c/botany-lovers

Spent 5 hours trying to fix a droopy monstera before realizing it was just rootbound from a pot I bought 2 years ago

I measured the soil moisture, checked for pests, adjusted the light angle, and even talked to it like an idiot before I finally pulled it out and saw a solid mass of roots filling that whole 8 inch nursery pot, has anyone else spent way too long troubleshooting the wrong thing?

PSA: My garden mentor told me to stop watering my succulents every week and I killed three of them

I started getting into succulents about 6 months ago and a lady at the local nursery said they need water once a week max. I trusted her because she seemed like she knew her stuff. After 2 months three of my echeverias rotted out at the base and I was so confused. Then I looked up the specific type and learned they only need water every 2-3 weeks during winter. So now I only water when the soil is bone dry and I check with a bamboo skewer before anything. Has anyone else had a plant "expert" give bad advice that killed your plants?

Had a talk with my neighbor about why he digs up his lawn every spring...

I read a thing about leaf propagation that saved my snake plant

Saw this post from a guy in Portland who said cutting snake plant leaves into 3 inch sections works way better than the whole leaf method. I tried it with 8 pieces from one leaf and 5 of them had roots after 6 weeks. Anybody else had better luck with smaller cuttings vs big ones?

Took me 3 months to figure out why my snake plant was turning yellow

I kept checking the soil moisture and adjusting light, thinking it was overwatering. Then I noticed the pot had no drainage holes under the decorative cover. Water had been sitting in that outer pot for weeks. Finally drilled three holes in the bottom and the plant is green again. Has anyone else missed something this obvious with their plants?

Took me 6 weeks to figure out why my peace lily kept drooping

I was watering it twice a week, moving it to different windows, even repotted it before I finally realized the drip tray was cracked and the roots were sitting in stagnant water, has anyone else had a plant problem that should have been obvious but took forever to spot?

PSA: That free plant ID app ID'd my mint as poison ivy three times

I was trying to figure out what was taking over my raised bed last spring. My peppermint and some random vine were tangled together, so I snapped a picture with one of those free plant ID apps. It kept saying 'poison ivy' no matter which leaf I focused on. Took me about 45 minutes of digging through old gardening forums to realize the app can't handle overlapping leaves from different plants at all. Has anyone else had a plant ID app give them totally wrong results like that?

Showerthought: People keep putting succulents in terrariums like they're doomed to drown

Walked into a cute shop in Austin last weekend and saw a sealed glass terrarium with a cactus and a string of pearls inside. Moisture was literally fogging up the glass. Felt like I was watching a slow murder. I get that they look nice but succulents need airflow and dry roots or they rot in like 2 weeks. Has anyone else noticed stores selling these death traps or am I just being dramatic?

Counted 47 different volunteer tomato plants popping up in my compost pile this spring

I guess the 30 bucks worth of tomatoes I tossed in there last fall turned into a free farm, has anyone else had their compost just explode with volunteers like that?

Found a tiny greenhouse trick that saved my basil plants

Last month in Portland my basil kept dying from damp soil, so I tried putting a clear plastic cup over each seedling for the first week. It trapped humidity like a mini greenhouse and stopped the leaves from getting moldy. After 3 days I took the cups off and the stems were way sturdier. Has anyone else used this to start herbs indoors?

I was killing my peace lily for 2 years before I figured it out

I kept watering it on a schedule (every Sunday like clockwork) and wondered why the leaves kept turning yellow. Then a friend who works at a nursery in Denver told me I was basically drowning it - peace lilies want to dry out between waterings. She showed me to stick my finger in the soil about an inch deep, and if it's still damp, walk away. Now the thing is finally putting out new green leaves after I stopped being such a helicopter plant parent. Has anyone else had that moment where you realized good intentions were actually hurting your plants?

That time I forgot to water my monstera for two weeks while on vacation in Phoenix

I came back to crispy brown leaves and drooping stems, so I gave it a deep soak in the sink for 30 minutes and it bounced back within a few days has anyone else saved a plant that looked totally dead after a watering screw up?

Used to think you needed fancy soil mixes for succulents, but a talk at the community garden in Raleigh changed my mind

I was always buying those expensive cactus blends and adding perlite and sand. Last month at the Raleigh community garden workshop, a master gardener just dumped a bunch of regular potting soil and mixed in some crushed gravel from her driveway. She said the key is drainage, not fancy ingredients. I tried it on my jade plant and it's been fine. Has anyone else found a cheap hack that works better than store bought stuff?

