A new year of gardening and learning about plants has begun! Ask your plant or gardening-related questions, discuss your plans for the 2016 growing season, and show off your work in this thread.

If you would like to have a plant identified, please take a picture of a branch or flower against a sheet of paper or other solid-colored background (hood of your car is fine, maybe against the hem of your pants if you don't want to pull it-- NO CROTCH SHOTS), and make sure that the plant is in focus. Include a description of where the plant is growing, how large it is, where you are located, etc when you post your pic.

1/15/2016 5:09:17 PM

cue the aforementioned crotch shots

1/15/2016 5:10:12 PM

umop-apisdn, how are you propagating your Nepenthes, air layering? Did you actually eat ghost peppers? I've only grown cayenne, jalapeno and bird peppers the last couple years, and haven't used all they produced by a long shot. The spot that actually gets full sun in my yard keeps shrinking as the trees keep growing, so I may just abandon vegetables for the time being. Time to check out the proven winners 2016 list and see what might be available nearby. I have to get my windows replaced this year, so elaborate plantings are probably out.

1/15/2016 5:21:11 PM

It's simple with Nepenthes. I don't have the skills to get my plants to reproduce sexually, so I just make cuttings. Since they're vines, you can just do it like you would with any other vine, though they don't seem to root as readily and I'm still trying to improve my success rate. I made about 8 cuttings last year. Gave away 2 and kept 6, 2 survived and are now opening their first pitchers. You want to make cuttings from the growing end of the vine, making sure that the stem is still green, not brown and woody. Include about 3 or 4 nodes, chop off any pitcher growth and about 2/3 of each leaf (leaving a little for photosynthesis, but allowing the plant to attribute growth to the roots). Dab some rooting hormone on the cut at the base, sink into moist sphagnum, and wait. It's crazy to think it's been this long, but it seriously took a year for those two cuttings to grow pitchers.

As for eating ghost peppers, yes I do. I love all sorts of hot peppers, and usually save seeds from good ones I try, if I can. Last year's attempt was a complete failure. Took a new job where I couldn't have a garden, so I left them with my mother (who gardens a lot). Between her inability to acclimate seedlings started under grow lights to outdoor sunlight and the drought last summer, the few plants that made it were so far behind, I barely got to harvest anything before the first freeze. On top of that, she just doesn't seem to understand that you don't dry peppers in a fucking cereal bowl. She has done this like 3 or 4 years in a row now and ends up rotting the entire end-of-season harvest every time.

Ghost pepper plants don't seem to be terribly productive, in my experience, whereas the habaneros, jalapeños, and other hot peppers I grew in the past few years can provide more than I can use. But once I can start harvesting, I eat hot peppers regularly enough to build tolerance. I don't go eating whole ghost peppers, but use them on or in my food. I generally get those hot, long, thin, red ones (I don't know the type) plentifully enough I can just snack on them raw whenever.

So I divided some of my Sarracenia a couple of weeks ago. Holy shit, I am overloaded now. My small plants I started with 3 or 4 years ago are packing like 6+ growth points each and crowding their pots. Started giving some away to friends. I missed out on flowers last year because of the new job I took, but I have a lot with me now. Looking forward to flowers coming up in another month or two, and hope I can add a few other native bog flowers (especially orchids) to the mix. Probably phasing out sphagnum for other mosses since sphagnum tends to overwhelm the ground layer and choke out my Drosera. I have my first few flytrap seedlings going strong and hope to see some pitcher seedlings at some point.

1/16/2016 12:37:01 PM

Took some pics. I don't usually go lopping off perfectly good pitchers, I just decided to make some cuttings today. Also, keep in mind that it's dormant season. I've got a butterwort throwing up its first flower (maybe too early), but shit will be poppin in a few more months.

The bog tray




Sarracenia rosea "Fat Chance" with Eriocaulon and Pinguicula.


Venus Flytraps




Pink sundew seedling


Nepenthes x hookeriana


Nepenthes "Miranda"


Nepenthes "Ventrata"


[Edited on January 16, 2016 at 6:39 PM. Reason : f]

1/16/2016 6:31:49 PM

nice variety of stuff. I saw a pinguicula blooming at the botanical garden the other day. it was one of the more blueish variety. I love your N. 'Miranda' pic... got a higher res version of that?

