Ask the Horticulturist

red, white and blue trees  I am working on a project for school and need help finding some tree types that would thrive in the Southeast which have red, white, and blue leaves or ...

Red Leaf Plant in Puerto Rico  I have attached a picture of the plant I am interested in.
Can you tell me what it is, what zones it will grow in and where I can purchase it as bulb,...

Hmong Culture Medicinal Usage? Need Name of Plant  Hello,

My coworker gave me these leaves which are to be placed in a pan with a little water to heat up, thereafter, to be applied to the pain area. I ...

Beheaded Echeveria   I just (for the very first time) beheaded my Echeveria "Topsy Turvy". Without thinking, I also cut the remaining stem left in the pot away from the soil ...

Wrinkling leaves  I have a few jade leaves that are resting on soil but they are getting wrinkled. Is this normal? Should I splash a little water on them? I got them from ...

Best Organic Fertilizer?  I'm hoping to 'go organic' this year, and start using only natural and organic fertilizers.

Do you have any suggestions for me? My garden is pretty ...

seeds  I hope you can help me or point me in the right direction I am working on a school project and I am looking for a seeds(flower) that are very durable ...

Splitting a Jade  My friend recently gave me a little jade plant. It has 3-4 different stems and is about 4" or so tall, lots of leaves, and seems very crowded.

I wanted ...

Very tall and odd red things  I've had this plant for years now, never known what it is.

Recently it has seemed sad, one of the stalks has fallen over. The leaves regularly grow ...

Orostachys pollination  I'm wondering if you have experience with hand pollination. I've got Orostachys fimbriata and O. japonica that are about to bloom and I've had to move ...

Real or Fake?  I am curious to know ID? Are bubble plants real or not? If so, where can they be found?


Drought Smart Plants reply:

Hi Jody, if I understand ...

Pinching  Will a plant that is not pinched branch? And if so, why?
As in, if I was doing an experiment and the control plant didn't receive a chemical pinching ...

School Succulent Project  Wow! what a great, informative site! I'm a teacher and we've successfully propagated some succulents.
How do we (prune?)train them to create the hearty,...

Pothos is angry  Hello again!

I have this pothos plant that I have had for a few years now. When I first got it it's legs were super long (4+ feet) but the legs were ...

Overwintering Succulents  I was given a lovely container of succulents (winter hardy) as a gift. What is the best way to winter this? We have very severe winters in upstate NY and ...

The edges of the leaves are turning brown  It has a thin base from which all of the leaves originate. The leaves are long and green with white stripes running throughout. The edges and tips of ...

Mixing spider plants  I am making some little starter pots for a friend of mine and I was going to give her some spider plants.

I currently own three different kinds. I ...

Jade babies from leaves  I have had a jade plant for a while and it is doing very well and I have succeeded in propagated it from stem cuttings multiple times, but I was curious ...

Caterpillars Eating My Spider Plants  I was horrified one morning to find one of my precious beloved spider plants had been devoured to nearly nothing!

I could see that each leaf had been ...

Bella Donna and my tomato plants....  I purchased my tomatoes plants from a nursery this year. When I went to plant them I noticed one of the plants in the package of four ...was different....

aphids on overcrowded sempervivum!  Hello!

I'm a novice and just started raising succulents. I've recently acquired a pot of Sempervivum that are quite overcrowded. It's just the beginning ...

Beheaded Echeveria  I just beheaded my Echeveria and I am worried I cut its stem too short.

I have it sitting in a shady area, upright with the stem in a glass.

I ...

Hypertufa tiles  Hi, I could you please tell me if it possible to use the mix of the hypertufa to make paving stones in the shape of a tile 30cm x 30 cm like ones in street ...

Green Roof Options  Do you think a green roof with either Sempervivum or Sedum would succeed in a shady area under trees, and if not are there any other plants you might suggest?...

blueberries  My cousin dug up some blueberry plants out of his yard for me. He didn't give me all or even half the root - will they grow?

banana trees  Would planting banana trees near south windows provide shade from the sun to help reduce my cooling bill? Also, how to prevent them from multiplying into ...

Hypertufa Mix  Hi, could you please tell me where can I get the mix to make hypertufa in London UK?

unknown pests  I have a clay planter with two pest problems in the planter; I have an Aeonium species known as 'Irish Bouquet', a Crassula argentea or finger jade, an ...

