c/botany-lovers

Took a decade before I appreciated bonsai as more than little trees

I always thought bonsai people were just into cutting leaves for fun, no real point to it. Then I visited a workshop in Portland last spring and saw this 30 year old juniper that started as a scraggly nursery plant. The owner showed me photos from year 1 to now, how every branch was chosen and shaped over time. Now I get why someone would spend 15 years just thickening up a trunk before the first cut. Anyone else have that moment where a plant hobby clicked way later than it should have?

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terry_walker•5d ago

Appreciation post for the guy who corrected my fern watering

I kept seeing people online say ferns love moisture so I was misting mine like crazy. An old gardener at the local nursery last Saturday told me that constant wet leaves cause rot and fungal spots. He showed me how to water the soil directly instead and keep the fronds dry. My Boston fern went from crispy edges to lush green in about 3 weeks. Has anyone else had to unlearn a common plant myth like this?

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taylor.susan•6d ago

My neighbor swore that coffee grounds would fix my yellowing ferns, so I tried it for 2 months

I have this fern on my front porch in Nashville that just would not stay green no matter what I did. My neighbor Bob, who grows prize-winning orchids, told me to dump my used coffee grounds around the base every week. Said the nitrogen would perk it right up. Well, after 8 weeks the fern looked even worse, like it was dying faster. Finally I looked it up and turns out ferns are sensitive to caffeine and too much nitrogen can burn their roots. Bob meant well but his advice was way off for ferns. Has anyone else gotten plant advice from a "pro" that backfired?

3 comments

ninah10•6d ago

Overheard a guy at the nursery say he mulches his entire garden with cardboard

I was at a local nursery last Saturday picking up soil and heard this older guy telling a worker he lays down flattened cardboard boxes over his whole garden every spring. Said it keeps the weeds down and adds organic matter as it breaks down. He claimed he hasn't used plastic weed barrier in 15 years. Has anyone here tried this method with decent results or does it just turn into a soggy mess?

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kelly.emma•9d ago

Tried to save a dying fern by putting it in my bathroom for humidity and it grew 6 new fronds in 3 weeks

I honestly thought it was a goner after I left it in the dry living room for two months, then one hot shower cycle later it perked up like crazy - has anyone else had a plant bounce back from a weird spot change like that?

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kelly61•11d ago

Hit 50 different fern species in my backyard last week

I've been cataloging ferns on my property for 3 years. Got to 49 and thought that was it. Then a tiny maidenhair showed up under the deck. Anyone else keep a count going or just me?

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jessica_dixon•12d ago

Found a weird mushroom cluster in my backyard last Wednesday

I was pulling weeds near the compost pile and spotted this bright orange mushroom growing in a perfect circle about 2 feet wide. My plant app said it's some kind of jack-o'-lantern mushroom but I'm not sure since it didn't glow at night. Has anyone else seen funky fungi patterns like this in their garden beds?

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hill.barbara•13d ago

Visited the arboretum in Des Moines last weekend and something felt off

I went to the Des Moines Botanical Center on Saturday to see the tropical collection. The palm house was warm and humid like always but I noticed a bunch of the smaller ferns had brown tips all over. Anyone else see that happening at public gardens? Is this a sign of bad watering schedules or maybe something else in the air?

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joseph_black•14d ago

Hot take: Bottom watering is overhyped for most houseplants

I spent 18 months bottom watering every single plant in my collection. Trays, wicks, the whole setup. Then I noticed my pothos roots were rotting near the surface while the bottom looked fine. A friend who runs a greenhouse in Winston-Salem told me flat out that top watering mimics rain and most common houseplants want that. Switched to top watering with a fan drying the soil surface and everything perked up in 3 weeks. Anyone else find that bottom watering creates more problems than it solves?

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jenny_jackson•15d ago

Had to repot a ficus and it took me 4 hours longer than it should have

I brought home a fiddle leaf fig from a nursery in Portland last weekend and the roots were so tangled in the pot that I spent 3 hours just teasing them apart. Turns out the soil was super compacted and I had to soak the whole thing twice before it loosened up. Has anyone else had a plant take way more time than you thought just to get it settled in a new home?

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lane.joel•15d ago

I was totally wrong about those 'invasive' Japanese knotweed claims

For years I rolled my eyes at neighbors panicking about Japanese knotweed in their yards. I figured it was just another plant people hated because it grew fast (like, seriously fast). Then last spring I noticed this patch spreading under my lilac bush in Portland, and by August it was cracking the edge of my concrete walkway. I tried digging it up twice and it just came back thicker within three weeks. Finally hired a guy who showed me roots going 6 feet down under my fence line. Now I get it, that stuff is no joke. Has anyone else had knotweed show up in a place you never expected?

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adams.ivan•18d ago

Had to pick between a $30 fern and a $60 fern at the nursery last weekend

I stood there for a good 10 minutes comparing a Boston fern and a Kimberly queen fern at Lowe's in Austin. The Boston was half the price but I knew the Kimberly queen would handle the dry air in my apartment better since my A/C runs all day. I went with the cheaper one and now three fronds are already turning brown. Should I have just coughed up the extra cash or am I being too impatient?

