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Post by 100poppies on Mar 26, 2021 8:12:15 GMT -6
@icedtea, if you have a local gardening or buy nothing group ask for a spider plant baby, if they’re happy they make a lot of offshoots and people are usually happy to give them away.
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misspatty
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Post by misspatty on Mar 26, 2021 8:38:50 GMT -6
byjove, that's so pretty! Thanks, y'all. I found a lovely gardening center nearby, and I've made notes on: - orchids - African violets - spider plants Not all at once lol, I'm gonna start small. Maybe one day I'll work up to actually doing my window boxes. I believe in you! If you have an Echo or equivalent, they can be very helpful with watering reminders until it becomes habit 😊
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iruntodrink
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Post by iruntodrink on Mar 26, 2021 9:46:52 GMT -6
Where do you all buy pots from? I have about 10 plants just sitting in their original plastic pots I bought them in.. I get mine from TJ Maxx. I once saw an ad for one that I had gotten there for $20 and in the ad it was like $75.
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iruntodrink
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Post by iruntodrink on Mar 26, 2021 9:51:09 GMT -6
Yay!!! I never think to check outside of this board, so I'll be more engaged here!
We've only been thawed here for about a week, but I bought 10 bulbs and ton of seeds to start inside this week. All flowers right now, I need to prep a bed for my maiden voyage of food. The east side of our house gets 0 traffic and is visible from 2 of the 3 bedrooms so I want to go nuts on flowers and bushes for pollinators and put my veggies there. So excited!!
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iruntodrink
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Post by iruntodrink on Mar 26, 2021 9:53:22 GMT -6
Okay, let's talk composting - I got my first composter (raised/rolling) and I started collecting my scraps this week. Any tips? Should I put in a bed of dried leaves as a base? It's about 40-60° degrees right now, dipping to 20-30° at night, am I jumping the gun? Should I wait until it's a min temp consistently?
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iruntodrink
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Post by iruntodrink on Mar 26, 2021 9:54:55 GMT -6
Thank yooouuuuu. Excited to try these. I've killed so many orchids. I made misspatty very sad telling my stories once. I also learned they may not have been dead. I don't plant well 😬 I’m still aghast at sheer number of people here who said they throw orchids out when the flowers fall off. I swear, orchids are the easiest and most fun houseplants! No soil so lower bug risk, and when you take care of them you get pretty flowers! I had one that took 4 years to rebloom once 🤣 they really can take a ton of neglect, you're just not getting the rewards!
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iruntodrink
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Post by iruntodrink on Mar 26, 2021 9:57:48 GMT -6
That's gorgeous, byjove! @icedtea another indestructible plant is an ivy. I overwintered all mine inside this year along with my Creeping Jenny, and they were easy. I also got a philodendron that's doing very well. And a hindu rope plant, which I love. None are fussy. I water roughly once a week and never on the same day.
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iruntodrink
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Post by iruntodrink on Mar 26, 2021 10:00:16 GMT -6
Disclaimer: I will take any and all tips so if I throw something out that needs to be corrected, I will take no offense. I'm on Year 3 of gardening and most experience is on already blooming annual flowers 🤣🤣
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starbuck
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Post by starbuck on Mar 26, 2021 10:02:48 GMT -6
Also getting hellebore, as it’s poison to deer and they won’t eat it. I LOVE hellebore. Love. They're just so unique and cheerfull when they start blooming in winter.
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misspatty
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Post by misspatty on Mar 26, 2021 10:10:32 GMT -6
I’m still aghast at sheer number of people here who said they throw orchids out when the flowers fall off. I swear, orchids are the easiest and most fun houseplants! No soil so lower bug risk, and when you take care of them you get pretty flowers! I had one that took 4 years to rebloom once 🤣 they really can take a ton of neglect, you're just not getting the rewards! The biggest factor in triggering an orchid to flower is to ensure they experience a day/ night temp drop. So put it in the coolest spot in your house during spring/ fall! Or even outside at night if necessary. Disclaimer that they will only flower 1-2 times per year. You can keep the flowers around for a little longer if you ::slightly:: under water them. Like every 11-14 days or so.