Turns out those fancy LED grow lights really do make a difference for seedlings

I spent years using cheap fluorescent shop lights from the hardware store for starting seeds in my basement. Always had leggy, pale tomato and pepper seedlings that took forever to harden off. My buddy at the community garden kept telling me to switch over to full spectrum LEDs. I figured it was just hype to sell expensive gear. Finally grabbed a small 2-foot bar last February after my pepper sprouts looked like spaghetti again after 3 weeks. Within 10 days under that light, the new seedlings were thick, dark green, and half the height of my fluorescent batch. Now I'm curious if anyone else has tried mixing both types of lighting or if you just go all in on one kind?

I finally changed my mind about succulents after talking to a neighbor

Unpopular opinion: that $60 moisture meter I bought off Amazon was a total waste of plastic.

I stuck it in 10 different pots of my pothos and philodendron and it gave me readings all over the place, so I just went back to sticking my finger in the soil like my grandma taught me.

Why does nobody talk about invasive mint taking over gardens

I was chatting with an old guy at the nursery last Thursday who runs a native plant restoration project, and he told me something that really stuck. He said that planting mint directly in the ground is like releasing a garden terrorist, and that within two seasons it can choke out everything within a 10 foot radius. I have been growing peppermint in a raised bed for three years and thought I had it contained, but he showed me photos of roots sneaking through tiny cracks in the wood. Now I am worried about the wild violets and ferns I planted nearby that are already looking yellow. Has anyone else had mint escape their pots and take over?

Had to choose between a $40 shop light and a $200 grow light for my indoor seedlings...

I went with the cheap shop light and my peppers are so leggy they look like they're trying to escape the pot, has anyone else had this backfire on them?

Tried growing basil from seed vs buying starts - seed is way better

After killing 3 store bought basil plants in a row last summer, I grabbed a $3 packet of Genovese seeds from the garden center on a whim. I planted them in a 6 inch pot on my kitchen windowsill in late March and had way more basil than I knew what to do with by June. The roots on those seedlings were way stronger than the leggy ones I kept buying at the grocery store. Anyone else notice a big difference growing from seed for herbs?

PSA: My $70 humidity dome split right down the middle on day 3 of seedling season

I bought this thick plastic humidity dome from a shop in Asheville two weeks ago. On day 3 of my pepper seedling setup, it just cracked straight through the top, like it couldn't handle the warmth from the heat mat. Now I'm stuck with two halves, half the trays uncovered, and my seedlings are drying out way too fast. I patched it with duct tape but it looks janky and still leaks humidity. The debate is: should I buy another cheap plastic dome and hope for the best, or just go full ziploc bag tent method like my grandma used? Has anyone else had a dome fail on them during the critical first week?

The greenhouse at the county fair changed how I water my succulents

I was at the Franklin County Fair last Saturday and saw this old timer bottom-watering his entire display. He told me most people kill succulents by pouring water on top like they're thirsty for a drink. Anyone else switch to tray watering after seeing it work in person?

The orchid show at the botanical garden last weekend had something weird

I went to the annual orchid show at the Chicago Botanic Garden last Saturday. There were hundreds of blooms on display but one section caught my eye. A vendor had a table full of orchids with leaves that looked almost fuzzy, like tiny hairs all over them. I asked one of the gardeners about it and she said those were a rare mutation called pubescent leaves. She said it helps the plant trap moisture in dry climates. I had never seen anything like it in my 5 years of visiting shows. Has anyone else run into orchids with fuzzy leaves before?

Is trashing invasive species good for the garden or just a waste of time?

I was reading a study from the University of Florida that said 70% of invasive plant removal projects fail within five years. It got me thinking: are we just spinning our wheels when we pull up English ivy or kudzu in our yards, or does it actually help native plants come back? I've been yanking garlic mustard from my woods for three summers now, and I'm not sure it's making a dent. What's your take on this whole removal debate?

Went to a botanical garden in Austin and saw a cactus with one single flower bloom

My skepticism about capillary mats for seedlings finally gave way after three wet winters

I always thought those gray capillary mats you see in greenhouse supply catalogs were just a gimmick. For years I bottom watered my trays by hand, which meant checking every single one every morning before work. Last January I had a batch of 72 tomato seedlings that I forgot to water for two days straight. They all wilted badly and only about 40 recovered. I finally bought a 4x8 foot mat from a place in Portland for about 35 bucks. Set it up on a metal table with a reservoir of water underneath. Honestly I was sure the water would just pool on top and rot everything. But the mat wicks just enough that the soil stayed damp without being soaked. I didn't lose a single seedling during the 8 weeks they sat on that mat. Has anyone else had issues with mats growing algae or getting moldy after a few months of use?