texts: Why is my leaf changing light green on one side?

texts:
I have several strains that I am watering with the same nutrients but this one is showing this light green discoloration on half of the leaf. None of the other plants are showing this. All conditions are the same.  Does anyone know what causes this?

Edit: This is an indoor plant. I found it in my basement. It is growing in coco, a 65%/35% coco perlite mix. Good quality coco. We can call it a "tomato plant".


texts: How to care for a tree with a rotting crotch at ground level?

texts:
I have an old oak tree (probably at least as old as the house, 1978) in my North Texas front yard. It appears to be pretty healthy. There aren't many dead branches on it each year, and it produces enormous quantities of acorns each fall.

However, the tree splits 4 ways at the base, and detritus collects in the middle. There are always ants living down there, and mushrooms when it is damp. Yesterday I was poking the detritus away with a stick and it felt like I accidentally poked right through to soil under the tree. This concerns me since 2 of the 4 "trunks" lean over the house.

How can I care for this tree? Do I need to be concerned it will all on the house during a Texas thunderstorm or an ice storm?


texts: How to cure burns in perennial flowering plant's due to dose of excess urea?

texts: I had planted few stone apple plants (perennial, flowering and mid summer fruiting trees) in plants. Due to insect larvae most of leaves were eaten. So I put in handsome amounts of Urea, Diammonium phosphate, and Potassium Chloride in the pots in the topmost layer in dry form in order to save the remaining plants (I didn't use insecticides as I didn't want to contaminate the plant). To my amazement the plants which had few leaves remaining started to show leaf burns and plants dried up. Question is what causes burns due to access urea, though urea is required by 'all' plants, and is there a way to cure such burns if detected early? I had earlier put good amounts of urea in seasonal crop/grain plants, but most of them flourished. What could be the reason?


texts: Understanding the flowering of strawberries

texts:
When I moved into my house last year I found a bed of (unmaintained) strawberries which despite that were fruiting quite well. This spring I cleaned up and dug out all of them and removed weeds. Then I replanted them randomly into the same bed and because they were so many into 3 other beds close by.

All of them worked and they produced quite a lot of fruits in the first round. Now the second round has started and the plants on the original bed are fruiting very nicely. On the other 3 beds only very few plants are flowering again, but they build a lot of huge leaves and daughter plants.

1) Is the creation of daughters and fruits exclusive? (I have one plant which flowers and has daughters (which themselves are flowering) out of 40 plants).

2) I put some compost tea on them once a month for three months just to see what happens. What (else) can I do to encourage flowering? This year or next year?

Update: I forgot the add in my original question that when I replanted them I haven't put anything into the soil: no compost, no fertilizer, no manure. I wanted to see what happens, gather conclusions what to do with the soil next time. Hence my question. Thanks for the ideas so far.


texts:
I have three rows of potato plants that are growing really well. I have another row of carrots in the same bed. The carrots have sprouted, but they are still small.
The leaves of the potatoes in the nearby row are just starting to get next to the carrots and I'm worried that they will eventually start to shade the carrots before they have a chance to fight for the sunlight.
I was considering trimming the potatoes, but I wasn't sure if that would significantly inhibit their growth or cause some other undesirable.


texts: I was told this is a Sedum succulent. If so, what kind? There are so many!

texts: I have been told this is a sedum succulent. But what kind of sedum? I want to know to find out if it is indigenous in Cape Town.


texts: The below plant is in a garden outside the Ellora caves near Aurangabad, India.  It grows a couple feet tall with the flowers about an inch in size.  The fleshy stems are a little smaller than a quarter inch.


texts: Are there other seeds that repel liquid like Safflower seeds?

texts:
I am transitioning to using natural products for my cat litter and have seen many people recommending the use of Safflower seed for their liquid-repelling properties.

However, Safflower seeds are quite hard to obtain in Australia in bulk.  Are there any other commonly available seeds that have a similar liquid-repelling nature?


texts: Could anyone identify this chilli, it doesn't match any that I've planted this year. Any help would be appreciated


texts: I have a pond and this one goose has been here for two weeks and wont leave. I dont feed it, I try to scare it away but it just jumped in the pond and swims away from you or whatever you scare it with. Any idea why it wont leave?


texts:
I have about 20 arborvitae trees along my driveway and all are browning. I'm a new homeowner and do not know the trees' history. What sort of issue do the below pictures exhibit? Thanks.

I am in Long Island, NY. I am pretty sure the browning was already present when I moved in in March.

Browning arborvitae 1
Browning arborvitae 2

Update: 1.5 months after applying two rounds of Bayer mite treatment, here is the same set of trees:

Greening arborvitae 1
Greening arborvitae 2


texts: Can I move a self-seeded oak tree into a pot to keep it small?

texts: An oak has self seeded in our garden. Has got to about a metre tall and seems happy. We don't have anywhere near enough space for an oak but seems a shame to kill it. Can we move it to a pot to keep it dwarf?


texts: What plants will bloom in the fall in my yard in Seattle?

texts:
I'm looking for suggestions on what to plant in my front yard. I live in Seattle and summer will be over within a month, so I would like something that blossoms later in the year to give it some color during cloudy days. Seattle doesn't get much sun, it's often cloudy and rainy, so I'm looking for something that can survive this type of climate, and requires little maintenance.

Update: After some research I landed on Blue Fescue (Festuca glauca) and Periwinkle (Vinca minor). The latter has flowers, the first is a kind of grass. I will be ordering seeds and plant them mid September.


texts: What's causing this severe yellowing and spots on areca palm leaves?

texts:
I've got an areca palm that's around 3 years old, and until the end of summer last year it was thriving.

Fed, watered and misted regularly over summer months, with watering reduced over winter months but misting maintained.

Summer 2018 it was thriving with lots of new growth, however around October time it took a big down turn, and the leaves started to turn and die as pictured below, and now my palm is about a third of the size it used to be.

There doesn't look to be any root rot, I can't find any pests/bugs on it, the soil has never been allowed to dry out, yet the sheer brightness of the yellow, the dark spots, and the lack of green in the leaves in the last picture has got me stumped. Any ideas?


texts: Schefflera Arboricola (Umbrella Tree) in bad shape :(

texts:
I've had it for 7 years and in the last 2-3 months it has been losing all of its leaves. In an attempt to save what is left of it, I transplanted it today into a larger pot with fresh organic soil. i think, looking around online, i've overwatered it. also i had the top of the soil covered with rocks. When i removed them all to transplant, the soil was very moist. The last time a watered it was about 3 days ago. The tree (well mostly sticks at this point) is over 5 feet tall and the root system was very small. They didn't seem to be rotten.
I've trimmed most of the branches down, with a few left that had healthy leaves.
The base stems are still green when i scratched it (all the way up until the top 1/4)

Does my tree have any hope of rebounding?
Should I trim it down more?

I didn't water it when I transplanted it today, the soil was pretty moist already, should I?

It used to be a large beautiful tree. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I've had this tree for so long, i'd hate toss it! (I have pic but are unable to upload them yet)


texts: Is this mushroom going to make my black radish taste weird or be poisonous?

texts:
It is still cold nowadays (mid-April) in east-France, so I started my vegetables inside a winter garden.

I planted some tomatoes seeds in a large pot of mine, which I had previously filled with garden earth and home-made compost. Since the compost contains various seeds, I got lot of life growing in there!

And what a surprise when I saw there was mushrooms growing too:

They look to me as they belong to the Coprinus family.

If my experiment goes well and I am able to raise my black radishes to a point where I can eat them, is it going to be an issue to have mushrooms growing around? I was thinking it could be an issue because mushrooms root may mix together with my radishes.

Mushrooms grow close to my plants:

I ate the reddish in the end

And they do taste great! No mushroom taste.


texts: Is there a way to discourage plum trees from fruiting so heavily?

texts:
We have 9 mature plum (victoria I think) and a couple of damson trees in quite a small cottage garden. Our plums are very heavy croppers and really it's a frustrating fruit to have in such quantities. It stores poorly (unless you preserve it - which I'll come to) and bruises easily in transport, which makes it hard to give away to visitors. Yes, we eat (and even cook with) a few of them but the dent we make in the crop is negligible.

Its season is very short and intense. In fact it's the definition of an unwanted glut.

The fruit lie in great carpets across the lawn interfering with lawn-care/mowing and attracting wasps.

We don't want to grub out any of the trees since they add shade and character to the garden and we enjoy them for 11 months of the year. We don't have the facilities or storage space to pot/preserve/can this vast crop.

Pruning them back aggressively did help a few years back. But are there any other tricks to discourage this unwanted crop?


texts: How do I deal with a pine tree infestation?

texts: My pine tree is heavily infested with some kind of white stuff. It looks like some kind of scales or white powder that is covering all the pine needles. Anyone know how to deal with this without cutting down the tree?


texts: How deep should the soil be above a new retaining wall to allow shrubs to grow?

texts:
We have recently needed to build a retaining wall to prevent the garden sloping off into our neighbor's garden at the rear. We had to back-fill the gap created in building the wall with rubble and stone that was unearthed whilst digging the footings. The stone and rubble has been flattened and compacted for drainage and we plan to plant bushes or high shrubs to add privacy around the perimeter of the wall but obviously we need to replace soil to the area on top of the stone.

To what kind of depth would we need to replenish in order to plant the shrubs? At this moment, the types of shrubs and bushes are undetermined, but to create a bed suitable, I am unsure how much soil would there need to be to grow successfully?


texts: Is it possible to graft miracle fruit to a rootstock that tolerates alkaline soil?

texts:
I am interested in purchasing a miracle fruit (Synsepalum dulcificum) plant and would love to plant it in the ground.

However, one of the main issues is that miracle fruit likes extremely acidic soils and AZ has alkaline soil.

Does anyone know of a potential rootstock that would be compatible with miracle fruit and allow it to grow in alkaline soil?

