c/botany-lovers

Debate: should we save seeds from hybrid plants or not?

I was at the Denver botany swap last Saturday and got into it with a guy named Mark who breeds tomatoes. He said saving seeds from hybrids is a waste because they won't grow true. But I've got a Cherokee Purple hybrid from 3 years ago that still produces identical fruit. What do you all think, is he right or am I getting lucky?

I was wrong about those little air plants in shells

For years I thought those tilandsia air plants glued to driftwood or stuck in seashells were just a decorative gimmick. I figured they were like those painted succulents at the grocery store that die in a week. Then my daughter brought one home from a school project about 3 months ago. I ignored it on the windowsill, just gave it a spritz of water whenever I remembered. To my surprise, it not only stayed alive, it actually started growing little pups off the side. Now I have four of them sitting in a glass jar on my kitchen counter and I find myself checking them every morning. The thing that convinced me was watching one bloom a tiny purple flower after I soaked it in water for 20 minutes. Has anyone else been converted by a plant they thought was fake?

Is pruning in late summer actually better than spring? I tested both ways

I have a big rose bush in my backyard that's been growing wild for 3 years. Last spring I pruned it back hard and it barely bloomed. This year I waited until August after the flowers faded and trimmed just the dead wood. The new growth came in way thicker and I got a second bloom in October. Anyone else tried late season pruning or is spring still the standard?

Can we talk about planting invasive species on purpose?

I used to think planting bamboo was a good idea for privacy. Then my neighbor's bamboo roots tore up our shared fence after 2 years. Now I see people online arguing it's fine if you control it. But my yard guy says once it spreads, you can't ever get rid of it. Which side is right here?

Found a game-changer for saving my leggy seedlings at the community garden

Last spring I was at the Elmwood community garden and saw an older guy trimming his tomato seedlings way earlier than I ever would. I asked about it and he showed me this simple trick of brushing your hand over the tops a few times a day. Said it mimics wind and makes the stems thicken up. I tried it on my Basil and pepper plants at home and within a week they were way sturdier compared to the flimsy stems I had before. I also moved a small fan nearby on low setting for a couple hours each day. It cost me nothing but a little time and saved me from losing half my starts to damping off. Has anyone else used physical stimulation to toughen up their seedlings?

Shoutout to the old timer who told me to bottom water my African violets

I kept killing my African violets for years. Leaves would get spots and then rot at the base. I tried less water, more light, special soil mixes... nothing worked. Then this guy at the botanical society meeting, must have been 80 years old, told me to just set the pots in a tray of water for 20 minutes once a week. That was about 6 months ago and every single plant is putting out new leaves now. Has anyone else had stubborn plants that only responded to some weird old method?

My grandpa's advice about planting tomatoes was totally wrong

He told me to bury the stem super deep (like 8 inches) to grow stronger roots, but I did that with 6 plants in my backyard and 4 of them rotted within 2 weeks. Turns out he was gardening in sandy soil in Arizona, but here in Ohio clay it just holds too much water. Has anyone else gotten gardening advice from a relative that backfired because of different soil or climate?

My neighbor's prize rose bush taught me something unexpected yesterday

I was helping my 72 year old neighbor prune her roses in Portland when she casually mentioned that the red pigment in rose petals comes from the same chemical compound as freeze-dried strawberries. We looked it up together on her old iPad and apparently cyanidin-3-glucoside is the exact molecule that gives both their color. Has anyone else stumbled across a weird botanical fact that just popped up in real life?

Spent $120 on a fancy moisture meter and it saved my peace lily from certain death

Appreciation post: That one lady at the nursery who saved my pepper plants

I was about to give up on my habaneros cause they looked sickly and I had no clue why. She spent 10 minutes with me at the counter explaining how I was overwatering and pointed out the yellow leaf veins. Anyone else had a random stranger just fix your whole garden vibe?

Went to the community garden and nobody watered the tomatoes

I walked over to the small community garden near my apartment last Wednesday to see how things were growing. The squash and peppers looked fine, but the tomato plants were all droopy and sad. I noticed a sign that said "water schedule changed" with no new info, so I grabbed a bucket and gave them a good soak. Does your local garden group struggle with keeping up on watering too?

My $80 moisture meter was a total bust for indoor plants

I dropped eighty bucks on a fancy digital moisture meter for my houseplants (mostly ferns and a fiddle leaf fig) because I kept overwatering everything during night shifts. Turns out that thing gave me wildly different readings every time I stuck it in the same pot, so I'm still guessing if my fern is thirsty or drowning. Has anyone else had better luck with those cheap wooden probe meters or just learned to trust the finger test?

