texts: What variety is this curvy courgette / zucchini with a bulge at the flower end?

texts:
This is a picture of courgette/zucchini from a plant I bought but no longer have the tag for. The shape shown is the same as every other courgette from the plant. They look like a coat hook to me!

The plant itself has relatively small leaves compared with the standard courgettes people grow, and the fruit is smaller too and probably a bit less prolific.

However, unlike the standard ones, the courgettes were also a little more crisp to eat, and didn't grow too large within a few days if left unpicked (the one shown was probably 2 weeks old and is larger than I generally picked them, as I didn't notice it for a while, but it was still delicious!). The plant has also lasted much much longer with no sign of mildew, and is still producing as we get into wintery weather.

I'm wondering if anyone can identify the variety? (it was purchased in New Zealand, but may still be grown elsewhere?)


texts: Is Cotoneaster an appropriate plant to fill an empty space along my fence?

texts:
I have 8ft Leylandii along the outside of most of my west and north facing fences, but there are some gaps on the north side, so I have been using a range of climbing plants inside the fence to provide some privacy, but after seeing some lovely dense cotoneaster covered walls and fences I was wondering whether I should plant them inside the fence at these points.

I live in central Scotland, on clay soil. The fence is a common type - diagonal wood planks with gaps.


texts:
I germinated and then planted a mango from the pit of a store-bought fruit. It has been kept indoors by a window, and was just repotted 2 days ago in “cactus/citrus” soil.
Over the last week, I noticed that brown spots on the leaves started appearing, getting darker. They are not raised, and seem to start from the top of the leaf, not the bottom. About a week ago I also felt a bit of sticky residue under the leaves and cleaned it. I looked intently and could not find any bugs like mites or mealy bugs.

Hopefully this is clearer. I checked the back with a magnifying glass and there is nothing there. I am mystified!

This is the back of the leaf, spots are much lighter.


texts: I need advice about a Dipladenia (related to Mandevilla)

texts:
I need advice about a Dipladenia that I bought today.  I actually thought that it was a type of Mandevilla, until I got it home and Googled the name. It is in the same family, and needs the same type of care. But, I can't find specific info online about my main concern.

It has roots sprouting out of the stems at the lower knobs. Some of them are more than two inches above the soil. It is obviously root bound, but seems healthy. (I did pluck off some yellow leaves before taking pics.)
I am wondering whether I am supposed to bury these upper roots. I don't know if they are "air roots" like my orchids have, or it they are runner roots that are  seeking soil.
I don't know whether to plant this deeper than it is now to accommodate some of these these roots, or whether to just let them breathe.
Or maybe I should just plant it in a wider pot with the soil slightly higher that it is now, and just try to make cuttings from those rooty stems?
I did have a happy Mandevilla years ago, and it did not have these rooty stems. But, it was also in a huge pot. (And, it was not Dipladenia, either. lol)

I am wondering if the red plastic pot in the pics would work for now, or if I need to try something wider. I don't usually buy plants without a plan. But, for $4.99, I just couldn't resist this beauty. I live in Norfolk, Virginia, USA, and will have to overwinter it indoors. The soup can is only in the one pic because it happened to be handy to use for size reference.

Update: I transplanted it as suggested. I added a pic of the rootbound roots after I cut the pot off, and a pic of it in the new pot. The other pot cracked when I tried drilling holes in the bottom, but this one should be big enough, for now.

[


texts: How to increase chance of maple seed sprouting?

texts:
It is official. My momma is looking for a house to move in to. If everything goes well, she will get the house in August and move everything that we want to move over the next few months afterwards. So this is my last chance to grow a sugar maple before I move. Unfortunately, the soil in the pot outside that has the elm sapling in it from last year (an elm seed just happened to fall into the pot and grow) is frozen solid. I mean, yes it is more periodic than all the time now but still, I can't get through frozen solid soil to plant 1 or more seeds. So my mom and dad will buy me some soil to grow the tree or trees in. Maybe they will buy a deep pot too but I don't know.

I have to have at least 1 seed sprout relatively soon. The year before last I did 3 seeds at a time once the soil moistened up from the ice and then waited a week or two before planting new seeds to see if any would sprout. However, none of them took root, not even later on when the ground temperature was warmer.

I already gently feel for the seed taking up most of the non-wing space of the samara as a sign that the seed may sprout. Maybe with this new soil, one or more seeds will sprout unlike the past 2 years (first, outdoors after soil moistened from ice, then indoors (the indoors one looked like it was taking root but it never sprouted)) where I have been lucky to have 1 seed growing its roots. I pick only the brown seeds, even if some of the green seeds also have the seed taking up most non-wing space in the samara. Is that why very few have sprouted because stratification or no stratification itself didn't affect the chance of sprouting (or at least not significantly)?

Should I try growing both the brown seeds (stratified over the winter) and the green seeds (straight from the tree) if the seeds are large enough to see if this has an effect on sprouting?

But other than placing it in a sunny spot, and watching and waiting, is there anything I can do to help the seeds sprout or at least increase the chances of one of them sprouting? The brown ones will likely have already been stratified naturally but as I said before, I haven't noticed a difference in the chance of sprouting between stratified and non-stratified. However, the maples that lasted 3 years before they died, those were grown from non-stratified seeds (straight from the tree on March 21). I know not to water the tree if it has been raining because the soil will be plenty moist. I only water the trees once deeply when I plant them and during dry spells in the summer (even then, I will be less likely to water a sapling in a dry spell than a seedling) because I find the rain of spring and fall to be sufficient for growth.


texts:
Can you identify that flower?? (exact cultivar)

Height: 2.5m Spread: 0.7m Sunny position. One plant has multiple flowers. The pictured two belong to the same plant! (even though they are little different)


texts: Kentia Palm's Outer Leaves Are Browning Quickly

texts:
I have bought a kentia palm about a year ago and I live in a warm and relatively humid climate. Some of the leaf tips have gone brown here and there in the past year, but I have noticed that the outer leaves have started to go brown completely in the last weeks and the browning started to spread.

Background:

The plant stays near a west window however it only gets minutes of
direct daily sunlight.
I have been watering the plant with commercial distilled water and distilled water from the washer-driver machine ( I make the water wait a couple of days to
   make sure it is odorless), and recently with tap and spring water.
I only water the plant when the top 10 percent of the pot is dry (usually every week) and
collect the excess water afterwards to avoid root rot.
There are no signs of insects on the plant.

During the last year I have not fertilized the plant so I suspect it could be the cause of browning but I am not sure.

Any suggestions or feedback is extremely appreciated.


texts:
My plant went dry when the covid started, I couldn’t give it too much attention (but it has a drip irrigation) on how it went, but then I noticed it was all dry (not a single leaf).
Some weeks ago, some leaves started to appear on two parts of the plant.
It doesn’t look like more will appear (but I don’t know).
Is there something I should do? Like trimming the dry branches? Or should I continue watering as usual (or more?).


texts: What's going on with my bay leaf? Burnt looking leaves?

texts:
I purchased a bay leaf plant and noticed that some of the leaves are appearing burnt. I haven't repotted the plant yet. It's sitting in a nice sunny spot and I've been watering it.

I also noticed the top of the soil has solidified? Not sure if this is related or how this happened. I chipped it off... it definitely wasn't like that when I got it.

What should I do? Thanks!


texts: What flowering bulbs grow well in an air conditioned office environment?

texts:
I want to grow some bulbs in my office. I have windows facing east, west, and north-east. The office is air conditioned, but not humid. What flowering bulbs can I plant, that will grow well under these conditions?

I'm specifically interested in rain lilies and hyacinths. Will these grow well indoors?


texts: How can I save deer ferns after a drought?

texts: I have several large deer ferns. Some started to drop significantly during an unusually high summer drought in the Pacific Northwestern USA. I watered immediately and they did not perk up. They are still alive no doubt, but still haven't perked up after a dry fall. I wanted to relocate the ferns this fall and split them up. Do I have to wait now? What can I do to perk these guys up?


texts:
After reading various blogs like How to Grow Tomatoes from Tomato Slices I am wondering: Is it at all possible to grow kiwi seedlings from kiwi slices? Did anybody try that? What kind of soil is suggested? How warm or humid should it be? What kind of procedure would you recommend?
References

Why are my seeds getting moldy


texts: I thought maybe a schefflera but not sure. Waxy leaves and some look like they have serrated tips.


texts: How do you get rid of a swarm of cicadas?

texts: I noticed a swarm of large amber coloured bugs on my walk home today.  I think they were cicadas (they were moving too fast and it was too dark to take a picture).  They seemed to be swarming around the small trees on the walk (maples and oaks).  Is this a problem, i.e. will the trees be damaged?  How can the bugs be gotten rid of?


texts: How to handle direct sunlight-disliking plants w/ only east windows?

texts:
I have 3 houseplants that I'm trying to care for despite my poor history with houseplants. I have a gardenia, a peace lily, and a hypoestes. These plants all like humidity so I regularly spray them (plus my apartment tends to be on the humid side), and they all like indirect sunlight. Unfortunately for them, my apartment is east facing. So, they get direct sunlight for a couple hours in the morning and sunlight reflected off the windows across the street in the evening.

How can I create an environment suitable for my plants despite this?


texts: What is this succulent called? Got it from japan

texts:
i would love to get a help on identifying my lovely succulents that i got from japan.
Would love to understand how to take care of this little fella more!

Like how to make it nice and green, keep it hydrated and healthy.. and when to move it to a bigger pot and such..
Appreciate any info as a help!!


texts: What is the fungus and is it dangerous to my watermelon plant?

texts:
When I checked on the watermelon plant today I found this odd discoloration at the soil level, hidden under the leaves right by one of the fruits. I assume this is a fungus; is it dangerous? And if so, what should I do about it?
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ivh5sv10pygkgb9/2020-08-05%2014.10.12.jpg?dl=0
ETA: it turns out to be all throughout the patch of watermelon, and in some places is bright yellow:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/qq9luo3pzrsms15/2020-08-05%2017.38.10.jpg?dl=0
I also found mushrooms that might be related:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dbmtman6xyawcpx/2020-08-05%2017.42.09.jpg?dl=0


texts: Plant identification: low growing bushes

texts: [I'm on a learning mission to figure out what are growing around my house.] We have actually removed these bushes, as they were grown too close to house and seemed to hide roaches and mice.


texts: Are CFL and Energy Saver bulbs same and used for growing plants?

texts:
Sorry for asking a really novice question but I have searched a lot and not found a yes no answer so I am still confused with this!

