Dear Ivy,
I’m learning about plants and love the Pothos plant. My question is this: I looked up your blog saw how to clone a Pothos so I did it. It’s not dying, but it’s not growing the roots yet out of the nodes and do I have to wait until Spring or Summer to do [...]
Here’s a photo of another of my favorite garden defenders!
A dragonfly! They are members of the family Odonata, and they are always hungry! A dragonfly can eat its own body weight in bugs in an hour! They help control the mosquito population, which gives them big points in my book.
This one is an exception to [...]
When the heat gets to be too much, set your plants in a few inches of water. This will allow them to fully absorb all the liquid they can hold, without you having to worry about over or under watering. You can spray or mist the top of the plant and get all the dust [...]
I’ve been harvesting quarts and quarts of raspberries over the last few weeks! A couple times a week, I go out in the back garden and pluck a few quarts of the delicious fruits. The plants I have are called “Everbearing”, and they should produce all Summer. I pruned them back really heavily at first. [...]
I’m so happy! I just found an itty bitty baby praying mantis!
The picture is a little blurry because he’s soooo small, (he was less than a centimeter long) but when this little guy grows up, he’ll be a ferocious predator that will help protect my plants! These helpful bugs are the reason I refuse to [...]
Dear Ivy,
What is Argiope Aurantia?
-Intrigued in Indiana
Dear Intrigued,
Argiope Aurantia is the Latin name for the common black and yellow garden spider. All organisms are classified by a Latin, or scientific name. This is their “official” name, since common names can often be confused. This spider is a beautiful and helpful addition to any garden. The [...]
Dear Ivy,
I have a five gallon tank I set up last spring for fly traps I had some nasty cats and they peed in the tank! Is it ok to put fly traps in it? And is there any way to clean the dirt? I could keep putting clean water in it to clean it [...]
Dear Ivy,
I have an ivy plant with spider silk on the leaves, how do I clean it off?
-Clean as a Whistle
Dear Whistle,
First, raise your right hand and repeat after me:
“I (your name) promise not kill any spiders that live in my plants.
They are helpful creatures and they control pests.
If I absolutely, positively cannot deal with [...]
Dear Ivy,
Is bringing potted plants into our bedroom during the evening a healthful practice?
-Winkin, Blinkin and Sod
Dear Winkin, et all…
Here is a short lesson in botany…
When plants are exposed to sunlight during the day, they use their energy for photosynthesis. This creates oxygen as a by-product. During the evening, when there is no sunlight, and [...]
Dear Ivy,
Are there any edible plants that will survive as indoor plants?
-Hungry Heather
http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1970
Dear Hungry,
There are loads of edible plants that will thrive indoors! It’s only a matter of what you want to put into them that limits your options. Most plants that have a high output (i.e.- that create food or lage flowers) need high [...]
