texts: What mediterranean tree should I plant so my grandkids could build a tree house in a few years?

texts: I have a backyard and I live off the Mediterranean Sea in the Middle East. I'd like to plant a tree today that would grow fast enough, be strong and stable and shady enough to allow my grandkids to build a tree house on top of it in a few years time. My backyard's garden currently consists mostly of olive trees, a pomegranate tree, a lemon tree and a few bushes.


texts:
I have a small pathway made of natural sandstone pavers and I'm looking for the best "fillers" to plant in the spaces between them. I was thinking of using polymeric sand but my wife has suggested using grass to keep it looking softer. We live in zone 5 (Denver area) but the pathway is on the south side of the house and gets very hot and is in bright sun most of the day. What kind of grass would be best here? Any other suggestions or comments?

Thanks!

edits:
Our soil is dense clay.
Here is a picture I meant to add earlier:


texts: Identify pepper plant with purple upright fruit

texts:
Does anyone know what type of pepper plant this is?

After searching a little bit online, my guess would be Numex Twilight but I don't know enough about peppers to be sure. Can someone confirm? Or is it something else?


texts:
I live in London UK and have two small tamarind trees about 12 inches high which were sprouted from a pod we ate years back and kept the seeds, rediscovering them at the start of lockdown #1!
So they were born in April 2020 (they are round 8 months old), and they are doing very well, all summer and autumn they just grew and grew it was hard to keep up. I have never really taken care of plants like this before so am pretty new to this but I love them deeply and one day I want to hang a hammock between them.
As the winter came they stopped growing and on one of them the last 'feather' of leaves to have grown fell off — apart from this they do seem very healthy plants.
But I wanted to repot them as I think they are outgrowing the pots they are in and thought maybe this is why they are not growing (?)
I have two big terracotta pots waiting next to them.
The smaller pots they are currently in are also terracotta.
My question is — WHEN?
The lady at the pot shop (who didn't know tamarind plants but advised me based on what I told her about them) said that I should not do it now and wait until Spring/April. I really don't want to stunt or kill them over winter.
Can anyone advise me further on this?
Thank you!


texts: How to add elemental sulfur to garden for blueberries

texts:
I have soil in my garden that the pH is 7.0 and need to lower the pH.
If I add elemental sulfur to the soil (I already know the proper rate per square feet). Do I just apply the proper sulfur amount to the soil, use a shovel to distribute the sulfur into the top 8" of soil and leave it?

Or do I need to also water the area and then just wait for a month and retest the area?


texts: How can I encourage a jade tree to grow a strong trunk?

texts:
I have spindly jade plants. They don't much look like the tightly packed, overgrown one in this related question, but they are delicate, spreading out almost like vines. This is a problem any time I need to move things on the windowsill, as pieces break easily and I'm running out of places to start new jade trees!

I was taught to reduce the number of new buds and get the plant to "focus" on a few branches and stem by pinching off some or all of the new pairs of buds, but either I haven't been diligent or that isn't working.

Wikipedia suggests pruning jade plants in spring but I'm not sure I should cut whole branches now that it's summer.

Short of learning the patience necessary for bonsai, is there any way I can help my jade plants grow a stronger trunk and be less prone to breakage?


texts: Are there any drought tolerant plants that will force out weeds in pavement and sidewalk cracks?

texts:
In front of my house there is a sidewalk and about 2-3 feet of pavement behind a fence which I'm assuming was formerly dirt that was paved over. I've done my best to work with what I've got and make it look nice, but I'd love to find a solution to the weeds that keep popping up in the cracks in the pavement and sidewalk.

The front of my house gets a lot of sun but has poor drainage. Most days the area is dry and dusty. The cracks gather a lot of dusty dirt over time and I've pulled out weeds with pretty large root balls. Is there any particular type of groundcover or seed I can sow in the sidewalk cracks or in my single garden square that will outgrow the weeds, survive, and maybe even look good? This is in the Northeast US in zone 6.

Edit: The cracks are 1"-2" wide and always filled with 1"-2" of dirt. Dirt often builds up over the cracks to about 4"+ sizes. I usually try to pull the weeds and sweep it into my sidewalk plot, but it would be much easier/more satisfying to throw some seeds in the sidewalk dirt "chunks" and cracks. I don't have a picture at the moment but I will post one as soon as I can!


texts: What is this green "fluff" in my strawberry patch?

texts:
I have this small green "patch" growing next to my strawberry (the "small fruit" type). It looks like it has tiny leaves and small fluff, and is still embedded into the soil, but it's slowly growing and another one popped up a bit away.

There's no other plant in the same pot, so I was wondering if it's the result of an underground runner, but everywhere I looked I never found anyone talking about underground runners.

Note

The original strawberry plant is slightly elevated (an inch or two) above "ground level", and this patch is on ground level.


texts: How to get rid of horse tails from the garden?

texts: Has anyone been successful in getting rid of horse tail weed in an environmentally safe way? It's starting to sprout in many places. If I pull out one, 5 start to grow in the same place.


texts:
I have 3 questions about my Dracaena! She currently has 3 nodes off the main trunk. If I cut the trunk in half, will these nodes die?
Secondly, I've seen some Dracaenas with incredibly thick trunks, how can I make the trunk thicker?
Thirdly, are there any tips to making the main trunk grow taller? My nodes seem to grow in length but the trunk does not budge.
Oops and 1 more question... can I root my Dracaena in perlite? Or should I use a soil mix?


texts: What to do with these black-eyed Susan seedlings?

texts:
I started black-eyed Susan seeds ten days ago: (I just sprinkled tiny seeds over grid-type container filled with "soil for flowers" from the supermarket)

You can see multiple new plants in almost all cells. The cells are 5cm x 5 cm (2 inches x 2 inches).

Should I:

choose the strongest in a cell, and remove the rest? but when?
try to transplant surplus seedlings in a separate container?
leave everything as is?

I am inexperienced in doing this.

The desired end result should look like this, if possible:

(photo credit: Gardening with Charlie Nardozzi)

Update - day 15

Almost all cells have seedlings. The growth is somewhat slow.

Perhaps I didn't press the soil enough, and the seedling don't like that? I am a little worried about relatively slow growth in the last 5 days.

Update - day 25

First true leaves appeared: (the hairy ones)


texts: Clematis, best advice on watering and growing techniques?

texts:
Just wondered if someone can share their knowledge on when it comes to looking after and growing clematis?

I understand I have not long left until peak season is finished for these summer lovers, so was just wondering how to give my newly planted clematis the best start!

Thank you in advance,

Jamie


texts: Get rid of ants with sugar/yeast cocktail

texts:
I want to get rid of ants on my balcony, because they are one of the reasons my plants always get aphids (no aphid problem yet, but I know they will come back every year). The ants probably have a nest in one of my (large) plant pots/containers (but don't know which one). I read you can kill a nest by porring boiled water, but that would also kill my plants, so I am looking for other ways.

I have read about yeast and sugar cocktail, but does it really work?

I made a cocktail with a teaspoon icing sugar mixed with a teaspoon of (dry) baker's yeast granules (from Dr. Oetker). They are on a small dish next to a plant that has ants on it. But it doesn't look like the ants are interested in it.

Does anyone have experience with this method? Or have better (organic) methods that do work?


texts:
How long do tomatoes live for under ideal conditions?

Do different varietals have vastly different lifespans?


texts: Leaves are dying slowly on Raspberry plant-what on earth is wrong?

texts:
I am in desperate need of some help. I have been trying to figure out what is killing my Raspberry plants and have come up with nothing so far.

Let me give some background information that may be of some help. I purchased two raspberry plants in 2017. I planted them in an area that was heavily mulched every few year. They got about part to full sun. I picked a couple berries and then the leaves started to turn yellow and die from the bottom of the plant on up (I remember them having brown spots on them) . The leaves would die and so would the branch. I gave up on those plants and decided to build a raised bed for the next set of plants I would buy.

Earlier this year, I bought a bunch of Raspberry plants (2 Baba raspberries, 2 heritage, 2 fall gold, 1 Anne, 1 Joanne J, and some Caroline rootstock). I planted them in a raised bed that I filled with some Miracle grow raised bed soil, some black kow, and a little bit of soil from behind the house. I planted all the Raspberries (some were planted a little later than the others) and all of them started growing fine (some of them were growing too fast and blocking sun from the smaller ones so I trimmed the tops down). Here is a picture of the bed(s):

I picked a number of berries for the summer crop and that's when I began to notice spots on the leaves of the floricanes. The leaves were turning yellow and falling off. Well, I figured they were done fruiting and cut all of the floricanes out early (they were going to die anyway). I hoped that it would stop whatever they had from spreading to the primocanes. Well, it didn't work.

Slowly, the primocanes started to get infected too. I diagnosed them with Leaf spot. I bought some 3 in 1 fungicide/insecticide spray I sprayed the plants with and quickly went through the whole bottle. I then bought a sprayer and some immunox and began spraying that every 9/10 days. I just completed my third treatment of immunox and there doesn't seem to be much leaf spot left. However, leaves are still turning yellow and falling off. On a few plants, 2/3 of the plants have been completely defoliated. Now the leaves have a weird whitish/yellowish tint/glaze over them and I have no idea what is wrong with them. I have also noticed that are tiny black seed/spore things all over the Raspberry canes/leaves (it looks like the black spores/seeds have some sort of string attached to them). I have spent countless hours and hundreds of dollars on my plants and I don't want to see them die! If you have any ideas of what might be wrong, please let me know!


texts: How do I know when to harvest my potatoes?

texts: I'm sure I've heard before that the time to harvest potatoes is when the flowers fall off. Is that right or is it more complicated than that? For example, does it differ based on climate or variety, etc.?


texts: Orange and White thing in my new house plant soil

texts:
I got these new plants from Walmart just a week ago ( Monday ) and I did some research saying to water them once a week so I waited until Wednesday to water them. The research told me to water until water came out of the little hole at the bottom which I did. I think I should have cleaned the water that came out of the hole but I didn't. No where did it say to do that and by the design of this pot I thought it would just go back into the soil. Now it's a Monday after I got these plants and I just noticed this thing growing from the little hole where water should come out. I have no idea what this is or if this is hurting my new plants and I am very scarred right now. I touched it and it was very wet and slimy before I washed my hands. Could someone please tell me why this happened and how to get rid of it please? This is my first time taking care of cactus and a succulent so this is very distressing for me. Thank you for reading this and helping me out if you do.