I want to buy CFL bulbs to grow some tomato plants. I have seen different types of lights in the store. Some with 2700K and 6500K output. I know I have to buy these two types of light but some of the bulbs have word CFL written on them and while others simply say Energy Saver.

Are these both same types of bulbs and can they both be used for growing plants or is there any difference?

Thanks


texts: What plants/grasses can I plant to entice the ladybugs in my garden to stay? They are great for controlling aphids, but seem to move on pretty quickly.


texts: peperomia polybotrya (raindrop) rust / copper spots on leaves?

texts:
Our Peperomia Polybotrya has developed some rust/copper coloured spots and I can't figure out what they are. I've googled intensively over the past few weeks, but I'm coming up empty, so I figured I'd throw the question up here.

The first picture is what the bigger patches look like. The second picture is what it looks like after being scraped away. The rest of the pictures are underneath some of the leaves where smaller patches have popped up.

The plant seems to be growing really well, but does have some bumpy patches on leaves as well as two curled leaves. They are on the inside of the plant though, so I figured they just weren't getting enough light.

The rust spots have been there for about a month now. I kept checking for bugs and found none until yesterday. Rinsed off the leaves and nothing since, however the rust seems to now be spreading. This makes me wonder if it's a fungus of some kind that spread when I washed the leaves... I don't know.

Any help would be HUGELY appreciated!

Olivia


texts: Weeping Willow tree half dead with an abundance of hard fungus, How do I save it?

texts: This weeping willow tree has been healthy up to about a year ago when I started noticing some branches dieing but I didn't think much of it. Now about half of the tree appears to be dead and is covered with this very hard fungus. I don't know if this fungus caused the death or simply took over because the tree died. I would like help identifying the illness and any suggestions on how to save the tree.


texts: Is there a grassy plant that's unattractive to livestock without being poisonous?

texts:
We'd like to grow a plant (hopefully not obscure, and not hard to cultivate) which livestock (horses in our case) will leave alone.

From observing horses the three main plants which they are guaranteed to leave alone are nettles, docks and ragwort. The last one is highly toxic (you wouldn't deliberately introduce it anywhere near livestock) while the first two are far from attractive.

Is there something more attractive than nettles or docks, which isn't too hard to cultivate? The grassier the better.


texts: How can I drain lawn with very little slope?

texts:
I have a depression on the side of my lawn where rain and sprinkler water collects. There used to be a plastic lined pond and a lot of rock (for the last 5-8 years) that I suspect blocked the water from draining properly on that side. I'm going to replace that pond with a decomposed granite (DG) patio with a concrete curb separating it from the lawn. Once I compress the patio, I worried that it will cause the same blockage, or it will affect the patio in some way. So my plan is to install a drain under the new patio, with the inlet and dry well under the depression. The only problem is that the depression is almost as low as the side of my yard where the water needs to go.

I think my options are:

build the depression up a little bit so there's a slope
dig the side of the yard down a bit and fill with rocks so it can percolate up or
drain to the other side of the lawn (70 ft) where it appears to be lower.

And are my assumptions about the patio blocking the drainage or being damaged by it correct?

The string represents the proposed drain pipe (there's no existing drains or they're hidden very well and clogged). When it is taut, there is no slope.

Clarification: A level DG patio will take up the majority of the dirt area in the photo. That used to be a pond. The orange paint is the path of a proposed concrete curb.

Wider (older) shot of back yard


texts: One of our neighbors are in the process of renovating their house and have taken out an old potted plant that they've said they dont want to keep anymore. I asked them about the plant and they didn't know what it was. From the looks of it, it appears neglected. Does anyone know what it's called?


texts: Can I propagate a healthy plant from one that has a White root rot disease?

texts:
I have three Dracaena fragrans house plants that were propagated form another large plant. I've found that two of them have White root rot disease. (The plant that did not have the fungus was the topmost cutting.)

Can I propagate healthy plants from their cuttings (that is, is the fungus confined to the roots, or does affect the whole plant, so that the propagated plants will also end up having the disease)?

[I suspect that the large plant I propagated the tree plants had some root issues (the leaves had yellow spots and were turning brown and drying out at the end), although I couldn’t identify any problems with the roots when I was replanting it, so I assumed it had to do with some unfavorable conditions. I’ve been having the large plant for a year or so, and except for the yellow spots on the leaves I got it with it seems to be doing ok. ]


texts: How can I fix / heal a small hole in a tree?

texts:
The people who lived in my house before me apparently screwed a hook into 2 of my trees. (It looks like they probably had a clothes line between these 2 trees.)  The hooks are still there screwed in tightly.
They seem to be 1/2" diameter on the screws.  And the tree is humongous, maybe 4.5' diameter and very healthy looking.  Nonetheless from what I've heard it's never OK to screw things into a tree.  Should I remove these hooks and do something to help the hole heal?  If this tree ever fell the wrong way it would demolish my house.  It must remain healthy.


texts: I received a Monstera deliciosa some time ago and I'm wondering if it doesn't show signs of root rot. Most of the leaves seem unaffected but one of them has rather big dark spots on it, another one has one small dark spot and there's also a dark stain on one of the stems. In addition to that one of the young leaves is yellow. I've heard that one has to fight root rot immediately after the first symptoms have occurred to maximize the chances to save the plant. Please, examine the photos that I have attached and tell me if I should worry. Thanks in advance for your help.


texts: What is this small white mushroom with textured tops found in Israel?

texts:
These small white mushrooms started growing in a small pot. The location is Israel, on a higher floor in the building.

Is this Amanita smithiana ?


texts:
I've got a small shed in my garden, and it used to be a great home for many spiders (and two mice). Walls are thin wood, floor is solid concrete, and eternit roofing.

A few months ago, my father helped me to clean it out completely and apply drywall to all inside walls + ceiling, with some latticework and plastic sheeting between the old outer wall and the new inner drywall to keep the inside dry. It's now a clean and dry space.

The only entryway for insects is through the door, which is a problem because it's a sliding door mounted on a rail on the outside of the shed, so there is a very small gap all around the door, and of course spiders are finding their way back in.

How can I effectively keep spiders out of this space?

As long as I only use it for storing shovels, who cares about spiders. But I'd like to use the newly upgraded space for storing other things that I don't want ruined by cobwebs and assorted gunk.

I believe this question is more about gardening than about DIY because it's about how to fight spiders, not how to build a shed.


texts:
Can you help me identify the big plant in the center right of the photograph? I planted a lot of different seeds but I don't think this is one of them, I think it's a weed.

Click photograph for full size


texts: Most effective way to fix a poor drainage easement?

texts:
I just bought a house a couple of months ago, and like many suburban lots, the property has a drainage easement that runs along the sides.  One side has a stone culvert pipe that moves water away from the property, the other side appears to have no particular drainage method, other than slightly sloping toward the culvert.  The latter side is constantly soggy and muddy, with standing water, and it turns into a veritable river during rainstorms.  I attached an image below showing the slope of the yard and the problem area.

I'm going to contact the county surveyor to see if they will do anything since the easement is not draining correctly (I don't see how it ever did in the first place - the house is 14 years old).  But, assuming they won't do anything, is there a particular fix that works best for these side-property drainage easements?  I've looked into french ditches, re-sodding, and laying perforated pipe - it's difficult to know which method has the best chance of working.

EDIT: There have been other questions on this site regarding pooling of water near the house - I'm referring specifically to a faulty drainage easement along an entire side.


texts: How often/long should I water my newly sodded lawn?

texts:
I have some new sod getting rolled within the next few days and have a few questions.

How many days out of the week will I need to water until the sod is established?
How many minutes per zone should I water for on those days?
How long until I can switch to a regular watering schedule (2ish days a week)?

I live in the Dallas, Texas area.


texts: Small succulent (cactus?) identification

texts: I got this cactus from a friend, but I am not sure if it is really a cactus. It could also be a succulent other than cacti. Does anyone know what species this is?


texts: Red bugs, tiny webs and white powder on Tulsi plant

texts:
This is in south India. I purchased a Tulsi plant around 3 months ago from a local seller who told me he also had medicines for plants if I ever needed them. I asked what medicine, and he didn't know. Approximately two weeks after bringing the plant home, there were some dark brown bugs crawling all over it and the leaves appeared to have powdery mildew. I sprayed a milk+water solution under bright sunlight for three days and the plant actually recovered. I also pruned off many leaves that had no chance of recovery. In a few days it sprouted fresh leaves all over.

However, a week or two later, I noticed very tiny red bugs (size around a quarter of a millimeter) crawling all over the leaves of the plant. This time, there also seemed to be some kind of tiny webs all over the stalks of the leaves. Leaves began turning brown, had some kind of white powdery substance on it and although the plant was constantly sprouting fresh leaves, the bugs and the 'disease' always caught up and devoured the leaves. The plant has and still is able to sprout fresh leaves though. The bugs seemed more abundant and visibly there during the rainy days. Now that the rain is gone, I don't see bugs, but the tiny brown blobs on the leaves shown in the first picture just might be them. I heard Tulsi needs direct sunlight, so it has been kept on a terrace where it gets morning and afternoon sunlight in plenty.

Some pics (click on it to see larger):

I don't want to go to the seller because I believe they may be running a scam where they sell plants which are already sick/disease-prone so that they can sell 'medicine' when gullible customers come back.

Questions:
1. Could anyone help identify what is wrong with the plant and how to fix it?
2. The plant has dropped seeds all around it. Would it be more advisable to kill the plant and grow saplings from the seeds? Or would they be prone to the same disease?
3. Does anyone know of any supposed chemical that such suspected scamsters could use to make plants seem healthy only as long as the chemical is used?


texts: How can I organically get rid of aphids in my aquaponics system?

texts:
Hundreds of aphids have decided to take up residency on the various veggies in the aquaponics system I help maintain; gorging insidiously on the plants and multiplying by the dozens. If not stopped soon, I fear it will be too late to turn things around.

