texts: How do I help my kitchen window herb garden thrive?

texts:
For the last couple of years, I've been nursing along a sort of kitchen window herb garden consisting of cilantro, parsley, basil and chives.  What I've done is bought live herb plants at our local grocery store and re-potted them in individual pots to make it easier to move around and so on.  The window is west-facing and gets very good light in the afternoon and our kitchen is obviously warm and relatively humid.  It seemed to me an ideal location for herbs, but except for the chives have not really prospered.

But recently, aphids attacked my basil, which I moved to the front porch on the east side of the house.  After that, the aphids attacked the parsley and the cilantro, which tells me that: a) the source of the aphids is somewhere close to the kitchen window, and b) aphids prefer basil over cilantro and parsley.  The chives are growing like champions and seem to resist the aphid onslaught.

More importantly, the herbs I moved outside look better and healthier than they have in months.  In particular, the basil has suddenly burst forth in leaf and I could imagine myself harvesting some without stripping it bare.  It's a bit of a mystery to me.

Given that I'd rather have herbs growing in the kitchen where they might get used than on the porch, what could I do to improve the growing conditions inside?

Update: Based on winwead's answer, I observed the approximate time that direct sun ended in the kitchen and yesterday it was sometime before 6pm.  Since full sun could not start before 1pm, that window has less than 5 hours of direct sun.  (It's counter-intuitive since the kitchen seems so bright all day long.  Most of that light, however, is indirect and reflected from the light stucco on the building across the alley.)  Sun starts on the porch around 8am and gets good direct light until at least 1pm, if not longer.  So that's a solid 5+ hours.

The lesson for me: it's better to measure than to guess.  Also, I need to search for herbs and plants that thrive in less direct sun for my kitchen window.


texts: What's the best way to increase the carbon content of compost heap in a grassy garden?

texts:
I've a small compost heap (1.2m x 1.2m x 0.8m), which is mostly formed of grass clippings. Thanks to this answer to another composting question, I now understand the C:N ratio.

Unfortunately, there isn't a good source of carbon in my mostly-lawn garden. What is the best thing I can do to increase the carbon content in my compost? The cheaper the better!


texts:
I have two cupressus plants that started turning brown a week or two after I got them. I have since transplanted them into a bit bigger pots and moved them outside. Ot doesn't seem to make a difference.

This is at around two months after I started caring for them:

What am I doing wrong? I'm reading a common problem is wind damage, hut surely that couldn't be the problem in first weeks, as they were inside.

There are some similar (but larger and established already) plants around the garden, and they look much more brown. Could it be some disease the small plants got from them?


texts: Could these be the seedlings of poisonous plants?

texts:
I brought my plants in last fall to keep ‘em from the winter weather. In January, I noticed a few seedlings growing in my pineapple planter. I let them grow since they didnt look like common weeds. When their true leaves started to really show, I really thought they were strawberries. I spilled strawberry seeds into the bag-soil.
Recently, I transplanted the seedlings into their own container when i started taking my plants outdoor. These days, I’m not so sure what they are anymore Sure don't look like strawberry plants.
Google said they might be poison oak or cannabis. I very much doubt it, though, because I haven't been around those two plants.
But, are they???
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my question. I live in South Carolina, by the way.


texts: What kind of plants are suitable to grow in Sydney's North Shore?

texts:
I would like to grow some vegetation and flowers in my apartment's small courtyard which is located in the north of Sydney. What kind of common plants could be easily grown for a family and don't have many pest issues?

The weather condition of Autumn and Winter in Sydney will be wet, sometimes showers and cloudy. However, my courtyard is faced to the north, which can have more sunshine.

Or are there any resources from which can find some relevant information for a new learner?


texts:
I have inherided this tree with my house (evergreen but unsure of type) and I have just noticed this white soft pouch like thing under most of the large branches.... Spider nests? Or fungus?
I'm in Edinburgh Scotland :)


texts: Build planter box against home foundation?

texts:
Wondering if I need to do any waterproofing against the brick and foundation of my house inside the wooden planter box I built below. I plan to have soil a few inches above the foundation/brick interface and would be a bit concerned about introducing constant moisture against the house like that.
As you can see in the old pic, there was a brick box there before which inspired my idea to enlarge. There was no waterproofing there previously and the bottom of the old box appears to be cement below a few inches of soil.
I could also shrink the box down to a height more similar to the original that was present when I moved in. Thanks in advance.


texts: When is a good time to thin your seedlings?

texts: First year in a long time starting tomatoes from seed. They're doing very well. When do most people decide to cut down the ones you don't want to continue growing? I know it's a little early at this point.


texts: Avocado tree - brown leaves black underside

texts: We planted an avocado tree and within a week or so the leaves started browning and there were black dots on the underside. I'm wondering if the tree is experiencing transplant shock, but I feel like this is more than that. Does anyone know what is happening or how to possible fix it? The tree is planted in Southern California.


texts: How should I go about straightening up my baby trees?

texts: We just had a house built, and in the front and back yards are baby trees. The trees are supported by a large, narrow piece of wood fastened to the tree trunk. A few weeks ago we had a terrible windstorm and now both baby trees are pointed at 45 degree angles. Should I bother digging a small hole and re-fastening the supporting wood to the baby trees or is there a more efficient way to fix them?


texts:
My company recently moved offices and we adopted some plants left by the previous inhabitants. While many were in bad shape, all but one are recovering quite well and I am not sure what to do with this one. It previously lived in a hallway where there is never any sunlight and is now in an office with daylight. We water it weekly. Does it need more/less water? More/less light? A bigger pot? Some possibility to climb? I am absolutely clueless about plants and would hate to see this wonderful creature die due to my / the previous owners lack of care.

(The dark spots on the images are from my camera, not on the wall/plant)


texts: Can I ignore soil pH and just give blueberries chelated iron?

texts:
As Why do blueberries need acidic soil? points out, it seems that iron is really the biggest nutrient to suffer in alkaline conditions. Even an answer there, despite a nice emphasis on the broader soil ecology, ends up focusing on this nutrient:

  Acidic soil … to release phosphates, iron, magnesium which your blueberries love. The iron particularly is needed …

Similarly an answer to Is it really important to give blueberry plants acidic soil? quickly introduces a similar claim:

  At higher pH, the bushes will have an iron deficiency…

So as much as I appreciate building good soil, I've seen doubts cast that I'll really be able to pull it off to the extent blueberries theoretically need. (E.g. "pine needles aren't really acidic", "sulfur discourages worms and/or mycorrhizal fungi from thriving", "all your irrigation water is going to be alkaline anyway"… I'm not particularly intending to debate those claims here.)

I've got some chelated iron around (HEDTA if memory serves) that I use in my aquaponics systems. It is iron bound to a "helper" molecule such that [they claim] the plant can take in the iron and use it, at much higher pH levels than where iron is normally available.

What would happen if I simply gave my blueberries an occasional foliar application of iron, or periodically top dressed the soil with some of the powder, and didn't worry so much about changing the actual pH of the soil?


texts:
I recognized that this year the apples on one of my trees nearly all begin to show marks like the one on the photo.

The marks started as little spots and seem to grow all around the young apples. Maybe it is too early, but I did not find a fitting picture on google.

Can somebody tell me, what this is and maybe what to do about it?


texts:
I have to build some 6' x 2' planter boxes, I'm not sure what's going to be planted in them; probably "garden-y" stuff like oregano, basil, etc.

I know how to build things but I know nothing about plants except that every one I touch dies (I even killed my cactus).

I'm basing the boxes on instructions I found here:

My questions are:

How big should drainage holes be and how far apart should they be spaced?
The screen at the bottom will be vinyl, nylon, or some other inert plastic. How fine should the screen be? Does it matter?
How deep should the boxes be? I don't really care about minimizing volume, I just want to make sure the plants have a nice place to grow.

The box will be cedar (non-treated). Underneath the boxes will be a few inches of open air, then concrete.

I'm assuming the person I'm building them for will be filling them with a bit of gravel and some soil.


texts: Natural herbicide to kill weeds in a hard landscape environment?

texts:
I've got some weeds growing up between the flagstones in our backyard -- is there something natural and okay environmentally that I can use to kill the weeds? Obviously, I don't want anything growing at all there, so it doesn't matter if it kills everything.

An internet search has turned up varied suggestions (vinegar, salt, boiling water) but nothing that seems definitive. Anyone have more concrete advice?


texts:
I am having a weird time with my beans this year. For whatever reason, absolutely none of them are growing normally. This is my third set of beans I’ve put in the ground. I’ve tried two different brands of asparagus bean, and one white bean.

The beans will emerge quickly and normally, but the first leaves will often have some deformity. They will either be small, light in colour, or generally not very attractive. The second leaves are then just awful, shriveled, poorly coloured, and small. They just keep getting worse from there.

My soil is new, amended with peat, cow manure, and miracle grow perlite. It is light and fluffy, and I monitor it closely every day. Everything else is growing great.

I’ve tried three different packs of beans, I’ve watered my soil wih neem oil and sprayed with insecticide. I’m just at my wits end and have no idea what is going on.

Any help would be appreciated!


texts: I am trying to figure out what these light patches of grass in my lawn are? and how to get rid of them? They started to appear after I installed an irrigation system and seem to be getting larger and spreading. I notice them the most in the areas that get a lot of shade? Is it Poa Trivialis?


texts: What will produce the most tomatoes with multiple seedlings?

texts:
When planting tomato seedlings (purchased in 4" pots), I often have 2 or 3 plants per pot and sometimes the seedlings are very close together. These plants will be transplanted into 4 18" pots. My question is: For total poundage production, is it better to transplant the 4" as is, break apart the seedlings and plant 2 (or more) in each pot, or thin and only use one plant per big pot?

I do worry that separating plants this close together will cause distress or death of one or both.

Additional information: Zone 13(Sunset Guide)/Zone 9(USDA), plant in February to early March for fruit in May and June, I do not try to keep plants going through the summer, it's just too brutal.


texts:
I have a Bhut Jolokia that is supposed to be red but now turned from green to a chocolate brown and the pots are already becoming softer.

Did i may get cross-polinated Seeds and a Chocolate Bhut Jolokia or do they still turn red?

