texts:
I've got tomato, basil, rosemary, thyme and peppermint plants. I've read that the rosemary and peppermint are perennials.

How do I prepare my [plants that should live until next year]?

We had our first freeze two nights ago. I'm in central New Mexico, I'm not sure what zone that is, but I'm guessing zones are changing with the climates.


texts: My peace lily plant fell off my shelf and landed on the ground, then stuff fell on the plant. The soil stayed together but the leaves are bent or broken completely what’s the chance of me bringing it back to life?


texts: I brought this plant from a local nursery (Jaipur, India), I put this in a big pot few weeks ago but this is growing really fast. I brought this of around 3 feet and now its around 6 feet. I would like to know name of this plant (looks like a tree now). If anybody know "hindi" name of this plant that would be great.


texts: Cucumber plant turning yellow and babies dying

texts:
I live in Los Angeles and am growing cucumbers in a container. My cukes were going like gangbusters until about a week ago, had probably 10 little baby cukes growing, and then my leaves started turning yellow. The whole plant is light yellow now, with some leaves having turned brown and died. Most of the babies have died off too, though the larger ones have continued growing.

Its been pretty hot here and the plants are in full sun, so I was watering every other day. Investigated the leaves, don't see anything like bugs or mites. Tried a Epsom salt foliar spray but nothing seems to have helped. I also tried some more veggie fertilizer on Tuesday. I eased up on water on Tuesday, and actually haven't watered since then, to see if maybe I was over watering.

I can add some photos later today once I'm home.

Does anyone have any ideas? I have had similar issues with my container zucchini (leaves yellowing and dying), and my tomato plant has a few yellowing leaves at the base and has yet to fruit.


texts:
I'm looking for the best way to get rid of tree stumps.  I have so many on my property that digging them out by hand is almost unreasonable, and I can't get a truck into the back to pull them out.

I've looked at this question, and grinding would probably work well but I'm looking for a less expensive option (it costs about $300 a day to rent a grinder around here). Does anyone have experience with burning out tree stumps?


texts:
I have heard a couple different main approaches. Some suggest potting soil, while I've heard some suggest using sphagnum moss and perlite/vermacile.
Potting soil has the benefit of not needing to disturb the roots when replanting.
If using sphagnum moss, what would you use for your first transplant? Potting soil and compost mix? Anything else?


texts:
The person who gave me this plant, thinks its a variety of Melissa (lemonbalm),
can't find anything similar on the internet,

it has a very pleasant and strong candy smell, something like a mix of Barberry and Mint ( tea will retain the smell )

here's pictures of it in my garden:


texts: What can I do to prevent mold in houseplants?

texts:
I've had several situations where my houseplants get a thin white dry-looking mold growing on the surface of the potting soil.  I live in the desert Southwest of the U.S. Sonoran desert.

I'm diligent in my watering but show restraint and patience.  The dryness can make you water more than you should but the watering frequency is certainly more frequent here.

I've had people tell me it's calcium build up but our water isn't hard.

If I can find a picture later I will update the question with an image.


texts: How and when should hydrangea be trimmed?

texts:
The picture above shows the current condition of Hydrangea plants in need of pruning.

How and when should they be trimmed?


texts:
We have a been vine in the backyard, and are wondering if it's good to eat.

The ruler is in cm, not inches.


texts:
My room temperature is 20-21 °C (68°F) and I plan to put it in front of the window facing east, where the sun rises. But usually where I live there is little actual sunlight: it is usually cloudy, sometimes foggy. Can basil grow in these conditions?

In my location, on January 1st there's 7h:19m of daylight.
Also, after it gets dark, I plan to turn my ceiling lights on and face them onto the plants; the lights would be 8-9 feet away.


texts: Can humans pollinate Catharanthus by hand?

texts:
Can we pollinate Catharanthus without bees or insects? If yes, then how to do it?

Due to the floral structure of the Rosy Periwinkle, they require insects such as butterflies and moths that have long tongues, and serve as better pollinators for this plant. The flowers of the Madagascar Periwinkle are often visited by a wide variety of insects including butterflies, moths, bees and even beetles. Furthermore, other studies have shown that the Madagascar Periwinkle is a very unique species within its family because of its self-compatibility meaning that they are able to pollinate themselves.

But how we can do it if we want to do it?


texts:
I have this "overenthusiastic" orchid since a couple of years, and it just keeps growing and flowering throughout the entire year.

Sometime it gets over 50 or 60 flowers and I don't really know how to balance it.

Any suggestions on how to proceed? I couldn't find a larger orchid pot (the white plastic thing) either.
I also would like to know why it's leaves go into the one direction and the flowers into the other.


texts: Can I re-grow roots from a piece of a trunk cut from my green ash tree?

texts: I have a 3 ft stump of a green ash tree that I pulled out of the ground. I cut 3 root stubs with a chain saw. It's coming from a triple trunk that was rotting out. Is there any way I can regrow the roots where I made the cuts? I'm trying to bonsai the tree. How can I get the roots to grow? The root stumps are 3 inches thick. Thank you.


texts: Will paint thinner poured in the soil kill my tree?

texts: The contractor at my neighbors house was washing out his brushes with turpentine or paint thinner and dumping the liquid right next to my tree. Is my tree going to die? What can I do to help it survive?


texts: How can I grow cold weather crops in a hot climate?

texts: I would really like to grow brocolli, potatoes, blueberries, and/or spinach in Oklahoma (zone 6). But all my previous attempts have failed miserably. Does anyone have pointers on how to do this, or should I just give up? Even tomatoes are difficult to grow down here, because the summer heat can be brutal.


texts: Can plants in soil less culture (rockwool, coir) survive on a nitrate based nutrient solution without ammonium?

texts: I have studied nutrient composition of fertilizers. Most soil fertilizers contain an about equal amount of nitrate and ammonium as a source of nitrogen, while most soil less fertilizers contain more nitrogen as nitrate while the rest is ammonium. Ammonium nitrogen is converted in the soil by bacteria using root exudates (mainly sugars) to turn the ammonium into nitrate. This process uses root exudates provided by the plant and thus needs energy. It is therefore advised to use nitrate based fertilizer solutions for hydroponic crop production. However all the hydroponic fertilizers I have seen so far do at least contain some ammonium. What is the reason? What would be the downside of only supplying nitrogen from nitrate? Are there other reasons plants grown in soil-less media need ammonium?


texts: Is this mold? Should i move those plants out of my bedroom?

texts: This white stuff started to show up on my plants. I am worried it might be mold and could not be so great for the air in my bedroom.


texts: Can I save my Avocado tree from the extreme heat?

texts: I live in Arizona. I have a 2 year old avocado tree in a pot, not in the ground. Last week it was exposed to the extreme heat wave that hit us. I made sure the soil was moist every day. Twice a week I use the pond's backwash to water it. This week the leaves are brown and drooping. Can I save it? Should I bring it inside? I have it under a shade umbrella but it still gets sun in the afternoon. Is it too late?


texts: What should the watering schedule for garlic be to ensure optimal growth?

texts: I'm wondering if I should personally water garlic every day in the spring, or just let mother nature take care of it for the most part so it can grow big quickly, then allow it to do its own stuff over the summer/fall.


texts: Which style of weeding tool for small, densely planted flower beds and raised gardens?

texts:
I bought a house with beautiful landscaping: small flowerbeds and decorative shrubs and trees, tucked away in various corners of a hilly, rocky lot. The flower beds are very densely planted.

There are a lot of hand-hoes, cultivators and weeders out there - japanese nejiri gama, dutch hoe, korean ho-mi, Cape Cod weeders, three-prong claws of numerous styles, aluminum traditional hand-hoes/cultivator, asparagus knife -  does anyone have any experience with the different types, and can offer a comparison?


texts:
Here are some bush peas and chard with odd discoloration on the leaves:

What's going on here, and how do I fix it?


texts: Where, when, and how can I plant magnolia trees?

texts:
I'd like to plant a magnolia tree at the edge of the garden where it meets the concrete of an adjacent parking lot. There is clear morning sun. Light from the South and West is somewhat obstructed by other threes.

How can I go about this in such circumstances? What is a decent minimum distance for planting such a tree from where the concrete begins? What distance should be kept from other tees? What size of plant should I look for and what is a good time to plant it?

I've seen white and purple magnolias that both blossom in Central Europe around early April. Could I even plant one of each kind (color) and expect both to grow next to each other to similar size?

The location is Central Europe (zone 6). In terms of size and and flowers, this and that is roughly what I have in mind.

UPDATE: Here is a sketch of the situation. An ashed rectangle indicates the approx. size of a car. It's visitor parking space and usually not all slots are taken. Up is East. I thought it would be nice to plant a magnolia tree close to the corner of the parking lot (and perhaps a second one to its right.)


texts: what is the difference between biannual plants and biennial plants

texts: Actually I don't know the difference. I have tried to now the difference between the two but I couldn't that is why I came to this website. Please I need to know because it is part of my agricultural science assignment.


texts: Lack of Blossom and Fruit on my Plum Tree!

texts:
I have a plum tree that is meant to be self pollinating. I have had it for four years, but when I bought it it was 5 years old. The first two years I had an abundant crop of plums. But for the last two years there has been no sign of any blossom, and last year no plums at all. I have a column apple tree also and both years it has produced plenty of blossom and fruit, so the soil seems to be fine for that tree. The last two years the Winter has not been too bad, 3 and 4 years ago we had a huge amount of snow. This year it has been quite mild, so I do not think it is due to frost. What is going wrong, my 5 year old daughter misses picking fresh, delicious plums off the tree!?

It is a Plum Opal, Fan trained - definitely self fertile. The Rootstock is described as St Julien A and Pixy. The plum is positioned alongside a wooden fence and faces full sun for a large proportion of the day. It has never been allowed to dehydrate, but is also on the top of a slight incline, so not in standing water either. The leaves are healthy and there are plenty of small side shoots growing, just no evidence of blossom. I have not pruned it this year, but did so last June.


texts: What is this spring white-flowering shrub?

texts:
This delicate-looking shrub has been in flower for a couple of weeks, although I suspect it would normally flower later; we've had an exceptionally mild spring here in Shropshire, UK.

I've seen it used in a garden hedge, but the top had these long spires, too. The tiny flowers (barely 5mm / 1/4in) are very lightly scented later in the day.