I cannot find anything on Google about grafting miracle fruit and do not even know how to identify other plants in the same family to determine potential rootstock for miracle fruit. I don't even know if what I am trying to do is even possible so any help is appreciated.


texts:
I laid some sod and it took well, but when I mow it, the mower sinks in and scalps it, even on the highest setting.  Any ideas for fixes?  Edit:  The green strips are where the lawn mower wheels are.  I did take the old sod out, and rough up the ground.  I did not add dirt.  It has been in for several months.  It is not wet.  Thanks!
Edit:  It does not lift up.  I live in Florida.  This is the second time I have mowed and it happened both times.


texts: How can I prevent a Schlumbergera from dropping buds?

texts:
I recently bought a Schlumbergera from a reputable garden centre. It had buds on it when I bought it. It soon flowered and within a couple of weeks the flowers have all fallen off and the remaining unopened buds have also fallen off.

I have read online that this can be because of temperature changes / over watering. I also understand that for a Schlumbergera to flower successfully it has to go through a cycle of watering / not watering / inside / outside etc.

My initial thoughts are that because it has been grown and therefore the buds have developed in a different environment to what it is in now, the change of moving it into my house has caused the flowers and buds to drop, in which case, what could I do to prevent this from happening next year, and having to get a flowering Schlumbergera?


texts: Cutting tall grass (2-3ft) to short (2-3in) kill it?

texts: I have some tall grass in my back yard and I would love to cut it but I am worried I could kill it by cutting like more than 80-90% (Hopefully not exaggerating) will kill the plant. Should I try to slowly cut it down to size or would it be fine if I gave it enough water. I would like to not have a brown patch in the back yard, even though it will not be seen to easy.


texts: Shall I remove pea-sized rocks and gravels from soil before planting a flowering cherry?

texts:
I plan to plant a flowering cherry (upright form) in the edge of my garden, but there are quite a lot pea-sized rocks and gravels in the soil (as shown in the pics). I wonder if I need to clean all of them before planting a young cherry?

As there was a well grow Jasminum nudiflorum in there , I wonder can flowering cherry grow in this kind of soil?

Thanks a lot for all answers!

Surface

There is a layer between surface and subsurface around the hole for planting tree. Should I remove it?

Subsurface

The plot and the previous Jasminum nudiflorum's root.


texts: Could one grow mushrooms on processed food waste?

texts:
I'm wondering if the processed food waste (PFW) output of an electric composter, like this one, could be used to grow (oyster) mushrooms on?

The PFW is supposedly sterile, so the idea is to lightly hydrate the PFW, inoculate with mycelium, and follow the steps of indoor mushroom growing. What I am wondering about is:

Will the medium be too acidic or basic?
Will the medium contain too high concentrations of nitrogen or phosphorus?
Is a combination of PFW and other cellulose material best?
Should certain foods (ex: high sodium foods) be avoided in the PFW?


texts: A hosta in my yard has been overrun and, apparently, devoured by a weed. What is it?


texts: What are the optimal growing conditions for sugar beet?

texts: I was thinking about growing sugar beets on my London roof terrace, so I was wondering what temperature it needs. I also have access to a greenhouse should it be necessary.


texts: Unidentified purple flowering plants that continually die mid-summer

texts:
I've got five large clumps of these plants on the south side of my Michigan home and each year they grow like crazy until mid-to-late July and then they start to die from the bottom up (yellowing and browning very quickly), until only a small little canopy of green is left. I have tried to increase their watering with no luck, so I'm starting to suspect they are just getting too much sunlight.

Does anyone know what these are?

They develop purple flowers mid-summer, each atop a single, almost woody stalk, and each stalk has their own tiny root system.


texts:
Recently i detect many small black parasite wasps (not talking about Fungus Gnats)
They are flying smoothly and searching the surface of the soil (around the indoor pots).

I don't know if they are helpful or harmful ?

Also I want to know name of this insects.

Edit

plants are vary by many types(mimosa plant, Stapelia gigantea, ricrac cactus, red and yellow Millet, Parsley), i know the wasp's comes from a Stapelia gigantea and then proliferated in this 3 months (about 10 wasps). about the used soild: i used a vermicompost, i bought it vacuumed and bagged firmly! the only pet i scouted inside the soil, is Fungus Gnat

attached some pictures of them and pots

they are small as 0.5mm x 2mm and always exploring the surface and inside of the soil holes.


texts: Why do the leaf tips of my spathiphyllum look burned?

texts:
I have a spathiphyllum and I water it 3 times a week.  But the leaf tips look like burned.

Is that natural or should I do something for it?  Also, how can I make it blossom?


texts: What is this 2' high plant with curved spikes of white flowers, growing in eastern Massachusetts?

texts: Please identify this plant. It is about two feet tall and thriving in the shade of large trees near the edge of a small street.


texts: What should I do to prevent my kiwi leaves losing their color?

texts:
My kiwi leaves are losing their green color too fast. Even new, small leaves can lose it and fall off.

The kiwi is 1 year old, grown in a pot in my apartment. It is not close to a window or a radiator.

What should I do to prevent this from happening?


texts: Should I prune a group 1 Clematis in autumn?

texts:
I have a climbing Clematis Montana (Gothenburg) which I planted in May (I'm in East England). As this is a group 1 variety, it is supposed to flower early — I haven't seen any flowering this year. It climbs very vigorously, and has already reached ~3m height. I read that Group 1 Clematis is supposed to be pruned after flowering, and that the harder (unpruned) branches are more likely to flower the next year. The leaves have now started to wilt (see picture at the bottom). The aim is to get a more even/denser covering of the trellis next year.
Should I prune it and/or prepare for the winter in any other way?


texts: Stems are kept in moist environment but soil insects keep growing in there

texts: So, I am trying to grow some plants such as rose, and jasmine from stem but I keep running into the insects-in-the-soil problem. As you see in the picture, the plants grow some and then eventually turn brown and die. I blame the insects so I have decided to spray the whole with diatomaceous earth. Is this the right solution for this problem?


texts:
This  appeared from no  where, I would love to know what it is
Thanks


texts: How to prevent midges proliferation on indoor plants?

texts:
I live at about 45° in the North hemisphere, and during winter I use to put my plants indoor. After some time, I start to notice a proliferation of midges, apparently from the soil. Is there a way to prevent this proliferation (possibly without the use of chemicals)?

Thanks!


texts: Mysterios but cool plant growing on balcony

texts:
Since spring I have a super nice looking plant on my balcony. I keep watering it to see what it is but so far it keeps growing but I still have no idea what it might be.

Any ideas? Here is a picture:

I live in Western Germany in a city. So you know the climate zone...

Update:

After weeks of watering it, it finally showed some buds! Maybe this helps?

Update:

Buds have opened:

Thanks!
Ronny


texts: Identify Bush with large leaves in Pacific North West

texts: Bush is about 5 feet high. This is in PNW (Washington state). We haven't been here long enough to see if it flowers or if there's any other specific characteristics that are useful for identification. Happy to go outside again and look again for something specific.


texts:
I have a large tree stump that I am going to polyurethane to preserve.
The center of it is rotted.
I've dug out what I could of the rot with a shovel, drill, and vacuum.
Looking for advice on what I can do to remove the rest of the rot.
The size of the rotted area is about 1.5 ft diameter and 2' deep. The stump is 4 ft diameter.
I'm doing this to remove any moist material and give a surface that I can polyurethane.
An alternate method would be to pour something in the middle to preserve it but I don't know what that something would be. It's important that stump doesn't split under thermal cycling.
Any thoughts and advice appreciated.


texts: What-if anything-is wrong with my raspberry?

texts:
I am in zone 7. This is a heritage everbearing raspberry that is in its first year. It produces a crop in the fall and a crop in the spring, so they tell me. I have only had it a few months. I have noticed that the leaves now look kind of crinkly and have for the past week or so. I keep the soil moist. It has been mulched. I kind of "fluffed up" the mulch this morning. I do not know if this is fall dieback. It is about to produce raspberries. The soil is going to be tested this week (I'm new to this and the raspberry plant was a gift). It is in full sun for about 7 hours a day. I did hit it earlier in the season with a pesticide that was not supposed to hurt it but I am wondering about that now (fungicide 3). [![crinkly raspberry][1]][1]

I would appreciate any help-even if it's "just normal." I'm so new to this I don't know what I am doing!!! Thank you in advance!

[1]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/MGgp3.png


texts: Increase pH value of already planted soil in a balcony flower box?

texts:
Two days ago I had soil of pH 5.5. I impatiently planted my lavender and now I'm worried because lavender needs a pH of 6.5 to 7.5.

I did mix the soil with about 1/4 (volume) of quartz sand and some small stones, but I guess that only avoids the soil being soaked and doesn't influence the pH value.

Tap water, which is what I use for watering, has an average pH of 7.6 over here (Berlin, that is) - might that help?

1) How badly did I mess up? I really want this lavender to thrive and to survive the winter. I already killed a whole balcony full of lavender last year because I didn't know about the importance of avoiding soaked soil, and I just can't live through that again cue dramatic gesture.

2) Is there a somewhat easy way to increase the pH value at root level now that they're planted?

I read somewhere that limestone takes years to permeate the soil when added to the top of it
.. or should I add baking soda into my water (ratio of baking soda per liter [gallon] of soil anyone?)
.. or should I get "pH up" solution for hydroponic growing equipment (I think they're mainly sold for people who homegrow weed)
.. or should I dig the plants back up, mix in limestone and replant them? After two days the roots probably haven't grown into the added soil yet and it wouldn't bother the plants (?). It would just be annoying for the human involved.


texts:
Where I live, we have a severe rodent problem during the winter, such that when spring comes around, I have little vole/mouse trails in my lawn and patches of dead grass where the rodents had made nests.

I began raking the dead grass (not even sure if I should do that?) to find the grass was completely detached from the soil. There were a few green strands of grass here and there.

I also have patches of grass left untouched by the rodents, but it has dead/brown grass mixed in with the healthy looking stuff. This problem persists during the summer.

Should I be removing the dead grass in either case?

EDIT:
I am living in Northern Utah (Cache Valley). As far as what type of grass I have, it is a thick grass; from what I've been able to find, it looks like I either have a Ryegrass or a Kentucky Bluegrass. I am by no means a grass expert, and by that token, very experienced when dealing with lawn care. I'll post pictures as soon as the snow goes away :)

Now that the snow is gone (hopefully for good!), I was able to snap some pictures. This is the current state of my lawn; my watering schedule is every other night (I believe M, W, F). Should I rake all this dead grass?


texts: Did I remove enough roots from large area of shrubs and trees to grow lawn?

texts:
I have cleared a patch of shrubs and trees.  When we pulled the trees and bushes out we managed to pull most of the roots but some were too difficult to remove. I was just leveling the soil out today and found some roots with a white substance that coloured the soil when I moved it.  On another root with the same white coating the 'bark' slid off the root when I pulled it.

