texts:
Could you please help me identify the beetle colony that is patrolling my chilli plant for the last two weeks?

I’ve done a quick search using Google and the keywords “beetle” and “chilli” but none of the search results match my six legged friends.

I’ll attach photos at the end of this description...

The beetles are in no hurry and in fact one and up to two beetles seem to find a location on the plant, be that an old chilli, a new chilli or a part of the stem or on the leaves and simply stay put - they seem to be on guard. They are also at times quite active, although my observations of any one beetle have not lasted long enough to identify how long they stay in place (on guard) and how often they move.

I suspect that they may be providing more benefit to the plant than distress, as the chilli plant is quite healthy and is currently flowering and setting new fruit.

Location: Sydney, Australia (part temperate, part subtropical growing conditions).


texts: How do I remove dandelions without damaging my lawn?

texts:
My lawn is infested with dandelions. Although they're benign, the flowers are fun to play with and the plant has several useful properties, it sure is an eyesore and I'd like to get rid of it. How can I eradicate this weed without damaging my lawn?

Source: Wikimedia commons


texts: Can you put plants in the ground in their original containers to protect from voles?

texts: We have a bit of a vole issue and I bought a wire mesh for my bulbs but I plant over a hundred annuals each year so that's a bit labor intensive to do for everything.


texts: What is the value of powdered onion as a fertilizer or soil amendment?

texts: Hypothetically speaking, if I have a whole bunch of onions that I powdered, what value might that powder have as a fertilizer or soil amendment for plants like tomatoes, peppers and cucurbits (just burying a few to several spoonfuls in the soil at transplanting time)? If you know the NPK values for the powder, that would also be very helpful. Also, levels of the following nutrients would be nice, if you know them: calcium, magnesium, manganese, iron, zinc, copper, silica and sulfur.


texts: Concentric circles and converging lines as paved paths/trails of a park

texts:
I'm told to design a park on a piece of land shown below:

I thought about the idea of using concentric circles and converging lines as paved paths/trails. At the center/focal point, there would be a paved circle. Between the pavements, there would be grass, trees and benches.

I was wondering if anybody knows if this is a good idea


texts: Do eaten leaves on a guava tree mean the tree needs help?

texts:
I planted a guava sapling in my yard and in a few months, have noticed a few leaves being 'eaten'.

Is this just some insect feeding of a few leaves and should be of no concern ?

Or is this an indicator that the tree needs assistance ? If so, what can I do to help the sapling ? The sapling gets plenty of sunshine and water. Its in a tropical city in Australia, if that matters.


texts: They are plentiful right now, which tends to make me suspicious. I'm noticing them around the Brussels sprouts and zucchini, but they may be congregating elsewhere too.


texts: How can I check quality of sprinkler blowouts?

texts:
We just had our sprinklers blown out, and are starting to suspect the quality of the work we got.

Within 5 minutes of discovering that we had a blowout scheduled, our fee was charged and the guy left. The backyard was wet, but the frontyard was not.

Is it possible to check our sprinklers to see if they have been properly blown out?


texts:
I am looking for a fast growing Leucaena leucocephala seeds. Now, I am cultivating Leucaena leucocephala which can grow 6.00 Meters in a year. But I am looking for a genetically improved seeds which can grow upto 10.00 Meters in a year.

If any one the best verity of seeds, please post your answer


texts: As the title says, is this a good spacing for cherry tomato plants?


texts: Zucchini leaves white, but not sure it's PM

texts: I transplanted some zucchini seedlings about 2 weeks ago and one has developed this significant whitening on the leaves. I'm not sure it's powdery mildew. I've had that before, but this looks a bit different. I've applied a baking soda solution and neem oil solution a few days apart but new leaves continue to show the same pattern. Any ideas?


texts:
I struggle to identify this plant. I have searched for similar leaves but could not find a definitive answer yet.

Some details about the plant:

age: about seven years
height: 80 inches / 2 m (as seen on the photo)
it won't stop growing :)


texts: Which pesticide should I use for the orange trees?

texts: My orange tree seems to have some disease. The leaves are bubbled and curled. Does anybody know the name of the disease? Which pesticide should I use to cure it?


texts: Orange seedling leaf browning, curling, slowed growth? Please help!

texts:
I am a 1st time citrus planter. I planted an orange seedling in some potting mix after it germinated. Within the 1st few wks there was pretty impressive growth of leaves and height. it is now about 9wks old and i realized the growth has been stunted--haven't seen significant new leaves and the current ones has issues.

Main concern is the bottom leaf tip is browning for the past few days and I'm not sure what it is and if salvageable? I'm not sure if it's a cotyledon that's supposed to fall off but seems like it's a true leaf....

Other concern is the leaf on top is droopy and not as green as the others.

My watering regimen had been pretty consistent for the 1st 5-6 wks of growth..I would water it with tap water every few days when the top of soil looks dried. At about week 4 or 5 after 2sets of leaves had sprouted I did put some indoor plant fertilizer spritz in the soil.

I live in southern california..this tree is kept on a south facing windowsill.  Over the past few wks, we have started to keep our orchids by the same windowsill and it is next to my tree...I'm hoping it is not a fungus or pest from the orchid that is attacking my tree (I dont see any issues with my orchid leaves though)

What can I do to save my tree??? I'm tempted to cut off the unhealthy part of the bottom leaf if it's a true leaf and not cotyledon


texts: Took my bean outside recently and it was just fine for last 2 days when suddenly yesterday 4 or 5 leave got their tips dried out. It is in pot on North facing wall so wonder if that might be due to strong morning sun ? I put it into the place where is more shade so we will see how it will go from there. Also I checked moisture and its just fine.


texts: Is it safe to make a vegetable garden where there may have been lawn chemicals?

texts:
I moved into a new house (built 1979) this past fall and I would like to convert some of the grass area to a vegetable garden.  I don't know how the previous owners took care of their lawn, but is there any chance of of unsafe chemicals still hanging around in the soil?

I'm thinking of just normal lawn care products.  Do they dissipate over time?  If so, how long?

From the current state of the grass, it does not appear they did anything special to it.


texts: Is there a plant whose odour repels wasps, but doesn't repel bees?

texts: I hate wasps. I like bees. I live in southern England, so we're talking about plants that can grow in a maritime climate. Any ideas?


texts: Avocado plant with brown spots on the leaves

texts: My avocado has developed brown spots on the leaves trying to figure out what it is


texts: Identify this tree with thin trunk and large leaves?

texts:
I saw it at a resort in the Dominican Republic. I liked it because it seems to give decent shade but it doesn't seem to have a big trunk, so it's not heavy.

Can you guys identify this tree?
Thanks.


texts:
I had some onions sitting on the counter for a long time and one of them sprouted, so I planted it in a flower plot to see what would happen. At first it grew well, sprouting several long green fronds. In the last week, however, it has declined, the tips of the leaves turning yellow, then withering. Some of the fronds have started to wilt even though I keep the soil watered.

What can I do to keep the onion alive?


texts: Is this a good plan to turn my lawn into a garden?

texts:
I have a lawn, your standard regular lawn. I eventually want to turn it into a series of plant areas with some kind of mulch or gravel in between, like you see sometimes. I want to start by planting a garden area with native pollinators and then add to it from there.

My thinking was this: I get cinder blocks or some other decorative stone and make a little wall, bordered on one side by the bushes that are at the back of my lawn. I will probably make it wavy so it looks nicer. Then I will rip up the grass inside that area and toss it into my compost heap, exposing fresh soil. Into that soil I will sow probably seedlings if I can get them, maybe some from seed for more fast-growing groundcover plants (plants tbd). Then I will let that grow before I do another area, probably spaced a bit away from the first area. I will put down mulch between them, ripping out the grass in between as well. Then one bed at a time work my way down the lawn over the course of a year or two.

Is that a reasonable way to go about transforming this without having to hire additional help? Is there some better way to do this?


texts: Ideas for small no low-maintenance plantation

texts: I am from eastern Europe and looking for ideas on how to domesticate some small acreage (about 0.75 hectare). I don't want to sell this area and maybe there are some ways (which won't require lot of work, let's say no more than some maintenance, few times per year) to create some revenue out of it in the future. Maybe there are some species of conifer which meet these requirements? Are there are any interesting books / websites that provide an overview of the possibilities (with regard to possible income) for beginners?


texts: Does a Pear tree get more fruit on the side facing the sun?

texts:
We have a large (more than 12 meters high) Pear tree in our garden.

I have the feeling that it gets more fruit on the south facing side (I live in Sweden, so that would be the side facing the sun). I have tried finding litterature to support my feeling, but I have not yet found any.

Is there such an effect on Pear trees in particular or fruit trees in general? Does there exist a good reference in litterature where this is explained?

Thanks!


texts: Why is my aloe vera plant having plant spots?

texts: My aloe vera plant is having black and brown spots. Help me figure it out .


texts:
I know it's a wax plant vine; there were quite a few types on Google and the leaves look pretty similar. The leaves are just green with no white spots, just green, on them and the mature leaves are more in a circular shape not a long oval. The 2nd photo is of new growth on it. We are doing a regeneration of bushland where people ages ago had a nursery so help would be great.

Click any photo for full size version


texts: A substitute for Hydrangeas that can tolerate full sun (zone 8b)

texts:
I have an artificial border against a driveway which has limited depth (about 20-30cm, 8"-12"); I wanted a line of plants with good volume (perhaps 1m/yd plus in height) and some nice colour, so Hydrangeas would have been ideal. Unfortunately, the drive gets the full sun in the afternoon and after a short trial and some hot weather it seemed unlikely they would last, so I transplanted them to more shaded locations.

Now I am looking for a replacement, but I don't really have an idea what would have the right combination: relatively shallow roots, about 1m in height, nice colours, tolerant of full sun and low maintenance.

The location is Brussels which is apparently zone 8b. The soil is quite heavy but I can mix in some compost if necessary. I am not sure how it drains. The border has a wall on one side and a concrete bottom at least, so it could be sealed, but on the other hand, the soil seems relatively dry.


texts: Austrocylindropuntia subulata breaking off

texts:
I've had this one for about 3-4 years - found a piece of if on the ground broken off from the big plant and potted it, and it kept growing since (in the same pot all this time). Few days ago, one of the branches just snapped off from the base, and now it seems like another one is slouching and will snap off too. It's a bit yellow down at the base. Otherwise it looks very healthy, and other branches look fine too.