The form of the chili pepper is totally Jolokia with the long warty devils tong like shape


texts: How can I strengthen a part of lawn that is sometimes driven over by cars?

texts:
Our front lawn runs right to the street, with no kerb.  The edge of it sometimes gets driven/parked on and (for reasons I'll go into below) we can't simply prevent this.  So it tends to get churned up into mud along the edge at this time of year, which then becomes slippery, so now there's a big wheelspin mark.

Is there something I can do to make it tougher? The soil is fairly heavy, with lots of clay, and we're in southern England, so winters are mild and wet.  Could I:

Sow tougher grass? It wouldn't have to be a perfect match, there are already several types of grass visible.
Add something to the soil (grit, fibrous organic matter,...)?

I can probably keep it clear for a few weeks for seed to establish in spring, by putting a row of canes up if necessary.  This means I could dig something in and then resow, if I was confident it would work.

Constraints:

The road is rather narrow, meaning that sometimes crossing the corner of the grass is the only way to get in/out (but doing this slowly with the non-drive wheels doesn't really damage it).  I dismissed a potted tree on the worst patch for this reason.  The width of the road is also the main reason for parking on it.
The last 50cm (2') strip (so the bit that gets driven on) is our responsibility but not technically our property so there are limits on what we can do to it.  In particular we can't plant trees/shrubs on it (it has to be kept clear for visibility) and it can be dug up with no more warning than the pavement outside any other house, to access the utilities running underneath.


texts: Peace Lily Flowers and Leave Tips Turning Brown

texts:
my peace Lily’s flowers have not bloomed and turned completely brown very fast. Before this happened, I’ve discovered some spider mites and used alcohol/water mix to clean the leaves and spray the plant. There were also some leaves at the bottom of the plant that turned yellow, and there are more turning yellow consistently. The tips of other leaves also start to turn brown. I am suspecting if I overwatered it because the soil is still pretty wet after I watered it last week and fertilized it with homemade banana peel water.

Should I cut off the flowers and yellow leaves and let it sit without watering it for a couple days? Do I need to check its roots to see if there is root rot happening?


texts: I think my moisture meter is giving me a wrong reading in one pot

texts:
I think my moisture meter is giving me a wrong reading in one specific pot.

The meter reads extremely wet even though if I dig down the soil just feels damp.

Any ideas what would cause this?

The soil is: G&B Organics Potting Soil
For Indoor & Outdoor Potting - http://www.kellogggarden.com/products/gborganics/gb-organics-potting-soil/

It is mixed with fertllizer: G&B Organics Citrus & Fruit Tree
Fertilizer (8-4-2) - http://www.kellogggarden.com/products/gborganics/fertilizers/citrus-fruit-tree-fertilizer/


texts: How do I stop rabbits from defecating and eating everything in my yard?

texts:
Rabbits are nesting in the neighbor's yard behind us, and they feed them which encourages their occupation or infestation. There are dozens of them. They use my yard as their bathroom and their faeces are everywhere.  I believe they are competing with my dogs for the territory. Dogs eat the pellets and get ill.

I also have no vegetation in my yard because they destroy it. I have used granules, sprays, decoys etc. but nothing is getting rid of them. I have even used live bait traps. The next step is to use snares but due to the kids in the neighborhood using the yards as their own park, I am fearful of injuring them.

What can I do to prevent them from destroying my garden?


texts: What is the correct ratios for Epsom Salt and Gypsum solutions?

texts:
I want to use solutions of Gypsum and Epsom Salts to augment the nutrients in my pot plants. They seem to be having some mineral deficiencies. I'm wondering what is the correct amount of Calcium Sulphate and Magnesium Sulphate for a two-liter solution.

I would also like to ask whether it be better to spray my plants bi-weekly or once a week.

EDIT:

Although these are not my plants the problem is white veins on my squash plants, which is because of a Calcium deficiency in the soil (As I was told.) (This may be bad advice, I'm still new at this.)


texts: Is powdery mildew spreading through my garden?

texts:
I noticed this white fungus a few weeks ago on some flowers in my garden which I ignored. But now it's appearing on my zucchini leaves. I was under the impression the fungi are plant specific, but could this be spreading from the flower leaves to my zucchinis?

I'm not a milk drinker but I'm going to have to buy some to try and control it. I've removed the most infected zucchini leaves, and wondering if I should do the same to the flowers.

Flowers:

Flower leaf close up:

Zucchini leaf:


texts:
Something is wrong with my ficus tree. Every winter the leaves fall completely and in the summer they do not grow as normal. The tree does not develop leaves as it used to and it has a lot of dead branches mainly at the bottom, should i hard prune it?

Tree before 3 years:

More photos of the tree:

Tree Base:


texts: What plant is this ; white /pink flowers grow from leaf margin

texts: What plant is this? It has white /pink flowers growing from the leaf margin. It loves water, and shows an irregular growth habit. I was told it is from Vietnam.


texts:
I've been trying to save the last of the larger peace lilies I got for a while, and it looked like it was taking ok to splitting and pruning the dead sections (earlier issue : rootbound and overcrowded leaves), but it's broken out into mold all over the soil surface in both pots it was split to.

For right now plant A from the split still seems pretty healthy and plant B is weakened but still having new growth/recovery, so am trying figure out whether I can get ahead of this or if I should abandon.


texts: What plant will grow to about 3' in the shade from a pepper tree and oleanders?

texts:
Is there a low light plant, that will grow under a pepper tree, and between two oleanders,
that grows about 3-5 feet tall, in southern California?


texts: The new leaves on my plant appear healthy, but are coming out all jagged-y. Interested to know what’s happening?


texts: What is this beetle-like, brown-spotted flying insect?

texts:
I found another strange insect flying around in my garden today that I'm hoping to get identification on.

This website was helpful previously, but I haven't been able to figure it out this time. It flys around pretty bee-like, but also sort of burrowed when it fell into the soil.


texts: What is this (moss/mold?) growing in my Dill flowerpot?

texts:
There are some little things that look like moss growing next to the Dill. They don't really look like tiny Dills, but I have no idea what it is.

The pot is on a 5th story window in a very urban part of NYC so it's unlikely to be some spore or something that flew in the window; also, all the other pots next to it don't have this moss growing in it. The soil all came from the same bag too.

Sorry, the pictures aren't great.


texts:
(photos at the end)
Not sure what happened, but started getting weak and no longer standing, so it might be dying.
To me it seems the root is already bad/dead (soft and almost black).
Anything I can do to save it? Cut somewhere, separate, something?
I might have left the soil too wet, unfortunately. In the soil I could see some mold.
Sorry, I'm not sure what kind of plant, is this a succulent?
Thank you for any help!


texts:
Last night I bought a small lily plant.

How much sun is it supposed to receive? I’ve read that I can place it in my rooftop for direct sunlight, but I don’t know.

How often should I water it? Should I move it to a larger pot?

I live in the Caribbean so the temperature’s always over 80 F.


texts: In general can hardwood cuttings be stored, and how?

texts:
I've been experimenting with various cuttings taken during the winter (so hardwood cuttings). I've had some failures: taking from plants that (I now know) don't propagate well from hardwood cuttings, or simply having <100% success rate with cuttings that 'should' work. I also had some encouraging successes.

One thing I'm uncertain about is how to store cuttings, if that's possible at all. So far I gather the cuttings I take in a bundle wrapped in a damp cloth, then bring that in a dark cool place to overwinter until I'm ready to stick them in pots or in the ground. Since they seem inert, I don't water them at all, but I notice that by the time I revisit the stems and cut them to appropriate sizes to be stuck in soil, the cloth and stems are both pretty dry. As noted, some have worked, some have not, so I'm unsure of how good or bad this method is.

So, how can I store hardwood cuttings, if at all? Should I be watering these inert cuttings over winter, and if so at what pace or moisture level do I want to keep them? Should I put them in the freezer wrapped in a damp cloth or dry cloth? I've heard of sticking them in buckets of slightly wet sand and keeping that sand slightly wet and in a cool dark place over winter but haven't tried that yet. Does storage depend a lot on the species or are there general rules of thumb for all hardwood cuttings?


texts: What's wrong with my Monstera deliciosa?

texts:
Can someone tell me what's wrong with my plant?

---------


texts: Machinery/instruments to clear/trim vegetation on a sloping medium-sized section

texts:
I am trying to work out how to effectively keep vegetation under control on a 1.5 acre section, a large part of which is on the photo below. It is covered with high grass (now much higher than on the photo) with some shrubs of willow, gorse and broom:

The goals are:

To keep the gorse/broom down as local authorities require so;
To make the section look nicer and easy to walk/traverse as I am planning to put a residential dwelling on it, so certain spots need to be clear for vehicle access, foundation and drainlaying works etc.

Several options have been on the table:

Spraying. This used to be done by the previous owners but I am not keen on it as I want to keep the land ecologically clean with the views to start gardening on it at some point and/or keeping goats;
Mechanically clear it up once (e.g. with a digger) and let sheep graze on it. Too much hassle with the sheep for now, but maybe in future;
Turn it into a lawn or food forest, or otherwise manage what vegetation grows there. This appears to be a whole science to dive into. A very good but not quick solution;
Mechanically and selectively clear/trim it now and again. This is what this question is about.

So, what machinery and/or instruments would be the most suitable here? Mowers? Diggers? Bulldozers? Hand-held trimmers and chainsaws? Note that there is a slope on the section (roughly about 15-20% of it) which would be quite unsafe to drive a small machine on, but the rest should be fine.


texts: Why has my cantaloupe plant wilted within two hours of weeding?

texts: I went out and weeded around my melon and watermelon plants, and within two hours of that, the cantaloupe plant had completely wilted!  I did move some of the vines around to get to the grass underneath them, but I was careful not to disturb close to the roots.  The flowers still look okay, as do the few melons that have sprouted. It's just the majority of the leaves and the stems that seem kind of limp also compared to what they were.  What would cause this?


texts: Are new caterpillar eggs added daily to a brassica that's already under attack?

texts:
I've got a few broccoli plants which are under attack from caterpillars. They aren't currently netted.

