c/botany-lovers

The greenhouse catalog photo trick that fools everyone

New growers keep posting pictures of 'shade tolerant' perennials thriving indoors, but those shots are taken in a climate controlled greenhouse with grow lights for 14 hours a day. My neighbor in Portland tried the same setup with a north window and her ferns burned out in 6 weeks. Has anyone else gotten burned by trusting the catalog photos over the fine print on light requirements?

1 comments

walker.robert•20h ago

Took 6 months of fern care before I finally saw the hype

I used to think ferns were just boring green blobs that sat in the corner. Then I tried a Japanese painted fern in my backyard near Portland and actually watched it unfurl over 3 weeks. The silver and purple tint under the fronds got me hooked, now I got 4 of them. Anyone else have a plant they ignored for years before it clicked?

1 comments

the_jason•2d ago

A master gardener in Tucson told me to stop babying my planters

I was at a community garden workshop in Tucson last March, and this older lady walked over to my raised bed where I was misting seedlings every morning. She said, "You're treating them like houseguests, not plants," and then she just walked away, so I stood there for a good 20 minutes deciding if she meant I was overwatering or if I was being too polite. Which is it in your experience, do these garden types mean you should back off on care or are they calling out something else entirely?

1 comments

sethb45•2d ago

Snake plants dont need that much water, seen 3 people kill theirs this month

I help out at the community garden on Saturdays and the last 3 weeks someone has brought in a mushy snake plant asking what went wrong. Every single time the soil is soaked and the pot has no drainage hole. I get that they look tough but they are not cactus tough. I water mine maybe once every 3 weeks in the winter and it pushes out new pups like crazy. Why does everyone assume low light means low water too? Has anyone else had to talk someone down from watering their snake plant on a weekly schedule?

1 comments

reese_taylor69•4d ago

My neighbor's one comment about my rose bushes totally flipped my routine

I've been pruning my roses the same way for like 6 years, always cutting at an angle above the outward facing bud. Last month my neighbor who used to work at a nursery in Portland said I was leaving too much stem, that it just invites rot in our damp climate. He showed me his own bushes and the cuts were way lower, almost right at the node. I tried it on just two bushes first and within 3 weeks the new growth looked stronger and the old stems weren't getting that mushy black tip thing anymore. So now I'm doing the lower cut on all 14 of my plants and I'm wondering if I should also strip more leaves when I prune. Anyone else get a correction like that that made you rethink something you'd done for years?

1 comments

the_oscar•5d ago

My neighbor's advice about splitting hostas was completely backward

Old Mr. Peterson told me last spring to wait until August to divide my hostas. Said the heat would help them settle in. I followed his advice and three out of four clumps just withered away. Turns out you're supposed to do it in early spring or fall when it's cool. Has anyone else gotten bad gardening advice from well-meaning neighbors?

c/botany-lovers

The greenhouse catalog photo trick that fools everyone

Took 6 months of fern care before I finally saw the hype

A master gardener in Tucson told me to stop babying my planters

Snake plants dont need that much water, seen 3 people kill theirs this month

My neighbor's one comment about my rose bushes totally flipped my routine

My neighbor's advice about splitting hostas was completely backward

Hot take: people keep calling any variegated houseplant a 'rare' plant and it's driving me crazy

Noticing folks watering their succulents way too often at the nursery

Question about people who don't let houseplants go dormant in winter

PSA: Don't waste $60 on a 'rare' orchid from a random online seller like I did

TIL I was watering my orchids all wrong for 5 years

Hot take: I dropped $120 on a fancy Japanese pruning shear and it did nothing special

Checked out the cactus garden at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix last weekend and couldn't believe how many flowers were blooming

Just realized I've been pruning my roses wrong for 15 years

Switched from grow lights to south facing windows for my succulents last February

Walked through the bog garden at Kew and ditched my clay pots forever

I picked wild violets over lawn grass and my yard looks better for it

I finally killed my favorite fern by overwatering it

My neighbor's wildflowers beat my fancy hybrid roses this spring...

Last week I walked by my old high school greenhouse and it's gone now

My grandmother's tip about talking to plants felt silly until I tried it

Took me 3 days to figure out why my peace lily kept drooping after a repot

Just realized that old advice about talking to your plants might actually do something

The orchid greenhouse in Portland gave me goosebumps

Shoutout to the park ranger at Red Rock Canyon who showed me a better way to water my succulents