I think here isn't enough light for them where I live, but it kept growing all this time so I have no idea what the problem is.

Broken branch:

Weak branch which I'm afraid will snap off if I remove the improvised support:

Base of the weak branch (1) and of the broken branch (2):


texts: I have some used fireplace bricks, so I was wondering how can I convert it to rock dust for my garden nutritional value.


texts: I have a 11+year old 15ft tree in AZ that has only one live, leafy, seeding, healthy branch, all others are dead, can I save it?

texts: I have a 15foot tree in front that has one living, healthy branch loaded with leaves with about 12+ totally dead, dried out branches? There are a few small branches sprouting from the living branch base and where all branches junction at trunk, nowhere else? How can I save it? Thank you for any help!


texts: Peat moss substrate for Cactus and Lemons

texts: I am growing cactus, lemons and some strawberry in pots. I just bought this peat moss from my local store to fill the pots with it(only with this) On top of it it says tree and vegetable. Is it okay to use for lemons and cactus aswell ?


texts: Which side of a house will get the most sunlight?  Articles on the internet seem to have conflicting answers. Is this because it is dependent on location?


texts: What is the name of this purple-flowered climbing plant?

texts:
I bought this plant today, it has purple flowers and it climbs.

I forget to ask the seller about its name and I regret it! Any recommendation on how to care for this plant? Should I keep it in a shady or sunny spot?


texts: Raspberry leaves turning red and yellow, help?

texts: does anyone know why my raspberry leaves are turning red and yellow? It looks like they start turning red first, then eventually they end up yellow with hints of red.


texts: Should I stop runner beans climbing too high?

texts:
I realise I've put runner beans close to an overhanging damson tree.

The beans closest to the damson have scaled my supports and have bridged the gap between support and tree and started to climb on into the branches of the damson.

Leaving aside unsuitability of growing vegetables close to trees (loss of light and nutrients), is there a problem with the beans climbing on and on into the tree? (apart from the obvious one of it being hard to harvest the crop of course).

What I mean is, will the plants put excessive effort into climbing and set fewer flowers/beans?

If so, should I just pinch out the tops?


texts: How many wood chips do I need to kill off grass?

texts:
I'm trying to kill off grass in an area that has probably been establishing itself since the last ice age, and was wondering how many wood chips it really will take to do the job I desire, and keep the grass out of the area after. It came up through about 1' of wood chips, and cardboard already, so I need a no till organic idea to get it killed off effectively.
Chickens are not an option.


texts:
My frangipani experiences rust. How should I best treat/protect my plant from rust (all year round)?

My plant experienced severe rust during December/January (Australian Summer). It was a very wet and a very cool summer for Australia (record rain days).

It is two years old and last year I cut the stems to encourage shape. I don't plant to cut the stems this winter as I am looking forward to my first flowers.

During summer and in particular during the bad January, I used a copper spray with pest oil. It did not seem to help. I also sprayed the ground around the plant.

When leaves are very rusty, I removed them. I also remove fallen leaves and place them in the bin.

My plant is in a well drained full sun position (Sydney climate). The soil has sand mixed through, coal ash (from my Weber BBQ) and is in a raised bed. It cannot flood in its position.

Oddly, (April), the remaining leaves show no more severe rust. You can see some signs on close inspection. So it appears healthy now. We are moving into winter and the plant will drop its leaves soon.

I have seen comments on the interweb stating that rust is a result of the plant missing some essential elements.

Here is a comment i found:
From - http://aussieorganicgardening.com/?p=146

Rust is a sign that the trees are lacking trace elements. Add a twice annual drink of seaweed
extract tea to the soil. If the infestation is severe also spray them with chamomile tea
 (you can make it up using tea bags).

I have also seen this product: http://frangipanirust.com.au/


texts: White rot on some of my onions do I need to lift the whole crop

texts:
I have lifted a couple of my onions today that had gone a little dry and have discovered white rot on the roots, I lifted another and this one has no sign.
Do I need to lift the whole crop straight away or can I watch carefully and lift onions if I think they are suffering? In addition is it safe to cure and eat onions that have a minor amount of white rot?


texts: Why does my Red Kuri squach have few female slowers and those it does have don't bloom but fall off?

texts: I have 2 Red Kuri squash that have a lot of male blooms but very few female.  Those females that are showing up don't bloom (so I can't pollinate) and ultimately fall off without developing.  I am in zone 5.  The plants look very healthy with no evidence of pests or disease.  They are in the same raised bed as a transplanted zuchini squash which is also not showing female flowers.


texts: White & red mould/fungus growing on my tree

texts:
I've just noticed these horrible white/red mould patches on my tree. I'm in the UK, it is winter here.  Could someone please tell me what it is and how do I get rid of it.  The tree is above 25ft tall and close to the house, it's been here with me for 20+ years has beautiful pink blossom in spring. I don't want it dying and falling on the house. Thanks for your help
Seems to be white patches about 6 inches long with red on the edges
The tree is not evergreen and has red leaves


texts: Is charcoal good for use as a soil amendment?

texts: I came across an article the other day on wikipedia about Terra preta.  Has anyone used charcoal like this to enhance sandy soil, like we have in Florida?  Does this really work, and what is the best method for applying it?


texts:
I know that pak choi can be grown as a "cut and keep" plant, but can I regrow it from the base of the plant, as can be done with celery?

If so, how?


texts:
Forget rabbits, I have a fence around the garden, my real pest problem is chipmunks.  I've got a fence, with some below ground barriers, to keep larger pests out and to keep them from digging but the chipmunks still get in.  Chicken wire doesn't keep them out and they end up digging holes in the garden, and eating roots of some of the plants...I lost a bunch of tulips last year due to their incessent root eating.  I do have a live trap but that only gets them if they get in, I want to keep them out.

Does Coyote Urine work?  What about the fox pheromones?  The dried blood and chili powder spray, good for rabbits and such, is not working.  I tried the fox stuff when they had been in the house but that didn't work as well as the live trap by their door, that got set with seeds and I eventually got them all out.  Is there a good method that I can use?  Rather than make my garden a small greenhouse I'd like to keep them out if I can with something sort of organic, if only there was an herb or something that would keep them out.


texts:
I noticed today a kind of an 'offspring' on my Aloe Vera plant.
This big plant produces many offsprings all the time but they always come from the roots and look different from this one. This is the first time I am seeing something like it. Can anyone tell what is it and if this means the plant is in some kind of stress.
I water the plant once in two weeks and it gets a lot of light.


texts: What are these fungus-like things in my tree?

texts:
A few days back I realized there is some kind of fungus-like growth on my lemon tree and it has affected the plant growth so much. The leaves just don't grow and the tree seems to dry out. Today I noticed one more tree (I don't know the name of the tree) with a similar condition.

What kind of infection could this be and how can I save my trees?


texts: How to approach liquidambar with respect to pruning?

texts:
I've got two young liquidambars, both planted in last two months, both 70-90 cm high, but from different nurseries. One of them is basically just one erect branch with leaves, and another has a main branch and 5-6 erect branches branching very low.

Is there any imediate need to prune the second one? Generally, should I leave these liquidambars alone (not prune at all during their lifetime), or they need some pruning?

Both nurseries referred them as just "liquidambars", no cultivar is indicated at all. They are fairly rare in my area, and I was happy to find and buy them, even though there was not much info on what the exact species they are actually


texts: What to do if I watered a Schefflera arboricola too much by accident?

texts:
I recently bought a Schefflera arboricola and accidentally watered it too much before leaving it for a while. When I came back after a few days, the plant had sit in its water for far too long and has been losing leaves everyday since. I have stopped watering it and it is in a very sunny location but I am afraid that the leaves will continue dying until the whole plant is gone.

Should I try using cuttings and starting a new one or will the plant survive this mistake and eventually stop losing leaves?


texts:
Found in Portland Oregon. It came from a tree about 10-12 ft tall. It smells very sweet, almost like Jasmine.

Does anyone know what it is?


texts: I’ve had this plant since August and recently it has lost a couple of leaves, I was wondering if anyone could identify a cause. Thanks


texts:
This little guy started growing at multiple places on my balcony.

As you can see, the stem is more woody than green so it seems to be a tree or bush. I live in northern Germany.

I was thinking hornbeam or maybe hazelnut. Can anyone say for sure?


texts: Chrysanthemum,how can i refresh them in the garden

texts: My plants will flower in a month or two but have dead leaves up the stems already.


texts:
Watering a ficus grown in Phoenix, AZ, I've recently had irrigation put in that has changed the way I water the tree.  Previously I just used a hose and ran it at lower volume output for an undetermined amount of time, filling up a circular berm we had formed around said tree.

With the irrigation, I have no idea what I should be doing.  I found a document made by Arizona Municipal that recommends 24-36 inches of depth, every 7-10 days, but don't know how to measure that depth.

It's an Orbit timer, and I currently have it set to 30 minutes a day.  The tree is about five inches in diameter.

Thanks in advance!


texts: What is this young shrub with opposite ovate, crenate leaves and reddish stems?

texts:
I found this plant growing in my garden in the crack between two retaining wall blocks.

it's currently about 14" (35cm) tall and has grown this year.
it seems to branch freely; the one pictured has two branches in addition to the main stem, with no sign of damage to the main stem to encourage branching.
leaves are opposite, ovate, with crenate margins. The largest leaves are about 5½" (13cm) long.
the tips of the growing stems are a dark reddish-purple but turn woody just a couple of inches from the tip. The woodiness is the reason I think it will grow up to be a shrub.
it's growing in Portland, Oregon, USA (USDA Zone 8a).

Click any photo for full size
The whole plant

Close-up of the leaf

Close-up of the growing tip of the main stem


texts: I have been told that Diatomaceous earth will help with the many slugs that enjoy the buffet that is my garden, since the micro-fossils irritate their slimy bodies. But will it help with other insects and caterpillars, especially gypsy moths? I purchased a bag that says "food grade" but I don't know if it is as effective as non-food grade DE. Any experience in this area would help. This is turning out to be an expensive organic garden this year!


texts: What type of weed is this and what is an effective way of removing it?

texts:
This weed kind of took over my front yard (around 300 sq ft). I'd like to remove it all and then mulch most of the area  What type of weed is it and what would be an effective way of removing it? In the past, I have used vinegar with success, but right now it is cold and humid here (Pacific Northwest) and I feel like vinegar does best on hot and sunny days. No toxic stuff like Roundup please.

