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CommonShore posted:I've had compost that was little more than coffee grounds and wood chips go full hot. Coffee grounds and mostly brown leaves with a little random kitchen veg compost gets pretty drat hot for me. coffee grounds are crazy. DeadlyMuffin posted:Full hot? Compost when its turning into good soil can get pretty hot in piles and kill off anything living in the center of the pile. its actually generally the goal of composting for most folks - killing off weedy seeds and processing quickly. cold compost takes a very long time to turn and never kills off the seeds.
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Feb 16, 2023 06:19
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Make friends with someone who owns a cafe and you can have a ton of coffee grounds. I get like a rubbermaid tote full of them every week. Need that N.
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Feb 16, 2023 06:31
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I do see people recommend coffee grounds in soil to deter slugs, but everyone who has ever tried it has found it to be completely useless. I even know a guy who did a PhD on the subject and found no effect.
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Feb 16, 2023 09:35
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Noob question, but I have coffee grounds to spare and some acid-soil-liking plants who are miserable because I live in London and the tap water here is basically diluted chalk. How much coffee grounds is an appropriate amount to acidify the soil without hurting the plants? Do I just scoop them onto the surface of the soil? (They're indoor potted plants)
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Feb 16, 2023 10:12
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floofyscorp posted:Noob question, but I have coffee grounds to spare and some acid-soil-liking plants who are miserable because I live in London and the tap water here is basically diluted chalk. How much coffee grounds is an appropriate amount to acidify the soil without hurting the plants? Do I just scoop them onto the surface of the soil? (They're indoor potted plants) Can you get some bark mulch (pine bark is good) instead? If you want to properly acidify your soil, it’s a much better bet to actually make some high-acid mix than to add coffee grounds to an already potted plant. You can mix in like ~30% mulch for a fairly standard “acidified” mix and that will have the added benefits of making your soil chunkier and more aerated and also providing a source of nutrient capture and release as the wood breaks down.
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Feb 16, 2023 14:12
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silicone thrills posted:Compost when its turning into good soil can get pretty hot in piles and kill off anything living in the center of the pile. There was a landscaping company near my parents' house whose mulch pile spontaneously combusted. The flames were taller than the trees.
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Feb 17, 2023 00:02
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kid sinister posted:There was a landscaping company near my parents' house whose mulch pile spontaneously combusted. The flames were taller than the trees. too hot. TOO HOT
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Feb 17, 2023 00:51
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Lakitu7 posted:It looks like a sucker + a small chunk of rhizome. The question will be if you got enough rhizome. I'm not sure why you'd suspend it over water/rocks; I'd just put it in dirt. Rooting powder/gel probably won't hurt even if it doesn't help. I had put it directly in (a little) water while I considered my next move; it had wilted significantly while I waited, and hasn't gotten at all better since I've potted it.  I'm itching to fertilize it, but the last time I did that to the mother plant, it basically shut down until it had gotten that stuff out of its system. In fact, it looked a lot like this thing looks now: very, very sad. I don't expect it to recover (though maybe it's just in shock, like the mother plant was), so at least I can be comforted by the fact that it didn't leave a noticeable hole when it popped out of its original plant.Now I can worry about my water-rooted paperwhite, which my father gave me months ago and which got riiiiight to the point when it's ready to produce flowers (swelling inside the leaves) and decided it was quittin' time. Hopefully the new roots it's putting down will start things up again. I am not having much luck with my plants these days.
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Feb 17, 2023 22:28
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I think I know where I hosed up with this plant but I want some reassurance: my girlfriend got me a calathea that is... not doing so hot: The tag on it says "medium to high light" which, to my succulent-growing rear end, meant putting it under the same grow lights that I've got my succulents under. I noticed after a bit that when the lights turned off at night, all the leaves on the plant would be nearly completely vertical, and after doing some reading it turns out it should be indirect "medium to high light". So I'm going to move it to another table where it'll get light from the window, but not nearly as intensely. I should probably trim off the dead leaves too - there's a the leaf towards the top that's half-dead, should I trim the whole leaf off? Also, this is the soil that's currently in it:  Like every other store-bought plant I've had before I probably want to repot this in some fresher soil, right? Will normal potting soil do? I'm reading stuff online that says to add like 10 to 25 percent perlite, which sounds high to me. (sorry if these are dumb questions, I really only know poo poo about succulents, and even that knowledge is pretty mediocre)
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Mar 2, 2023 20:34
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death cob for cutie posted:Like every other store-bought plant I've had before I probably want to repot this in some fresher soil, right? Will normal potting soil do? I'm reading stuff online that says to add like 10 to 25 percent perlite, which sounds high to me. You can trim off the half dead leaf if you hate looking at it, though it isn't to the plant's benefit. Normal rear end potting soil should be just fine, perlite to taste. I'd take it out of the slip pot it came from Home Depot in and give it a real pot with a hole in the bottom (or drill a hole in the bottom of that one) while you're at it. Wallet fucked around with this message at 21:32 on Mar 2, 2023 |
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Mar 2, 2023 21:27
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I would go 50/50 soil/perlite to start. Like a lot of jungle plants Calatheas/marantas want to be humid and well-hydrated but they don’t want their roots to be sopping wet. So a well-draining soil plus a lot of water and ambient humidity is important. They hate being in a dry house, if you can put it next to a humidifier or in a bathroom that gets regular use it’ll hold up better. The leaves will tell you how it’s doing, but it’s an extremely short window. If the leaves are upright and sad looking you’ve got maybe a day or two to water, if they’re curled you should water immediately, and if the stems have lost turgor pressure it’s probably too late They really do best in like a grow tent or greenhouse with occasional forays into civilized life.
