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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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Oil of Paris posted:Anybody else having some mature and healthy trees prematurely defoliating? My big rear end black cherry has really left loose, I think this summer has just been one big rear end kick and the plants are calling it a day earlier There have been 4 very dry springs/summers each year here in Germany for the last four years. Appart from all the spruces and pines dying, the Linden/Lime trees are losing their leaves already. Some native cherry's as well. A lot of ornamentals from east Asia are no longer viable any more. One of my favourites, the silver Birch is also no longer viable in lots of forests or gardens.
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Sep 6, 2020 17:26
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Oil of Paris posted:Anybody else having some mature and healthy trees prematurely defoliating? My big rear end black cherry has really left loose, I think this summer has just been one big rear end kick and the plants are calling it a day earlier My six foot tall Sango Kaku maple did this as well, and then I found out there was almost no nitrogen in the soil.
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Sep 6, 2020 18:13
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Oil of Paris posted:Anybody else having some mature and healthy trees prematurely defoliating? My big rear end black cherry has really left loose, I think this summer has just been one big rear end kick and the plants are calling it a day earlier We had literally 3 days of spring which caused a bunch of things to start shooting up, then it was cold and rainy for months, and then we went into full blown summer with three weeks of drought. A lot of my plants are clearly confused. Some are flagging a bit early, other ones are pushing out new growth much later than I would expect. All of the trees in my yard (which I planted all but one of this year) seem to be extremely happy with the weird rear end conditions this season, though, including a ~3 foot umbrella pine that has put on most of a foot. I'm hoping we don't get slammed with a bad winter because I have a feeling a lot of things aren't really prepared for it.
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Sep 6, 2020 22:03
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Wallet posted:We had literally 3 days of spring which caused a bunch of things to start shooting up, then it was cold and rainy for months, and then we went into full blown summer with three weeks of drought. My fruit trees are flowering again. I mean, I appreciate trying to give me some fresh pears for Christmas, but please stop.
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Sep 6, 2020 22:53
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Oil of Paris posted:Anybody else having some mature and healthy trees prematurely defoliating? My big rear end black cherry has really left loose, I think this summer has just been one big rear end kick and the plants are calling it a day earlier Oh good, so it’s not just me having this problem. Yeah both of my new cherry trees and maybe one or two of my apple trees have bit the dust. The van graft on my 3-in-1 cherry tree also croaked, although that was already gonna happen anyway (it was the furthest graft down from the top, and I planted the tree facing the wrong way, so the van was on the north side where it didn’t get hardly any sunlight cuz the main trunk was in the way). I’m basically doing damage control on my apple trees by removing any and all leaves with browned edges or spots on them, until I can get a decent sprayer to apply fungicide to them. Thankfully none of them appear to have fire blight like someone here suggested awhile back, since they’re not showing the right symptoms at all, but I’m not taking chances. Most of them look as good as ever, but my poor golden delicious looks like a parrot that done plucked all its feathers off. 
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Sep 6, 2020 23:41
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This particular cherry is pretty large, about 40-50 or so feet tall if I had to eyeball it. I don’t think it’s suffering from lack of nutrients or water, I think it’s just been so goddamn hot I’ve noticed some other cherries around town also dropping leaves, along with red buds and other early bloomers. hope that it’s just this weird year that’s making them call it quits early, but still struck me as odd. would suck rear end if it had somehow died out of nowhere  definitely wanted to see if anyone else had seen similar poo poo going down
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Sep 7, 2020 02:55
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I need a battery sprayer. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but I will be spraying about 20 trees with 2 or 3 or 4 kinds of pesticide/fungicide, so it’s gotta be able to stand up to that at least. I’d also like to not have to recharge the battery too many times, although a better battery might push things outside of my price range. Are there any particular sprayers y’all recommend? I. M. Gei fucked around with this message at 04:17 on Sep 7, 2020 |
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Sep 7, 2020 04:09
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Oil of Paris posted:This particular cherry is pretty large, about 40-50 or so feet tall if I had to eyeball it. I don’t think it’s suffering from lack of nutrients or water, I think it’s just been so goddamn hot It's not too unusual for trees to shed leaves early, especially at the end of a hot, dry spell. Yes, the tree is stressed, yes it would be best if it wasn't dropping leaves, but usually ime they recover in the spring if they are otherwise healthy. Some trees here seem to slowly drop their leaves over the course of a month or three instead of dramatically dropping them all at once ala New England. My parents' did randomly lose a few trees this year though. Most surprising was a seemingly healthy 15-20yr old Southern Red oak/Spanish oak/Quercus falcata that just didn't leaf out and then finally did leaf out but only on like three branches. They are usually a tough as nails, drought tolerant tree and we actually had a wetter than usual summer last yr. No idea what happened to it-I guess some kind of didease? Kaiser Schnitzel fucked around with this message at 14:20 on Sep 7, 2020 |
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Sep 7, 2020 14:08
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I have an opportunity to take on a major role in rehabbing a butterfly garden in a public park (as in, my friend and I would take over from the one lady who's been doing everything and is looking to hand it off). Currently it's super overgrown and a bit shabby, but more than half of the plants are actually supposed to be there, so it's not a disaster or anything. I am super excited about the possibility but I'm pretty new to gardening in general and have never done something like this before. Any tips, thoughts, horror stories? We're in NYC.