If I go the vinegar + salt route, is it effective in the weather conditions described above? How careful do I need to be in order to not harm existing plants?


texts:
I read on this website that:

  Store the jar of cherry seeds in your refrigerator for 8 to 12 weeks. Cherry seeds, and trees, require a period of cold, usually 90 to 150 days each winter.

The article concludes with planting the seeds after the requisite 12 weeks:

  Leave the cherry seeds in the refrigerator until the last hard frost of spring has occurred. Plant the cherry seeds [...]

Unfortunately, my seeds are now dry, so 12 weeks will put me in early October; 150 days will put me in November.

Will these seeds survive, dry, for an additional 5-6 months? Should I simply hold them dry (not refrigerated) until I'm 12 weeks from the last frost (eg. mid-Feb)?


texts: Should I Take It Back Or Keep Trying To Bring It Back (Resolved)

texts:
So i bought two mint plants from Home Depot last month and one of them looks like it's completely just going to kneel over and die (That one's currently at my grandmother's) but i found out that that one was literally drowning in water.

But this one I keep on the dresser in my room seems to be doing well but at the same time the main plant is slowly dying off. I also took a picture of the new stem that's growing, there's actually three but the one on the main will probably die off.Yesterday the one that's currently drooping wasn't brown like that. Another problem is that brown spots keep randomly appearing on the leaves so I end up taking those off. I would leave it outside in a pot but bugs just won't stop chewing the leaves off and the leaves start turning white for some reason.
I'd send a third picture of how it looked on the 30th but I can only post two.Oh also don't mind the stick, that's just a sage stem to hold it up right.

Sorry if the lighting is bad, it's supposed to rain later today.


texts:
I have a large open area in my backyard that is sloped where i dont want grass because it would be dangerous to mow. A couple years ago i went to a local gardening shop and asked for recommendations on a variety of flowering plants that will spread over time and take over the area. I was looking to attract butterflys, bees, and hummingbirds.

Fast forward a baby and an injured wife later, I simply didnt have the time to devote to weeding one year and it was overtaken in short order. Half of the plants have been choked out but I found the time recently to clean it up.

I have some Bee Balms like below:

I am not sure though if it is spreading very much, however there is this one plant that looks incredibly similar to me that spreads like crazy and comes back with a vengeance when i pull it. My wife told me to stop pulling these because she says it is the Bee Balm trying to spread but there are a few minor differences.

Where I planted the Bee Balm it has these beautiful red flowers however this spreading plant below does not seem to flower. The leaves and stems are very very similar but I am just not sure.

Are these the same plant? If not what kind of virulent weed is this?


texts: Can you tell me what has killed my beautiful morning glories this year? I am just sick as they covered the whole side of my house. How do I keep this from happening again?


texts: How much compost should I add to a clay soil for roses?

texts:
A few months ago I removed a lot of over grown shrubs; the soil is clay based topsoil on top of solid clay.   The top soil is about one spade deep.  I don’t think the garden has had any compost for many years.

I am going to double dig before planning the roses, so how much compost should I put into the subsoil and how much into the top soil.   I have a source of compost from wholesale market fruit & vegetable waste and cost is not a limiting factor.  (Organic content = 100%,  C:N ratio c. 15:1, pH c. 7.5)

I am also planning on adding more worms, as there seem to be very few in the ground. All of the beds will be covered with compost or wood chipping every year, but this is my only chance to properly dig-in compost.

(We are in the North West of the UK)


texts:
What is this cream-yellow flower?

New photos:


texts: Is there any saving this Chinese Evergreen? I'm a newbie and am not sure what the issue is

texts:
The leaves are becoming pale, especially for that one stalk. They are also slightly curling under. The stalk has that odd dry spot too and the color of them aren't healthy looking.

What's the problem? What should I do at this point to try and salvage this plant(if I can)?

TIA


texts: What is this succulent? I can't find it on Google Lens

texts:
I tried Google Lens and an app on my phone, still couldn't figure it out what it is.

sorry about the photo positions, I don't know why they don't position right.


texts: What Is This Low-Spreading Plant w. Palmately Lobed Leaves?

texts: This plant is growing wild on our property in the Santa Rosa Plain in Sonoma County, California. It has 5-lobed palmate leaves with notched edges and small pink flowers. Low-spreading plant seems to thrive in our very dry adobe soil, familiarly known as Petaluma crack. I'm considering digging up a few of the plants and relocating them to an area where we need drought-tolerant ground cover.


texts: I would be able to get a closer picture, if needed.


texts: I bought a little rosemary tree pot plant from Lowe's and it was doing really great here in Austin. All of a sudden with the sudden dropping temp and actual winter, I brought her inside and tried bringing it in and out. But it slowly over time turned brown. Despite being watered when needed, the leaves dried up and falling off. Will it spring back new growth in the spring time?


texts: Can a cactus be encouraged to "branch out"?

texts: About 5 years ago I was given this cactus, in a minuscule pot and severely dehydrated. To my surprise it responded to watering and repotting really well. About 18 months ago I woke one morning to find it leaned over 90 degrees, bent at the base, the top having become too heavy for the base to support. I built a Zimmer frame for it ;) and left it to it. It's now getting a bit on the tall side for its location and I don't really have anywhere else to put it. Is there a way to encourage it to grow shoots/put some energy into sideways expansion or is it the sort that only grows upwards in a single stick?


texts: Mexican Lime tree planted too deep, trying to address the issue early

texts:
This lime tree was planted about 2-3 years ago, and isn't growing as fast as we thought it would. Maybe the tree just grows slow? I'm not sure. Recently I dug down to see where the root system started and to find the root flare.

And i'm still not exactly sure If I dug far enough down. But after watching a ton of videos about the root flare, I discovered we planted a few trees really deep, and I'm currently attempting to address the issue now, and not 5-10 years from now.

The biggest issue with the root flare being buried in dirt or mulch is that the roots may grow near the flare and strangle the tree in the future. Do you guys see the root flare in these pictures? Do you see any issues with the way the roots are?

In this 3rd image, i believe this is the root flare, and I should cut all the roots above it. And was planning on putting in fresh soil just to the root flare, if that is what we are seeing here.

Also, do lime trees grow especially slow compared to say an avocado tree?


texts: Black spots on the stem of my mint plant

texts: Its been a while that i brought this mint plant and it appears to have gotten black spots on its stem what to do?.Note the plant is in an ac room and i dont give it direct sunlight but it gets the sunlight from the window behind it also i water it if its looks dry or after a few days. Thank you


texts: Can a plant be too mature to transplant?

texts:
As spring approaches I keep trying to convince my friends that it is time to start thinking about germination.  Their philosophy is to wait:  we live in USDA zone 5 (coastal southern Maine) and traditionally (according to them - I'm from the southern USA) you start planting outdoors after Memorial Day (the last Monday in May).

I think this shortens the growing season more than is necessary, and giving things more of a start indoors would help when it comes time to transplant.

Is there a certain "point of no return" for transplanting from indoors to outside for common vegetable-garden varieties (cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, etc) or can a plant be transplanted if it is older than about 2 months?


texts: What's the right way to protect this brick if I want to pile soil up in front of it?

texts:
Problem
Water pools up next to the house because it's the low point on the soil side of things.
Solution
I'd like to have a lot of dirt brought in that will raise this ~6-8 inches to encourage the water to stay away from the house as well as add plants and such.
Question
I understand mortar and water don't age very well and the process of freezing wet brick can cause cracks. Though it will be underground, so freezing shouldn't be too much of an issue. Our roof hangs over quite a bit so if we raised this soil it wouldn't get very wet. The brick is already ~2-3 inches below the soil line. Do I need to do something to water proof the brick or protect it from the exterior? I saw a technique where rubber paint was added to a foundation for waterproofing, was wondering if I should do that here. There are not currently any active leaks, this is preventative.


texts: Identifying plague affecting chrysalidocarpus lutescens

texts:
Here a close picture of what it is attacking this poor plant:

I tried to spot movement among the white spots but there is none so my first suspect is some kind of fungi...
I applied some polyvalent insecticide/fungi treatment with no avail, it seems I need something more aggressive or more specific to this plague.
Can anyone make some suggestions?


texts: Why should a pot be only an inch or two bigger than the previous pot when re-potting?

texts:
I have read, seen and heard from folks here that the pot for planting a plant should be bigger by the previous pot by only either one or two inches. I don't understand why. No one has explained this anywhere on the web.

Is this has something to do with the owner of the plant (gardener) or specifically to the plant?

I mean, how would a plant know if it's being planted in a way bigger pot or not? In fact, isn't re-potting a plant in a bigger pot better for the plant, too? More space, infrequent re-potting needs to be done. Here I am stretching it:

  Suppose a plant is potted in an 8 inch pot. It needs re-potting every year. Now if we plant the plant in an 12 inch pot. It will get more time to be in the pot. It will not be disturbed by moving it another pot every year or two.

Am I making a mountain out of a molehill or does pot size really affect plants? Like more water retention in bigger pots, etc.?


texts: What are the best components for producing compost which supply maximum nutrients?

texts:
People made compost from different components but they cannot realize about nutrient amount in the compost. So it is essential for selecting appropriate components. It is very important for organic vegetable cultivation.

I am mentioning some ingredients for compost:

Water Hyacinth
Cow Dung
Banana Tree
Rice Straw

It is ok for getting the appropriate amount of N, P, K ?


texts: Controlling curly top disease in sugar beets

texts:
Last season, curly top virus caused a significant decline in the quality of sugar beets grown in my garden as well as tomato. The steps I have taken so far include spraying with a preventative insecticide, (neem oil), removing affected plant materials, and practicing good weed control to eliminate sheltering locations for the leaf hopper vector.

The steps do not appear to work adequately as some of my plants are starting to show purple leaf vein discoloration, an early sign of infection. Yellowing is also present.