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starbuck
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Post by starbuck on Mar 26, 2021 10:10:43 GMT -6
Okay, let's talk composting - I got my first composter (raised/rolling) and I started collecting my scraps this week. Any tips? Should I put in a bed of dried leaves as a base? It's about 40-60° degrees right now, dipping to 20-30° at night, am I jumping the gun? Should I wait until it's a min temp consistently? This is my first year composting. I went ahead and started in the fall because it may take longer when it's cooler but it should work, based on what I read online. You need a high ratio of browns (dry leaves, cut up cardboard, small twigs) versus greens (your scraps). It's like 25:1 so load it up. A few useful sites: www.the-compost-gardener.com/composting-tips.htmlwww.planetnatural.com/tumbling-composter/www.thedailygardener.com/how-to-use-compost-tumbler
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starbuck
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Post by starbuck on Mar 26, 2021 10:11:39 GMT -6
Of course I put in tumbler sites and now realized you said rolling lol
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dc2london
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Post by dc2london on Mar 26, 2021 10:14:07 GMT -6
beaf12 your shade garden is the size of my entire back yard 😂
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Post by dc2london on Mar 26, 2021 10:18:14 GMT -6
@icedtea, what about aloe? Those are pretty easy to maintain and also useful! I'm guessing it would be pet safe? Oooh this is a good idea. I did keep some alive for ages but they didn't last the move, I'll add this to my list. Part of my problem is I don't really understand when to change soil, re-pot, etc. Once a planty friend did she window boxes for me and then showed my stuff to periodically put in the soil? And when to water. I thought if they were outside the sky watered them? They did not make it 😬 but I want to be better! There are plant care apps that prompt you on what to do and when!
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beaf12
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Post by beaf12 on Mar 26, 2021 10:18:45 GMT -6
lovely! Im in the same zone, but I am not starting any seeds this year. I just hve too much on my plate-- and a couple losses of big trees has turned shade to sun. I have to figure out something or my 15+ varieties of hostas are going to frry. I ❤️ hostas. I’m on both a MN hosta Facebook page and the American hosta society page. Do you have any giant variety? We are regrading our front and tearing out a bunch of ugly shrubs. I have a huge mostly shaded corner where I think a giant hosta would flourish.
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beaf12
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Post by beaf12 on Mar 26, 2021 10:19:37 GMT -6
Ooo! Last year we had a massive retaining wall put in, and there’s a lot of new plants this year for the extra space. Our kale, cauliflower, chives, sage, rosemary, lavender and catnip all over wintered. Adding broccoli, squash and pumpkin this year. We planted 50 tulip bulbs, 25 hyacinth, a rhody and a hydrangea, all of which are budding out. Sadly, the dogwood didn’t make it. Replacing it with a blue berry bush. I overwinterer my rosemary, but it looks like it has a powdery mildew. Should I wash and trim it or just Chuck it?
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overboard
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Post by overboard on Mar 26, 2021 10:19:54 GMT -6
I’m totally heading to the garden center because of this thread.
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iruntodrink
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Post by iruntodrink on Mar 26, 2021 10:20:54 GMT -6
Of course I put in tumbler sites and now realized you said rolling lol well this is where I first show my ass then - it's a tumbler. 🤣 Thanks for the links!
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beaf12
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Post by beaf12 on Mar 26, 2021 10:21:55 GMT -6
So pretty beaf12!! Your grass is so lush, too. That’s my husband. We are changing out the grass under our trees with eco lawn. It’s a low mowing, shade grass with deep roots. When we regrade our front yard we’ll have to reseed most of the lawn. I’m going to get the bee lawn mix from U of M and convince DH to use it. It’s a mix of clover and grass, so a good compromise.
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iruntodrink
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Post by iruntodrink on Mar 26, 2021 10:26:12 GMT -6
I’m totally heading to the garden center because of this thread. Share with the class!