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Mar 2, 2023 21:44
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Ok Comboomer posted:They hate being in a dry house, if you can put it next to a humidifier or in a bathroom that gets regular use it’ll hold up better. I run a humidifier on occasion to stop my horrific nosebleeds in the winter; Chicago's other seasons tend to be wet enough that humidity won't be an issue in a bit. Wouldn't a bathroom be a little too dark? Or are you making the assumption that there's a window there? Ok Comboomer posted:I would go 50/50 soil/perlite to start. The mix I use for my succulents is like, 33/33/33 soil/sand/perlite - would that be reasonably well-draining? If not, I'm gonna have to go get some fresh soil/perlite tomorrow and mix it up
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Mar 2, 2023 22:14
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death cob for cutie posted:I run a humidifier on occasion to stop my horrific nosebleeds in the winter; Chicago's other seasons tend to be wet enough that humidity won't be an issue in a bit. I’d swap out the sand for something like sphagnum or coco coir if you can mix from scratch, or maybe add some coir to your existing succulent mix to make it a bit more water-retentive. Like start at 20% coir and maybe up it to a maximum of 33% depending on how the mix feels to you. If your bathroom has a window it should be enough to tide you over until the winter passes and humidity rises a bit elsewhere in the house. The prayer plants I’ve kept in my marginally-lit windowed bathroom have done much better than my others this year. They’re understory plants so they can tolerate a fair bit of shade/prefer it to bright sun. You could always add a supplemental light if you’re hardcore or you plan to keep them there forever. A $9 GE grow bulb or similar in an attractive fixture of your choice (IKEA makes a bunch of nice inexpensive ones) will do nicely
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Mar 3, 2023 00:27
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As soon as winter hit, my Stromanthe Triostar and Rattlesnake Calathea suddenly got curly and dropped a bunch of leaves, even though they'd been thriving before. Moving them to the bathroom (right in front of an oversized north-facing window with a diffusing film, humidity 50-80%) stopped their decline but they've still yet to really uncurl or get new growth. All my other plants were fine, so it seems the only ones that couldn't tolerate winter humidity are calatheas and friends. My Calathea Freddie got curly and dropped a bunch of leaves around the same time but it also had a spider mite outbreak so it's hard to blame that one on humidity. Ctenanthe Setosa (Grey Star) has been fine in the regular-house at ~30% humidity, so that's been the exception. It had a mealybug outbreak but rubbing alcohol and cotton swabs took care of that before they did noticeable damage. I don't have any Maranta. I used to think all the reddit folks complaining about calatheas as difficult plants were crazy, but suddenly my only ones having problems are the calatheas, so there may have been something to it all along. I've never tried the stripe-y ones. If you buy a grow bulb for your bathroom, don't get suckered by those awful magenta-colored ones on Amazon and elsewhere. Not only are they awful to look at and make you see green for a while after you spend any time around them, but I think most informed opinions have come in that they're not any better for your plants or more energy efficient than white full-spectrum.
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Mar 3, 2023 02:07
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Dumb question: Anybody know if Ficus elastica “Belize” is synonymous with the “Ruby” varietal? Is it its own line? The internet seems to have no idea what I’m even talking about. The leaves look the same but the stems on Belize generally look a lot more robust and healthy than any Ruby I’ve seen or tried growing trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 03:51 on Mar 3, 2023 |
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Mar 3, 2023 03:48
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Before taking the pups off: After:  The pups:  I feel like I'm very slowly getting a handle on this staghorn thing.