Edit: Thank you all for the tips with watering my new plants and the growth turned out to be a mushroom that I believe was already in the soil when I got it. I think I was freaking out so much is because that side of the plot was facing away from the window and for some reason I thought it was a pebble. I wasn't able to take a picture of it but I found a photo online that looks similar to the one in the pot. Again thank you all for the tips with taking care of my new plants. :)

( those are also around the same size as the one in the pot )


texts: What's a better solution than manual/gasoline corn and bean seeder?

texts:
I already asked on  Electrical Engineering how to adapt an electric motor to a manual seeder.

I followed the advice of a commenter to ask on this site, so that people here may have a better solution for the problem at hand.

So, please, do you have a better solution?


texts: New growth Dracaena Marginata leaves dropping

texts:
A little over month ago I posted about brown spots on my Dracaena Marginata (Dying leaves on "Dracaena marginata"). I reduced watering slightly, and now I'm running into another issue.
On one of the stalks, 3 of the 4 growth ends are dropping considerable leaves - leaves that are dark green. One of them, so much so that only the very newest growth is left. What could be happening here? The rest of the plant continues to look healthy.
Full stalk with 1 healthy end and 3 not-so healthy:
Detail of healthy end:
Detail of the least healthy end which has dropped almost all leaves


texts: What is this plant that is like 6 inches in height and fresh in the last 2 months?

texts:
I had planted a couple of seeds a few months ago. One of them was tomato and I see a tomato plant. The other one, I can't remember and it has grown to be this.

Can you please let me know what plant this is?


texts:
I have a huge pergola, beyond which there is a garden. The roof one solid unit, so no light or rain may pass through. The garden is dominated by fruit trees, and then two small plots of cacti, far from the pergola.

The pergola has no gutter, so the rain drops straight under the edge. My climate is a hot Mediterranan and I live close enough to the coast to get mild temperature changes. I expect the precipitations under the pergola's edge to be much greater than for the rest of the garden, because the roof drains all the water to that side.

My plan - The two storage sheds under the pergola stick-out when viewing the garden. I need to install a trellis that runs all the way up to the pergola's roof. The Hoyas will climb-up the trellis and will cover-up the view. With time, they will be sufficiently large to flower and provide new cuttings to plant elsewhere.

How are my growing conditions? - Do I have to worry about the water draining to the garden side in addition to my regular rainfall? I have purchased my first Hoya, H. Kerrii, and I wil add H. Carnosa. Which other Hoya types are good for that setup?


texts:
I have a jade plant that rotted out from the root. It has two healthy trunks and I'm wondering if it's possible to save them.

At the moment I have them freshly cut and sitting in water that I don't know if jade plants will root from that.


texts: What is this 3ft high, stalky plant, with mid sized narrow leaves?

texts:
Please help me identify this plant.  I live in west-central Maryland.  These guys are growing in a full sun area.  It is about 3' high, stalky, has leafy long, slender, point leaves.  We planted a mixed bag of annual seeds last year in April that were aimed at attracting butterflies, so I'm not sure if I should cut them or leave them. They came up only a couple months ago. Anyone know if these are weeds?

Click photo for full size


texts: I cannot seem to get rid of this weed that looks like grass. Can anyone tell me what this is


texts: How should I deal with carpenter ant damage on my old almond tree?

texts:
I have an almond tree on a house I purchased. The tree looks very old and the large bulk of it didn't have much green - looked very dead. It was growing sideways and near the base of the tree some new branches had grown and 99% of the leaves the tree has were on those so I figured it would be best to cut the tree back to the base.

I just cut it back to base and noticed some damage inside the tree - my neighbor said it looked like carpenter ant damage, which I've seen before and it did appear like that... I noticed no live insects inside the tree anymore.

My question now is if there are any steps I should take in filling the large hole at the base where the hole is. Also, if there are any other follow-up steps I should do to help preserve the health of the tree. If it matters, the tree is an Almond tree, though I've only ever got a single almond from it in 3 years.

EDIT

I want to post a follow-up photo of a shot where you can see more of the tree in case this changes anything. I'm thinking from the feedback that cutting it back a little further would be good. Part of it does appear to be healthy, but if this will ultimately be of no use due to the infestation/damage then digging the tree out is an option. (The part I cut is in the bottom right)


texts: When should I prune espalier apple trees?

texts:
I have a row of 5 beautiful espalier apple trees (Jonagold, Granny Smith and Gravenstein) that are about 4 years old, and they put out huge amounts of growth over the summer. I've been pruning the first growth back in late June, but when should I prune the growth from the rest of the summer? Is it better to do it in September when there's still light and the trees still have some leaves, or wait until mid-winter (February?) when they have lost all their leaves?

I'm north of 45 degrees latitude, so winters are dark, but we do not get down to freezing for more than a few days in the winter, and there is frequent rain.

I've read the excellent answers in this post When is it ok to prune an overgrown apple tree?
but I'm not sure how I need to think differently about espalier trees.


texts: Why is this cactus plant turning yellow at the base?

texts:
I've done some research and found that yellowing/browning on the base can happen for several reasons.

Sunburned
Mites
Root Rot from being too wet
Not enough water

My guess is it is root rot because it is winter now and we have probably over watered inside.

To me it looks like it is dying and may not recover, I read one post that said cutting off the top and replanting it may save it. Is that true? Any advice on how to get it back to health would be greatly appreciated.


texts: I know that blueberries need soil in the range of ph 4-5, but no one ever says why they need the pH in that range. I've heard that it may be because of a lack of available iron at higher pH, and that other plants emit acidic in their root zone to create iron that they can use. So is it all about the iron? This chart of nutrients avaiable by pH is also interesting...it looks like the only nutrient available at low pH is iron. But if iron is the limiting factor, it looks like it is available up to pH 6.5. So why the pH 4-5?


texts: What are these Tiny Brown Bumps on my Bay Tree Leaves?

texts:
I have a large (20+ ft tall) sweet bay laurel tree in my backyard. I recently noticed a majority of the leaves have extremely tiny, shiny brown/black bumps on them.

From my research it seems like it may be scale, but I haven't seen any examples online of scale being so tiny. There is also no sticky residue/honeydew present, the bumps only appear on the tops of the leaves (not on undersides or stems), and they are virtually impossible to remove! I've tried scrubbing with a toothbrush, rubbing with a qtip dipped in rubbing alcohol, even soaking a leaf overnight to kill/soften the bumps and then scrub - nothing works. The only thing that does work is scraping them off, but even then they are stuck so hard I often rip the leaf in the process.

If anyone has any idea what these are I would be grateful. If they are scale, then how on earth would I treat them without being able to remove them? I'd like to avoid using anything harsh or systemic as I do use the (non-bumpy) leaves for cooking.

The tree is in zone 8 (Vancouver, BC) and is about 20-25 years old.
Thanks!

Bumps can be very hard to see on the dark green leaves:

This is about as heavy as the infestation gets, most leaves aren't this bad:


texts: This bug appeared overnight in my backyard. I’m in southern Arizona USA. What is it?


texts: Care of and shaping of an Acer Palmatum where many branches seem dead

texts:
A friend transplanted an acer (about six feet tall, I guess a Palmatum) a year or two ago. Most of the branches now seem dead, but there is one, growing out sideways, with vigorous leaf growth. I have suggested pruning out all the dead wood but its owners are concerned that this would result in a tree growing in the shape of an inverted L.

What would be recommended to (a) salvage the tree/promote healthy growth and (b) encourage a conventional shape (eventually)?

By popular demand, images:

The poor thing has been moved twice in about three years. The first time into what was quite sandy soil (nearer the woods shown in the background) where it did not thrive, more recently about a year and a half ago.

Since the above photographs were taken (and after asking here) it has been pruned back further but seemingly only dead wood (including most of the leaves - that died). It is presently about 4' high with only a very few leaves. However there is new growth next to those leaves and on the trunk, so will probably be cut down to around 2' in the autumn.


texts: Sagging spathiphyllum leaves despite moist soil

texts:
We have four self-watering pots of spathiphyllum in the office, each facing the same exposure and about the same size. We were advised to water them manually for 3-4 months until the roots developed properly in the pot and only then start using the self-watering systems.

Plants are watered each 3 days or whenever the soil dries or they start sagging. As temperatures rose recently, we filled in the self-watering systems, but only one of the plants seems to suck up that water. It's also the only one that remains perky. The rest are sagging lightly, not straightening up even if we add water manually and spray the leaves.

(this one was watered maybe 15hs before the picture, soil still moist)

When the soil seems moist to touch I only spray the leaves, to avoid overwatering, but that does not seem to do the trick. Two of the more dejected plants also show other symptoms, such as browned ends of flowers or leaves (one flower got a brown end as a bud and two weeks later it still remains a closed bud) or deformed leaves (some leaves look a bit crumpled).

(this one is exposed to the most light because the blinds are up, but this does not seem to be the thing to make the difference)

Pictures added now, can someone advice on how to help the leaves without overwatering?


texts: I have a small front yard (20'x20') and a narrow walkway (5') between the front yard and the back yard. Currently the yard and walkway are a mess of dirt, weeds, roots, rocks, cement, and construction debris (and maybe a little bit of grass). Once I clean up the yard and walkway can I plant grass/lay sod right next to the foundation or do I need some sort of bed between the lawn and the cement foundation (the siding of the house is at least 2 feet up from the ground)?


texts: Sprouting: sprouting seeds vs. beans from grocery store

texts: I came across an article about sprouting and I found it interesting and decided to give it a try. I bought specialized sprouting seeds and my girlfriend asked me why I was buying such seeds when she could just get much more beans for cheaper at grocery store and make them germinate. She actually challenged me and bought a package of beans and she's going to grow them... I didn't know what to reply to her! Is she right? What advantages have those seeds over what you can get in grocery store? Are they as nutritious?


texts: Chemical for removing Couch grass from Kikuyu grass

texts: Is there any chemical I can use that will kill invading Couch grass but leave the Kikuyu grass alive?


texts: Why are my basil seedlings failing to thrive?

texts:
I have grown basil from seeds in a large pot. They have germinated but are now failing to thrive.  They are now about 3 weeks old.
They get the afternoon sun and are watered daily.  I applied Seasol a couple of times, but am still not having any luck!
I'm a new gardener living in the Illawarra region in New South Wales, Australia.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

EDIT:
Heeding the suggestions here, I have moved the basil into direct sunlight and am watering less often. The seedlings have responded really well!!
Thanks for your advice, it has really helped. :)


texts: Haworthia fasciata "Zebra Plant" and water?

texts:
I'm posting here a picture for my Haworthia Fasciata, and it's in water for 7 days until now.

