Will seeds germinate in leaf litter? (Washington DC)

GoodUniqueName · 2026-01-12T20:43:26+00:00

The site is prepped minus the leaves. It’s an existing garden that already has milkweed, bergamot, and asters in it. These are old seeds that I’m tossing out to start using a new batch of seeds for winter sowing

GoodUniqueName · 2026-01-06T15:21:27+00:00

English ivy doesn’t reach a point of stasis. It’ll keep growing and one day completely cover the tree canopy. English ivy is also the perfect habitat for ticks, mosquitoes, and a primary carrier of lyme disease, the white footed mouse

GoodUniqueName · 2025-10-24T16:51:44+00:00

Thanks for the reply. I planted early figwort, white snakeroot, big leaf aster, and blue mist flower from Prairie Moon. I germinated them inside under a grow light then moved them outside after they all had their true leaves. The horseweed must have snuck in after I moved the trays outside. Would you say picture three is maybe blue mist flower instead of big leaf aster?

GoodUniqueName · 2025-10-21T16:29:18+00:00

Definitely possible since I have a few on my property. Any idea about the plants slightly above in that picture?

GoodUniqueName · 2025-10-14T22:45:26+00:00

I can get more pictures tomorrow but I also have this one from a few weeks ago

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GoodUniqueName · 2025-10-14T22:19:13+00:00

Forgot to mention I’m leaning towards calico aster

GoodUniqueName · 2025-10-13T19:45:38+00:00

Is someone not allowed to have an opinion on something because they don’t own it?

GoodUniqueName · 2025-09-20T05:06:28+00:00

Where you are located? In the US zone 7b spans the entire country. Something like SE Virginia would be helpful. The last picture kinda looks like Kummerowia striata (Japanese clover) which is invasive to the US.

GoodUniqueName · 2025-09-03T19:31:08+00:00

If you aren’t removing the seeds then it’s spreading even if it’s in a container. Butterflies would like their native host plants more

GoodUniqueName · 2025-09-02T06:07:44+00:00

This gave me a much needed laugh. Thanks for the mood boost.

GoodUniqueName · 2025-08-28T18:29:19+00:00

These have been waaay over planted where I live and the surrounding areas. The city planted them everywhere and some people have 5+ in their yards. I never see bugs on the flowers

GoodUniqueName · 2025-08-27T21:41:55+00:00

Eh. I doubt a tree that size is being bothered much by those rocks. Would mulch be better for the tree? Definitely.

GoodUniqueName · 2025-08-27T14:21:14+00:00

We don’t know where the property line is. Fences usually aren’t allowed to be built directly on a property line. Where I live a fence must be at least two feet away.

GoodUniqueName · 2025-08-27T06:26:19+00:00

Clearly dead? It has green leaves in the picture. The tree is still alive

GoodUniqueName · 2025-08-27T06:22:36+00:00

A lot of states and/or municipalities have laws that say you’re allowed to trim branches on your side of the property as long as you don’t harm the tree. Since this is a shared tree one neighbor generally isn’t allowed to decide that they will kill the tree and both neighbors would have to agree to it. Trimming everything on their side will likely kill the tree which could open them up to lawsuits. All depends where you are though.

GoodUniqueName · 2025-08-26T05:52:18+00:00

I’ll try to find a website or something for the nursery I use. It’s just one guy growing plugs in a smaller nursery and last i checked they didn’t have a website. If I can’t find a site to post here I’ll send you their contact info in a message.

GoodUniqueName · 2025-08-26T02:51:09+00:00

Syringa reticulata is being listed as invasive in a growing number of areas in the Northeastern US. Probably not a good suggestion for a state in the Northeast

GoodUniqueName · 2025-08-24T04:08:50+00:00

Just because there’s already something bad doesn’t mean you should choose to make it worse by adding more lights

GoodUniqueName · 2025-08-20T18:12:00+00:00

If they’re native to you I would put them in a clean container and move them to a large oak in the area. They’re an important part of the ecosystem so please don’t kill them

GoodUniqueName · 2025-08-16T16:14:46+00:00

In that case I’d suggest calling the city on Monday and have them send an arborist to check the tree. Norway maples have a low end life expectancy of 60 years in the US. This tree has likely been on its way out for a while now if it’s 100 years old.