I am also still finding some parts of root balls.

As I want to lay turf on top, are these roots anything to be concerned about?

I live in the south of England.


texts: why do i not get any blooms on my hybrid fruit trees? live in south fl. has ample sun, gets plenty of H2O! has ground cover under the tree. tree is 4-5 yrs old. did have some fruit 2yrs ago??????


texts:
I let my basil grow from seed, and I very seldom trimmed it. My aim is to understand the plant life cycle, so I did it on purpose.

The plants are so arranged: Three vases sitting in a larger, long vase which I keep constantly with 1cm of water with an upside down bottle. Water gets to the plants through the drain holes of the internal vases.

The first vase has two plants. Both are in good health. Large leaves but no flowers. Thick main branches, almost wooden at the base. They seem resistant enough to stand without the glass of the window they normally rest on.

The second vase is really crowded, having 5 major plants plus 5 minor ones. They are also rather close to each other (I did not trim the seedlings). This vase has the greenest leaves (dark green) but not at the base, where they are pale green, almost yellowish. It's also badly wilted, but it's also the one where the flower seems to be extremely well developed.

The third vase contains five robust plants as well. It's the one in the best shape of all the batch. A couple of flowers are emerging, and the leaves are green (not a strong one, but decent) and perfect consistency.

The plant receive sunlight for a part of the day, they are indoors, at the window.

My main questions, arising from the second vase situation, is the following: is letting basil loose without trimming a bad move for the plant health? I am of course aware of bolting (which I am trying to achieve to experiment and hopefully get seeds) but provided you cut the flowers and nothing else, can the plant stay alive without trimming or is there a limit where the plant can't sustain itself anymore and wilts ? It may be just overcrowding, but I want to know first.

Second question is: will this strategy give me seeds ?


texts: Duration of harvest season from Bush Bean plants?

texts: Was wondering what a typical duration of production for a conventional bush bean is.  I know a lot of factors such as how well the plants are cared for and heat can play into it.  Here in the Northeast US I've had a solid three weeks of beans out of a few different varieties and they all have pretty much stopped flowering at this point.  They are well cared for and get between 1"-2" of water weekly however I think it may be time to pull them up and plant again.  Is three weeks of beans good or is it advised to stick it out and let them remain although they've greatly slowed?


texts: Is it a problem if I pot multiple Bonsai at the same pot?

texts:
I repotted my Bonsais in one shared pot, they are from different types. Is that a problem?
Sorry for the newbie question.


texts:
I am reading some studies on the adaptability of some citrus rootstocks on calcareous soil and in the description of the soil where they were tested the percentage of active lime is not indicated.
The indications are these: pH 8.2, Na+ 325 ppm, Ca2+ 1251 ppm, and Mg2+ 154 ppm.
How can I estimate the active lime percentage from these?


texts: How do I treat a wound where a branch broke off my apple tree?

texts:
One of the secondary branches on my apple tree broke just where it joins the main branch:

The branch is now hanging by just a little strip of wood and bark:

Click any photo for full size

I understand that the wound can't be repaired and that I should remove the broken branch. If possible, I want to do that in a way that preserves the rest of the main branch (it's the biggest one on the tree, and will be even with this part missing).

Exactly where should I cut the broken branch? At the wound site or a little further down the branch?
How do I treat the wound on the main branch to prevent diseases or infections from getting a foothold?


texts: I brought this plant without a tag or any identification. This plant was way much fuller at the top. And as you can see a lot of empty space is there now. I don't know how to take care of it; however, it is growing long as you can see. But I always wondered why the top just disappeared. It was so full that you couldn't even see the dirt. I water every Saturday and let it drain completely. I don't use any fertilizer. What am I doing wrong? I need some instructions but unable to find any because I don't know the name of it. Any feedback?


texts: Should I be worried about this mottling on the stems?

texts:
I am a notorious plant-killer, so my mom bought me a plant. I'm not sure what the logic is, but it was branded as a Tough Plant so I guess she figured I couldn't kill it. Sir Leaflet's been doing surprisingly okay under my near-total negligence, but recently the stems have started developing these darker patches and I'm worried I'm about to send another plant to plant-heaven.

It's a Zamioculcas, and in the eight months or so that I've had it it's nearly doubled in height and has all sorts of new growth. It's sturdy, the leaves are waxy, and the black spots on the stems are just as strong as the surrounding growth; no mushiness or anything. The spots are on nearly every stem, are not raised and don't seem to be affecting the leaves.

It sits in my room and gets nearly direct sun for about 2-4 hours a day (there's a house right outside so I get half-sun over their roof), and indirect sun for another 6-8 or so. I water it when I remember, which isn't nearly often enough and the soil is frequently too dry. Then I flood it with half a waterbottle every couple of weeks when it occurs to me. I am, in short, just about the worst plant-caretaker.

Maybe I'm just over-paranoid about sending another plant to its grave, but is this something I've caused? Can I fix it? I don't want Sir Leaflets to go the way of his ancestors.


texts: Planted chili seeds in regular garden compost: should I dig them up and start again?

texts:
I ordered a variety of types of chilli seed (habanero, jalapeno, anaheim) because I can't buy these types of chilli here. I've never grown anything from seed before, so I think I approached this a bit naively. I took some regular garden compost from our compost bin, filled up some egg cartons with it, and put two seeds in each compartment of compost. I then covered the cartons with plastic and left them to germinate. This was about five days ago.

However, since doing some more research I have doubts that my method will work because:

a) apparently I should have used special seed compost instead of garden compost, and
b) I don't really have anywhere in my house that is going to be regularly 20 degrees +, so will they ever germinate?

I'm wondering if I should gently extract the seeds from the compost-filled egg cartons, and start again? I could easily order some special seed compost, but I'm not sure how to fix the problem of constant 20-30 degree heat. Any advice or suggestions would be welcome.


texts: White growth on young walnut tree - is it an illness?

texts:
What is this white growth on this young walnut tree? Is it a disease or a harmless fungus?

If I remove one, a visible hole is left in the tree.

Other nearby trees do not have this so far (there are 30 trees in the garden). It looks to me like it is growing out from inside the tree. It is present only near the ground. It is not present higher up in the tree.

The tree had leaves before winter, so I do not think it is dead.

Update: The tree has died. No growth, no leaves this spring.


texts: Will tomatoes on the vine ripen without direct light?

texts:
We are at the end of our tomato growing season here, and of course there are scads of tomatoes left on our 3 plants - some with color, others still totally green.  As a child I remember my mom picking tomatoes and bringing them into the house to ripen over the fall.  Often we would have garden grown tomatoes that were brought inside until the end of November.  However, I also the fruit flies that seems to always plague them.  I don't have a very good place to leave tomatoes on vine in my home, but I do have an old garage I've converted into a garden shed.  There's on east facing window (onto a steep hill above).  I leave the garage door at least partly open for about 16 hours a week (west facing).

I'm wondering what people's opinions are on if tomatoes left on about a foot of vine and hung on a will will ripen in this environment?  I may try bring a few into my kitchen also just for fun.


texts: How to get rid of sprouts on the trunk of my willow tree

texts: I have a willow tree that I pruned back most of the top. Now I have sprouts coming out all over the trunk. I can cut off the new sprouts in unwanted areas, But is there a way to keep them from coming back?


texts: What can cause a Gasteria leaf to suddenly shrivel and turn greyish brown?

texts:
I have three succulent plants that I believe are Gasteria. One leaf in one plant has suddenly shrivelled and turned pale greyish brown. Sorry, no matter how I try, the colour in the picture is not very accurate. It looks a lot unhealthier in reality than it does in the picture.

The plants are offspring from a large mother plant and have lived in ordinary indoor potting soil for one to two years (the mother plant lives in soil too). They have always been on a north-east window sill, and if they get any direct sun, it's at most one to two hours in the early morning.

I water them every one to two weeks, and the soil dries out completely between watering. The water is ordinary tap water which in our place comes from a lake. Because I see fungus gnats every now and then, I add Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis tablets to the water about every second time.

The plants have looked relatively healthy ever since I got them. The one in question has been repotted about half to one year ago, and I saw back then that it had made extensive roots. Another of the three plants is growing its own offspring above the bottom most leaf.

There has been no change in watering that I'm aware off. I watered the plants two days ago and did not notice anything unusual, thus I believe this leaf has shrivelled and turned pale greyish brown relatively suddenly.

What could be the cause?

Additional information in response to comments:

The pot is the type normally used for expanded clay pebbles. To water, I remove the inner pot so that any excess water can drain from the many holes of that inner pot. I'm pretty sure there's never standing water.

Some months ago, I tried to fight fungus gnats with nematodes which required the soil to be kept moist for a few days, and these plants did not seem to suffer from that.

Our tap water is said to be the best quality for drinking. It's all I have ever used for my plants. Details are available here (the page is in German but the PDF is available in English).

The bacillus thuringiensis israelensis are from the gardening department of the supermarket, their website is here. One tablet is to be dissolved in 1 litre of water.

My watering can is about 0.8 litre, might such an overdose of bacillus thuringiensis israelensis be harmful to the plant?


texts:
My tomato plants are covered with tiny, pill-like growths on their stems, pictured below. They're about 1mm wide and 3-4mm long, and they're widespread on both stems and branches. I'm also getting an early rot that turns my tomatoes brown, which may be related.

What is this, and how can I get rid of it?


texts: What is the best shade tree to shade the front of my house?

texts:
What type of tree(s) should I plant to provide the best shade on a two-story house?

I would like to provide as much shade as possible on the red square below:

The part I'm most concerned about is the window area.  That is my office and, in the afternoon, outdoor temps that go over 85 turn that square area into a small oven. Even with the A/C blasting; there's only so much it and insulation will do.

The place to plant the tree is key too.  Here is an overhead view of my house:

Do you see what the evil sun is doing every afternoon from 2-5?  He wants to bake me.

I understand this task will require a bit of patience so anything that would provide shade in the next 5 to ten years would be fine.