Old Curving Aloe Plant  My aloe plant is about 24yrs old & it's curved & very heavy on one side. It always produces "babies" that I remove when they get a yr or two old. Is there ...

Weeds invading sedum green roof  Can anyone help? We have a 5 acre green roof covered in five varieties of sedum. Last spring we added 24,000 additional sedum to fill in sparse areas....

The Strange Tale of the dying Echeveria  Peter, from Vancouver tells this strange story via email:

Why did my succulent plant Echeveria Runyonii 'Topsy Turvy' die within 2 days?
Wondering ...

echeveria runyonii broken!  something fell on my little (i think..echeveria runyonii) plant and the top half of the plant broke off. Can I save it? If I take the top all the way ...

4 year-old Mystery Plant  I received the guy on the left last year from a vendor at work, who said the plant was approx. 3 years old. In a year and a few months' time, it has become ...

chicken manure in potted plants  How much chicken manure can I mix in potting soil for potted plants. I want to grow tomatoes in a large pot but don't want to burn their roots.
Thank ...

Lucky Bamboo!  Hello,
Quick question...what is the difference between growing a Lucky Bamboo plant in water vs soil? I have an extra pot and would like to use it but ...

Why is my succulent so droopy?  I repotted this succulent in October and seemed to be doing fine until I had to move it (only about 6 feet) to fit my Christmas tree and then back after ...

what are these and how do i get rid of them?  these things in teh picture are all over my house and plants in the alfresco what are they and how do i get rid of them?? thank you very much :D


Drought ...

Songbirds - pro or con?  I’m having a ‘discussion’ with my husband about why we would want to encourage birds to visit and stay in our garden – he thinks they are dirty pests, with ...

Fungus Gnats!  I am having major issues with fungus gnats - is there no way of controlling these horrible little insects? I've tried repotting my whole collection (that ...

What about Sedum in shade?  I transplanted some sedum to my back yard which is nicely shaded... and even though all my other shade lovers are loving it... the sedum all died... what ...

Bay Leaf  I took a clipping of a bay leaf tree and I am wondering how I can get it to root.

Carmen


Drought Smart Plants reply:

Hi Carmen, you've started ...

ruby cactus  Why is my leaves falling off my ruby cactus? Can you help me? Thank you


Drought Smart Plants reply:

I'm sorry I don't know what type of plant ...

Best Nitrogen Source - organic of course  I have another question related to where I can find the best nitrogen source for my garden.

I wrote earlier about my wish to be organic, and start ...

mATERNITY pLANT broke off 4'  I had a Maternity plant and tried to cover it because we were going to have a freeze. It was 5' tall and broke off to 4'. Is there any way to replant ...

Dying Irish Bouquet?  Help! I think my succulent is dying. It is, I believe, an Aeonium/Irish Bouquet. It gets filtered light through a north-facing window. I'm giving it the ...

Chinese Redwood Tree  I heard that the chinese redwood tree is rare in the united states. My mother planted one about 50 years ago in our back yard. She bought quite a few ...

Colorful and single  My friend was given a few stems of this recently from a friend of hers. I cannot remember what she said it was called though.

She had it sitting in ...

My big strong jade (cont)  So, I took your recent suggestion and am trying my hand at Crassula Bonsai.

Here are some pictures of the start. My wife is not very excited, she called ...

Regional Flowers  I live in Fairfield, Ohio and I was wondering what flowers would you reccomend planting at my school?


Drought Smart Plants reply:

Hi Tracey, you ...

Splitting a Jade (cont)  Okay, this is what remains of the small Jade plant that my friend bought me.

I took your advice and rinsed the plant, removed the majority of soil so ...

salvia d.  what is the indian name for salvia divinorum


Drought Smart Plants reply:
To answer that question, you will have to find someone who speaks Indian,...

yellow and dark pink waxy petals  hi my name is david,
My freinds live in the rainforest of Kuranda, far north queensland. they have identified these spectacularly ...

a small green snails on the soils of echeveria (small as the rice grain)  i have repotted my echeveria today and was shocked that the soil on t he root of this beautiful rosette succulents have snails maybe a number of 10 or ...

broken plant  the head of my plant broke can i save it? if so do i replant the head or try to re attach to the stem.


Drought Smart Plants reply:
You're in luck!...

More about aloe plants  I asked a while ago about my aloe plants that were growing offshoots.

There are 2 main pots with aloe plants, both are growing offshoots, which are ...