The second picture is from almost exactly a year ago, which was very cold. You can see it's quite well-estabalished. We moved to this house in September 2017.

Thank you.


texts: My daughter is old enough now to be able to access this plant in the garden and since its berries look just like blueberries, I just chopped the whole thing up because I don't know what it is. I'm in the Pacific Northwest. I could add that it has a thick stalk around 2" (4 stalks worth shown in the 2nd photo) and it comes up every year.


texts: What is a shade tolerant, low ground-cover that can tolerate foot traffic for between bluestone pavers?

texts:
We have an irregular bluestone walkway leading to our back door. Spacing between the stones varies from 1.25cm to 3.75cm. Though on the south side of the house, heavy deciduous tree cover shades the area for most of the day, permitting "direct" exposure for about 2hrs in starting mid-morning.

We would love to get something established between the stones, but don't really know what would be good choices. Ideally the plant would be well behaved and not creep out too far over the stones, but that wouldn't be a deal breaker.

Suggestions?


texts: Does anyone know what the white spots (see picture below) in mint leaves are?

texts: The mint plants grown in pots has some white mold type deposits on the leaf. See picture below. Does anyone know what it is?


texts:
Just for the fun of it I threw a kumquat seed in a pot, and it has actually grow quite a bit. I know you should ideally graft cuttings onto rootstock and not start from seed. But I just did it for the fun of it.

Now I wonder if I should start pruning it? When I transplanted It to the current pot I cut the top of cuz I lost many roots moving it, so it has now got two main branches.
While it has grown quite tall (about 1meter) it's not thicker than a pencil.

Should I cut it down, or let it continue growing?


texts: What kinds of grape vines will grow in northeastern Turkey's cold climate?

texts: What kind of grape vines could grow in a cold climate, 4 months winter, temperatures of -20 °C, altitude 1000m. In Northeast Turkey climate is not compatible with grape vines that we know.


texts:
I recently planted several types of chilli including the insanely hot Carolina reaper. Now the plants are doing well and one is producing a lot  chilli fruits.

However the fruits have not even started turning red and some have been around for more than a month. I am worried if I leave it longer they might become mushy and unusable. The chillies are also getting quite huge and even though I use them in cooking I only need a small amount at a time, these chilli's are low grade tear gas.

Note that I planted some Ghost chili with this(pale white variety) and they are also fruiting and turning paler.

Some background about the growing conditions.

Chilli plants are housed in a grow cage with a shade netting(lets
90% light through), I live in Sydney west where we are seeing
temperatures of 40 degree centigrade and the sun can be deadly
scorching at times. UV index is normally between High and extreme during summer. More information here
moist not wet
I feed them PowerFeed fertiliser every 1-2 weeks. This fertiliser works wonders on my other plants but since I am still a light green thumb I am worried about being over eager in my care of my plants. The fertiliser product can be viewed on this product page.
Here is the Typical Analysis:

Nitrogen (N) 14.0%.
Phosphorus (P) 1.4%
Potassium (K) 9.0%

Questions:

Are Carolina Reaper always suppose to turn red? Could it be I have a green variety? Have not seen anything on the net about this.
Generally speaking how long does it take for chili to mature.
Could the fertiliser be providing an problem by providing a unbalance in nutrients?
Maybe I should move them into direct sunlight as they are not established and not going to scorch to death.


texts: What should general PH and nutrient levels be for new planting bed after amendments?

texts: I am planting a salad garden with lettuces, kale, spinach, root crops, pole beans, tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. So many different PH level requirements and such for different plants are confusing me because I have grown them all together before successfully.  This will be the first time getting a soil test done through the University of Florida this week.  I just don't have any idea what to do with the information.  After I have added rich compost, worm castings and rock dust to my existing garden bed (4'x12') what levels of nutrients and PH should I aim for overall? Zone 9b, Florida.


texts: My aloe plant has been turning brown for several months. I can’t tell if I’ve been overwatering or underwatering it.


texts: what is this plant which has leaves like flower?

texts: I found this plant in a garden near my office. I was so amused I took a picture and thought I would ask you all.


texts: Why does my house plant have brown leaves?

texts:
Why does my house plant have brown leaves scattered all around? I water it when it's dry, it gets enough sunshine. It's growing fine as the vines are getting longer. But the brown leaves won't stop coming. Maybe I shouldn't be doing this, but I cut the brown leaves off and they come right back. What am I doing wrong?

There are no rocks at the bottom and no fertilizer. I do water it a lot. It's a hanging plant as well. I use water from my kitchen faucet, as I do with all my other plants, and I have no issues with them at all.


texts: Is waking up a plant or a tree in winter harmful for it?

texts:
As it is winter, even by keeping my bonsai Zelkova indoors, it losts most of its leafs. For a week or so, I let it outside during the day for it to take the sun.

Now, it's already producing new leafs.

Is it harmful for the tree to not let it "sleep" in winter and to have it produce leafs all year long? Can it be exhausting for the tree?


texts: What kind of Syngonium species or cultivar this plant is?

texts:
I have a Syngonium or commonly known as Arrowhead vine but I cannot really decide which species or cultivar it is.
Based on its coloration and texture it looks like a Syngonium White Butterfly but by the leaf shape it looks like something else. I have an actual Syngonium White Butterfly which is even larger than this one. The main differences:

On the plant in question the leaves are much narrower and elongated. Even the very young ones at the bottom that were propagated form leafless cuttings. My White Butterfly has definitely wider leaves.
These leaves has very noticeable lobes.

PlantNet app could not tell for sure, it says it is either one of these:

Syngonium auritum
Syngonium podophyllum (White Butterfly)

Could it be simply a mature Syngonium podophyllum although the young leaves seem to be different as well. Does anyone have any idea what plant it can be?

Here are some pictures.

Full plant

Close-up on newest leaf. Notice the overlapping lobes.

Another close-up.

Oldest leaf in dark green with large lobes.


texts: How to treat a Beaucarnea recurvata wounded at the base of the trunk?

texts:
I have recently relocated a Beaucarnea recurvata in the garden.

In the process the plant got wounded and I am worried about its survival. Earlier the ball (caudex) was in contact with a 2 feet wooden plant, its roots were going through it and then reached soil.

During the shifting it got detached from the wooden plant and at its new location the plant is in direct contact with the soil. What should I do to make sure this plant survives?

You can see the wounds in the image below.


texts: Is it possible to grow an indoor tea plant?

texts:
It is at all possible to grow tea plants, particularly something like Camellia sinensis, not herbal teas, indoors with special lighting?  Specifically, I'm not taking about starting tea seedlings and the transplanting outside, but solely growing the plant indoors (from seed to mature plant).

I live in North Dakota (hardiness zone 4), where I am far away from ever seeing a tea plantation outside my window, so (to the best of my knowledge) there isn't any way I would be able to plant tea outside.


texts: What kind of chili plant is this? I bought this chili plant from the market today but don't know what kind of chili it is. Any ideas?


texts: Noticed these fuzzy little balls clumped together in my pot. Its not a root. The other holes have very very very small white dots in the soil almost like little tiny specs of mold or eggs. Should it be alright or should I do something about it?


texts: Where can I find information about root structure (morphology) of horticultural plants?

texts: It is extremely important to know information about the root structure to avoid belowground competition when growing stuff in tight space. However, it seems that such information is very hard to be found on the Internet. Is there any online database, book or whatever other sources that contain comprehensive information about plant root (of common horticultural plants and crops)?


texts: This purple flower was photographed in the garden of an acquaintance and no one seemed to recognize it. Can anyone identify? (Sorry for the weird perspective on the photo, I didn't take it)


texts: Important features in an automated grow system

texts:
Hello fellow enthusiasts.  Lately, I have been working on building out my own open source/open hardware grow room automation kit as I was really frustrated at the high price tag on anything in the market that had decent features.  Right now the system is setup to monitor temp and humidity.  I am currently adding in fire/smoke sensors and alerts that will email me if the room lights on fire.  I am also adding the ability to control lights(this should be quick and easy the backend is setup to support it I just need to hook another extension cord into a relay and run it into my room.  It will also have the ability to email you if the light does not kick on when it should.

The point I was trying to get to here is I would like to know what you guys think are the most important feature of systems like this?  What types of things is it most important to you that it can control?  I am also working on building a client for the system that will show the current status of sensors/appliances, will have graphs with live data showing environmental stats of the grow room and all sort of other things.  I'm working to make this as user-friendly and cheap as possible so that any home user who doesn't want to drop $2000 on a system that just monitors humidity and temp can afford to automated much of their tasks in the grow room.  I would also like to give the system the ability to change out the water in my hydroponics system and handle ph balancing and nutrient dosages but that is a very long-term goal. Let me know what you guys think and thanks in advanced for any feedback!


texts:
We've got a lot of lawn that we don't use (maybe 150x35') and I don't love mowing.  (Last year we let this area grow out into 24" tall grasses.)  I like the idea of getting a bunch of wildflower mix and just turning that land over to some self-seeding annuals, but how would that work?

I've read some articles that say I would need to till the soil before planting wildflower seeds.  Using a walk-behind tiller over that area sounds exhausting (I did exactly that on our nearby 50x30' garden).  If tilling is necessary, are there any ways to make that easier on myself?  Is the goal of tilling to remove the root system of the grass & weeds, or just to provide enough space for the wildflowers to get a start?

I've noticed the golf course on my way to work has torched a large space - presumably to prep the site for new grass or something.  Could I do the same?

In short, what are my options?  Has anyone done this before?

Edit: answering some questions:

I haven't set a budget, but I would like to keep the entire cost under $500 (preferably ~$250)
we're in northern Vermont on the warmer end of zone 3, nearly 4
our soil is silty clay loam - we live on the sides of an old river valley
our aesthetic preferences run toward the organic side - we don't need to have everything neat & trim & tidy.


texts: How late into fall is perennial transplanting viable?

texts:
What is the generally rule of thumb (if there is one) for transplanting perennials?  I have a bunch of hostas to divide and transplant.  I could wait until spring, but wondering how late into fall I could get away with it.

I live in Vermont, Plant Hardiness Zone 5a/5b.  I am mostly talking about hostas, lillies and other hardy plants.


texts: Is this cactus being overwatered, underwatered or ill?

texts:
Can anyone please tell me what’s up my with my cactus?