1/21/2016 11:42:20 AM

girlfriend wants to do raised beds for vegetables in her back yard. i have always done container and greenhouse stuff. any tips on constructing the raised beds?

1/21/2016 12:47:09 PM

Call 811, then till some compost/good dirt into the ground. Use treated lumber unless you're trying to go 100% organic...Think I did 6x2 for mine but higher is always better. I did 4X4 posts in the inside corners for support. I needed an electric drill to screw then together. Have a local nursery bring you some good compost/dirt combo to fill. Do you live in Raleigh?

[Edited on January 21, 2016 at 12:54 PM. Reason : Make sure it's in a sunny spot ]

1/21/2016 12:54:03 PM

^i live just east of raleigh in johnston county. my family's business is actually a nursery, so soil and stuff of that nature won't be a problem.

the posts in each corner and the height is definitely stuff i was wondering about. i saw online that some folks recommended putting chicken wire underneath and around the perimeter to prevent moles and other digging critters. i guess that all depends on whether or not moles are a problem in the yard already...any thoughts on that? really, any other suggestions i'm open to.

1/21/2016 4:07:09 PM

I dont think the wire is the status quo...unless like you said you already have a problem. I will say lumber was a fairly significant expense, from Home Depot or Lowe's at least. Maybe seek out other sources.

[Edited on January 21, 2016 at 4:37 PM. Reason : for height i've read up to 12 inches if you can swing it]

1/21/2016 4:36:31 PM

sounds good...thanks. i'm sure i'll have plenty of other questions as we build.

1/21/2016 4:42:42 PM

I used some bigass deck screws to hold everything together...not sure if those are best or not, but I wasn't trying to mess around with bolts.

1/21/2016 4:52:10 PM

Green Jay - there's a link to my Flickr account in my profile. The max you can access on there will be 768x1024, which is at least a little bigger than the image on here.

Which botanical garden did you visit? There are tons of Pings, but they're one of the last native carnivorous plants I'm getting familiar with.

1/21/2016 10:59:31 PM

Le Jardin Botanique du Montreal. I have a membership and go a few times a year. They have a large greenhouse complex with themed rooms-- bromeliads and aroids, tropical edible plants, orchids, ferns and lycopods, begonias and gesneriads, cactuses and euphorbs, and a chinese courtyard garden which houses part of their very large bonsai and penjing collection. unfortunately I'm always struggling with my exposure levels in there, but here's a couple of quickies I snapped last time.

1/22/2016 1:32:23 PM

They're not totally dead yet, but my last batch of Nepenthes cuttings aren't looking great. Probably should have held off until the growing season. The good part is the cuttings have stimulated basal offshoots from the parent plants, which means I should have fuller plants and new growth points to work with.

With temperatures looking good next week (60s here in SC), I'm thinking the Sarracenia will be waking up soon and starting their flower stalks. That should also mean I should start seeing Calopogon flower (both my flowers in my tray, plus wild ones since they've started controlled burns).

And my first batch of ghost pepper seeds failed. Left for a weekend and forgot to check if they needed water. But I've got a couple seedlings from the second batch growing under lights now, so I'm hopeful!

[Edited on February 13, 2016 at 10:22 AM. Reason : Z]

2/13/2016 10:18:57 AM

I need to freshen up my bed/container soil with some compost before planting. What's everyone's favorite compost out there?

3/7/2016 5:02:02 PM

Looks like flowers are starting on my white-top pitchers "red select" and my yellow pitchers. I have no idea what's going on with my plants at home.

3/8/2016 10:02:59 PM

Sweet pitchers are growing flowers now, yellow butterwort flowering, saw bladderworts flowering at work today, terrestrial bladderworts flowering in pots, orange milkworts about to flower, and my purple pitchers are all flowering for the first time!

Saw the first signs of growth from my pine lily and grass pink today! I am so excited!

3/22/2016 8:34:27 PM

Got the majority of my plants in 4 packs from the farmers market last week and moved them into containers for now. Some of my tomato plants are already growing flowers though. I'm pulling them off, but why is it happening?