Update

Based on an answer and some comments, let me refine what "best" means:

How much should it grow per year?

Anywhere between 2-4 feet.

How long should it live?

I don't know the average life expectancy of trees, but something that would last at least 30 years should be fine.

Provide the most shade?

Oh yeah!!!  Much-o important-o!  Especially in that little window area in the red box since that is where I work.

Should it be easy to maintain?

YES!!!  Anything that requires work on the ground (e.g. raking) not a huge deal, but I don't want to climb ladders and trim limbs every season.

How big should the tree be to start with?

Small enough to fit in the Minivan you see in the garage or that would fit on a small tow trailer.

Ideal for your climate?

Yes, obviously, but it would help if I listed climate:  Alabama.
I should also mention we get awful tornado weather every year so I would not want to plant something that would blow over and destroy the house.


texts: Should I use aluminum sulfate (sulphate) to acidify my soil?

texts: It is often recommended online or by nurseries to apply aluminum sulfate to plants like blueberries, rhododendrons, azaleas and to hydrangeas to make the flowers blue.  Is this advice I should follow?


texts: What is the best way to sanitize your hands when working with mushrooms?

texts: I've been bleaching my hands before working with mushrooms, and am getting white spots on my cloths. What is the best way to sanitize your hands before I reach my hands into the moisture chamber to work with the kit?


texts:
I have a ponytail palm on my office desk, which I love.

I've noticed the leaves are brown at the tip and quite tightly bunched together. They don’t sit as beautifully as in the pictures of other ponytail palms I find on the internet.

I am careful not to water too much (about once every 2 weeks seems to be the general advice). My office, unfortunately, does not get a lot of natural light and I am worried that perhaps the plant is dying due to the low light conditions.

This post suggests that the problem could be due to low humidity.

In short, can anyone tell me definitively if my plant is healthy? Should I buy a grow lamp? What can I do about low humidity?


texts: Some of my ferns have brown spots on the tips of their leaves. What causes that?

texts:
I have a few ferns with long pointed leaves, and their tips have turned brown. The plant is otherwise healthy, and is actively growing.

What is causing that? Should I worry about it?


texts: Growing Pinus pinea in zone 8a - possible?

texts:
A nursery in my area happens to sell a rare kind of pine: Pinus pinea (also known as umbrella pine, parasol pine, or stone pine). I a kind of fell in love with this plant: it is a gorgeous kind of pine, well known as a symbol of city of Rome, and also known as a tree that produces "pignoli" - an exotic extremely nutritious seed used as human food, and often served in upscale restaurants. No need to mention its uncanny magnificent look.

So, naturally, I would like to grow it in my climate zone 8a, but I found very conflicting information on the net and elsewhere about its hardiness. Do you have by any chance additional info/experience on that subject?

Just for illustration, a photo with a group of Pinus pineas in the background: (photo credit: Wikiwand)

Also, here is the natural distribution map of Pinus pinea:


texts: Can you identify this type of thistle? Should I go ahead and just shoot myself now, or are these the annual/biennial type and there's a hope?

texts: From all the descriptions I've read online, this looks like Canada Thistle, with the exception of the hairy stems. I live in Maryland just outside DC.  My foundation beds are full of these.


texts: What happens if I forget to water seedlings?

texts:
Do my seedlings continue thriving by watering, if they were placed in a dry pot for a day or two without any water?

This question may have a relation to "How do you water tiny seedlings".

1st Edit: put image below.

They are sour oranges!

2nd Edit: Nothing happen, after 2 or 3 weeks observation they are healthy, some of them have leaves.


texts: Yellow Leaves & Brown Spots on Philodendron

texts: My philodendron has been having tiny brown spots, yellow leaves, and some brown sticky substance that is similar to Coke or Pepsi. Some of the new leaves are partially brown and dried/dead when it blooms.  I’ve had it for years but it hasn’t grown much beyond its current size because the leaves end up brown and splitting (happened a few years ago) or the current situation I’ve encountered.  Does anyone have a clue?  The brown spots are creeping me out!  Thank you!


texts:
I have a couple of avocado seedlings grown from pip (can't help it, its an addiction - I know Im better off with grafted ones, and have those too !) - I'm running out of space on my Window Sill and can't steal any more space in the house - so I want to move my Avocado seedlings into my polytunnel.

We are going into Winter, and I expect the temperatures in the polytunnel to get pretty cold - but hopefully should stave off the frost.    Are Avocado seedlings which are only a few months old generally able to withstand temperatures around 0c ?


texts: What difference does rooting hormone make when propagating plants from cuttings?  I have have been successful with and without it, but I would like to know for example, if it affects the speed or health of the growth.


texts: Long brown stripes and lots of small brown spots in Dracaena leaves

texts:
I ordered a "misfits" box of plants recently and after a week of traveling at freezing temperatures (around -6 °C, or 20 °F), it arrived today. One of the plants in there is a Dracaena according the EU Plant Passport on the pot; it has comparatively long, wide leaves with yellow stripes and no stem. When it arrived, the earth in the pot was completely frozen, however the leaves appear to be structurally okay.
My main issue with it is that all the leaves either have long brown stripes within them or contain a lot of small brown dots. These spots are entirely within the leave, not "on" them.
It seems to be worse closer to the tip of the leaves, i.e. might be older; however, the smaller leaves do carry it as well.
(The game with the "misfits" box is that these plants may have been mistreated and aren't "fit" for selling.)
Can someone help me figure out what that is and - given that the pot was frozen - what my best shots are at saving this one?


texts: I am considering mulch for my orchard but i worry about fire?

texts: I am considering some types of mulch for my orchard but I am really worried about fire. We have about three month(summer) without any rainfall and humidity is about 20-30%. For example if I use hay  or straw It would be like gasoline under trees that can ignite from a single cigarette. What kind of mulch should I use if I want to be safe from fire and also snakes. And how much should I be worried about these things?


texts: How do you tell when pumpkins are ready to harvest?

texts:
I have several large pumpkins on a vine but am not sure when to pick them.

I have heard they are similar to potatoes in that you wait till the vine starts to die before harvesting.


texts: What is this raised, brown growth on my maple tree?

texts: My tree seems to be infected with something, and every week I notice more leaves have this raised, brown growth. What is it, and how do I treat it?


texts:
For some reason my yellow bell pepper plant is dying very quickly. When I first got the plant it was thriving putting out peppers like no end. Now the branches are turning brown leaves falling off. The plant is still in a pot. So I wondered if the roots were ballin up too much but I think something is eating it slowly. The leaves are chewed on before they turn yellow and fall. As I look on the inside if the broken plants it seems to have been chewed on everyplace the stalk is turning brown

so maybe someone just bknow what kind of bug or disease would do this kind of damage by the photos. Ive tried coffee grounds Epsom salt I also tried a few things to ward off ants cause I see the little black ants on it, but I think they are cleaning up the dead. So far plant is steady dying. :(


texts:
I have been growing peppers this summer and they have been doing great.  The fruit is really starting to take off, but now I have 3 or 4 of my larger fruit getting these brown spots.  This is a Red Marconi pepper.  Can anyone give me any guidance on what to do to alleviate this problem.  I have done some research and found that it might be some type of fruit rot, but I am not sure what to do help it if it is.  I am concerned this could spread to my Bhut Jolokia or Red Thai which are next to these if it is some sort of disease.

These plants are being grown in a pot and I have been feeding them some miracle grow for vegetables maybe once every 2 weeks.  The pot is not over watered.


texts:
I have a few American Holly trees (I think that's what they are) that my landscaper cut all the way down, almost to the trunk. Is this how you would normally trim this tree?
I don't think this was right but thought I would check here to make sure. My guess is that tear drop shape trim is the most you would ever want to do. I think they will look bare for a while, then like little green popsicles for a while longer, before ever looking like real trees again. Am I wrong? Pictured below are two of the trimmed trees. The crepe myrtle in the middle I am not worried about.

Here is what these trees used to look like:


texts: I've done some research online about how to blow out my sprinkler lines and everything I've read says not to push air through the backflow preventer.  However, I have no other place to hook up an air line other than before the backflow preventer.  Does this mean that I have a special case, or does it mean mine was installed incorrectly?


texts: How soon can I use newly cut sycamore logs?

texts:
I've just cut down two large sycamores (Acer pseudoplatanus), leaving me with a considerable quantity of logs to use for other projects.
How soon can I use these logs for building, for example, a compost enclosure or trellis, without risk of them sprouting?
(Location: Western Europe, height of spring)


texts: How compact can your topsoil be before laying sod?

texts: I hired a landscaper to spread 30 yards of top soil prior to laying sod. He insisted on dragging his bobcat scoop across the soil to give it a nice compaction. It seems to have worked well in all areas other than the side yard where most of the landscaping traffic was(including concrete bobcat and loader traffic). He laid 4" of soil on the side yard towards the end but because of all this traffic it is just rock hard. It has been really dry since this was laid, which doesn't help.


texts: Why does this Jade plant have small leaves when compared to other Jade plants?

texts: And more importantly, how do I take care of this plant? This is a succulent plant, so it needs less water, right or wrong? On one site it says that I need to water it every time the top soil gets dry. I am confused as to how to take care of this plant. How do I take care of it and why the leaves are short.


texts: Citrus: should old flower stalks be removed?

texts:
A kumquat was bought last winter and then had its fruits removed.
This summer it’s not flowering. I’m wondering what it supposed to happen to the old flower stalks? Should I remove them (because they  are not drying off by themselves) or are they of any use? Do they have to do with the plant not flowering?


texts:
I bought a Chinese Fan Palm last year which I have in a large container. The palm is growing well but the trunk doesn’t look like it has been pruned correctly.

Does this look strange to you? Would you cut this closer to the trunk? And if so what would you use to cut it?

Thanks


texts:
I recently discovered a peach tree at my office. It's right there, and started bearing fruit a few weeks back.

Some peaches started falling off, so I picked a bunch to bring home before they fell. However, they don't seem as large as I get at the supermarket or farm stand.

Is there any easy way to tell when a peach is ready to be picked, pre-falling-to-the-ground?


texts:
I purchased property with a beautiful tree in the garden. This tree needs heavy pruning but I afraid to do so before knowing what is it and how to approach that.

I tried to google it and the closest match I found seem to be an 'elm tree'. Is that right? Does anyone here can recognise and give more details?