What I've read in blogs and comments of people, is that this plant doesn't support over-watering, but according to my experience. I've seen the inverse, because it's growing.

what are the risks of letting the roots inside water ? can it support living like that? any previous experience ?

Regards


texts: Can I pick healthy unripe green tomatoes from a plant that has blossom end rot?

texts: All my tomato plants have blossom rot.  As the fruit begins to ripen, they are rotted at the bottom.  Can I pick the healthy green tomatoes and let them ripen without them getting the rotted bottom?


texts: White little larvae/insects on the trunk of my Pilea

texts:
I have a healthy (or so I thought) Pilea plant (Chinese Money), ~6 months old, indoors. Today, I noticed some strange little white dots on its trunk; and, as it turns out, they are moving, and seem to be some sort of larvae. (I'm attaching two pictures of those.)

What are those? Are they dangerous? What should I do?


texts: Does anyone know the name of the purple flower (or weed) shown below? We are in central Scotland.


texts: Side effects of introducing cultivated variants of a plant into an area where the wild version grows?

texts:
Plant breeders, farmers and gardening enthusiasts have for centuries been selectively breeding plants to develop plants with certain desired traits, be it larger roots or fruit, showy flowers or....
So if one chooses to plant that is the result of some breeding effort in an area where the original wild version is at home, could that have negative effects on the wildlife? Like cross-pollinating and similar? And are there methods to avoid spreading of the cultivated type?
I distinctly remember some of the wild Bellis perennis in my parents' lawn suddenly showing a double layer of ray florets and pinker tinge after pink cultivated bellis were planted in a flowerbed nearby.
Would I risk a similar effect if I planted red-leaved variant of elder (S. nigra 'Black Beauty', S. nigra 'Black Lace') in my garden, in a region where Sambucus nigra is growing wild? Short of cutting off all flowers before bloom, is there a way to avoid it? Or is the risk only theoretical?


texts: how do I cut and stack brush for chipping?

texts:
I am cutting a lot of brush (stalks 1-2" diameter, never larger than 3")). And a few young trees up to 5" which  I am denuding and disposing of the logs separately, so what remains is branches.

I want to have someone take the brush away, and I gather they would chip it first.

How do I cut it for easy chipping?

How do I stack it?


texts: Why has my cactus has turned red/ beige at its base?

texts:
One of my cactus turned red at its base about a year ago and it has since spread upwards. Some websites say it is a natural ageing process but I doubt so because it is still so small! Now another of my bigger cactus has turned red at its base! Please advise.

First picture attached refers to my first cactus that turned red. Second one is the one that I just noticed turning red. The third one has got a band of beige at its base. When I try to scrape it, nothing happens.

The red parts are very hard, just as turgid as the green parts. I did not notice any rotting at the base. All my cacti feel turgid still, including the base.

[Second cactus that turned red


texts: My tomato plants stems had mealy bugs and with in an hour of my notice I started to spray neem oil liquid soap water and the plants now looks very bad and the leaves looks very dull. Will the leaves again regrow or the plant will die? I have applied this before also when my plants did not have mealy bugs but I never saw this change. Please tell me as what can I do now?


texts:
I e got mixed ground covers planted around stepping stones. The area is not walked on that much. The ground covers seem to die every so often.

I’m interested in care for these as I feel sometimes they die due to overwater and sometimes they die rapidly (healthy one day, dead a week later). I’m in Australia and summers can be hot. I have a mix and some uncovered areas simply haven’t had anything planted.


texts: I bought a plant but nobody knew what it was. Can anyone here identify it?

texts:
I bought this hardy looking plant but no one at the shop knew what it was as it had no labelling. Can anyone identify it so I can know how to best take care of it?

Thanks!


texts: My potato plants don't seem to flower - when should I harvest them?

texts:
I have read this question  on harvesting potatoes after they flower, however mine don't seem to be in any hurry to flower.

I was given them by a friend months ago, planted them, and I have a mass of leaves that have been up all summer, but I have no idea when I should harvest them, and no information on this from my friend.

I am in central Scotland, and the soil has a high clay content - but I added a fair amount of compost under and over them when I planted them.


texts: What are these yellow wildflowers growing in SE Wisconsin?

texts: I'm pretty sure I self seeded these, but don't remember what they are. I'm guessing the yellow flowers are Black Eyed Susans.


texts: I'm an absolute newbie at this. These appeared almost overnight on some older leaves. What are they? Maybe rot? I've been spraying the leaves with water to prevent bugs but I wonder if the remedy isn't worse than the disease...


texts: Why would two batches of Top Crop Bush Bean (green beans) seeds be different

texts:
I bought some green bean seeds a week ago, I just ripped open the bag, and there's no way to reseal it. Anyway, a week later I compared the beans I have with the ones still in the store. Mine were a little thinner and edgier (less round around the edges). The two bags are from the exact same supplier. I'm not sure if the shrinkage is from exposure to oxygen or something else.

What accounts for this (pretty small not very noticeable admittedly) change in the beans?


texts: Planting on shale filled patch with weed underlay

texts:
We have a 1m by 5m patch of land that is full of shale rocks about 5inches deep. Under it is some kind of tarpaulin/underlay to stop weeds.

We would very much like to plant some bee and butterfly friendly plants here such as lavender. I am getting conflicting advice online and from friends.

Should we remove all the shale and the underlay and fill it with topsoil/compost before planting or can we cover the shale with a few inches of compost and plant straight on top?

I am happy to do either, I would just like the best end result.

Also open to any suggestions on what to plant to help nature - we live in the UK.

Many thanks


texts:
white variegated leaves
Fall blooms of crimson red dainty flowers
Currently in Zone 6


texts: How should a forced Hyacinth bulb be cared for after flowering?

texts:
I bought a hyacinth at the grocery store in a water-only pot with the bulb suspended over the water.

The flowers have now died, and the roots have started to break off of the bulb, although there are a few new roots coming out.

I noticed this question about hyacinths, but it wasn't clear they were talking about this setup. Since I live in an apartment, I'd rather keep the bulb in a pot if possible.

What is the best way forward for this plant?


texts: English Ivy plant dying, with white spots at the base

texts:
I have a four to five year old English Ivy plant with up to 10 feet (3 m) long vines.

Three months ago I changed its pot and it remained healty for a while. Now, all of a sudden, its branches have started to dry out and die one by one. There is a strange white covering (not sure if it's fungus) just at the base of all the branches. I tried spraying hydrogen peroxide at the base but that hasn't helped.

When I repotted it three months ago in a bigger pot I used as soil a potting mix by Miracle gro. The pot has drainage holes in the bottom. The plant is indoors near a window but with indirect sunlight. I water around once a week when the upper soil is a little dry and let the excess water drain out (same as I have been doing for years).

Any suggestion would be appreciated.

Some More Pictures:

Update:

All the branches dried out. I cut of a couple of junctions covered with fungus but couldn't find any turd capsules like stuff. So this might not be Sclerotinia. See these pictures:


texts:
I have a small aloe plant that someone gave me a while back and it's been doing well. They took some of their cuttings and planted them in a small pot. The longest leaf is probably the length of my hand. I set it outside for some sun today and a freak rainstorm occurred. When I got home, most of the leaves had turned into complete jelly with 2 of them turning into jelly at their bases. I had no clue that heavy water could do this.

Is there any way to save/salvage part of the plant and replant them like my friend initially did? Or should I just give up?


texts: What is this houseplant, and what can I do to keep it from going downhill?

texts:
Looking for help with this plant we recently got. Not much of a plant person, but struggling with this one in particular. Don't know what it is..but I think it's slowly going.

I think the soil is really bad...water just flows right through it and it feels quite dry only a few hours after watering. The soil is very hard.

Any help?


texts:
I am from Mumbai - west coast of India, tropical weather.

In a pot that I had bought from a local nursery with an ivy plant, a new plant has grown.

It has violet colored tiny flowers - one to two cm. The flowers attract a lot of insects and I can also several green colored pods about 4cm in length.

What plant could it be?

Please see attached image. It shows a flower and an insect attracted to it:


texts: Is it too late to plant roses in the ground in November

texts:
I bought some David Austin roses earlier this year and put them into containers to test. The reason is that my yards are very shady so I wanted to see if the "spot" works due to many pine trees around and this is my new house in Pacific Northwest so I am unfamiliar with the sun direction.
Anyways, I got the location identified and they did well during summer. But I totally forgot to put them down in the ground. Now it is November 9th. Is it too late to dig holes and plant them into the ground at this point? Or should I wait until last frost date. I guess that'd be March next year.
Thanks,


texts: My indoor lemon tree is an offshoot. What should I do?

texts: I ordered a couple Meyer lemon trees online, and I'm hoping I can pull them off indoors with less than ideal light. One of the trees is offset with the main branch sealed. It's not the best look for a tree growing on my windowsill. I'm wondering if there's anything I can do to train it to grow up straight and healthy. Should I give it a crutch or will that hurt the little guy?


texts: I have a Hebe hedge like the shrub pictured and due to inadequate pruning over the years it has badly outgrown it's area.  Hebe's have green foliage only for a couple inches over the outside of the shrub. So pruning it back hard will make it look like a dead plant.  My question is, will it come back or is it time to rip it out and start over?


texts: Does anyone know what the potted plant pictured here is?


texts: What is this white fungus like growth on my mango tree roots?

texts: It has rained constantly for the past week and suddenly today I noticed this very aggressively growing white thing. Can you guys please tell me if this is dangerous for the tree? I have seen mushrooms come out in my garden after rainfalls but they soon wither away adding nutrition to my soil, so I am wondering if this will be a helpful ingredient as well.


texts: What is the best way to help a tree with removed bark?

texts:
My neighbor managed to park their SUV into one of my front trees and about two dinner plates worth of bark was scraped off. The tree diameter is around 14". I don't believe it is enough to seriously harm the tree but I want to facilitate the healing process as much as possible. Some sites I have read suggest that duct tape can be used to reattach the larger bark pieces and I attempted that within an hour or two of the incident. I also trimmed the ripped edges of the wound to have a cleaner cut for the tree to heal.