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lily_schmidt53•18d ago

A coworker told me I was watering my pothos wrong and she was right

I had this big pothos plant at my desk for about a year and it was always looking droopy and yellow. My coworker Sarah walked by and said I was watering it on a schedule instead of checking the soil first. She showed me to stick my finger about an inch deep and only water when it feels dry. I used to just pour a cup every Monday without thinking. Now I wait until the soil is actually dry and my pothos perked up in like two weeks. Has anyone else had a simple tip like that change how you care for a plant?

3 comments

terry1•23d ago

I finally chose between a variegated and a solid green Monstera for my north-facing window

I went with the solid green after reading it tolerates lower light better, and it's put out two new leaves in the last month. Has anyone had success with a variegated type in similar conditions?

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gray_patel•25d ago

I spent $85 on a 'rare' philodendron cutting that just died

I saw this gorgeous philodendron gloriosum cutting online, sold as a 'rare collector's item' for eighty five bucks. The seller had great pictures and promised it was a strong, rooted plant. When it arrived after a week in the mail, it looked okay at first, but the single leaf started yellowing within days. I did everything right, good soil, indirect light, kept it humid. It just slowly rotted at the base. I feel like I paid for the hype, not a healthy plant. A lot of these 'rare' plant sellers are just cashing in on the trend and the plants aren't ready to be sold. I should have waited and bought a smaller, established plant from a local nursery for half the price. Has anyone else had a cutting fail on them after spending a lot?

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wyatt_garcia•26d ago

A customer at the garden center said my pothos looked 'sad' and it stuck with me

I was buying a new pot in Phoenix last month when a woman pointed at my plant and said, 'That one needs a bigger home, its roots are probably cramped.' I repotted it the next day and it's already pushing out two new leaves. Has anyone else had a stranger give you surprisingly good plant advice?

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evangarcia•26d ago

Update: My neighbor's sad fiddle leaf fig is now a full tree

About eight months ago, the plant in their front window was down to three leaves and looked brown. They moved it to a spot with morning light and started watering it only when the top inch of soil felt dry. Has anyone else brought a houseplant back from the brink with just a change in light?

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the_faith•26d ago

Tried the 'ice cube method' on my orchid for a month and it actually worked

I was convinced it was a total gimmick, but my Phalaenopsis just put out a new spike after 6 weeks of consistent watering with three cubes. Anyone else have weird plant care tricks that actually pan out?

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hill.barbara•27d ago

I read that a single oak tree can support over 500 different insect species, which just blew my mind.

Found that fact in a library book about backyard ecosystems. I was just looking for info on planting a shade tree, and that number stopped me cold. Makes you look at the big tree in the park totally differently, you know? Has anyone else stumbled on a plant fact that made you see something common in a new way?

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willow_king•28d ago

I used to keep all my plant tags in a shoebox, now they're in a binder

For years, I just tossed the plastic tags from my plants into an old box. I could never find the one I needed. Last fall, I bought a cheap three-ring binder and some clear plastic sheets. I spent a weekend sorting every tag by plant type and taping them onto paper. Now I can actually check care notes without digging through a mess. How do you keep track of your plant info?

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thea143•28d ago

My big choice: a rare fern for the house or a fruit tree for the yard

I had a birthday gift card for the local greenhouse and had to pick between a Blue Star fern I've wanted for ages or a dwarf Meyer lemon tree. The fern was $45 and the tree was $65, so I went with the fern because my apartment only gets morning light. It's been two months and the fern is doing great in my bathroom window, but I keep thinking about fresh lemons. Has anyone else picked a houseplant over an outdoor plant and been happy with it later?

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tessa_hill86•1mo ago

Saw a whole greenhouse get wiped out by a single pest last spring

I was at the volunteer day for the city's botanical garden. They had a new shipment of about 200 native ferns in the propagation house. Someone didn't check the new plants, and they brought in scale insects. Within two weeks, the infestation spread to every single plant in that greenhouse. The head gardener told me, 'We lost the whole crop, and it set the native restoration project back by a full season.' Now I quarantine any new plant I bring home for at least a month, no exceptions. Has anyone else had to deal with a pest outbreak that got out of hand that fast?

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wren217•1mo ago

Shoutout to the person who told me to bottom-water my calathea

I argued it was pointless for weeks, but my plant's brown edges finally cleared up after I gave in and tried it for a full month. Anyone else have a stubborn plant care belief they were totally wrong about?

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faithf77•1mo ago

My neighbor's orchid finally bloomed after I moved it three feet to the left.

It was in a north window for a year with no sign of a spike, so I shifted it to an east-facing spot that gets morning sun. Within two months, it put out a flower stem with seven buds. Has anyone else had a plant respond that dramatically to a simple light change?

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aaronf40•1mo ago

After three years, my fiddle leaf fig finally grew a new leaf

Last week, I noticed a tiny green bump on the stem of my fiddle leaf fig that I bought back in 2021. I kept it by the east window in my living room and watered it with filtered water every Sunday. The bump slowly opened up over four days, and now it's a full, shiny leaf about the size of my palm. Has anyone else had a plant that took forever to show any new growth?

3 comments