The only extra details:

does not produce (visible) flowers,
location: Northern Europe (Denmark)
the picture was taken in a growing season (it looses leaves for winter)

Most recent pictures / out of season (23 February 2019). You can see that tree is waking up to life:


texts:
Several of my peaches have this crystalised goop on the outside, as seen in the first picture.

Cutting the peach open reveals some kind of bug trail. The hole the bug made is full of the sticky goop and I guess the crystal outside is the dried goop.

What kind of bug is this and how do I stop it? I am in Sydney, Australia and the season in Spring.


texts: Can you grow tropical plants (ginger) on a hugelkultur in a cool climate?

texts: Ginger is a warm climate plant that can be grown in cool climates indoors with an ambient temperature of 25 - 30C (75-85F).  When you grow plants on the top of a hugelkultur, as long as the trees and other vegetation etc compost, heat is released into the soil.  So, if the soil were to reach that temperature, would that keep the plant alive over mild winter (5 - 10C) , or does the above ground temperature kill the plants?  ( I guess there would be a temperature gradient falling off from the ground upwards ).


texts:
Spider plants have jumped from pots into the yard, and are spreading fairly rapidly across the shady portions, near the south fence.  Will these become a problem in the future, or can I regard them as a relatively benign, drought-tolerant ground cover?

Specifically, I'm wondering if they will choke out other plants, deplete the soil, and/or be very difficult to dig out should I decide to remove them someday.


texts: When can a tomato plant come back from the "dead"?

texts:
I've heard stories of people who have had seemingly-dead tomato plants which they left alone and the plant grew back. How can I tell if my plant is dead as opposed to merely in poor shape? Is there anything I can do to encourage it?

This was the plant a few days ago; since then the brown wilted part has been spreading down the stem. It had some damage to the stem in a storm, losing the top portion with the leaves.


texts: How to prune cherry tree to grow evenly?

texts:
I have a cherry tree that until September was overshadowed by much larger trees. As a result the tree has no growth on one side. I took the larger trees down and had hoped that this season would bring some fresh shoots, but it looks like this at the moment:

It looks like the tree previously had branches on that side that were removed badly at one point:

What can I do to encourage more even growth?


texts: What's this coarse, dark green grass in my lawn?

texts: I've got patches of thick, dark green, coarse grass with stems. Any idea what sort of grass this is, and whether it's worth trying to remove? Any ide


texts: Transplanting and dissecting clump grass

texts: I have what looks like perennial growing in a shady(ish) section of my lawn. I'd like to stretch this along the whole shady section to replace the weeds that are growing there. Could I simply pull out a clump, cut it up into 4-5 smaller sections and plant?


texts: How long would fruit trees take to mature if we induce early cropping?

texts:
For standard sized apple trees, it can take up to eight years for them to start producing. One common solution is to graft them onto a dwarfing rootstocks which makes them mature in just a few years.
Some of the early cropping techniques done in own-root fruit trees include:
Tying down 1 and 2 year old branches to the horizontal
Summer pruning while avoiding winter pruning
Withholding nitrogen
Root pruning
https://www.cooltemperate.co.uk/own-root-project/
The techniques don't seem very common, and it sounded too good to be true for seed grown standard sized apples to bear fruits in only a few years. How long should we expect to wait until we see fruits if we followed the techniques?


texts: What to do when cucumbers are turning yellow and dying but leaves are ok

texts:
I'm learning to garden and have successfully grown bottle gourd and zucchini. I also planted cucumbers but they are turning yellow and I cannot figure out what is wrong. I have looked at a variety of information on the Internet and some of it is conflicting.

For example, in this video yellow is because of rain, while in this video yellow is because of sun. The place where I have planted this gets sunlight directly three hours a day. And then the rest of time it is in shade. The weather here is 90-100°F (32-38°C). There have been showers every evening for about 30 minutes for the past three days but the cucumbers started turning yellow even before that.

There are links which say that there may be problems with magnesium deficiency and also nitrogen. So I have sprayed it with epsom salt and also provided the NPK mixture. It does not make any difference. I'm attaching a photograph of one of the cucumbers that is turning yellow.

The other vegetables like bottle gourd and zucchini are planted in different beds a few feet away and they are growing nicely. Both have the same kind of soil.

So it is pretty perplexing.


texts: How can someone minimize negative health effects from using a lawnmower?

texts:
So lawnmowers pollute significantly more than cars. Thus, using a lawnmower is basically the equivalent of breathing in auto exhaust (if not worse).

So I'm wondering - is there a way to minimize the negative health effects from using a lawnmower? Are there certain types of lawnmower gasoline that are cleaner than other types? What about high-octane gasoline?

Also, what about protecting oneself from all the particulate matter in the gasoline? And what about some of the emissions from the lawnmower like VOCs, nitrogen dioxide, and benzene? I'm not too concerned about carbon monoxide as it doesn't really have chronic health effects. The others do, though.

Also, I live under parents, so many of the options don't really exist


texts: Starting on a Grassy lawn in time for Spring?

texts:
im in zone 6a and I just recently moved into a home with a fenced in backyard. It has a large-ish raised bed...but i'd actually like to do an in-ground garden this year since i've never had the chance to.

Thing is...spring will be starting in a couple of months, and the lawn is grassy like any other lawn. is there a no-till approach that will at least get me to a "planting time" by spring?

I've heard of lasagna gardening, but I know that takes time. Could I perhaps place some cardboard over my area (planned to be 8x4) to at least kill the grass and then just dump some soil/compost over it till April/Spring planting time?

Or would the cardboard not be decomposed enough by then?


texts: What are the little bugs at my foundation?

texts: The north side of my house is in the shade of some big spruces, and we're in a valley, so the area that they come from is quite shaded. They are little red ant-like insects that I never see until they swarm. A couple times a year they come above ground in great quantities. They must live deep, for they also come up on the other side of the foundation, in my unfinished basement. When they come out, they cover the ground and climb slowly up the wall. They are very delicate and cannot support their weight well. After they climb up waist to head height, they drop off and fly. They flutter and dive and wobble in circles. Half of them bump into the wall and fall back down The others fly somewhere else. They don't all have wings, and some have only one. They have a stinging bite, which is surprising because of their weakness. This whole process is done in a few hours in the afternoon. Unfortunately, I do not have a picture. What are they, and how do I keep them from pulling down my lily of the valley (what I have for a foundation planting)?


texts: I have hand pollinated my cukes but they are still dying off.  What else could be the problem?  They look great when starting off but almost overnight...they are gone. I don't have bee's but I've been very diligent about pollinating on a daily basis.


texts: Strange flowers popped up. Are these weeds?

texts: I found many popped up on my lawn. Should I worry about these?


texts: What permanent grasses should I look into?

texts: I'm looking for a drought tolerant fast growing grass mix that will work well with chickens in USDA zone 4A. What should I mix together for USDA zone 4a for feeding my chickens for planting it once?


texts: Do I need to put a pile of wood chips on top of my potatoes?

texts: I planted my potatoes near the surface so I could get the plants going quicker. Should I put a pile of wood chips on top of each potato, or build up the pile of wood chips as the season goes on?


texts:
I'm a gardening beginner and recently pruned my first basil plant (about two weeks ago). I bought special pruning shears because pinching the stems took a bit of a pull, and I didn't want to harm them and thought that a clean cut would be better. I also washed the shears before using them. I'm not sure if this is normal, but the main stems have turned brown where they were cut. Those bits are also pretty dry and I've noticed some browning on the uncut smaller stems at either side of them. Is this a sign of infection due to the cut? If so, what's the best course of action? Do I attempt to cut/pinch the brown tips?
Any advice would be helpful as I cannot find a similar case online.
Thank you!


texts: I came across a jack in the pulpit in the woods of a local park. Sitting there all by itself. The park is heavily hunted for all sorts of stuff and I want to save this thing. When and how would be the best time and way to transplant this to our land about an hour and a half south of here? How fast do these spread?


texts: Colocasia mojito leaves turning red and wilting

texts: My colocasia mojito has a few leaves that are turning red and wilting the one in the close up picture is the worst.  I'm not sure if it's getting too much light or not enough. It's sitting on my dinning table about 6 feet away from south facing glass sliding doors. And the soil was moist to the touch so I didn't water it. I don't see any signs of pests. I live in Phoenix, AZ and keep my temp indoors at 74 - 75 degrees. No ac vents anywhere near this plant. Hope someone knows what I should do.


texts:
My wife and I have had these cacti for a little over a year now. Since change happens slowly I assume we never really noticed, but now it seems like it has gotten a lot more..fluffy.. for lack of a better word. 'Very dense spikes' perhaps?

Either way, we know very little about cacti (which we should change) but I was wondering if these look 'healthy'. Yesterday we noticed that it seems we have a baby cactus. I'm also curious as to this one is healthy.

It seems like the baby one is trapped between larger cacti (growing close to the mother I assume). Should we repot this?

It's kind of two questions, but my main one would be wether or not they look healthy.


texts:
I just bought this for $130 from a nursery (reduced because it was the last year stock) This year's stock had greenish colors for bark an the leaves totally green. It is almost 9' long (the longest branch-did not fit in the picture)

Here are my questions:
-is there anybody living in Toronto who has this tree ?
-would it be a good idea to move it in a big pot and find the best spot for him for the rest of the year and then move it in a corner where it can sit for the winter wrapped and sheltered from wind and cold temperatures ?
-for how long can you keep a tree like this in a big pot without crippling the tree's growth ?
-is it practical to consider that at maturity I would still be able to wrap it in burlap?


texts: What kind of tree is this with light bark, small leaves, and purple flowers?

texts:
I'd like to buy a tree like this one.  Any idea what it's called?

This picture was taken near Boise, Idaho, USA near the end of July.


texts:
I germinated some Lychee seeds when it was really hot and humid in NYC this summer (~13 weeks ago). They grew really quickly and healthily until mid October when a new layer of leaves sprouted. The new ones struggled to grow and older leaves started to get brown spots. I thought it was either due to lower light levels or lack of plant nutrition. I bought an LED UV light and put some miracle grow plant food in their pots and now they seem to be doing ok. See pictures:

Question:

Does this look like a nutrition issue that i have solved or does it look like disease? should I expect the brown leaves to get healthy again? Should i prune them off or just leave them where they are? I have no gardening experience. No idea when pruning is required. Any background info on looking after a young tree would be great!


texts: Does Burdock grow from the root of the plant, or do you need to plant a seed to get it to propagate?


texts: Oak tree - arborist says needs to be removed?

texts:
I have a very nice oak tree in my backyard that is about 100-150 years old. The tree is in a good visual shape and we trim it about every two years.