3/29/2016 9:21:42 AM

The plants could have been root bound or something in the cell pack - if they get stressed they'll start to flower prematurely. Guessing those were started in a greenhouse so maybe they are further along and needed to be planted.

[Edited on March 29, 2016 at 10:14 AM. Reason : f]

3/29/2016 10:12:14 AM

for sure they were rootbound as hell, but hopefully aren't stressed now. i'll keep nipping them.

i think this year i'm going to plant certain flowers to attract more bees. i usually have marigolds for the aphids, but i'm going to look into other varieties for the bees. I saw something about a bee bath but that seems like too much work. - http://www.wikihow.com/Attract-Honey-Bees

3/29/2016 10:48:03 AM

i've got some homestead purple verbena in front of my house - it's almost always got butterflies and bees around it.

it's a spreading ground cover...and is perennial. i like it a lot.

3/29/2016 12:39:15 PM

The fruit from our loquat tree is almost breaking the limbs. I'm already tired of eating them. A buddy of mine owns a bar downtown and is coming by to collect them to use in a cocktail. I get a nice drink tab out of it:

3/29/2016 1:13:13 PM

I have kale and collards that survived through the winter, I cooked a huge pots of collards over the weekend and will be pulling the kale soon. Also planted several kinds of lettuce and spinach a few weeks ago, hopefully I'll get some of that before it gets too hot. Probably needs a couple more weeks of growing.

3/29/2016 2:21:04 PM

What do you all make lattice out of for your vines? Or do you just buy it?

Quote :

"i've got some homestead purple verbena in front of my house - it's almost always got butterflies and bees around it. it's a spreading ground cover...and is perennial. i like it a lot."

thx i'll check that stuff out

3/29/2016 3:20:12 PM

Sorry for being a noob, but I've never grown any vegetables before. I bought a jalepeno and a red bell pepper bonnie plant today. When should I plant them? Should I plant them in the flower bed (deer might eat them) or in pots on the deck?

Any tips?

3/29/2016 7:48:07 PM

i'd probably suggest planting them in pots. nothing wrong with planting in the ground, necessarily. but pepper plants don't get so big that they'll outgrow a 3 gallon pot. plus, if you plant them in a pot or container they can easily be moved inside to avoid freezing temps. peppers are really a warmer season veggie...if you're planting in the ground i'd wait till mid to late april probably. if you plant them in a container or pot that can be moved inside on cold nights, then i don't see any harm in going ahead and transplanting now.

[Edited on March 29, 2016 at 8:18 PM. Reason : assuming you're in nc, anyways]

3/29/2016 8:15:17 PM

Is it necessary to move pepper plants inside if there's no frost temps?

3/29/2016 11:10:26 PM

no it's not necessary...sorry if that was confusing, i meant that if there were freezing temps you could move the potted plants inside.

3/30/2016 7:39:28 AM

So I have these bonnie seedlings. Should I be moving them inside when the overnight temps are in the 40s?

3/30/2016 8:59:54 AM

^ no, only if temps are below freezing, as ^^ indicates.

3/30/2016 9:25:30 AM

Got all my seeds from Gurneys in the mail yesterday, and I close in my house in a week. I know what I'm doing next weekend!

3/30/2016 9:29:58 AM

Bog plants are going nuts now. Yellow pitcher and white-top pitcher flowers opened today, nicely timed with the local wild yellow pitchers I have been seeing in the field. Yellow pitcher also was the first to have new pitcher growth open up.

The sundews are waking up. I'm not sure whether my binata will be recovering from winter or not, but I just noticed tiny, green growth. I hope it's that plant and not something less desirable.

The ghost peppers are getting acclimated to the sun under a shady bush. I'm probably gonna go out and get a bigger pot and better soil to transplant them soon.

Something like 14 pitcher plant flowers and counting, and that's just from the ones I have with me! I can't wait for the day I have some property and get to actually build a bog!

3/31/2016 12:09:23 AM

Anyone use rain barrels? I have one set up and want to put it on an auto-timer to water my garden with a soaker hose, but the water pressure coming from the barrel isn't enough to force open the valve. I'm assuming right now that I going to need to small pump, but I'm hoping someone with experience can offer advice.