Is it being underwatered, overwatered or disease? Or could it be cold?
Thank you very much!


texts:
A few months ago I asked a what kind of plant my office plant is and how to take care of it. I got a clear answer on that recently, but I just discovered orange spots on some of the leaves (NOT ALL!).

I've made 2 photos to give you a clearer idea of what I mean.

Does someone know what those spots are (and if they are dangerous or something)? And does it need some kind of a cure?


texts: Its about 6 ft tall, not sure what it is, want to tear it out.


texts: How do I deter a pesky groundhog from eating my vegetables?

texts: I woke to see my zucchini, yellow squash and sunflower leaves "gone". Are there any proven suggestions on how to keep groundhogs away? I do have a 3 ft chicken wire fence around my garden area. I don't know where the groundhog's home is. I have a trap set but would like some suggestions on things to spray or put on leaves or in garden.


texts: Are there methods to grow adventitious roots at an arbitrary point of the stem?

texts:
Tomato plants are known to grow adventitious roots.  I experienced it myself when a forgotten stem lied on the soil for a while.

Now I am curious if there are methods to cultivate such roots, other than that ?  That is, to make roots grow at an arbitrary location on the stem ?

I was thinking of tricks like a bag of water or soil, but it doesn't seem very convenient.


texts: Is Plant Still Safe to Eat If Mysterious Mushroom Grew in the Same Planter?

texts:
Two days ago I noticed a mysterious and short-lived mushroom in my planter that is housing a flowering "Carnival Blend" bell pepper plant.

Yesterday it looked like this:

Today the mushroom is dead and I can barely see any remnant of it.  Some caterpillar was eating it and it seemed to have a quick lifecycle (I don't know much about mushrooms and came to that conclusion because it sprouted and fanned out in two to three days).

Are the peppers and other nearby plants still safe to eat?

I use a lot of home-dug "forest dirt" in my bed and planters so seeing a mushroom doesn't surprise me.  I'm curious as to whether others think I even worry too much about this.


texts: Why does my Passion Fruit Creeper grow best in autumn and early winter?

texts:
I live in Cape Town South Africa, which is a Mediterranean climate (similar to Southern California, I think). I'm growing a Passion Fruit creeper. Now I assumed this would grow best during summer (with a bit of watering).

I've noticed, for the second year now, that the creeper grows best from about April to May which is actually our Autumn going into winter. How can this be? The sunlight is weaker and the temperature is colder; it doesn't make sense to me.

The only thing I can think of is that it enjoys the higher relative humidity at this time of year. In summer it's dry here and in winter it's cool and humid but never freezing.

Any ideas or is this just an anomaly?


texts: What fungus is this? It looks like baby-mushrooms.


texts: What types of sorghum works well for syrup and sugar cane?

texts: I'm wanting to grow sorghum next year, and the stuff I purchased for this years growing season is doing very poorly (height/thickness wise). What type of sorghum should I plan to grow a plot of next year for stalks (not grain)? I'm thinking about lowering the dirt area with mounds about 3-6" to have a large flooding water catchment for the grass to grow in.


texts: Narrow-leaved prunus laurocerasus wants to become wide-leaved! What to do?

texts:
This spring I planted a narrow-leaved prunus laurocerasus (it could be Otto Lycken cultivar, but I am not positive). It started well and strong. However, the summer in my area was very hot and dry, and the plant was visibly shaken throughout summer months - a lot of leaves dropping, new leaves appearing. At some point it even bloomed, so it was strong, but still confused, and it still looks as if suffered a lot.

And about a month ago, a strange thing happened: New leaves started appearing from the base of the plant - and they are not narrow any more! They look like those from common prunus laurocerasus.

I have no clue what to do. Should I remove new leaves? Should I remove old leaves? Or should I just leave the plant as is and let the nature do the selection?

This is overall present look of the plant:

(branches used to be full of narrow leaves - now there are just some at the tops; at the center of the lant you can see new wide leaves)

Wide leaves at the base of the plant:

Narrow leaves at the top of the plant:


texts: Date palm just growing in height but not getting a trunk

texts:
I've been growing a date palm for about eight years now (time goes by fast...) and it works out pretty well.

If I hold it up, the largest branch/leaf is about 2m (~6 feet) in height and it grows in my room.

The problem is: The palm doesn't have a trunk. So I stabilized the plant with a wooden stick to prevent it from bending down totally. The leafs/branches start about 10cm over the soil.

The pot is quite large and I think it still has space for the roots.

Does anybody know what I can to do make the palm more stable and self-stabilizing?

Here's a pic of my plant:


texts:
My bougainvillea plant hardly flowers and only at the tips. It has one very long vertically growing stem(if I may call it so).

Is this an example of apical dominance. If so how is it to be corrected? Do I have to cut the long step?
Days are long and it is monsoon in India.
It receives 3 hours of direct sunshine in the morning, and ample ventilation continuously.
It is watered with nearly 500 cc every afternoon.
I have already employed means like trimming, pruning etc. with no avail.
Do I have to cut the stem?


texts: Why is there this white spot on this banana tree?

texts: What is causing this white spot on this banana tree?


texts: How can I keep plants from drying, when shifted from shade to bright sunlight?

texts: Recently I had to (re)shift certain plant pots (kept in a shaded area from a while (an year or so)) to a bright area. Earlier the plants leaves had turned dark green in shade probably due to their high chlorophyll content. Due to some reasons I had to shift the plants in a bright sunshine lit area again and white and yellow patches along with de-colour-a-tion patches are appearing on the leaves more so in Aloe Vera, Stone-Apple and Neem plants. (what is the reason to this?) Also new leaves have stopped appearing. What deficiency sign is plant showing. It may not be underwatering, as if i over water plants I see complete yellowing and falling of leaves. Will I be loosing plants as summers appear, since it's only winter here. What can be done ?


texts: Looking for a plant that resembles a giant woody dandelion

texts:
I used to have a plant growing in my backyard that resembled a seeding dandelion in the fall, but 3 feet tall. It had a single, straight, woody stem that I'm pretty sure was hollow. I think the spherical head was composed of many smaller flowers, but I also doubt it was an allium.

This was in Cincinnati, Ohio, but it may not have been native to the area; my mom could have planted it. (She doesn't remember it at all, now.)

Failing that, what are some plants that resemble giant seeding dandelions?


texts: What is this houseplant with variegated leaves that thrives growing in water?

texts:
A friend who was moving away left it with me; he had no idea what it is.  It's currently growing in a glass mason jar of water - and has grown to an impressive size doing so - and I'm trying to figure out if I should just leave it in the jar or give it some dirt in a new pot.

Click on photo for full size


texts: Why is it a problem to use manure as a fertilizing amendment over the long term?

texts:
I had my soil tested last fall. As part of the submission I checked the box that said I use manure as a soil amendment / fertilizer.

In the results from the lab, they included a note that said that manure is a good source of many necessary nutrients, but it is not a good idea to rely on it as the sole source of nutrients over the long term.

Unfortunately they didn't say why. What's wrong with adding a bit of manure to my garden every year? (I have vast amounts of horse manure at my disposal.)


texts:
We’ve had an acer for almost 4 years, reasonably well established we thought.
Last November we had the acer pruned to improve the shape a little.
All the new growth this year is wilting.  See pictures, is this common after pruning or something we should be concerned about?

Bit of a novice on the subject so appreciate any advice if we need to take some action?
Thanks in advance


texts: What is the disease that affects my plants?

texts: I'm in Brisbane (Australia) and I water my plants on regular basis. Unfortunately, recently I noticed that something is destroying them and I wondering if you could help identify what that is.


texts:
I neglected an aloe plant for about a year without water but by the window.

It was still alive!

Quite curious about how hardy this plant is. How long can it really last without water?


texts: I would like to plan plantation of tea. I would like to know how much tea a tea tree would yield. What is the quantity / frequency?


texts: ID this semi-invasive, large ferny plant?

texts:
Can anyone tell me what this plant is? I originally thought it was a "tree fern", but a friend explained to me that if it doesn't have a trunk, it's not a tree fern. I still believe it is some kind of fern, but looking all over the internet I can't find a fern that looks like this one. It isn't hard to control using the clippers-and-trowel method, so I'm not looking for advice on chemicals to kill it. I am just curious what to call it.

Details: It seems quite happy here in Calif. (SF bay area) zone 9b. It never forms a central trunk, but just spreads out underground and covers an ever widening territory with new stems. Main stems start out green, furry, and sticky, round cross section, and they turn coppery colored with age. Stems never get thicker than about a half inch, and grow to a height of between 3 and 6 ft.

  Edit Most of the IDs suggested here so far don't look to me like my fern because of the following additional info I neglected to
  mention before:

  1) The texture of the leaves is not like many other ferns which have a
  brittle, shiny, plastic-y surface. These leaves are a little bit soft
  and slightly furry something like the texture of string-bean leaves.

  2) The main stems have quite a length at the bottom which is bare,
  hairy but with no leaves attached, as shown in the last photo.

  3) The growth habit of this plant is unlike most of the pictures I see
  on the internet of ferns that grow in dense clumps. My fern sends up
  single stems. They must be connected underground, but above ground
  they are all separated from each other by quite a few inches. Like
  this...

Photos:

baby fronds not yet unfurled

branching pattern

close up of cut stem

underside of leaves with spores (you can barely see them, but click on picture to enlarge)

Here is a typical single frond that I cut off close to the ground. Total height is about 5'7", ground to tip.


texts: My cilantro seedlings have grown a lot of true leaves and the cotyledons have grown big. Can I cut off cotyledons? Do they fall off?


texts:
I have a Thuja plicata "Green Giant" that has a crooked trunk.
 Is it doomed to have issues at some point? Is there anything special I should do when I plant it?


texts:
I would like the bushes in our front yard to grow leaves on all sides. To do this, I think they need to be trimmed to let light in.
What is the best time of year to trim them? Should we cut them back to the main stalk or trim selectively?
Front view of bushes after some selective trimming of branches:

Back view of bushes where leaves do not grow:


texts: What are some ways to dig up the wild grass and level the area?

texts:
I have a backyard that is not flat/level. There is wild grass and weeks growing.