In addition to the control methods mentioned above, what other methods can I use? Can anything be done to the plants showing symptoms to preserve fruiting?


texts: Howea forsteriana thinning leaves with lesions and brown tips + roots growing into the air

texts:
I bought this palm one week ago. When I bought it the fronds were a nice uniform green, but it has started to develop light-green spots/lesions, brown tips, and thinning tips. There is also part of the root system growing upwards into the air.
Here's a couple pictures
Can I save this palm by transplanting it into a bigger pot and bending the offending root downwards, or do I need to wait for the palm to “push through” by itself?
The only window is east north east, and the room temperature is 20°C. Humidity might be bad. The soil is moist. Putting the plant on the other side of the house for a south west south window would be hard. I currently have the palm placed away from the window (because of cold drafts and the hot radiator).


texts: Calatheas & allies as houseplants without climate control

texts:
I live in a warm Mediterranean climate. Close to the sea, summer is humid, but air may be dryer in winter possibly because the wind arrives from over the European continent during most of its time.

The location: inside the house. Temperature may be slightly above 15°c or 59°F in winter. Lighting issues are to be taken care of, but temperature and humidity are not controlled. We have heating, but this is rarely needed. Summer temperatures peak to around 30°c or 86°F. Cooling is used slightly more often, but then the A/C dries-up the air.

Would my Calatheas  Maranthas and Ctenanthas make it through the harsh days?


texts:
I just had my kitchen repainted and while moving my adopted aloe plant back to its sunny south facing spot on the kitchen window sill his long stem broke. Well it really just creaked, not actual snapping... (has my lack of plant knowledge come through loudly enough?)

Is the big part done for? I know the little guy is good where he is. And will probably grow better with big brother making a mess of the pot.

Do I just break/cut it off? Can I stick that in another pot and will it grow?

Anything I can do with the leaves if the big guy is a goner?

P.s. the snail is just a shell we picked up hiking in Vermont.


texts: Minty smelling plant with white and pink flowers

texts: This plant is growing in my garden and when the leaves are rubbed it smells minty. Can anyone identify it?


texts: What is the best type of soil for growing an indoor avocado plant?

texts: Do you know what is the best soil for an avocado plant? Would it vary depending on the breed? What would be a good recipe for this soil (for growing indoors)?


texts: What is this itch-inducing twig I found in my cilantro?

texts:
I bought a bunch of cilantro today at my usual produce market and when I picked it up, I felt a couple of pricks on my fingers that started itching a lot. When I got home and started preparing said cilantro, I found a twig of something that is definitely not cilantro. I don't know if that was what caused the earlier itching, as I managed to not touch it.

Could it be some kind of nettle? How could it make its way into commercial cilantro?


texts:
I have several of these sprinklers in my front garden:

https://www.bauhaus.es/aspersores/neptun-profi-aspersor-de-impacto/p/22600185
But 2 sprinklers stopped rotating.
I checked the water lines, but the pressure is still good. They are connected to a 32mm main pipe.
I checked and cleaned the filters, but that did not help. The water that comes out of the sprinklers is still good, but it looks like the arm is not strong enough to move the sprinkler head.
I took the sprinkler apart, as far as this is possible, and put some grease on the moving parts, but that did not change anything.
Is the sprinkler just too cheap? Is there anything else I could try?
I made a small video
https://streamable.com/18ntwe


texts: Wanting to plant shade plants? But where?

texts:
My house is a north facing house.....however I feel like there isn't really an actual shady spot anywhere? Even the northside gets the morning sun for quite a bit of time.

I have a bleeding heart plant that is on the northside of the house that does well, but Im wanting to plant ferns and lungworts/astilbe and im not sure if it would be shady enough.

Is there anything I can do? My house is only a one story so it isn't particularly tall? I mean the north-side SHOULD be the "shadiest" part correct?


texts:
Recently moved into a new house which has a couple of Queen Palms and have never had to take care of palms before. Questions: Do these palms need trimming? If so, how much trimming do they need and do I just cut the lower fronds off? Is there a specific time of the year that's better for trimming them?

More info: location is Phoenix, AZ


texts: Hydrophonic - Tomato plant - purple like leafs

texts: My hydrophonic tomato plant is showing some type of nutrition deficiency . don't know whats missing in my nutrition solution . Please help me


texts: How would we make our vineyard more "green" (environmental)?

texts:
What is some ideas that we could practice to make our vineyard more environmentally friendly, and/or sustainable?

We are already a carboNZero certified organisation, but wondering what we can do to improve more.


texts: Is this a citrus disease I should worry about or contact the gardening authorities

texts:
I came across a kumquat the other day that was delicious, so I took some cuttings (with the permission of the owner). the fruit still on the tree was completely unblemished; however, I'm unsure as to if the blemishes on the leaves are a disease that I would be irresponsible to try to root/graph with or transport (I know California has a lot of dangerous citrus diseases nowadays)
Could anyone help me identify this or if I should worry / contact the local gardening "authorities" about?  I'm hoping it's just a nutrition deficiency or something...

Thanks!!!


texts: Is it better to lay out a drip system before mulching the yard?

texts:
I still have lots of empty patches in my garden/backyard that will eventually be covered by plants. But in the meantime, to keep weeds under control, I'm planning on mulching the entire yard. I also don't have a drip system (yes, I water all my plants/trees manually) yet and have plans to get one in a few months.

My question is: should I wait to install the drip system and pipings first before mulching or is it possible to do it afterwards too?


texts: What flower is this, and how to collect seeds?


texts: Dead Dogwood post-mortem: How to ensure these next plants do better in clay

texts:
This question is accompanied by this previous question...

Did my Dogwood die because it was planted with wire around the roots?

So clearly my two dead Dogwood trees didn't do so hot in clay.  The previous landscaper recommended them and planted them but just tossed a bunch of clay on top of the root ball and sent me the bill.  When I asked about why they quickly became so sickly he accused me of not watering them and refused to follow up on his guarantee to replace any dead plants in the first 2 years.  I watered them for hours everyday when it didn't rain and they were pretty sickly that first year regardless.  They never came back the next spring.  The previous answers to my question suggested that Dogwoods just don't do well in clay so I blame my landscaper for not knowing better when he was clearly aware of the clay situation.

I dug them out as well as about 10 other dead plants and shrubs he originally planted, and I wanted to put the following plants in their place.

Green seed rollouts of Lavender
2 Crepe Myrtle's
A bunch of small flower plants that won't come back next year

Any advice to ensure the best success with these plants?


texts:
Roundup's Glyphosate is very expensive and only available in low percentage in my country.
I was able to find glyphosate online for a lower price and an higher percentage.
It's labeled as Ammonium glyphosate, so what's the difference between Roundup's Glyphosate and Ammonium Glyphosate?


texts: Plumbago plant spacing in areas that get frost

texts: I bought this plumbago plant that i wanna use in my perennial border but i dont know where to put it exactly (front or back) and how far from the rest of the plants. I read that it can get up to 10 feet high and wide in its natural surroundings where there's no danger of frost but since my area gets frost, it will never reach that full size mentioned but exactly how big will it get everything before frost comes and kills it to the ground? If anyone has any experience of growing this beautiful speciman, please let me know as far as spacing is concerned.


texts: Identify multi-stemmed thorny shrub with alternate ovate leaves

texts:
Can any one identify this tree from these leaves pic

?

It has thorns too. Adding more pics. I am in St. Louis MO.


texts: Where can I find a fruits and vegetables planting schedule for Southern Oregon?

texts:
I'm just getting started on my first vegetable garden so forgive the noobie questions. I live in Southern Oregon and having a hard time finding a list of fruits and vegetables, and the correct time to begin planting. Is there a schedule out there?

Also, a lot of sites I'm finding are showing the harvest times, for example, August to November. Does this mean plant in August and harvest in November, or does it mean, plant at some point and they'll be ready for harvest sometime from August to November?


texts: Is this a papaya? What kind, and how do I know when it is ripe?

texts: There are several trees with these fruits growing wild near where I'm staying in the Caribbean. I let one ripen from green to orange and cut it open.  Is it a papaya?  And what kind? This one didn't taste too good.  Did I let it ripen too long, or is this type just not as good as others?


texts: Zone 7. What is this decorative tree in a park?


texts: An unknown pest or animal is heavily attacking my blueberries, what should I do?

texts: Something is attacking a lot of the leaves on my new superior blueberry bush, and I have a few fruit flies around it, what should I do to save it before it gets destroyed?


texts: I did not have time to dig out the purple potatoes I've planted during the spring, now it's early winter, not much frost is expected in this area. Will they survive if I leave them in the soil and will they grow in the spring again? Shall I dig them out now? Shall I harvest them during next summer?


texts: The plant I am referring to is the thin dangling plant. It seems to be growing well, but I have no idea what it is.


texts: A few days ago, I found a tiny (1cm in length) earthworm inside my pot. In general, earthworms are beneficial in improving soil fertility. Are all kinds of earthworms good for the soil?


texts: How often should I water potted vegetables and herbs with a garden hose?

texts:
My vegetables and herbs are all in pots outside in full sun.  I don't have a drip system.  I just water my plants by hand with the hose on the mist setting.  How do I get the 1" per week amount of water for my plants, without a drip system?

I planted tomato (basil and oregano in same large pot), cucumber, zucchini, spearmint, sweet bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, cilantro, buttercrisp lettuce, and spinach seeds. (I planted the spinach seeds in the same pot as the spearmint.)

I live in the North San Francisco Bay area of Marin County.  The temperature is in the mid-70s to mid-80s.  The summers get plenty of 90 degree days.


texts: Identify a succulent with gray-green whorled leaves with a mosaic-like pattern

texts:
I grabbed it on a whim due to the color and the crystalline patterns on the leaves. It's only my third time dealing with these small dudes so I'd like to put it outside or keep it indoors as per requirements asap.

