c/botany-lovers

25

troy996•3d ago

Why does nobody talk about how fast bamboo spreads in a backyard?

Last summer I planted a small clump of bamboo near my fence in Portland. Three months later it had shot up 12 feet and started popping up in my neighbor's yard. I spent last weekend digging out runners that had gone under the concrete path. Has anyone else had a planting decision spiral into a containment project?

5

jesseb20•3d ago

Just found out some ferns can absorb heavy metals from soil like lead and cadmium

I was reading a study from the University of Florida and apparently certain ferns pull 10x more lead out of contaminated dirt than any other plant - has anyone tried using them for urban soil cleanups?

14

sage_perry•3d ago

Used to hate ferns till I saw one in Olympic National Park

For years I thought ferns were boring filler plants. Last month I hiked the Hoh Rainforest trail and saw a 12-foot sword fern growing out of a nurse log. The way the light hit all those fronds completely flipped my opinion. Has anyone else had a plant they wrote off until seeing it in the wild?

11

betty_scott18•4d ago

Heard the head botanist at the local arboretum say you should wait until the ground hits 60 degrees before planting tomatoes

I was volunteering at the Morton Arboretum last Saturday and the head guy was talking to some students. He said everyone gets impatient and plants tomatoes way too early when the soil is still cold. He checked the temp with a probe near the rose garden and it was only 48 degrees. He said if you plant before 60, the roots just sit there and rot. I always went by the last frost date but now I'm thinking I should get a soil thermometer for $10 at Menards. Has anyone else had better luck waiting on soil temp instead of the calendar?

2

troyjackson•4d ago

Overheard at the nursery that starting seeds in egg cartons does more harm than good

That lady said the cardboard sucks up all the moisture from the soil and I checked my seedlings and sure enough they were bone dry, has anyone else had this problem with homemade seed starters?

18

uma_reed26•5d ago

Wasted $80 on a moisture meter that was way off

I bought this fancy digital moisture meter off Amazon a few months back. It claimed to be super accurate for all kinds of houseplants. I was using it on my fiddle leaf fig and a few calatheas, thinking I was being so smart with my watering schedule. Then my monstera started looking sad even though the meter said the soil was damp. I finally just stuck my finger in the dirt and it was bone dry. I tested it against a few other pots and it was wrong every time. So basically I threw away $80 and could have just used my finger the whole time. Has anyone else found a reliable meter that actually works or are they all kinda hit or miss?

8

willow732•5d ago

Bought a Monstera that looked perfect. Three days later, root rot everywhere.

Got it from a nursery near my shop. Soil was way too wet. Drenched. Had to cut off half the roots. Repotted in a mix with more perlite. It's bouncing back now but man. How do you check a plant's roots without pulling it out of the pot?

23

charlesj46•6d ago

Rant: I drowned my orchid for 6 months before realizing the pot was the problem

I kept watering my orchid every week like the tag said, but the leaves turned yellow and mushy. One day I took it out to repot and saw the inner plastic pot had no drainage holes, so all that water was just sitting there. Anyone else find out their favorite plant was wilting from too much love instead of too little?

21

dakotawells•6d ago

Finally got my peace lily to bloom after 2 years of trying

I have this peace lily that my grandma gave me when I moved into my first apartment back in 2019. For two solid years it just sat there looking green but never put out a single flower. I tried moving it around the house, different water schedules, even talked to it like a weirdo. Nothing worked. Then my neighbor Dorothy who runs a little plant stand by the bus stop told me to try bottom watering with filtered water instead of tap. She said the chlorine in tap water builds up and messes with their hormones or something. Three weeks after I switched to letting it soak up water from a saucer for 15 minutes each Saturday, I spotted a little white bud poking out. Now I've got three blooms and I swear the leaves look darker green too. Has anyone else had luck with switching water sources for stubborn houseplants?

7

thead44•9d ago

The old community garden I used to visit got torn down for condos

I drove by my old stomping grounds in Lincoln, Nebraska last week and saw a fence up where the community garden used to be. Three years ago I spent every Sunday morning there pulling weeds and trading tomato tips with a retired guy named Hank. He taught me how to spot blight on a leaf before it spread, and now the whole plot is just dirt and construction equipment. Do you all have a spot that got lost to development, or am I just getting sentimental over a patch of dirt?

2

noahchen•9d ago

Just found a trick to stop my monstera from drooping without a moss pole

My monstera was getting so top heavy it kept tipping over the pot. I tried tying it to wooden sticks but the stems slid right off. Then I grabbed a wire coat hanger from my closet, twisted it into a spiral shape, and stuck it in the soil. The leaves latch onto the coils perfectly and it cost me zero dollars. It's been holding steady for 3 weeks now even after watering. Has anyone else used random house stuff for plant support?

-1

hernandez.ben•9d ago

Pepper seedling disaster at the community garden in April

I planted 30 pepper starts at our plot near the old water tower and within a week, half of them got eaten by something. Turns out the soil was way too wet and the roots just rotted before they could even take hold. Now I check drainage before I put ANYTHING in the ground, even if the soil looks fine on top. Anyone else lose a whole batch of plants to something dumb like bad dirt?