Found a stat that claimed 80% of urban beekeeping hives fail in their first year

I was reading a local extension office report from Oregon State and saw that 80% of urban beekeeping hives fail within 12 months, mostly from mites and bad location choices. That feels high to me but I've only kept bees for two seasons in my backyard here in Portland. Anyone else see numbers like that or think the real issue is people not prepping enough before buying a hive?

That garden center lady told me I was drowning my roses and she was right

I was watering my roses every single day like clockwork. Some woman at a local nursery in Austin told me I was basically giving them root rot. She said to stick my finger in the soil and only water when the top two inches are dry. Switched to that method about 3 months ago and the leaves stopped turning yellow. Now I water maybe twice a week at most and they actually bloomed this spring. Any of you guys follow a strict watering schedule or just wing it?

Paid $120 for a soil moisture meter and it's been wrong all season

Bought a fancy digital meter off Amazon last April because I kept killing my ferns. Turns out it was reading dry when the soil was soaked, almost rotted my Monstera roots. Took three dead plants before I went back to the finger test. Anyone else ditch fancy tools for old methods?

Just found out that 90% of the peat moss sold in garden centers comes from bogs that take 1,000 years to form

I was reading a report from the Royal Horticultural Society and it said harvesting peat releases carbon that's been locked up for millennia, so I'm switching to coir or composted bark starting this spring - anyone else ditch peat moss yet?

Why does nobody talk about how invasive English ivy really is

Last spring I spotted this vine creeping up my neighbor's fence in Portland, and I thought it looked kinda pretty so I let it grow into my yard. Fast forward 3 months, it had wrapped around my entire back porch and started killing a 20 year old oak tree. Has anyone else had this stuff completely take over their garden without warning?

Found out why my orchids weren't blooming from a nursery worker in Portland

I was at a small nursery in Portland last Saturday and the owner told me that orchids need a temperature drop of about 10 degrees at night to trigger blooming. I had been keeping my house at the same temp all day and night for 2 years with no luck. Has anyone else messed up their orchid care by missing this simple trick?

An old gardener told me to stop babying my seedlings back in 2018

She said I was coddling them with too much water and heat, so I backed off on both and suddenly my tomatoes didn't keel over after transplanting for the first time in 10 years has anyone else gotten that kind of blunt advice that actually worked?

The greenhouse I help at lost all its seedlings in one night, heres what changed

I walked into the community greenhouse last Tuesday and every single tray of peppers and tomatoes we started six weeks ago was completely dead, wilted and brown. Turns out the new volunteer accidentally left the heat mats on full blast overnight without the thermostat connected and it cooked them at 105 degrees. Has anyone else dealt with a sudden temperature swing killing a whole batch of starts like this?

Question about watering my monstera - turns out I was drowning it for 6 months

So I got this monstera from my neighbor back in January. Nice big leaves, looked happy. I kept watering it every 3 days because the soil felt dry on top. Then last week I pulled it out to repot and the roots were all brown and mushy. My neighbor came over and laughed at me. She said I should stick my finger all the way down to the bottom of the pot before watering. The top dries out fast but the bottom stays wet for days. I only watered it twice since then and it already looks better. Anyone else make this mistake or just me?

Thought air layering was a waste of time until I tried it on a ficus last spring

I used to see people on here raving about air layering and I was totally convinced it was just a gimmick (you know, like those plant vitamins). But my neighbor had this old ficus that was getting too tall and leggy, and she dared me to try it. I wrapped up a section with some sphagnum moss and plastic wrap in March, and by June I had actual roots. It felt like magic honestly. Now I'm thinking about trying it on a bigger maple tree in my backyard. Anyone else have a method they swear by for getting the moss to stay damp longer?

Took me 5 months to figure out why my peace lily kept drooping

I watered it on a strict schedule and even checked the soil but it kept getting sad after 2 days. Finally realized the pot had no drainage holes I just never flipped it over to look. Anyone else miss something that obvious for way too long?

Had to choose between my prize rose bush and a new fence last spring

I was about to tear out my grandmother's 15 year old climbing rose 'Peace' variety to make room for a privacy fence in my backyard in Austin. Instead I spent $80 on a trellis kit and trained the rose up the fence posts. Has anyone else had to decide between keeping a beloved plant and fixing something in their yard?

My grandma's fern collection taught me to actually look at roots for the first time

I was helping my grandma repot her huge Boston fern last spring in her greenhouse up near Asheville. She pointed out how the roots were circling the pot like a snake and told me I had to slice them apart or the plant would choke itself out. I had been watering my own ferns on a strict schedule for years and wondering why they always went brown and sad after six months. After cutting and untangling the root ball and giving it fresh soil, the thing bounced back in like three weeks and doubled in size by summer. Now I check root health on every plant I bring home, not just the leaves. Has anyone else had a surprising plant issue that came down to something happening under the soil instead of above it?