Thank you in advance, you guys are the best!


texts: Massive dead zone on mature Japanese Cedar / Cryptomeria Japonica

texts:
Recently noticed this huge area of dead growth in the plant's mid-section. Top of tree is still green, as is the other side of the tree. Has been healthy for up until now. I live on Long Island, NY (zone 7a). Tree receives regular water through drip irrigation
Dead growth has grey/green spots. Mold?
Images on Imgur


texts:
I have an invasion of this plant in my garden this year:

Is this Papaver rhoeas or some other papaver?


texts: The buds on two of my rose plants are being attacked by something that damages the outer petals. I've been spraying with an organic pesticide but it doesn't seem to be having much effect. What can effectively treat this?


texts: Can anyone tell me the name of this flower?

texts:
I have came across this flower in Turkey Bodrum and I would like to know the name of this flower.

Thank you in advance.


texts: Is there a special hose to tap connector that doesn't splash?

texts:
I have a garden tap inside my conservatory/summer room. The problem is that every time I disconnect the hose from the tap, I get a gush of water that sprays on the wall and floor.
I've tried using a rag wrapped around it but the force is too strong and it sprays through it.
Is there a special type of connector for this type of problem?


texts: I shifted my areca Palm indoor near a window from outside and it was green and healthy. Within two weeks it's leaves are rust coloured and hard. What could be the problem?


texts: How can I prevent my neigbour's cat from marking its territory in my garden?

texts:
We have various bits of garden furniture and this is the kind of furniture that can be left out.  Our neighbour has a male neutered cat that sprays literally everything, including our conservatory and now the garden furniture.

What can we do to stop this happening?  Is there a way to stop cats marking their territory or put them off?

We don't want to harm the cat in any way.


texts: How to recognize when sunflower seed are ripe for harvesting?

texts:
I want to save my sunflower seed, and not for food, but for reseeding in other areas.

Last year, I was too late: Birds ate everything, almost to the last piece of seed. This year I want to be faster. some of early sunflower specimens already have their flowers hanging and getting brown. But, how to recognize when sunflower seed are ripe for harvesting?


texts:
I am needing to bend a branch of 100mm diameter (4 inches) permanently upwards on a avocado tree. Needs to be raised by about a meter at a distance of 1.5 meters away from the trunk. I've used ratchet straps to bend it about half of the way upwards but I'm not sure if I should proceed further and risk breaking it off or perhaps wait a few weeks before continuing. Any other ideas?

Edit:
I need to bend it because I am planning to put a shed right below the branch (which is in the way, and I can't move the shed over cause of the fence). I don't really want to cut it off cause of the additional fruit and shade it provides. It is fruiting at the moment, and I live in Perth Western Australia which is a hot-summer Mediterranean climate. The tree is about 15 years old.

I would also like to make another bend up higher in the branch so that it isn't growing into itself. Here is an image of it: (the colours of the leaves look desaturated because I had HDR on)

It isn't a problem for me to continue to support the branch for some time afterwards with the straps, even a few years is fine. But I would like to have it bent within a month or two to put the shed up.


texts: What are the right tools and techniques to dig a hole in stony or heavily rooted ground?

texts:
I have great soil which is very easy to dig, sadly many trees have taken advantage of this - in some places I want to plant bushes or trees in gaps but everywhere It ry to dig appears to be solid root/stone (hard to tell when you can't see).

I already have a Root Slayer shovel:

It is wonderful for ground matted with tendrils, or for roots up to finger thickness, but not so great for stones, hard ground or bigger roots.

What tools do gardeners use, either manual or powered, when they have to dig a hole (say up to 2 feet across and the same depth) which isn't making life easy? As a novice gardener I'm aware there might be whole types of tools I never even heard of! I suppose similar issues occur when trying to dig holes for fence posts.


texts: chillis going slightly yellow only produced one fruit took it off when it was ripe

texts: chillis slightly going yellow only produced one fruit i took it off when ripe its still flowing but the flowers are dropping and not producing any more fruit


texts: Can i just simply sealed a bottle of plant and expect it will grow well?

texts:
i bought 2 little pitcher plants from Bangkok which is sealed in a bottle for the past 7 months until now i feel it needed a bigger place to continue growing.
Now my question is should i sealed the bigger bottle once im done transferring?
thanks y'all


texts: Will over spray from Ortho Weed-B-Gon Max kill my flowers?

texts:
I was spraying some Ortho Weed-B-Gon Max  on my lawn, and some of the mist/over-spray got in and around my flower bed (on flowers).

Are my flowers doomed, or is there still hope that they will live on?


texts: My 8ft+ long butternut squash female fruits don't ripen. What am I doing wrong?

texts:
I have a long (8ft+) butternut squash vine that seems to be healthy (green leaves) and producing both male and female flowers.  It grew all summer and is still alive and healthy.  I see many nice female flowers (the baby fruit part is 2--3 inches long) get pollinated; I even hand-pollinated a few flowers myself.  However, after pollination, they all turn slightly yellow, shrivel, and rot (see below).

I live in zone 9b and it's starting to become cooler, so I don't have much hope for this season.  What can I do better?


texts: What type if tree is this growing in Toowoomba, Australia in mid-spring?


texts: Tomatoes...what is the difference between early blight and late blight?

texts: What are the differences in early and late blight of tomatoes?  Can you cut off affected areas of one or both to prolong the life of the plant? What can one do to prevent this disease, what can one do to stop the infection, what can one do to prevent the disease the next season?


texts: What nutrients do oyster mushrooms need?

texts:
I have some mycelium growing on cardboard but I am wondering what is in the cardboard other than carbon, oxygen and hydrogen that the fungus can use.
How is it meeting it's need for nitrogen and other elements ?


texts: Does a defunct anthill make good compost?

texts:
So, there was this defunct anthill at the summer cottage, that I decided to turn into a vegetable patch. After the fact, I'm wondering how good compost the stuff really was.
So, what sort of compost would an anthill make, and what sort of additional fertilizer might I need? This one was under a pair of large firs that were cut down a while ago, if that makes a difference.


texts:
I saw a comment about Etiolation when talking about wintering plants.

  Etiolation is a big concern also, in warmer temps and short days.

I've never seen that word before, it sounds like it's something bad happening to the plant. What does 'Etiolation' mean?


texts: What is taking bites out of my lily pads?

texts:
I have a single lily pad plant in a very small pond, about 3-4 feet in diameter. There are no turtles.
Recently the leaves have been ravaged by something which is eating them from the rim inwards. It looks like somebody took a bite out of the lily pads, like a bite out of a cookie. The bites are about an inch in diameter. What could be doing it?


texts: How to grow climbing vines onto a trellis mounted 2 meters above ground?

texts: To make my yard more private, I want to mount a trellis or livestock panel on top of a fence, then grow climbing vines such as Distictus over them. Should I attempt to train the canes to reach 2M up without side growth, or would it be better to hang containers on the fence so growth can proceed directly onto the trellis? (If the latter, please provide clues what size containers would be appropriate.)


texts: Hi I recently repotted my Dieffenbachia plant. I had the plant in a fast draining succulent soil but decided to switch to an indoor soil when I reported it.I also switched to a clay pot. Now the leaves had dropped, I plan to quickly repot it back in the succulent soil that's the only thing I could think of that would be causing this. Is that the right course of action?


texts: What type of miniature clover is growing with yellow flowers in my short Australian lawn?

texts:
I have a weed in my lawn which is prolific where the grass is of low height.  It is a very small clover with yellow flowers.

I live in the Sydney, Australia region.

Here's a photo with a ruler to scale:

1 inch = 2.54 centimeters


texts: Do sunflower seedlings need support to grow upright?

texts: I've planted some sunflower seeds a couple of months ago and now they're growing successfully but they're somewhat slanted currently rather than growing vertically. Do I need to place some sticks/cable-ties to keep them upright or will they self-align eventually?


texts: Optimal temperatures and light times for pepper plants

texts:
Day/night temperatures?

How much light is too much?

Right now I have an indoor pepper plant that is usually 80-90F during the day with 18 hours of light. I'm pretty sure I'm overdoing it as the pepper plant is sort of wilting/curling yet is mostly green and does not feel too dry to the touch.

It drops to a nominal 60-70F the other 6 hours and the humidity raises usually from 30% during the day to 60% overnight.

It's also worth mentioning that the LED light I have might be overkill and puts out 500k lumens @ 300W. By comparison, a 4 foot fluro strip I have puts out 100k lumens at 220W with the same light meter at the height of the canopy.

What can I do to optimize my growing environment?

What I have in mind at the moment is significantly more ventilation assistance to keep the ambient air temperature closer to the outside air as well as moving the light up further to the point where the canopy reads around 300k lumens.


texts: How much space do watermelon plants need? What do I need to know to transplant seedlings?

texts:
I have a row of watermelon seedlings, each separated by 2 inches, except that in several places two seedlings are growing together about half an inch apart (where I had sown two seeds in the same space). The plants are 3 inches tall.  How much space will these seedlings need?

I have empty space in the garden where cantaloupe seeds did not germinate. How should I move the watermelon seedlings to the available space? East-central Wisconsin climate.


texts: Will grafting seed grown citrus onto a rootstock bring fruiting forward

texts: So Iv got a nice variety of mandarin from the supermarket and am growing it from seed. Iv heard fruiting can take yeeeeears of grown this way. Iv seen a fruiting bitter orange for sale online for £25, if I buy this and graft on the mandarin once it's big enough to graft will this mean the mandarin should fruit within a couple of years once the graft is established ?.


texts: How can I propagate raspberry plants from cuttings?

texts: A few years ago I purchased five raspberry plants and since then all but one of them have died. I would like to take as many cuttings as I can from this plant and root them to replace what I've lost. What are the steps to take in order to do this?


texts: What to do with my baby pineapple: Parenting 101

texts:
I'm having a baby pineapple plant - it has been growing pretty well.

At this point the pineapple seems to become too heavy, the plant is leaning towards a side and the stick on which it is attached feels a bit softer than usual. Not in an extreme matter though.

I'm unsure what to do with it? Is the pineapple ripe for harvesting and should I just cut it off? How do I see that he is ready? Should I then use the top of the baby to get a new plant?

What to do with the old plant? Remove the stick? There are also smaller baby plants (without a stick) growing on the side of the mother plant. Should I just pull these out and put them in a separate pot?

Thanks in advance.