5

foster.wade•10d ago

A convo with my neighbor's kid totally shifted my plant ID game

I was watering my balcony garden yesterday and my neighbor's 12 year old daughter walked by. She pointed at a weed I've been pulling for three years and said 'that's spotless lady's thumb, you can eat the leaves.' I looked it up and she was dead on. She learned it from a foraging book her mom got her last christmas. Made me realize I've been relying on apps instead of actually learning the plants themselves. Has anyone else had a kid teach them something obvious about botany that you totally missed?

15

jackson.sarah•10d ago

Just realized most people are using the wrong soil for their snake plants

I was at a plant swap in Austin last weekend and saw three different people repotting their snake plants into standard potting mix. I mean, I get it, that's what you grab at the store. But snake plants need something way grittier, like a mix with 50% perlite or coarse sand. The standard stuff holds too much moisture and you end up with root rot in like 2 months. I learned this the hard way when my first snake plant turned to mush after I watered it once a week. Now I use a cactus mix with extra pumice and my plants are pushing out pups like crazy. Anyone else have a plant they nearly killed before figuring out the soil thing?

18

spencer_johnson22•12d ago

That orchid show in Portland made me question everything about bark mixes

I watched a guy repot a phalaenopsis with just gravel and charcoal 3 years ago and scoffed until the same plant bloomed bigger than mine last week, so has anyone actually tested a no-bark setup with consistent results?

0

hernandez.ben•13d ago

That $200 humidity dome for my tropical plants was a complete scam

I bought this fancy glass humidity dome from a specialty shop online for $200. Thought it would help my calatheas thrive during winter. After 3 weeks, everything inside got moldy and two of my leaves started rotting. Has anyone else had better luck with just a regular plastic bag over the pot?

14

piper_green•13d ago

My neighbor told me to stop watering my succulents so much, I killed 3 before I listened

Old Mr. Hanson from down the street caught me watering my echeveria for the third time in a week and basically yelled at me. He said I was drowning them and to wait until the soil was bone dry. I ignored him for a month and lost 3 plants to rot. Has anyone else had a neighbor or random person give them plant advice that actually saved their collection?

2

jackson.sarah•13d ago

Overheard a guy at the nursery say he waters his venus flytraps with distilled water only, feels like I've been doing everything wrong for 2 years.

I've been using tap water from my hose since I started growing them and now three of my traps are turning black at the edges, has anyone else dealt with this or am I just overwatering on top of the mineral thing?

9

stellafisher•13d ago

Rant: That guy at the plant swap who told me my soil mix was killing my succulents

I had been growing succulents for 3 years with no issues, but some dude at a local swap in Austin insisted I needed to add more perlite. After ignoring him for months, I finally tried his 50/50 mix and my echeveria stopped getting mushy leaves in just 2 weeks. Has anyone else had a random stranger save their whole collection?

13

the_henry•14d ago

Blew up my greenhouse fan after ignoring humidity ratings

I rigged up a cheap box fan in my greenhouse near Asheville last July, didn't check the humidity rating. It seized up in 3 days and roasted my prized peperomias. Anyone else ever wreck gear by skipping the fine print on environmental specs?

10

nathanbennett•15d ago

Took me 3 years to figure out I was watering my snake plant wrong

I kept watering it on a schedule every Tuesday like clockwork because that's what my grandma did with her houseplants. Then last month I pulled it out of the pot and the roots were completely rotted because I never let the soil dry out between waterings. Anyone else get stuck following a routine instead of actually checking what the plant needs?

18

the_seth•17d ago

Dropped $80 on a fancy soil moisture meter for my bonsai collection

Turns out my cheap finger-poking method was actually way more accurate, and now I got this expensive gadget sitting in a drawer. Anyone else waste cash on fancy gear that ended up being useless?

28

felixw99•18d ago

Pro tip: bottom watering changed my succulent game

Used to mist my succulents every morning cause that's what some gardening video said. After losing 3 echeverias to rot in two months, I switched to bottom watering with a tray and now I only do it every 10 days. Anyone else make that switch and see better roots?

25

wendy674•18d ago

TIL some community gardens are using treated railroad ties and that's a problem

I visited the community garden down on Elm Street last Saturday to see about getting a plot. Right away I noticed the raised beds were framed with old railroad ties, which are drenched in creosote. That stuff leaches into the soil over time, especially after a good rain. A master gardener I know warned me that creosote can stunt plant growth and even get into your veggies. Has anyone else seen this at their local garden plots?

18

palmer.henry•18d ago

My neighbor the orchid snob changed how I water everything

I was just dumping water on my peace lily whenever I remembered and it looked fine. Then this old guy from three doors down saw me through the window and knocked on my door to tell me I was drowning it. He showed me his orchid collection and explained how root rot works from overwatering. Now I stick my finger in the soil before every single plant and wait until it's dry two knuckles deep. Has anyone else had a random stranger correct their plant care and actually be right?