Sticky Spider Silk
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 [...]
Terrarium Conundrum
Dear Ivy,
I have a large 55 gallon terrarium (fish tank). It has gravel on the bottom, and soil on top. Do you think the Thirsty Light would help? I think I have been over watering my plants and ferns.
-Terrarium Tom
Dear Tom,
The Thirsty Light moisture meter will surely help you to curb your over watering habit!
Terrariums [...]
Welcome Back!
Hello, fellow gardening enthusiasts! Ivy here, with my first column of the new year!
I’m back after a long hiatus, and boy, have I learned a lot! I’ve been planting and potting and cloning to my little heart’s content, and now I’m ready to share some of my experience with you.
This year in Ask Ivy, I’m [...]
What Are These White Spots?
Question: What are the white spots on my trailing ivy?
Answer: Well, they could be lots of things… A really great thing to do would be to invest in a magnifying glass (I use the word “invest” here loosely, since magnifying glasses can be bought most anywhere and are pretty cheap). It is underestimated how helpful [...]
Disconcerting Droplets
Question: My Ivy plant will have water drops on the leaves in the morning, what causes this and do I need to do something?
Answer: Well, first we must figure out the “when, where, and how” of the water droplets.
“When”: You say it is in the morning, which leads me to believe that the droplets are [...]
Croton Comparison
Question: I have two curly leaf Croton plants and one is losing its leaves. From the top to the bottom to the plant is becoming bare. It’s potted outdoors and the soil seems moist enough. New foliage seems to be coming in the same area as the fallen leaves. Why do you think it’s losing [...]
Capsicum Casualty
Question: If you “botch” a transplant and cut or break a significant amount of a plant’s roots, should you: pro-actively trim foliage; trim foliage as it appears to die off; or leave it the heck alone (after transplanting, of course)?
Specifically asking about capsicum annuum, but curious if the instructions would be nearly universal.
The plant in [...]
It’s raking time!
I remember when my parents used to make my little brother and I rake the yard as kids. We would gather all the dead leaves from under the tall sycamores into little piles, then scrape and push all the little piles together until we had one gigantic mound of leaves. Then we would jump into [...]
Condensed Coffee Concerns
I’ve been putting coffee grounds into my house plants. They like the extra boost the ground beans provide to the soil, but I’ve noticed that the coffee tends to become compacted on the surface, inhibiting evaporation, and hindering proper water absorption.
To remedy this, I just broke up the soil on top of my house plants [...]
Banana Answers
Question: I bought two dwarf banana plants. I kept one and gave the other one to my sister. Well, mine died, but hers is still growing. I don’t know why. Do you know where I can get another dwarf banana plant?
Answer: Try looking up some local greenhouses in the phone book. This is a tropical [...]