4/1/2016 4:06:50 PM

Where is the valve? If it's on the line (and not on the barrel) You could elevate the barrels higher to create more head, but that still might not be enough pressure.

4/1/2016 5:02:52 PM

The valve is within the timer (http://www.amazon.com/Orbit-62061N-91213-Single-Dial-Water-Timer/dp/B004INGS8S/ref=lp_553988_1_1?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1459545736&sr=1-1) that is attached directly to the barrel. I'm going to elevate the barrel another 6-12" but doubt it will help. Apparently the valve requires more pressure than a full, elevated barrel can provide (per comments on various websites).

4/1/2016 5:23:28 PM

Anything wrong with building a compost pile primarily out of layers of grass clippings/weeds, leaves, and compost? Just needs to get hot enough to kill the weed seeds right?

4/4/2016 8:52:13 AM

Nope. Just make sure you have plenty of greens in that mix. Mother nature will find her way; if the ratios are too far off, it may take longer, but compost it will.

[Edited on April 4, 2016 at 9:29 AM. Reason : .]

4/4/2016 9:29:15 AM

yeah i figure the more greens the hotter it will burn. there will be kitchen waste in there too. might layer in some 5 gal buckets of coffee grinds in there for good measure

[Edited on April 4, 2016 at 9:32 AM. Reason : i know i just need to be careful with the thickness of the grass clipping layers]

4/4/2016 9:31:48 AM

Oh, well, if you're throwing kitchen scraps in there; you're fine. Those are the exact components of my compost piles and mine turns to compost, albeit over about a year since I turn mine only 2-3 times/year and load it up with clippings.

I will say that a thick layer of clippings on the outside of mine before winter appears to really help.

[Edited on April 4, 2016 at 9:35 AM. Reason : .]

4/4/2016 9:34:29 AM

Well *some* kitchen scraps. I'm considering loading up an earth machine with mostly leaves/grass, with some extra greens for good measure...i'd like to use it in the summer so i'll make sure to turn it a few times and load up on the greens.

4/4/2016 9:44:40 AM

everyone's out and about today getting plants and mulch. I need to get a decent day off and do the same.

4/4/2016 10:48:16 AM

anybody got any frost/freeze prevention tips for those of us who were lulled into a false sense of security and jumped the gun on planting?

I have about 30-40 tomato and pepper plants in the ground already and I'm planning on going a bucket/pot covers for some and compost/mulch covering for others since I doubt i'll have enough buckets for 'em all.

4/4/2016 12:36:10 PM

I've stuck a stick beside the plant and put a plastic bag over it, and anchored the bag to the ground with rocks. Seemed to work ok, better than nothing at least..

4/4/2016 1:06:14 PM

i've got like 50ish plants in 2 gallon containers atm...last year I drug them all inside when we had a night like this. ugh.

4/4/2016 1:20:57 PM

^^although you should probably take the bag off fairly early in the morning, or imagine it might cook the plant if it gets sunny.

4/4/2016 2:57:47 PM

might depend on your bed or area with plants...but throwing a blanket over them (make sure to elevate the blanket so it doesn't smash any tender plants, of course) is pretty easy and effective. but again...if you've got a huge area, that's a lotta blankets and not very feasible.

looks like saturday night could be the worst...possible mid-20s i'm seeing around johnston county area.

[Edited on April 4, 2016 at 4:13 PM. Reason : f]

4/4/2016 4:12:30 PM

how about a tarp over the plants (potted, in my case) with a utility light under to provide heat?

4/5/2016 4:31:57 PM

that'd be fine...not sure about what others think, but i'm not sure whether or not the light is even all that necessary tonight. the tarp might be enough to protect from any frost - but then again, better safe than sorry in this case. saturday night should be colder from what i'm seeing, so the light/heat source would probably be more necessary then.

4/5/2016 4:41:24 PM

^ yeah i figure i might as well give it a test run tonight

maybe a the utility light i had in mind will be too hot:

Quote :

"Possible heat sources include christmas lights or a 100 watt light bulb; these aren’t so hot as to damage the plants, but are warm enough to increase their temperature."

[Edited on April 5, 2016 at 5:29 PM. Reason : ]

4/5/2016 5:26:49 PM