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My palm is going brown quite drastically. I've put it outside as it's winter (in the Middle East) so we're at comfortable temps hovering around 20c with gentle sunlight. I don't know if it's spider mites causing the issue or what. I'm watering it once weekly, lightly. It's not in direct sunlight, and due to the way my balcony faces, it only gets morning sunlight for a few hours then it's shaded for the rest of the day. Is there anything I can do to help it? These plants are so frustrating because they don't speak so I have no idea why they're deciding to kill themselves.  It's the 2nd from the left that's going all brown. The 3rd from the left was all but dead, it has dropped almost all of it's leaves due to spider mites. However, there's some new strong shoots growing out the tops so I have hopes for it yet.
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Dec 3, 2023 13:13
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Can you post a picture of it? That would give us a better sense of what’s wrong. How is the soil moisture? Is it dry? Does it stay wet?
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Dec 3, 2023 16:48
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 It looks absolutely atrocious, it's pretty much withered and turned to cardboard. I've got no clue why. Do spider mites attack these types of plants? I sprayed it down regularly with neem oil and soap solution, it didn't help. It did admittedly get a lot worse once I'd put it outdoors, but the temperature isn't awful (averaging 20c) and sunlight isn't too strong. A few weeks back (you can see in my previous photo) this was luscious and green. I really haven't changed much other than sticking it outdoors. I'm on the edge of giving up on these completely, I spent so much money getting them lol, they were lovely for the first few months and then it's been a pain trying to keep them from imploding. My hygrometer shows varying levels of moisture, I was so scared to overwater them. Basically, top layer of soil shows as "Dry", middle of the pot shows "Norm" and bottom of the pot shows "Wet" or "Wet+" <-- the wet indications are what I tried to avoid so as not to cause root rot or something. This troublesome palm is showing that the soil has moisture so I've got no clue what it's problem is. Qubee fucked around with this message at 14:39 on Dec 4, 2023 |
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Dec 4, 2023 14:32
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A killing infestation of spider mites should be pretty easy to spot on a palm and treat. Is it especially dry outside? It might be stressed from the transition. I'm a little surprised though that the bottom of the pot is showing wet+ with only light watering. Does the pot have drainage holes? Is it still heavy when you lift it? Palms don't like wet feet.
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Dec 4, 2023 15:09
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Is it a possibility I might be overwatering then? Do leaves turn brown and dry due to overwatering? Previously, I was thinking all the pots show as Wet / Wet+ at the bottom just because moisture will collect at the bottom, despite there being drainage holes. I figured evaporation from topsoil means things show as Nor / Dry higher up the pot. But the bottoms of the pots have shown as Wet / Wet+ since I bought them way back in January, so I'm just confused, I would have assumed signs of overwatering would appear quicker, not just randomly almost a year later. Humidity ebbs and flows but it's not too dry. You could say we're averaging about 50%. But all this being said, I think I'll just bring the thing back inside and see if it doesn't correct itself. PS: my hygrometer is crap so I wouldn't be surprised if trace amounts of water show as Wet+ and bone-dry soil shows as Nor
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Dec 4, 2023 16:01
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Qubee posted:Is it a possibility I might be overwatering then? Do leaves turn brown and dry due to overwatering? Previously, I was thinking all the pots show as Wet / Wet+ at the bottom just because moisture will collect at the bottom, despite there being drainage holes. I figured evaporation from topsoil means things show as Nor / Dry higher up the pot. But the bottoms of the pots have shown as Wet / Wet+ since I bought them way back in January, so I'm just confused, I would have assumed signs of overwatering would appear quicker, not just randomly almost a year later. One of the cruel ironies of plant ownership is that overwatering and underwatering often have similar symptoms. Not enough water can cause a palm to brown, but overwatering can cause leaves to yellow or cause root rot, which leads to droopy and brown leaves. Pretty easy to tell though by just removing the plant from the pot and inspecting the soil/roots. Healthy roots will be a lighter color. Rotting roots will be dark brown and smell funky. Could be a good opportunity to change the soil too or do a light feed. If it's been in the pot for almost a year it could be yearning for fertilizer.