I manually "weeded" all the caterpillars off the most distressed plant (and some of the other plants nearby) and figured that as long as I repeated the exercise fairly regularly I'd be able to save the crop.

So, a few days (and many squished caterpillars later) I'm not sure this is a winnable battle. There are probably slightly fewer caterpillars on each sweep but they're nothing like eradicated. And I realise I know almost nothing about my foe.

Also I'm wondering .. are the butterflies laying new eggs daily? Or are eggs laid long ago simply reaching hatching point? If the former, I should try netting (even now at this late stage). If the latter, there's no point.

Also, one plant is far and away under the most attack. The other plants much less so. How come? If hordes of butterflies are visiting my brassicas on an ongoing basis then surely they'd move onto the healthier looking plants wouldn't they?

Actually, this question is less about saving this particular crop on this occasion and more about educating myself about my enemy.


texts:
This tree is on the side of my South Florida house.

The trunk is really thin. The diameter can't be more than three inches.

I haven't measured the tree, but it's gotta be about 10-12 feet tall and definitely growing.

I'm not sure how old the tree is. It was there when I bought the house almost a year ago. It was probably only 6 feet tall back then.

The leaves are long, dark green and mostly equal in size. It looks like all the leaf clusters are more or less the same.

Photos below:


texts: What type of tree has these purple berries

texts: I planted it a couple years ago thought it was an orange tree. Has an orange tree behind it to the right planted at the same time.


texts: I have a Brachychiton Populneus and it is green as ever but the trunk is cracking and sapping.  Could you let me know what may be wrong?


texts:
One of the dog wood trees in my yard does not grow healthy.  The tree care professionals recommend the so-called deep root fertilization, and I agree to move on with this operation.

Yesterday, after arriving home, I received a note placed in my mailbox .  The note states that they have applied  the deep root fertilization on the tree, and charged me $100.  I examined the surroundings of the trees, and could not find indication that is related to the operation, like a hole or a pile of fertilizer.  I am not clear how to ensure they have did the job of deep root fertilization or just put a note without doing anything since nobody is in the home at that time.


texts: Adjust mower blade height in between two height adjustments

texts: I have a Troy-Bilt lawn mower, TB360 (PDF manual). It has 6 height adjustments for the height. I measured the height of each one on a flat surface using a shortened wood paint stirrer and notched the blade at each height. The top two height levels are 3.5" and 2.875" respectively. I'm trying to get in between those, closer to 3" or a tad higher than 3. Are there any ways to adjust in between these heights? Do they sell "custom" blade adapters that are a bit thicker and therefore would push down the blade when set at the tallest (3.5") a bit more so it comes closer to 3.25" or 3"? Is this a thing?


texts: I planted a new clump about two weeks ago.  The leaves were green and the new growth is coming out crimson and staying that color, but the existing green leaves are still staying green.  I can see the veins turning a little purple, but not much else.  Will these existing leaves ever turn crimson with the additional sun exposure?


texts: what are these insects on my roses and how to kill them?

texts:
I woke up and saw these are on my roses, and they are on a some spider web-shape thing, maybe they're baby spiders, and they are moving on the flower and there are some things on the leaves that I think they're related to the babies, I also have used a systemic insecticide (imidacloprid) so they can't be sucking the flowers they're just living in them (the photos are taken behind a window so there's a bit of reflection in the glass.):

that is the things on the leaves, I'm not sure they're related to this.


texts: Moving and replanting an avocado tree questions

texts:
I'm in Southern California

Currently we have an avocado tree that was planted in our vegetable garden from a seed, it's like 4-5 feet tall now. And it's time to move the tree to a more permanent location. We did not expect the tree to be successful and it was more of a "what if" it grows sort of thing.

The only spot we have room for this tree is on the side of our property that has a 40-45 degree slope. The problem is, i'm used to planting trees on a flat surfaces, and not on a slope.

These are the only 2 options I can think of to plant this tree. Trees on this slope have been successful in the past, so i'm not worried about that. My question is, is there a different method to plant this tree? If A or B are the only options, which is better? If both A and B are both acceptable is B really worth the extra effort to hold back the soil so the tree can be flat?
How much of the garden soil should I move with the tree? I don't want to shock the tree to a new area. As much soil as possible? a little bit of soil? Or should I just buy some new soil and leave all the surrounding soil where it is?
Is there an issue with moving a tree like this during the summer time? Are there better times of the year to move a tree? Does it matter?

thanks.


texts: Which Fertilizer should I use for Coriander?

texts:
Which fertilizer should I use to grow larger leaves on coriander plants?

I have read this question - What could cause my coriander plant to start browning? Which talks about over water logged soil causing rotten roots that cause brown leaves. But it did not answer my question.

Thank you for any advice you may give.


texts: What is a good spacing for a double row of Arborvitae 'Emerald'?

texts:
I am considering planting 6 ft Arborvitae Emeralds for privacy. I've read in the Q&A What is the optimal spacing for emerald green arborvitae? that the spacing should be 2 feet apart.

I'm interested in opinions on double row planting and how those should be spaced.


texts: Red Cypress Chips and their effect on soil

texts: I'm currently using a red cypress chip on my garden.  Does anyone know what their effects would be on depleting the soil and such?  I've tried Dr Google but of course all I get is advertising.


texts: How do roots absorb oxygen in hyrdroculture/hydroponics?

texts: I was told soil needs good aeration to allow oxygen to enter the roots. If the soil is waterlogged, the plant will drown due to oxygen deprivation. Is this true and how is it possible for hydroponics?


texts: Year round pollen producers to sustain miniature pirate bugs for pest control

texts:
I would like to use miniature pirate bugs to control thrips and other potential pests in my greenhouse, they seem quite effective but I do not want the population to die off too much when there are not many pests left for them to eat.

They can sustain themselves on pollen so what would be some good year-round small flowering plants that could keep them going? High pollen production would mean I wouldn't need as many but being pretty or edible would be other advantages.


texts: How can I deal with broken glass spread out in my yard?

texts:
I recently purchased a house on a 0.25 acre (0.1 hectare, ~11,000 sqft) lot that in the past was known as "the party house." This name became more clear to me today while raking leaves I found large quantities of broken shards of glass throughout the lawn, presents no doubt left behind by previous tenants and their guests.

My goal is to make make my yard free of glass, such that my family and guests can walk around barefoot without fearing cutting our soles to shreds.

Picking the glass up is not realistic given the size of the yard, the amount of glass (everywhere), and that I know I will miss many pieces. Brown, green, and clear glass blend expertly into the moist, lush lawns found in the Pacific Northwest.

I was thinking of dumping clean fill and reseeding or alternatively placing down sod. My concern would be raising the grade or not adding enough material to cover the glass. Digging out the top few inches of topsoil could counter this, though I expect this would be starting to get pricey.

I am wondering if my approach is the best approach or if there are perhaps other methods I can try that I haven't yet considered?


texts:
Can anyone tell me what is going on here? I am not familiary with this plant disease but it sort of looks like the plan has acne.

The plant is a "Berry Smoothie" variety of heuchera, so the leaves are supposed to be pink. The weird red spots and the light colored bumps on the leaf undersides are what concerns me.

Top:

Both sides:

Underside:


texts: What is this leaf vegetable with red veins and leaf tips?

texts: I live in Bristol, UK, and I have received this locally grown leaf vegetable, but I don't know what it is.


texts:
I'd like some advice on a clematis vine plant that was left to grow without a trellis. Without anything to climb on, it has turned into a giant heap in just a couple of short weeks. As you can see from the photo, I installed some garden twine today and tried untangling it, but it is a very delicate plant and hard to untangle without snapping. What is the best course of action now? This exact situation happened with this plant last season, and I was heartbroken to see it happen again this season. I was considering cutting it back so it could grow correctly, but it is now the end of April and I wonder if we have lost it for this season.
Thank you for any advice.


texts: Is it possible to grow a rose from a cut stem in a bouquet?

texts: My dying rose bouquet is growing new leaves. I cut the dead flowers and placed the stem in water with some root hormone in a well lit area. Does anyone think I'll have any success?


texts: Can I graft a branch of a sweet orange onto a sour orange tree to get sweet fruit?

texts:
I have two old citrus trees, one bears sweet navel-type oranges and the other has hundreds of impossibly sour, tiny oranges.

Would it be possible to chop off a branch from the sweet tree and attach it (graft it) to the sour one, to create a new tree, bearing sweet fruit?


texts:
I've got a whole yard of Amur Privet that hasn't been taken care of for quite some time. (I've newly moved in). Over about a year I've cut down and cared for my privets. There are a few low areas and very thin areas. How do I propagate them? I've tried trimming off pieces, putting them in rooting compound and trying to get them going that way with no luck whatsoever.

Any help at all would be great.


texts: "Green spire" vertical growing shrub not taking root very well, or growing at all. It was planted 4 weeks ago, nutrient rich soil, no problems except mininal morning sun. Ideas?


texts: Do I have to throw out soil in a pot that had snails on the turmeric?

texts:
I had snails in the pot with my turmeric. I threw the infested plants away but left the soil as I have ginger sprouting in the same pot.

Do I have to throw the soil out?


texts: Can I plant bulbs (e.g. tulips) under a lemon tree?

texts:
I've just been given some tulip bulbs, and pondering where to put them.  I have space near a lemon tree that I have just planted.

I have read that lemons have shallow roots, so you shouldn't plant things near them because they will compete for resources.  On the other hand, it seems to me that tulips will collect their nutrients from deeper in the soil, so this would not be a problem.

So can I plant bulbs near my lemon tree?


texts:
Is this light fertilizer burn?
 I used moss killer, lawn lime and crabgrass prevention+fertilizer in that order at least 2 weeks apart from early April to late May.
New England Lawn.


texts: How long do chilli seeds need to be at 25°C to germinate?

texts:
I’m able to economically maintain my greenhouse at 25°C for about 4 hours during the day. Generally speaking, is this enough for optimal germination of chilli seeds? Or, do you need to have prolonged periods of keeping the greenhouse at such a temperature?
Also, besides keeping the greenhouse above freezing at night, is there any point heating the greenhouse at night? Does heating the greenhouse at night improve germination, or is it a waste of energy?


texts: What is this plant with lobed leaves and pink flowers?

texts:
I have a plant I am trying to put a name to so I can get relevant information on its care and propagation.