My relatively small recirculating system consists of two long/shallow grow basins (containing mostly lettuces, broccoli and parsley at the moment) connected to three barrel-like barramundi tanks housed in an adjacent space; we cycle the water through continually and maintain a constant growing temperature to ensure optimal crop yield. It's not a half-bad set up if I don't say so myself, and annoyingly these pests seem to think so too!

We need them evicted as soon as possible for the greater good of the plants, but doing so is proving a challenge. Any chemical or kitchen remedies for aphids - like the garlic and vinegar solution - were immediately scratched, since anything we spray on or around the plants will get into the water and effectively be sprayed on the fish as well. Hearty as they are, I'm sure barramundi don't particularly enjoy breathing garlic water. Plus, we're an all organic system.

So, any ideas on how to tackle this problem?


texts: What can I do to reduce standing water in my indoor large pots?

texts: I have the plants in pots with drainage holes inside plastic decorative pots w/o drainage holes (so that my carpet doesn't get wet) and even with a small amount of watering, over time water builds up in the plastic pot.


texts: I think I planted seeds too deep in Jiffy7 peat pellets - How do I fix this?

texts:
I planted a 72-spot tray with a variety of things, mostly herbs, some veggies. I've had only a handful of things germinate. About 10-12 of the peat pellets have sprouted. I'm concerned that I probably planted the seeds too deeply, so I'm wondering how I can fix this? The tray has been planted for about 2 weeks, perhaps a little more.

Is it likely that the ungerminated seeds are mouldy by this point? Should I leave them undisturbed in the environment they're in and keep hope that they'll pop up?

Environment: Basement, in my computer server room.
Temperature: 81F (held constant by environmental control equipment)
Relative humidity: 34% (but the plastic lid is on)
Lighting: Four 32-watt T8 fluorescent bulbs hanging about 3" over the tops of the seed trays.

Seeds planted:

Tomato
Basil
Kale
Fennel
Cucumber
Artichoke
Winter squash
others

For comparison, here is a different seed tray with some different stuff planted, but the seeds are nowhere near as deep; they are almost sitting on the surface. This second seed tray is in the exact same environment, the only major difference is the planting depth. Both trays have a wide variety of stuff in them.

(I have a web cam taking 1 picture of my seed tray every minute, to be compiled into a time-lapse video after I'm done growing stuff)

Taken at 2015-05-01 23:00

Taken at 2015-05-02 11:00 (12 hours later)


texts: Why do we have yellowing watermelon leaves?

texts:
My husband and I, first time gardeners, planted some watermelon for our grandchildren. We water the raised garden they are in every other night.

We have been noticing yellow leaves, but only on the watermelon. Why would this be, and what can we do to cure it?


texts: How to retrofit seed starting trays to prevent root circling

texts:
I grow plum trees from pits using seed starting trays:

Unfortunately, I have a problem where the roots of the seedlings grow in circles around the bottom of the cavities of the trays. The circling roots cause problems when the trees grow to maturity (they strangle each other out).

Instead of the roots growing in circles, I need to train them downwards towards the hole (where they will be air-pruned).

The problem is normally solved by using seed starting trays that have specialized vertical fins that prevent the root from growing in circles:

Question:

I would like to retrofit my existing trays (I have several dozen) so that they function like the anti-root circling trays. I think this might be achieved by adding some sort of vertical fin in each cavity that would act as a physical barrier/re-router to the roots (but I'm not sure how to do this).

How can I retrofit my existing trays to prevent root circling?


texts: Improving my first garden plot and stopping weeds

texts:
I have a small-ish plot at the front of my house. It's about 5mx2m in size and I'm in a new build house so I've come across several rocks and bits of rubble that I have removed so far.

It was planted with some laurel and other green plants when I moved in and I neglected it for about 7 months. Recently, I've spent a total of about 8 hours so far removing all the weeds and loosening the soil.

The soil is very dusty but compacts down to become hard as rock so I have had to soak it with water several times just to be able to dig it. It drains very quickly too. Soak it with a hose one evening and it will be dry the next day.

Now that I've got something that looks more like a garden I'd like to get some flowers and colour in there but I want to make sure the weeds don't come back and also improve the soil.

To address the soil I was going to buy some compost to dig through (does that seem sensible?) but what is the best approach for the weeds? Is there something I can use to kill what remains of them? Or is the best approach just to keep an eye on it and remove them when they grow? Is it inevitable that they will come back?

I'm up for maintaining it I just want to make sure I'm doing the best thing :D

Thanks for the help.


texts: Protecting the soil with a layer of Granite or Stone

texts:
I did not find any information on the web about this.

I am currently thinking about protecting the soil of several pots on my west Germany southside balcony before the sun and any kind of stranger plant or vermins with a layer of low-nutrient soil, and topping it with a layer of Stone or Granite.

The idea roots back to an earlier idea in spring, when I used this technique to maximize solar radiation on my Tomato and Chili freshmen (this idea itself is based on my Computer Graphics / Illumination interest).

I am just beginning with my adventures in gardening, so experience with this experimentation is pretty low, and I wonder if anyone has tried this out, too.

What I've found out is that you can pour faster, as the mass of the stones will decelerate and spread the falling water enough, such that it does not nuzzle up the soil so much anymore. But this question is more about the protection part of it.


texts:
As a sequel to my previous question, I would like to seek genre of succulent plant which could withstand weather in Hong Kong, which is hot and damp in Summer.

Moreover, the place is usually around 35 degree Celsius in summer because of the heat released from the AC below.

I just bought a Hen and Chicks and a Haworthia but I doubt about their heat tolerance. Please suggest other genre but no cacti and Lithops.


texts: Can a bay leaf tree tolerate high heat? We want to plant one in a west facing planter backed by a tall brick wall. It rarely gets below freezing but summer temps can approach 120 °F. Will the tree survive morning shade and afternoon sun with extreme summer temperatures and radiant heat from the wall?


texts: Can I transplant grape hyacyinths while in bloom?

texts:
Last fall I planted a number of small grape hyacinth bulbs in my garden. It's now spring, and they're all in bloom, but instead of being in the garden, they're spread throughout the lawn. My suspicion is that they were moved by a chipmunk or something else before the ground froze.

My husband is planning his first lawn mowing of the season, so if I don't move them, he'll mow them down. He's also going to do the spring filling of holes and lawn re-seeding, so if I'm going to dig anything up, now's the time. In his defense, they're virtually impossible to mow around, and I wouldn't ask him to baby them in that way!

I assume that if I just leave them, they'll continue to naturalize in the lawn, but I'll have the same problem next year when there are twice as many, none of which will be in the garden.

I understand they're not that expensive or difficult to replace, but if I can save at least a few, I'd like to. I'm not as concerned with losing the flower now as I am of killing the bulb at this sensitive time. If transplanting now is likely to prevent them from blooming next spring, I'll just leave them alone.

I've seen this question, which is similar, although my flowers are farther along in the bloom cycle, and I only want to move them once, and into a garden rather than a pot. If the same advice holds true, though, I'd consider this a duplicate.


texts: What is this bee(?)-attracting wildflower?

texts:
This wildflower (weed?) appeared recently in my yard. The petal color in the pictures is not faithful - in reality, the petals have slight component of "dirty-purple" color, that my camera seems not to be able to capture.

Flower:

Foliage:

Please note that the large green leaves between flowers on the following photo are from a different, unrelated, plant (the right leaves are on the two photos above):


texts: Need help identifying species of Bonsai tree

texts:
There's a folder in google drive where there are pictures attached.
Bought it in a local store but I do not know the species.
Could anyone help me?

Link to Google Drive click here.


texts: My plant is drying and dying. What should I do?

texts:
I bought this bush/shrub/plant about a month ago but I can't remember the species.
It was very green, the leaves were curled and very little and it had very little white flowers.
When I bought it everything seemed ok, but now, with the hot weather, it started to dry and I think it is dying. The soil is humid and I took it out of the sunlight (only takes some in the morning).
The other day I watered it and add some vitamines to it and it seemed to get better, but I am afraid to put more since it can be too much.
What should I do?
(Sorry in advance if my English is not the best)


texts:
We've got a line of Siberian elms in our backyard that we want to get rid of. They're not the most attractive tree, they're an invasive species, and they aggressively colonize the lawn. They also have a short lifespan and whether they've reached that or the harsh storms we've had here in the last few years were too much for them, about half seem to be dead or dying.

But the squirrels seem to love them — most of the ones we want to cut down have squirrel nests.

Will the squirrels eventually leave the dead trees? Should we encourage them to leave somehow? Or should we just wait for a day they're not there and cut away, knowing they can restart?


texts:
Something that I've heard quite regularly† is that when you plant your tomatoes, you should put an aspirin under each plant. Apparently salicylic acid both increases the number of blooms and strengthens the plant's immune system.

I've been unable to find any references for studies done on this. Nor have I found it discussed on some of the sites or in books that I find more trustworthy.

So, does anyone know of any good references for this?
Does anyone have an explanation of why aspirin in particular helps tomatoes?

† Some website references: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc...


texts:
Due to the fact that quinoa, bought in shops here, cost a lot and because of the ethical implications of buying quinoa (and also just for the hell of it), I'd like to know if it's possible to grow quinoa in the UK?

If it is possible, what are the ideal conditions?


texts: What are these yellow spots on my potato leaves

texts: Just noticed these spots appearing on some of the leaves of my Maori potatoes being grown in a jute coffee sack. Plant otherwise looks healthy, and i don't see any insects. It's not new or old growth affected.


texts: I bought a 5ft areca palm about a month ago. About two weeks after I purchased it, I noticed some leaves had spots and others were turning brown. Initially I thought it was normal but more leaves seem to be showing these symptoms. The palm is indoors, in 70 degree temperature, and sitting about 3 meters from the living room windows (windows face back patio and let in medium sunlight, though doesn't hit palm directly). I water it every other day (about a cup of water) and don't use fertilizer, feed or anything else.


texts: What is a good ground cover for street frontage instead of lawn?

texts:
Where I live (Adelaide plains, South Australia) it's very hot and dry in summertime and so I think a lawn is a waste of water if you don't get to enjoy it, such as where the yard is exposed to the street.