I attach another image to get a clearer view of the pineapple itself:


texts: Will shaving the top of a Red Maple's roots hurt the tree?

texts:
We have a large Red Maple tree in a large back yard. The roots have pushed up the concrete on a walkway.  I have a friend who wants to practice concrete work for his university class and is willing to pull up and re-pave this section, but the top of the root will need to be shaved down so that the concrete doesn't have a large bulge in it.  I'm estimating that it is a section of about 4 feet long (this is how wide the path is).

Would this hurt the tree?


texts: Is it feasible to grow a thistle inside?

texts:
Is it feasible to grow/plant any species of thistle in a pot inside?
I've always found thistles beautiful, both the bulb, the flower and the spiky leaves. I've tried googling, but all results are about outdoor growing and control. Maybe I lack the right keywords as an amateur.


texts:
I moved in February from Montreal to Toronto with my snake plant in a car (that's the first picture color and shape, the second and third picture to show the difference today).

It was doing fine until a couple of months ago where its leaves started getting wrinkly and losing color.
I was worried I over-watered it so I held back a bit in hopes it recovers, which seemingly it did as I repotted it a week ago as I felt its roots were too confined (gladly, all roots were dry and no signs of mold or mushiness) but I don't think it has been doing better.
I'm confused with everything I read online about root-rot and being pot-bound but they were really all cluttered with few inches extra in diameter before repotting.
Thanks for reading and I really appreciate your help!

Ps, the white stuff in the pot in the second picture are egg shells as recommended by a friend.


texts: Bluberries start to turn yellow and then brown

texts: I water them and the soil's always moist, though not sopping wet so as to avoid root rot, but for some reason, they keep turning yellow then brown.  Slowly my bush is going to be nothing, what do I do, it's my first time growing blueberries.


texts: Is this Cutthroat Seep? Panicum Abscissum

texts:
I'm in Highland County Florida.

Is this Cutthroat Seep (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panicum_abscissum) ?

And this which is another lot nearby and seems different.

By comparison to what others online say is for sure Cutthroat Seep :


texts: How Can I Make Sure These Gerkins will Produce Fruits?

texts: I planted the seeds of these gherkins and they all grew. I then planted them into a larger pot but they've grown very big now and the pot is quite tight for them. I want to transplant them but I also don't want to upset them while they're having flowers. However I'm worried that they won't have any fruits due to lack of space to grow well. So far a few of the flowers have dried and fallen off. What would you recommend?


texts:
I have started a new embroidery project and have been looking for real-life flowers which match the one in my project.

I found one like this, which seems to sort of match and which I really like the coloring of, but I don't know the name of it. What's this purple flower called?


texts:
I ran across someone mentioning a list of plants that could be trellised to save space in the garden. The list included plants I think make sense, like peas and tomatoes and beans. But melons were included in that list, which I thought was kind of strange.

I know that they're a vine plant, but there's no way it could support the fruit hanging from it. So how would you trellis a melon plant?


texts:
I have a new lawn that is infested with moles. The new sod must be prime real estate for them. I'm looking for peoples' advice on how to get rid of them.

What I've tried so far:

A pesticide to remove their food. After about a month, that does not seem to have had any effect.
Setting rat and mouse traps with pepperoni (yes I read that somewhere). Trap is tripped every day but it could be from anything.

I've read many things about what to do when you catch the mole in the act. I've never seen them active and I'm not confident that I will. My life isn't such that I can spend the day staring at the lawn.

Can anyone share something that's worked for them?

EDIT (4 years later): I wanted to let people know how I eventually got rid of them for good. Whenever I saw a mound, I'd first root around with a hose until I found the burrow and got the water running smoothly down the hole. My theory was this ensured the burrow was open and not blocked off. If I could not get water flowing I'd abort. Then I just used some of those off the shelf smoke sticks. After doing that 4-5 times they were gone for good. This solution is so easy and cheap I'd recommend anyone give it a try.


texts:
I have had this Cussonia for couple of years. As you can see on the picture, the branches grew somewhat unevenly (I marked the branches with a blue line). I am thinking how to trim it, so the bonsai won't become unbalanced and overgrow the space I have for it.
I was told by the store that I should trim it from time to time. However I am not sure how to do it. The main branch of the longest branch already developed a thick layer so no new branches can come out of it. I'm worried cutting it in the middle will cause this long branch to stop growing at all.


texts: How can i recover an Aloe plant with root rot?

texts:
I’ve had an aloe plant for 11 years. It’s always been healthy and a lot of new plants sprouted from the original. So, 2 1/2 weeks ago, I decided to repot them as they were all getting too big to share a pot. They all seemed pretty healthy and I planted them using a potting mix for succulents. I watered them once a couple of days after replanting them and then, last week, I went away for a few days. When I came back, their leaves were all very thin and droopy, and some of them had started to turn brown. My housemate told me she’d been watering them while I was away, so I took them out to examine them as I feared they’d been overwatered and, unfortunately, I was right.

All of their roots were rotten - absolutely black and very soft. It had travelled almost all the way up the stem. Do you think there’s any chance of salvaging them? I know some people would think they’re just plants and I can get a new one, but I’ve had my original aloe for 11 years and she has a lot of sentimental value.


texts: Does anyone have any pointers on battling Japanese Knotweed?

texts: A reoccurring client has asked me to remove Japanese Knotweed from one of her properties. I told her this is a huge undertaking and that if she really wanted it gone I would need to bring in a backhoe. She’s wasn’t into it, for she is selling the property. I told her I would do what I could but no promises. My new plan is to lay down some 2ozWCF, top soil, and mulch it. Figure the roots will move from the area and as long as someone keeps the lawn mowed it should vacate.  really this is wistful thinking. Anyone have any pointers? Whoever the dink it who decided it was a good idea to line our highways with it...


texts:
I moved some tomato seedling to their own cups from their starting cells (seeded two plants to a cell) about three days ago. I noticed that some of the leaves on the plants are curling in and on closer inspection it looks like some veins on the leaves look white and bit puffy. Seems to affect a bit of the stem as well. I’ve been growing them inside til now, have started hardening them today. This seems to be an issue with maybe a third of the plants

Is this an issue and are there any steps I should take to deal with it? Should I isolate them from the healthy looking plants, pinch off leaves, etc., or is it just overwatering or shock?


texts: Fiddle fig transplant cutting and rooting

texts:
So I have a 7ft fiddle fig plant that I purchased around six months ago. It grew around 5 feet since I got this and I would like to transplant it into the pot that you can see in the picture next to it.

I did create drainage holes.
I just want to know what soils I should use and should I use any rocks or something for a first layer under the soil.

Also I want to cut it down a little like 2 feet or so.
I would like to know where I should cut it and if I could root it and then plant it in the same pot once the cutting gets roots or can I plant it together right away?


texts:
My avocado tree has been growing for a year just in the last few days the top has started to droop and bend over sideways the rest of the tree looks healthy but my healthy leaves are falling off. I thought I was over watering it so I cut back but it hasn't helped now the leaves are curling under and turning brown. Please help me
I'm using miracle grow potting soil and it gets plenty of sunshine


texts: Should I pinch my blueberry bushes for the first year?

texts:
I know you're supposed to pinch strawberry plants for their first year. That way you have higher yields of strawberries the following years because the roots have been able to fully develop during that first year.

Does the same hold true with blueberry plants? Would I need to pinch off the blossoms during the first year I've planted them?


texts:
I obtained this small tree from a friend. It has spiky, shiny leaves, soft to the touch, and delicate stems. New leaves are lime green, gradually darkening as they grow larger. Older leaves are broad at the base and narrow as they get closer to the tip. The original trunk was cut, revealing a hollow center, almost like bamboo.

EDIT:

I've owned the plant for about 1 year, and in that time it hasn't produced fruit or shown any signs of flowering. Broken branches placed in water haven't grown roots. I live in Southern Canada, and I'm reasonably certain the plant is tropical or semi-tropical (not native).


texts: Is just adding a new soil layer on top of existing soil good for creating a new plant bed?

texts:
I want to create a small area (2 square meters) for new plants and/or seedlings. I need to raise a level in that area a little (for overall garden design purposes), and I plan just to put 30cm / 1ft high layer of mixture of soil and compost to that area.

In pictures:

(the existing grass would be mowed prior to adding the new layer)

Is this plan good or bad? Do I miss something? Will the existing grass, and its roots, negatively impact new plants?


texts: How long does Symphytum orientale, white comfrey, live?


texts: What is the difference between the VIVOSUN and VIVOHOME seedling heat mats?

texts: Here are links to the VIVOSUN and VIVOHOME.  They look the same?


texts: What type of gloves should be worn when dealing with cacti?  Standard gardening gloves seem to offer little protection.  Leather work gloves offer more protection, but end up attracting and collecting smaller spines that might cause skin irritation.


texts: How do I control the broadleaf weeds taking over my centipedegrass lawn?

texts:
I have a lawn that was neglected for a long time - I've done a fair share of Weed-n-feed for a few months, but the weeds continue to prosper in the lawn.  I know the soil is great (rich, moist, black dirt), but the weeds seem to be really well-established.  In trying to weed a few I've found massive root systems going 8-12 inches into the dirt.

The little bit of grass I have is centipede, so many of the weed products can't be used on my lawn.  I'd like to keep centipede if possible - it grows well in my climate and I like the maintenance involved.

Where do I start?  Would I be better of spraying the entire effected area with round-up and starting over?


texts: If I plant strawberry plants in the fall, would I still need to pinch the flowers for the first year?

texts:
For strawberry plants, I know you're supposed to take the flowers off of them for the first year (pinch them) so that they focus on developing the plants rather than the fruits. Then the fruits following will be better because of it.

If I plant strawberries in the fall, would that be enough time for them to get established, and then they would be able to produce fruit in the following summer? Or would it still be better to pinch the flowers for that first year? They're june-bearing strawberries if that matters.


texts: Can a topworked female pistachio tree be pollinated by grafting a male bud or scion?

texts:
If one has female pistachio trees coming into bearing age, can they be pollinated by grafting a male bud or scion onto a topworked female?

If so, assuming it's done early in grafting season and with more than one scion to improve the rate of survival, could it pollinate by the first season?


texts: How can I control growth on a steep hill?

texts:
I have a steep hill on one side of my home (20' down x 100' across) that is a pain and unsafe to mow. The top of the hill flattens about 10' from my home and the bottom is an unfinished lot that isn't maintained. The problem is that anyone turning on my road can see the hill prominently so I'd rather it not go wild.