What is the best way to help this tree to heal? I'm worried about it potentially being exposed to an infection, especially if the bark reattachment is not actually a good idea.

Tree Pictures


texts: What are good plants for salty, sandy roadside conditions in Maine?

texts:
I live in Maine (USDA hardiness zone 5).  My lawn has a 5-10' deep mostly-dead area along most of the curb.  It stretches maybe 50 or 60 feet.  Last year I attempted to get grass to grow there without much success.  I'm interested in alternative ideas.

The area gets a lot of salt and sand during the winter as the plows pile snow upon it, and after the snow melts I need to rake the sand back down onto the road (the town eventually sweeps the streets).  It's on the south side and is in full sun.

Any suggestions for plants that can take a beating like that and come back happily year after year?  I have some hostas around that seem pretty durable.  Daylilies?  Ideally, something that looks nice that I don't have to put in a lot of work to make it grow (though I don't mind some maintenance.


texts: What is this possibly carnivorous plant with small purple flowers?

texts: I recently got this plant from a friend, but I never got the name of it. I think from the looks of it, it might be in the carnivore family.


texts:
I cut a piece of basil and put it inside a vase originally for pure decorative purposes but now I see that it has started to grow roots and it still looks relatively healthy to me. I change the water of the vase every other day for about a week now and the plant's roots keep on growing. Should I keep it in its vase and just change water every now and then or would it be wiser to try planting it?

Here is an image of my plant in its current condition:

And here is a close-up of its roots:


texts: How can I help a sunburned jade tree recover?

texts:
I put my jade tree out to get some sun yesterday, and apparently the sun was a little too blazingly direct. Instead of the healthy red edges I was expecting to see, several of the leaves are now collapsed-looking and have a greyish-brown color.

These photos make the brown spots look more red than they are. (Phone camera pics, sorry for the quality.)

The most dead-looking leaf:

A cluster of really sunken-looking leaves:

Is there anything I should do? This is quite a healthy plant otherwise, and it's an eighth or less of its leaves that are affected.

Should I keep the plant inside for a few days to recuperate? The sun outside today (and probably tomorrow) is just as strong as yesterday, and I don't have any good windows that get much sun at all. Should I cut off all the affected leaves? Leave them and see if they drop off themselves? Smear some aloe vera on there and make it a nice cool glass of lemonade? What about the leaves that are only partly bad-looking (one big, juicy leaf just has a collapsed edge, for example)?


texts: What is this plant (maybe melon/squash related)?

texts: You can see the seed in the lower right. Could be related to a melon/squash/zucchini but unsure. May be too early as it is just starting to show it's true leaves.


texts: Does anyone know what plant is this [see picture below]?

texts:
This plant is growing under our maple tree. Can someone help me identify what this is?

I can post some more close up shots of the leaves later this evening.

EDIT: Here's the picture of the shape of the leaf in that plant.

The plant is right underneath the maple tree which has its small leaves like these:

There are not many plants nearby. We planted some roses and ~10-15 feet away we have a rhododendron and some St John's wort.


texts:
I lifted some carrots this evening. It being December these are carrots which have been in the ground some time. They're big and fat, they need cleaning up and the damage needs cutting out, but basically most of them is OK to eat.

As I clean them up I see that there are holes and tunnels, the usual with root veg which has been a bit neglected. OK, slugs, I'm thinking. That's fairly normal.

But as I work on them a bit more I find woodlice in the holes. Are woodlice a root vegetable pest, will they eat carrots, and have they made those holes? If so, is there any way to control them and keep them out of my veg?

Or are they just sheltering in holes made by other creatures?


texts:
I have a problem on a Carolina Reaper. It's +- 2 months old. I grow them indoors(living room, +- 20 degrees celcius) under a 45 Watt LED grow panel (50 cm above the plants). I use universal potting soil. The PH is 7. After a month I started adding Chili Focus according to the manual (once a week, not too much). I try to water when the soil is getting dry, again, not too much, but enough. I have other Chilli plants under the same conditions and they are doing fine (Carolina Reapers, Jalapenos and Birds Eye). I started looking on the internet and I think it's Bacterial Spot. Am I right?

update:

1 day later I washed away the soil (in the baththub, very carefully not to damage the roots) and replaced it with new soil(1/2 seedling soil, 1/4 potting soil (ph 6), 1/4 perlite and a few cm of hydro granules at the bottom). I also raised the led panel 20 cm higher.
10 days later I took some extra photo's:

another 5 days later I took two new photos. If you look close, you see the same condition is still there, but it's hard to say if it's new or it was already there. They remain small, but it does seem to go better. There are new small leaves forming in the top middle and they look better than the ones I removed. I don't know yet what I'll do with them, but for now I am still going to give them a chance. Small question; should I remove the yellow leaves?


texts: How can I water blueberries without losing a flower?

texts:
Whenever I water my new blueberry bushes they seem to lose some flowers for some reason.

How can I water them without losing the flowers?


texts: I will soon be making florariums (a garden in the bottle). I wish to include violets, but I've heard that violets will die in an enclosed space. Does anyone know why this happens? Is it lack of oxygen, or CO2, or moisture control issues?


texts: Why does one of my onion varieties (Red Baron) invariably bolt?

texts: I plant onion sets every spring and, with the exception of Red Baron, they all flourish. The Red Baron variety invariably bolt in early summer, although they are planted and fed in exactly the same way as the other varieties I'm successfully growing like Sutton and Sturon. Can anyone explain why this is happening and offer advice?


texts: Can flowers change colour after forming?

texts:
I'm actually studying for a chemistry exam, and in the Wikipedia page for Hydrangeas, it states that

  In these species the color (flower) is affected by soil pH.

So the plant evidently takes the nutrients from the soil, and depending on the pH the flower will be different colors. However me and my friend were having a discussion on whether the flower can change color after forming. For instance, if I had a red hydrangea flower, and then suddenly acidified the soil, would it be possible that this red flower change color to blue? Or would the red flower remain, and only new flowers be blue?


texts: Tiny Flies eating my freshly germinated seed stems

texts: I am trying to grow some trees, however after germination of the seeds, I place them in a "growth media" which has "bonemeal" included in it, and this seems to be what is attracting the flies. They seem to be eating the small stems and killing off my tree - Any advice would be greatly appreciated


texts: Can a plant survive bottled in its own ecosystem for 50 years?

texts:
I came across a story on about David Latimer, who put spiderwort plants into a bottle garden ("terrarium") in 1960, watered it in 1972, and then sealed the bung. The plants have been living, thriving even, in their own ecosystem since.
The story was reported in the Daily Mail.

Thriving since 1960, my garden in a bottle: Seedling sealed in its own ecosystem and watered just once in 53 years

David Latimer first planted his bottle garden in 1960 and last watered it in 1972 before tightly sealing it shut 'as an experiment'

The hardy spiderworts plant inside has grown to fill the 10-gallon container by surviving entirely on recycled air, nutrients and water

Here it is again in The Times. There are a few more places this article can be found in various forms on the web.
Now this question text is copied from this Skeptics question. The reason I am asking here is that I have seen the exact same story and have the exact same question but, somewhat shockingly, noone on Skeptics thought to ask a botanist or even a biologist if any of that is remotely true.
Now, I am no botanist or gardener or biologist but I know the Law of Concervation of Energy. Which states that the amount of energy/matter at the start WILL be equal to the amount at the end if you consider all factors. Meaning if plants consume water and nutrients there is no way they can extrude the same amount they have consumed in order to consume it again.
Am I right in my thesis? Is this story possible?


texts: Why are my tomato leaves turning yellow, with brown spots?

texts:
This is my first season trying to grow tomatoes. I bought three different types (cherry, heirloom,  and super sweet),  and planted them in a large pot on my porch. They seem to be getting a lot of sunshine, and the soil is mildly moist. They're starting to develop yellow leaves with brown spots and some of the smaller branches are dying.

Do they need Epsom salt or are they getting too much water? Do I need to move them to their own pots?


texts: Is there good way to train a clematis to a pyramidal trellis?

texts:
I would like train a clematis to grow on a pyramidal trellis.

The first year, I tried centering the trellis over the plant and having it grow through the center, but this seems to stifle the plant and tended to obscure the flowers.

This year, I have one corner of the trellis located behind the plant with the hopes of training it to two sides of the trellis.

Is there a better way to do this?


texts: Can permaculture techniques feed the world's nutrition requirements? Are we stuck with GM crops to feed the worlds burgeoning population?


texts: Is this a type of jelly bean plant or something else?

texts: The difference between this and the well known "jelly bean plant" (Sedum rubrotinctum) is that this is edgy/pointy. I was searching for it everywhere on Google, but no trace found. Can someone tell me this plant's name?


texts:
I have received these plants hardy to zone 6b, minimum temperatures of -23°C (-9.4°F). I know there are numerous species of Sempervivum that look alike, but I kind of hope somebody knows some details about them.
Their diameter is 2-9 cm (0.8-3.5 inches) and were collected from a garden with the approx. coordinates 46°N, 23°E, elevation 400 m (1300 ft).

The leaves are green. In reality the leaves don't have the white shine that appears in this photo.


texts: How should I re-pot a severely root-bound weeping fig plant?

texts:
How do I re-pot this weeping fig plant? Any more details related to it would be welcomed.