What is a good ground cover to put in the front yard plot to:

prevent weeds;
look "nice" for the neighbourhood (there isn't a specific law, but strong expectation);
survive pretty much by itself, perhaps with a little extra watering midsummer, but must be hardy; and that
will only need trimming four or less times a year.

Bonus for something that is easy to either trim with clippers or possible to mow with very high setting.

The plot I need to cover with something is approximately 2x5m, has standard roses at the front edge already, and is backed by a huge bougainvillea at the side. The soil is not great, so I'll probably turn in 0.5-1 cubic metres of compost before planting ground cover.

UPDATE: Must be able to survive in summer. Means can handle four-day heatwave reaching to 45 degrees (113 F) mid afternoon.


texts:
I live in Ridgefield, Connecticut (USDA hardiness zone 6a), and would like to grow cilantro. The local grocery stores sells it in larges bunches for $4, but I only need a little at a time. I'm happy to grow it inside or outside.

How do I grow it successfully?


texts: What is the maximum mesh size for rabbit barrier?

texts:
I know the text book says 1" x 1".  But that sounds like a tidy, easy to remember plan, almost like a slogan.  Does anyone know if a rabbit can get thru 1" x 2" or 1.5" x 1.5", maybe even 2" x 2"?
Just to state: 3' high.  1' under the ground and / or 1' 'L' shape outward from rabbit-free area.  I'm not questioning that.  I'm only questioning the mesh size.
Please no opinions, scientific knowledge only.


texts: help! I pulled a bonsai seedling gently and it broke off, can it survive?

texts: So I saw a bonsai seedling and I touched it gently, it broke off. I don’t know what to do


texts: Haworthias in polystyrene pellets potting-soil when pumice not available

texts:
I have read this article about using styrofoam (Polystyrene) instead of Perlite. Is it good to plant Haworthias in 100% styrofoam grains?

The poly's water retention is inferior to that of Perlite, and is closer to that of pumice. The polystyrene balls are easily obtained when you rub a piece of the stuff against a rough surface and all the "grains" break loose.

Setting aside all other issues while processing this stuff, how good will be a 100% styrofoam-based substrate to plant Haworthias? Will the water retention be sufficient for Haworthias?


texts:
When I purchased one of my cacti in mid-December (not identified yet), I noticed that it had some buds on its sides. I've never seen cactus flowers or buds, but that's what they seemed to be, instinctively. I left for a holiday soon after, and when I returned in January, some of the buds had shrivelled and retracted, while some were still poking out.

To this day, some of these growths are still hanging on the plants, but I've never seen any flowers on it.

What are these growths?

Mid-December:

February:


texts: Should the aerial roots be trimmed on my ficus tree?

texts:
I have a couple 3 foot tall ficus trees which have some thin aerial roots descending from the branches.  I keep both indoors, and they do not get a lot of sunlight.  However, when I purchased them 2 months ago, they already had these aerial roots.

Would trimming the aerial roots have any major impact on the health of the tree?  If so, are there things I can do to offset these effects?  I have seen some trees that never seem to grow these types of roots, is this species dependent or environmentally determined?


texts:
I had climbing rose next to this. Late last year I pulled a bunch of seeds and buried near this area:

I am in Pacific Northwest.
Is it blackberry or rose?


texts: Can anyone help me identify the tree that these came from? It is growing in eastern Virginia.


texts: How much space can I leave between soaker hoses in my garden?

texts: I'm in the process of planting my garden, and I had planned 3 ft wide raised beds with a single soaker hose running down the center of each one. I am using a square foot layout, so there will be 3 rows across most of the beds. Will this hose layout be enough to reach plants that are in the outside 2 rows? Or do I need to run 2 hoses between the rows, so they're 18" apart? I'm not sure if soil composition or density will greatly affect the moisture distribution or not. Is this just something I'm going to have to experiment with to determine?


texts: What is this plant with serrated leaves and small white/yellow flowers?

texts:
Can you help me identify this plant?

It opens in the morning and closes in the afternoon.

It is growing in my backyard in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

It started growing a few months ago, it does not have scent and this is the first flower it has.

Thank you.


texts: Tomato plants got black stems and the leaves dry out

texts:
I was so proud of my tomato plants (grown from seeds), but now I'm worried that they have died...

Instead of having a usual French summer (with 30 C at least and dry weather) it is raining a lot and it is cold (18-20 C). Up to now (until last week or so) I was not worried because the tomatoes did well, a lot of flowers and some fruits were appearing. Then suddenly the stems became black, not only black dots and yellow leaves as described here but real areas. In addition the leaves have dried out.

Is there anything I can do? If not, what could I have done to avoid this situation beforehand? ("In gardening there is always a next year")

Here are some pictures (click to enlarge).


texts: What are the easiest vegetables & fruits to grow in your apartment?

texts: I would like to know what are the easiest and fastest vegetables & fruits that can be grown in a small space with limited sunlight access, like an apartment balcony. I live in the small island of Singapore. It's sunny most of the year with no seasons.


texts:
I have a cranberry tree in a planter, and today I noticed this white and yellow stuff in the soil. Here are some pics of the soil:

A few months ago this same plant had tons of scale, and I cleaned it up well. These are some pics from many months ago of the scale (pic1 & pic2). It's improved since that time and it's been growing lots of new leaves, but today I noticed this white and yellow stuff in the soil. It also has some ants, and it still has scale (although it's very little..

What can I do get rid of this stuff? My concern is that this is not letting the plant grow cranberries.


texts: If I harvest bell pepper, will it grow back? (I control the temperature in my small greenhouse)

texts:
If I harvest bell pepper, will it grow back? (I control the temperature 25 C* in my small greenhouse)

If yes, I pick bell pepper fruit only or it needs pruning also after harvesting? how to do it correctly?


texts: What are traditional English flowers to plant on the edge of a wooded stream?

texts:
Our property borders an old area of woodland, with a stream running down next to our drive on the far side. There are already some bluebells but we would like to add more flowers, however we would like to be sensitive to the area... in our garden itself things like tulips and crocuses and daffodils are planned but in the more wild area I don't want non-native species.

All I have thought of so far are bluebells and snowdrops, which we plan to plant ASAP as autumn is here in Northern England. Are there other spring/summer/autumn flowers, particularly bulbs, I should be aware of?

The right hand side of the drive is where I'm talking about... our garden proper is on the other side of the long wall:


texts: Why do my eggplants have plenty of flowers but no fruit?

texts:
I have six or seven eggplant plants that are growing marvelously. They have been in the ground for about 3-4 months and are each about a foot, foot and a half tall. They all have plenty of purple flowers but I have had no fruit yet. Why? Is it:

Seasonal - I'm in Brisbane, Australia and we are only just now coming to the end of Winter, start of Spring.
User error - do I need to be hand-pollinating these babies?
Nutritional - a lack of food?


texts: What are these tiny white spider-like bugs in my soil and on plants?

texts:
Since we bought some soil from Tescos recently, we've suddenly had an influx of lots of tiny white bugs in our soil.

We have had spider-mites and aphids before, but these don't look like either (as far as I can tell).

Below are the best images I could get (with the best zoom I could muster).

They are building webs, but they have more structure than those we've seen of spider-mites we've had before (such as seen in this picture: https://www.planetnatural.com/pest-problem-solver/houseplant-pests/spider-mite-control/ ). They are also far whiter.

Could someone help me identify them and tell me how to get rid of them?


texts: How can I tell the difference between etiolation and a sunburn?

texts:
I'm attempting to grow plants from seed during the winter, by using a desk lamp and a timer to simulate 12 hour days.  Since I know sprouts require a lot of light, I placed the desk lamp such that the bulb is about 2 inches (5cm) away from the soil.  The bulb is a 60W incandescent.

Unfortunately, there's something wrong with the one surviving sprout.  The leaves are yellowed, with tinges of brown at the edges.  The plant still engages in heliotropic behavior - that is, a few hours after moving the lamp, the leaves have moved to face the bulb.  The plant is a Sweet Basil.

I've never tried this before, so it's hard to tell if a) the bulb is too hot too close, and is burning the plant or b) the bulb is too dim, and the plant cannot complete sufficient photosynthesis.  A Google image search shows leaves with this coloration for both etiolated and sunburned plants.

How can I tell if the plant is etiolated or sunburned?  Alternatively, in this specific case, is it burned or etiolated?


texts: I ordered variegated ivy online - but got this

texts:
Last autumn, I wanted to have an attractive ground cover for a deep shade area. So I ordered five variegated English ivies, and planted them - or so I thought.
I noticed some flowers today. Looking now at them, they don't look like ivy's flowers at all. And I realized these are not hederas! Though it looks these plants like shade like hederas, and are evergreen too. I am really mad at the vendor - this is the third time I ordered something, and got a wrong plant, believe it or not!
Can you perhaps help me ID the plants, so that I at least know what I have?
Location is Serbia. Photos are here:


texts: Avocado... help my girl go down the right path!

texts:
Overall... I'm pretty happy with how she's doing, but I do have some questions!

Here are some pictures of our avocado tree - she was started from a seed from a very mature tree.

Questions:

I'm thinking she needs moving into a bigger pot, correct?
What are your thoughts on the leaf droop?
I've noticed that she's growing straight up without any off-shooting...   (however it looks like toward the top she is off-shooting, but I'm not certain!)... I do know that we never did clip the top when she was younger.  Thoughts?

Any other advice?  We're in SE Florida and I'd like to keep her inside until she is super-strong and ready to fight on her own.


texts: What is this plant with spikes on its stem and leaves and is over 3 feet tall?

texts:
The attached photo of a weed or plant is one of two that is growing in the spare ground beside our house.We have lived here for 33 years and this has never appeared before. It has spikes on the stem and some on each leaf. There have not been any flowers to date.