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Sep 8, 2020 22:46
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What's a good source for local wildflower seeds? I've got a great place to plant them (if I can get the lawn guys to stop spraying it with herbicide).
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Sep 9, 2020 01:35
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vortmax posted:What's a good source for local wildflower seeds? I've got a great place to plant them (if I can get the lawn guys to stop spraying it with herbicide). Haha, well I don't think we can help u with local unless u tell us where u are
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Sep 9, 2020 01:53
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Sprue posted:Haha, well I don't think we can help u with local unless u tell us where u are Oh duh, of course that might be relevant. I'm in Central Arkansas.
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Sep 9, 2020 02:45
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DIY > Horticulture: more than half of the plants are actually supposed to be there
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Sep 9, 2020 02:47
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showbiz_liz posted:I have an opportunity to take on a major role in rehabbing a butterfly garden in a public park (as in, my friend and I would take over from the one lady who's been doing everything and is looking to hand it off). Currently it's super overgrown and a bit shabby, but more than half of the plants are actually supposed to be there, so it's not a disaster or anything. I am super excited about the possibility but I'm pretty new to gardening in general and have never done something like this before. Any tips, thoughts, horror stories? We're in NYC. Any pictures? Would be interesting to see at least the state it's in, and/or any plants you aren't sure about. I have no real experience in butterfly gardens per se, but I imagine the first thing you will need to do is have a clean up and establish what you have growing there. Then have a little think about making a catalogue of all the plants and when they flower and of course if butterflies will be able to get good necter from them.
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Sep 9, 2020 08:30
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showbiz_liz posted:I have an opportunity to take on a major role in rehabbing a butterfly garden in a public park (as in, my friend and I would take over from the one lady who's been doing everything and is looking to hand it off). Currently it's super overgrown and a bit shabby, but more than half of the plants are actually supposed to be there, so it's not a disaster or anything. I am super excited about the possibility but I'm pretty new to gardening in general and have never done something like this before. Any tips, thoughts, horror stories? We're in NYC. Are you trying to stay native or just want to make the pollinators and butterflies happy?
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Sep 9, 2020 11:24
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Oil of Paris posted:Are you trying to stay native or just want to make the pollinators and butterflies happy? I think native is nice but not the priority. Seems like priority one is increasing the milkweed, which is present but being outcompeted by other stuff. I'm going to take photos soon, and my friend is also gonna get a list of the current plants from the current person in charge (who also has some seeds we'll need to inventory). I can only identify some of it by sight. I know there's a big patch of mugwort on one edge that we'll need to fight.
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Sep 9, 2020 15:56
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showbiz_liz posted:I think native is nice but not the priority. Seems like priority one is increasing the milkweed, which is present but being outcompeted by other stuff. As for wildflowers generally, the Xerces Society has an amazing set of references for just your situation! Here's a thorough guidebook on establishing pollinator meadows from seed, detailed fact sheets on regionally native plants pollinators like in Arkansas/Southern Plains, and general pollinator conservation resources. e: And wow, look at all the native bee species that have been found in Arkansas! Amazing 
snailshell fucked around with this message at 16:19 on Sep 9, 2020 |
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Sep 9, 2020 16:12
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snailshell posted:Native is always best if you're trying to encourage pollinator diversity, and if y'all are concerned with monarchs, as you seem to be from the milkweed comment, there are many native milkweeds that are preferred to the commercial/ornamental ones. Here's a list of Arkansas native milkweeds (some of them may not be possible to find for sale/in nurseries, so if not, contact your local Department of Fish and Wildlife and extension office to see if anyone's doing seed propagation programs). Wow what an awesome post especially all them bees. Saving these links thanks!