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Dec 4, 2023 16:59
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Status report, I just butchered the thing - for it's own good I hope. Out of maybe 20 fronds, which used to be vibrantly green and healthy, I had to surgically slice about 7 or 8. The plant now looks barren and ugly, but I'm hoping from this newfound repulsiveness, a green phoenix will rise in a few months. I don't know if what I did was beneficial or not: - Any obviously dead stems that had turned woody with brown leaves, I cut all the way down to where the stem became green again (some were dead all the way to the soil so I just cut them to the soil). I don't think palms are able to grow from cut stems so  - Any branches that had a majority brown leaves with a few green leaves interspersed, I pruned away the dead brown leaves and left the green leaves intact. If the tips were brown but the base of the leaf was green, I cut to the green part of the leaf. The soil was perfect, not too dry, and not sodden. It was really nice to the feel because it was damp but not to the point where it left wetness on my hands. So I guess overwatering and underwatering isn't the issue, unless palms are meant to have drier soil than that? I completely removed the palm from the soil, shook the roots free, and replaced the soil with some fertilizer mixed in. I put straw mulch on top and gave it a brief water. https://imgur.com/a/uPq87xr Imgur album that shows the roots and also some weird spotting on the stems. Spider mites? Disease? Whatever is equivalent to plant leprosy? Who knows.
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Dec 4, 2023 18:28
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Does that spot get lots of direct sun, and is it hot where you are right now? If the answer to both is yes, you might just be frying them. They're right next to a wall which will reflect heat back on them e: The photos are a little blurry, but those dots don't look like insect damage, so it might be a disease or fungi of some sort. e2: \/ \/ If they were recently moved, then this is almost assuredly the answer. Every time I bring my olive tree inside for the winter it drops all of its leaves and they're not really supposed to do that. It inevitably recovers, but it just takes some time and TLC. kedo fucked around with this message at 19:27 on Dec 4, 2023 |
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Dec 4, 2023 19:10
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You need to give the plants more time to acclimate to each new spot they’re in. Moving plants can be a bit traumatic if they’re used to being near a certain vent where it stays drier, etc. also I don’t think a hygrometer is helping you here, if the soil still feels wet at the bottom more than a week after watering then you need better drainage, no matter what that little gauge says. Houseplants usually prefer to dry all the way out to the very bottoms before getting watered again, and yours are probably no different.
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Dec 4, 2023 19:22
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Qubee posted:Status report, I just butchered the thing - for it's own good I hope. Out of maybe 20 fronds, which used to be vibrantly green and healthy, I had to surgically slice about 7 or 8. The plant now looks barren and ugly, but I'm hoping from this newfound repulsiveness, a green phoenix will rise in a few months. I don't know if what I did was beneficial or not: the roots seem healthy. I second looking to see if there's a time of day where the plant gets scorched by direct sun.
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Dec 6, 2023 20:39
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I brought the spoilt thing inside. It has been heavily pruned (is that the right term?), repotted with fresh soil + a mix of fertilizer (only a tad) and has been watered just enough to take most of the soil to Normal with some Dry spots. Giving it a few weeks to bounce back, hopefully. Maybe outside was just too harsh, dry, or drastically different for it to thrive. What a dummy. It's quite a pathetic looking thing now, so threadbare and forlorn.
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Dec 6, 2023 21:02
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Qubee posted:I brought the spoilt thing inside. It has been heavily pruned (is that the right term?), repotted with fresh soil + a mix of fertilizer (only a tad) and has been watered just enough to take most of the soil to Normal with some Dry spots. Giving it a few weeks to bounce back, hopefully. it's fine. you're doing fine getting into plants is 100% like this. You buy a bunch of poo poo and then you kill it and you ask a bunch of questions and watch a bunch of youtubes and then you find new poo poo that you like better and you get better at keeping poo poo and you still kill a ton of it and it hardens your heart and you join forums and buy some books and you find more specialist and enthusiast focused retailers and you press on and then five years later you have a double or triple digit number of plants and you're procreating them and you have more plants than you know what to do with and you still get more. it's fine. trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 21:06 on Dec 6, 2023 |
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Dec 6, 2023 21:04
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I wouldn't mind so much if the poo poo I'm killing didn't cost me a bloody arm and a leg. I think I paid something obscene like $500 for the four plants in the photo plus another one that got utterly ravaged by spider mites. Knowing how expensive they are makes me wince. Is there a way I can grow this all from seed going forwards, or is it a prohibitively slow process? I'm thinking of propagating the palm once it's healthier, and maybe taking some cuttings from the ficus to repot.