What is it?


texts: In the past few weeks some of my aloe’s leaves are becoming flat. What is wrong with it? Is there anything I can do? .


texts: This man dug a pond right by the biggest I think pine tree I have ever seen. So obviously he hacked up her roots and it’s so so sad because now the tree is half dead! Is there anything I can do to save this huge tree?


texts: Can I repot one of these stalks separately?

texts:
I have this plant:

In theory I would like to separate one of those stalks and repot it in its own pot; however, I'm not sure whether these are separate plants or three stalks growing from the same root. So my question is:

Is there a way to determine ahead of time whether these are separate plants or one plant?
If they are one plant, can I safely separate one stalk for separate repotting?


texts:
First a little background,

I live in Sri Lanka where the temperature is at about 30c throughout the year. The sun is also very strong for the entire year and yeah we don't have different seasons here. On December it gets to about 25c but that's not much of a difference. The sun rises at about 6am and sets at 6pm. Starting from 10am to 3pm there is full sunlight and it's a bit hard to a person to work outdoors for more than 30minutes in direct sunlight. Also, in the area that I live, we don't have succulent nurseries or a place to buy succulent potting soil.

Previously, I bought succulent seeds from eBay but they turned out to be some weed. The "succulent" seedlings died instantly when I gave them a bit of morning sun from a shaded window(maybe they died because they weren't succulents).

These are the steps I followed to germinate them.

Take some normal soil and add extra stones into it so it will drain faster.
Put it into microwave at 800w for 2minutes.
Wait for it to cool down and then add seeds on the surface then cover it with a clear cover to trap the moisture inside.

This is what they turned out to be.

I'm pretty sure that these aren't succulents.

Now my questions.

Am I mistaken and those are succulent seedlings ?
I bought new succulent seeds. Lets assume they are real succulent seeds.So I'm going to give it a try again. The steps I followed to germinate "succulents" were correct or something was wrong?
I have also bought a 10w grow led chip. Can I use it to grow the seedlings? If so, how high should I place the led grow light? (When lit, it's colour is similar to pink)
How often should I water the succulents as they grow up? The soil that I mixed up drains fast. I watered the soil 3days ago just to check and it still is a bit wet to the touch.
How fast should the soil dry up?
If the succulents germinate how many hours of sunlight should I give them?  If it's possible to use the grow lights. How many hours of light should I give?

Sorry for the image quality. It's the only image that I have of them.

Thank you.


texts: What can I do if my Cannabis plant starts flowering early

texts: I have an Alaskan Thunderfuck that is a little over a month old that started flowering. It has been growing alongside several other plants and nun are in a 12-12 light cycle. The plant is still small and being fed liquid Miricle Grow 12-4-8 for veg. Can I get the plant back into veg. or should I switch to bloom nutrients and let it go?


texts:
My back yard is full of small, shallow holes and I'm trying to figure out why. They are 1-2 inches across and about as deep, definitely not burrows. I as far as I can tell, nothing is buried in them, and they don't seem filled in. These pictures are from last year, but there are dozens more in my yard right now. They seem to be concentrated around a certain spot in my back yard, but I've seen them all over. Based on the local wildlife, I suspect squirrels or rabbits (I live in Minneapolis, MN). I'd like to be sure what species is making them before I think about trapping and relocating it. Thanks in advance!

Some pictures from today:


texts: Newly Planted Spring Bulbs Coming up in november

texts:
I live in southern New Hampshire and I planted a bunch of spring bulbs in late September after it finally cooled down.  However, we've had quite a warm fall since then.  Today I noticed that I've got a lot of shoots coming up from the flower bed and I'm wondering if I should do anything to the bulbs to ensure that they will come up in the spring.

I couldn't find much of anything on the internet as it all seemed to be january/february thaw and was hoping to get some insight into this wonderful phenomenon.

The bed contains dutch iris, daffodils, tulips, and crocus.  I think it's the daffodils or tulips coming up.


texts: Anthurium misshapen leaves, brown marks and yellowing leaves

texts:
My anthurium is not looking his best lately and I don't know what is wrong. I have repotted him somewhere in spring this year and he was doing great until a few months ago. I haven't changed anything in how I care for him (I don't use fertiliser).
The first trouble signs (1-2 months ago) were misshapen leaves and flower; they have an 'indent' (see arrows):

Apart from that, everything seemed fine at the moment, so I didn't worry about it.
However, recently the new leaves were even more misshapen and have some brown dry marks on them:

A few  days ago, some older leaves started to yellow:

A flower which was developing also suddenly turned brown:

I scanned for bugs but I didn't see any on the plant itself. I did find four (pale, beige) mites on the cache-pot, but I don't know if they are to blame. The brown marks are also only on the new leaves and on all the new leaves.
Picture from above:

Picture of the bottom of the pot:

EDIT
The fifth photo (from the original post) shows the underside of a leaf.
Below I added some more photos of undersides of leaves.


texts: How do I determine the proper way to drain a yard?

texts:
I have an issue with a small area of my lot collecting a couple inches of water pretty much any time it rains. It takes it a few days before the water finally evaporates or soaks into the yard.

I have been trying to figure out the best way to deal with it. I have thought about putting in a drain to take the water to the back side of the house where the is a slope down into a drainage ditch. What I am struggling with is the idea that when I run my sprinkler system in the summer, the drain would be taking some of the water I paid good money for and just throwing it away.

Here is a rough drawing of what the lot looks like. It is sloped towards the drainage ditch with the house being elevated slightly.

So, what is the proper way to deal with something like this?


texts: How to help wilted rubber tree? Found on curb

texts:
I found this Rubber Tree out on the curb this morning - for ref, I’m in NYC and it’s 52F here today. I’m not sure if it was left out overnight but last night the temp got down to ~47F.
As you can see in the photos, the leaves on this plant are drooping - only had a few yellowing leaves when I found it. The soil was very dry and new leaf growth is curling up.
Does anything stand out as the most likely cause of leaf droop? Not sure if it’s from exposure to cold or if there’s a watering issue from the previous owner.
Any suggestions for care now considering the potential shock of a new environment? Potting/water/lighting recommendations for a rubber plant in this situation?
Thanks in advance!


texts: Do chemicals leach from the sides of raised beds?

texts:
Around a year ago I went to a local hardware store to buy some treated pine logs to make a raised garden bed. The guy at the store asked if I was using it for a vegetable bed and he explained that chemicals from the treated pine would leach into the soil and I should use a special type of wood specifically designed for use in garden beds.

I have since abandoned the idea of purchasing from the hardware store and currently I only have one raised bed which I am using for potatoes which I have built up using an old bookshelf I picked up for free and knocked the back out. This is made out of what I assume is melamine coated particle board.

Is there research around where leaching of wood materials has been properly researched and documented?

What healthy as well as sustainable / recycled / reusable solution should a person use when building a raised bed? Note: This doesn't necessarily need to be wood it could be something like recycled brick.


texts:
I live in Uttar Pradesh, India and I have planted pedilanthus in my vertical garden. They are in bright indirect sunlight. Their tips are turning pink and there is also some white fungus.
What should I do?


texts: Mysterious beige seeds with a trough cleaved through them

texts:
I found these seeds packed away. I have no idea what they are, nor how old they are.

They are beige color, about 5 millimeters wide. A distinct trough runs through them from end-to-end, about 2 millimeters wide and 2 millimeters deep, colored darker yellow-brown. The trough is quite deep and wide, like a tiny router tool was run through it.

➠ What might they be?

Nut puffed cereal, really! Firm little things I found tucked away in that yellow packet, so I assume they are seeds.


texts: How can I encourage moss to grow on my lawn?

texts: I'm trying to replace some of the grass in my lawn (in the shadier parts of it) with moss. How should I go about doing that?


texts: is fresh oregano supposed to be pungent?

texts:
I've grown my oregano from seed, on the seed packet it said "Origanum Vulgare" (italian), and this is how it looks now:

it also makes purple flowers as shown in oregano pictures online.

But I was expecting it to have a pungent taste, which it doesn't,
I have some store bought dried oregano, and when I smell it I can feel the pungent smell as if I would smell oregano essential oil, but the fresh oregano from my garden doesn't have this smell.

So I thought maybe this isn't oregano, but marjoram or something else.
Or maybe the dried oregano I bought has oregano essential oil sprayed on it.

The tea from the dried stuff is also very strong and the smell feels like it burns your airways (kinda like the essential oils)


texts: Please ID this grass, shrub or willow in Highlands County Florida

texts:
Can somebody help me identify this species. It grows in clusters like a grass, the stock gets to about inch thick and grows straight and solid.  Also like a basket willow. But also wondering if this is Cutthroat seep?

some of these taken at different times of the year. In some cases I'm not sure if I am looking at the same species or not. Like this I'm not sure about:


texts: Is there actually such a thing as a ripe green pepper?

texts:
I grew what I thought was a green bell pepper (it was) from seeds that I grabbed out of a store bought green bell pepper but it ended up ripening to orange bell pepper.

While doing some research trying to find the best time to harvest I was usually met with a "When the pepper changes color is when it is technically ripest" but this didn't account for a pepper that didn't change color. (Which is what I thought I had)

So maybe I've just been a fool in thinking green peppers were ever a thing but from what I gathered, they aren't, technically. They are just under-ripe peppers?

Is this true?


texts: Finding leak underground of sprinklers system

texts: There is an area in my yard that is muddy. I suspect there is a small leak of the underground pipes.  To avoid randomly digging the entire area (which about 20ft x 10ft), is there a reliable way to pinpoint the leak to a more specific location before digging?  Preferably not needing expensive professional tools.


texts: Are ants in my raspberry flowers beneficial or harmful?

texts:
I'm observing ants on my raspberry plants, especially in the flowers. They are diving head-forward into the flowers and stay there for a while. Just like flying insects on other flowers.

Is this "normal"? Does it do any damage? Will this pollinate the flowers?


texts: What is this rambling/climbing plant with small leaves?

texts:
It's grown up my unused bench and I think it actually looks pretty. Is it dangerous, noxious, or uncontrollable? It's been there for almost a year and hasn't flowered. It grows up trees (I try to cut it down when it does). It makes a large tangled shrub at the bottom.

Photos: (click to enlarge)


texts:
Any ideas what pest is plaguing my hibiscus?
I kept it outdoors in central New Mexico until about 3--4 months ago when the temperature went below freezing. It's been inside since. I've had it for nearly 2 years.


texts: Insect identification, what is this thing?

texts: Here is a picture of a bug, I found on my plant does anyone know what it is?


texts: What is this pink or blue colored flower with a white ring in the center?

texts:
I saw it my friend's album. What is this flower?