However, there is a wound on tree's stem, about 25 feet up from the ground. We hired an arborist who performed "resistograph" testing and says there is over 35% decay at this place and it needs to be removed.

Resistograph results are attached in the picture. Does it really need to be removed? Or should we get a second opinion?

(click on the image to get the fullres version for readability)


texts:
What kind of pepper is this and when will it be "ripe"?

The peppers are a bit larger than a cherry tomato (maybe apricot size).

UPDATE: The peppers turn red after they ripen.


texts: Colony of tiny beetles and eggs on a dill seed

texts:
Can anyone identify this colony of what appear to be beetles I found on a dill seed?

Here is my best description of the insects:

nearly spherical
long antennae with 4 articulated segments - last segment is larger than the others
apparently no wings or wing covers
black with six white marks on abdomen:

Two large marks just behind the thorax half way between the dorsal center and edge of the abdomen
Two smaller pairs of marks behind the first pair arranged near the dorsal center of the abdomen

insects are clustered around what appear to be eggs on the dill seed
Eggs are cylindrical and appear to be arranged in a honeycomb pattern
There are two more dill seeds with what appear to be hatched eggs


texts: I have a few fruit trees (apple, pears, oranges, grapes) and need to fertilize them.  What is the best way to fertilize them?  I am planning to use a mix of chicken manure and horse manure.  Do I need to add anything else? What proportion of each should I use?  Do I just spread it around the tree base or do I have to dig soil around the main step?  My concern around digging the soil is potentially damaging the roots.


texts: How can I revitalize cucumber plants after spraying them for mildew?

texts:
I have three cucumber plants planted on my balcony.  The plants started great and went on growing.  What looked like a promising start is looking like a disappointing end.

It started with white mildew. I used one tablespoon of baking soda in one liter of water solution to spray the leaves.  The solution was too strong because it would burn the leaves.

Now all the leaves are yellowing and dying.

The plants produce fruits that turn yellow prematurely and die.

What can be the problem?

Update.  Unfortunately all three cucumber plants completely died out.


texts: ID this Korean Roadside Plant by it's Tiny Seeds (Possibly Edible)

texts:
I have a long shot ID question for a Korean seed expert.

I traveled to South Korea where I mimed with a woman who was collecting seeds along the side of the road. I gathered that they are consumed, but I am not sure to what capacity.

Here's what I know:

Seeds are approximately 1-2mm in size and derive from seedpods
approximately 2cm long.
Seed pods (flowers) are on a stalk, approximately 1-2 m high.
Stalk consists of many multiples of seed pods (~20).
Seed pods (flowers) orient 180˚ on the stalk. Cannot remember if seed pods alternate or oppose one another.
Seed pods (flowers) spaced by 2-3cm up stalk.
Seeds are edible/medicinal after some unknown amount of processing.
Foliage low lying, 10-40 cm high.
Season of Seed: ~October
Location: Eurwang-Dong, Yongjongdo (Island), Incheon, South Korea

While in Korea I was told it was called Cassia. However, this does not appear to be a correct translation. Unfortunately, because I did not know I had been mislead until I'd left the area, I did not take a picture of the plant. :/ Any help is much appreciated.


texts: Can all plants grow inside all year round?

texts:
I live in an apartment and both the entire south-east and the north-west sides are huge windows, so I have lots of light coming in (I think I have about 6h 40m on the shortest day of the year).

I thought that annual plants could only grow from spring to fall and that's it, but then I realised that I've only ever had a garden outside at the farm where I grew up. Is it possible to grow plants all year around indoors? I mean, most plants should do ok with 6 hours of light and the temperature is always around 18-22*C. And for the darkest months, I could probably figure out something with a grow light if needed as well.

I've been waiting for spring to come around since I moved in 6 months ago, eager to plant something delicious, but now I realise that maybe I didn't need to wait at all! (ok, I do also have big plants for the balconies which is currently covered in snow so that'll definitely have to wait!)
So can all plants grow inside all year round, and if not, why?

In response to a request to be more specific, these are the seeds I have: Strawberries (Temptation and Wild), Tomatoes (Harbinger, Tumbling Tom and Sweet Pea Currant), Cucamelon, Baby carrots, Runner Bean, Snap peas, New Zealand Spinach, Spring Onion, Sweet Pepper, Jalapenos, Chives, Dill, Coriander, Parsley, Basil, English Thyme, Rosemary, Oregano, Sage, Spearmint, Peppermint, Marigold and Pansies. I already have a small lemon which is about a year old, a ginger which has just started to sprout and I'd like to also have some blueberries, raspberries or similar.


texts: Are these Ficus air layered roots ready to plant

texts:
I air layered this ficus. I think it is a microcarpa. Its an s-type they sell in nurseries. I am using it to make lots of smaller trees.

The image shows the roots that have developed.
I would like to know if this is ready to be cut and potted or shall I leave it for longer?


texts: What is a sucker and how does it differ from a water sprout or branch?

texts:
In a post about renovating mature pear trees there is a diagram (below) showing tree nomenclature as it pertains to pruning. In it, the letter "A" indicates suckers, and "E" marks shaded interior branches. What's the difference?

Another diagram I found references water sprouts - what are they and how are the different from the suckers or vertical branches?


texts:
Hello. Fairly new to gardening. First time peppers, I planted a bunch of different varieties hot and sweet in big planter beds that I built on my terrace.

First my jalapeno started to get yellow leaves in the younger growth. I thought perhaps I was overwatering. In the first days when I planted the seedlings, it was quite hot and I probably gave them too much H20. Also, two nearby tomato plants were getting watered often and some of the water was spilling over in to pepper territory. So I laid off the water, but not much changed. Then some spots turned up, and now several other peppers have them.

I should note that I had a bit of an aphid and fungus gnat problem, and sprayed them with neem and soap, sometimes on cloudy days, mostly in the evening, but not always (I know that's bad). Could the spots be the neem and soap affecting the leaf ? I started washing the plants in the mornings with water to clean the leaves of residue, but it seems to be getting worse.

A few more details that might be of help. I'm using Canna bio terra plus soil (lots of peat and coco) with a current stable PH of 7, amended with 10% worm humus, some dolomite, a guano rich in micro elements and phosphorous, a basic 4-5-5 blood fish and bone compound, and I also added a little potassium sulphate to give the mix a higher PK ratio to N and ensure enough sulphur. Also added some biochar for good measure. My tomatoes have absolutely loved the mix and are thriving beyond belief. The tomatoes have been in the soil for about 6 weeks, but the peppers were set out about 3 weeks ago. We had very warm weather the first week, and then unseasonably cool weather and rain, with 55 degree nights, and not much more than 70 degree days.

The spots seem to appear in areas where water collects and may not evaporate overnight. I've been spraying them with Epsom salts (1 teaspoon per litre) and pure cold pressed neem + Dr. Bronners soap mix on a regular basis. I'm wondering if it could be damage from that and sun exposure, because it doesn't really manifest as a fungus or bacterial infection. When I searched on-line for typical bacterial and fungal diseases that affect peppers., the lesions tend to appear water soaked. In this case, they are not. They're tiny flecks that appear in groups.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I hope you can help me. I've tried so many forums but no one answers.


texts: Should I periodically restart my lemon grass?

texts:
This year my lemon grass is not doing so well. I blame the weather. It's been quite variable last summer and there have been relatively big temperature swings.

We're in autumn now. Next summer should I grab a few choice stalks to propagate and start over?


texts: What is this tall tree with narrow leaves and sweet red fruit?

texts:
This 7 m (23 ft) tall tree has been growing over my deck for some time, and I've ignored it until I saw a Tui eating its fruit the other day. I'm in Wellington NZ.

My landscape designer didn't know what it was when in flower, but I guess the native birds do know so maybe it's a native.

Picture from the deck

Fruit with leaves, it's sweet

And cut fruit with seeds


texts: What is this tree and will it eventually destroy my house?

texts:
I bought my house last fall. All I knew was this is a Christmas tree. I wrapped it with Christmas lights and it looked merry last winter.

Come spring, it started sprouting new buds rapidly. Now it's summer and it's still sprouting new buds. Its needles look a lot like the 25ft Spruce tree in my front yard.

Will this tree grow so big that its roots will destroy my house's foundation?

How do I "control" it? It's "hollow" with no needles inside:


texts: What is this stuff? Some kind of moss, lichen?

texts:
I found this stuff growing between and on the tiles in a moist, not too light corner of my garden. It looks funny, like a very small tropical island with palm trees :P

I transplanted some of it in my mini-bog with carnivorous plants, where it seems to settle really nicely, but now I do start to wonder what it is, and I can't find much like it.

It's very small. It's mostly green, almost looking like a succulent plant. In the picture you can see some specs or pores, but these are so small, I didn't notice them before I took the picture. On the leaves are small 'cups'.

It grows stalks of about 3 cm which look remotely like palm trees, but up close they look like a roof of 'fingers' with some fluffyness underneath.

If I pull it out, it's quite stuck to the bottom, with thin hairy roots. It looks like they are just thousands of hairs which grow straight from the whole ground facing side of the plant (?) straight into the bottom, which suggests to me that it may use this strategy to attach itself to rocks or (rotting) wood.

In the picture you can see it. On the left you see parts of the leaves of Drosera Capensis Alba and Drosera Binata, to give an impression of the size. The 'log' in the front has a diameter of about 2cm. ;) The whole area on the picture is maybe 15cm wide.

I tried to google for various properties of it, but all I found is cup lichen, but it hardly seems related to that.