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Mar 3, 2023 06:42
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Ok Comboomer posted:Anybody know if Ficus elastica “Belize” is synonymous with the “Ruby” varietal? Is it its own line? The internet seems to have no idea what I’m even talking about. It honestly wouldn't surprise me if Belize is just what Proven Winners decided to call their own line of Ruby, and people rename existing cultivars and pretend they're a new one all the time.
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Mar 3, 2023 15:53
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DeadlyMuffin posted:Before taking the pups off: How did you remove the pups? I have a few staghorns mounted like that, but I've never divided them.
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Mar 3, 2023 16:28
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Fitzy Fitz posted:How did you remove the pups? I have a few staghorns mounted like that, but I've never divided them. Cut down to the board with a large knife, and slid it underneath that segment to pop them off. I got lucky with the spacing of the pups to be able to separate them without mangling one. Then packed new spagnum against the mother plant and tied it down, and mounted the pups. I'd be curious to see what you have.
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Mar 3, 2023 16:37
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I'll try to remember to get a current pic of them. They've hobbled along for years, but I recently started taking better care of them by keeping them under more direct lights and putting them in the shower once a week. I've also tried spraying them periodically with orchid fertilizer, but I wonder if sticking a fertilizer stick into the moss might work better.
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Mar 3, 2023 19:03
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Fertilizer in the basket. They collect litter in the wild. I've read about people tossing in banana peels. I put in a teaspoon of osmocote (15-9-12) once/year.
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Mar 4, 2023 04:03
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The neighbourhood cats (or at least I think it was them, I've seen them sniffing around my pots) ripped out my hakea saplings 
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Mar 5, 2023 06:05
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Buck Turgidson posted:The neighbourhood cats (or at least I think it was them, I've seen them sniffing around my pots) ripped out my hakea saplings Outside cats are so loving bad.
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Mar 5, 2023 17:25
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There are so many in my neighborhood. And so also so few birds. Owners never want to hear about it though.
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Mar 5, 2023 17:37
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Hi folks, both of these plants were bestowed upon me and have thrived in little beer cans. However, looks like they probably need bigger containers? this first one, can anyone identify it? can I also just trim it?  this second one I think is a money plant, looks like another one is sprouting up. if I move it to a new container should cover up that stem with soil? Can two plants live in a single container? 
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Mar 6, 2023 18:10
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This is a guess, but the first looks like a Peperomia, maybe P. quadrangularis. The second is Pilea peperomioides. Not sure what the hitchhiker is. I have no advice other than that it's probably best to separate the hitchhiker because that's a small container.
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Mar 6, 2023 18:24
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Hitchhiker in the second photo is undoubtedly a standard, run of the mill Zamioculcas zamiifolia aka ZZ plant. I would separate it into a container that has a tapered structure, as they grow this huge brain looking rhizome that will grow to match the size of the container. I've lost two planters to root bound ZZ's, that's the only reason I caution  Also, it looks like that ZZ has a second stalk growing up on the bottom left, so your hitchhiker is well established!
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Mar 6, 2023 19:25
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Fitzy Fitz posted:This is a guess, but the first looks like a Peperomia, maybe P. quadrangularis. The second is Pilea peperomioides. Not sure what the hitchhiker is. I have no advice other than that it's probably best to separate the hitchhiker because that's a small container. I dont think the first one is either of those but do you think I could trim it? bagmonkey posted:Hitchhiker in the second photo is undoubtedly a standard, run of the mill Zamioculcas zamiifolia aka ZZ plant. I would separate it into a container that has a tapered structure, as they grow this huge brain looking rhizome that will grow to match the size of the container. I've lost two planters to root bound ZZ's, that's the only reason I caution So it's a completely different species? How the heck did that happen. Any recs on containers?
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Mar 6, 2023 19:41
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dew worm posted:I dont think the first one is either of those but do you think I could trim it? I am completely at a loss as to how, my guess is someone reused dirt and there was a rhizome in there? Who knows, free plant!!! Any planter that's about the same size as the current container, maybe a bit larger, will work. Drainage hole recommended, but if you find something you want to use that doesn't have a drainage hole, just be VERY stingy with the water. They generally like to dry out between waterings and, as you'll see when you repot it, the rhizome will collect and store A TON of water for drought times.