(Click to enlarge)


texts:
I have been out of my place for more than one month but I asked a friend to give water to my plants, including my beautiful Cycas revoluta. I don't think my friend gave the plant too much water (since he came only three times in one month), but now the leaves at the bottom of my cycas are entirely yellow as you can see from the attached pic.

Now, I don't see any fungus and the soil was very dry when I came back home, so I gave the plant a bit of water. Living in London the rain can be an issue but till now the plant was great! So I am not sure what to do (not watering can be the solution), but then the leaves will stay yellow? Shall I cut them? Thank you for any advice!


texts: I planted a new mint plant in a pot about a month ago and it had big, healthy green leaves. Now it has some serious issues but I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I was watering it every 2-3 days and it was getting a full 8-10 hours of sunlight and the leaves slowly started to dull and shrink. I thought I was overwatering it and backed off and saw no change. It was just planted in the pot so I don't think it's root bound. What can I do?


texts: Last year these rust spots appeared on one lower branch of this five year old tree. A fellow at the nursery were it was purchased suggested  that I water more which I did. This year however the rust spots have appeared on almost all leaves on all branches. It seems systemic.  In spring and early summer the tree appears healthy, but the spots develop mid season. Other plants growing in the same area (clumping bamboo, hostas and heuchera) do not develop these spots and are healthy.  There are four other species of maples in the yard in close proximity that do not develop these spots. Is this some type of fungus? If so can it be dealt with, I am concerned that it may spread to the other trees.


texts:
This succulent seems fine at the extremities, but it started to wither from the base up...

Can anyone identify it so I can find how to grow it properly?

I put a few drops of water everyday on it, not too much.

Edit: a few more pictures of the plant and the rot.

I hope those pictures are Ok... I'm having trouble with lighting...


texts:
I was thinking about making a short retaining wall for a flower bed in front of my house. We like the way Tumbled Bluestone looks and I was looking for any pointers anyone may have with laying such a material. It wouldn't be very high - I'm guessing a foot and half at the highest.

Also, any experience in cutting the stone? I'm assuming at some point I'll have to do some cuts on it to get it all to lay right.

My thoughts are to do three tiers, the bottom one driveway level up a foot and half or so, the next one about a foot and half above that one and then the top one which is the same height of the walkway to the house. Not looking to do a patio with it (yet).


texts: Can I use 12-6-9 fertilizer sticks for a Ficus Bonsai?

texts: I have a bunch of plant food sticks described as "compound organic and inorganic NPK 12-6-9 fertilizer with micronutrients for ornamental plants". I wonder if this is suitable for a Ficus (Ginseng?) bonsai?


texts: Is painting a lawn/garden border a good idea?

texts:
My lawn goes up to my garden bed with a concrete border between. I looks something like this.

But the plain concrete looks ... bad, just bad. I'm thinking about slapping a coat of paint on it, maybe a nice grey or brown colour.

The thing is, I often mow over it and use a mechanical edger. I think I would scratch up the paint. I don't know if scratched up paint work would look worse than unpainted concrete.

My questions are:

Will it get all scratched up if I mow and edge up to it?

If it does, will it look bad?

Does anyone have painted concrete garden borders?

How do they look when you mow over them?


texts: Are there sources for what plants do require which uv light levels?

texts:
Tropical plants may require a higher UV level in the light, if not to grow, maybe to fruit. Are there studies / sources on that with actual quantities?

Bamboo suggested in her answer to look at this page on UV strength, which I had seen already. It is slightly helpful in that it shows that, for instance, Germany in the summer can expect roughly half the maximum UV input as, say, Cuba, gets all year round.

However, the tropics don't have seasons, so a comparison would have to take into account seasonal differences in temperate latitudes. Also, while it does linearly relate to UV intensity, the UV index is adjusted for how damaging the UV is to human skin, so different wavelengths are weighted differently. This might be inadequate for thinking about plants.

Finally, while knowing the typical UV levels for a plant's natural habitat is a start, it would be better to know what irradiance it actually requires, how much, what wavelengths, what rhythm.


texts:
Sorry for asking probably a question that has been asked before, but I really don't know what could I do to improve by bonsai's health. I bought it 1 year ago, and all this time it kept losing leaves.
I also added images because I think it best describes the problem I am having.

Today I moved it outside, thinking that maybe it doesn't have enough light. I am living in Romania, it's quite warm already outside. I think that I also didn't water it correctly. First kept watering it once every week, until the water kept coming out the drainage hole, but I realized that the soil was moist. Now I tried not watering it after a schedule, but after 2 weeks without any water, the soil seemed still a bit moist (I have to add that I never drowned it in too much water, but I have probably added more than the tree needed). The leaves that are dropping are not dry, some of them are even new growth.
I have the following questions:

What could I do to help the tree recover?
What kind of ficus is it?
Should I leave it on the balcony or bring it back inside?
Does changing the location of the tree inside the house, harm it?

This is how it looked when I bought it:

Here is how it looked after maybe 3 months:

Here is how it looks now:

I appreciate all your help.
Thanks


texts: Is Reinforced Polyethylene Construction Film safe for raised bed liners?

texts:
I am planning to build raised beds. For the longevity of the wood I would like to use plastic liners. Is Reinforced Polyethylene Construction Film food safe?

If not, could anyone please suggest a food safe type of plastic liner?


texts: We have two euphorbias which we are struggling to take care of. They aren't dead but the leaves continue to brown and fall off. We aren't sure if we are over watering them or under watering them. Any suggestions and tips?


texts: How old can a porcelainflower (Hoya carnosa) get?

texts:
I'm wondering since I have a porcelainflower at home which is atleast 45 years of age. Originally owned by my grandmothers mother.
It feels so old for a flower(I'm not a flower expert though) and I would like to know how to keep it going so that future generations will inherit it, or atleast a flower that is coming from the mother plant. Surely it should die at some point?

Sincerely,
INRI


texts: Android Plant App for garden plants and trees

texts: Is anyone aware/use a well built Android app that identifies plants that grow in my area based upon GPS?


texts:
I bought this tomato plant some time ago, and it grew about 3 small tomatoes.

The tomato plant currently looks like this. I’m not sure if it’s dying, but the tomatoes grew in the dying branches.

Now it’s growing new branches, but I’m not sure how to (or if I need to) prune it.

The plant currently has two branches: one new branch is growing in one old branch, and the second branch is growing just below the “V” (the main branch).

NOTE: The green you see in the 2nd and 3rd pic is from another plant.

What do you recommend? Here are some pics:


texts: Should I replace this arborvitae or will it grow back?

texts:
I’ve got a row of arborvitae and one is looking a bit half-dead. Does this guy have a chance? Or should I dig him out and replace him?

I’ve only been in this house one growing season, so I have only just fertilized it, kept it watered and stabilized the plants by tying them to the fence for support. This is in Minnesota, they get full sun during the day, and the soil is rather clay-like. (And yea, they had a bit of snow damage due to the last heavy snowfall so their shape is still coming back)


texts: Lighting for indoor citrus to produce full fruit

texts:
I'm getting a few different citrus trees I'd like to grow against the wall in my living room. I currently have a hydroponic veggie setup so I'm not a total beginner.

I was wondering what lighting I could use for a 3x6 ft area to get the plants to fully fruit?

It sounds like a few hanging LEDs with cone fixtures would be my best bet, but I have no idea what lights would be strong enough.

I also don't know what fixtures I could use that would have a strong enough socket. Fixtures are a little important since I don't want people to become accidentally blinded when looking around the room.

Thanks in advance for any help.


texts: Box tree seedlings - what do they look and feel like....?

texts:
I purchased, online, seeds advertised as 'Box Tree' as I wanted to grow them myself. I planted them and now am getting the results, but they do not look like Box Tree...?
Can anyone help or validate if they are or not...?  The leaves feel very dry and like sandpaper.


texts: I'm wondering since evaporation is 24/7. Does it really matter when you water? If I water in the heat of the day it may cool my yard down and such the evaporation may be less. Plus since it is a recyclable you can't waste it. So does it really matter when you water? Farmers don't care: they water any time.


texts:
Pictured is a Thuja plicata "Green Giant" that spent too much time in a container. Notice the foliage thinning near the bottom.
As the tree gets into better conditions and starts growing, will the missing foliage be replaced and thicken up here or will it always be noticeable, or should I just replace the tree?


texts: Is Zanthoxylum simulans (Sichuan pepper) self-pollinating?

texts:
One can find a lot of contradicting information about this topic on the web. It would be nice to have a definite answer to this question.

Does anyone have a solitary plant (with guaranteed no other plants in the neighbourhood) that produces berries? Or are there any studies that came to a conclusion?


texts: What should I do about this sagging mandarin tree?

texts:
My mandarin tree started sagging when its fruit started coming in. Now most of the branches are sagging. My suspicion is that it was allowed to get too tall. I've roped it to minimise the chance of catastrophic failure.
Is there anything I can do for it, short of forfeiting the fruit for this year?
Do you see a risk of branches snapping and damaging the tree as a whole?
What about later on? Should I drastically prune it, and if so, does anybody have any tips?

Apologies for the images; my garden is small and the lighting isn't great.


texts: can a purple onion plant thrive on water-only?

texts:
Is this article, 29 Plants That Grow in Water Only (Without a Hydroponic System)
accurate, that is, can a plant thrive with only water?

I ask this question since, from the half of a purple onion grew a shoot, and it seems that thrives on the local tap water, but I have doubts in case were necessary put minerals or other kind of stuff.


texts: What's the best way to water an orchid that grows on coconut husk?

texts:
I have and it grows on coconut husk. I tried to water it, but seemed like the coconut husk didn't keep the water too long to make the orchid stays humid. So I came up with and idea to make self watering pot where the coconut husk is slightly dipped into the water in a jar. It has new young stem after a week I treat it that way. I put the fertilizer into the water too sometimes.

Just wondering if this self watered pot idea effective enough?


texts: Should I use soil-less technology for growing my veggies?

texts: I recently started growing some veggies in my farm, when I saw the soil-less growing techniques. If I am doing it purely for hobby and just working on the farm myself and not looking to spend 1000's of dollars, then should I consider using the soil-less technology for growing my veggies?


texts: Can someone identify this tree from these leaves and this "fruit"?

texts:
Can someone identify this tree that I have growing at my home from these leaves and this "fruit"? The ground is covered with the green, plum like orbs but they are rock hard. The tree itself is at least 30 feet tall and recently was damaged by a falling branch during a storm.