I was trying to dig it up using a shovel and the roots of the wild grass is pretty deep. Once I’m able to push pass the grass and into the dirt O can kind of lever up a patch. It is kind of back breaking and very hard.
Are there other ways that can help me dig up the grass and level?
Tools that will help but won’t break the bank?


texts:
What are common causes of these burnt tips?

Over/under fertilization? Too much/little light? Nutrient deficiency?

This is Korean shiso/perilla growing in a deep water culture. I've also seen it on basil grown in soil.


texts:
This is a kohleria plant.

It had gone thorough a 5 day deficit of water back in Feb/Mar. From that day, it started to develop yellow spots along the rim of the leaves. These have remained as the temperature has increased.

Now the temperature could go up to 35 °C. I think it is the heat and the drought it went through.

I want to bring it to my office where the temperature is more suitable to it, but I need to check if there are any bugs causing this before I move it to my office.

Click on any image for full size


texts: Are there toxic or inedible kinds of asparagus?

texts:
I discovered what looks like asparagus growing in my backyard. I had cut these down around 3-4 weeks ago (they were fairly tall "wispy" bushes then, with a lot of small red fruits hanging off, so I didn't recognise them as asparagus at the time -- thought they were weeds).
Would these be safe to eat, or are there variants of asparagus (or asparagus look-alikes) that could be toxic? The stems of these ones do look a bit thinner and the triangular "leaves" look less purple than what I can remember of store-bought asparagus. I did a bit of web-searching and could not find anything about potential kinds of asparagus being unsafe to eat, but wanted to get more seasoned advice before trying anything out.


texts: Can I prune an indoor avocado tree all the way back to stem?

texts: I have a 1.5 year old, 3.5-foot tall indoor avocado tree that I grew from the seed.  I have been pruning it back occasionally and typically get 2-3 new stems from each cut-back.  It has been getting direct afternoon light for the past 4 months since I moved to my current home.  It's healthy but despite my best efforts, it diverged into two clusters of leaves that have been spreading out and I would prefer to centralize it.  A collage of photos is attached.  I am thinking of doing a drastic pruning back to try to induce new branch points further down on the trunk.  If I were to cut it back all the way to earlier stems, say with the main branch pattern intact but just a couple of inches of each major branch, with no leaves left, would it induce new buds from further down the now-bare branches, or would it just kill the plant?


texts:
We planted a lemon tree five and a half years ago. Today it's about the exact same size as ever.

I've tried using citrus fertilizer, but to no avail. We've had dry summers and wet summers, but nothing changes. I'm in Melbourne, Australia

What's going on? Is there anything else I should tell you?


texts: Should I seal the wounds where limbs were removed on a crape myrtle?

texts:
I have a crape myrtle that I attempted to transplant last spring. Unfortunately, it didn't do so well (I damaged more of the roots than I intended), and while it did leaf out last year, after a long cold winter I thought for sure it was dead.

But, to my surprise, around June of this year, it started to leaf out just a little, and we even got some flowers! I've trimmed off all the dead wood (which, unfortunately, was most of the plant), and I'm hoping and praying for the best.

It occurred to me that every pruning wound, or place that I cut off deadwood, is a potential avenue for bugs or pathogens to invade the plant, which would be bad news in its already weakened state. Is it a good idea to seal off the ends somehow? If so, with what? I have a wax sealant intended for use on hardwood decking. Is that, or another product, a good idea?


texts: I have 2 diplandenia plants, one is making runners really well but the other is not, why? They are planted in the ground in different areas of my flower bed that does get different amounts of sunshine throughout the day.  Any idea why the one plant isn't making runners?


texts:
I currently have a very well established Hawthorn hedge(it’s been there about 15 years).
It has always been trimmed around 7 feet high and maybe 3.5 feet wide.

Unfortunately new house have been built on the other side of that fence with noisy neighbours. I am working on making that Hawthorn higher to reduce the sound they are making.

However,

I would like to possibly add another plant like a laurel which has very dense foliage and excellent as a sound barrier. Within the Hawthorn, I have Holly and an Ivy sparingly growing as well.

Can I plant a Laurel in between to make this natural fence denser? Will it grow?

Can I use other plants?

If it might struggle to grow, can I pit it first, let it grow high and strong before I plant it?

Any other ideas?


texts: What is purplish thing that looks like eggs or pests on my Magnolia champaca?

texts:
I have a Magnolia champaca plant, also known as 'Son champa' in India.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnolia_champaca

Recently a few of its leaves contained some very tiny (about 0.5-1 mm in diameter approximately) purple colored jelly kind of stuff.

It very closely resembled a turtle's hump. The slightly bigger ones had some very light purple and yellow colored uniform patterns with an even purple background. The smaller ones however were uniformly purple colored.

I am not sure if they were eggs or pests, they were leaving behind a dry dark brown bubble (holes in some cases) in the leaves they were hosted on.

I plucked off the affected leaves.

Does anybody have any idea what that was and how I can protect my plant?

Pictures:

After @Bamboo's answer I looked up for details about the Mangolia Scales and found the exact picture of bug + impact, adding it below, also found this site very useful - http://nassau.ifas.ufl.edu/horticulture/gardentalk/disease.html


texts: Given a diameter and species, how do I estimate a tree's size and age?

texts:
I'm looking for a resource to help estimate the height and age of a tree from its diameter (75+ inch circumference). My property has mature Red Pines and I'd like to estimate their ages and heights. I understand there will be a "fudge factor" in any resource I find but it's a start. I found some research by USDA - Forestry but none of the species included in the research are even close to a Red Pine.

Update #1 - The trees are part of unmanaged forest property I own. Most of the trees are less than 30 years old due to a wildfire. The rest, however, survived the fire and are much older than the new growth ( 30+ inch diameter). The only watering these trees get is from the sky. The soil is sand with river rock encountered 5-10 feet beneath the surface.


texts: Anyone know what kind of pepper plant this is?

texts: The pepper starts out green, then turns purple.


texts: Anyone know what this is? Should I pull it?

texts: Can someone please tell me what this is? I dont know if i should pull it or leave it. I have 4 popping up in my garden.


texts: Hand-digging vs Tree-spade: When should you use one method over the other?

texts:
Is there any real difference in survivability or growth of trees transplanted using one vs. the other?

For example, would moving a cedar using a 90" tree-spade yield similar/better/worse results than hand digging and burlapping a 90" ball?

How about smaller sizes?

What things (other than cost) should be considered when weighing one vs. the other?


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

texts:
Can ANY plant with green foliage survive in a sealed office environment with fluorescent lighting from 8am to 5:30pm and air conditioning set at 20 C (for the remaining time, there is basically zero light and limited air flow)?

We have a very sterile office which has been designed to effectively be a Faraday cage and we'd love to introduce some real, living greenery to make it less bleak.

In case it is not already clear, there are no windows and there is definitely no natural light.

My question is a bit similar to the three following but more inclusive. In our case we're really not fussed at the absence of flowers or fruit, but it must be able to survive on fluoroescent light alone.

What are some low maintenance plant choices for apartment (indoor) living?
Is there a fruiting plant that can grow in an office environment?
What flowering bulbs grow well in an air conditioned office environment?

If there are any suitable candidates, please rank in order of indoor-toughness.


texts: What's the name of this flower with red colored leaf?

texts: I found this stock photo from dreamstime.com listed as "Firecracker plant" or "Flor Cebacia".


texts: Ficus benjamina variegata: drops leaves but grows new branches

texts:
I have got a ficus, presumably Ficus benjamina variegata. It is not in the best shape, presumably because it was a bit overwatered.

What confuses me is that it drops leaves (a bad sign) and at the same time it grows new branches (presumably a good sign). Should I just let it happen? Or should I chop off the new branches to encourage it to grow leaves on the existing branches?

I am (now) aware of the general ficus caring advice: no draughts, no changes in room temperature, no moving around, and daylight but no direct sunlight, water when the surface of the potting medium feels just about dry to the touch, then watered well, but not left sitting in water in any outer tray or pot after 30 minutes - thanks to How can I revive these house plants.


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

texts:
I have some heritage "Strawberry" popcorn plants in the garden, and I've realised I don't know when to harvest them. Though it might be possible to eat it while still fresh and juicy, I intend to pop it into popcorn so the kernels presumably need to be left longer than sweetcorn to mature. Is there some way I can tell when it's ready to harvest?

Edit - here's the end result (well, not quite, as I haven't popped it), to be left in the kitchen like this to dry for a couple of weeks:


texts: Identify a plant and recommend how to save it

texts: Can please somebody identify this plant? Are there any suggestions to save it? Its leaves are weak and getting yellowish.


texts:
Sharing knowledge here:

Since I live in the San Francisco Fog Belt, I suffer from a variety of soil-borne funguses, including mint rust.  In fact, mint rust is so severe that in the past I've had to rip out my mint every year and replant it from scratch in sterile soil and containers.

I've tried copper-based fungicides, but (a) they don't work very well and (b) they're toxic so not good for a culinary herb like mint.  What can I do?


texts:
AFEO7.jpg

I've looked at the roots and they seemed to be ok, whiteish.

has anyone encountered this before?


texts: Is there anything I can put on my lawn to prevent my dog from digging?

texts:
About a year ago, we had a really bad gopher problem in our backyard. I've successfully trapped and eliminated all the gophers but my dog sometimes can still smell something and goes crazy digging. I wouldn't mind the digging, but we just laid sod earlier this year. The lawn in the backyard covers roughly 3,500 square feet.

I'm curious if there's anything I can do (besides being 100% vigilant while my dog is out back) to the lawn itself that could eliminate the gopher odor, or make it harder for him to scent. Obviously, I don't want the grass to be negatively impacted.


texts: Will buried rhododendrons stumps grow through a foot of soil?

texts: We are going to be having soil brought into our backyard.  We were wondering if cutting the rhododendrons plants down to the existing soil level, then burying them in at least one foot of soil above would stop them from continuing to grow and eventually break through the sod we’re planning on replacing them with?


texts: Help to identify this imparipinnated cutting

texts:
I just got this cutting. I know I have seen before, but I can not remember what species it is.

As you can see from pictures there are no flower nor buds that may help to identify it. Since I don't know if roots are well established, I do not like to take picture of them. By the way I think that leaves show a nutritional deficit (maybe due to a small root system) and therefore its natural color could be different.

