c/botany-lovers

Overheard a guy at the Denver Botanic Gardens say succulents are 'lazy plants'

I was at the Denver Botanic Gardens last weekend and some guy walked past a row of echeverias and called them 'lazy plants for lazy people.' I got kinda tight because I have like 30 of them at home and they take real care. But it did make me wonder if the whole succulent craze dumbs down what real botany is about. Has anyone else run into people judging plant choices like that?

3 comments

wright.lisa•3d ago

TIL putting a clear plastic tub over my propagating cuttings made roots show up in half the time

I've been messing around with propagating some pothos and philodendron cuttings for a few months now, and I kept losing leaves to wilting before roots would even start. About three weeks ago I grabbed a cheap clear plastic storage tub from the dollar store, poked a few holes in the lid, and set it over my propagation station. The humidity inside that thing jumped way up, maybe to like 80% or so. Within about 10 days I saw root nubs starting where before it took me almost a month to see anything. Even the cuttings that were already looking sad perked up and started pushing out new growth. I keep the tub slightly cracked now so it doesn't get moldy, but the difference was pretty obvious. Has anyone else tried a humidity dome setup for regular houseplant cuttings, or do you just stick with a glass of water and hope for the best?

3 comments

kim693•3d ago

Watered my snake plant with ice cubes for 3 months and it got root rot

I read some blog that said watering with ice cubes prevents overwatering because it melts slow. Made sense at the time. So for about three months I tossed two ice cubes in the pot every Saturday. Plant looked fine until it started turning yellow and mushy at the base. Pulled it out and the roots were basically mush. My neighbor who runs a nursery said the cold shocks the roots and they can't dry out properly between waterings. Learned that slow water is not the same as gentle water. Has anyone else fallen for this trick and killed a plant?

3 comments

emery19•5d ago

My neighbor Dave made me rethink how I water my tomatoes

I was out in the yard last week doing my usual evening watering routine (you know, just spraying everything down with the hose). My neighbor Dave, who grows these massive beefsteak tomatoes every year, walked over and asked me why I was watering the leaves instead of the roots. I kind of laughed it off at first, but he showed me how the tomatoes he waters at the soil level have way less blight and bigger fruit. He explained that wet leaves just invite fungus and diseases, especially in humid weather. I started watering at the base of my plants every other day instead of daily overhead showers. It's only been 10 days and my Roma tomatoes already look perkier and I'm not seeing those yellow spots on the lower leaves. Anyone else have a gardening neighbor who dropped some knowledge that changed your whole approach?

c/botany-lovers

Overheard a guy at the Denver Botanic Gardens say succulents are 'lazy plants'

TIL putting a clear plastic tub over my propagating cuttings made roots show up in half the time

Watered my snake plant with ice cubes for 3 months and it got root rot

My neighbor Dave made me rethink how I water my tomatoes

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TIL a local nursery owner told me I was watering my succulents all wrong

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