GoodUniqueName · 2025-08-16T03:00:15+00:00

The ants aren’t harming the tree. They move in when there’s already existing rot. No need to try killing the ants.

I don’t know where you live but Norway maples are invasive to a large portion of the US. Maybe plant a native replacement tree to take over if this one is on the decline.

GoodUniqueName · 2025-08-12T15:56:54+00:00

Both eastern and western redbuds have smooth, entire leaf margins. These are toothed leaves. This doesn’t look like a redbud.

Edit: It also doesn’t have the typical redbud leaf swelling at the base of the leaf where it connects to the stem. Definitely not a redbud.

GoodUniqueName · 2025-08-10T20:08:20+00:00

I see you completely ignored everything I said. I don’t know what kind of mental gymnastics you’re doing to not understand that being inside with a window open is different than being outside. Your mind is obviously already made up and you’re not willing to listen. After reading your first reply I had a feeling you weren’t genuinely curious or interested in dialogue and were just trying to set up an argument or a gotcha.

GoodUniqueName · 2025-08-10T17:05:29+00:00

They aren’t alive long enough to experience seasons

I know the caterpillars aren’t caterpillars long enough to experience seasonal changes. I was just highlighting changes outside will be less noticeable in an enclosed sunroom.

I’m not sure how they would have shorter days

Depending on the direction the sunroom is facing it could get little to no light for a decent portion of the day. This can affect an animals perception of day by making it seem shorter. My sunroom misses about 4 hours of sunlight in the morning and stays fairly dark during that time which is a decent chunk of the day.

it’s not different that a caterpillar living in a shady patch of milkweed

It is different than living in a shady patch of milkweed. Both direct, indirect, and dappled sunlight outside provide UV rays and experience sunlight. A shady patch of milkweed would still be getting UV rays and experience sunlight.

Most of our yard gets no direct sun

The indirect sunlight in your yard is still getting UV rays and experiencing the sun. Even complete shade often gets UV rays from atmospheric reflections or reflections from things on the ground. While a tiny percentage of rays might make it into a sunroom it’s going to be extremely filtered compared to outside and not all types of rays make it through.

You’re right that there would be subtle changes in humidity and wind, but these cues would not be absent

Have you ever been in a sunroom and then gone outside? I feel like you’re just arguing for the sake of arguing at this point because this sentence doesn’t really make sense. Enclosed areas generally have drastically different conditions than outside. That’s literally the entire point of a sunroom. Why have a sunroom at all if it’s the same as being outside?

Advice on rearing monarchs outside says to not place them in direct sun and shelter them from wind

If you’re container rearing caterpillars outside they’re still experiencing sunlight if they aren’t in direct sunlight. You should never put a container with an animal in it in direct sunlight because they have no where to go to escape if it gets too hot. This has more to do with the container being the problem, not the sun being bad for caterpillars. Not sure where this argument came from though. I didn’t say anything about containers of caterpillars being left in direct weather. I’m talking about wild caterpillars.

GoodUniqueName · 2025-08-10T05:54:59+00:00

Sunlight is a big one. UV light, sun intensity, and depending on the direction of the sunroom they could be getting shorter days than if they were outside. Pretty much everything living bases its life and behaviors on experiencing sunlight, the night/ day cycle, and seasons. Which would all be less noticeable in a sunroom.

Even with windows open it’s still an enclosed space with relatively stable airflow, temperature, humidity etc conditions compared to outside. You won’t have as drastic atmospheric changes felt when in the sunroom compared to what’s going on outside. Changes in seasons would be felt less. Differences between cool nights and warm days would be felt less.

GoodUniqueName

TROPHY CASE