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Dec 6, 2023 21:09
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Qubee posted:I wouldn't mind so much if the poo poo I'm killing didn't cost me a bloody arm and a leg. I think I paid something obscene like $500 for the four plants in the photo plus another one that got utterly ravaged by spider mites. Knowing how expensive they are makes me wince. Don't you have like IKEA and Home Depot or their equivalents where you live? They have that poo poo in the dominican republic I understand that imports to the middle east can be extremely expensive compared to, like, the US, but stuff like ficuses should be readily available given how they're cultivated, and also you should have access to more locally available flora. Stuff like euphorbias and dates and grapes and olives and citrus come to mind. All do well in home cultivation. If you can get coconuts cheap, then you can grow an interesting palm from seed. I know a guy with a 25 year old one that's all stumpy and awesome. Cactus pads are probably grown in your area for animal fodder, and those propagate with zero effort.
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Dec 6, 2023 21:15
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Scotch bonnet pepper seeds - Tray 1, Week 6 or 7 Scotch bonnet pepper seeds - Tray 2, Week 0 
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Dec 6, 2023 22:02
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Speaking of seedlings, at what point should I transplant mine into slightly bigger containers? I've got a bunch of small Jiffy biodegradable planter cups I can move my peppers into once they're big enough. About 8 of the 12 seedlings in my first tray are on their second pairs of leaves, with a few starting to grow their third pairs. I'm guessing it'll be another few weeks before I should start thinking about transplanting?
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Dec 8, 2023 20:18
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I. M. Gei posted:Speaking of seedlings, at what point should I transplant mine into slightly bigger containers? You can look to see how far down they've put their roots and go by that. Usually I'll use a 1" square to start and size up when they've put their roots out the bottom of it. The peppers will have three to four sets of leaves at this point for me, but you don't need to wait that long. Anytime they're eating up all the water quickly is a good enough reason to size up. Usually about 5-6 weeks from germination is visible before I worry about this. I would fertilize the ones the furthest along with at 1/4 strength liquid fertilizer about a week before you transplant. I would avoid the Jiffy cups for peppers as they need to be kept wetter than peppers tend to like, and finding equilibrium in them can be a good way to drown or dehydrate your seedlings. They also will allow the plants to grab on with their roots, but the cups need to be removed before planting as they take time in a hot compost to degrade. If you also keep the soil warm enough for the peppers, the cups will speed the evaporation as well and you'll be spending a lot of extra time babysitting the moisture levels. How early can you plant them outdoors? You've started them earlier than I ever have by about 6 weeks, so I hope they can be planted in April.
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Dec 8, 2023 20:48
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I hate the cups for peppers in particular, pretty much exactly like Jhet said. It's a neat idea in theory but in practice they will either kill a seedling or severely stunt a transplant almost every time. I usually just reuse plastic pots that have accumulated over the years and some fresh seed mix.
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Dec 8, 2023 21:43
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Getting seed catalogs already, truly a blessed time of year. Shame Baker Creek is fascist adjacent, they have some crazy-looking purple tomato varieties this year.
