Does anyone know anything about gardening?

Yep, Musa bajoo, hardy down to -10 apparently. Dug a hole to put it in and encountered a great hunk of concrete right in the middle. Typical. Managed to break it out eventually.
Planted it about 1' deep, infilled with 50/50 soil from the hole and manure.
The label says "impossible to overwater or overfeed". Should grow to somewhere between 3 and 6(!)m

1 Attachment

I had this chili plant indoors, then it got these bugs. So I put it outside and sprayed with neam(sp?) oil (probably too consentrated) and all the leaves fell off. No bugs tho.

Now after being back inside they're back. The plant has some flowers on the way.

What to do?

1 Attachment

Peak Hydrangea. View from my bedroom window this morning.

3 Attachments

Have a look for ladybird larvae outside, a couple of those will sort the aphids out in no time.

Aphids are a constant job, diluted fairy liquid kills them.

But the plant may not be happy/ weakened? I only had big breakouts on rescue plants / plants that were just repotted and weakened.

Cheers. I've bought some.

Do you think they'll cook if they're inside on a windowsill?

I have also just repotted the plant to a bigger pot.

No chillis love it hot & full sun. >>> chilli heads

Every single time I have grown chillies indoors, they have become infested with aphids.

Sorry I meant the ladybird larvae.

That's comforting. Did you do anything about it? Or did it adversely effect your grow.

I never successfully managed to get rid of them (didn't want to use chemicals). It was the same every year!

It's dry and hot periods like this when I wish I hadn't grown so much. Takes an age to water the garden.

1 Attachment

Excellent. I do like to see banana trees around the place. Couple of gardens round here with decent size ones.

We bought this last year and, unlike pretty much everything else in this garden, it has survived and thrived.

It's actually just about the right size for another spot too but have no idea what it is. Can anyone identify it so I can get another?

Looks like some kind of solidago maybe? Aka goldenrod. How old is it? If I’m right (lol, big if) and it’s more than a year old then you should be able to divide the rootstock in springtime and get yourself another one for freebies.

ladybird larvae [temperature tolerance of]

I don’t know, but they may apparently not pupate above 35°C. I reckon they’ll seek out shady spots themselves eg under leaves, but perhaps a bit of tactical newspaper on the window to offer some shade if it gets super hot?

1 Attachment

Cheers. That does look like it.

I don't remember it being too expensive so will probably pick up another rather than risk having two dead ones.

FFS.

Fail on my part. I thought that was a link to buying the larvae. Just had two glossy brochures through the post.

So no need to worry about whether they'll survive the heat of the windowsill 😭/😂

Oh well. Do the brochures have any advice? Might as well have a look for yourself, here is a vacated pupa from under a hazel leaf. Larvae are quite easy to spot once you have your eye in, they’re pretty fast moving, tiny black/orange aphid death machines. Don’t let the pupae get too hot of course, expect ladybirds in max 2 weeks. Unlike larvae they have wings, so adults perhaps not as likely to remain where you want them…

I’m interested to know more about the vendor, do they sell them in bulk for farmers etc, or is it more for the windowsill market?

1 Attachment

So our garden is pretty small ("lawn" is 4m square for reference) but being south facing and end of terrace it gets a lot of sun and has very little shade for a lot of the day.

Any suggestions for anything that can provide a bit of shade but doesn't take up a load of space when not in use (e.g. I was looking at parasols but they have massive bases from what I can find). Wouldn't mind something semi-permanent, attached to a wall or something, if needs be.

Any bright ideas?

I’d sink a couple of poles in corners and rig shade from them (also, washing line). Those trees would not be my first choice for a small space—nothing else will live, and they will want to grow to 30m+—will solve your shade issue in a few years if not vigilantly trimmed though

Awning attached to the back of the house?

My mate has one of these

1 Attachment

Yeah sail was my first thought. Or one of those gazibo frame things where you can adjust/remove the shade bits.

Would also echo the point about getting rid of those trees. Tallish, but not dense trees positioned to filter the afternoon sun would be a better shout.

Edit: a bit like this:

Iirc @soul has one from a proper brand that does a range of them out of decent Alu.

I have this thing.

Definitely does a great job of keeping the sun off that area during the day.
The panels do not completely retract (though you can remove them) so wouldn't say it's the right solution for @aggi