It has deeply lobed leaves, similar to a dandelion and pink petals that fade towards their tips.


texts: What is this houseplant with waxy rounded leaves and a tall straight flower spike?

texts: Can anybody help me identify this plant from the picture posted? It has waxy rounded leaves and is very easy to look after. From the picture you'll see it is flowering in late Summer / Autumn UK.


texts: All my Camellia sinensis   appear with the leaves like the foto shows. All the other  Camellias ( japonica and sasanqua are Ok)- Please, someone knows what it is?


texts: What is this bush with five-petaled pink flowers?

texts: My wife and I bought a house in the Palm Coast, Florida area. We have a plant growing by the house that the previous owner tried to kill, but could not. We think it is very pretty. We would like to know what it is, because no one at the nurseries can tell us. It grows very fast and is right next to our foundation. We would like to move it, because of it being by the foundation. I have included pictures of the plant and hope you can tell us what it is and if it's a bush or tree and the best location in the yard for it.


texts: "Softening" plants before they go inside?

texts:
I've just been reading some Q's here and through that, learnt about the need to harden plants before moving them outside.

I'm planning to do the reverse soon, and move a small basil plant from outside to inside... due to it starting to get quite cold. (I'm in Melbourne, Australia, where our winter is just getting started!)

I was wondering if, both in general and in this case, a reverse sort of "softening" would be required to help the plant get used to an indoor environment? In basil's case, I know it loves the sun!


texts: Echeveria black prince leaves getting soft

texts:
I bought this echeveria about two and half weeks ago from a local nursery. I watered it twice last week. Normally i would water it once a week. Since the time i watered it the bottom leaves feel very soft and slightly mushy. Can you tell me what to do to make sure it doesn't die? I dont see any new growth and when i repotted it i found a few very tiny mealy bugs in the roots. What can i do to get rid of them? I thought of dipping the roots in soap water but given that it's suffering from over watering already, it didn't seem ideal to do that.
I've placed it in direct sun for 4days now hoping it would help the leaves become normal again. Also, how do i clean the leaves? They have some dirt stuck to them.


texts: How should I save a palm I repotted too high?

texts:
I repotted an areca palm, and unfortunately set it too high in the pot, so the top of the stems, which meet the roots, are slightly exposed at the top.

What happens if I leave it as-is? Will the plant adapt?


texts: Why did my tomato seedlings stop growing after their first set of true leaves?

texts:
A few weeks ago I planted two different types of tomato seeds. Everything went as usual. I was amazed about how fast they germinated, they pushed up their cotyledons, the first set of true leaves started to emerge....

...and then: Nothing.

They appear like "frozen in time". No more growth, but no signs of disease or wilting either. The stems are thick and solid, the not-yet developed leaves dark green. The cotyledons have turned a bit yellow lately, though. (Colours in the photo are slightly off.)

I had suspected lack of nutritients and the roots had been "wandering out" their original pots, so I transplanted them in the next pot size (which I'd normally do at a later stage), but still absolutely no change.

Did my tomatoes discover the secret of eternal youth and I should sell them to a pharmaceutical company, or what did I do wrong?

Update:

I gave up - no further growth except for slightly larger leaves in one pot. We'd need an exceptionally long and warm autumn to even have a chance of a harvest.

I would accept Escoce's comment if I could.


texts: Why is my avocado plant drooping and looking weak?

texts: I have an avocado plant I started from a pit, it’s around 1.5 years old. Around a month ago we put it in a bigger pot, because it stopped growing and we thought it needed more space. In these last days though it doesn’t look good. Its leaves look weak and lifeless. Any idea what the problem could be?


texts: How are Japanese Maple Trees cultivated?

texts: I have mature Japanese maple trees in my yard that are extremely fertile. I find dozens, if not hundreds of saplings all over the yard. Some have even grown several feet tall. Is there a way I can properly cultivate these saplings so that I can give them away and maybe even sell them?


texts:
I have this plant that I bought one month ago. Its leaves start to dry. I don't put much water, just when I feel the soil starts to dry. The plant is in the living room with no direct sunlight but enough light.

Thanks


texts: How much rainwater should I collect for the garden?

texts:
What are the steps to calculate how much rainwater I should collect for my garden?

Let's reason in liters/square meter of plants, to make it generic.

Let's use this for the statistics of rainfall: https://www.weather2visit.com/europe/netherlands/rotterdam.htm

Statistics of course cannot take into account exception, like the current month, when we had about 1 mm rain in 18 days.

The plant type is also important, but I don't how how to handle that.

So, how big should my barrel be per square meter of plants?


texts: How can I encourage rhizome growth in my lawn?

texts:
My kentucky bluegrass lawn came out of last winter in poor shape. I don't know why. However it seems to be flourishing now and repairing itself with what I believe is rhizome growth.

Even though it looks pretty grim, the bare areas are filling in rapidly. I'm looking for ways to encourage that even more. Special kind of fertilizer perhaps. We live in the Denver metro area. Any ideas?

Thanks!


texts:
I walk past this tree every day, in the northern Midwest, and I am confounded by it. It starts off at the bottom like any normal oak or maple tree (I don’t know my trees). Then about 10 feet up it turns white, almost like it decided to try being a birch tree for awhile, and never went back. I’m pretty sure that’s not how trees work though. So what’s up with this?

I took this picture of it last year and found it again this one has leaves. imgur doesn’t do a good job of compression though.


texts: What is eating/removing young fruit from my lemon and orange trees?

texts:
I live on the upper Gulf coast, just inland of Galveston Bay. For the past three weeks my improved meyer lemon tree, and two satsuma orange trees have been in glorious bloom. The bees went crazy, and all three trees were covered with little tiny fruit.

Over the past week disaster has struck. Something has eaten or caused to fall off almost every tiny fruit from the lemon tree. It appears that leaves are also being stripped off. I've been watching this closely, and one day a branch will appear healthy, and the next its fruit and some leaves will be gone. While there are some leaves on the ground, and some old blossoms, those numbers are small compared to what is missing from the tree.

I might assume that the culprits are caterpillars, but I don't see any pests of any kind on the tree. I'm stumped.

I have included a picture of a branch that was previously bearing fruit and leaves, and which is now mostly stripped. Over the past several days this appears to have started happening to the orange trees as well.

What is happening, and what can I do to limit the damage to the orange trees before I lose that crop as well?

Here are more pictures. This one is of the lemon tree. Note that there are still many leaves, though some are missing. The fruit from these branches is almost completely gone.

Here is the base of one of the orange trees. As you can see, there is a good deal of dropped fruit on the ground, but almost no orange leaves. (Those leaves in the picture are from mulch from last fall.)

This last picture is from the orange tree as well. Many leaves are still on the branches, but a lot of fruit has dropped.

Maybe it's just the trees dropping their fruit, but I am certain that many leaves are gone as well. These trees otherwise seem quite healthy, and in past years I have not seen them lose this much fruit. I should also mention that the orange trees do have a lot of fruit still on the branches. I want to keep it that way, which is why I am so concerned about the loss of fruit.

Finally, I will also mention that my young grapefruit tree (3 years old), which is nearby, initially had 30 or so immature fruit on it (which I was going to pick off), but has dropped all but one. That was the first tree that exhibited this behavior.

Stormy asked for picture of the entire trees. Here are the two orange trees.

OK, I originally posted this in the spring, and now its falls (mid-October). I answered my own question, suggesting that it was a spring cold spell that caused the budding fruit to drop.

Now that it is fall, I have to say that I was a complete worry wart. We've never had a crop so prolific as this. In a normal year we'd be picking fruit in late November. This year, however, we've been eating oranges, small ones, to be exact, since September - every day!

So here is what's going one. The trees are laden with fruit. In August we noticed that the trees where dropping green fruit. One day I peeled a green orange that had fallen, and found it to be edible. Since that day, we've pretty much been having oranges. It's hard to describe how unusual this is.

Nowadays, we are picking to help the tree with the weight, mostly picking the ones that are beginning to show some signs of color. Nonetheless, we are eating oranges every night, which is great. The fruit is continuing to mature, and at some point we expect the fruit to be normal
(large, orange, and easy to peal). So far, they have been small and mostly green, but even so the pulp has been sweet and more than ready to be eaten. By late November, I expect the remaining fruit to be large and delicious.

What a change! What I thought was a major loss of fruit turned out to be an abundance that I could not imagine.

Thank you for everyone who lent an opinion to the original post. It turns that our loss of blossoms was not a tragedy. What remained burdened our trees to the point that I worried about the weight of fruit, and we've been harvesting steadily in order to help the trees along their journey towards winter respite.

Take a look:


texts: What’s wrong with my snake plant leaves?

texts:
I recently discovered the tip of my snake plant had turned blackish and cut off from the rest of the plant, basically dead, the dead part feels moist and floppy.
I don’t know what’s wrong if I’m under watering or overwatering or root rot, please help.
I include pictures below of it.


texts: Is there a way to save this half-dead evergreen tree?

texts:
I just moved into a home and this tree is planted in the yard. Half of it seems to be in good shape but the other half has no leaves and seems dead. I'm not sure what, if anything, I can do to save or rejuvenate this tree.

Click any photo for full size

I live in Great Falls, Virginia in the USA and it is currently early spring here.


texts:
I've been trying to identify this tree, found along the roadside in a hilly area of southwest Ireland (Cork). Some features:

Small, stiff, serrated leaves that look slightly similar to holly but not as glossy
Very dense clusters of small white flowers, very fragrant (can easily smell the tree from a few feet back)
Pleasant smell - similar to roses
Plant height is roughly 10-12ft high
Found on roadside directly adjacent to brambles, elder, and gorse

I've been all over numerous identification sites/apps/books, google image search, etc. and have yet to see a similar flower. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!


texts: Are these trees by the river maples, or liquidambars, or...?

texts: What kind of trees are those two in the photo? (I really don't have any better photo.)


texts: What is the name of this flower (saw this in Spain) which smells amazing?

texts: I saw this flower a week ago in Granada, Spain. It smells amazing, but I couldn't figure out the name of the plant. Does anyone have a clue?


texts: How much growth should I expect from my pecan tree?

texts:
We bought a pecan tree that is basically a 2' tall stick right now. It was planted in an opening with other trees and should get about 75% of available daylight.

