Dear Plant Pimp

[wannabe]

Dear Plant Pimp,

It appears that I have a bug problem. When I water some of my plants, these little bugs fly around. They look like they are living in the soil of my plants. They're a little smaller than a fruit fly. They're all over the place. How do I get rid of them?

 

[wiffledaddy]

You are likely overwatering if you've attracted fungus gnats. First of all, let the top of the soil dry out between waterings.

Now, for the existing gnats, you want to lure them out of the soil. You can use a partial can of beer, a bottle of grape juice or wine for this. The fun part, drink the beverage until the container is about 1/4 full. Then leave the remainder somewhere near the most infected plants. The gnats will be drawn into the bottle or can and drown. If you haven't resolved the issue inside of 2 weeks, send me a PM and we'll troubleshoot this further.

 

[wiffledaddy]

ok. moving now..

How is this plant doing now?

 

[wannabe]

Thanks, WD. I'll try the beer/wine trick. I hope that works.

 

[Bad Dad]

How is this plant doing now?

little better. for sure not worse.

He was moved to the back of the house under my covered patio that only gets a.m. sun. I also got a tray for him to try and soak up water when he needs it.

I'll let you know in a week or two.


Btw, I just bought a braided ficus to go in my house. This is going to be interesting.

 

[wiffledaddy]

ficus is easier than you think. The key is a bright spot, but not too hot. An occasional misting is a good idea. Dust the plant a couple times a month. A hot, dry, dusty ficus will get spider mites and scale.

I recommend against repotting until the plant is acclimated. If you bought a decorative container, just put it in that in the nursery pot it came in. If you have already repotted, be certain to water at the center of the roots. Ficus death in the first couple of weeks in a new home is almost always due to improper watering.

Be sure and give it a weak fertilizer mix at each watering.

Post up a pic of the chinese lantern plant if you want, and I'll see if there are any really obvious things you can do to make it happier.

 

[Max Smiley]

yay, the plant thread!

dear plant pimp:

here's my fledgling herb garden consisting of rosemary, thai basil and chive. all plants are doing well after repotting to this planter box but...

 

[westie]

Q-I have one of those long viney things where the vines are like 10 ft. long. Anyway, a lot of the leaves are yellowing and falling off? I water her bout once a month so I don't feel I'm overwatering but, when I watered the other day, the next day about 5 leaves started to yellow and yesterday I pulled their brown carcasses off???

 

[Max Smiley]

...periodically the basil plant has leaves like this. wth is it? are these snail trails? the plant yields many good sized, tasty leaves but these kind of leaves I pinch off the plant and grind up for the soil.

also, what do you do with chives other than decoration. they don't taste like much even chewing on the bare stalks.

thanks P.P.!

 

[JadedOne]

Dear Max Smiley - I can help you out with your chives question. They go very well in an egg omelet. Just chop them up finely and throw them into beaten eggs. There's tons of recipes out there that call for chives other than for the use of garnish. Hope this helps

Love,

Gourmet Pimp

...periodically the basil plant has leaves like this. wth is it? are these snail trails? the plant yields many good sized, tasty leaves but these kind of leaves I pinch off the plant and grind up for the soil.

also, what do you do with chives other than decoration. they don't taste like much even chewing on the bare stalks.

thanks P.P.!

 

[wiffledaddy]

You are about to be double-teamed.

What you've got on your basil is a leaf miner. It's a small critter that is living, and eating, in the inside of the leaf. So, if you eat this leaf, you will be eating the miner. The best control is to go through the plant and remove all affected leaves. These guys probably came from the nursery where you bought the basil. Where did you get the plant? You might want to consider avoiding this nursery. Selling plants with pests on/in them is bad mojo.

At the end of the summer, you will probably want to separate the basil and the rosemary, as they will want to grow independent of each other.

You have now been double-teamed by the Gourmet and Plant pimps.