What can I do to keep it under control without having to mow or weed constantly?

I live in the upper midwest and the hill faces the east. Hard landscaping isn't an option given that the bottom of the hill butts up to the property and would be demolished once the neighbor lot is developed.


texts:
I have a heliconia in my rooftop, and surprisingly, is one of the few plants that hasn’t died... yet.
It seems to be healthy with its one orange flower, but it should look nicer (it has lots of dry flowers and leaves). What can I do to maintain it? And how can I prune it?
It lives in my rootop and it receives brutal sun daily.


texts: How can I prevent my arborvitae trees from turning brown and dying every time I plant them?

texts:
I have replaced these Arborvitae trees 4 times.
They keep turning brown. I cut out parts of the trees behind them, so they would get more sunlight. I Am watering them. Could it be a fungus?
How can I keep this from happening?


texts: Night-Blooming Jasmine plant continues to wilt even after treating with baking soda-water spray

texts: I recently purchased some night-blooming jasmine plants. After a week the plants are wilting. I transferred them to new pots with different soil but no improvement noticed. I also sprayed numerous times with baking-soda and water(also mist with just water alone, and yet no improvement. I also checked the roots for signs of rot but found none. Why are they wilting? How can I save them please?


texts: Can you explain what is going on with my little avocado tree?

texts:
I managed to grow an avocado tree from a pit. I transplanted it to a small pot and almost once per week it looks like that:

At some point, the drooping leaves issue happened because it was next to heat source, but then I moved it away and became healthy again. Now almost once per week becomes like that. I am concerned that it may be over-watering or under-watering (with the latter being the better scenario) but I can't really tell. I water every 4-5 days, and when I decide to water it, usually the top soil is dry, while the soil below is not moist but it feels "fresh".
My pot has drainage holes, but also an integrated saucer which kinda concerns me about proper drainage.
What is your opinion and/or ideas?


texts: How to save Lucky bamboo yellow stem due to overpruning HELP

texts:
Hi, Had this lucky bamboo in a water with stones jar for over 3 years already. I made a terrible mistake of over pruning its babies and regrowing them in another jar. I think I took out 3 pieces out of the course of 1 week. It started turning yellow the week after. Cleaned the water and jar, removed the stone, replaced it in water jar and observed but it seems its not regaining its green color. Yellow going down the stalk. Never had problems in the past years just only when I overpruned them

Question:
 1. How to save the lucky bamboo?
 2. the roots combine with another stem (healthy), shall I separate them?

Thanks


texts:
I recently visited a country estate in the UK. The gardens had a number of large beds and the paths through these beds where all lined with low (2 foot or so) fences to create the barrier. The really clever thing was that these "fences" where made up of apple and pear trees, trained to grow along a series of supporting posts. The trees where covered in large, juicy fruit and from what I could tell each tree was trained for 10's of feet in each direction to form the fence.

I have never seen this done before and wondered if anyone here had any ideas for varieties of apple and pear trees that would be suitable to grow in this way to eventually form the main paths of my allotment patch. I am also looking for any suggestion on the best techniques for getting this kind of long low horizontal training?


texts: I understand that earthworms like to live in a cool environment. But I live in a country with a hot climate. How do I keep my wormies cool? Can specific diets help?


texts: How do I prevent Ficus tree roots from invading other areas?

texts: How far can I cut back the roots on my Ficus trees and maintain their life? Is this even possible? They are approximately 20 ft in height and 10 yrs old.


texts: Can you put corn cobs in a compost bin? They seem hard and tough, wondering if they'll break down. I assume that the husk will be just like any other green substance like grass?


texts: I feel my plant looks sad. Does it need more light?

texts: My rubber plant which I bought just a week ago looks sad, does it need more light?


texts: What is this plant growing in my backyard? I believe it's some kind of vegetable

texts:
Does anyone recognize this plant?
I'm on Los Angeles, CA


texts: Grafting black walnut onto English walnut

texts:
I have a healthy three year old English walnut.  It is about 8 feet tall and 5 feet wide.  It was purchased at one of the large home improvement stores (I don't remember which) so the tree itself may actually be grafted onto a black walnut rootstock.  I have read that this is common for trees sold commercially.

On a local property there is a 5-year old chance seedling of a black walnut tree growing out of some old farm equipment.  The property owner plans to tear out the seedling, but is willing to let me take as much of the tree as I want.

I'd like to convert about one third of the tree to black walnut if possible, but I'm wary of damaging an otherwise healthy tree.

How do I graft a branch from the black to the English walnut?
Should I attempt large (1/2 in diameter) branches or just smaller twigs/buds?
When is the best time of year to perform the graft (I have until next spring)?
What type of grafting technique should I use (whip, splice, bark, T-Budding)?


texts:
An areca palm I own has an insect infestation that I've had trouble identifying. I've been unable to locate any non-egg mature examples, only the eggs that tend to be in nooks around the plant, typically under leaves. They look like very tiny white cylinders that tend to be in small clusters around veins.

I removed most of the infestation and sprayed with an insecticide but it seems to be coming back. I need help with identification and figuring out a way to deal with it.

Prior to clearing it out the first time a few leaves had enough of them on some leaves to be visible from a distance, so it may be that these aren't eggs but are mature.


texts: Is it bad to water plants in the evening?

texts: Is it bad to water plants after the sun has gone down or near dusk?  If so, why?


texts: After picking strawberries, how should I prune the fruiting stems?

texts: I have Seascape Strawberry plants. They are day-neutral. Some squirrels and I have eaten the strawberries. What should I do with the stems that have been eaten from? Should they be cut away or will they grow into something useful (more leaves or more strawberries)? The eaten fruiting stems I speak of are the finer claw-like stems in the center of the following photo.


texts: How do I prevent the seeds on my Japanese Maple from falling off?

texts:
I have a 6 ft tall 'Bloodgood' Japanese Maple in my yard. It gets a lot of afternoon Californian sun, but the leaves are a nice color and are healthy.

I wanted to collect some seeds this fall (to try to grow some unique seedlings and the such) and was pleased earlier this year that there were multiple bundles of maple seeds growing.

Come this month, they've all dried up—died immature—and fallen off the tree. Is there any way that next year I can save some seeds and prevent them from falling off prematurely? Or should I just wait for the tree to get older, as it's not very old yet?


texts: Should I pinch off flowers that form on chives?

texts:
I've got chives that are growing like crazy.  Recently, I noticed they are flowering, which I and my wife appreciate for the beauty.  But we also appreciate chives for their taste and answers to other questions indicate that pinching the flowers is advised for herbs to prevent them from maturing.  Is this true of chives as well?

By the way, I noticed in my research that the flowers of chives are edible.  So when I get home, at least one flower will get pinched off!


texts: I haven’t had luck determining what plant this is. I tried googling by leaf shape, pattern, and color to trying to describe its stem/branch.


texts: Can I plant a large tree in a raised bed?

texts:
I'm going to plant two pecan trees. When I plant them, they'll just be pretty small, but will have an ultimate width of between 75 and 100 feet years from now.

Due to flooding issues, I would like to raise them up 8-12", and to prevent dirt from being washed away, I intend to essentially make an wooden raised bed, 2 1/2 ft square, 8-12" tall, and plant the tree on the top of that.

I'm hoping the root system as it grows will grow down and then spread out, but I wanted to double check that the roots won't be damaged by the constraints of the wooden raised bed.

Worse comes to worse, I can just unscrew and remove the raised bed after three years or so, but my question has to do with me leaving the raised bed boards permently in place.

Can I plant a tree in a open-bottomed raised bed, even if it's from a larger tree species?


texts:
I plant several types of mints in my garden but the naming keeps confusing me. There are some types that I thought I know the names but then searching through the Internet shown that the known names are wrong, or may be the information from the Internet was misleading.

Please help me identify the following mints.

Pictures:

A. This seems to be popular and easy to grow but I don't realy know the name. The leaves are pretty thick. The smell and taste are strong and just like the gum.

B. Looks like Peppermint but the leaves seems to be cleaner, thinner and smoother in the surface. This does not smell as menthol, the taste is simple and plain.

C. Looks very similar to 'B' but with purple stems. Very similar to the B in terms of smell and taste. This is far from chocolate as I have chocolate mint in my garden and its leaves are much thicker than this one.

D. Seems to be cat mint, the leaves are pretty thin. The smell of this one is very close to lemongrass


texts: I have an elephant ear plant. I planted it about three months ago, and it has been limp for the last two days. What used to be open and spread out is floppy and all over itself.  It's not yellow. Is it dead?


texts: Is it ok to leave landscape fabric exposed in an area without plants and foot traffic?

texts:
We're thinking of paving the area under our second-story deck but aren't budgeting for it until next year at the earliest.  The area, which is roughly 30 feet by 10 feet, has black lava rock partially covering it right now - because of price and general lack of availability where I live, I've been slowly moving it to the front of the house where the lava rock there was thinning out.

I'm tempted to remove the rest of the rocks under the deck, smooth out the dirt, and cover it up with landscaping fabric to make it easier to deal with weeds in that space in this coming summer.  Because we may pave over this next year, I don't want to deal with the expense and hassle of putting a bunch of mulch down on top of this area.  Would it be a bad idea to leave the fabric exposed like that, knowing that it's out of the way of foot traffic and otherwise isn't being used for plants?  I've seen all sorts of mixed reviews on using landscape fabric, though.  Is there a cheaper way to temporarily deal with this, perhaps leaving things as they are for now and occasionally using a weed control spray?

Here's a photo of the area I'm dealing with:


texts: Need help identifying this pepper. Any help would be appreciated. Got this plant from family when it was a seedling but was given no information.


texts: When I cut my grass their are spots that stop the lawnmower and seem to pull up sections of the grass, it seem to be really thin at those points and those spots turn brown later.


texts: Is it ok to cut tree branches with a jigsaw?

texts:
I know it probably sounds silly. The idea is to cut the branch off the trees with proper tools (tree pruner, pole saw or whatever), that's easy, takes a minute. What is not so time-friendly, is cutting up the branches that are already on the ground. I need them to be in small and manageable pieces to fit in bags so it can be taken away economically as "green waste". I have no intention of buying a chipper at the moment. A chainsaw is overkill, and I wouldn't want to buy a reciprocating saw just for this. For really small branches I'd use secateurs or loppers. Whenever loppers are necessary, and around 2.5-5cm in branch diameter I think it would be faster to use my battery-powered jigsaw.