How many years would you think it should take for it to start producing? How much taller will it get each year once it has established itself? Also, what can I do to help it along?


texts: Diseased roses: salvagable, or a danger to my other plants?

texts:
This poor potted rose bush (don't know the type) has just been getting worse and worse:

Clearly a disease, but what? Can it be saved? I've already pruned 2 branches that had basically died, but it's still spreading. I'm worried it will spread to my other plants -- can this infect my nearby wisteria, hydrangeas or peppers/tomatoes/etc? How far can it "hop"?


texts: Variegated Arboricola shrubs leaves wilting

texts:
What can I do to help this Variegated Arboricola to grow healthy and stop wilting?

I am in Southern Florida. I was spraying my lawn with Ortho® Weed B Gon® Weed Killer For Lawns Ready-To-Spray2 which is near these plants. Prior to the spraying/treatment the plant was looking far better. The leaves were sticking straight out rather than drooping. I am not sure what to do now to nurse them back to health.

Please let me know if you need any additional information.


texts: What happens when shiitake are exposed to sugar water?

texts:
I looked closely at my shiitake about 2 days after picking them, and was wondering if the fuzz on top of them is normal in the development of new buds:

within 1 day:
A few days later (the big clump was a fruiting body):

Sorry for the bad picture, but I can't get any closer with a laptop.


texts: I have a small area (approx 400 sqft) near the pool where I'm looking to put down sod.  I ordered the sod to be delivered today.  Yesterday I used a mini tiller to loosen the dirt.  I found that under the dirt was gravel.  See pictures.  Is it ok to put the sod on top of that?  What should I do?  thanks


texts: What are the steps for building a no till vegetable garden, and how late can I start it?

texts: I'm looking at putting my garden along a creek bed in a part that doesn't flood, and was wondering how late I can start it, and if I need to do anything special other than planting the seeds.


texts: Which cultivar is this purple Cattleya Aliance orchid?

texts: This was a gift and does not have an ID tag! What is the name of this hybrid?


texts: Will a Thanksgiving Cactus Be Ok with 1-7-6 fertilizer?

texts:
I have a Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata) that I've had for maybe 5-6 years now. I recently picked up some "Cactus Juice" on sale in a local store, and was considering feeding it to my Thanksgiving cactus. Some sites I've read said that I should feed it 10-10-10 or 20-20-20 fertilizer, but the Cactus juice is 1-7-6.

As a somewhat gardening novice who only vaguely understands that those numbers have to do with the nitrogen/phosphorous/potassium content, will the Cactus Juice be a good fertilizer for my Christmas cactus?


texts: Why do my gardenias turn yellow before they bloom?

texts: My gardenias seem to be happy all year around, but when they bloom, they turn half yellow. Is there a way to keep them green through the bloom phase?


texts:
My husband received this peace lilly back in '04 from his office as sympathy for a family loss. When he was there the plant grew to be huge (florescent lights?) But he left that position and brought "Frankie" home.
Frankie was in our kitchen until I discovered EVERYONE was watering him. He lost a lot of leaves. I moved him to another location and then he would not get watered for long periods. He was much smaller, but still had plenty of leaves.
For the last two or so years he had three leaves, but last summer I discovered the leaves were all brown and dry. I moved Frankie to a smaller pot with fresh soil (put two miracle grow spikes in) and thought we would be able to get him to bounce back. (Roots were minimal, but white and seemingly healthy.)
I put him in the kitchen window (blinds are usually mostly closed) so I could talk to him and keep an eye on him. Then I read about them not liking direct sun, so I moved him back to the center island. It's been three months + since reporting and I haven't seen any new growth, but he is firm in the soil.
Did all the trauma just do too much? Anyone have suggestions? I am not a gardener so I just don't know what else to do.
Thanks in advance for any advice you may have. (Edit: picture should be attached....showed that it was earlier.)


texts: RE: Missouri Clay - how well will day lilies (Hemerocallis fulva) grow in this mixture of soil?

texts: My yard contains a good amount of Missouri clay and I would like to plant some day lilies; will they survive/thrive in thick soil like this? Also, do they do well in direct sun or shade and what type of irrigation do they prefer?


texts:
I planted some chili plants at the beginning of the season and they have done very well so far. Had quite a good crop. The varieties are Apache, Carolina Reaper, Chocolate Habanero and Trinidad Scorpion. I'm growing them indoors in relatively small pots, three, four and five liter ones. I live in an 8b hardiness zone.
Lately, autumny, cloudy days and rain have started creeping in, and the plants have started looking droopy with slightly yellowish/brown, crinkly leaves and producing small fruit that don't grow too much before turning red. Also some elongated fruit. I was thinking these were all signs that it was time to start preparing them for overwintering.
Everywhere I look they mention trimming them down to the stem and keeping them around 12-14 Celsius, once their leaves start falling. My problem is that I live in a very well insulated building where temperatures rarely drop below 20 Celsius, even during winter. Light is naturally limited however and an LED white light I have does not seem to revive them or help give them more energy.
My question is, should I:
a) Leave them like they are, give them as much light as possible, and let them survive the winter like that?
b) Trim some of the surrounding vegetation and leaves, the bottom ones and the ones looking crinkly, brown/yellow and keep them like that over the winter?
c) Trim down to the stem anyway?
d) Any other suggestions?
Thanks a lot in advance. Happy to provide more information and pictures as needed.
EDIT: Added pictures.


texts:
Today I raked my lawn. My intention was to clear some of the Leylandii debris and brambles, but to my surprise almost all of the 'grass' came away, leaving more or less bare soil. Since it's quite obviously dead - the lawn was left to grow wild all of last summer and then collapse in the winter - I've raked the whole lawn and removed as much as would yield easily, and I'm happy to have gotten rid of it.

The question is, assuming there are living roots in here, will they regrow sufficiently to give me a decent lawn this year, or should I i) seed over it as it is after removing the solitary weeds or ii) rotavate the lot and reseed it completely?

Picture of the lawn post-raking:

And the dead stuff:

edit #1:

It is now June. I have so far done nothing apart from give it its first mow yesterday. The plot thickens - I spoke to my neighbour on the subject of grass and he mentioned that when the property was first put up for sale, the owner had it turfed. Expecting a quick sale, maintenance was never arranged, so the fresh turf was never mown, grew through its full lifecycle and died back, leaving the sorry state you see in my first pictures. Evidence of this is that there is in fact no thatch whatsoever and what fresh grass there is, still grows in small tufts with bare soil in between. Areas have died completely, and the dried-out turf mat is still intact below the trees at the back. What has survived doesn't look of bad quality, and the weeds are much less invasive when cut down to ground level. I'll sort out a picture shortly.

Much better! There are definitely still big bare spots, but what's coming through looks homogeneous and healthy, if sparse; and the weeds can be pulled out one by one as they're easy to get hold of. I think it'll recover nicely this year.


texts:
I recently acquired a ponytail palm, which is alive, though it wasn't taken care of well prior to my acquisition. One thing I noticed is that the pot was covered in rocks, that appear to be fused together to make some sort of covering over the soil.

I'd imagine that the covering was intended to help lock moisture into the soil, but ponytail palms, like all succulents, have their own ways of holding moisture and prefer drier soil. Could this rock covering be harmful to its roots and promote mold and root rot? Or should I remove it to allow the soil to dry and air normally?

Edit: I'm growing this plant inside (upstate NY), and I have it on a shelf so it can get direct light most of the day. It's in a typical ceramic pot with one hole at the bottom - seems to drain well. And the dirt inside feels dry to the touch (though I'm not sure of the last time it was watered).


texts: What insect eats petals and what can I do to kill it?

texts:
My geraniums loved being outside the front window of my house. They've been thriving there for over two months now and I thought I'd finally found a winner (it's too hot for pansies and other daintier plants).

Now they're getting eaten alive. I've heard of leaf-eaters, obviously, but I've never seen flowers bored into and devoured from the inside.

Click to enlarge

What in the world is eating them? More importantly, what can I do to make things right with my poor friend the geranium by killing what ails her? (If geographic specificity helps, I'm in southern Nevada.)


texts: What is this plant with long sharp leaves? Is it a weed?

texts:
In my garden I have several of the plants shown below. At first I thought it is a weed, but then it was quite robust against cold weather and continued to grow slowly:

The leaves are long and sharp, the example shown below is about 30cm high and the leaves are 8-12cm long. I haven't seen a flower or anything for 8 months and the temperature has varied from -3 to 35 C over this period (including rainy and dry times) and the plant hasn't died yet.

Click to enlarge


texts:
I have a couple of Jade plants ( Crassula ovata ) that I have grown from leaf pieces over the course of the last 10 years or so.   This year, for the first time, they appear to have been attacked by squirrels or something.  Hunks of bark have been removed and some of the inner structure of the branches is visible.  The damage has caused the branches to droop, due to some structural damage.  It's been really dry here, so I assumed that it was to get at the water inside them, so I set some water out for the animals to drink a bit more easily.   Is there anything I can do to help keep the Jades from getting sick while they heal?

Here they both are.  Those are 12 inch pots.

Closer view of the damage.


texts: Any way to save peppers after super early frost?

texts: We just had an early September snow (two nights below freezing) here in Colorado.  I did get some cover over my beds to keep the snow off the plants, but it was much to big to really work as a greenhouse so it still got cold in there.  My bell peppers and even the habaneros seem to be alright, but the ghost peppers are not.  I've just got one plant, and it seems like all the shoots which have fruit on them have dropped all their leaves, though there are still leaves on the 1 or 2 stems that had no fruit.  My basic question is, should I cut my losses and harvest now and they just won't be as spicy, or is it alright to leave them out and see what happens (the fruit are all still green and I would have guessed they needed another month to fully ripen)?  The forecast doesn't show any cold temperatures anytime soon and we get lots of sun, but I guess I'm just worried they might rot on the vine if the plant is dying.


texts: What Central or North American region is suitable to the most diverse variety of edible plants?

texts:
Some time in the next couple of years, I hope to buy some land, and settle down.  I have no physical ties to any particular place, except that I wish to stay within Central or North America.  Most likely, the U.S. or Mexico.