Regards,

Plant Pimp

 

[Max Smiley]

I'm lovin' it

thanks you! the plants are from home depot! should I go back and show them infected leaves? the state is very touchy about pests, plant or otherwise, as foreign species have a long history of screwing things up here. either way I will being destroying infected leaves if they show up again. will repot the plants when they get too big, probably foresaking the chive for more basil and/or cilantro instead.


to the gourmet plant pimptress

 

[wiffledaddy]

I don't know as it is even worth the experience of hassling with the parking lot at Home Depot to get a refund or a new plant.

#1 plant advice I can give anyone is DON'T BUY HARDWARE STORE PLANTS.

There really is a huge difference in the quality of the plant, and it is very common to get something infected with one pest or another. If you continue to have problems with the leaf miners, throw the plant out, and get a new one from a real nursery.

For now, look at every leaf individually and pull off the ones that even remotely appear to have a pest on/in them. The basil will grow the leaves back in no time.

 

[EXCESSS]

Dear Plant Pimp,
Not sure if you adressed hydrangias in the thread yet? (I also know you were focusing on houseplants) However, I bought a beautiful one at a nursery and within a week, the leaves have curled and they are browning. It is plenty moist. The tag says partial sun, but I'm wondering...seems like too much and it is only in the sun in the morning. What am I doing wrong?

 

[wiffledaddy]

Hi excess,

I'm going to need some more information from you:

what town/region are you in, ie, what's the climate?

did you repot?

did you plant it in the ground?

Did it get rained on?

It's facing east? Can we confirm this?

Got a picture?

(Outdoor plants always have so many more variables than indoor plants. Just like life, maaaaan, there's just more going on out there)

 

[wiffledaddy]

Mr. Crusher:

This is a little vague. I'm going to guess you have a pothos and it is in low light. First thing you want to do is trim the runners, because 10' is way too long.

Likely, the plant is generating little energy in the low light, and it's getting too much water, causing root damage and leaf drop.

Does this look like your plant? There are different varieties, so we want to focus on the shape of the leaf.

Q-I have one of those long viney things where the vines are like 10 ft. long. Anyway, a lot of the leaves are yellowing and falling off? I water her bout once a month so I don't feel I'm overwatering but, when I watered the other day, the next day about 5 leaves started to yellow and yesterday I pulled their brown carcasses off???

 

[EXCESSS]

Hi excess,

I'm going to need some more information from you:

what town/region are you in, ie, what's the climate?

did you repot?

did you plant it in the ground?

Did it get rained on?

It's facing east? Can we confirm this?

Got a picture?

(Outdoor plants always have so many more variables than indoor plants. Just like life, maaaaan, there's just more going on out there)

1. Vacaville-Hot! (but I see a lot of beautiful one's in the area)
2. Yes-from plastic nursery pot to a large clay pot.
3. It is under the eaves, so no rain.
4. It is facing East.
5. I could get a picture.

Thanks!

 

[wiffledaddy]

hokay, we've got a few possible things going on then.

First of all, the facing east is good, it's the right spot, and eliminates the hot afternoon sun as our culprit.

Hydrangeas like to be in the ground, you know. They like to build a decent sized root system, and might exhibit this behavior in a container.

If:

A) there is a saucer under the container and the plant is sitting in water, ie, there is water in the dish, it's got to come off that saucer.

2) if no saucer, then ask yourself if it perks up right after watering, but then looks kind of crappy by the next day. In that case, the roots are not getting enough water.

C) if none of these apply, it might just be that the root system needs a little time to adjust to the repotting, and it should be looking fine in another week or so.

Send or post a picture if you want. It's always a lot easier to figure out what's going on when you can see the plant (this is just one reason there are so few blind gardeners).

 

[Bad Dad]

Post up a pic of the chinese lantern plant if you want, and I'll see if there are any really obvious things you can do to make it happier.

 

[Bad Dad]

here's a close-up