'm doing the normal stuff you do to check out products.  I've got access to consumer reports.

I would like recommendations from real chainsaw owners.  Just make and model.

Thanks


texts: A dark blight is eating my Basil. What to do?

texts: As you can see, the leaves are gradually eaten by some gray/dark dry blight. I have absolutely no idea what it is.


texts:
Last year I built a dry stacked tumble bluestone flowerbed.  It took me a long time to fit it all and it looks great but I ran out of time to work on it.

New year and I want to finish it off.  I've got about 39 feet of capping to do and it's cost prohibitive for me to spend 5 -800 for capping material.  It definitely needs something.   I thought about using a colored mortar or something Instead but I'm wondering what would work?  The bluestone isn't a uniform depth.

Any ideas?


texts: What is this white speck on the leaf of my plant?

texts:
I found these tiny white web-like spots on many leaves of my plant. What are these specks? And what should I do with them?

Ignore them?
Wash/Wipe them away with water?
Pluck the infected leaves?

The plant is Holy Basil.


texts: What is this woody plant with spicy, citrus flavored twigs?

texts: I was out hiking today, and, as I often do, I absentmindedly chewed on twigs that I broke off from around shoulder height. I noticed that one twig had a spicy, citrus flavor. It reminded me of mandarin orange. Unfortunately, I had walked away from the plant I took the twig from before I noticed the taste. I saved a bit of the twig, and I took a picture of it. I live in Connecticut. Can anybody help me identify the plant?


texts: Is it okay to line the top of a container with plastic to hold water inside?

texts:
One of the problems with container gardening in my area is that you generally have to water the plants every single day in the summer (except on occasion) or else they have a high likelihood of dying from lack of water (even if you only miss one day). This is not because the plants drink lots of water. It's because the water evaporates fast. (Edit: I know because the containers dry out whether or not there are any plants in them, and I've never had mature plants in them, since they tend to suffer in those fast-drying conditions; the climate is hot and arid in summer, with lots of sun.) I imagine the containers have been between 2-8 gallons.

Anyway, I know about self-watering containers, but I'm looking for other easier and less expensive alternatives.

One idea I have is to cover the top of the containers with plastic and just have a small opening to plant the plant. That should in theory hold much more water inside. Do you think this will work? Why or why not? Have you or has anyone else tried it? Assuming there are no weed seeds, do you think clear plastic would be better than black plastic?


texts: I've had this date palm tree for a little over a year now and the leaves have started to turn yellow with some of the bottom leaves dying out, is there any way to rejuvenate the plant, should I cut away the dead leaves at the bottom? Also, am I ok keeping it in a patio plant pot, as I'd rather not plant in the ground as I don't really have space in the garden?


texts: Replacement for an F15T8NDL 18" lightbulb

texts: I am currently using an F15T8NDL 18" lightbulb for my plants in a light fixture, and would like to replace it with something much brighter. So my question is that if I add a higher powered bulb in the same fixture, will it automatically draw more power and be much brighter, or do I need a new fixture? And if so, what would be a good replacement bulb?


texts: Vegetable Garden Spring Weed Control Strategies

texts:
I love my vegetable garden, but every spring it looks like the Amazon, and the task of clearing the overgrown weeds is not enjoyable.

One fall, I took cardboard and laid it down over my beds and covered it with straw.  The following spring, I lifted the cardboard, and voila, the bed was perfectly prepped and ready for planting.  It was glorious.

I have already restarted this process for the remainder of the garden but was hoping to get some alternate strategies.  While the cardboard/straw works well (from what I can tell), it:

Costs money...  straw isn't as cheap as it used to be
Takes time - collecting cardboard from local stores, flattening it, laying it down to shape
Isn't exactly beautiful, although the straw does take the edge off

I can't help but think I'm not the first person who's had to deal with this.  I am very interested in and open to cover crops, but bear in mind my goal is to minimize the work I have to do in the spring, when I am busiest.  Do cover crops create work for me in the spring, or do they just die?  Aside from cover crops, are there other low-cost strategies I can apply now to control weeds in the spring?

For what it's worth, I've tried burning the weeds in the spring with a propane torch without much success.

Also, two limitations I am bound by (admittedly self imposed):

No tilling -- I have no-till beds, and I am married to the idea
No Artificial chemicals like Round Up -- I'm 100% organic in my veggie garden

I am in North-Central Indiana, zone 5b.


texts: Killing thick grass in flower bed by layering with plastic bags

texts: after placing plastic bag over grass to kill it, can I leave bags down, put compost on top, then plant flowers or seeds in the compost?


texts: What would cause the pH of a hydroponic system to go up when the lights go off?

texts:
I am currently growing lettuce in a hydroponics system that I'm developing. The system has continuous pH monitoring and I recently noticed that when the lights go off at night the pH seems to increase.  Is there some biological effect that would account for the pH increase?  The pH seems to go back down when the lights come back on.  The lights go out at around midnight and come back on at around 6am.

The first plot below shows recently logged data from the system.  The second plot includes additional days before Dec 6-7 where the lights were on 24/7.  Note that the sharp changes in pH/EC/Temp are caused by adding (cold) water and adjusting the nutrients.  The big negative spikes in EC happen when the water level goes below the EC probe.