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Sep 9, 2020 16:24
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vortmax posted:Oh duh, of course that might be relevant. I'm in Central Arkansas. So there's a website called american meadows that sells real cheap wildflower mixes, but they're national so if you're interested in maintaining regional biodiversity a cursory search would suggest that this place would be much more likely to have varieties that are particularly appropriate for your location. I've found that searching for [state name] wildflower/native perennials + "restoration" is the most likely to lead you to sources that are intended for conversation efforts and therefore locally sourced plants. I think it's worth spending a bit more (a lb goes pretty far) and supporting regional conservation efforts, but on the other hand, american meadows sure has some cheap mixes lol. I'm curious if anyone else has more info, cuz I'm on a native plant kick,
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Sep 9, 2020 22:42
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showbiz_liz posted:I think native is nice but not the priority. Seems like priority one is increasing the milkweed, which is present but being outcompeted by other stuff. A lot will very much depend on how much size you have in the area, so if you can get a good estimate of that then we will really know what to recommend. You can grow most of the same stuff that I can in your zone, so I'll just mention some plants that are very popular with the pollinators. Native plant foliage is very important for butterfly larvae food, not necessarily the nectar, which can pretty much be anything native or not; that's why bees for instance don't really give a poo poo what you plant as long as they can get in there and root around for food Here's my top choices of perennials: Coneflower (Echinacea)- this is pretty much foundational for any butterfly or pollinator garden Butterfly Weed (Asclepias)- likewise foundational but you already have that Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium purpureum)- hat trick foundational All three of the above plants are drat near required for a good pollinator situation Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum incanum)- will bloom the entire growing season Baptisia- I've beaten the baptisia drum a lot in this thread so I'll just leave it at that they're a low maintenance early spring feeder, also a host Bee balm (Monarda) Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) Cup flower (Silphium perfoliatum)- gets big New York Iron Weed (Vernonia noveboracensis)- also a larva host Hardy lantana- gets VERY big, cut to ground every winter Cat Mint (Nepeta) - early spring bloomer, low maintenance Penstemon- Great choice for low maintenance and lovely soils Liatris Perennial Sunflower Phlox Goldenrod (Solidago) - great for late summer and fall nectar, very clutch Aster- same deal as golden rod but also serves as a host plant for larvae Verbena (Verbena bonariensis)- feeds a huge variety of butterflies That list should carry you through from spring until the end of fall easily. Many of them are vigorous weeds in their own right, and so also do well in making sure that undesirable weeds can't hack it in the garden. Annuals (all of these attract butterflies but also tend to be successful in reseeding themselves for the next year): Zinnia Bachelor button (Centaurea cyanus) Rubeckia Coleus Amaranth Now Butterfly Bush (Buddleia) is an incredible woody plant for butterflies but is controversial, as it is considered invasive in some environments. To me, this is easily solved by getting one of the sterile cultivars, of which there are many to choose from. They absolutely love this plant and will be covered with butterflies from dawn to dusk. It is woody, but it should be cut nearly to the ground every spring for maximum flowers and good foliage Similarly, the chaste tree (vitex) is woody non-native but isn't really invasive at all in your zone. Can grow into an actual tree but is really more like a big shrub. It may even die back to the ground if you have a really rough winter but would be fine. I highly recommend both aesthetically and functionally Edit: In terms of practical advice, I would get a soil test done to make sure that the soil hasn't been depleted from use over the years, since you don't know the history of the plot and how well the balance of nutrients has been maintained Additionally, you'll want to plant some native grasses (it's more important that these are native imo) for shelter and host plants. I'm waiting to see how big your area is before recommending any of these bc some would be downright impractical Oil of Paris fucked around with this message at 11:02 on Sep 10, 2020 |
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Sep 10, 2020 10:39
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Wow this is rad. Knew I was asking the right people. I'm probably going back to the park tomorrow, so I'll try to get photos then.
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Sep 10, 2020 18:29
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I'm so hyped on my new bromeliads!!!! (The bark will be hung up on the wall soon, not just sitting on a crate lol) So far I've just splashed the Tillandsias once, and had a hell of a time keeping everything wired on while splashing and then shaking dry since I did the wiring myself... Especially since I think the Neoregelia will want to root into the bark eventually and I don't want to rip any new fragile roots loose. Would it be terrible to splash them/aggressively mist them until they're dripping without taking the bark off the wall?? I don't want to leave them to get soggy with sitting water.
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Sep 11, 2020 19:39
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Goongrats on becoming mod kaiser. The reign of the plant thread begins 
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Sep 12, 2020 01:14
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Which thread is best suited to questions about critter holes in one's yard? We've got a whopper.