We live in the state of Virginia in the USA. We live in the middle of five acres of all kinds of trees so getting the age of the tree will be hard but we have lived here for forty years so at least that old.

It is currently summer here, temps in the 80s & 90s. The storm dislodged the "fruit" and in the winter we find hard, dark brown nuts of some type beneath these trees. I'll try to get a photo of the whole tree tomorrow.


texts: Name of this Plant and how to keep it straight

texts:
What is the name of this plant and also how do i keep main trunk straight.

When i bought this plant 7 months ago its leaves were curly and damaged  as you can see some old leaves are still there , later i started feeding it 20-20-20 fertilizer 4 months ago and now new leaves are in good shape and plant looks healthy.

I took this cutting (shown in below image) from above mother plant and i put it in water and after month it started rooting and later i put it in well draining soil and now new leaves are growing from nodes.


texts: Is there a good way to make a coffee ground water collection barrier?

texts:
I've heard that you can mold coffee grounds into any shape you want, so I was wondering how would I want to mold coffee grounds into edging for a water collection basin to keep all the water for everything I plant inside the garden (think like a seasonal sand castle of coffee grounds).

Is doing something like this even a good idea?


texts: How can I keep broccoli flowers from forming the same day the bud appears?

texts:
I'm growing purple broccoli, and the petals from the flower on top is forming the same day that it appears. How can I prevent this from happening so quickly?

It's forming white petals if you're curious about the color?

It's been in the 90s all week in MN USDA 4A.


texts: Trees in narrow space behind retaining wall

texts:
Context
We have 2 ft (60cm) high retaining wall and 2 ft behind the retaining wall is a 4 ft (1.2m) high fence. Naturally there is backfill with 5/8" crushed stone directly behind the wall. This backfill goes back 1 ft (30cm), but only goes to a height of 9 inches (23cm) from the top of the topmost retaining wall block.

Goal
We would like to plant trees at 6 ft (1.8m) apart (centered between fence posts) for some privacy from our neighbors. We live in a 3 story town-home so the trees have to be reasonably tall (10-12 ft [3m]?) to be effective.
We would like to plant 3 Japanese Maples (Blood Good) along the wall around 6 ft apart (and a Golden Raindrops in the larger corner). We want to buy the trees when they are already at a height of around 10 feet with a rootball of around 2 feet.
Question
As you can see, the roots can grow outwards, backwards (under the fence), downwards, but will be blocked from growing forwards. My question is what can we do to maximize the success here.. or is it a lost cause?

Edit 1, 2016-08-21

We live in Seattle, USA.
There is a french drain behind the wall with crushed stone and geo-material for drainage. In the picture you can see the drain protruding out of the wall.
We can certainly protect the fence from the soil using water proofing material, thanks for the suggestions on this!
Our thoughts were the tree roots would grow under the fence (backwards) as far as they wanted, out to the sides and downwards. Naturally there would be no roots growing forward and this was our primary concern.
It's not clear from the photo but the neighbors yard is dirt behind the fence. I did not realize the concrete they've spread would make the pH of the dirt unsuitable. Thanks for this info - is it a hopeless pH issue?

Edit 2, 2017-06-26
We went ahead and did it anyway and it's working out well so far. I've built an irrigation system into the wall, and under the lawn. This picture is from a month ago, but now that it's summer they grass, plants and trees are thriving. Let's see how it goes in the long term...

Edit 3, 2020-08-05
The trees are happy and vibrant and have grown well. In the end it was a successful project, I'm glad I took the risk and planted them in that space.


texts:
I've been gradually building a house on a site that has been fairly well dominated by wild, unchecked growth of various greenery over the past 15 years. Time has come to turn my attention to the garden / landscaping

Part of the garden is planned to have a vehicle turning circle right where an enormous rhododendron is well established; it's on an embankment that is approx 3m high and the bush itself is another 3m high, with a footprint of probably 5x7m and stems as thick as my arm.

I don't want to just rip into it for two reasons; one that I'm acutely aware it's bird nesting season and I genuinely don't know if birds nest in rhododendron (but I'm not averse to bullying my way in there to have a look). Q1: is it likely to be home to one or more families of birds?

Reason two; I actually really like the plant despite them seeming to have a poor reputation in the U.K as being somewhat invasive and antisocial - people seem to regard them as a similar nuisance to sycamore and leylandii; perfect plants to establish on an order if you want to upset the neighbours. Fortunately I have no neighbours who would care so I'd like to repurpose this one as hedging. Clearly it can grow well on the site soil and seems to have thrived on what is a windy, exposed site (though it is in the building shadow a bit).

Q2: What would I need to do to cultivate it for hedging? Are the existing stems suitable or should I employ some propagation technique to establish a number of smaller plants? I've got a requirement for a lot of hedging; the landscape plan calls for about 200m. Am I embarking on a task whose cost and efforts vastly outweighs the success, beauty and ease of maintenance of the end result, and it would be simpler and easier to order 400 beech hedge whips in a pallet and plant them out? How about the chances of moving the full stems of the plant and re planting them in a large rectangle to make a secluded inner garden; will bare stems establish new green growth down the sides to become a private screen over time?


texts: What are some succulent plants that are suitable to be planted in my office?

texts:
Many gardening websites recommend succulent plants as the best plants for indoors such as an office. It's true that they require minimal care with respect to water, but the websites usually don't tell you how much sunlight they need to live on.

The best scenario is an outdoor garden with full sun, comparable to the dry desert environment which most succulents can survive and thrive. However as the websites state that they are suitable to be planted indoors, can we just assume that they can accept minimal light such as the light from the fluorescent tubes (not the extra one, but the default one in the office) in a normal office? Of course not.

I think there maybe some succulents that can live in such environment. So what are some  succulents that need a fair amount of sunlight to live on, and what others need relatively less sunlight?

EDIT: Office conditions

Hong Kong is a subtropical region which is relatively warmer than some other places. In winter, the outdoor temperature is above 10 degree Celsius and it's much warmer indoors in a sealed office with people moving around. I guess it's not below 15 degree Celsius.

For the light, the default lighting we have is fluorescent lighting. If the plant is placed on the windowsill, it'll get some sunlight through the glass.


texts:
I planted three Correa 'Tucker Time Dinner Bells' plants in my garden in Melbourne, Australia nearly two years ago. Two of them died within a month or so but this one grew well until about two weeks ago when the leaves at the back started drooping, curling up and drying out.

We've had some decent rainfall recently so I don't think it's just a lack of water. I watered it with some seaweed fertiliser when I first noticed it looking sad but that hasn't helped.
Some suggestions I've seen online for what might cause this are root rot or curl grub so I've had an exploratory dig around the roots but can't see anything obviously wrong. I have seen the odd curl grub in this soil in the past though.
There are Woolly Bushes and Kangaroo Paw growing in the same area that seem to be doing well but I have lost some Grevilleas in the past.
This area used to be lawn with some Plumbago plants closer to the wall. I tried to smother the Couch grass but wasn't entirely successful so there are still some roots which keep shooting up again. The soil was initially quite hydrophobic so I've added some compost and also watered with a wetting agent. I mulched with woodchips sourced from the local transfer station before these were planted.
What might be causing this?


texts:
I've got this 2/3 year old Cardinal Creeper in a 16" container that's become really bare at the base, making the stem look like coils of rope. The new growth seems to happen at the tips, leaving the base still bare. I did have to cut back this plant down to 1.5'/2' length from root last year due an uncontrollable aphid infestation(it was growing up somewhere I wasn't able to reach with the sprays), but it grew back nicely. Now I'd like to do some hard pruning (so as to remove the lengths of bare stems at the bottom), but am wondering if the plant would grow back up every time after a hard prune? Does the plant's ability for regrowth decrease as it ages? Also, it just shed leaves last month and is showing new growth now... though it's still winter here, and spring is still a month away. Am worried about cutting off the new growth and affecting the plant. Some of the new growth has the same curled/abnormal leaves that I'd seen during the last aphid attack, though I don't see any (yet?). What's the best way ahead?

17th Feb, '18: The plant might not have survived another hard prune, so that was some useful advice I got here. Here's the plant after new growth - the ropes are hidden :) Ignore the Bougainvillea, will you? It seems to want in on any pictures of it's neighbour clicked :D


texts: Does anyone have any direct experience of taking cutting from apples? I am aware that apples are usually grafted, however, I want to make comparisons between cultivars on their own roots and those on named rootstocks. My first thought is hardwood cuttings, but I would like to know if there is a "recipe" that works before just applying general principles.


texts: What will happen if i keep my sweet basil here?


texts:
If I were to prune a branch, it would interrupt the flow of auxin in the cambium and release buds below that have been held in stasis (of course there must be cyokinins in the tissues below to release the buds; i.e., the plant is actively growing). If instead I girdled the branch, I would also interrupt the flow of auxin to the tissues below and this ought to release buds in stasis just like decapitating the branch.

Am I right/wrong that girdling and pruning are equivalent in this respect (and why please)? In other words, is girdling and pruning equivalent as far as the response of the rest of the plant is concerned?

Girdling is removing a ring of bark completely around the stem. This also removed the phloem or inner bark in which sugars from photosynthesis are transported down the tree from the foliage toward the roots. This also removes nearly all of the vascular cambium through which auxin is transported from cell to cell (like a bucket brigade). However within a day or two exposed to the air any residual cambium cells desiccate and die - in effect, girdling also removes all of the cambium. The xylem (wood) remains in tact, supplying water and minerals to the portion of the branch above the girdle.

A girdle cuts off the flow of auxin to the branch just below the girdle as well as sugars from above. Pruning cuts off the flow of auxin and sugar as well. Yet many people tell me that pruning will release more buds than making a girdle. I cannot understand how this could be true. Is the effect really different? And if it is, I am very interested in an explanation of why.


texts: Unknown Fruit Vine (reddish purple fruit, hollow inside)

texts:
There's this mysterious vine growing at my wife's grandfather's home that I can't identify. Its tall enough to have climbed up the fence and made its way over. I've included various images taken of the plant. The fruit is like a reddish purple fig/guava looking thing. When I cut it open there's no real scent on it, at least nothing that's pleasing and desirable for triggering an eating reflex.