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Post by ldubhawksfan on Mar 26, 2021 10:30:16 GMT -6
Morning nursery run with the kids was a strike out. No persimmon trees in stock, and while I grabbed a pepper and spinach plant, the kids were a handful before getting too many flowers for their preschool to plant. I found another local nursery with a tree, so I’ll go check it in a bit. 15 gallon doesn’t seem too big, so I don’t know if that means another 5 years until bearing fruit
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beaf12
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Post by beaf12 on Mar 26, 2021 10:36:01 GMT -6
Houseplants: most ferns are dog safe. My friend mounted her stag horn fern on her wall! I’ll find a picture.
I’m just getting more in to orchids. I have one I bought from Trader Joe’s years ago that does really well behind my kitchen sink. It loves the humidity. Hopefully the other 2 do ok on my plant stand, my kitchen counter isn’t very big! I water about 1x/week by soaking the pot for 10 minutes then letting the water drain. I recently realized that houseplants really like being fed and now I fertilize regularly. My African violets haven’t bloomed for a year. So my garden center recommended a specific fertilizer 🤞 they bloom soon.
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beaf12
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Post by beaf12 on Mar 26, 2021 10:38:53 GMT -6
Stag horn fern My currently blooming orchid with its decorative “Darth Paper” origami from my son.
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misspatty
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Post by misspatty on Mar 26, 2021 10:51:37 GMT -6
Where do you all buy pots from? I have about 10 plants just sitting in their original plastic pots I bought them in.. IKEA has a lot of cute pots that aren’t overpriced!
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loony
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Post by loony on Mar 26, 2021 11:36:56 GMT -6
I wish we got more sun inside and outside. We have GIANT pine trees that not only drop needles and sap, but block almost all the sunlight. I haven't actually landscaped and we've lived here 10 years. I feel like I need to just bite the bullet and do it this summer.
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beaf12
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Post by beaf12 on Mar 26, 2021 11:50:42 GMT -6
Re: pots Make sure any pot you buy has drainage holes. If no holes, keep plants in a plastic pit and put that pot into the decorative pot. That way you can take the plant out to water it and let it drain, but still have a nice decorative pot on the outside.
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beaf12
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Post by beaf12 on Mar 26, 2021 11:55:05 GMT -6
I wish we got more sun inside and outside. We have GIANT pine trees that not only drop needles and sap, but block almost all the sunlight. I haven't actually landscaped and we've lived here 10 years. I feel like I need to just bite the bullet and do it this summer. I used to hate all pine trees. But now as I venture into birding 😂 I see how much shelter pines provide for birds. So, maybe look to see if any pines should stay.
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beaf12
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Post by beaf12 on Mar 26, 2021 11:56:29 GMT -6
Also, I can’t remember who planted blueberries, we planted 2 last year, I’m not sure how they’ll do. But, I’d like to add some honey berry plants. They are supposed to be easier and more fruitful.
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loony
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Post by loony on Mar 26, 2021 11:58:34 GMT -6
I wish we got more sun inside and outside. We have GIANT pine trees that not only drop needles and sap, but block almost all the sunlight. I haven't actually landscaped and we've lived here 10 years. I feel like I need to just bite the bullet and do it this summer. I used to hate all pine trees. But now as I venture into birding 😂 I see how much shelter pines provide for birds. So, maybe look to see if any pines should stay. We were quoted $10K to remove them, so...they are staying for now.
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sweetpea
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Post by sweetpea on Mar 26, 2021 12:05:06 GMT -6
Thank yooouuuuu. Excited to try these. I've killed so many orchids. I made misspatty very sad telling my stories once. I also learned they may not have been dead. I don't plant well 😬 I don't orchid well, either. I've tried all the different tricks. Ice cubes. Different potting soil. My next step is buying a fake one from Home Goods, LOL. This is my orchid from Costco. My DH didn’t realize it was fake until he was putting it in the car. It’s on my perpetually messy countertop
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