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Dec 8, 2023 21:52
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Jhet posted:I would avoid the Jiffy cups for peppers as they need to be kept wetter than peppers tend to like, and finding equilibrium in them can be a good way to drown or dehydrate your seedlings. They also will allow the plants to grab on with their roots, but the cups need to be removed before planting as they take time in a hot compost to degrade. If you also keep the soil warm enough for the peppers, the cups will speed the evaporation as well and you'll be spending a lot of extra time babysitting the moisture levels. mischief posted:I hate the cups for peppers in particular, pretty much exactly like Jhet said. It's a neat idea in theory but in practice they will either kill a seedling or severely stunt a transplant almost every time. I usually just reuse plastic pots that have accumulated over the years and some fresh seed mix. Alright then, no Jiffy cups! I'll find some cheap plastic things instead. I just moved one of the smaller sprouts to a different pellet and the root is about an inch long or so, maybe slightly less. The roots on the bigger sprouts are probably a little longer than that. EDIT: Welp, I just checked and the roots on the four biggest sprouts are coming out the bottom and sides big time. So I need to transplant those four ASAP. Jhet posted:How early can you plant them outdoors? You've started them earlier than I ever have by about 6 weeks, so I hope they can be planted in April. I live in Zone 8B, so pretty mild winters here. Usually frost danger is gone by about late March or early April. I've read that Scotch bonnets tend to prefer a warmer and more humid climate than other peppers, so I'll probably need to keep them in pots in little greenhouse enclosures outside. That way I can also move them indoors whenever it gets too cold. I. M. Gei fucked around with this message at 23:25 on Dec 8, 2023 |
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Dec 8, 2023 22:57
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Looking for gift ideas for a parent that is familiar with gardening, but hasn't done much of it in the past two decades. Checked out the first couple pages and decided a soil pH probe would be neat and useful for deciding what to experiment with. Don't know much about equipment other than that. Feel like kneepads of some kind might be useful - they'd have to be easy to don though. Any gift suggestions are much appreciated. Especially lesser-known nice-to-haves.
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Dec 8, 2023 23:12
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Chad Sexington posted:Shame Baker Creek is fascist adjacent, they have some crazy-looking purple tomato varieties this year. Double check Seed Savers Exchange, maybe High Mowing too? Should be able to find some rad seeds without Baker Creek. You should be able to find the Wild Boar collections in a few places, they make some really cool variegated 'maters too. FaradayCage posted:Looking for gift ideas for a parent that is familiar with gardening, but hasn't done much of it in the past two decades. Maybe look at a little garden cart and a foam knee board thing? Kneepads are kind of a pain but the little boards are easy to scoot around on. I don't normally do much with the soil probes or whatever.
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Dec 9, 2023 00:06
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Will they be growing in-ground or in containers? And do they have said garden beds or containers? If not, a gift card to Lowes (for timbers or whatever) is not the worst idea. There is always something. I am frequently happy I have a foam kneeling pad, a soil sifter, and good garden scissors. Also a hori hori but that may involve a bit more personal choice. I am not sure I would ever use a soil pH meter though. That's what your local extension office is for (in the US, anyways). E: f-double-b
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Dec 9, 2023 01:35
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It came up within another group of friends of mine: Baker Creek's quality has gone waaaaay downhill. Germination rates are unacceptable and seeds are often not the named varieties. So you don't have to regret leaving. e: A Reddit post with lots of examples in the comments. One of my favorite gardening tools is this folding kneeler from Lee Valley Tools. Kneelers are really useful if you have a hard time getting up from off your knees. Furthermore, this one flips over to become a seat when you're gardening. And because it's foldable, it doesn't use up lots of space in storage. Arsenic Lupin fucked around with this message at 02:19 on Dec 9, 2023 |
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Dec 9, 2023 01:46
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I used https://www.totallytomato.com/ for tomato and pepper seeds this past season and really liked their selection.
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Dec 9, 2023 02:27
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If your parent is gonna do outdoor planting, a sunlight calculator isn't a bad idea and is also pretty cheap. Some people say they're unnecessary because holding your arm out and seeing if it casts a shadow works just as well, but those people are loving idiots because sunlight calculators measure light levels over a period of 12 hours, and I dunno about you but I sure as poo poo ain't gonna stand around outside with my arm up for half a loving day. I. M. Gei fucked around with this message at 02:38 on Dec 9, 2023 |
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Dec 9, 2023 02:33
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I. M. Gei posted:If your parent is gonna do outdoor planting, a sunlight calculator isn't a bad idea and is also pretty cheap. I didn't know those existed! I definitely need one.
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Dec 9, 2023 02:37
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Pro Tip: If you're gonna plant a tree (or even a bush more than about a foot or two tall), tape the calculator to the top of a gardening pole (you can get these at Home Depot for super cheap; they're usually green) or equivalent long thing you can put in the ground, and stick it in the ground until the calculator's sensor is up to about 3/5ths to 3/4ths the height of whatever you're planting. That way you'll know if the sun is adequate at the height of your plant, in case sun angle or shadows might be a factor.