Edit:

The cutting was a gift. The original owner has not watered it and apparently died (as you can see in first picture there is a dry stem). Later it sprouted again. Neither the original owner nor who gifted it... know what it is.


texts:
I'm asking how to clone an Echium pininana.

I have a single Echium pininana in my pot but unfortunately it's root has rotted due to excessive rain and bad soil, the plant is 30cm high and 6 months old. The bottom 5cm has rotted and is infected with fungus Athelia rolfsii.

For pictures see :
https://imgur.com/a/fdJIB

I have access to tissue culture labs but I have no idea how to clone it from the healthy parts, where should I cut? Can anybody help? Or perhaps it's possible to use air-layering technique to grow a new set of roots?

I'm also trying to restart from seed, but the seeds I have is very hard to germinate, not sure why.


texts: How much should I water sunchokes to get a patch going?

texts: I'm trying to start a sunchoke patch (for perpetual farming), and was wondering how much I should be watering them to get them to sprout quicker similar to an artificial spring?


texts: We have a plant in our office that came from another office and has no label. It has started growing some interesting flowers. Just wondering if anyone knows what it is?


texts: What is this vine-like weed and how do I kill it?

texts: I have a viney weed growing in my yard. Weed and Feed doesn't seem to affect it. It's slowly spreading to more and more of my yard every year. What is it, and how do I kill it?


texts: What are good introductory texts on botanics and horticulture?

texts:
I refer with this question to those among you who have a strong background and work in fields like: botanics, horticulture, dendrology, etc.

I would like to start building a solid preparation, both practical and theoretical, in horticulture, with a strong scientific background.

I am a physicist at the moment, but I am trying to lay the basis for a career switch. In September I will attend the RHS courses, but in the meanwhile I would like to start studying something on my own.

Is there any introductory, basic, read that you would suggest? Also, if any of you have in mind a sort of "curriculum" (in terms of subjects, books, etc.) or would like to play with it, this would be of great help! Thanks a lot :)


texts: Fungus gnats and mushrooms in a Walmart strawberry plant

texts:
Two weeks I bought a $10 everbearing strawberry plant from Walmart. It looked the most alive out of all the Walmart options. I immediately repotted it into a larger pot that stays out on my balcony. I use a moisture meter and have watered her just about every other day so far.

Last week was very warm with a couple +30C days and she seemed to be quite happy in the sun. She started to bloom a few flowers, I cut off the first couple to encourage her to grow into her pot but now I just let them bloom. I quickly grew attached - but this week has been plagued with problems. She has been surrounded by fungus gnats for the past few days - and this morning I noticed she had a mushroom sprouting! I read that mushrooms aren't bad for plants- but I don't want them. Clearly I'm overwatering - but my moisture meter has been telling me her soil's right in the middle (not superwet but also not dry).

Are these temporary problems? Are Walmart plants just unreliable? I don't want her to spread mushroom spores and fungus gnats to my other plants. What steps should I take?


texts: Is there a way to recycle old potting soil?

texts: When I repot all of my potted plants each year, I end up with a rather large amount of used potting soil. It seems like a waste of good organic material to take it to the landfill. Is there a way of saving and recycling it to make it usable in some way? Can it be composted?


texts: David Austin rose from pot growing low on the ground

texts:
I bought the pot of this last Fall

https://www.davidaustinroses.com/us/the-poet-s-wife-shrub-rose

But over the Winter it looks smaller and sit flat on the ground

Is that normal or is it not doing well?


texts:
Hello,
My 4 months old cocoa plants are starting to get brown.
Any idea what is the reason? Is this the cold weather? to much watering?
What should I do?
And does the left one still have a chance to survive?


texts:
My aloe has tipped over and I'm not sure what to do with it. Should I leave it leaning? If not I could try to repot it but the middle stem is so bent that I'm not sure how to have it stand vertically.

Edit: The aloe grew like this naturally, it wasn't damaged by anything.

Any tips or ideas appreciated.


texts: Soil nutrient replacement, bamboo question

texts:
I know little of botany and earth science subjects. This might be a stupid question, here it goes.

What I have:
A hillside with a running variety of bamboo in Oregon. The bamboo shoots reach about 25ft long and mostly lean over at 12ft high or so. They get to be about 3/4" - 1" in diameter. I have a trail going thru the forest, down a hill and towards the ocean. It has very high rails holding the bamboo back. But, eventually the trail becomes a tunnel that only kids can get thru if not maintained. Several times a year I create about 6 piles of cut bamboo 6x6x25 feet. Again, repeat this process for a section that I try to keep below 6ft tall once a year (for ocean views).

Question:
Am I killing the soil by hauling all this green mass off to another location for either burning or tossing? Again, i'm not educated on the subject and this kind of thing never really bothered me like when I haul grass clippings to another location. But, with such large amounts of mass from such a small location, it feels like I am literally degrading that part of my property or damaging it somehow. Is this true? How important is it to put the cut bamboo back where it came from as mulch? Or, am I worrying about nothing?


texts: Are radishes one or two genders? I have 3 plants in a pot and would like to harvest 2 and leave one to create seeds. Is that possible or does it need to be pollinated by another plant?


texts: What type of plant is this? It looks like Chamomile

texts: I'm thinking it could be Chamomile, but I'm not quite sure. This was found in Washington. Any ideas?


texts: When and how should I transfer propagated cuttings into individual pots?

texts:
This year is the first year I've ever had any success propagating from cuttings. I've tried this many times before, without success, but this year all of my cuttings have taken and are growing nicely... But I now don't know what to do :-(

The cuttings have been taken last Autumn and overwintered in a cold frame. I've got cuttings from Forsythia, Ribus, Magnolia, Jasmine and a Climbing Rose.

These are all in deep pots, and there are multiple cuttings per pot, all growing. I want to separate these up now into individual pots. Do I just pull them out by their stems, or should I try and take them out with some soil round the roots?


texts: What should I do about flying insects in my bag of potting soil?

texts:
I am new to the world of gardening/planting. I had a huge bag of potting mix that I bought from amazon last summer and used to plant some herbs. I used half of it back then and kept the rest in the bag. The bag had holes in it for breathing so I thought it would be safe to keep it out on the balcony over the winter (in a secluded area away from snow and rain) since I don't have a place for it in my apartment. Long story short, I was just checking the bag to get ready to plant new herbs for this season and I was shocked to see that the bag was full of tiny flying insects.

I read online that it might be fungus gnats, but I didn't see anything online about them being in the bag itself. I was wondering if there is anything I could do about this issue or if I should throw away the bag and buy a new one? I would appreciate any input regarding this matter!


texts:
What to do? I was given this Bromeliad, two links above. Please see what looks like white dust. A neighbor had quite a few plants on her porch, she gave me most of them because she didn't want to have to bring them inside this winter, as she's going south. None if the other plants have this white dust looking stuff. Is it just dust? Or should I be worried it's a fungus? The top of the leaves wipe off,as pictured but the white on the bottom of the leaves are just colored that way (do not wipe off. Can anyone help to identify this Bromeliad and tell me if simply wiping the leaves is good enough, or should I be doing more?

I also need help identifying the Brom, what kind it is. I'm not sure if it's one without a bloom or if it just hasn't bloomed yet. Also, is the pot too small?

I will be posting another question of an additional plant she gave me, with further questions about it and it's identification. Thanks!


texts: What is this plant that I have growing in one of my pots?

texts: I have never seen it before and it is really bugging me.


texts: grow beans downward without support. Anyone tried that?

texts:
Today I ate some delicious beans and I had a strange thought. We usually grow beans with sticks to support their upward growth. How about reverse?

Has anyone placed bean plants on a balcony or something (plant it normally just like any other plant), and tried to grow them downward, kinda floating in the air, without any support for the stems? Did the plant grow and had fruit?

Google didn't find a single image of beans growing downward. Could be that my search term was bad.


texts: What to do with the plant/tree growing right from the wall of my and neighbour's balcony?

texts:
There is this plant growing right out from the wall of my and my neighbor's balcony (1st floor).

Is this plant bad for the building/wall/balcony?
Should I let it grow?
Should I cut it? But if I cut it, new shoots will grow (happened before). What should I do to completely remove this plant?


texts: Growing bur oak from stored seeds - how to start?

texts:
I was given a bag of bur oak seeds that were collected from my region (northeast USA, zone 5) last May (it's been a while). I found them stashed in a wooden drawer in a cool room, in their original brown paper bag - where I left them many months ago. Some feel partially hallowed out, some have holes, but some are pretty solid (below is a photo of one that looks and feels good on the left, and the opposite on the right).

How do I get these started? It's been stored for a while but I want to at least give them a go. I've heard moisture is a big part of getting them started; that I can test the seed quality by seeding if they sink or float; and can rehydrate them after storage by leaving them submerged for 24hrs. So, I'm thinking to put them all in a cup of water, remove the floaters, then tomorrow plant them just barely into the soil of pots of moist soil that are ~6" deep. I can keep that under a light, could even put it on a slightly heated tray to encourage root growth. I figure from there I'll grow them indoors for a while before transplanting to larger outdoor pots, for eventual transplanting to a permanent site.

Does that plan need any adjustments? I'm under the impression I don't need to do any special stratification to get these seeds started, aside from re-hydrating them as needed.


texts: This clipping was taken from a plant hanging at a friend's house. The plant had many such bulb-like growths coming from stalks that were offshooting from the main plant (hanging from the pot).


texts: What are some sustainable alternatives to peat for potting compost?

texts:
I've just finished writing the tag wiki for organic and was thinking about wider issues of sustainability. Perhaps the best area where I could improve things personally, would be to use an alternative medium for seed trays. At the moment I use peat-based potting soils -the kinds that are sold for germinating seeds.

I currently use a mixture for larger plant types, and I could easily avoid the peat based composts and use more of the coarser wood-based composts.

But what could I use for starting new seeds with? It would have to be nutritionally rich, and also fine grained. Seeds are primarily peppers, but I do start other things from seeds.

I think I've heard of people using coir (derived from coconut husk hair), but I think I heard it was too fissile? Does anyone have any experience or have any other alternatives I could try in spring?

