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What type of plants are you interested in growing? This poll is closed. |
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| Perennials! |
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142 | 20.91% |
| Annuals! |
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30 | 4.42% |
| Woody plants! |
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62 | 9.13% |
| Succulent plants! |
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171 | 25.18% |
| Tropical plants! |
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60 | 8.84% |
| Non-vascular plants are the best! |
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31 | 4.57% |
| Screw you, I'd rather eat them! |
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183 | 26.95% |
| Total: | 679 votes | ||
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One of the grape vines that we planted this spring had a tiny surprise for us this morning. I trimmed the buds off so the vine can focus on growing, as I'm hoping to train the vines to a trellis before the end of the year. Still, really neat to see what's coming in the future. (The buds tasted like Plant.) About a month ago, the apricot that we planted last Spring blossomed, though it seems they went unfertilized and have since fallen off. One year to fruiting seemed too good to be true, and its partner plant in the front yard didn't blossom this year anyway, so no surprise. Super pretty flowers, though. I live in Minnesota. 
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May 21, 2018 00:02
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Nosre posted:Just move in someplace? That was us last October, so this spring has been wonderful for discovering things coming up in the yard as well Yep! Moved in with my sister and brother on my sister's property. I've been gardening here about two years, living here about a month or so.  There are lots of fun surprises in the garden. 
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May 21, 2018 03:54
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 Facing south into the yard of our rental apartment complex is this arched opening. I've been thinking it'd be nice to cover it with some kind of climbing plant (or combination of plants). Trellis structure could be a wooden framework covered with hog wire, or all wood. Haven't really decided on that yet. Hog wire would be simpler (if not as pretty) and should be able to handle a bit of weight without sagging too much, right? As for plants, I'm thinking two possibilities: European honeysuckle across the trellis, perhaps in combination with clematis to cover bare-looking honeysuckle trunks and some kind of ground cover to give the roots a bit of shade. Or, just a whole lot of Chinese wisteria. I'm partial to honeysuckle as the birds like the berries and the flowers smell lovely. But blue wisteria would look nice against the red-pink hues of the wall... Are either of these ideas feasible? There's unfortunately a lot of concrete and asphalt covering our yard, so the climbers would have to grow in containers.
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May 21, 2018 15:31
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Is the archway used a lot? My concern with something like honeysuckle (which I love, too--amazing fragrance) would be the bees and other insects it would attract that could make braving the archway gauntlet a daunting experience.
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May 21, 2018 15:46
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Where do you live? Chinese wisteria is so invasive in the US that I'd never recommend it.
Fitzy Fitz fucked around with this message at 16:32 on May 21, 2018 |
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May 21, 2018 15:52
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Yeah, I'd agree and say anything but wisteria. I heard a story one time of someone who planted wisteria to cover an arbor on the side of their house and after about a decade the wisteria started to lift the house off its foundation. A wisteria arbor needs to be its own thing, unattached to any structures you'd like to keep habitable.
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May 21, 2018 16:31
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Hirayuki posted:Is the archway used a lot? My concern with something like honeysuckle (which I love, too--amazing fragrance) would be the bees and other insects it would attract that could make braving the archway gauntlet a daunting experience. Fitzy Fitz posted:Where do you live? Chinese wisteria is so invasive in the US that I'd never recommend it. Marchegiana posted:Yeah, I'd agree and say anything but wisteria. I heard a story one time of someone who planted wisteria to cover an arbor on the side of their house and after about a decade the wisteria started to lift the house off its foundation. A wisteria arbor needs to be its own thing, unattached to any structures you'd like to keep habitable. Sounds pretty amazing, in a way. But I do want to minimize damage on the wall, so thanks for the warning. Thanks for the help, ya'll. Pretty sure we're gonna go for wild honeysuckle + clematis. anatomi fucked around with this message at 16:37 on May 21, 2018 |
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May 21, 2018 16:32
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I have two trellises without plants, as well, in partial shade, in Maryland, soil is very full of clay and amended. Any recommendations? I'm thinking clematis. I don't know anything about honeysuckle but could do both to copy anatomi? And a new surprise!  What plant is this? Peony? Peony hybrid?