Pineappley goodness  I recently stumbled upon a website about growing a pineapple plant.

I have now started to attempt this.

The website that I found said to cut the ...

Attempt at violet propagation  I had a violet leaf in a glass of water for quite some time. After a while, I realized that it should be planted.

So, as you can see, it is now in ...

camellias  how far apart do I plant Camellias?


Drought Smart Plants reply:

Hi Marjorie, I'm not an expert in growing Camellias as they don't grow where I ...

cactus?! what is it and what should I do?  I have a cactus, I think, and I am not sure what to do with it. It has grown a lot but in a curvy, heavy kind of way. It recently produced a pretty bloom ...

tiny string beans hanging on the thick trunk  Hi,

I got this cute little plant and do not know how to care for it properly. It has been 3 months under my care, and it started to get sad, the lower ...

Preparing Fertilizer   IF you are trying to fertilize your house plants with 1000 ppm N:P:K using a 20-20-20 soluble fertilizer and only need 1 gall. To prepare the solution,...

White Bird of Paradise  Hi – I just recently bought a White Bird of Paradise plant – it actually has three plants in one planter. I live in Phoenix where it is hot and dry. The ...

Green Living Roof Material  I've been interested in putting up a shed with a green roof and wondered what are the most important things re: the actual building. I am not sure what ...

Living Succulent Wall  I am interested in making a living wall, mostly succulents, it will be rather large aprox 3ft by 6ft. I was wondering if you would advise on types best ...

Something wrong with my Aeonium Haworthia 'Kiwi'  some of the rosettes are fine and then on one side of the plant its dead and stringy looking.


Drought Smart Plants reply:

Hi Mum, thanks for posting ...

Nice looking jade  The other day my friend gave me this little plant. She had gotten it from Lowe's (a hardware store that also sells plants) for about $.50.

I think ...

Succulent not doing so well  Tall woody stem with offshoots of roots above soil, seems to need a lot of direct light. Beautifull green and purple waxy thick leaves in a rosetta shaped ...

Bin Shed Roof  Hi I am doing some research on Sempervivum & Sedum which seem to be the most hardy of plants for my project needs.

I have a bin shed cover with a rather ...

Got this plant as a gift and i am wondering what kind it is?  What kind of plant is this and what kind of conditions does it require?


Drought Smart Plants reply:

Hi Melissa, it appears that you have some ...

Cactus is growing friends  So, my friend recently moved and one of her plants is growing a little mold it looks like.

She was very surprised by it so I do believe this is the ...

Freakishly tall and skinny succulent plant  Light green, new leaves point up around rosette end then older leaves curve down. It grows so fast and is getting too tall for me to handle.

The first ...

Can You Help Me?  I can't find the name for this plant anywhere. So I don't know how to take care of it. Can you please help with the name.


Drought Smart Plants reply;...

Christmas Cactus  My Christmas cactus did really well for flowering in the winter, and bloomed for a long time, and was totally covered. Now it's getting little red growths ...

Succulent Plant Problems  Don't know the type of succulant, but it has got a whitish powder on all the leaves. I can touch it and get a little off on my finger. Also is getting ...

korean spice vibernum  We live in Ontario canada, and have bought a Korean spice vibernum (standard) and were wondering if we have to do anything to protect it during our frigid ...

Beloved, unidentified, enormous plant is dying  Bought this succulent (I assume its a succulent)shrub at a plant fair in Egypt about a year ago. The guy referred to it, in Arabic, as a "Napoleon cactus"...

Tall and spikey trying to die again  So, I recently asked a question regarding an aloe plant of mine.

You had suggested that I twist off their heads and replant them, basically. I've tried ...

Leaning Sedum telephium  I have several Sedum (Telephium???) plant in front of my house, about 4 yrs old.
They are so big, that they have opened up (all plant stalks have leened ...

Purple heart  I have had this purple heart plant for a few months now. I was given a cutting from a local plant place and have been happy with it.

The piece they ...

Aloe  I've had this aloe plant for about 6 years now. Originally both of these larger parts were in the same pot, but about a year ago I separated them to try ...

My big strong Jade  This is a stem cutting from my wife's Jade plant. It started out being around 3-5 inches tall with only 4 leaves I think. I am very proud of how well ...

Christmas cactus  I feel very confident that this is a Christmas Cactus. It has been doing very well. I got it 5-6 years ago from a friend and it was just one little tiny ...