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Mar 6, 2023 19:46
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I'm looking to get a nice big potted plant to put outside/on my porch, but I'm not sure what to get. I have a few issues: - I live in Chicago, so we have brutal winters; a few other people here have plants out on their porches year round and tbh I do not want to lug a whole big pot of dirt-n-plant in and out as the seasons change. - I also live in a condo; my porch is actually a balcony overlooking an internal courtyard. Sunlight is... not great. My porch is south-facing, so I don't get a particularly strong sunrise/sunset. There is light, but it's mostly indirect. Anything that gets leafy might stretch out into direct light if it gets the mind to, but I don't want to end up with anything that's gonna end up really throwing itself out there and ending up looking weird and lopsided. - The porch does get rain, so watering is less of an issue, but I'm also willing to go out and dump water in the pot on occasion if need be. In addition, it's not a huge concern (my main criteria is making my porch just look less... dead) but I do like plants that look kinda weird. Bluish or purplish foliage, interesting flowers (if it's something that flowers), interesting leaf shapes. I could just get a hosta and chuck it in a big pot, but something cool would be... cool. Any suggestions to meet these criteria?
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Mar 6, 2023 19:48
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So that sprout on the bottom left is also a ZZ? Is that all one plant or is it three diferent ones? I'm going to probably have to cut open the beer can.
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Mar 6, 2023 19:49
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dew worm posted:I dont think the first one is either of those but do you think I could trim it? You can probably trim it regardless of what it is. There are some vining plants that seem to short circuit if you prune them, but I doubt this is one of them. But you don't think it looks like this..?:  My other guess was going to be Dischidia ovata or something Hoya-ish.
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Mar 6, 2023 19:51
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Fitzy Fitz posted:You can probably trim it regardless of what it is. There are some vining plants that seem to short circuit if you prune them, but I doubt this is one of them. ok yeah, that does look like it. Looks different in an actual container with more friends.
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Mar 6, 2023 19:53
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dew worm posted:So that sprout on the bottom left is also a ZZ? Is that all one plant or is it three diferent ones? I'm going to probably have to cut open the beer can. Yeah, my guess is the ZZ is two stalks attached to one rhizome. Once the rhizome has enough energy, it sends out new stalks, then gathers more energy, then sends out more stalks. Mind you, this is a very very slow process, I have one miniature ZZ that is on month 9 of sprouting a new stalk lol But that looks to be just a standard ZZ, which can grow pretty quick in the right conditions (bright indirect light, humidity)
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Mar 6, 2023 20:03
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Thanks! Looks like I need to do some surgery.
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Mar 6, 2023 20:04
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Anyone have experience removing pachysandra? The beds in our front yard are lousy with it. I've tried to tackle it in the past, but it holds onto the soil way too well. And there are tons of bigger, shallow roots under it too, presumably from a nearby oak, that make it really hard to tackle with a spade. Trying to figure if it's really plausible to do by hand or if I need to go nuclear with some black plastic or something.
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Mar 17, 2023 20:00
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Any way you could send it to me when you get it out? We're looking at actually planting some in our front yard. 
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Mar 17, 2023 22:41
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Chad Sexington posted:Anyone have experience removing pachysandra? The beds in our front yard are lousy with it. I've tried to tackle it in the past, but it holds onto the soil way too well. And there are tons of bigger, shallow roots under it too, presumably from a nearby oak, that make it really hard to tackle with a spade. Can you remove it by hand? Definitely, but it will probably be a multi-year struggle. Black plastic may be ineffective or take a while if it's in shade and will probably require a 2 growing season treatment and is kind of ugly. Blast it with your broadleaf herbicide of choice (roundup + a tablespoon of dish soap for me) a few months apart and it'll probably be dead for good in one go. You may have to treat it again the following spring if it starts coming back. Nuking a solid area of tough and invasive plants is what herbicides are really good at.
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Mar 18, 2023 00:10
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Chad Sexington posted:Anyone have experience removing pachysandra? The beds in our front yard are lousy with it. I've tried to tackle it in the past, but it holds onto the soil way too well. And there are tons of bigger, shallow roots under it too, presumably from a nearby oak, that make it really hard to tackle with a spade. I was going to take out some by hand with a Japanese weeding sickle last summer. However we had someone with a excavator at our house for another project. I paid him to dig out a huge patch of it. Super fast and easy with an excavator. I tried once to use a rototiller on some and it just jammed the whole machine up. Would not recommend.
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Mar 18, 2023 01:17
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Bloody Cat Farm posted:I was going to take out some by hand with a Japanese weeding sickle last summer. However we had someone with a excavator at our house for another project. I paid him to dig out a huge patch of it. Super fast and easy with an excavator. Ha yeah my tiller just bounces off the wall of roots. Was also considering renting a gas powered auger.
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Mar 18, 2023 10:35
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