For example, I have this blade: Bosch t144df

If it's not such a good idea, why?


texts:
I have weeds in my grass lawn. Not an uncommon situation, I understand.

I have a few types of weeds. One type grows like — well, like weeds: quickly and tall. And unsightly. Then there's clover, which is neither tall nor, to my mind, unsightly.

I'm thinking of spreading the clover throughout my lawn in order to crowd out the other weeds. It will, I know, also crowd out my grass.

Will this work? That is, will the clover crowd out the other weeds, eradicating them?
Will it be self-defeating in that the clover, if so plentiful, will grow tall?
Will such a large amount of clover attract many cows bees? (We're not too fond of bees.)
How can I go about doing this?

Related: Do clovers cause any problems?


texts:
I have an Aloe Vera, although I am thinking its not very healthy as its quite limp and thin. I am thinking I need to repot into something larger/deeper. I water it once or twice every week or 2 and try to put it in the sun when I can.
There is a new sprout growing in the middle so I dont think it is dying
any advice will help :)

Thanks


texts: Is this lichen or some other fungus on my palm tree?

texts: I was pulling weeds and noticed the trunk of this palm tree in my backyard has a lot of moss on it. A google search described lichen but I’m not sure it looks the same as what the images of lichen on a palm tree trunk were showing. Can anyone confirm if this in fact lichen or a more harmful moss on my palm tree? I’m not sure what kind of palm tree this is either if anyone knows. I’m in north Florida.


texts: what are the trade-offs between soil blocks and air-pruning trays?

texts:
In the past, I've tried peat pots, the puff-up peat tablets, the cheap flimsy trays for doing starts.

Peat pots don't really let the roots through.
The tablet things are a recurring cost (so are the peat pots, but I made the mistake of buying a big case of them)

I want to invest in something that will last.

I see a couple of options:

Block makers. I like the idea of easy step-ups.
Air pruning trays.
Rootmaker, speedling, star shaped (no brand)
I'm  trying hydroponic pots. They work OK if I cut out the solid circle on the bottom, and enables me to push the seedling out.

What are the trade-offs? The block makers have good reviews in other questions, but I haven't seen much mention of the fancier, air-pruning, trays.


texts: Are large strawberries supposed to be fan-shaped?

texts: My new Gurney's Whopper strawberries are growing large as advertised, but are an odd fan shape. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong? I have here a picture of Gurney's Whopper strawberries with a regular June-bearing strawberry plant for comparison.


texts: Bonsai tree leaves turning brown and falling

texts:
I have Bonsai tree which it's leaves have been turned brown and falling, even the green leaves are falling.

The tree has been kept inside then moved outside, the issue still appearing.

The below remedies have been tried after noticing the falling of the leaves with no improvement :

Change the soil.
Increase the humidity with a air humidifier, after leaves felled ( no improvement ).
Increase light exposure.
Fertilize it with NPK 20 20 20

Bonsai


texts: Is this succulent vine? Or some another plant?

texts: What plant is this and does it grow in water only?


texts: What are these white specks on my petunias?

texts: My petunias have gotten these white specks on them. I can't tell if they are bugs or if it's just debris. Can anyone tell me what this is and how I get rid of them?


texts:
Let's say there is a fruit tree (for example, a plum) that has gummosis. What is going to happen (with the respect to fungi, bacteria, surrounding environment, including roots and soil), if such tree is girdled? (The idea is to create a snag useful for wildlife)

I suppose there are different outcomes depending on the root cause of the gummosis, but is there a positive scenario among those outcomes, worth trying?


texts: What creepers can be grown to cover an entire wall in a southern Californian climate?

texts:
I'm planning on covering the stucco (which has a texture like this) on the back facing walls (faces west) of my house with a creeper. I'd rather the plant not grow any roots on the walls and adhere to the substrate by disks or any other similar mechanism. An obvious choice for this is the Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), which is native to eastern and central USA. However, I'm not sure if the plant grows well in southern California (hardiness zone 10) and I'm looking for alternatives to choose from.

Some traits that I'd like are:

Flowers year-round (or as much of the year as possible). Winters are mild (8–13 ºC or 46–55 ºF) and there is no frost. Fragrant flowers are preferable, but is not a must.
As mentioned earlier, the creepers must not produce root structures on the substrate or in any way damage it. Getting rid of it (if I need to, in the future) should be as simple as clipping the stems at the bottom to cut off all supply and pulling it down.
Should stay flat against the wall instead of growing outwards like a hanging bush.
Should be easy to maintain and not ooze sap or any other icky stuff.
Should grow reasonably fast. The wall is roughly (off the top of my head) 35'x10' (a lot less if you discount for the windows & patio door), and I'd like it covered within 12–18 months (24 months at most).

The general look that I'm aiming for is:

What are some possible choices that I can look into? Will my initial suggestion of Virigina creeper be a good fit for my climate?


texts: At what point do seedlings start to need nutrients?

texts:
A seed has all the food it needs to germinate so water is enough to make it grow, after that though, at what point are minerals and other nutrients needed?

I suspect the time would depend on the type of plant, but is there a general way to explain this?


texts:
Sorry for the pun, couldn't resist.

Recently with all the rain (wish I could send some to Cali, they need it more than we do) I've had a mushroom issue in the back yard. There's a big discolored circle in the middle of the yard, with mushroom caps that grow and sprout on the perimeter of this circle after a heavy rain. The grass in the circle is a few shades darker than the surrounding grass, and the circle seems to be growing slightly larger month by month.

Some quick searches online didn't give me much hope. So far I've just been pulling the mushrooms that sprout to not give more spores any chance, but I realizing I'm only "treating" one very small symptom.  Spiked shoes to aerate? Antifungal application?


texts: Drooping Aglaonema Pictum Tricolour! Need help!

texts:
I've recently rescued 5 Pictum Tricolour at an affordable price from an old lady at the market 4 days ago. They've received two watering so far and have not perked up yet.

Ive chopped up 2 of them because of stem and root damage and the other 3 still seem to be alive.

What I couldn't troubleshoot is how the leaves are all droopy. They are still firm but the structure of the leaves are still flaccid. There were some lower yellow leaves which I cut off but I'm afraid that the remaining leaves will soon turn yellow as well. I got them in regular potting mix which I planted with very well draining mix and a layer of sphagnum moss on the top layer.

Please let me know how to safe them! <3


texts: Why did my orchid change colors from purple to white?

texts:
One year ago, I bought a bright purple orchid in bloom.  One year later it is blooming again, but is stark white.

What caused this and how can I get it back to purple (violet)?


texts: How do I connect a nozzle to a hose that doesn't have a threaded connector?

texts: My garden hose does not have a threaded female connector at the end. In that case, how can I connect a nozzle to the hose? I tried to find if there is any type of threaded connector that can be inserted into the hose to make a connection but couldn't find any. Is there any such kind of connector?


texts: How should I repot these overgrown and delicate plants?

texts:
I've got several plants that are probably overdue to be repotted.  One of them is a cactus with lots of new growth and sharp spines.  And the other is a jade where many more of the cuttings survived than I expected.  With each of these, I can't simply grab the trunk to support it, and particularly with the jade, I worry that the weight of the soil will cause a lot of damage.

With the cactus, I've seen suggestions to wrap it in newspaper.  And with the jade, I may be able to get a knife in there to separate the soil from the side of the pot.

Are there any other tips and tricks that can be used to minimize damage?  Note, the pots are nice, so I don't want to damage them either.

Edit: For those unfamiliar with Jade, it looks like this with leaves that easily separate which can be stuck in the ground and they'll grow a new plant.  I did this with a dozen or so leaves from a dying plant, expecting 3-4 to survive, and almost every one of them survived so I've got a crowding issue:

The cactus looks a lot like this (web site from the pic calls it a Mammillaria gracilis Preiff) and with all the new growth around the sides, I don't think I'll be able to get a knife in there:


texts: What's causing small black dots and holes in the leaves of my potted vegetable plants?

texts:
We planted a bunch of vegetables in different pots for the first time this year. We haven't used any pesticides or fertilizers on them.

We've been noticing little black dots on the pots we planted them in, and on the plants themselves. So far we've only noticed the dots on the yellow squash, zucchini, and cauliflower, but they're also on all of the pots.

The plant leaves also have a bunch of holes in them, and we're not sure if that's normal or not. There are lots of gnat-type bugs flying around the garden all the time.

Can anyone fill us in on what's going on, and how to stop these issues if they're harmful?


texts:
I have an albahaca plant in my rooftop that I water daily. We’re in the Caribbean and it receives full (very strong) sun when the sun’s setting (it’s behind a wall).
I’ve noticed that the leaves are drooping. Also, these plants grow really fast, and as you can see, the plant itself is kinda bare.
Is it possible that it’s receiving too much sun? Maybe I’m watering it too much?
As a rule of thumb, when should I water a basil plant?


texts: Help! Our lemon tree’s leaves are completely curled. They started curling around four days ago or so. We thought it was an under-watering issue, but since a heavy watering nothing has changed (maybe even got worse).


texts: Can I save seeds that already started sprouting for storage?

texts:
I have harvested seeds from a huge squash I grew. I put them i water for a few days. When I now pulled them out to dry them for storage, I see that some have just started sprouting already (the shell is open and the root is visible, up to about 3mm). Can I save these?
I live at 60 deg N, so have to wait until spring to plant anything outside, and I certainly don't have enough indoor space and light for big squash plant(s).
What is my best alternative - just dry them? store in fridge? underwater? can I freeze them? plant them and somehow slow down growth?


texts: Transplant established bulbs in the spring?

texts:
I know I should transplant spring bulbs in the fall.. but I didn't.  There are a bunch of day lilies in the ditch down the road and I'm wondering if I can transplant them right now?

Surely the worst that could happen is that I don't get very vigeroius growth until next year, right?  If the alternative is waiting till this fall to transplant, then why not do it now?