Polka-dot plant propagation  Hello there!

I have had a polka-dot plant for a little while now. I know that it is supposed to be kept trimmed so it stays small and compact, but ...

plant identification   What is this please?


Drought Smart Plants reply:

This is the Castor Bean plant, Ricinus communis. Odd looking flowers aren't they? These will ...

Cactus babies are growing  A friend of mine was told cactus seeds can be difficult to grow, so she bought some and gave me them.

It is a mixed bag, so I planted them in two different ...

Haworthia is getting old  I've had this Haworthia attenuata for years now. It was probably the first succulent that I was gifted. Anyway, I was just wondering what, if anything,...

Shade and drought tolerant  Hi
Your site is wonderful. I wish I lived closer to you! I too have an SBI site but that is not how I found you!!
My question is what to plant on the ...

bean's flower fall off  Why green bean' flower fall off from plant


Drought Smart Plants reply:

Green beans flowers are for one purpose only - to attract insects to pollinate ...

How to plant flats of elfin thyme for a thyme lawn  I have flats of elfin thyme to plant and want to know if I need to cut them up. I want to end up with a thyme lawn (sooner rather than later!). Does ...

Crape Myrtle  My crapemyrtle tree is changing it's color to a pink, instead of the deep red that I purchased. What can I do?


Drought Smart Plants reply:

Hi ...

Oxygen Plant ??  I am trying to trace a plant I used to have Years ago ...
I'm sure it was called an Oxygen plant - it could be found in a green or red colour, it was ...

Selecting a product to grow under my deck.  Good afternoon and thank you for fielding my question. I reside in Staten Island, NY. The soil in our area is clay. I experience heavy runoff from rain ...

Hypertufa as roof planting growing medium  Can you please tell me if Hypertufa can be used as a planting growing medium.


Drought Smart Plants reply:

Hi Mahmoud, if you form the hypertufa ...

little black flies hovering around my indoor succulents  Help!

I recently bought some succulents and replanted them in a cactus mix (does contain some sphagnum peat moss)mixed with pumice. 50/50 mix. Now ...

Homeowner with Thuja issue  Hi,

My husband and I planted 5 Arborvitae Green Giants last year, probably around October. We decided a 6th would look nice and rather than back to ...

Just starting a garden at school  What are some of the materials, supplies, watering systems, well, any information you could supply to a college student who has the chance to start a xeric ...

Do you know what this is?  I have this mysterious plant in my yard. Can you please identify it?
Thank you so much!!


Drought Smart Plants reply:

Hi Angela, that looks to ...

Never seen this before, and I did not plant it  Hello,
I was wondering if you could assist in identifying this plant... Not sure what it is, but I did not plant it, and I have nothing like it in my ...

Meyer Lemon with three-lobe leaves?  I purchased two "improved" Meyer lemon trees last year and repotted into 10 gallon containers.. They both overwintered mostly indoors in Zone 7b. Both ...

Tiny black bugs on Echeveria succulent  I have an older (about 5 years old) Echeveria succulent that is flowering like crazy and I just noticed that some of the shoots have these tiny black bugs ...

ants and hen and chicks  Someone told me about hen and chick plants drawing ants. My hen and chicks are next to the house and they are covered in ants. Is there any relevance ...

Blooming Sempervivum  I never realized that once a Sempervivum (hen and chicks) blooms, it will die until I got some that I really like, but they keep blooming, one by one, and ...

Echeveria Troubles  I have an Echeveria plant. I have no idea what kind it is. I could send a picture. One of the leaves is yellowing and I don't know why. Its odd but I ...

Cutting off Dead Flower Stalks  Should I cut the dead blooms off my succulents?


Drought Smart Plants reply:

There is no reason not to remove the dead bloom stalks once the plant ...

questions about blooming succulents  Some of my succulents are blooming. Should I cut the flower stalk off after they're done-or are most of them going to die? Will it save the plant if ...

Spacing for Sedum groundcovers  I am planting a large area of groundcovers with different kinds of Sedum. I've got several different Sedum spurium - my favorite is Dr. John Creech as ...

Best plants  I live in Southeast Texas. It is hot, humid and full sun most of the day. I would like to plant some hardy, indigenous plants that will look nice in front ...

Droopy Drawers Sempervivum  I've noticed that some of my Sempervivum (hens and chicks), even when the plant appears healthy, with glossy and plump leaves, seem to droop on the lower ...