EDIT
I ma confused now which tree/plant is this. Is it Ficus Benjamin or Weeping Fig? When I google either of them, I get similar results. I have two of them. I have included some pictures of leaves to help it identify:


texts: What is the general "idea" behind this kind of architecture with the front lawn being separate from the actual "house area"?

texts:
Looking at random houses in the USA, I see many bizarre neighbourhoods. This street view photo shows a bunch of houses which are clearly separated from the front lawns, to the point where they look like "anyone's land" patches of grass. Absolutely nothing prevents or hints at anyone that they should not be playing, chilling or doing whatever on those squares of grass in front of the house. And from the looks of it, considering the condition of the grass, a lot of people have indeed walked, ran or even driven around there with cars.
Who would want such a front yard with zero privacy? Are you supposed to take out a grill and stand there in the open and grill your meat? Is it even part of the property, or does it belong to the city? If so, why is the road so far away from the houses, or the houses so far away from the road? What's with that little "buffer zone" which apparently is neither "a place for anyone" nor their private front yard?


texts: Can anyone identify this weed with jagged leaves and tiny white flowers?

texts:
Here is the image:

It grows in the Northeast USA in poor soil.  A bit invasive but pulls out easily.  I have an idea of what it is but would like confirmation.  Does not smell or taste herbaceous.


texts: White-ish powdery spots on my strawberry plant

texts:
I have very recently bought a strawberry plant. It looks fine, as far as making new flowers is concerned, but has powdery (rather faint) white spots on its leaves.

Is it an issue, and if so what can I do about it?


texts: What herbs would grow well in a roof garden in KwaZulu-Natal?

texts:
I live in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa which is an area with a hot summer climate and frosty winters.

I have a bare concrete roof above my room (with access) and want to turn it into a herb garden.

Are there any herbs that can deal with the heat of being on an exposed concrete roof on hot days and survive frost in winter?


texts:
I have a few football-sized holes in a yard where I removed some rocks. I have access to a large amount of finely chopped wood mulch.

How can I encourage the mulch to decompose into fill dirt?


texts: Is this a Mockernut Hickory (Carya tomentosa)?

texts:
These 6 pictures are all from the same small tree. I think it must be a Hickory and probably a Mockernut Hickory (Carya tomentosa). It hasn't borne
flowers yet and therefore no fruit. A chipmunk or squirrel may have carried the fruit there. I'm on the lookout for a parent tree and fruit. It looks like there are a few other smaller trees in the yard like this one. The location is Alexandria, Virginia.

Thank you for your consideration,
Eddie

enter image description here

enter image description here


texts: What are the scratch marks on the undersides of my tomato fruits?

texts:
I am seeing scratch like marks on bottoms of my tomatoes.
 What is causing this? Possibly chipmunks?
I have tried eight solutions with no results.


texts: When dealing with cover crops, green manures, and in other things I see the term 'Allelopathy', especially regarding replanting an area. What does this term mean?


texts: What is a good replacement for Click & Grow "Smart Soil"?

texts:
I was given the 9-pod click & grow (https://www.clickandgrow.com/) as a gift, shipped to Australia. Somehow it made it past customs and I've started the growth cycle for the starter pack of seeds, so far so good!

We have very strict agricultural product regulations and as such, any soil product isn't able to be shipped here; so I have been trying to find a replacement for the click & grow smart soil. I have come across the Root Riot (https://www.hydrodynamicsintl.com/product/root-riot-cubes-bags/) as a potential replacement but I'm not sure if it will support the plant throughout the whole growth cycle.

It needs enough nutrients to bring herbs and small vegetables to harvest within the plastic pods.


texts: Orchid rehabilitation (wrinkled leaves, one root)

texts:
Please help!! I desperately want to revive my orchid! I got a phalaenopsis orchid as a gift and I love him but I'm in over my head! This is my first orchid. Also it was just from a grocery store so the care instructions were minimal & the soil turned out to be the wrong kind and suffocated his roots. He was in bloom and healthy, then lost the bloom, then his leaves got wrinkled. I did research and repotted him, discovering during the process that the soil was suffocating the roots and all but one had died. He then got a sort of mildew on his root, (I think I packed the orchid mix too tightly) so after more research I put him hovering over distilled water with tannins to encourage root growth. He didn't like that, the root had that fuzzy white mildew again, so now he's hovering over plain water.
I live in Toronto, it's spring currently. Hes about a foot from a west facing window.
Please help me help Orcchie (his bloom looks like orecchiette pasta)! Thank you :)


texts: Why does the size of the pot matter when fertilizing?

texts:
I am new to gardening and am trying to figure out how much fertilizer to use. There aren’t any instructions for the fertilizer I’m using on how much to use for potted plants but after reading, it looks like people are putting in fertilizer based on the size of the pot.
But shouldn’t we add fertilizer based on the size of the plant? Any advice would help, I still have no idea what I’m doing or how much to add.
I planned on digging a little trench around the plants and putting 1 tablespoon of fertilizer all along the trench.
Extra details: the plants I am currently growing are beans, spinach, and lettuce. They are all in 5 gallon containers and the fertilizer I am using is Fertilome gardeners special 11-15-11


texts:
I am going to build a raised garden along a fence. According to this YouTube  tutorial: Building a raised garden bed - Part 1, the holes are dug up so that the posts can be fixated to the ground. When I watched it, I was wondering if installing posts in the ground was necessary. I will use the posts to attach siding walls to them but is it necessary to install posts in the ground?

Thanks,


texts:
I've gotten 3 fig trees and I had a question. I have a Celeste that's planted in the ground, a Brown Turkey that's in a pot, and a Kadota that I received yesterday that's bare root. I'm in SC clay country in zone 8A.

I planted the celeste last spring. I amended the clay soil with some compost and chopped the edges of the hole so the roots would catch and grow out, like I always do when planting. I don't want them to grow round and round in the clay. I then mulched with about 3-4inches of bark mulch. The plant grew pretty well. It put on a decent amount of growth, had nice big leaves, and I didn't notice anything off about it when watering.

It actually started to put out some fruit in the spring. I kept an eye on them, and they started to grow and get bigger, but eventually they dried and fell off, one by one. I didn't think much about it, because it had just been transplanted.

It did the same thing in the fall. It had good vigorous growth, it started producing figs, they grew the size of a shooter marble or regular gumball and then fell off. I also sustained damage to the plant around the same time. I'm not sure if deer ate some of it or what.

I just want to know if it's me or the plant. I haven't ever had a fig before and don't know what to expect. I would guess that it's just because it was transplanted into the ground that year and didn't have the resources it would have when it's better rooted this year or the following years. However, I don't know if that's true or if I'm doing something wrong.

I didn't fertilize it and followed my normal watering routine. When I plant a new tree/shrub/bush/etc... I amend the hole with compost, chop the edges, plant to the recommended depth, water when the hole is half back filled to remove air pockets, water again once all dirt is back filled, mulch 3-4" in whatever diameter a bag of mulch gets me, leaving a gap around the trunk and forming a rough water well. Then I water with 1-2gal of water once a week, less if it rains. That's the first year. The second year I water when it's hot and dry. After that I only water during really dry spells.

So that's what I'm doing. Does anyone have any ideas? As for the other two, I've actually had the Brown Turkey since last spring as well, but a combination of laziness and not knowing where I want to plant it caused me to sit the plant in a semi shaded area with some other plants and I just watered it in the pot about once a week. I suspect the roots have grown into the ground, but it actually started budding this year before the one in the ground. The Kadota just came in the mail yesterday when I ordered a bunch of other nursery plants. I know where I want to put it and will be planting it today.


texts:
We moved into a new house last year, and this summer we are noticing that the tree is oozing a lot of sap and has began to drop pine needles while other needles are starting to turn a light brown colour. Is this due to disease? I peeled back a couple of the sap lumps to find what looks like lesions in the bark, as you can see in the images.

Edit: I peeled back the bark and found this^
Additional context: the tree is in Southern Ontario, Canada


texts: Why are ants staying on my lettuce leaves?

texts:
I have some lettuce plants and in the last weeks I have noticed an increasing number of ants staying in the leaves.

They do not appear to eat the leaves nor do anything else.

I wonder what is the reason for them to be there and if it is of any harm for the plants.

See a picture of the ants in the leaves (sorry for my poor plant-photographing technique):


texts: What is this red flower 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 the following plant?

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

closeup:

Is this the same plant?


texts: Do I need to cover freshly planted strawberries to protect against frost when it is snowing?

texts: I planted strawberries in a small raised bed this weekend, it is now snowing. Do I need to cover my strawberries to protect them from frost or will the snow provide that protection?


texts: Using upside-down plastic cups as outdoor seed/seedling protection?

texts:
I have a little problem - somebody is eating my Echinacea's seed that I sow outdoors. As recommended, they are just placed on the ground, they germinate way easier if they have light. Their length is 2-3mm, fairly large seeds that I gather are too heavy for ants. I guess it might be birds that are having a healthy meal of Echinacea's seeds.

Does it make any sense to protect each seed by covering it with an upside-down positioned transparent plastic cup (used for human parties, etc.)? If yes, should I poke a hole for ventilation, so that I don't cook the seeds?

Some similar ideas can be found here, but this is for indoor seed starting.


texts: Apple seeds have sprouted, when do I plant them in a pot

texts: I grew a few apple seeds 4 weeks earlier in a refrigerator and the seeds have now germinated. Please see the picture. Can you please suggest when should I plant them in a pot. For now I have kept them in the fridge under 4 degrees Celsius, with a little water.


texts: Which field flower are these seeds from?

texts:
I found some dry old flowers in a field and lots of seeds in them. What species is it?

Click for a full-size version of the image.


texts:
I'm looking for a book that helps me understand the basics of botanic and horticulture. I'm mostly interested in trees but if treats other kinds of plants that's great too.