One of my top goals in buying land will be growing as much of my own food as possible.

With this goal in mind, how can I determine which region(s) offer a climate suitable to the most diverse variety of fruits, vegetables, and other edible plants?


texts: What is this plant with a thick woody stem and waxy leaves?

texts: I found this plant in the recycling room in my building and its taken quite well to its new home. But what is it?


texts: What is the name of this fragrant flower?

texts:
Can anyone identify this flower?
It started its flower about a week ago and has an amazing frangrance.


texts: Bonsai sprout is loosing all of its leaves, help!

texts:
My boyfriend planted this bonsai from a seed almost a year ago, so not exactly sure which type it is. We keep it watered and it sits on the window in our bedroom, where it receives fresh air, sunlight, and wind. The past week or so we noticed that some of its tiny branches were becoming dry and fragile. This morning, when I went to water it, two more of its branches/leaves fell off completely! Now it only has two tiny leaves on the very top. Hopefully you can see the small branches that fell off on the soil.

The base of the sprout is still very strong, and the plant itself is not drooping or wilting; has a twig-like feel yet flexible and strong. We are complete beginners at caring for a bonsai, and are wondering if anyone has any experience or tips regarding what to do? Should we replant the entire bonsai? Maybe water it more often (soil was completely dry a few days ago, even though we water nightly, so maybe need to water more)? The bonsai is inside all day, and I am not sure if I should be putting it outside at all. We live in Hawaii, and the days can get pretty hot and humid here, especially at this time of year. Additionally, the sun is really strong; I've had other plants get sunburnt. Any help is greatly appreciated]1


texts: Micro Drip Irrigation Backflow Filter (To Protect Pump)

texts:
I've installed micro irrigation, as:

water butt > pump filter > Shurflo 30psi pump > 16mm supply pipe > 4mm pipe > emitters

Have seen others mention dirt can enter the emitters & eventually backflow to the pump.  It seems either an inline non-return/check valve or inline filter would be suitable on the pump output, but the budget only allows for one.  Are either really needed, and which connector would be more beneficial?

Many Thanks


texts: Do Chicken of the woods rubbings on trees work for propagation?

texts: I've heard that it's very hard to propagate COW, and was wondering if rubbing the tree with past prime parts of COW would help propagate them. Think similar to bear tree slashing.


texts: What is the best way to identify a Saintpaulia (African violet)?

texts: Several times, I have had Saintpaulias (African violets) in unlabeled pots. I tried finding the variety name through several sites and they all looked different. How can I identify them?


texts:
My backyard has grasshoppers. Lots and lots of grasshoppers. I tend to ignore them, because it's currently a weed garden more than anything else. I tried planting a raised bed this year with some beans, chillies, cilantro, mint, and grapes, and didn't see any insect-related problems.

Reading online, it appears that grasshoppers are considered a pest.

What I'm interested in is:

Are they a sign of a deeper problem (just like clover indicates low-nitrogen lawns), and
Should I do anything about them?

In terms of species, I'm not sure what type they are; they appear greenish-brownish, with very tiny, bright-green young.


texts: Moisture rising in a beech tree - is it a sign of a problem?

texts: In the picture below taken after a rain, the beech shows a pattern of moisture about 3 feet up the tree. None of my other trees, including beeches (you can see another one on the very left of the picture) is showing the same pattern. I have recently had two trees fall in that area because the bottom rotted out. I'm wondering if this moisture pattern is indicating that this tree is also rotting at the bottom.


texts: How to transplant Amaryllis (naked ladies)?

texts:
I have some Amaryllis in my garden and I'd like to give a few to someone else. It's mid-spring at the moment (October) in Melbourne, and they have their leaves on them. If they flower, it's in late summer (January - February).

Can they be transplanted at any time of year? I'm thinking it's probably best to wait until they go dormant.

How long can they survive out of the ground without water? They would travel for an hour. Do they need to be replanted immediately?

What do I need to do to maximise their chances of survival after being transplanted?

Naked ladies in my garden, 2 February 2015 (summer)

Click for larger image


texts: Are eastern prickly pear cacti pads edible?

texts:
Are eastern prickly pear (Opuntia humifusa) cacti pads as edible as the kind you find in the grocery store (Opuntia ficus-indica)? I know the fruit is edible, if everything across the Internet I've read is correct, but I'm not so sure about the pads.

Anyway, it looks like we can grow them in our zone (I don't believe the regular ones that are largely known to be edible grow in my zone). I would like to grow them for food (not just the fruit, but the pads). I don't want to grow them if they're toxic, though.

I've seen one source that says all members of the opuntia genus have both edible pads and edible fruit. However, it was only one source, and I'm kind of suspicious, because I've heard of one species that might cause issues.

Does anyone here eat eastern prickly pear pads?

Anyway, if you can tell me a productive and definitely edible opuntia that will grow in zone 4 (even if it's not the eastern prickly pear), that would be great, too.


texts: What's the tree with many leaves in one branch and grow tall

texts: This tree is all over our backyard and it keeps coming when i cut down, want to know if its a useful one if not, want to cut them down and apply glyphosate to the left over trunk..


texts: I found a small dead bush,with very hard wood red to black in color was in a gulley on west side of red rock open space

texts: I found a small dead bush, with very hard wood red to black in color was in a gulley on west side of red rock open space. the living ones I have seen are 3ft to 6ft tall with small fingernail size leaves.


texts: I bought this plant in aldis and it does not say what type of plant it is, please help!


texts: What is a good Plum tree that is self-fertile, disease-resistant and a heavy cropper?

texts:
I planted an Ouillins Gage plum tree some years ago and it died after an attack of bacterial canker, although two nearby apple trees, planted at the same time, were unaffected and are still thriving.

I'm planning to plant another plum or greengage tree in the autumn, and am hoping for better luck this time. I would prefer a late-flowering variety that:

produces fruit that is very good for eating fresh when fully ripe,
is hardy,
disease-resistant,
a reliable and heavy cropper, and
self-fertile (space is limited).

My soil is light and free-draining. I live in Manchester, United Kingdom.

Is there a variety of plum tree that meets these criteria?


texts: Fruit cherry leaves got eaten by something?

texts:
I have bing fruit cherry tree and the leaves look like these

It is randomly at different spots. Is this something I should be concerning? Is it caused by disease or some bugs eating them?

UPDATE 1

Adding one more photo. I am in Pacific Northwest and it is May when I look at this.


texts: I planted a vegetable but can't remember what it is

texts:
I planted a vegetable about a month ago, but I can't remember which veggie it is. Would anyone be able to help me guess the mystery plant?

I thought it was either garlic or ginger, but I don't see any familiar plants online..

Thanks in advance!


texts: I got this as a gift a few years back, and I am still unsure of its name. It has darker green leaves which are purple on the underside and shaped into a point. It has no thorns. It is very frail, segments break off easily. It is also very easy to propagate it, since the broken segments can just be put it into soil and quickly grow roots. I kept it both in shade and on a sunlit shelf and it doesn't seem to care. I water it when the soil gets dry, but a bit too much or too little water does not seem to hurt it. It hasn't blossomed yet. Older parts of the plant dry off and fall off. It looks like Muehlenbeckia complexa, but the leaves are pointy, so I am not sure.


texts:
Context
I have been growing this Japanese Wineberry (Rubus phoenicolasius) for 2 years, and it was already 2 years old when I bought it. See annotated image below.
I have usually pruned it by removing the "old wood" canes in late summer, after they have fruited, and training the "new wood" ones onto the fence support that you see, to prepare them for the fruit that comes on then in the following year. The fruiting shoots of the plant come off the main cane in early spring, and flower in early summer.

Question: I would like to train the plant into a permanent frame (a bit like you would do with climbing roses onto a wall); this would create a set of permanent canes, which become increasingly "woodier". Would fruiting still happen from side shoots of these main branches? Will the tips still grow and allow me to shape these canes even further? Will this weaken or reduce the new canes? Should I still keep these?


texts: Why won't my artichoke plants produce buds?

texts:
Last year I started a number of artichoke plants over the winter. I wasn't successful in giving them enough cold weather in order to bud the first year so I covered the plants with leaves in the fall and over wintered them. Despite losing all their leaves some new growth emerged in the spring and now I have two surviving plants.

The problem I’m facing now is they haven’t gotten any larger since they first came up. New leaves continue to form but the bottom ones die off leaving the plant no bigger. There are also no signs of a flower stalk. Is there anything I can do to help encourage flowering?

Update

I went out into the garden today and found this. Looks like all I needed was a week of good rain.


texts: What is the risk of soil contamination via leaf mulch/compost?

texts:
Soil in the city I live in is quite often contaminated with nasty things like arsenic and lead.  Levels are sometimes twice or more what's considered acceptable.  For this reason, people usually garden in imported soil in raised beds rather than directly in their own backyards.