Overview: Tropical Island Resort for bugs

Crop of what seems to be the leaves

Crop of the 'flowers'

Location:

Netherlands, hardiness zone 8
Backyard (tiles), peat
The item in the picture is in a sunny spot most of the day (as far as the climate goes)


texts:
I am a new Meyer Lemon tree owner. My trees' leaves have gradually yellowed, and started dropping. I thought they were under-watered, so I started watering more regularly, but that doesn't appear to have helped. I brought them inside as it started to get cool here about two weeks ago, and things got progressively worse. I cannot tell if they are nutrient deficient, overwatered, root rot, if they got too cold, or if they have another disease. I don't want to uproot/repot and risk stressing them further unless it's the right thing to do. Would someone be able to offer guidance on what issue they suspect based upon the images to help me determine the best course of action?
Thank you so much!


texts: What should I do to encourage my Hyacinth to flower again?

texts: I bought a hyacinth plant which bloomed and then the flowers died. So once the flowers have died but the greenery still looks fine, is there anything I can do to coax more flowers out of the plant?


texts: Avocado plant white resin/wax like substance on back of leaves. What could it be?

texts:
I planted an avocado plant from seed about 2,5 years ago. The plant seemed to grow well, but I moved it alot, due to unproper conditions (lighting, temperature). For the last year, though, it stayed in my apartment and it began to look weak and develop some kind of white deposits on the back of its leaves.

What could be the cause of this?

Edit: more pictures below.


texts: Advice on long term Arborvitae management

texts: I am wondering if anyone could give me advice on the arborvitae.  They are growing great but I am concerned that the privacy row is getting too tight.  Should I remove every other plant to give them more room for growth?


texts: What are the pros and cons of rubber vs wood mulches?

texts:
This question is just concerning the realm of landscaping for flowers around a house.  We need to add mulch again this year, as the previous mulch has broken down enough that there are some thin spots and some spots not covered at all.

We noticed that every place now carries rubber mulch.  Would this also be good to use in our various flower boxes around the house?  What would be the benefits and drawbacks?  If rubber mulch lasts indefinitely, how long does it keep its color?


texts:
I've just moved into a new house with a garden. Woohoo!

It's about 7m x 15m with a lot of borders, all of which are heavily overgrown. I've started to go through the borders weeding them, but I really don't have much experience, so I don't recognise a lot of the plants. And I don't want to rip out things that would be nice to keep.

What options are there, for me to identify plants (probably common plants!) that I don't recognise, or do recognise but don't know anything about, other than asking other people what they are. (Whether that's on here, or asking neighbours/family/local horticultural communities)


texts: What plants survive in a relatively dark room?

texts: What can I plant in a pot that will survive in a relatively dark room?


texts:
Had a few chilly plants. Recently, one of them started looking a bid sad and droopy. When I watered it today there were some maggots coming out the drainage holes. I think they are fungus gnat larvae but I'm not 100% sure so I'm posting here to check. Pictures attached.

Small ones are the dead ones, big one was still alive.

Thanks a lot!


texts:
I found this guy climbing around my baby aloes today.  I have no interest in killing it.  I just want to identify it.   In the very bottom of the photo is a brownish/reddish blob with a crater of bumps in the middle, actually a baby aloe plant.  That aloe is roughly the size of a Canadian & US - Dime.  (I believe that is similar size of a UK - penny.)   You can see this beetle is very small.  I am sure it is looking for some other insects to eat.

Not any better of a picture but a different angle.


texts: What are the light brown spots on coriander leaves?

texts:
In the last 2 days I noticed there are light brown spots all over my coriander leaves. It's in a pot placed by the window. I live in Singapore so it's sunny throughout the year.

The patches and spots look like the plant has got measles.

Can someone advise me what is wrong?


texts: Vegetable plants not growing after transplanting

texts: I purchased zucchini, pepper, and tomato plants recently from a retail outlet. I brought it home and transplanted them to my raised bed.  It has been two weeks and the plants don't seem to be growing many leaves.  Some of them have flowers but leaves are small or not growing as fast I would have expected.  Did I plant them too late (mid June)?  Do I need to add special fertilizer to see leaf growth (I already put vegetable fertilizer but not sure what ratios I need to use to get green growth.  I am in northern california. If I missed the growing season, what other vegetables should I plant now?


texts: How can I prevent algae growing over my patio area?

texts:
My house has a patio area outside the back door. The patio borders onto grass and makes a home for a pair of sheds. It doesn't drain well and is always in the shadow of the house, so that it stays damp long enough for algae to grow, leaving the area slimy and treacherous.

I clean the algae off the slabs when the weather is dry, but it grows back quickly as soon as it becomes damp again. Living in the UK, this is more often than is tolerable.

Long-term, I want to replace the entire area with something that drains properly and is dry enough to stop the growth completely. Until then, is there anything that can be done to inhibit the algae?


texts: Why won’t my Venus flytrap eat its wax worms?

texts: So, I got some Venus flytraps today but they didn’t look in the best health so I watered them a bit and got live wax worms. I’ve tried nearly all the heads it will fit in and stimulating the hairs, but nothing is working. Please help :)


texts: Why are the leaves on my mint plant drying up and brown bumps are forming on the stems?

texts: My mint plant leaves are turning brown and drying up and the stems are getting brown scaly bumps all over them. A friend gave me a mint plant about 4 months ago. She was growing it outside. We live where it snows in winter, so I want it to grow it inside. I planted it in new potting soil, in a self watering pot. I keep the soil moist to the touch. At first I noticed holes in some of the leaves so I thought there was sone sort of "bug" there. There isn't anything on the underside of the leaves, no webbing, like from spider mites. The leaves are drying and curling up and now there are brown scaly bumps forming on the stems. Any ideas how to stop this?


texts: What is this plant with red-pink lines/veins on its big green rounded leaves?

texts:
My mother bought this plant but she didn't bother to even ask what was its name and what type of care does it need. Can any of you identify it, so that we can find info about the proper care it should be given?

It tends to stand up still in the night but leaves come down during day. I'm saying this partly in case it helps to identify it and because if you know its name, you probably know if this behaviour is expected. Anyway just giving its name would be enough and very much appreciated.


texts: White sticky fluff and parasites on my Pilea and chilli plants

texts:
I have (indoors) both a Pilea and some green chilli plants. From time to time, there is asmall, white and fluffy thing that shows up on the eaves or trunk, which I remove manually (I then spray the plant with a neem oil-based fungicide).
I hadn't paid attention for several day, and today saw that the trunk of my Pilea was covered in those. I tried to remove them entirely, but feel I should learn what those things are. Are they dangerous for the plant? How to best deal with them?


texts: Is there a male and female milo tree? Or are there cousins of the milo tree that look simalar?


texts: What do people mean when they talk about soil going sour?

texts: I've read a couple answers that have mentioned soil going sour. I've gathered that it's a bad thing, but what does it mean when soil goes sour? What causes it to sour?


texts: I have a small 8 x 5 foot hard clay soil area surrounded by concrete that only pools when it rains

texts: Surrounded by concrete, I have a small 8 x 5 foot area with hard clay soil that only pools when it rains. I want to remover the top 2 to 3 feet of clay and replace with organic compost than top soil. I will only plant some Medicinal Herbs like Turmeric, Ginger, and Hawaiian Ti plants. Is this a bad Idea?


texts: Will water prune roots with an air layering pot?

texts:
I've been looking at the root pruning pots and wanted to experiment with them this year. I've seen people on YouTube using A cloth like root pruning bag and they'll set it in a kiddy pool of water. They just keep the water topped up and the pots wick up what they need.

My question was, when the roots grow down to where the water level is, will the root tips die and cause back branching on the root the same way it does when exposed to air?

I can see it going either way. I could see the plant knowing it and grow into water and killing the tip that's touching it, causing the roots to back branch. I can also see it rotting and allowing bacteria in. Obviously, plants can be grown this way, because plenty of plants (non-water plants) grow beside water and there are the YouTube videos where they get better than expected results, but does it prune the roots and would it be healthy for the plant in the long run, like if you were trying to start trees from seeds or cuttings and were worried about them drying out.


texts: Kentia Palm browning leaves and yellowing tips

texts:
I purchased this Kentia Palm about 3 weeks ago now. I was instructed by the owner of the store to water thoroughly (wait until water comes from the drainage holes and then empty the water to prevent plant sitting in water) when I felt the top of the soil is dry.

I have not watered the plant at all (out of fear of over-watering) but now am getting some brown fonds of the lower fronds and some yellowing tips on a larger frond.

I'm wondering if these are because of under-watering or something else? Also should I trim the smaller fronds that have turned crispy brown?


texts: What are the best methods for propagating Alocasias?

texts:
Recently I added some Alocasias to my collection of indoor plants. I got two stingrays and they came in pretty bad shape with root rot.
One survived.
Can you snap a leaf off and propagate it in water or do you need to separate out the pups?
What have people found to be the best methods?


texts: Parsley leaves losing colour/ white spots

texts: My parsley and thyme leaves have started losing color. Does anyone know what might be the cause? They are slowly turning white. The plants have been in this container for a few years could the soil be needing some fertilizer?


texts: What is this green, leafy, plant found in Austin Texas called?

texts: This plant came with the house and I want to move it, but before I do I'd like to research it. Does anyone know what this plant is called? It's in Austin, Texas.


texts:
I have a large collection of indoor orchids in good health.  Recently though a strange vine has appeared in one of my indoor orchid pots.  I'm not sure if it's a weed or pest, or some sort of non-invasive companion plants that just happen to like the same conditions as orchids.  My concern is I don't want it to strangle or rob the orchid of nutrients.  So if there's doubt I'll dig em' out!   THANKS very much for the help.

Vine

Orchid it's trying to cozy up to

K


texts: How far away from tomatoes can I plant blackberries?

texts:
I'm a novice gardener. When researching various vegetables/fruit to plant, I keep finding commentary not to plant X crop where Y has grown.
For a specific example, this article talking about how blackberries shouldn't be planted near nightshade crops (tomatoes, peppers, etc):

Also avoid planting where any nightshade family members - tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, peppers - grew in the last 2 years, as they can transmit verticillium wilt to blackberry plants.

I started my garden this year, with a raised bed, new soil growing tomatoes/peppers. I have room to put in another raised bed separate for the blackberries, but they'd be within 8'-10'.
Is this speaking specifically in the same soil, or a certain distance?


texts: Do I need more vertical support for climbing roses?

texts:
This is the front of my house in Pacific Northwest and you can see the red rectangle frame was there before:

I was told it was built for climbing plants back in the 70s. Now I want to grow this climbing rose:

https://www.davidaustinroses.com/us/the-wedgwood-rose-english-climbing-rose

The front area only get morning sun (it's East facing).