What I'm looking for is not a reference of different species but something more general. It could include advice over some topics but it should come with a scientific explanation justifying it. Some of the topics that it could include are:

How do seeds work? How are they triggered to germinate?
How do roots develop and interact with the soil?
How are different nutrients used?
How do plants react to pruning?
What triggers the creation of flowers and fruits?
How do plants interact with pests (insects, fungi, etc)
Interaction of annual seasons

Of course, I'm completely OK with a technical book, as long as it doesn't presume a lot of previous knowledge in the field. I am also OK with recommendations that don't cover the full range of topics, focusing on some of them.

Any suggestions? Thank you!


texts: My plant looks like this. Is it alive or dead ? I have not tried to do anything yet as I'm not sure I will be doing the right thing.


texts: Are these orchids dying? They are flowering but the leaves are turning yellow

texts:
We moved and I followed some good advice I got here and moved them to the basement.
Prior to that they sat in late summer sun for a week until we arranged everything in the house.  At that time it rained heavily, followed by torrid sun, and one of them started showing the black spots that you see in the picture. The others also seem to be affected by something, it looks like the leaves are dying, yet all of them seem to be about to flower.
What is wrong with them?

They are now sitting in an above the grade basement window facing south. I am located in Toronto if that helps you in any way.


texts:
We are new to this house and to gardening so don't always know if something is a plant or a weed. These plants are growing among some lavender plants, and in the brick paving next to the beds. Can you help me identify what these are and what is the best way to get rid of them?

Location: Netherlands

What I tried: scrolled through a google image search of weeds ('onkruiden' in Dutch), but nothing seems to match these.


texts: Which will produce a neater block of low mass planting, Lonicera pileata or L. nitida?

texts:
For massed plantings, with the aim of clipping into a neat ground-covering block 500-600mm high (not a hedge), is Lonicera pileata or L. nitida species superior? What are the best cultivars for this purpose? I am not interested in alternate species, just these and their cultivars, as I've never really got a clear answer off the internet.

Differences in hardiness, pests, diseases, soil/light/water requirements would be very useful as would individual decorative merits (best scent for example).


texts:
Is this an Apple tree in my new yard??
I would like to know what kind of tree this is.


texts: Is it wise to let lonicera grow over a brush pile?

texts:
I have a sizable brush pile in my yard, 5m x 5m (16ft x 16ft), height 2m (6.5ft). Even a colony of sparrows lives in it. I toy with the idea of planting a Lonicera caprifolium (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonicera_caprifolium) just beside the pile, and hopefully, in several years, having a small hill of flowers and beautiful fragrance in summer nights.

It this doable? Would sparrows stay? Are there other hidden downsides?

EDIT: I now realized that Lonicera caprifolium is not fully evergreen in my climate, perhaps I should opt for evergreen Lonicera henryi, to protect birds during winter.

You can see my brush pile here, behind two weeping mulberries and a pile of logs:

I live in zone 8a in Europe.


texts: Is this a chili disease or just bad treatment?

texts:
Some days ago I found out that my chillies had some kind of small worms-looking things. Probably thrips or something else. And I had some kind of flies.

I sprayed them with soapwater. Some of the plants did not like this however.
After that I added also added fertilizer, since some of they looked like it was time to get it.

So now I wounder, are all these spots consequences of all up and down last week, or could this be some kind of virus?  "Bacterial leaf spot"?

24th of April, looking really good:

Then the 4th of May I sprayed them, after I had sprayed the plants:

The top of the plant turns black, the leaves get just sad, dries/curls and dies.

The fly, which has decreased

Plants 10th of May
Same plant as on the second picture, to the right

Spots on leaves

Another with spots

Apache plant from last year. Picture taken 5th of May. Removed the dead leaves. This plant seems to have recovered now a week later


texts: What edible perennials would be good companions to a dogwood tree?

texts: I'd like to plant some edible perennials around my dogwood. I'm guessing the biggest limitation is partial sunlight. What would work best?


texts:
When it became a bit warmer again I put my mint plant outside after it stayed inside for the winter. However, after I came back from a short vacation, almost all leaves turned black. I don't know what is wrong...

Also there are white grain-like, chalky thingies in the soil. They are not stones, if I take one and squeeze them they pulverise and it is like chalk. Can this hurt? What is it?

Can it be that the transition from inside (~20˚C) to outside (~8˚C at the time) was too sudden and it died of cold? What could I do now to save it?


texts: What is this plant with ivy-like leaves and pink flowers?

texts: Can you help me identify this plant? Is it a vine?


texts: How can I keep mosquitoes out of my yard?

texts:
Since my garden is outside, and I live next to a heavily wooded area, there are quite a few mosquitoes that greet me everytime I go outside to work in my yard.

Is there something I can do to keep my yard mosquito free? Or am I doomed to using bug spray every time I step outside?


texts:
I have been experiencing pins and needles in my left hand which I've had for over a week.  I was clearing a large area in the garden from nettles and during this time I was stung numerous times.

Is this a result of being stung and when can I expect this feeling to go away?

I did wear gloves, but this weren't thick enough.


texts: What are these round, white, waxy things on my cycad?

texts: What are these white things on this cycad? Are they some kind of bugs, or are they seeds?


texts: What are these red flowers and green plants?

texts:
I am in Pacific Northwest. It is end of July. These are blooming and look beautiful. I want to know what they are. Usually this time of the year, no more flowers.

I believe #1 is nasturtium? #3 is some kind of hosta?

Could you please help identify?


texts:
I bought some basil which came with its roots (in a plastic container, not a pot) I thought it could be a great opportunity to regrow my own basil!

I have seen some videos that show how they take part of the plant and put it first in water, later to put it in a pot.

I’m wondering if having already roots (don’t know if they came ready to repot, maybe they’re dry?) makes it possible to skip the step where the plant is in water.

Maybe I didn’t take the right part of the plant for repotting (I have other parts with leaves)? How long should it be in water? I’ve seen some answers to problems where they state that the basil may have too much sun or too much water (or not enough). So I also wonder in what conditions should I take care of the basil...

Thanks!


texts: Desalinating plants (the botanical kind) which create fresh water

texts:
Are there any plant architectures or permaculture schemes which can filter seawater and create fresh water?

I imagine a saline pond or bore, flowing down through a series of ponds to a lower freshwater pond.  Which plants would be best suited for this type of application?

I'd love some links or further information, but "desalination plants" brings up the wrong results on Google.


texts: A relocating friend gave me their potted fig tree which is now thriving in my ground - but no flowers or fruit!

texts:
A relocating friend gave me their weak looking potted fig shrub tree in July. I planted it in semi shade as the weather was very hot - but in our yard it is absolutely thriving - seems very happy and has become nearly 4'X 4'. But it has borne no flowers or fruit till now.
A neighbor of mine planted a tiny fig tree in July and it has about twenty fruits on it!
I have an organic garden that is very well frequented by bees, birds and butterflies. I did put fruit fertilizer once a month.
Please help.
Pictures
enter image description here


texts: Can snail pellets be safely used in a vegetable garden? If not, any safer alternatives?

texts: Is it safe to use snail pellets in a vegetable garden bed or will these slowly leach into the soil? Is there a safer alternative that will keep snails out, but won't be absorbed by the vegetables?


texts: basically, I have had constructions and my lawn is killed. I hired someone around may to fix the problem and put new lawn for me. I am not sure what steps he did or didn't, But not only almost no grass grew there, but now it is filled with weeds, and feels bumpy and I can see small and big rocks. I didn't see that originally, because he covered it with straw and told us not to walk on it, just water it. I do not know what do I need to do now. I used grass and weed killer to kill whatever it is there and start new. but the more I read online the more I get confused. should I use power rake to remove the old grass and weeds, will it remove them all? should I till the yard, or not necessary? do I need to remove all small and big rocks and if yes, how? how do I make it even? I will be in and out of town till mid October, is it okay to plant the grass then? should I have the lawn ready and then plant the grass as soon as I come back on October, so I know I will be there to water it? if anyone can help guide me of what to do, I will really appreciate it.


texts: Cure a lucky bamboo with severe conditions

texts:
My bamboo (lucky) was sitting (in a room without heater or air conditioning). It is in a winter time where the temperature outside now drops to 15 F or -10 C. But the room temperature I think is around 15 C now.

It became like this after a day: The head goes down suddenly in a day, when I left home for a day.

How should I do to make the bamboo survives again? (It looks that the bottom still stays green.)


texts: Plant identification with purple flowers

texts: This plant is on northern California Zone 9. During day the flower blooms, and in the evening the flower closes itself. The flowers are purple in color and has a long green stem.


texts: How to get the dirt out of the rocks in rock landscaping?

texts:
My house is surrounded by rocks (wraps all the way around the house and in places is 10 feet wide) that my father-in-law put in 20+ years ago, way before my wife and I bought his house.  Those rocks grow lots and lots of weeds and the reason they grow lots and lots of weeds is because there is a lot of dirt in the rocks.

There is black plastic underneath the rocks, but I'd imagine that either, much of it is damaged, or enough organic material decomposed on top of the rocks to give everything a nice layer of sediment in which to grow weeds (and there are lots of bushes that were ripped out without ever repairing the plastic.

So, this isn't really back breaking labor since it's impossible to shovel these rocks in any meaningful way, it just takes me a million years to sit and sift out the dirt and replace the plastic.

What's the easiest way to repair (remove the dirt and weeds) rock garden landscaping so it's good for another 10-15 years or so?


texts: Did I use enough grass seed on my new lawn?

texts:
I recently used Scotts Turf Builder Grass Seed Sun & Shade Mix to start a new lawn from seed. I believe I followed the application instructions correctly when I sowed the seed 11 days ago, but I'm not sure I used enough seed. I bought enough seed for the square footage of lawn, but the Scotts brand rotary spreader dumped it all out before I could make the recommended second pass. Here are some pictures I took today.

Should I apply more seed? Will whats growing there expand to fill bare patches?