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May 21, 2018 18:45
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I have spent all day in the blazing heat pulling weeds, tidying borders and planting many many daliah and corms. Only one more border to go and Im finally loving done. Heads up a Uk new poppy crop got murdered to death by the beast from the east, if you want orientals this year you are going to have to grow them yourself, and you have time to get them going in pots outside now for flowers next year but don’t leave it too long.
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May 21, 2018 18:58
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Nosre posted:We got anyone here that can opine on grow lights? As somebody who cannot stand the purple light of most of these LEDs, I can personally recommend this (less bright) and this (very bright, too expensive IMO) as good options for a more natural looking light. They kept my dwarf banana plants alive inside all winter and I've used them for seedlings as well.
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May 21, 2018 23:32
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[Ask] Me about getting 9" of rain spread constantly over 7 days and ending up with severe Melt Out all over my lawn  WrenP-Complete posted:I have two trellises without plants, as well, in partial shade, in Maryland, soil is very full of clay and amended. Any recommendations? I'm thinking clematis. I don't know anything about honeysuckle but could do both to copy anatomi? Honeysuckle is a favorite of mine but be aware there are species that can be just as invasive as some Wisterias. Ideally you'd do a native one. I have some clematis I've planted along a patio railing that's in partial/dappled full shade and it's growing, albeit probably not as vigorously as it probably would with more sunlight. Different Clematis species are rated for different levels of sun -- all will do well with Full Sun, but there are some that should grow more vigorously with less. I've got some 'Silver Queen' planted which are in that category. Also be aware that Clematis can be Spring or Summer flowering -- I'm contemplating adding some Summer flowering varieties in between my existing plantings (which are Spring-flowering) so I get some rotating blooms throughout the season. A mix like that might be worth thinking about as well. Could you do Honeysuckle AND Clematis? Or would the clematis just get choked out? Hubis fucked around with this message at 14:52 on May 22, 2018 |
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May 22, 2018 14:48
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I have clematis and coral honeysuckle, and I love them both. Just don't plant an asian honeysuckle.
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May 22, 2018 15:04
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Does anyone have any suggestions for sunny shrubs or beefy perennials (Zone 6a) that like it wet? ( )We have two patches about 2' by 3' on either side of our rain barrel that are bare dirt and quickly fill up with weeds. The patch between the rain barrel and the house, in particular, gets very wet when the barrel overflows. (I don't want to think about what the moisture might be doing to the foundation there.) In front of each patch are two raised beds in which we grow our annual and perennial vegetables, so there aren't really any concerns about having to match existing plantings or anything. In fact, if we plant real plants in those two patches, there's less chance of weeds spreading into our veggie beds. In other news, I did all my annual-plant buying today and am really excited to get down to planting!
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May 22, 2018 23:03
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Hello, hoping this is the right thread for this question. If not, please kindly direct me to the right one (if there is a right one!) So my yard is a mess. I don't like lawn care, and thus don't know a great deal about it. I know this is probably a pipe dream, but is there a variety of grass (or other ground cover) that: -does well in shade/tree cover for most of the day -can crowd out weeds relatively well -wont get totally destroyed by two hyper dogs -requires little additional watering, if I'm in a pretty rainy state Basically, I have about enough time to mow/weed whacker the lawns, and I really don't want to use any chemical weed killer for various reasons. Also my state's average water usage for watering lawns tends to be completely insane, IMO. So yeah, no idea what there might be out there that comes remotely close to what I'm looking for, though clover looked likely based on what I've read. Not sure what climate/zone I'm in but I live in Minnesota.