Questions:

If I start bareroot, do I support the rose body with anything vertical? Or do I just "staple" the rose body to the wall?
Does that rose above work? Or do I have to pick something else (climbing type) below?

https://www.davidaustinroses.com/us/specific-planting-situations/roses-for-shady-areas

Thanks.

UPDATE 1

This is what I am thinking. Is this correct?

UPDATE 2

Is this something I should use? Found at HomeDepot

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Vigoro-72-in-Geometric-Trellis-861189VG/302643633


texts: Help with a (possibly) dying cherry tree sapling

texts:
So I planted this tree sapling about 6 months ago when it was only 10cm. Spring quickly came and it really began to grow.

All looked well until recently where I noticed the newer leafs becoming discoloured as shown in the photo. Over the last couple weeks it has been getting progressively worse.

I’ve noticed ants are frequently at the base of the leafs, surrounding the red bulges. Moving on to the red bulges, I only noticed these when the discolouration of the leaves began but that could just because I actually started looking at the sapling at this point.

Either way, I know almost nothing about plants and this was supposed to be my baby step into it. Any advice as to what is going on and how to help the plant would be really appreciated.


texts: Why does my sago palm have yellow spots?

texts:
My Sago palm has suddenly developed a lot of yellowish spots on all the leaves, topside only.
I found no pests on it at least that i could see. What can it be?


texts:
I recently bought self-watering pots.

Currently, I am using it for Rosemary. But, is it even a good idea to use self-watering pots for indoor herbs?

Which plants or herbs are good for self-watering pots?

Also, herbs tend to affect most when I am away for 1 or 2 weeks. How, can I not kill them if not using self-watering pots.


texts: Mango seedling's new growth is drying up

texts:
3 months ago I germinated a mango seed. For about a month the seedling was growing in a bottle of water, but then I decided to put it in a pot. At that time the plant was about 20cm high and had 5 leaves that, as far as I can tell, seemed healthy.

Forward a month or so, and new growth was emerging from the top. The stem got a bit longer, but the new underdeveloped leaves became brown and dried up completely.

As of now the plant has repeated this "cycle" a few times and doesn't seem to be getting any better.

Here's a recent photo,

Just like in the photo, the leaves won't get any larger than that.

Any idea what might cause that?


texts: Catalpa leaves drooping. Is it from too much rain or something more?

texts:
I have a five year old Northern Catalpa in my yard, zone 4B. Earlier in the summer and in prior years the leaves were held more erect, but now they are all drooping. We have had a lot of rain this summer, and in fact are under a flash-flood warning at the moment. When I compare my catalpa to other (full-grown) catalpas in the area, though, I do not see the same droop in the leaves of the other trees that I see in mine.

Other things to know about my tree:

When it was 2 years old, it did have a small (~1/16") hole in the trunk, through which I noticed small ants entering the tree. This area has completely healed over, but I've always been a bit worried about it.
It does have some old, healed over weed whacker damage at the base of the trunk (photo below).
I have a major, major infestation of Japanese Beetles in my yard this year, and there have been some beetles in the tree, although I have not noticed the damage in the catalpa that I've seen in other trees in my yard.
Soil in the area is clay and alkaline.

So my questions are:

Does this look consistent with a tree that has simply been overwatered? Or should I be worried about something else?
If it is overwatering, are there any steps I can take to help the tree, given that I've done no supplemental watering at all this summer?


texts: It is about 2 cm diameter, pale red, with plenty of small bosses. The inside is soft, sweet and orange.


texts: What is this plant with thorns on bottom of leave

texts:
This plant has sprung up in a few places. Im not sure if its a weed and should be pulled or left alone. It has thorns growing  under the leaf down the spine.

Heres another pick i thought primula at first but the leaves seem too long.

Im in USDA 8,9.

After a little digging. Im actually starting to think its a Teasler.I'll wait until it flowers and post answer if it is.


texts: Need help controlling purslane germinating after seeding new lawn

texts:
I recently reworked a small section of my lawn (200 sqft).  This work included solarization, tilling in some compost, rolling flat, spreading seed, top dressing with compost and rolling again.  With the help of a water timer, I've been keeping the area moist for the last 2 weeks, to allow for germination.  The grass germination seems to be pretty good, not great, but ok.  However, this has also allowed weed seeds to also germinate.  The most prevalent and the most worrisome is purslane.  There are purslane seedlings everywhere!  In some sense, this is not surprising as I've been battling purslane weeds in my yard all year and it's all over the neighborhood.  But, it's kind of demoralizing.  I know that this weed can easily overpower grass seedlings and ruin my chances of success.

At this point, what can I do to control the purslane but allow the grass to grow?  I'd prefer the least toxic option possible, but I realize that I might not have many options.


texts: Is my choice for edible perennials for balcony good?

texts:
I'm looking to expand my balcony garden. I don't want to go through the trouble of getting new plants every spring so I am looking at cold hardy (-16°C is about the coldest I've seen here this winter) edible perennials.

A few things a piqued my interest:

Scarlet Runner Beans (Phaseolus coccineus)
Groundnut (Apios americana)
Jerusalem artichokes (Helianthus tuberosus)

I've read suggestions that the artichokes could serves a pole for the beans and the groundnut to climb on but I'd like to get some feed back / sanity check on this combination.

My concerns are that:

the artichokes might not be up to bearing the load of the beans or groundnuts (respectively - I'd probably plant one of them near each artichoke)
there could be confusion between the three different tubers come harvest time. As far as I can tell the bean tubers are not edible. Though they do seem to look rather different than the other two...
the plants might want to grow higher than what I can accomodate on my balcony. I don't think the artichoke would do that with the ceiling in the way. And then the other two would not have the option to given the lack of stabilization...

I'm not quite sure how I'll plant them.

One alternative would be to do two pots: artichoke and groundnut in one (which would solve the tuber problem) and beans in a second with wooden stalks.

I am open to alternatives but I like the idea using some of that vertical space on my balcony and especially the artichokes and beans seem lovely.


texts:
Our young nectarine tree just started to give fruits (after we managed to save it from the hyraxes), but the fruits look sick - they are browny and sticky. Also, many leaves have small holes in them:

What is it and what can we do?


texts: My potted bell pepper plants were looking healthy until recently: wide green leaves, thick stems. But now they have this "droopy" look. I've noticed red ants are always on the plant stems and leaves. Are they causing this? They also seem to be stunting the bell pepper's growth. What is the most eco-friendly way of getting rid of the ants?


texts: Should I use Roundup in irrigation ditches?

texts: If I use Roundup to keep weeds and grass out of the irrigation ditches that bring water to my vegetable garden, will it end up washing downstream and killing my vegetables?  Also, will it harm my vegetables if I use Roundup on weeds growing in the garden if I'm careful not to get any on the vegetables themselves?


texts: My composter has developed a sour smell and a lot of bugs. What am I doing wrong?

texts:
I set up a 7 cu ft rolling composter in my garden about 3 weeks ago and filled it about halfway with 1/3 food scraps and 2/3 cardboard/leaves/finished compost.  My kids added more food scraps, so it's probably 50-50 now. I've kept it wet and turned it, but upon opening it yesterday, it had a sour stench and a lot of bugs squirming in it.  I added more finished compost, hoping it just had too much food scraps, but I'm not sure if that's the right thing to do. Is it just 'not done' yet?

Any advice?


texts:
I have a mint plant outdoors in a pot that grew rapidly and then suffered from some insect which just loved eating it. It's in a mostly sunny spot next to a high bed. I sprayed it with a solution of water, liquid soap and canola oil. But later, it looks like the leaves are burnt--not always from the edges but from spots in the middle as well. Could this be the canola oil in the spray? Also wondering if it could be something else.
I let the new growth grow without spraying, but it seems to be affecting new young leaves as well. They turn black and are almost crispy.
Thanks, M


texts: Is this normal? Do I have insect problem?


texts: What is best watering schedule for a bonsai juniper tree?

texts:
I am new to bonsai and I have had two juniper bonsai trees so far. The first one dried out even though I watered it weekly. The second one I am keeping pretty well moist but I am afraid of drowning it.

What is best schedule for watering my juniper bonsai and are there any good resources I should look at as a newbie?  Here is a photo of how it looks today. I keep in indoors.


texts:
Some of my young chilli plants leaves are very misformed and some have dying ends. This seems to be happening at some level to all of them, any ideas what it is?

I sprayed them with pesticide at some point which could be a cause but is there any obvious fixes?

Pictures of plants: https://imgur.com/a/Ir8KVrS


texts: My peach tree trunk got severely damaged by a big branch breaking off from it. Do I need to do anything to save the trunk or tree by applying something to heal the scar and prevent disease that might weaken the fruit tree. Would appreciate any suggestions to save the tree trunk.


texts: For all my plants I'm using unglazed terracotta pots, mostly just because that's the pots my father was using and for the "authentic look". Then I found out that really nice property of those pots to absorb extra water and show water marks (pic below). I was wondering if there were any kind of "science" that would allow to "read" this information and optimize watering in consequence. For instance, should I wait to water my plant until the mark has completely disappeared? This is kind of a funny question, but I'd like to know if anybody found some tips related to this property of terracotta pots!


texts: what kind of pest is this, and how to get rid of it?

texts:
Hello, this is a pest that invaded my kalanchoe after  I had overwatered it for a few weeks. I am not completely sure what is it, though I narrowed it down to gnats or scale bugs.
I stopped watering the plant, pruned most of the branches, I use insecticide (mostly consisting of soap) but they keep on appearing.

I keep the flower in a mostly dark, hot (25 C) room. Any tips how to dix it and care properly welcomed!

Thank you


texts: What are some good plants to hold the edge of a cliff?

texts: What sorts of plants are good at holding the edge of a cliff?  I'd prefer to avoid planting tall things in order to still be able to see off of the cliff.  The site is in hardiness zone 5 and is high above a large salt-water bay.  It sees an average to high amount of precipitation, with at most a few weeks between rainfalls in the summer.  The land coming up to the cliff is pretty flat.  Soil pH is probably pretty low, acid or possibly very acid.