c/botany-lovers

Can we talk about how my monstera doubled in size after 3 months by a north window?

I moved it 4 feet from a south facing sill because the tips kept burning, and the aerial roots went from stubby to curling around my curtain rod, has anyone else seen that dramatic a shift just from less direct light?

1 comments

hugow30•9h ago

Does the botanical garden in Savannah really need those tropical domes?

I went to the Savannah Botanical Garden last month and spent 2 hours in the new tropical exhibit they added. The domes hold humidity at like 85 percent and they cost about $1.2 million to build, but I saw more people taking selfies than actually reading the plant labels. On one hand I get it, tropicals draw crowds and fund the native plant programs that do real conservation work. On the other hand, we're in Georgia where we already have pitcher plants and trilliums that are just as cool and don't need all that energy to keep alive. So is it worth the upkeep or should they put that money into restoring the wetland trail that's been closed since 2021? Has anyone else seen a garden that went too glitzy and lost its local charm?

1 comments

miller.jason•1d ago

The 60 dollar orchid mix I tossed after one repot

Bought a fancy bark blend from a shop online, the stuff had chunks that were way too big for my phals. Roots dried out in 3 days and I lost two plants I'd had for 4 years. Switched to plain sphagnum moss from the hardware store and everything bounced back. Anyone else get burned by overpriced premium mixes, or am I just unlucky?

1 comments

mason_knight•1d ago

Greenhouse vs. grow lights for winter herbs in Denver, huge difference

I ran a small greenhouse setup for basil and parsley last winter in Denver, then switched everything to a simple LED grow light rack in my basement this December. The greenhouse plants got leggy and slow even with a heater going, but the shelf unit with lights has my basil bushing out twice as fast. Has anyone else found indoor lighting beats a cold frame for winter herbs, or am I missing something with my greenhouse setup?

1 comments

the_lisa•4d ago

The overwatering shame spiral started with a single sagging pothos

I kept a pothos by my kitchen window for two years and thought yellow leaves were just its personality. Then I repotted it and saw the roots were basically mush at the bottom, like wet newspaper. Turns out I was watering on a fixed Tuesday schedule instead of checking the soil depth with my finger. My neighbor in apartment 4B pointed out the pot had no drainage holes and I had been drowning it slowly. Anyone else figure out their watering system was wrong after a plant looked fine for way too long?

c/botany-lovers

Can we talk about how my monstera doubled in size after 3 months by a north window?

Does the botanical garden in Savannah really need those tropical domes?

The 60 dollar orchid mix I tossed after one repot

Greenhouse vs. grow lights for winter herbs in Denver, huge difference

The overwatering shame spiral started with a single sagging pothos

PSA: My spider plant almost died because I kept moving it around the house

Switched from grow lights to a south-facing window after fighting leggy seedlings for two seasons

Why nobody talks about bottom watering for succulents

Can we talk about how I used to water my plants on a strict schedule?

My knockoff pruning shears finally broke so I bought a Felco pair and dang what a difference

Heard a guy at the nursery say 'root pruning is a scam' and it made me rethink my whole setup

Appreciation post: Seed starting indoors vs buying starts at the nursery

Had to choose between a cheap misting bottle and a quality sprayer for my ferns

When I chose a fiddle leaf fig over a monstera 3 years ago

Tried to root a cutting in a damp paper towel inside a ziploc... big mistake

Wandered into a greenhouse in Seattle yesterday and found a corpse flower about to bloom

PSA: That $40 orchid fertilizer set on Amazon was a total scam

Compared store-bought soil to a custom mix for my carnivorous plants last spring

I wasted $80 on a fancy grow light that was basically a scam

My peace lily FINALLY bloomed after 3 years of just leaves

My botany mentor in Seattle swore this fern would survive my dark apartment

Just realized I was overwatering my snake plant for 8 months straight

The free cactus I grabbed from a garage sale turned into a massive monster in 8 months

A comment on my blueberry bush post made me rethink my pH testing

Used to think moss was just a weed until my 5 day trip to the Olympic rainforest