Further information:

I live in the Boston area (zone 6).
We had heavy rain (about an inch) on day 1 and 2. We've had two or three light showers (less than 0.2 inches) since then. Air temperatures have ranged from 55 to 80 degrees.
Yes, the lawn was watered prior to taking this picture. I installed an irrigation system that I've been using to water the lawn. I've been watering an area when I see that 1/2 to 2/3 of the soil surface is dry.
The original soil was sandy with many rocks. After removing the original vegetation I added about an inch of compost and tilled it into the soil. The other lawncare products I applied were Scotts starter fertilizer and Scotts grub killer (grubs damaged the original lawn), all in accordance with manufacturer instructions. After sowing the seed I spread a thin (less than a quarter of an inch) layer of peat moss.
This area of the lawn gets direct sunlight from early morning to early afternoon.
I have a new reel mower that is set to 3 inches.
I used a roller filled halfway with water to compact the soil. I went over everything twice after I spread the peat moss.


texts: I want to grow wheat. Do I have to purchase special "seeds" or can I use the "whole grains" that I use at home? They are 100% Organic KAMUT wheat grains that I purchased from: https://www.montanaflour.com/100-organic-kamut-wheat


texts: What is this pale green spiky caterpillar found in Athens, Greece?

texts:
I found this caterpillar on my balcony in Athens, Greece. It's growing quite fast, eating about a leaf per day, choosing new baby leaves.

Please let me know what it is!  Does it turn to a butterfly or moth?


texts: What is this green caterpillar eating and laying eggs in my tomatillo husks?

texts: My tomatillo plants are infested with some sort of green caterpillar or larvae that's chewing holes in the husk, fruit, and leaves. It is not bothering the nearby tomato plants. Any ideas on what it is and how to get rid of it?


texts: The soil of my green pineapple plant has a lot of white & green round things,  what are they?  I don’t know what to do.


texts:
After an extensive research through the web I did not seem to find a clear answer to what my acer is experiencing or how to act on it. I am not an expert and this is my fist acer, so I find myself a bit lost.
I bought it at a garden center in London (UK) in late May and I repotted it to a bigger pot right away. I follow the basic care instructions provided online and I have been correcting mistakes along the way (wrong position, too much sun, enough water, and so on), but this is a complete mystery to me. Shortly after the acer got used to its new environment, it tried to grow all the leaves lost due to the heatwave (that scorched and fell). The problem appears to be that when the new healthy green bud appears, after a few days it starts to go black and hard, until it dries out completely (see pictures).
The ones that manage to grow into small leaves follow the same fate, resulting in deformed tiny leaves that stop growing, then die.
The tree overall seems to be fine, there are no dead branches or insects. Just this odd situation with the growing of new leaves (mostly on the tip of the branches).
I would like to know what this is, if anyone has gone through something similar with their trees, and how to save the new shoots that have not been affected yet, if possible.
Thanks!


texts: What is the best way to trim back this plant?

texts: I'm very fond of this tree/bush (pardon my ignorance), but I fear it's beginning to take over this corner of the garden. Any suggestions on how to trim it back without completely ruining it?


texts: How can I increase the size of my mint leaves

texts: Recently I observed that the leaf size of my mint plant has started to shrink. Previously the leaf size used to be around 2-2.5cm. Presently it has shrinked down to 1-1.5cm. What might be the reason? How can I rectify this issue. I water the plants daily. It recieves 4-5 hrs of direct sunlight. I tried to provide some shade however, the leaves size is still not growing. I feed them with urea once every month.


texts: What is this fragrant bush growing in the gold country in California foothills about 2000ft altitude?


texts: Prune a lower branch and graft it higher up

texts:
I have a weeping fig (Ficus benjamina) that I had successfully grown indoor (tropical climate here) into a rather bushy tree.

I really want it to have a more full tree shape, with a clear trunk and denser treetop.

I think the proper way to achieve it is to prune all the branches lower than some midpoint and let the tree grow up by itself (always pruning any new branch lower than that point).

I'm just wondering if it is possible to take those pruned branches and graft them onto some higher branch, so I can get my full tree faster.


texts: Does having pebbles around the base of my Jade plant cause problems?

texts:
For looks, I have the soil around my Jade plant covered with small rounded pebbles for a different textured look.

Does this actually cause water or moisture retention? Should I simply have the soil open to the air to dry out properly between waterings? With this pebble cover on the soil, could I be introducing other issues about the plant, such as disease, bugs, etc?


texts: Help!  I am a new gardener and am trying to grow Brussel sprouts in the VA mountains.  My plants are being eaten by some very hungry bugs. I have not found any cabbage worms but i see a bunch of bugs shaped like stink bugs that are orange and black.  Any ideas what these are?


texts: Can I salvage an over-watered tomato plant?

texts:
I've never tried growing tomatoes before and I recently went out and bought a tomato plant for my balcony.  I initially re-potted the plant in too small a planter, so I re-re-potted it a week later.  Each time I watered thoroughly, perhaps too thoroughly, and also added a bit too much fertilizer, which I later attempted to wash away by (yes) more watering.  Now, 2 weeks later, all the leaves are wilted and the tomatoes that started growing have stopped getting bigger.  I tried draining the soil by lifting up the tomato plant and replacing wet soil that didn't yet have any roots with fresh, relatively dry soil.

Is there anything else I can do to stimulate this plant back to life?


texts: How can I repair a damaged aloe vera that hasn't been watered for months?

texts:
One of my relatives gave me an aloe vera plant, but it was really damaged. I have cut the damaged parts (which were on the leaves), so I want to ask how to repair it to grow healthily once again.

I don't have soil right now so I put it into a water pot.


texts: Plant/weed identification, Central Pennsylvania, had green-white bicolor leaves in April, now bright green

texts:
Can you help me identify this plant in my yard in Central Pennsylvania? It started out with handsome green and white leaves, opposite, and fairly lobed/serrated. Stems were reddish-purple. Here is a picture from April 12, fitting that description, when the plants were already fairly large:

It looks pretty different now, a month later. The leaves are bright green, and the stalks are upright. The leaves are no longer bicolor and less lobed. Here is photo from today:

Here is a close-up of the leaves, also taken today:

I have tried to find it in the New Jersey Weed Gallery from Rutgers, Minnesota Extension's Is this plant a weed?, Wildflower Search. But then, I'm not sure if it's a weed, a native, or perhaps a vegetable (it's growing in an old vegetable garden).

Thanks!


texts: Why is one of my pineapple plants thriving and the other isn't?

texts: I planted two pineapples a few months ago. One is thriving and the other is barely surviving. Should I wait and see if it rebounds or just mulch it?


texts:
I have 4 new raised beds I built this year.  They were filled quite deep with what was supposed to be pretty good soil (turns out I was duped, just like you read often online!) - it's largely all topsoil and uncomposted manure.  Regardless of this season - which I'm getting mild growth out of due to a lot of added compost, I am already making soil repair plans w/ cover crops.

I am looking for a crop or mix that will:

Adds Nitrogen to the soil and a lot of organic material
Is an annual, not a perennial - I want no risk here =)
Can be seeded in the beds sometime between September and November in Zone 6 (Ohio)
Is easy to till back into the bed in spring

I am thinking about Winter Rye - although I understand it does not provide nitrogen into the soil but likely meets my other needs.  Also considering Alfalfa (although I can't find organic seeds yet), or Hairy Vetch.  Some farms have cover crop mixes too, not sure if that's a good idea for raised beds where I can't really use machines to till back in?

There is a lot of scattered info online and most are geared towards serious farmers, so hopefully some folks here can lead me in the right direction!  Thanks!


texts: Should I cover my germinated lettuce seeds?

texts:
I tried germinating lettuce outdoors and had a poor germination rate. Then I read somewhere that they may need light to germinate (I had buried them).

I grabbed a container with sifted compost I had lying around, watered it and threw some seed without covering them. I left it under the shade of a tree, with some sunlight but not direct.

Now, 3 or 4 days later, a few already have cotyledons so I need to expose them to more light so they wont get leggy. But the rest all have a radicle showing, and I am worried that more light may damage them.

Since most already germinated and have a radicle out, can I cover them with more soil? or more light wont damage them?


texts:
I had five house plants, one of which was 38 years old. One was a vine which was hardy. I also had two spider plants and a large tree type of plant that has rooted stems. Will look for pictures and add.

My vine was shared with many people because it was such a hardy plant, I had to keep it trimmed because of an indoor only cat.  But the cat could not touch any of the plants because the pots were protected with chicken wire or sitting on top of a metal bar stool (which had lost it's padded seat).

My oldest plant still has three stems but no foliage any more. My question is why would all but one plant (hanging from ceiling) die off?  The only difference is the two rats I still have in my home.  I caught a larger one and since then the rats are keeping away from the traps.

I will look for pictures and add.


texts: Small red see through worms in houseplants

texts: I bought a plant off of Facebook Marketplace and when I went to give it a watering these small red see through worms were sitting in the watering tray. I’ve watered the plant a few more times since then and I continue to get the small worms after every watering the only difference now is they get smaller in size with each watering. If you have any advice or know what they are that would help thank you!


texts: Where is this park located, and what are these trees - London UK

texts:
In a scene from Downton Abbey series 6 two characters go walking in a park with a round pond and a fountain surrounded by specimen trees.

A couple of questions: does anyone recognize the park location (storyline indicates London UK but it might be elsewhere) and what are the pyramidal trees (as in top right of this image)?

There is of course "Round Pond" in London, but I think that pond is much larger and has no fountain as in this picture. I have an idea what the trees are but would be interested in other suggestions.


texts: Can I put Hens and Chicks in the soil for cactus?

texts:
I have some soil for cactus and I was wandering if it is ok to plant Hens and Chicks in this type of soil?

I have read aboout pH for the Hens and Chicks and it says it should be more than 7pH, and soil for Cactus has about 6, can it be a problem?


texts: What is wrong with this lemon tree? What can be done?

texts:
My lemon tree, which is about 2-3 years old, has started developing nodules a few months ago, as in the picture below.

There are also a lot of ants on it, and I believe the ants arrived around the same time as the nodules. Perhaps relatedly, some of the leaves have started to turn yellow.

I would really appreciate any advice about what's going on, and what could be done to counter it.


texts:
At my work, everyone has his own plant and needs to take care of it. I was wondering if you guys could help me out taking care of my plant.

A picture of my plant can be seen below.