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May 22, 2018 23:48
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MockingQuantum posted:Hello, hoping this is the right thread for this question. If not, please kindly direct me to the right one (if there is a right one!) You will want something cold-tolerant that handles shade well. A blend of fine fescues and bluegrass could work: https://www.seedsuperstore.com/catalog/p-100004/ss6000-shady-mixture?zip=55111&type=shady The fine fescues grow slowly so they won't out compete weeds too much, but the KBG will help there. Mow at 3.5+", that will help with weeds (though stuff like black medic or creeping charlie will still thin it out eventually). The dogs will be tough. If you can train them to urinate in one (mulched?) Area and just plan to overseed the areas they wear down each fall it'll help a lot.
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May 23, 2018 01:34
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Hubis posted:You will want something cold-tolerant that handles shade well. A blend of fine fescues and bluegrass could work: https://www.seedsuperstore.com/catalog/p-100004/ss6000-shady-mixture?zip=55111&type=shady Ill look into fescue and KBG because I know right now I have neither and whatever I do have doesnt do well at all in our tree cover. I have some creeping charlie right now but honestly I don't care that much, it at least doesn't look terrible from a distance. The bigger nuisances are dandelions and some sort of thistle. And as far as the dogs are concerned, it's pretty much just wear and tear that's the concern. The yard is big enough that die-off from urine is sparse or hard to notice, but I swear they must spend all their time outside just making laps of the lawn. I might end up just putting down paving bricks in their paths, since they're critters of habit and stick to the same routes (or ruts, at this point). I think I may bite the bullet and get in a yardcare person who can tell me what will work best and how to actually plant it since I'm both kind of helpless when it comes to lawn care and don't really have any desire to put more time into it than I have to.
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May 23, 2018 01:48
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MockingQuantum posted:Ill look into fescue and KBG because I know right now I have neither and whatever I do have doesnt do well at all in our tree cover. I have some creeping charlie right now but honestly I don't care that much, it at least doesn't look terrible from a distance. The bigger nuisances are dandelions and some sort of thistle. The Charlie isn't too bad to pull, but it's work. Nothing will out compete the dandelions. They spread out too much and will suck all the nutrients out of the surrounding are. If there aren't a lot of them then your best bet would be to get a long weeding tool (or a slothead screwdriver) and use it to dig down alongside the base and pop out the weed and taproot as one big piece. If there are a lot of them and your turf is thin anyways you could do a one-time Roundup spray of the area and the overseed a like two weeks later. While nothing will take the wear/compaction from dogs pacing particularly well, one nice thing about KBG is that it spreads through rhizomes and so will grow to fill in bare patches pretty significantly over a season. Tall Fescue is actually pretty wear tolerant, but I'm not sure if you are outside its comfort zone for winter lows. If you don't have the time to put into it though, no shame. If you hire someone you can have them do a full reno to start (aerate, fertilize, slit seed, top dress) which will help get a really strong base for keeping weeds under control through vigorous turf grass from there on out. All of it is stuff you CAN do yourself, but is also totally reasonable to throw money at if you are not so motivated. At the least you can be armed with some information to know if the people you are talking to are blowing smoke at you.
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May 23, 2018 02:39
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Hirayuki posted:Does anyone have any suggestions for sunny shrubs or beefy perennials (Zone 6a) that like it wet? ( I have Lobelia cardinalis growing in a wet spot in my yard (next to the drainage from my heat pumps) and it's a really nice wet-tolerant flowering perennial that always brings hummingbirds to my yard. Just don't be like me and forget to deadhead the spent flowers or it will seed all over.
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May 23, 2018 03:03
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Sweet, we got a pear tree last night from my parents!
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May 23, 2018 05:29
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Hirayuki posted:Does anyone have any suggestions for sunny shrubs or beefy perennials (Zone 6a) that like it wet? ( Hebe  Oriental poppies also don’t mind it wet either.
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May 23, 2018 07:10
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WrenP-Complete posted:And a new surprise! That is indeed a peony, killer surprise.