EDIT: Added another plot to show longer time frame.  Only time it doesn't really show up is when the nutrients/pH/water were adjusted just before the lights went off on Dec 12 at midnight.


texts: How could I estimate the age of a natural olive europaea sylvestris bonsai?

texts:
Today I found two natural bonsai of olive europaea. I think that it is the sylvestris variety based on the fact that the distance between the leaves is very small. Also, the way the leaves are arranged is more similar to the sylvestris variety than to the normal one that it's cultivated where I live.

Even if I'm not an expert in bonsai, I think that this is a real one and not a young tree because it's strongly branched, like an old tree. It seems just a smaller version of a bigger wild one. I found it on an old macera (a type of stone wall), so without much soil.

How could I know how old is it? If I put some photos here are you able to tell it (I didn't have a phone, so I didn't take any picture of it)?


texts: So I bought this today and forgot to ask what type it is. This is my first bonsai tree and I would love to know how to properly take care of it :)


texts: What is this tool found in a once used garden for?

texts:
We recently took over a garden together with some equipment. As it was clearly not used in the last couple of years there was nobody around to ask.

There is this one object we don't know what to use it for. The lower part is a small plastic bucket whereas the upper part forms a roof larger than the bucket end ends in a sieve. In the middle of the sieve is a hole in which there is a loose plastic stick.

It seems like some sort of indicator how high the water rises in the bucket, but then again what should you use that for?

There are multiple of these object's available so it seems like they should be placed somewhere.

the object in it's normal configuration (empty)

the sieve of the upper part of the object turned around


texts: Can I save this crop of broccoli that bolted early?

texts:
We've been having a yo-yo spring (temperature-wise) here in Central Texas and our Packman Hybrid broccoli, which is in a raised bed and kept under a plastic frame on cold days, just decided to bolt. I'm guessing that when it got warmer yesterday and we failed to remove the cover, it got a bit warm due to the greenhouse effect and decided to flower.

Other than cutting off the main head and hoping to get some small side offshoots, is there anything to do? Should we just tear it all out and go ahead and plant something different?

This is our first attempt at broccoli... and, honestly, our first serious attempt at vegetable growing. We'd always been concerned about the broccoli bolting so it wasn't unexpected, just want to know where to go from here.


texts: What is this shrub with small red flowers, found in St. Lucia?

texts:
I photographed this unusual shrub in November, in St. Lucia, but haven't been able to identify it. It had small (1-2cm), red flowers, growing out of pink-ish sepals in many elongate clusters as shown below (click for larger view):

Can anyone identify this plant, or at least point me in the right direction?


texts:
We tried growing cucumbers in our backyard near San Francisco, California for the first time this year and have had all sorts of problems. We had to remove three cucumber plants because they seemed to have some sort of disease that we thought was the cucumber mosaic virus.

But now we have six other cucumber plants that look quite different, and this time I'm pretty confident that it is the cucumber mosaic virus. Here are some pictures below. Is there anything that we can try to save the plants?


texts:
I recently picked up a coffee plant from my supermarket's garden center. In fact, it appears to be made up of 6 distinct plants (they are quite young), planted in very close proximity in a small 5" diameter pot. I'm wondering if it would be prudent to re-pot these individually, or if there's a reason they were planted in this way..

Thanks!
-will


texts: Is the gash in this saucer magnolia likely to be a mortal wound?

texts:
The landscapers for my townhouse complex hit a saucer magnolia tree on our property with their truck while doing their work. My wife said that the tree was knocked off of its axis and the landscapers were trying to straighten it before they left.

As the president for the HOA, I need to talk to the owner of the landscaping company to get the tree replaced if this damage turns out to be fatal. It's a beautiful tree and also important for our property value.

This tree is located in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. The lamppost in the photo is roughly seven feet tall.


texts: Can anyone help identify this beautiful succulent?

texts: It's the tall one that looks like stacked flowers I'm asking about. Actual height is about 6 inches (15 cm).


texts: What distance can a cedar hedge be planted next to a frost fence with privacy slats

texts:
I am looking into planting a cedar hedge next to a fence in a small yard as shown in image.
I would like to know how close can the cedar hedge be planted next to the fence without interfering significantly with the health or growth of the cedars.  I am a little unsure about the side of the hedge next to the slats.  Will that stay green or turn brown and die since it will get little exposure to sunlight?
The height of the cedars to be planted would be around 4-6 feet height with a maturity width of 10 feet.
Possible cedars: thuja occidentalis or thuja occidentalis Nigra. My hardiness zone is 4
Thank you for any ideas.


texts: Are there any seeds that will tolerate growing in decomposing scraps of food? My city collects organic waste, but I thought I'd try to put it to use myself. I have a can of sweetened red bean paste that's growing aggressive fuzzy gray mold and there is a population of fruit flies trapped inside under the cling wrap. Currently, I put the can on my windowsill for observation. Is there a possibility to grow any plant in there? I'm worried about the seeds germinating but then the mold chokes out the seedling.