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Dec 9, 2023 02:46
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i wonder if i hosed up my garlic plant timing really badly. was just watching this migardener vid where he says if your garlic is around 7-8 inches at this point it's prob bad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSUVOhaMWoI&t=367s well this is an example of what my garlic looks like right now  i'm in 10a and some sites recommended early october so i planted them out on oct 3rd. i had some real unfortunate timing as a heatwave struck like the instant i planted them out so they got a ton of warmth and sprouted like within a week and this is what they're at now. i've said before but my winter temps shouldn't dip below 44f but i assume this is already way too grown out, right? how much did i mess up here and would there be any point to trying to fix the mistake?
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Dec 9, 2023 02:57
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Futaba Anzu posted:i wonder if i hosed up my garlic plant timing really badly. was just watching this migardener vid where he says if your garlic is around 7-8 inches at this point it's prob bad
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Dec 9, 2023 03:04
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SubG posted:If you were hoping they were going to be dormant over winter then yeah, that ship has sailed. You're probably not going to get great bulb development out of them, but on the other hand they'll probably want to bolt come spring and that means garlic scapes. And garlic scapes rule. they're softneck california garlic so i don't think they'll get scapes
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Dec 9, 2023 03:35
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Futaba Anzu posted:they're softneck california garlic so i don't think they'll get scapes
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Dec 9, 2023 03:43
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I’m surprised there isn’t much discussion of planning and layout apps. What do you all recommend, if anything, for helping with planning and laying out your gardens? I was thinking of using an iPad, personally.
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Dec 9, 2023 18:48
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Graph paper
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Dec 9, 2023 19:39
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Hey Gardeners! I'm trying to figure out how to get my wife's garden up and running for Christmas. We have a relatively small back yard and some rabbits and, with her arthritis, she has a hard time bending over, so she has planned on installing some raised garden beds in the yard to grow some veggies. I would love to surprise her for Christmas with some gift letting her get started on this the upcoming winter / spring, but I want to make sure the quality is good and that I don't do something like buy beds that are too low that she feels obligated to use. Is there a 'gold standard' for raised beds for accessibility that I could get? Would it be better to reach out to some landscapers / gardeners in the area and maybe get her a quote or consult with one of them for her present, that way she can work with them to make sure her vision works? I'm not sure that's really a service that's offered though... This is a real passion of hers and I want to get her something that will jump-start is as she has had a really hard time starting projects, any advice would be appreciated!
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Dec 9, 2023 19:43
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Myself, I'd be tempted to follow the University of Maine agricultural extension plans on the theory they've already done the testing for you. If you think it would be more fun to plan it together, the site has lots of great information, including videos and links to blogs. https://extension.umaine.edu/agrability/solutions-and-resources/ergonomics/
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Dec 9, 2023 20:28
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Thank you all for the suggestions! I assumed soil pH would be variable over a few acres or you could even maintain it by...idunno fertilizing with vinegar. But I'll let her know where she can find that info out!
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Dec 9, 2023 20:33
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Tom Tucker posted:Hey Gardeners! I'm trying to figure out how to get my wife's garden up and running for Christmas. We have a relatively small back yard and some rabbits and, with her arthritis, she has a hard time bending over, so she has planned on installing some raised garden beds in the yard to grow some veggies. I would love to surprise her for Christmas with some gift letting her get started on this the upcoming winter / spring, but I want to make sure the quality is good and that I don't do something like buy beds that are too low that she feels obligated to use. Birdie’s have a new version of their garden beds out. Not available in Australia yet but you can get them in the USA
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Dec 10, 2023 00:26
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adeadcrab posted:Birdie’s have a new version of their garden beds out. Not available in Australia yet but you can get them in the USA drat. Ditched their home country for a bigger market. I had a tall Birdies raised bed at my previous house and I loved it. Had no trouble at all except for wishing I had more of them
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Dec 10, 2023 04:58
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FaradayCage posted:Looking for gift ideas for a parent that is familiar with gardening, but hasn't done much of it in the past two decades. You've already gotten good advice, but I'd throw in a Japanese gardening knife. The one I have cost around $25 and it's really useful. This is the one I bought: https://www.amazon.com/Nisaku-NJP65...115&sr=8-5&th=1 Good luck.
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Dec 10, 2023 06:13
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