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May 23, 2018 15:28
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Hirayuki posted:Does anyone have any suggestions for sunny shrubs or beefy perennials (Zone 6a) that like it wet? ( Cannas. Some varieties are even bog plants. They come in all sorts of fancy variegated types now if that's your thing, Bengal Tiger or Tropicanna. Actually, Tropicanna comes in several different types now: plain, Gold, Black... Their flower range is from yellow to red, some with speckled flowers. Actually, at zone 6a, you might be beyond the range for some of them. kid sinister fucked around with this message at 18:11 on May 23, 2018 |
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May 23, 2018 18:04
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kid sinister posted:Cannas. Some varieties are even bog plants. They come in all sorts of fancy variegated types now if that's your thing, Bengal Tiger or Tropicanna. Actually, Tropicanna comes in several different types now: plain, Gold, Black... Their flower range is from yellow to red, some with speckled flowers. Cannas are annuals in zone 6a, you just need to make sure to plant them when the ground is warmed up enough (first week of June is the local rule of thumb). If you want to keep them you'll need to dig up the tubers before first frost, but they're fairly inexpensive.
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May 23, 2018 20:59
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Mozi posted:As somebody who cannot stand the purple light of most of these LEDs, I can personally recommend this (less bright) and this (very bright, too expensive IMO) as good options for a more natural looking light. They kept my dwarf banana plants alive inside all winter and I've used them for seedlings as well. Thanks for the rec. Definitely going with natural/full spectrum, based on that and some other comparisons like this Grow lights are way more complicated than I hoped. All I want is something reasonably priced that can 'top off' this 1h sun/day spot to make 'full sun' things happy, and I'm finding myself reading this trying to figure out the typical PPFD of sunlight: quote:3.1 Distribution of monthly mean daily PPFD, PARE, RS, fFEC, fE, and LPR
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May 24, 2018 01:53
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Hubis posted:Nothing will out compete the dandelions. They spread out too much and will suck all the nutrients out of the surrounding are. If there aren't a lot of them then your best bet would be to get a long weeding tool (or a slothead screwdriver) and use it to dig down alongside the base and pop out the weed and taproot as one big piece. If there are a lot of them and your turf is thin anyways you could do a one-time Roundup spray of the area and the overseed a like two weeks later. Definitely follow this advice and buy one of those long Fiskars weed pullers. They'll pull a whole dandelion plant out, taproot and all. No bending over or getting down on your hands and knees either.
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May 24, 2018 03:23
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VERTiG0 posted:Definitely follow this advice and buy one of those long Fiskars weed pullers. They'll pull a whole dandelion plant out, taproot and all. No bending over or getting down on your hands and knees either. I think this is the way I may need to go. I am very against chemical weed killer (or weed and feed) for a variety of reasons, but I could manage to just wander the yard and pull dandelions for a half-hour a day or whatever before work. I know it won't eliminate them, but maybe I can find time to stay ahead of them. Hubis posted:If you don't have the time to put into it though, no shame. If you hire someone you can have them do a full reno to start (aerate, fertilize, slit seed, top dress) which will help get a really strong base for keeping weeds under control through vigorous turf grass from there on out. All of it is stuff you CAN do yourself, but is also totally reasonable to throw money at if you are not so motivated. At the least you can be armed with some information to know if the people you are talking to are blowing smoke at you. I think this will be the plan, once I've finished some more urgent house projects. I really am clueless when it comes to any sort of lawn care that's more complicated than mowing or raking leaves, and I'm 100% okay with that. I think it'd be a big improvement to just get someone knowledgeable to take a look and basically give me a fresh start. The lawn was in pretty awful shape when I moved in, and has only gotten worse in the intervening years.
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May 24, 2018 04:34
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I kinda like dandelions in my garden, I just mow them over when I cut the lawn. They add some color.
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May 24, 2018 07:35
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I know how to kill a entire bramble infestation by exploiting their weakness and using it against them. Brambles are a bit thick. If you cut them down to base then they will use a fantastic amount of energy to grow back everything to make it exactly like it was before. Let them grow back about 8 inches and then use a mower or a trimmer to cut them back to base again. Do this over and over again and the plant will be so stressed and shocked that it will start canabalising it’s own roots to try and replace its branches and will just die. Bonus points if you use a flamethrower instead of a strimmer.