I'm wondering how risky it would be to use leaves (most commonly maple) from untested soil as mulch or as bedding for vermicomposting worms.  Would different varieties of trees be more/less likely to deposit contaminants in their leaves?


texts: What is the best method/saw to cut through tough palm tree fronds with? (30-foot Queen Palms)

texts: I have a pole saw with a typical pruning saw blade and it works great on fresh green palm fronds (which I really shouldn't be cutting, but I don't want them touching my roof line) but the ones that I just can't manage to cut are the tougher, older fronds, especially if they are completely dead. And the fruit is very problematic because it drops them by the thousands so I try to remove them soon as I can but they are very though to cut. These are all four Queen Palms, two of which are over 30 feet high so I've been using a ladder and my pole saw. It's one of the most tiring jobs I've done myself at home only because it takes so much energy to cut through the tougher fronds. There has to be a better saw than a typical pruning pole saw, perhaps something meant for palms? I'm the type who prefers to learn/do everything myself as opposed to hiring pros so bear that in mind. I am willing to pay for the perfect saw however to keep in my garage. If you have any tips on technique that would be helpful too. It strains my neck having to look up at what I am cutting. Thanks for any advice.


texts: What is this ground cover weed similar to Galenia? It seems to grow in the same environment and it has a blue tone to its leaves compared to galenia. Galenia has a semi-succulent leaf, whereas this weed does not, its leaf is quite fine. Both weeds look the same from a distance as they have a similar growth pattern of a primary root that spreads out like a carpet over the ground surface and the leaves and plants are on the same scale of size to Galenia. The plants are located in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia.


texts: Here I am again with another unidentified yellow flowering plant! This one has an interesting leaf texture that somewhat resembles webs or webbing of sorts and is extremely soft to the touch, especially when they first sprouted. The flowers for this have not bloomed yet, however the buds currently have visible yellow color. I initially thought that they were chinese forget-me-nots, as I had grown some in the same pot that these appeared in, however the leaf shape and texture gradually changed and the differences between them became very obvious. I would greatly appreciate any input as to what they could be, as well as any advice in regards to figuring out where to start if I wanted to ID a plant on my own. Many thanks!


texts: Are Scaffolding Nets are good options to put on my Trees to protect them from Birds and Squirrels?

texts:
I was recently planning to buy some bird netting to protect my trees from Birds and Squirrels, but found a cheaper alternative , "Scaffolding Net"

I have never seen or touched one , in a close up situation. But they seem to be a good alternative to the bird nets.

Has anyone tried them for their trees ?
Questions I have is mostly inclined towards
.Do they allow enough Sunlight through to the Trees
. Do they work well for the use mentioned ?

Adding another question to this :
Does the size of mesh matter in those nets ? As long as it allows enough air to pass through.


texts: Dealing with mealy bug infestation on jades

texts:
I have a couple of jade and dwarf jades on my windowsill, and I think they've been infested with mealy bugs - I had an infestation about a year ago, on a different plant, and I think it spread to the jades.

The mealy bugs have spread to a couple of plants, but on most of them I spray with water and dish soap and it seems to have killed all of them. But on the jades on the window sill, it looks like ants are tending the mealy bugs, and because the jade's leaves are so close together, I can't really get at them with the dish-soap-and-water spray like I could on the other plants. What do you do in such cases?

Also, I have to say, I'm worried that what I have might not even be mealy bugs- I've included a few pictures, so tell me if it's something else that just happens to be white and similar-looking. I'll try to add better pictures as soon as I succeed in getting them in focus.

This picture is of the jade, with what I think are the mealy bugs hiding in between the leaves (it got worse when they flowered):

This picture is of a different plant (I don't know what it's called) in which the same pest appears only sporadically and can be more-or-less controlled by a soap-and-water spray. You can see one in the very center:

Here's another shot of a jade with them on it. You can see the ones that are exposed, on the leaves, but there are more beneath those which are the ones I've been having trouble with.


texts: Drip watering 5m flower bed from downpipe

texts:
I have a 5m flowerbed at the front of my house that is under roof cover and so gets no direct rain onto it. Beside it is the downpipe from the roof guttering and I can't help but wonder if I could just feed a single 5m tube/piping from that with tiny holes to drip water the flowers.
I have 2 questions;

Does something like this exist already? I've found this type of part which appears to direct water into a tank: https://www.tanks-direct.co.uk/black-rainwater-filter-collector-2000840.html?fee=3&fep=1565&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIraHxo9rc6gIVSLDtCh3NBgSmEAQYAiABEgLjI_D_BwE

I wonder if I could just attach a hose to that and pierce some tiny holes all along it?

If I did use something like the above, should I be worried about the volume of water coming down the downpipe and flooding the flower bed, and what happens when the hose fills up because there is more water entering it than is leaving via the tiny holes.

Thank you.


texts: Edible plants you can grow entirely indoors in UK

texts:
Like many, I and my family are stuck indoors for the duration of Covid-19.  I would like to try growing plants on the available windowsills, preferably edible plants.

However, I've no ideas for what would practically work.  What can grow, just on a window sill, in a plot, and be useful?  Location is UK, SSE facing.


texts:
Over the years I have seen examples of people making a type of compost tea which is made by using a large barrel filled with about 70 - 80% water and then adding all sorts of stuff.

Some examples I have seen:

Dead cane toads -> Just found video here
Grass clippings
Seaweed
Chicken manure
Meat scraps

Note, these examples I have seen both on television and in practice.

The mixture is left to decompose until it is mostly liquid (there is no separation of ingredients and the liquid) then it is further diluted and applied to the soil.

From the results I've seen in the real world I want to start making the same stuff but I want to know what I should avoid putting in the mix; what should I not put in this tea if I want to avoid making my family sick?


texts: Feasibility of selling large Japanese Maple

texts: We are buying a new home which has several large (10-20 ft tall) Japanese Maple trees. We are considering selling one or two of them to help pay for some interior home projects. I know that trees can generally be harvested if done carefully and done during the right time of year to avoid transplant shock, but is there actually a market for people or nurseries trying to buy them fully grown? Would we have any luck trying to sell one in the southern United States?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What can I grow in a sealed office environment with no natural light or airflow?

Can anyone recommend a plant that do reasonably well in an office environment please?

The office is well lit but I am a good 10m away from any natural source of light.

Bonus points to something that would fruit or at least provide some colour.


texts: What is this growing on my plants and how do I treat it?

texts: What is growing on my plants and how do I treat it? See details on this photo:


texts: What's the best mulch material for a vegetable garden?

texts:
I want to lay mulch down around my already established plants to help retain moisture and discourage weeds.  Is there a recommended material for this?  Or at least some materials I should know to avoid?

Update:
The choices I'm looking at right now are hardwood, cedar, and cypress (all available from my local Lowes/Home Depot/etc and are pretty cheap.  Also, my city has a program that gathers wood that people are throwing away and shreds them into mulch.  It's free to take some and they'll fill up the back of your truck for you as many times as you want.  You end up with a random collection of wood...not sure if this really matters though.


texts: What is this shrub/plant? It has 7-pointed leaves

texts:
I just bought this house and am trying to make sure everything in my yard is safe for my kids. Can you tell me what this plant is? It is about 3 feet tall, and seems to have burr-like clusters near the back. I'm in Southern California, if that helps. No idea whether it was planted intentionally.

Here are more images. http://imgur.com/a/xzgjO


texts: Young maple tree with no growth on top shoots

texts:
I have a maple tree I planted maybe 2 years ago.  It seems to be doing well, but has a weird thing where there is no leafs growing on the top stems of the tree.  Do I need to trim this to promote vertical growth? Should I just leave it? What exactly is going on here?

Autumn Blaze Maple, Colorado front range

Acer x freemanii 'Jeffersred'


texts: What is this succulent plant with pointed leaves that looks like a cross between agave and aloe?

texts:
I am looking to add this plant to my garden, but have no idea what it is called.

When I searched "pointy plants" it shows up under succulents, agave & aloe.


texts:
I apologize, this is not a good photo but it’s the only one I have. I’m looking for this rose that was planted in the mid-late 1990s or very early 2000s. This was an upright bush that didn’t spread. It is shown at its mature height of about 30” and spread
Of maybe 24.” It used to bloom into December here along the the northeast US coast. It was my mother’s favorite & didn’t survive transplanting after she died.
Thank you.


texts: Majesty palm has 3 out of 7 leaves brown. 4th one becoming very brown as well also with yellow?

texts:
Help! My majesty palm now has 3 brown leaves (out of 7 total) over the span of a week or so.
The 4th frond is now becoming mostly brown, though has yellow.
I move it to partial sunlight 5' from a window about 4 to 6 hours a day. I let it sit in the shower at night time for the humidity. It is in a bottom self-watering pot.


texts: What is this shrub which survives in the Sonoran Desert naturally?

texts:
Plants native to the Sonoran Desert require watering every 6 months. The following plant, which I am not sure is native to the Sonoran Desert or not, was found to thrive in the Sonoran Desert solely off rain.* What is this plant?

*Drip system piping can be seen in these pictures, but the system was not on for the past year.

closeup:


texts: Drip system: how to achieve evenly moist soil in pots

texts:
I am planning to set up a drip irrigation system for my tomatoes.
How many drippers (or emitters) will I need for pots with an approximate volume of 9 litre (2.4 US gal) in order to achieve an evenly moist soil?
Or: does two emitters for each pot sound reasonable?
I have used watering clay cones in the past, however only one for each pot and the pots were smaller. After a while I realized that the roots had grown very strongly only around the watering cones but not in the rest of the soil, since it was unevenly wet.
Therefore I I would like to know if a drip system with 2 emitters in 9 litre pots will produce an evenly distributed moisture. I have searched the web but haven't found any site covering this issue explicitly.


texts: Recommendations for plants next to front walkway

texts:
I'm trying to find the right mix of plants between the walkway and the exterior wall of the house as you can see in the picture below. There are a few palm trees so there is not a lot of direct light falling in this spot.

The previous homeowner had planted a couple of rose bushes (center) that I don't mind getting rid of - they're alive but that's about it. The other two on the side are either dead (rightmost) or almost dead with a few leaves (leftmost).

I'm in USDA hardiness zone 10b / Sunset climate zone 23. I'd like to replace these with a set of plants that:
- would work in the shade
- have some color
- waterwise / somewhat drought tolerant

Maybe a mix of some taller plants at the back with some smaller ones (like the moses-in-the-cradle I saw at HomeDepot) in the wider spots in front?

I tried looking at colorful, drought-tolerant plants online but I don't have a green thumb so not sure how easily they would take, care needed etc.

Any recommendations are greatly appreciated!

Edit: The 'drought-tolerant' is a nice to have, the watering schedule is currently set up for 2-3x a week. So as long as the plants don't require a lot of water, that would be fine.

Edit 2: In response to Stormy's question, here are some more images of the front walkway area. I'm afraid there is no 'yard' (real estate is $$$$ here in southern Cal). Apologies in advance for what is now a very lengthy post

There's 3, maybe 4 areas we will "update" over the next year or two.

