The Plant Thread

[Ponyfan]

Mint 1 needs to be repotted.  I noticed either a large root or a runner just under the dirt that was curved around the pot. 

A runner on Mint 2 died. I'm hoping it's just part of the shock of being repotted and nothing more.  I noticed a bunch of dried up leaves and started trying to see if just the leaves or the whole runner was dead.  The runner broke off in my hand.


Ponyfan

[BlackCurtains]

Ben has a bunch of dying leaves too. I shook all the stems and a lot fell off. I put him in the sink and gave him a shower and watered him to soaking.

Speaking of watering, I must have over watered the cat grass because it has white fuzzy mold on the dirt. I used a measuring cup and it called for 6-8 ounces so I did 7. I thought the soil disks looked smaller than the original ones, I guess I should have done 6 ounces or less.

The catnip is doing really well. Now that I've turned it around the stems on that side are growing more and the plant is agile enough to turn the bigger stems toward the window, so it's getting lots of sunlight.

[Artemesia's Garden]

your yard sounds really nice Artie

Spoiler

our house is new construction so nothing to clean up except weeds and the dead grass. the downside is that all we have in the backyard is new sod and a small covered patio. we opted to get a smaller patio since having the builder extend it would have taken away from the square footage of the house. we definitely need to extend the covered patio at some point because a good rainstorm soaks everything on the patio. but i know that will be expensive so for now just a dream.

yeah when i look at the price of material it seems fine until i calculate the total i need for the area. then i have to come back to earth. it's like looking at flooring for the house.

the new sod in the front yard is doing well and most of the back is fine. but there is a portion that is under the neighbor's oak tree that doesn't get much sun. i love the tree and it was one of the reasons we chose the lot. i want to pull up the dead grass and add paving stones or gravel. i really want a table out there but there may be a bird poo issue also the area close to the house has some dead grass.

i think i need to prioritize and work on one area at a time. it's definitely more cost effective to DIY so we'll be going that route wherever possible. i made good progress in the front yard but i need to finish the mulch. most of the weeds are gone though. except for that big thistle. i'm bad about trying to start new projects before i finish others. i like doing projects around the house. i'm not great at it but i'm learning. i wish i could train Luna to help me dig.

Cheers! It could be, but I feel like it will be another year or two before it's a good place to relax. A covered patio sounds pretty useful, even if not when the weather is really bad. The oak tree sounds lovely too! I had a seating area under trees for a while and yep the birds did sit above. I had to clean up a few times but it was so nice sitting under there. Tree roots might make digging tricky under there but hopefully it's OK for you. Landscaping fabric and gravel should work OK. I'm not sure about edging to keep the gravel in... maybe bricks? I know of some pretty reliable dry shade plants that I can list for you if you're interested. Do you get winter frosts?

[Beth3346]

home projects definitely take time and patience. and with plants waiting for them to grow in.

it's mostly dirt right now. the grass never really come in under the tree. my dogs keep trying the dig under the fence to get to the neighbor dog. so i need to do something about the dirt since it gets muddy when it rains. i've been looking at brick and stone edging. getting it from the store to the house may be an issue. delivery is expensive and carrying the entire amount needed in the car may be a problem. i'll probably be adding piece by piece. which will probably be all i can do anyway considering it's a DIY project and i don't have a ton of free time.

we can get fairly cold. it just depends on the winter. 2 years ago we had the big freeze where everything was covered with ice for about a week. it snowed then the snow turned to ice that kind of weather is rare here but with climate change things are less predicable. i would like to see a list of plants

update
good news i was able to remove the thistle. bad news i managed to puncture the sprinkler line. my dad and i weren't able to repair it and it looks like there is another issue in the flower bed. i'll be watering that area manually until we can get someone out to repair. at least i don't have to deal with a landlord to get repairs. but home ownership is an adventure

[Taffeta]

I repotted Nik the other day, which was an undertaking.

(background)

Spoiler

Nik is my dragon tree, who I got after my previous dragon tree, a rescue, died of old age. The old tree came from my workplace, and was named Nathaniel, so when I got the successor, it made sense to give him another N name. I'd just read War & Peace at the time, so his name is Nikolai.

Nik is a lockdown baby, as I got him right before things went south in 2020. He's been really healthy but lately he's had some problem with dry and wilting leaf ends. I think it's because of the heatwave, as his roots look fine, and I hope he'll recover and grow out the bad leaves with some better growth now he has new soil...

It's a bit sad, though, as he was so beautiful before and he's a bit scrappy at the top now.