I don't recall seeing anything in the big box garden suppliers here in Texas - so I would probably have to go to a nursery.


texts: Keeping my ground cover planting free of unwanted vines and weeds

texts: Every year I have to wade into a steeply sloped tree lawn beside my driveway that is planted in Myrtle and Pacasandra to remove wild blackberry vines, a very long vined weed (maybe Creeping Charlie - not sure what it is) and other weeds and vines including poison ivy.  This is very time consuming and difficult to do.  Is there a way of controlling the unwanted vegetation and not killing my ground cover?


texts:
This desert rose, Adenium obesum, was put on a window sill on top of a radiator, and did well for approximately 10 days.

Then I left for the Holydays. I left the plant with extra water and no heating. The temperature must have gone under 10ºC, (50°F), but it wasn't watered any more during my absence of 15 days.

On my return, as you can see in the pictures, I found it wilting.

I thought it might be a watering problem, as the soil was completely dry, so I watered it, making sure all the water drained. I also moved it to a window sill where there is no radiator. Now the roots are moist, if I touch them from the bottom holes of the pot.

The soil is clearly peat based, and it looks like the bottom is moist, but the top quite dry. What should I do? Water it more? Leave it without water for a while? I really have no idea!

My house has a temperature of approximately 15-16ºC during the day, sometimes 17-19ºC when I turn on the heat at night. The aspect of the window is south-west, but it doesn't get much direct sunlight, about 3-4 hours when it's sunny. I am in the UK, Bristol.


texts: Need help identifying sprouts from random seeds

texts: I casually put some vegetable/fruit seeds on some cups but I wasn’t able to keep track which was which. Are these eggplants?


texts:
I am growing some plants on my balcony. I have bought some soil that is marketed as suitable for seedlings and herbs.

I have some lettuce and tomato seedlings germinating in this soil. Soon I will need to move them to a bigger pot.

Can I use the same seedling soil (plus fertilizer?) for growing the vegetables, or will I need to buy a different kind of soil? If different, is general-purpose "flower pot" soil suitable and safe for growing vegetables?


texts: What can I do to make a Dwarf Cavendish banana plant thrive in my apartment?

texts: I currently live in New York. I'm interested in having a Dwarf Cavendish as a indoor houseplant, in my apartment.  Will it survive/thrive? I can definitely provide sufficient humidity. I know having a house with a patio is much better but I don't have that.


texts: City wants to remove our White Pines - how should we respond?

texts: We planted White Pine trees 4 years ago they now stand 3 foot high. The city would like us to remove them because they are 6 foot from the street and sewer lines. We feel these trees will never obstruct views or lines. Are we wrong? We live in Eldon, Iowa.


texts: How deep do the roots of weeds grow in a lawn?

texts: How deep in the soil do the roots of weeds grow? Would getting rid of top 3 inches of lawn and putting in triple mix and sod get rid of weeds? (Our lawn has more weeds than grass).


texts: What should i do with this mulberry tree?

texts: Last year i had planted 4 mulberry trees outside but slowly they all started to die. I figured it was the soil. It was badly compacted. Eventually, i was left with just one which i decided to pull out and put in a container. Soon after, that one died too or atleast i thought it did. A few weeks after, new shoots started to emerge from the base and now, THIS. A mulberry tree with 7 trunks including the main dead trunk in the middle. It's taking the shape of a shrub more then a tree which I've never seen with a mulberry tree. Question is, what should i do? Let it be the way it is or find the strongest cane and prune everything back to the ground?


texts:
My family and I recently moved into a new home, I noticed these ivies everywhere in our backyard and I'm having trouble figuring out exactly what they are.

I know little of ivies/vines and I am a little concerned that these ivies could be poison ivy. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Album of more photos:
http://s82.photobucket.com/albums/j257/lacee_06/

please note that the ivy I labeled "type 2" is covering an oleander shrub so you may see oleander leaves in the photo. Once again thank you for your time!


texts:
I had the soil in one of my garden beds tested for a wide spectrum of minerals. This bed was originally filled with bought topsoil and mushroom compost, then it was cultivated with parsnips and spinach, finally I have added some homemade compost. The results show an excess of Zinc, with potential toxicity.

(1) What could this be due to?

(2) How do I avoid problems for future crops? I am still eating the parsnips from that bed, and have seen no problems whatsoever so far. I am planning to plant tomatoes and courgettes in May.


texts: Are cordless electric string trimmers "good enough" for a medium sized yard?

texts: I recognize that gas trimmers will be less expensive and won't have the battery life issues cordless electric trimmers have (and corded is impractical - too many obstacles in the yard.) BUT! I would prefer to avoid the noise, smell and maintenance hassle of yet another small engine. I have a half acre, but there are many rock outcroppings, trees, shrubs and flower beds - it's more than just four sides each for house and property line. On the other hand, it's pretty tame - no heavy grass or weeds. Are the newest high-end cordless trimmers up to this? I'd like to hear from anyone who has one of the new fast-charge models.


texts: Are we going to be overwhelmed with tomatoes?

texts:
As novice gardeners, we planted a bunch of stuff without really knowing where we were headed. Right now our tomato inventory consists of:

5 cherry tomato plants
5 Roma tomato plants
7 Lincoln tomato plants
1 unlabeled plant

I just looked up the yield of a Roma plant, and it said they can bear up to 200 fruits per plant...

Is that an accurate figure? Am I going to be canning a lot of tomatoes this summer?


texts: How far will oyster mushroom pins grow before they give up?

texts:
I've got pinning on the sides of a mycelial block in a plastic food box. Will they grow the couple of inches along the sides to the open top, or should I take it out and put it in a bag for room to grow ?

IS it better to have it open on all sides ?


texts: Will pruning dead shoots off an arborvitae cause re-growth?

texts: I planted 26 emerald arborvitae trees this summer. All but three are looking good. On each of those three, one of the shoots died. If I cut that part out, will the trees fill in?


texts: What's the best ways to keep strawberries off the ground?

texts: I received some free strawberries from an order, and was wondering what the best way to keep strawberries off the ground is.


texts: What studies / evidence is there that Bokashi tea actually has extra nutritions for plants?

texts:
So I've recently started bokashi bucket composting and I'm really enjoying it as it's an easy way to compost indoors.

The bokashi bucket also provides bokashi tea every couple of days and lots of places on the Internet and also even in the instruction manual of the bokashi bucket says that this liquid contains lots of good stuff for your plants provided it is diluted adequately as it's quite acidic.

However, I've just read an article (http://www.gardenmyths.com/bokashi-composting-myths/) where it's stated that bokashi tea doesn't have any nutrients at all.

  It contains 0.05% calcium, 0.14% potassium and 0.01% magnesium,
  indicating low levels of nutrients. After diluting it by 100 it is
  essentially water.

I thought this was an interesting claim. So I'm just wondering, is there actually any evidence that bokashi tea is any better than water or is it just conventional wisdom that just seems to make sense but hasn't actually been proven? Has anyone used bokashi tea and found it works? I just ask because the tea apparently has other uses as well so if it's not good for the garden, I might as well use it for other purposes.


texts:
I've been told I should prune my fig tree before the end of the Summer (Northern Hemisphere) so that it can recover before winter.  I'm in Ireland.

Is it late enough in the summer by July?


texts:
My little apple seedlings (from seed) have gone through a bit too much sun this week, as a string of 90-degree days after being indoor plants has been a shock to them. Their leaves were burnt along the top layers and they're curling quite a bit. Most of them are also significantly more faded from what they were a few short weeks ago.
(This is just an example, and what incited the questions below)

At what point will the leaves be "dead"? I mean, at what point will I know that they are useless to the plant? Should I trim them so that the lower leaves can get better light? Will they be able to bounce back from the stress that they've experienced?


texts: Why are the leaves of my basil yellowing and falling off?

texts:
I got this basil from a friend when it was about half this size. It was a bit spindly and looked like it wasn't pruned enough. Since then I cut it regularly and it got some branches and the base even began to grow out some.

I'm in Arizona, so the winter was mild with no frost, and it gets full sun. About a month ago it decided to flower, and I can't keep up pulling off all the buds. In that time it hasn't grown at all, and now the leaves are small and yellowing, and falling off lower down.

I give it water about twice a week since it gets pretty hot and dry here. I'm afraid my father in law may have drowned it when he visited two months ago (he's a hobby grower) but that may be unrelated.

Click on picture for larger view.


texts: Germinating Vinca and Petunia seeds fail

texts:
I'm trying to germinate Vinca and Petunia flowers from seeds, for over a month now.
INFO
I have multiple environment-conditions setups for the Vinca:

Vinca setup 1: Seeds from last-year's flowers, potting mix bedding, inside a pot (in indirect sunlight), sewed 1-2 [cm] into the soil (so they'll be in the dark), soil kept moist, at an average temperature of 25 degrees Celsious.
Vinca setup 2: Seeds from last-year's flowers, home-made compost bedding, inside a plastic cup, sewed 0.1-0.5 [cm] into the compost, cup kept in closed closet (so they'll be in the dark), wrapped in plastic to keep moist, at an average temperature of 25 degrees Celsious.
Vinca setup 3: Same as setup 1, only with seeds from a pack (bought at a nursery).
Vinca setup 4: Same as setup 2, only with seeds from a pack (bought at a nursery).

And multiple environment-conditions setups for the Petunia (same as Vinca setup, only light conditions changed):

Petunia setup 1: Seeds from last-year's flowers, potting mix bedding, inside a pot, in indirect sunlight, spread on the soil and covered with light paper (so they won't be in total dark), soil kept moist, at an average temperature of 25 degrees Celsious.
Petunia setup 2: Same as setup 1, only with seeds from a pack (bought at a nursery).

ISSUE
None of the above germinated. It has been more than 5 weeks, and according to most information on the internet (and in seeds packages bought from the nursery) they we're supposed to germinate after 2-3 weeks.
I've taken water, bedding, light and temperature conditions into consideration.
Any idea on what may prevent them from germinating? Am I missing something here?


texts: My Meyer lemon tree had so many diseases

texts: So everything I read was to take curling or diseased leaves and branches off. I sprayed with neem oil and copper fungicide biweekly I live in zone 9 and the tree is in the ground with soil and compost and mulch on top. I got a little out of hand and now it has no leaves bc it was all diseased but it had so many baby lemons growing I was worried it would suck my tree dry so I took all the baby lemons off. Will my tree come back?! I’m still spraying with neem oil monthly and saw a new flower start to grow but no leaves.


texts: How should I control the growth of my umbrella grass?

texts:
I have a few clumps of umbrella grass that are getting very overgrown.
They are planted at the edge of my court yard (pictures below).  I live in Houston TX.

