House Plants: Advice, Pics, Sell and Trade

Is that true? I've been battling gnats for aaaaages and could use some extra angles of attack.

I was reading about it this morning as picked up some monstera clippings and they're riddled with them.
Apparently you need to thoroughly dry them out so got a pot drying in the sun now.

Hey are you still giving away cuttings and baby plants? I would like some

One of my orchids is close to death. All the leaves fell off over winter although it has a single green stem. I think it was a bit too cold and a bit too dry over the last few months. Any tips for revival?
I don't know what the type is called but the typical sort you see a lot for gifts.

We're looking at putting some shelves up in the top of our stairscase. Idk what you'd call it. But there will be no direct sunlight and little light for most of the year.

Anyone got any good suggestions?

I get them all flying and then hoovers the fuckers up

Finished drying out a couple of bowls worth of coffee grounds today. Put a good covering on the top, mixed it in and popped them outside for a bit. Let's see how that gets on.

Tried the apple cider and fairy liquid to no avail so next plan if coffee fails is diatomaceous earth

phalaenopsis?

I have one and what works well is:

Remove from pot and remove all the existing substrate, wash off any bits of bark stuck to the roots etc

Using something sterilized and very sharp, remove any dead brown roots and stems

Repot it using fresh orchid bark substrate, into an orchid pot that lets the roots get some light, can be cheap plastic or glass or something with holes in

After an initial light watering from above, water it only by letting it soak from below for a few hours

Give it a bit of a feed using orchid myst

I did this with ours with some scaffold board and a few bits and bobs from amazon. Thats my staircase that has almost no natural light to it.

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nice :)

Looks like the sticky pads have finally worked, seemed like there was always one or 2 flying around but I guess the life cycle is a few weeks and you need to wait until all the hatching has finished.

my chili plant is still looking a bit off. Google suggested that it wasn't getting enough light, so i've been putting it outside for a couple of hours in a south facing spot - all this seems to have done is bleached off the older foliage. But maybe the new growth is getting a bit stronger?

Dunno - grew it from seed and was happy enough inside for the first couple of years. i've fed it a bit to see if that helps.

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Rainwater

Just getting them to over winter is an achievement,, only other thing I've heard (from gqt soz) is they won't like the roots getting hot¿

@ChasnotRobert ..I'd also say getting them over the winter is an achievement - and besides that that pot seems to be very small, I'd give it something double or triple the size, use "tomato" soil, and ideally put a few centimeters of clay pebbles in the bottom of the pot - chilies like it if air can get to the roots. This also means watering is good, but let soil become a little dry in between as well so the soil isn't soggy and thick constantly).
Good luck!
We do also have a chili thread by the way 🙂

Awesome - thanks. Will re pot and head over to the chilli thread :)

Aha, thought I'd order some after this review.
Just went to check on them and saw 2 walking across it, struggling, but then fly off.

4.6* on amazon, not sure how - and yes I did peel the sticker off

the first round was covered in them, these are the ones left in for for a few weeks.

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Mind sharing the link to which you bought, they seem much more effective. Though I definitely don't have as many so could be related.

Now that you guys mention it - the ones I bought this year also weren't great, unfortunately the ones I had before (that I could recommend) are not available any more..

I have bought the following before and they have been successful, although using a slightly different version now.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stickers-Catchers-Dual-Side-Whiteflies-Leafminers/

I have used sticky pads, mosquito bits, DE, drying out for 6 months. I truly believe it is completely impossible to get rid and even if you do they’ll come back via newly bought plants or even having windows open in summer. A combination of all three and I have mostly got rid but sticky pads are doing 95% of the work. I am also not convinced they are attracted to the yellow so I just try and get as much coverage over the soil.

I would say the DE doesn’t seem to be as successful as I hoped. Gnats seem to be able to get through but i’ve never witnessed it and when you water from the bottom it can soak back through the soil if not careful and soak the DE making it useless anyway.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/UK-Grow-Diatomaceous-Eco-Friendly-Available

It was these ones
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Double-Sided-Catchers-Protect-Control-Mosquitoes/dp/B09QSH2QF8?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1&psc=1

I've found the expanded clay pellets work fairly well, but they're not cheap and you need quite a layer

Ooh I bought some of those on a whim. They're for keeping things humid? I haven't actually used them anywhere yet.

I just use them as a barrier on top of the soil. People say they control humidity but they dry out so quickly you'd have to overwater. Perhaps if you're misting they'd capture some moisture and release it over time?
Mixing them into the soil might help with water retention but also free draining?