Blue Spruce Sedum  I planted some Blue Spruce Sedum a few weeks ago and now some of the plants are getting red at the lower end of the stems and they break off when you touch ...

Mealy Bugs and other Guests  Hi,

I've never had any problems with my Succulents, But now I've got Mealy bugs which I'm treating but a couple of my Succulents have small holes (some ...

Need help not ID  This is my jelly bean plant. I don't understand why all the beans fell off when I bought it. Now it is just the stem and the beans at the top. Do you ...

Succulent suddenly sprouted tall stem with yellow flowers - 10' high!  This was thought to be a succulent, cactus, or agave type plant and for years was low to the ground with no central stalk. After coming home from a trip ...

Palm trees  I have two potted palm plants. They were exposed to frost over the winter, the leaves dried up and fell off. I've done this before and the plants have ...

How can I make infertile soil?  I am planning a xeric garden and the plants I want to use all require "infertile, fast-draining soil." I live in northern New Jersey and have some underlying ...

Ornamental Grasses  Hello Mr.H, I hope you can help me.., When does Maiden Grass start new growth ? Thank you for your time...R


Drought Smart Plants reply:

Actually,...

eucalyptus  When can this plant be transplanted to another area of the garden?


Drought Smart Plants reply:

Eucalyptus, well known in their native Australia ...

Hens & Chicks - Echeveria what?  We received this plant from another Freecycle member who only called it Hens & Chicks. She said she has another which is more purple and teal colored (my ...

Maple tree not doing well  We bought a maple tree a couple years ago and planted it about 5ft. from the sugar gum tree we had taken down due to ants.

We treated for the ants ...

Citrus Trees  Question 1. I have a lemoncito fruit tree that bore fruit in 2009, by 2010 it only give me 6 fruits, this year it only give 3 fruits. I fertilize all ...

bell pepper plants  Last year I grew several types of bell peppers, sweet red, green and yellow, I had very nice looking plants but very few peppers. This is not the first ...

Help with a tulip  I have bought a tulip bulb and planted it in a tub 2 month ago...but the roots are only growing not the stem or any flower. Can you tell me why?


Drought ...

Growing Thyme  I need some information on Thyme growing. I'm wanting to grow thyme groundcover to spread amongst some rocks, and wondered if thyme Doone Valley would ...

What is the difference between Sedum and Sempervivum?  I've seen so much about sedum and sempervivum on blogs and everywhere lately - I'm very confused about the difference between them. Can you enlighten ...

Brown spots on echeveria  I bought an Echeveria 'Ruby' at my local grocery store. It was blooming when I got it but the blooms dried up quickly and have not returned. Now the leaves ...

cost of sedum stock  Hello,

We are a Peace Country Sod grower and want to diversify our farm. I was thinking of growing Sedum in bulk on some of our land that is not in ...

Orostachys  where can I get Orostachys seed? I was able to get some on the nargs seed exchange, specifically O. chantei, O. iwarenge and an unknown species.

I've ...

green giant arborvitae trees  Our neighbors planted trees that were evergreens that reach to be 50 ft. tall as a border between our properties.

After the recent snow/ice storm,...

Sedum and Cedar Hedge  Michele asked me this question and I thought it was important to share, as others may be wondering the same thing.
Here is the question that Michele asks:...

Insect and Plants in Jurassic times  What caused the size of plants and insects to change?

In my Environmental Science class we learned that millions of years ago insects, dragonflies etc....

Plants for Northern Peru Dry and Warm Year Round  It is dry like desert and warm to hot year round with very little precipitation. What would you recommend as easy and hardy ground cover and border plantings?...

Leaves Dropping  I've got a few succulent plants on the window sill in my office, which I thought would be bright enough, but lately some of the leaves are falling off,...

Sedum in Florida  Hi,

Are there any Sedum varieties that would do well in poorly irrigated spots in a home landscape in central FL, zone 9b-10a? In other words, ranging ...

senecio scaposus silver coral is dying ! help !  I have a silver coral Senecio scaposus which has been doing very well until about two three days ago. It has started to lose its leaves which turn a dark ...

what is eating my plant???  at first i thought that the possums were nibbling on my succulents - sometimes they take chunks out of the leaves, but this is now happening to parts of ...

Strange Aeonium issue  My Aeoniums have prompted me to seek help without delay. WHAT have they got?
I don't see anything visible on them, but they must have SOME pest that's ...