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Sep 12, 2020 01:17
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I have defeated many a yard pest. What is the beast? *unsheathes katana* Lol just read your post more carefully, you haven’t seen the interloper yet, my bad. you should post a pic of the hole Oil of Paris fucked around with this message at 01:34 on Sep 12, 2020 |
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Sep 12, 2020 01:18
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We have a small patch of dirt, maybe 24" × 8", between a path and a fence that had been home to a stack of old plastic pots. It now has a huge mound of clayey soil surrounding a 4"-diameter hole. All out of nowhere! My husband poked around gently in there and saw some movement that was more like something trying to back in and away from us. This is in SE Michigan. We've seen squirrels, raccoons, voles (not in our yard, but in our general area), skunks, opossum, the occasional mouse, and groundhogs, one of which was checking out our bird feeder earlier in the week. I know some of these are too big and some are too small. eta: https://imgur.com/a/tyVM79y The hole is at the bottom of that narrow wooden stave. Hirayuki fucked around with this message at 01:56 on Sep 12, 2020 |
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Sep 12, 2020 01:35
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Oil of Paris posted:Goongrats on becoming mod kaiser. The reign of the plant thread begins As my first act as mod, the horticulture thread is getting stickied permanently and I am banishing those filthy vegetable gardeners to the compost heap, may they rot in hell (and be eaten by worms and turned into productive and healthy soil!)
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Sep 12, 2020 03:07
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Oil of Paris posted:Goongrats on becoming mod kaiser. The reign of the plant thread begins Kaiser can’t fool me. I know that his true loyalty is to the woodworking thread. Hirayuki posted:Which thread is best suited to questions about critter holes in one's yard? We've got a whopper. I think landscaping.
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Sep 12, 2020 04:19
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Kaiser Schnitzel posted:As my first act as mod, the horticulture thread is getting stickied permanently and I am banishing those filthy vegetable gardeners to the compost heap, may they rot in hell (and be eaten by worms and turned into productive and healthy soil!) Their hubris will be turned to humus
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Sep 12, 2020 05:29
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Platystemon posted:I think landscaping.
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Sep 12, 2020 17:51
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snailshell posted:Native is always best if you're trying to encourage pollinator diversity, and if y'all are concerned with monarchs, as you seem to be from the milkweed comment, there are many native milkweeds that are preferred to the commercial/ornamental ones. Here's a list of Arkansas native milkweeds (some of them may not be possible to find for sale/in nurseries, so if not, contact your local Department of Fish and Wildlife and extension office to see if anyone's doing seed propagation programs). Sprue posted:So there's a website called american meadows that sells real cheap wildflower mixes, but they're national so if you're interested in maintaining regional biodiversity a cursory search would suggest that this place would be much more likely to have varieties that are particularly appropriate for your location. I've found that searching for [state name] wildflower/native perennials + "restoration" is the most likely to lead you to sources that are intended for conversation efforts and therefore locally sourced plants. I think it's worth spending a bit more (a lb goes pretty far) and supporting regional conservation efforts, but on the other hand, american meadows sure has some cheap mixes lol. I'm curious if anyone else has more info, cuz I'm on a native plant kick, This is super helpful, thanks! Looking forward to encouraging native bees with local flowers.
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Sep 12, 2020 19:05
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Hello! Apologies for this big-rear end post, but I'm doing an audit of my garden (in the south east of england) and have FIFTEEN trees slash shrubs to identify, and specifically whether they're worth keeping. Hopefully you folks can help? Click for big. Tree 1   Tree 2    Tree 3    Tree 4   Tree 5    Tree 6 This is all a bit of a mess, but I think there's one main one here.   Tree 7    Tree 8 How many bushtrees are in here I dunno.    Tree 9    Tree 10 The big tall one on the middle-right.    Tree 11   Tree 12 This one's a little amorphous but definitely exists.   Tree 13   Tree 14    Tree 15  
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Sep 13, 2020 17:19
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Tree 5 is a lilac. Tree 1 could possibly be a pincherry.
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Sep 13, 2020 17:48
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1 looks like a birch
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Sep 13, 2020 17:52
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6, 9, and 15 are all Buddleja
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Sep 13, 2020 17:57
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6, 9 and 15 are buddleia. Butterflies love them but I loathe them (despite my garden being planted for our winged friends) They grow in every crack and crevace, you'll find them covering abandoned buildings in the cracks, in the roof, in the path etc. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-28196221 Next door to me has been empty 2 years, and I haven't yet broken down and asked to tend their garden and get rid... it's covered and they are now growing in my bloody wall!! I would get shot, and if you want them overall, get some more interesting varieties.
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Sep 13, 2020 17:58
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Thank you I'm also going through them with the woodlands trust app.
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Sep 13, 2020 18:00
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Tree 9 and 15 are I believe both Buddleia. Tree 11 is a Mahonia/oregon grape. I think Tree 1 is some sort of Prunus/stone fruit/cherry
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Sep 13, 2020 18:02
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Jaded Burnout posted:Thank you I am obligated by my research PI to tell you to load them up on iNaturalist. You'll get a bunch of responses in short enough order
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Sep 13, 2020 18:02
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Mofette posted:6, 9 and 15 are buddleia. Butterflies love them but I loathe them (despite my garden being planted for our winged friends) Interesting, here they are planted and well liked :/
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Sep 13, 2020 18:06
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