Image A: This is from the house looking out to the street.
The area outlined on the left is where we hope to put Hibiscus or Hibiscus + Bougainvillea next spring. Purpose is to also form a barrier as my next-door neighbor has an overgrown/unkept backyard and does the bare minimum in the front to keep the HOA off his back. At the same time, the wife likes Hibiscus flowers so dual purpose.

There's the area on the right that was covered earlier.

Image B: Same view but from the other side, for a close up of some the plants in the front left.

Image C: Close up of the center area. I removed a dead plant from the left, and this is where I'm hoping to put in a Canna tropical. The other side has what seems to be lifeless rose bush.

Image D: The front. As you can see, the previous homeowner allowed the ground cover to take over, either by choice or otherwise. Not against the ground cover but I have not yet seen those two small bushes flower. (Maybe they do so in early spring, as they look exactly the same since we bought the place)

Image E: Close up of the last bit. There's a succulent, a hydrangea that is peeking out from the back, some tall grass that needs to be cleared up :) and etc.

In a nutshell, I'm open to ripping most of these out over the next couple of years and putting in something that works, looks cohesive but at the same time is colorful & leafy/tropical.

I realize this may be a bigger question than what's possible to answer easily, hence recommendations for any one area is appreciated as well.

I am hoping to take on one area at a time (side of the house, center, and neighbor), wait until it settles and survives and then move on.

Thanks for reading till the end!


texts:
I want to plant some zelkovas in my garden(20 zelkovas along a wall, so there is only one column). I want to know what's the proper distance? Zelkovas(Zelkova Carpinifolia) are native in the region where I live and there are huge zelkovas. I have planted some of them with 2 meter distance; is it enough or should I increase it?

I live in the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, it's a temperate rainforest and it receives about 1200mm of rainfall/year.


texts:
I have a pepper plant and I don't know what variety it is. Maybe someone can help me identify it. Some details about pictures and plant:

3.7 liter pot
plant size is ~40 cm (~15 inches)
fruit are 5-10 cm long (2-4 inches)
fruit ripen from green to bright orange
fruit have a very tough skin
fruit are quite hot (hotter than Serrano pepper)
plant loves sun more than my Serrano/Fresno peppers (40°C (100°F) in the sun is no problem)

I have a second plant that I think is the same variety but it's fruit ripen from green to bright yellow:

I can provide additional pictures/information if necessary.


texts:
A few days ago, a friend gave me a mint plant submerged in water. It was my first time so I researched carefully, and took cuttings and planted them in pots. A few days later, they shriveled up and died.

Desperate, I snipped off a medium sized root from the main plant and put it in a pot. The root about 4cm, was yellowish white, and had a small 2cm stem that was woody. Considering that the stem was white and woody, will it grow back to create a lush mint plant?


texts: What are these bugs in my morning glories

texts: These are the bugs that are in my morning glories I don’t know what they are. Could these be what’s leaving the white stuff on back of leaves? The white stuff also has black specs in the middle of it. Please help.


texts: Peace Lily very dehydrated, still drooping after watering

texts: I didn't realize it, but I have been vastly underwatering my peace lily. It's always recovered after watering. This time, one day it was fine and then it drooped. When I watered it, some of the leaves came back, but most still droop. I gave it a good soaking (after I read that's what it needed when it was dry). Some of the leaves are slowly lifting, and they look pretty healthy. I cut off the dead ones and the dead parts of the leaves. It's been about 5 days. Will it recover? Does it just take a while? I really love this plant.


texts: How can I speed up germination of habanero chili pepper?

texts:
I planted some habanero seeds a week ago. Most of the websites said it need 2 weeks to 3 weeks to germinate. What is the best condition for its germination?

I am in Hong Kong and having a 29 degree Celsius temperature on average. How much water does it need? Water once a day or twice a day?


texts:
I have had a Java Palm for around 1 year. Indoor. Recently, about 1 month ago, I am observing an abnormal amount of leaves turning brown, gradually. I normally water the plant couple times a week, 1 time slightly, another time thoroughly and let it drain well.
The plant is growing new leaves periodically but some are already turning brown by the tips.
Any idea of what might be happening? Is this information enough for the community to help?


texts: What is the name of the blue seeds in the upper left part of this picture?


texts:
Would it harm my Jade tree if I repot it in December? I don't need to prune its roots, but I want to move it to a smaller pot and turn it into a mame bonsai instead.

Can I do it now or maybe I should wait till Spring?

UPDATE: I went ahead and repotted it. This is the repotted version of the tree.


texts: Identification of a seed with unknown origin

texts:
I have a seed that I would like to identify. I got this from a friend who does not know anything about the origin, so I have tried my favorite search engine with all kinds of keywords, looked up a few seed databases, but I was not successful so far. I hope you can help me!
EDIT: I am from Germany, but I am not sure if the seed is from here.


texts: Golden Pothos Yellowing/Variegation? Possibly Mosaic Virus?

texts: I am wondering if anyone can help me to understand if my Golden Pothos is getting improper care or if it has the mosaic virus. I have moved it to a location with less direct sunlight, but everything else has been consistent. Image 1 and 2 show what the variegation looks like on the top of the leaves, image 3 shows it on the back, and how some of the leaves are secreting fluid (not sure if that is typically normal), and image 4 is what the leaves look like when they are weak enough to just fall off when I give a light tug.


texts: Do white butterfly decoys work against Pieris rapae?

texts: I've seen various articles/posts to say that decoy artificial white butterflies, such as the one I just made, are effective in preventing attack of brassicas by the white butterfly Pieris rapae. The thesis is that the insect is highly territorial and will fly off if it sees a competitor. But are these reports just publication bias or does it really work? I'm looking for controlled studies.


texts: White flies / aphids on Parsley and Herbs in Winter

texts:
Help needed to confirm if these are indeed whitefly larvae and what I can do.

It's October (going into winter here) so I brought my herbs indoors a few weeks ago, only to have this pest.

Questions:
1. Can anything be done to remove the white spots from the leaves? I think this is the larvae. Right now I've moved the herbs back outside and the whiteflies have disappeared (too cold), but as it's currently 45-55 F here (7-12 C), I'm worried how long my plants (esp basil and parsley) will last.

Can I eat the parsley with the white dots? Even with aggressive spraying, vacuuming the leaves, and scrubbing with water, I can't remove them. I doubt they're harmful, but not very palatable. I'm seriously considering chopping off the parsley early for the winter to end this pest.
Will these spread to other herbs? There's also snow-like shedding in the soil. So far, these have not spread to my other herbs beside it (basil, rosemary, thyme, mint, chives). Are any of these others significantly at risk, or just parsley? Should I trash the soil (these are in pots) completely rather than risk larvae next season?

Please share if you can help.


texts: Do nutrients always flow downward in soil?

texts:
I've been reading and watching planting techniques. Many people place fertilizer at the bottom of the planting hole before putting in the plant. The first example is from Osmocote's fertilizer instructions:

  When transplanting annuals from flats or when re-potting, mix into the
  soil and growing media at the bottom of the hole before planting.

The second example is from this guy's guava planting video. He chucks a frozen cut of fish into the hole.

I always thought that nutrients would flow downward. Water can dissolve nutrients, and since water flows downward, the nutrients go along with it. So why then would one place fertilizer at the bottom of the planting hole? There's a chance that the roots can grow so fast that it can chase after the nutrients that are flowing downward, but why take that chance? Why not place nutrients at the top of the soil so it drains down into the roots? Unless, of course, nutrients can flow upward. Is that possible?


texts: How can i find what my soil pH is and how does it affect the plants?

texts:
I am pretty new to gardening(~6 months); I have a small terrace space with lots of potted plants (lemon, hibiscus, some herbs etc.).

I get soil(along with vermicompost) from various nursery suppliers depending on the feasibility/availability.

To a few questions I had asked in this forum, I was asked about what pH level my soil has, I understand pH level defines that where the soil lies on scale of acid to a base.

How can I know pH level of my soil, since I have got it from different sources its quite possible that different pots have different pH values?
How does it affect the plant growth?

Do I need to take any caution on preparing the soil before a plant anything?

Lot of questions I have put together, let me know if I need an edit.

Thanks for your help.


texts:
Last year I noticed the main limb of my maple tree was dead. Moreover, this year it seems to be getting worse and spreading!

I assume I need to remove the tree and replant, because cutting of the main limb is going to make the tree look lopsided. Any advice?


texts: Some tomato seeds have died... whats happening?

texts:
I have had some tomato seedlings growing in my little green house (or grow room) for about a week now. This morning I went down to check on everything (I check morning and night) and tonight I noticed a issue. Some of my tomatoes have died. I took one out and took a closer look and noticed that the top (leaves) was fine, the root was fine, but the middle wasn't. It was all dried up. I don't understand what is going wrong. This happened to 5. The rest are healthy, but this is a threat to me. A threat because this is the first year I have every started my own seeds and I don't know if I am doing something wrong or if this is common. Any help would be greatly appreciated(SP?).
Update: I have now got a picture of the tomato. Amazingly it still has a healthy looking top, even though I found it like this last night, I thought it would be dried up by now.
Also I figured to mention my soil mixture and water habit. The soil is Miracle grow potting mix (50%) and then coco coir (50%). When it comes to watering I wait till the soil is nearly dry and add some into the tray underneath the cell tray, so the water soaks in from the bottom.

So there it is in the center, if the grow light messes with your eyes and prefer normal light I could get my portable flood light and get another picture, just let me know.


texts: Does Kinnikinnick require soil amendment for planting

texts:
I intend to plant some ground cover on a small steep bank.  The bank faces east and receives some shade from nearby trees and also some full sun.  The total area is 180 sqft.  There are 3 shrubs and a 10' tree already in the bank, otherwise the bank is covered with bark mulch.  I live in Everett WA, USA (climate zone 4).

I am considering using Kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi).  My question is:  Do I need to amend the soil with peat moss or compost before planting?  I would like to avoid doing so if possible because 1) I don't want to have to remove the bark mulch and then put it back 2) I don't want to disturb the roots of the existing plants 3) working with the soil on this bank will be a hassle because, I suspect that when I loosen it, it will spill down.

Any advice or tips for how I could best handle this situation would be greatly appreciated.

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