I also repotted my little cactus. It was originally a rescue, as it was a pup that dropped off a cactus of my Dad's. It also suffered in the heat, but its sunburn has all cleared up and it has grown a centimetre since then. I'm relieved, and hopefully the new pot will help it fatten out. Unfortunately it is now in a pot too big for the ceramic one it was living in, so I need a new pot. Keep joking about getting a new succulent to fill the old pot

Poinsettia has been operating my fire tablet again. She keeps turning off my audio books. :/

[Ponyfan]

Here's this week pics of the mints.  I found more dead leaves in the soil of Mint 2 and another runner that might be dying but I'm not sure.  The leaves of the runner feel a little dry but most of Mint 2 looks healthy. It should start recovering from being repotted.  It's been a week.

I'm getting a little worried about Mint 1.  I turned the pot again to try to get the tiny stems to grow bigger but parts of it don't look healthy.  I'm hoping to get Mint 1 repotted soon.

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Mint 1


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Mint 2


Please ignore all of the junk in the pics.

Ponyfan

[Ponyfan]

I found more dead leaves in the soil of Mint 2's pot.  I hope I'm not accidently killing it.  I'm doing the same things I did for it before it was repotted so I'm not sure why there are so many dead leaves.   I thought about not watering Mint 2 everyday, but then I'm afraid it will die.


Ponyfan

[BlackCurtains]

Could it be affected by the season?

[Artemesia's Garden]

I agree with BC, it might just be the season. Here, mint plants lose their leaves in winter. As long as it's not too wet or too dry, it should sprout again from the base and make a new bushy plant next year. I think it's classed as a herbaceous perennial. Mine is looking OK, it's currently flowering and getting ready for winter.

[Ponyfan]

Mints are supposed to lose their leaves in the fall?  I must have missed that.  Knowing that makes me feel a lot better.   I was beginning to think that there might be something wrong with the pot or soil that was causing Mint 2 to lose leaves.  Should I cut Mint 2 back before winter sets in or will it be okay to leave Mint 2 as is?

It rained yesterday so I didn't have to water the plants yesterday or today.

Ponyfan 

[Artemesia's Garden]

Mints are supposed to lose their leaves in the fall?  I must have missed that.  Knowing that makes me feel a lot better.   I was beginning to think that there might be something wrong with the pot or soil that was causing Mint 2 to lose leaves.  Should I cut Mint 2 back before winter sets in or will it be okay to leave Mint 2 as is?

It rained yesterday so I didn't have to water the plants yesterday or today.

Ponyfan

Yep I think so! Even if it doesn't get too cold where you live, maybe they need a dormant period to revive. Then you should get nice new shoots from the base some weeks later. My mint currently looks like this (not my photos):

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This is a good article with photos of mint plants shooting again in spring. They were brought in to a greenhouse to get some early shoots in spring.

https://www.sowandso.com/forcing-mint-winter-months/

It's such a fun and versatile plant.

I'd say there's no need to cut it back until the stems die in winter, unless they get too long and straggly. If the plant is still green and there are long straggle bits I'd say you can cut back 1/3 of the stems to the base to neaten the plant up again.

[Lady Frostbite]

I trimmed my chillies! I've only 5 plants; two pink tigers who I don't think will fruit this year but were flowering (they're so leggy, so I don't think they'll fruit), one white Naga and two Peach Ghost Scorpions.

I've trimmed them back because they're taking up room, I really want to get a greenhouse so I can propagate multiple strains without cramping them and them getting leggy  Doesn't help I've seen a couple of other strains I REALLY wanna grow, like Jay's Pink!

[Taffeta]

I'm hoping that I might have found a pot at last for my little cactus. We'll see O.O.

I've also got the new tray for my dragon tree now, and will be keeping him under close observation.

The night temp dropped massively here a day or two ago, it was down to 4 or 5 degrees. It means that soon the plants that summer outdoors will have to come in, and a fleecing initiative will have to happen for some of the others....

[Ponyfan]

Thanks for the link Artemesia,.  This is the first time I've tried to grow plants and I keep thinking I will end up harming them accidently.

Here's this weeks pics of the mints.  I took a pic at a different angle than usual to show Mint 2's runners. 


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Mint 2

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Mint 1

Some of Mint 2's leaves have brown or black spots on them. The potting soil is almost black so I don't know if it's just bits of soil sticking to the wet leaves or something I should worry about.  I sprayed both plants with dish soap spray yesterday.


Ponyfan

[Beth3346]

i started clearing out the dead grass and it's hard work! also it's back in the 90s and humid so i'm only working on it in the morning and late evening. i figure if i do a little every day i'll get it done in a week or so.

no luck with the sprinkler repair. my dad bought a piece that should have fixed it but i don't think it was the right one. i'm determined to learn to fix things myself so i'll keep trying. also while i was working on the repair i noticed that the sedge has roots that go everywhere! it's not as bad as before but with the bed being dry it's hard to dig out the roots

on a positive note though after i moved the basil into a sunnier spot it's doing so well. also the cilantro sprouted and the mint seems to be doing well.