This is my first house and I inherited a fantastic landscape in the courtyard, but I'm still trying to figure out how to take care of all these plants. I browsed through dave's garden's entry on the umbrella plant but I can't seem to find any direction on how I'm supposed to control the growth of this grass.

From the looks of some of the posts, it seems like even if I completely cut down all the grass at the stalks, the roots should allow it to regrow. Just to be clear, I'm not trying to kill/get rid the grass, i'm just trying to keep them from growing so big (the bigger clumps are 6 feet tall and have a ground covering diameter even wider, taking up all the walk space.


texts: Delosperma (Ice Plant) indoors during winter

texts:
I live in Canada and it will soon be time for me to bring in my succulents and cacti. Last year I brought in two Delosperma plants and within less then a month they both died. they were both very healthy and had amazing growth throughout the summer.

One of the things I suspected is that I had watered them too much before bringing them in and the soil was too moist for the first week that they were indoors.

This year I got a new Delosperma plant in the spring and I will be moving it indoors soon. Here are the steps I plan on taking this year when it goes indoors to *hopefully have a better outcome:

1) I have heavily pruned the plant so that there is less active green growth and flowering. Hopefully this will allow it to conserve more energy and require less water.

2) I will make sure the soil is very dry before bringing it in (most likely late September) and will water very sparingly until November (usually after November the moisture in the air is much less)

3) I will get a small fan and direct it at my cacti to increase airflow and help the soil dry faster after watering.

If anybody has experience keeping these plants indoors successfully I would really appreciate any advice. Any comments are suggestions from other succulent keepers are also appreciated


texts: In which part of the fridge should muscaris (grape hyacinths) be stored?

texts:
I put my muscaris in the part of the fridge where I store fruits, but I heard that some people store them in the freezer where it's much colder.

However, won't the freezer freeze them to death? Which one is better?


texts: How to kill weeds (see picture) without killing tall fescue grass

texts:
Does anyone know what the weeds are called below? In addition, does anyone know how to remove them without killing the tall fescue grass?
There is a lot of land so picking the weeds is not a realistic option.


texts: Why are my tomato plant leaves turning brown, shriveling, dying?

texts:
This has been progressive over the last 6 weeks, leaves turning dry, brown and getting very thin and shriveling like paper on a Tomato "Blue Berries" cherry tomato plant.

The closest I could guess was it was a fungus/disease of some sort after reading this article:
https://dengarden.com/gardening/Yellow-leaves-on-tomato-plants-Get-rid-of-yellow-tomato-leaves

  Tomato plant leaves do not begin by turning brown unless it's a fungal
  attack such as Septoria leaf spot or other fungal infections...

I bought a fungicide and have applied it once 10 days ago but as you can see still deteriorating, we've had 3 days of rain and I'm due to spray it again; am I on the right track? I'm really quite puzzled.

The plant receives a fortnightly dose of diluted Kelp Fertiliser and Liquid Potash.

It is now Spring here in Australia. If you need any more pics let me know.
Thank you!

The plant used to be in excellent health back in August:

This evening:

And these shots from October 1:

Thanks fellow gardeners


texts: Why do ants appear around my panda plant?

texts:
I've had a panda plant indoors in my office, by a west-facing window for about 6 months or so. Yesterday I found that there are red/brown ants around my plant and it is obvious that their target is actually my plant.

The only possible reason I can think of, is that the ants are attracted by the organic fertilizer I added to the surface of the soil a few weeks ago. The fertilizer is black, and has a cylinder shape, about 1cm long each. The instruction from the fertilizer bottom said that they can be added to the surface or mixed into the soil. So, to keep it simple, I just added it to the surface. Yesterday I saw that there's white mold on the top of the fertilizer granules, so I removed them, hoping that they will disappear the next day.

However,some of the ants still remained in the dish used to hold the excess water, and I had to kill them manually. I would like to take it back home and spray some pesticide on it. I hope they are not building a nest inside (the pot is small though, about 10 cm long).

What could be the reason for the appearance of ants?


texts: Can I save my avocado seed that has broken in two

texts: My avocado seed was growing fairly well, good size root and was staring to grow a stem, until I knocked it over and it has slpit in two, one have got the root, the other half got the stem, will it still grow? How can I hope to fix this?


texts: Looking for help / diagnosis of this issue that is creating white patches in my lawn. Charlotte, NC area.


texts:
The pest control professional told me that there may be moles in my yard. Some parts of the lawn were torn up, especially in small areas where the lawn did not grow well and was bare. They told me that removing moles can be quite expensive.

Are there effective ways that I can remove moles by myself?


texts: Help with identifying plant (Pink Stem, Green leaves)

texts:
As can be seen in the image, the plant has a pink stem, pale green leaves, and grows close to the ground.
It is also probably native to the Indian Subcontinent. (I currently live in Southern India.)
Any help would be greatly appreciated.


texts: What is this tree/bush with thorns and small blue solid fruits?

texts: There's a tree in our yard of which we do not know it's name. In other parts of the yard it grows more like a bush. It has thorns and grows small solid fruits that turn dark blue when ripe. On the picture attached one fruit still looks green. Question is: what is our tree-bush's sort?


texts:
I have been keeping this mint plot for several weeks and it has been growing just fine. Yet just today I noticed there's some white spots on some leaves surface, tried to clean with Q-tip but they just stick there.

I'm wondering what has happened and, if I'm going to use those leaves for cooking would that be fine will those spots?

Some information : I grow the mint plant with a pot in the balcony, the weather here is dry and warm with quite a lot of sunlight.


texts: How to keep my lawn dry leading up to my wedding?

texts:
I'm having a wedding in my backyard a week from now. It's looking like its going to rain during the week and I'm worried about my lawn turning into a swamp. We have a tent for the wedding so we can handle some rain during the actual wedding but I'm worried about the week leading up to it.

I can work from home during the week leading up to it so I can do as needed tarping if that's reasonable (I'm thinking like a baseball grounds crew). Is that a good idea? Is there a better way to keep my lawn dry leading up to the big day?


texts: Organic lawn fertilizer available in the UK?

texts: Lots of organic fertilizers on the market but very little information to help choose between them. Can anyone recommend a good one that is available in the UK. Read great things about Milorganite but obviously not available in the UK, anything comparable on the UK market?


texts: How to use hazelnut shells in the garden

texts:
I eat a lot of raw hazelnuts (I love them!) I have been trying to use the cracked shells in the garden for years. Here is a list some of my attempts:

Composting them. This wasn't very effective, as they hardly break down at all within a composting cycle for my large bin (9 months)
Vermi-composting them. Not even the worms seem to be interested in them, because they go mouldy very slowly and even when they do, they are still very tough.
Mulching with them. Now, this wasn't much of an failure, but I still have some doubts about the process. My first concern is that they may attract slugs; then, that they might get mixed up in the bulk of the soil lock some of the nitrogen that would otherwise be available to plants.

The best plan for this season is to mulch around soft fruit, whose beds do not get any disturbance apart from mulching in early spring.

Does anyone have any preference, suggestion, experience on what to do with them?


texts: Would it be better for me to set up my garden in the fall, or wait until spring?

texts:
I recently moved into a house with a yard, and am eager to start getting a garden started. The ground here isn't really clay, but it's not really dirt that I would want to use for gardening. It's really heavy and compact, and there are gravel-like rocks everywhere that I'm going to want to pick out.

I was thinking about tilling the ground, then spending a few weekends picking out the rocks, then mixing in some compost and topsoil to turn it into some nice garden soil. I might also add a border around it, possibly raising it a bit. Then in the spring I could maybe add more soil then plant everything as early as possible for early vegetables.

So I looked up advice on tilling gardens, and I read advice saying two different things.

That it's not a good idea to till the garden in the fall, because the snow would compact the soil.

(I do live in southern Illinois, where we don't really get much for snow, maybe a couple inches through January. So maybe that isn't something I have to worry about?)
That it is a good idea to till the garden in the fall, because it gives the soil time to prepare the nutrients from the added compost.

Is there a significant benefit over doing it one way or the other? Should I do it now so the compost has time to spread nutrients into the soil? Or is it better to leave it as it is until spring, so the soil isn't exposed over the winter?


texts:
This plant is houseplant , a friend of a friend of  mine gave her this plant. without knowing it name so I want really have the good name to help my friend patricia because she is looking for the name of this plant and she didn't find it
thanks


texts: Difference in supplementary lighting between greens and strawberries?

texts:
I read that for greens like salad you can provide supplementary light hours (during night time) in order to increase the growing speed. Some species even tolerate continuous lighting.

Is the same possible for strawberries?
I'm not sure as the daily light cycle is supposed to trigger flowering and fruiting...


texts:
I want to grow large cacti, see my previous question. So I start with small plants and to keep them growing in winter time I want to give them LED (special grow) light.

I was wondering about the best light periods for the small young plants. I am interested in finding the best daily light period (how many hours per day?), and as well on when to start giving them artificial light (which months?). I was thinking of starting to put them under a light from November till February? Does that seem right?

I live in the Netherlands (latitude 52). I hope anyone can share his/her experience with indoor light regimes?


texts: What's the best way to overwinter carnivorous plants?

texts:
The flies, fruit flies, mosquitoes, and moths are getting really annoying and the spiders in the house aren’t helping much, so we want to get some carnivorous plants to put around the house.

Our main concern is how to maintain them during the winter. They shouldn’t have too much trouble with the cold because the same ones grow wild in a bog in town, but there won’t be any bugs during the winter, so I’m not sure what they should/would eat.

I tried looking up information on wintering carnivorous plants, but didn’t find anything useful; most of it was just about temperature, not feeding.

How can we ensure that carnivorous plants survive through the winter? Should we feed them? If so, what and how often?