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May 24, 2018 07:49
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His Divine Shadow posted:I kinda like dandelions in my garden, I just mow them over when I cut the lawn. They add some color. Frankly I'm in favor of them, they help the local bee population. My neighbors are the ones that give a poo poo. I'd rather just mow them occasionally.
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May 24, 2018 20:14
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Dandelions in a lawn are fine, where they loving suck is when they get into your flower borders. That fish blood and bone wasn’t for you yellow bitches, it was for the buddleja and lilac, get ta gently caress.
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May 24, 2018 21:22
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vonnegutt posted:Cannas are annuals in zone 6a, you just need to make sure to plant them when the ground is warmed up enough (first week of June is the local rule of thumb). If you want to keep them you'll need to dig up the tubers before first frost, but they're fairly inexpensive. You can maybe fudge a zone depending on their placement. I'm in 6b and my Tropicanna Black was the first thing up this spring. Then again, that sprout was right up against my foundation in full sun. Mine has been there 4 years now. learnincurve posted:I know how to kill a entire bramble infestation by exploiting their weakness and using it against them. So if you keep a plant from making leaves and performing photosynthesis, it will die? You don't say? kid sinister fucked around with this message at 22:07 on May 24, 2018 |
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May 24, 2018 22:02
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Bought a bunch of ladybug eggs to help me with some spider mites. I stuck the egg patches to the bottom of leaves and a couple other places but I failed at double checking the weather. Tonight we had thunderstorms and pouring rain for a few hours 
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May 24, 2018 23:38
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I have a couple of unidentified miniature African violets I got for free awhile ago. One of them seems to have split up into 3 or 4 separate rosettes - do I need to remove the daughter plants and give them their own pots or can they hang out together for awhile? The pots are less than 2" across, I can't imagine how tiny I'd need to get for the daughters to stay "snug" enough.
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May 25, 2018 01:21
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kid sinister posted:
Not exactly, you want them to create some leaves and branches because they will start cannibalising their own roots to do it. If you do the same to invasive plants like ivy, dandelions, mint, creeping daisy and couch grass then they will recognise the stress and go dormant. You can cover couch grass with black weed suppressant and it will still be alive and waiting for the next 10 years.
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May 25, 2018 08:18
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Just checking that this white flowered spiky boy on our rhododendron is an invasive pest, and I should cut him down...
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May 25, 2018 17:11
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I need some plant id help please: Large flowering bush, trailing stems coming over the fence, flower clusters are about 1-1.5" across. We're in the UK. E: already asked the neighbor, he's no idea.
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May 25, 2018 17:15
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Meadowsweet?
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May 25, 2018 17:25
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WrenP-Complete posted:Just checking that this white flowered spiky boy on our rhododendron is an invasive pest, and I should cut him down... Do you like berries? My money is on blackberry here. People consider blackberries invasive but they're not hard to control if you get to them before they go bonkers. I was controlling blackberries growing up against my neighbor's chain link fence in my back yard for years. Once I built a privacy fence, the canes were now between the two fences, so I started letting them go a few years ago to keep trespassers out. A couple years ago was the first real flush of berries and ever since then I've just been letting them go wild, but it's getting to the point now where they'll need thinned and cut to keep things under control. Wild blackberries have some really amazing, tart flavor to them that you don't get in the huge, insipid commercially-grown ones.
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May 25, 2018 18:41
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I try to make at least one pie from foraged blackberries every summer. They're so easy to spot along roadsides.
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May 25, 2018 18:57
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| # ? May 14, 2024 07:38 |
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Shame Boner posted:Do you like berries? My money is on blackberry here. People consider blackberries invasive but they're not hard to control if you get to them before they go bonkers. Oh, I think we have raspberries going crazy on the other side of the path there, maybe they're friends? I didn't realize they grew as a vine, I thought they were shrubs, but googling tells me they can also be vines. We definitely can't let more bramble take over the property though.
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May 25, 2018 19:27
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