So, by that, I have a couple of questions:

What's the name of this plant?
What is the best way to take care of this plant?


texts: I saw this shrub (or small tree) yesterday with white flowers. Does anyone know what it is? It was found near the coast (dune area) in the Netherlands.


texts: What are proper methods to remove ripe humus from pile

texts:
So assuming I have a ripen pile of humus, I'd now like to remove the humus but don't know if I should keep in mind any type of cautions and techniques.

Some people have a proper door in the bin that allows to remove from the lower part of the bin, or some other people even have a filter that allows the humus to fall directly into a drawer. But I have a small amount of material in a couple of paint cans. Hence the question

Is it ok to just remove humus with a regular filter?

Is this advisable?
Or does this have some undesired results?


texts: Growing vegetables indoors under grow lights - How much space for 1 person to survive or at least have significant yield?

texts:
I am curious, I have enough space to grow my own vegetables under grow lights. How much space would I need for one person to survive or at least have decent yield? Let's leave fruit and meat, bread out of it, how much to have at least own vegetables?

I could use T5 - 6500K 4000+ lumen flourescent lights. They seem cheap, in 2-10 euro/dollar range. I could probably use electric timer, garden soil, some sort of aluminium foil to reflect light and some plastic containers and stack up more levels with wood, kind of wood shelves.

I could plant what I can harvest relatively fast(30 days till 60 days) - radish, lettuce, spinach, beet,.. and starting seeds every 1-2 weeks so I would not run out of fresh food.

What are your opinions? It would be helpful if you share some experiences before I jump into the experiment. I do grow some herbs under grow light and had learned some things, but veggies are larger level.

I am interested in yield per square foot or m2 in 1 month or 2 months, what to expect. That would make things easier for me.

Thank you!!!!


texts:
I recently bought a cherry tree in a wine barrel and now noticed its leaves are more droopy than usual and and are drying up. we water it everyday till water runs out the bottom of the barrel and the soil is moist.
We live in Cape Town and have a lot of wind not sure if that could be the issue.


texts: Found this inside an orange. No rot or any other marks on the skin. Does anyone know what this is?

texts: Can anyone identify this bizarre thing inside of an orange?


texts: How much mulch should I put in my vegetable gardens?

texts: I have heard some conflicting info on this, but mostly "about 3 inches deep" is what I remember. Are there some veggies that need more than others?


texts: Should I plant a Common Hackberry tree in my front yard for shade?

texts:
My front yard (in Northern New Mexico, zone 7a) is in desperate need of a shade tree. The soil is relatively poor and there's not a lot of water. I'm making a list of trees that I think would work in these conditions and one that's bubbled to the top is the Common Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis). There are a ton of big ones in my neighborhood, so I know they grow well around here. And they provide good shade. I like they they grow fast, too.

I've seen sources conflict about their lifespan; some say 150-200 years, others say 20-30 years. Which is right? Is this a tree that could make sense for my situation?

FWIW, other "finalists" in my list of potentials are Velvet Mesquite and Desert Willow. But feel free to suggest others that could work.


texts: As the title says, I'm looking for what kind of plant this is.


texts: This plant is probably 17 years old.  Very tall and leggy. What needs to be done? And is it a croton?


texts: Why are my chilli pepper leaves curling and new flowers are falling off?

texts: Could you please tell me why my chilli pepper plant leaves are curling.  The plant has grown to about 15" tall and has produced some chilli peppers.  The peppers are already maturing but new flowers are falling off and the leaves are curling. I don't think the sun is too much because it's in the direct sun for only a few hours; it doesn't have any pests etc. on the leaves; it doesn't seem to be overwatering as the soil is just moist.  What am I missing?  I have checked a lot of sites but I can't find anything concrete.


texts:
We have a small redbud that we planted two years ago. It was barely a seedling when we planted it; this spring it was about 4-5 feet tall. No real buds this year, but leafing out nicely.

Then a few days ago the landscaping/lawnmowing company that our housing development uses came by and pruned it, although they are not supposed to. They cut it back pretty severely, maybe taking off a foot or two from every branch, including the main branches.

Did they likely kill it? Is there anything we can/should do to help save it?

Edit: Added photo. I should also note that I did call the landscaper to complain; we'll see what happens.


texts:
Are perlite and vermiculite sustainable?
For potting mixes, I have to use quantities of perlite and vermiculite.  But I am concerned about their sustainability, and how they are obtained.


texts: Why did a section of my Holly turn brown & fall off?

texts: I have a Goshiki Variegated False Holly & when we moved bought our home a month & half a go it was beautiful. It has now since turn mostly brown & the leaves have fallen off. The leaves did not turn black or have white spots on them. We have had well over 100 degree weather. I water at night once it cools down but this one is in the sun all day long. We have 2 of them & the other one is not doing this at all as it is in shade more. We did not plant these. Is there anything I can do try to save it. The branches are bendy, they are not weak or snappy.


texts: How much space is needed between fruit tree canopies?

texts:
I've seen several sources talking about how much space to leave between fruit trees which boil down to 10-25feet depending mainly on rootstock, partly on soil etc.

This makes me think the distance is based on how large the trees will grow, but I plan to keep my trees pruned to allow easy fruit picking without ladders.

With that in mind, can we talk about how far apart the 'edges' of trees should be apart rather than the trunks?


texts:
I'm wondering what is causing my lawn to apparently change colors... this a small segment of approximately a 3' x 6' area. There is another smaller area, about 2' x 4' nearby, and while I was mowing yesterday, it looks like some other areas are starting to show.

The blades (leaves?) are actually a little more reddish in color than the image shows.

I am in Southwest Florida (Ft. Myers area).

Any idea what this is and what to do about it (if anything)?

Thanks!

Frank

red-brown lawn http://www.unkfrank.com/images/StackExchange/lawn031614.jpg


texts:
I was sprouting some French marigolds and noticed some spots on the leaves. They didn't look good, especially since one of the plants didn't get them. I looked them out on the internet and figured it was some kind of leaf spot (though I don't know anything beyond that). Figuring it might have been because of being overly damp, I planted a second set except I started them outside (also in a seeding tray). I just checked them today and it looks like the cotyledons are starting to show signs of the spots along the outer edges though I won't for sure for a couple days. None of the other plants I sprouted with the same potting mix are showing any problems like this. The variety is Disco if that helps at all.

So a couple questions:

What are these spots and are they a problem?
What can be done to prevent them?
Should I give up on them and root them up?
Will I be able to reuse the potting mix, or should I get rid of it too?


texts: What is the proper way to inoculate a compost pile with things you can find in the woods?

texts:
I just built a compost pile on top of swamp dirt on the edge of the yard after digging up all the grass, and went into the woods to find dead rotted wood to inoculate the compost pile with, then piled grass clippings on top of it.

Is that the correct way to build a compost pile if you have the energy, and don't want to spend a lot of money?


texts: Sempervivum sprouting but not to make a flower. Why is that and how to do something about it?

texts:
My Sempervivum (actually a good number of my little friends) show the behaviour in the attached picture.
I take samples of these plants from my outside garden where they thrive and I'd like them to grow beautiful inside, in pots, where I can better tend to them and maybe use them as decorations. However, even after a long time, they either won't grow in size, or they'll sprout tall. From my experience of this variety of semperviva (they are from the Mediterranean), this sprout is not a flower.
At first, the leaves will curl downwards, then the center rises until it is grown up to a certain size, then is stops growing at all and remains in this status for a long time.
I don't know what to do about it, nor what caused it in the first place. Any help is accepted.
In the future, I'd like to avoid this, and, if possible, revert them to a more "appropriate" shape.


texts: Why does my Mathilda hydrangea have an old green flower and a new purple one on the same stem?

texts:
Hydrangeas are my favorite flowers. I only have one potted Mathilda gutges plant in my condo. I don't know much about their care. The plant had three flowers. It was dying and I cut two of them because they looked really bad. One survived and it's still on the plant. It's humid to the touch and alive but green in color.

I'm watering it and I noticed it has new purple flowers on the same stem. Should I cut the green flower? Should I leave the plant alone? It's September and I thought there wouldn't be any more flowers for the rest of the year, so this is a nice surprise.


texts: Does wrapping fruit increase its temperature?

texts: I was watching a video on how to grow Wax Apples (Jambu) and the farmer said that wrapping his fruit in paper bags would increase the temperature by 2 degrees Celcius. Can someone scientifically explain this? I understand how a mammal has warm blood running through its veins and clothes keep the warmth from dissipating into the air, but I do not know what is generating heat on a fruit. And these bags are not air tight - wouldn't any cold air get into the bag after a matter of seconds?


texts:
I have a few trees that need to come down in my hard-to-access backyard. I know I can dispose of the rounds for firewood. But the brush is a different story: I hardly have a way of disposing of it. And there will be a ton of it.

The backyard has mature pachysandra covering. I would like to construct a 3ft-wide path through it. So perhaps there's a synergy: I could chip the wood on-site and then use the chips to make the path.

Is that a good idea or are there major issues I'm not seeing?


texts: How should I speed up the decomposition of sickly sweet smelling giant compost heap?

texts:
I have created a monster of a compost heap on my property (3 meters, by 2 meters, by almost 2 meters tall) next to an old granite rock wall. Anyway, I mostly put all my grass clippings (primary offended of volume of material) as well as leaves and other material. I just started doing this because I didn't think it would be good to have the local rubbish company haul this off.

As of late, the pile has started getting a bit bigger than I want it to, and it exudes a sickly sweet smell.  What can I do to speed up the decomposition of all this vegetation?  I don't mind the smell that much, since it's pretty far from the house.  However, will any process I initiate cause any other odours to come from it that may be more noticeable than the current smell?

I'm not after dirt, just trying to lessen my impact a bit (and stop that smell).

Will some of those organic disintegration agents work (like a stump dissolver)?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Can you bring citrus trees into quarantined states?

I'm trying to buy a Washington Navel Orange Tree in Arizona. When I search online these are priced between $30 and $67 but the online sellers state that they can't ship to AZ because of agriculture regulations. When I visit the nursery they have them for sale at a minimum of $500 which seems to be a bit pricey.

Does anybody know what the regulations are that prevent citrus being shipped to AZ?

(I feel that with a better understanding of the restrictions I'll be able to make more informed decisions.)