(I don’t know specifically which one(s) we would get until the stores get them in. Naturally, I’d like the usual Venus Fly Trap, but the varieties that grow wild here are Sarracenia purpurea, Sundews (Drosera rotundifolia, Drosera intermedia), and Utricularia, so I would think that they would be the ones most likely to be available and likely to survive here.)


texts: How/When to Remove Dead Weeds and Reseed Lawn?

texts:
Apologies in advance if this is a duplicate; I have read some other similar questions but each scenario is so individual that it is hard to know exactly which advice to apply.
My yard, which is all in front and to the side of the house, is broken into smaller areas. One small area, on the shady side of the house, has a beautiful lush lawn that stays green all winter and grows nicely in the summer with minimal watering. The other side, which has no shade at all, has no grass at all and, it looks like, very poor (sandy) soil.
The previous owner (we moved here two years ago) breezily assured us that 'every spring, you just sprinkle some grass seed, get a truck to dump some top soil on top, and that's all.' Knowing nothing about lawns (this is our first house), we accepted that.
Now, with a lot more research and experience, it seems very strange. A healthy, well-established lawn should not need to be reseeded every year. And indeed, the side yard grass continues growing nicely and does not need to be reseeded.
But he did seem to be right about the front - we moved in the winter, and in the spring no grass grew there - it was all weeds. Once it got cold, the weeds all died, and now the lawn on one side of my house is nice green grass, and on the other side it's all brown dead weeds.
How and when do I get rid of the dead weeds and plant grass? And how do I ensure that the grass establishes itself and stays green continuously, like the grass in my side yard, rather than needing to be re-seeded every year?
I see a lot of questions here about how to kill weeds to re-start a lawn, but my weeds are already dead. Can I just get rid of them and plant grass? If so, how do I get them out, and when?
I don't want to use herbicides, and I'm ok with some weeds in my lawn. I don't need the 'perfect' lawn, I just want it to be soft and green in most areas - I don't mind if it's not perfectly lush everywhere. Last year, we removed a patio, mixed compost and topsoil into the sand underneath, and hand-seeded grass. I was pretty happy with the results - there was a fair amount of weed growth, but mostly where the grass seed had not been planted thickly enough. If I can get the same results in the rest of the yard, I'm happy.
I am willing to hire out some of the labor, but people I have spoken to want to charge huge sums to remove the weeds and establish the lawn (they also insist on putting in sod, which is much more expensive, when I am happy with my prior results from seed). I am happy to do the seeding and mulching myself, but am not up harder physical work. What exactly would need to be done, with which tools, so I can try to find someone to do it?
Note that it is currently winter here (south-central NJ; zone 7a), and the weather fluctuates - it's freezing many days, but then gets warm enough for outdoor work on others. And it's unlikely that the ground stays frozen for any length of time.


texts: What kind of plant is used for this bonsai?

texts:
One of my family members got this bonsai tree when I was kid. To my knowledge, it doesn't require food or water - as I've never seen them water it, but it has slowly and steadily grown. Presumably it pulls CO2 from the air to survive.

Click on the photograph for full size

What kind of plant is this?


texts: What is this shrub being used as hedging in the southern UK?

texts:
Can someone help identify what this is called being used as hedging in the south of the UK?

Looking online at pre-grown ready to plant hedging it looks similar to Cherry Laurel, but I'm no expert.


texts:
All of my rosemary plants are infected with rosemary mites, which are some kind of variety of spider mite.  These invisibly tiny insects cause unsightly yellow mottling on the leaves of the rosemary, and (more importantly to me) are detrimental to the flavor of the rosemary.  Oddly, though, they don't prevent the rosemary from continuing to grow.

Since I use this rosemary for culinary purposes, I do not want to use any toxic pesticides, or anything which is hard to wash off (like pepper wax or cinnamon oil).  There are three solutions I've seen recommended for this and I wanted to ask if anyone had tried them and what your results were:

Neem Oil
Rosemary Oil
Ladybugs

The second solution seems ideal.  However, I've had trouble locating rosemary oil in pesticide quantities; everywhere I've seen it has been in the neighborhood of 4oz for $14, which won't work for the applications I need to do.  My second issue with applying oils is that it's hard for me to get good coverage on a 4' tall, 4' diameter rosemary bush.

So, here's the answers I'm looking for:

the best method you've tested for removing spider mites from rosemary
advice on finding rosemary oil in pesticide quantities (e.g. 32oz) and prices
advice on oil application for a large rosemary plant

Thanks!


texts:
I have an unidentified leafy green in my garden. I'd like to know what it is as it's threatening to hedge in on my peas, which you can see a bit of in the right side of the photo.

I'm quite new to gardening, and since I'm coming to this garden bed second-hand, I'm not sure if it is a vegetable of some sort that the previous year's gardener put in.

The leaves have a texture very similar to a cucumber plant. My location is central Mississippi.


texts: some of my rhubarb leaves are turning yellow, should I pick the larger leaves, and leave the smaller ones alone?

texts: I have several clusters of rhubarb stalks very close to each other, and the larger leaves are killing (yellow, but strong) the leaves on the smaller stalks. Should I pick some of the larger stalks so that the smaller stalks can comfortably grow?


texts: Why are there three guava trees grown within inches of each other?

texts:
I bought a house where the previous owner had planted 3 trees within inches of each other. They are all 5 feet tall now. As this is the first time I've ever seen multiple trunks crowded together, I would like to know the purpose of this positioning. Or if there is no purpose and it is actually detrimental to each tree, please let me know.

The following illustrates the blueberry-sized fruit that the trees are currently producing. Perhaps this photo can help someone identify the exact species of fruit. I was told by a construction worker that this is guava, however the variant is unknown.

The following illustrates how two trunks are growing out of the ground within 2 inches of each other. The third trunk in the back is much thinner.


texts: How often can I harvest coppiced black-locusts?

texts:
I would like to coppice some black locust trees (Robinia pseudoacacia) for fence post production. The conditions are fairly good. This is USDA hardiness zone 6b, with good clay based topsoil, and 45-60"/yr of precipitation.

How many years after planting 12-18" seedlings will I be able to cut the first time?
How many years (average) should I wait between harvests?

I understand that it can be variable. I want to harvest 4-6" diameter posts, which will be cut at 7 1/2'.


texts:
I live in the desert with temperature seasonal extremes of about 0°c - 45°c (or freezing to really hot) and over 300 days of sun annually.

On the north side of my back yard I have a cinder block wall running parallel to an east-west street.  Along this wall I have a very nice lemon tree that casts shade on a ~10 square foot patch of dirt that is over-sprayed with water from my sprinkler system.  This patch of dirt might receive as much as an hour of light as the sun sets.

Are there any food producing plants I can plant that will do well in a continuously wet but almost completly shaded area?


texts: Rocks and sticks in loam used by landscaper. What to do?

texts:
6 days ago I had a landscaping company perform a lawn renovation. The first few inches of the existing turf was removed and new loam was trucked in, followed by hydroseeding.

Shortly after the hydroseeding, we had some pretty torrential rains overnight. Now looking at the soil, countless rocks and sticks seem to have been exposed or surfaced by the rain. The entire yard is covered in rocks and twigs, some upwards of an inch, some sticks measuring several inches or longer. They quote was for screened loam, but now I'm dubious and I don't know how to proceed. If it was screened it was clearly screened to maybe an inch at best. It looks like total crap and I worry about the impact on the grass and the ability to mow it safely. I'm not sure how to proceed.

Is this normal, or am I getting screwed? Can this be raked out without damaging the seedlings and requiring re-seeding? Any advice appreciated.


texts: Should I clean pruning shears with hot water, alcohol, or similar?

texts:
Should one (occasionally) clean pruning shears with hot water, alcohol, or similar?

I am imagining pruning is a bit like plant surgery (see also here), so precautions similar to regular surgery may apply in principle.

For the time being I am just wiping mine clean after use, and the same tools serve e.g. for pruning both lavender and vines.


texts: How do I recover an avocado plant that shriveled while I was away for a week?

texts:
We have an avocado plant grown from the seed and it was doing very well until we went on a 1 week holiday. Although we watered it before we left, we came back to a plant with shriveled up and drooping leaves. Watering it managed to get the leaves all horizontal again but they remain very shriveled even after 1 week. They feel like dry, dead leaves.

What should I do know? If I cut the leaves off, how far down the stem should I cut?  The stem still looks pretty green and healthy so should I leave them or should I cut all the way down to the stalk?


texts: Why are my vegetable plants in my hydroponic system dying?

texts:
I am growing peppers in my hydroponic system. I transplanted tomatoes & peppers three weeks ago. For the first two weeks the plants were growing well, but since the third week some of the plants have had dry leaves, and died.

Can you help me avoid this problem?


texts: Help identifying this plant with purple and green fleshy leaves

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I bought a house a few months ago and this plant was in the terrace. It was less more than a dry stick in a pot, and I actually thought it was already dead (after a whole hot and dry south-east spanish summer) but I started watering it anyway in a daily basis, and apparently it likes it: now it has become this nice plant.

Could you tell me which kind of plant it is?

Thanks!


texts: What is the disease or organism that is causing this issue with my raspberry plants?

texts: the stem is affected for about 1 inch normally near the tip.  The tip is dead/wilted and there seems to be a distinct patter of a ring at the top and bottom of the "eaten" area.


texts: First time gardener using a small raised planter - how to plant seeds?

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I'm brand new to gardening and just got one of these to put on my deck and try to grow some vegetables for the spring and summer. The bed is roughly 30 inches x 20 inches, so it is pretty small. Also, to give you an idea of climate, I live in Pittsburgh, PA.

I want to try to grow the following plants from seeds:

lettuce
spinach
carrots
kale
broccoli

My questions are - how far apart should I place each of these plants, and how many seeds per hole should I use? Also, is there anything else I should watch out for or avoid?

Thanks for your help, and happy gardening!


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My beloved fairy castles cactus has been suffering for a while and I was wondering what could be happening now.

It looks like having several different problems... specially worried as it looks fragile all over, with those remarkables dark areas at the tops...

Hope anybody can help :)


texts: Insect Identification: What's this insect

texts: Recently i found an insect very rapidly multiplying itself in the compost heap at home. I took some blurry images of the insect since they were very brisk and not sufficiently static. I am concerned on their numbers getting multiplied in the compost. Kindly help in identifying this critter and any damage that they can cause to the plants if the compost is applied. Apologies for such pictures!!