What could this strange vine be?


texts: What is the plant genus or species which is most durable to darkness?

texts:
I would like to buy indoor plants to put them in a room which usually have a very low amount of natural and/or artificial light.

I understand that such indoor plants are usually low-height (up to 1 meter height) domesticated cultivar subspecies of species native to central or deep parts of rain forests from around the world.

What is the plant genus or species (or other taxon) which is most durable to darkness (so if I leave my apartment almost totally dark up to no more than one week, it will stay strong)?


texts:
I Just move to the Southern Sweden and I’m looking for a maple tree all year red, especially brilliant red that resists up to -20C.
I have one beni-maiko but it is only brilliant red in early spring and autumn, which is amazing.
However, with a green garden, an all-year red maple would look great! Anyone hás an idea?

Thanks!


texts: My new cherry tree just arrived and all of its new growth seems to be in bunches of super close and curly leaves. Is this normal? There are flowers budding at the top which makes me think the tree isn’t dying but I’m new to this and wanted to see if anyone could offer insight.


texts: What are the white spots and holes in the leaves of my Western Indian Lime Tree?

texts:
Do you have any ideas about why my there are white spots and holes in the leaves of my Lime Tree? What might the pest be and how can I rectify this? Any products you recommend? I live in Melbourne and it's generally a temperate climate.

Here are more pictures of the tree, hopefully this will help more (sorry, issue with posting several pictures, blame on J. Chomel)


texts: How do I prepare and sow a lawn organically?

texts:
Sowing a lawn organically seems to have 2 problems that need solving:

Killing the weeds prior to sowing
Avoiding weed growth after sowing

Once the soil is levelled, I'm considering trying the false seed bed technique to kill off any remaining weeds before sowing grass. Wikipedia's article on false seed beds suggests hoeing the soil after 2 weeks, and probably repeating that step again at least once to be sure. If the technique is repeated enough, perhaps weed growth after sowing can be mostly avoided?

Has anyone had experience sowing a lawn with the false seed bed technique? Is there any other advice that might be useful?

Background:

I have recently built a house and the earthworks have resulted in approx 180sqm of a bumpy and difficult mixture of soil and pebbles around the house that I'd like to be lawn.

I know there are heaps of weed seeds in the soil as lots have sprouted over the last few weeks. Our first step will be to have the land levelled with a small digger as there's too much soil to shift by hand - this will hopefully kill off most of the weeds currently growing on the surface, but I'm sure it will also expose more weed seeds.

I have obtained quotes from tradesman for sowing the lawn, but they want to spray with a broadleaf herbicide several weeks after sowing to kill off weeds. Researching the ingredients in the proposed spray (picloram being one), they appear to be very safe in the short term but very little appears to be known about long term effects. It is also toxic to aquatic life, will readily drain through soil into the groundwater (our region uses mostly groundwater for irrigation and drinking!), is long lived, and may affect plant growth when it ends up in our compost. Interestingly, picloram also appears to be considered inappropriate for residential use. Going organic seems like a sensible option!

Thanks!

Update: I hoped the grass would win competing against other plants. After having some issues with birds eating the seed on the day it was sown, I resowed some areas then sprinkled sieved soil over the whole area to protect the seed. It took about 3 hours to sieve enough soil.

Now, something like 10 months later I think, the grass is growing well, however clover is healthily coexisting with the grass. In a few parts which didn't get enough grass seed, the weeds, such as plantain and ox tongue, are much more prolific, so it's clear the grass is dominant enough to keep them down where well sown. I've dug out a few thistle and ox tongues that established themselves amongst the grass.

I'm allergic to beestings, so my daughter might be too, which is why we'd rather not have much clover around; it attracts lots of bees in summer. One suggestion I've had was to add nitrogen fertiliser to make the clover bolt and then die off. I'm not sure whether any organic fertilisers would be adequate for this, or whether I'd need to use a non-organic one such as superphosphate.


texts: Is there a better way to tell when to stop watering by drip line?

texts: I have the edges of my garden hilled up so I can keep watering, and keep watering until pools begin to appear in between the trenches. Is this a good way to water the garden with a drip line every few days?


texts: Something destroying my flower garden and potted plants

texts: All of my flowers, including my potted ones, are being dug into at the roots but the flowers are not being eaten.  What do I do?


texts: Identification of plant growing on Grange-over-Sands promenade, in organised flower bed

texts: Plant growing adjacent to the sea, so salt tolerant. Dense, ground cover type plant. Longish, ovate leaves, central spine to leaf. Leaves green, central spine whiteish. Flowers on red stem stand above the leaves. Newer flowers are spiked, multi petalled, whitish pink. Later flowers seem to turn red and look dried deep red.(similar shape to catkins)


texts: Replanting and propagating old Lucky Bamboo tree with newborn stalks

texts:
I have had two Lucky Bamboo trees for the past 5 years now. I grow them in water and they have been doing well. Four months ago the two of them started growing new stalks. The new growth is causing a weight problem and I am afraid they will not be able to sustain the growth in their current situation.

I watched a few videos on replanting Lucky Bamboo; however, I couldn't find any cases similar enough to my own. Is there any chance that cutting this new growth and replanting it will result in a healthy and productive plant similar to the two plants the stalks have been cut from? If that is the case then how should I go about the process?


texts: Apple seedling stunted growth, stem reddish brown, soil smelling bad. Please help me!

texts: I stay in an apartment in Kuwait and have an apple seedling of about 2 inches. I grow it indoors, planted it from a sprouted seed inside an apple, alll went well till it suddenly stopped growing. I added cinnamon powder and honey once to aid in anti-fungal properties and stimulate better root growth.. but a week later the soil started giving off a really bad stench... Like that of urine. I'm guessing it's from over watering, the bottom of the stem has become reddish brown.. Noticing all this, I removed my seedling from the soil last night and have temporarily kept it in water. Please advise me as to how I can go ahead planting it again. Please do advise on natural fertilizers that I can make at home.


texts:
Not sure what type of cactus this is, but it was a grocery store purchase from 2 years ago and has been doing okay until the past 6 months. It sits in a western facing window with about 7 hours of semi direct light.
I’m not sure if I should cut the top and repot, or wait for them to grow larger first? The bottom part is brown, dry and hard to touch. Also... what did I do wrong?


texts: What is this plant with long narrow triangle leaves and prickles?

texts:
What is the name of the following plant?

Is it a kind of cactus?


texts: Can I use a 3-in-1 mix with an overseed machine?

texts: This lawncare product is a 3-in-1 solution containing seed, fertilizer, and soil improver.  Can I use an overseed machine with the fertilizer and soil improver mixed in or will that harm the machine since those additions are not shaped like a grass seed?


texts: Do aphids return to the host plant after being sprayed off?

texts:
What happens to aphids after you spray them off a plant? Do they wander around until they find a new host, get rescued by ants, die, or something else?

Am I just moving them from one plant to another by spraying them off?


texts: Cutting branches of a spruce and avoid resin

texts: I need to cut some low branches of two spruce trees in my garden, because they just take too much space. How can I do it to avoid resin dripping of the tree from where the branch was cut?


texts: Is it acceptable to plant turmeric vertically?

texts:
Will tumeric that you plant with the "stick, hole, cover" method grow well vertically?

Basically my planting method is to break off a piece of clean dead stick, push it in the ground, put the turmeric in the ground, then cover it up.


texts:
My palm tree started to become yellow in the last couple of months and I don't see any improvement. I've tried with some spike fertilizers for palm trees, but didn't seem to help. Here are some pictures:

Is it ok to cut off the first 3" at the top to remove the damaged area and promote new growth? What should I do to help?

I'm in the Pacific Northwest, and the palm is outdoors, in open ground.


texts: August 2019 - Could anyone identify this rose for me please

texts: This rose is from my late mother’s garden. Can anyone identify please? Many thanks, Katy


texts: Can I plant tulip or daffodil bulbs in 6" of soil, over a concrete foundation?

texts:
I have recently bought a house and I was planning a small tulip patch. I dug my ideal area on the backyard, 6" deep, just to discover I had chosen the spot where an old foundation had been covered with soil :(. It is right at the 6" depth that the tulips need to be planted at.

Can I plant them on top of this concrete foundation, maybe less deep (5" or so) with a bit of soil under them (1")? Or should I just get over it and choose a different spot?

How about daffodils?

I live in Toronto, Canada, in USDA hardiness zones 5/6


texts: Can gravel be used beneath wood chips for weed control?

texts:
I would like to put a picnic table in my front yard and I like the look of wood chips, but I don't like landscaping fabric.
Would gravel, laid beneath the wood chips, prevent weed growth in this low-traffic area? Would the two mostly stay separate (the gravel staying beneath the wood chips, even over many years)? If so, how thick a layer of each would be needed (my guess would be 6 inches gravel and between 1 and 2 inches wood chips)?


texts: Can I sweeten sour tangerines on the fruit tree?

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I have a tangerine about 12 years old in a container.  It's outside in summer,  indoors in winter.  It has tons of flowers, buds and fruits all the time, but they're sour! What can I do to sweeten the fruit on the tree?

I'm in Charlotte, North Carolina. It's no particular variety of tree, just seeds from a tasty snack that germinated. I heard wood ash could sweeten them but had no effect. The tree is very lush and smells heavenly.


texts: How Far Back To Prune Frost-Damaged Gardenias?

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I have 4 formerly great-looking gardenia bushes in my yard, but this past winter has been brutal on them (I live in the DC area, where it was still snowing as of yesterday). The plants are still alive, but in terrible shape.

I understand (from internet research) that I should prune them back to the healthy parts so that they can grow back. But, how can I tell where that is? There seem to be leaf buds even on the bad parts, though I don't know if those buds are dead.

Is there something in particular that could help me gauge how far to prune them?

A photo of one of the plants is below. Thanks in advance for any advice.


texts: What's the name of this common houseplant?

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This is a pretty common houseplant I think. I have a bunch of these all over the house, growing hydroponically and in soil. I'd like to learn more about these but don't know their name, any insight would be great.
Thanks!