Newbie question about potted impatiens
My daughter brought home a lilttle impatiens seedling for Mothers Day last year, and I practically killed it. OK, I completely killed it. :P She was really upset, so I bought a 6-pack from Home Depot and repotted them. They are now busting out everywhere, but I'm nervous about pruning it back because I'm afraid it'll be Dead Impatiens Part Deux. Any tips? Should I cut down the big stalks to where the little leaves are starting to burst out?
Comments (7)
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newbie potted blueberry question about fertilizer
Comments (24)Wow... good point Al. I totally forgot about that. *whoosh* OW - Don't you mean.. lower to 6? If you have a way to directly measure the pH, then it doesn't really matter what kind of water you use. Just add the vinegar or acetic acid until you get the desired pH for the irrigation water. If you don't want to mess with the irrigation water, and you're okay with an imprecise change, you could use acidified cotton burr compost. It contains sulfur that is at least partially metabolized, and is often used as an acidifying soil amendment for Roses and Azaleas. It's commonly used both in the ground, and in containers. I don't know much about it, but you can find plenty of information online. I'm confused, are soil from your land in the containers? Or do you also want to try growing blueberries in the ground, and want to acidify the soil quickly? If you're using raised beds and adding a lot of new soil / amendments, most good nurseries sell an Azalea or Rose bedding mix that is fairly acidic. The quick fix is ammonium sulfate, but it's extremely hard for the non-professional to use properly, and is very detrimental to your soil biology. No amendment or product can really change your soil's pH permanently - you have to keep treating it at least every season....See Morenewbie question on potting mix
Comments (2)Yup, too water retentive. You will likely see fairly poor plant growth due to high water/low oxygen conditions in the container. The compost is going to hurt you and the humus may as well. Compost will hold too much water and too little air for strong growth. Humus is hard to define. When I see bags of stuff at garden centers labeled 'humus' it's generally a euphemism for 'a bunch of rotting sawdust'. If you are going to use a covered container with a surface strip of fertilizer (the Earthbox method) then you want a mix that is sphagnum peat based for good wicking with acceptable aeration. If you won't be using the fertilizer strip on the surface, but prefer to mix controlled release fertilizer into the mix or simply add a water soluble fertilizer that stays in suspension to the water reservoir then you are freed up to use a growing mix that offers better aeration due to larger particle size. I won't get into that right now. I am very glad you asked the question before being fully committed. Please do track down sphagnum peat moss, mix with lime to offset acidity while adding calcium and use that for the basis of your SWC mix for the first year. Alternately go the a big box store and purchase any bagged planting mix where peat moss is the primary ingredient. The two ingredients you were about to use both hold less air and more water than peat moss. That's trouble and you would end up disappointed with the results. For pretty much anyone using a SWC my advice is the same. Use a sphagnum peat moss dominant mix the first year to get a frame of reference. After that if you want to get creative by using mixes to adjust the air/water holding properties feel free to do so....See MoreNewbie question about potting soil
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Comments (10)Hi Erik I'm on Long Island also, and honestly it's a little early to be starting tomato seeds just yet, I usually start near the end of March or even early April. BUT, since you did already, you will have to keep repotting them until the ground is warm enough (after hardening them off and acclimating them to the outdoors). Plant them deeper when you both repot them and also once they finally do get outdoors which should be mid May. Last year I was hardening off my tomato plants and we had a frost during the first week of May and I lost like 10 plants. I grow for myself and always start extra's to give away to family and friends. Do you have a light set up or will you be keeping your seedlings in a window? Alberta...See More
Emily R.
3 years ago
party_music50
3 years agoHere's a pic of a pot of impatiens that I overwintered indoors last year -- I brought them indoors in mid October (from my porch) and this photo was taken at the end of April. It was kept near a bank of north-facing windows and bloomed all winter.
Crange Allen
3 years agoMaybe get something like a hydroponic planter for yourself. I got one recently and will try to plant some herbs. It comes with its own light and water releasing mechanism so i really love it
I got it from https://eziponic.com/products/indoor-led-hydroponics-plant-gardening?variant=31592058617898Emily R.
3 years agoI pulled everything out of the little pot, separated out two stalks (these seemed like a very violent act :/ as the roots were pretty matted together... I hope they survive), and repotted most of the stems into a bigger one. I'm keeping 2 in the smaller one. I'm leaving the big pot inside for right now because I have this perhaps irrational notion that they were traumatized yesterday and I don't want to banish them to the elements (I'm in zone 9b).
SO: now, how do I keep both plants at reasonable sizes? Should I pinch or use snips? And where -- at the base of the flowers? Under the leaves?? I assume the leaves are needed to keep the plant fed/alive -- but they are pretty high up on the stalks.
party_music50
3 years ago
party_music50