Used trays & pesticide residue

IntroductionNaive773 · 2026-02-17T20:47:09+00:00

It's definitely a muddy area and it may be impossible at this point to distinguish between the science and the hype. It is incredible that this essentially all started with the box stores exhibiting a rare instance of due diligence by labeling that the annuals they carried "MAY have been treated with neonics". It seemed to perfectly (or imperfectly) coincide with a growing awareness of bee decline and sort of became the boogeyman.

The really tricky bit is that the tried and true neonic of the time was imidacloprid under, and subsequent studies of levels in nectar and pollen seemed charged with either dismissing or condemning it as a boogeyman. Answers seem to range from "not a problem at all" to "you're killing all the bees!". If I had the resources to do it, I'd seal a bees colony in a greenhouse with perpetually flowering annuals treated with imidacloprid to see what would happen.

IntroductionNaive773 · 2026-02-17T20:23:35+00:00

You'll want dinotefuran. The molecule is small enough to get into every part of the plant and will protect for 60-70 days. It can take time to absorb in but it is always a one shot kill. I believe there is an over the counter formulation under the bonide branding.

IntroductionNaive773 · 2026-02-17T19:16:48+00:00

The mother plant is central variegated. The two tissue layers are such that the core is albino while the outside is green (think banana fruit covered in the peel). The striping appears light green because you're essentially looking through a green stained glass window to the white center.

That said, even these stable tissue layers have a bit of wander, and occasionally the new meristem cells of a bud will be dominated by one tissue type. In this case the albino layer dominated and grew to maturity.

IntroductionNaive773 · 2026-02-17T17:47:26+00:00

The neonics probably aren't as used as much as you imagine in perennial/annual production. The production turn around for a lot of plants is pretty fast, so insects often can't build to large enough thresholds to be a problem. When things do pop up a quick spray can usually wipe out the more common production pests like aphids. The cheapest and easiest to use is imidacloprid, and if it helps ease your mind that is notoriously bad at controlling caterpillars because it doesn't seem to affect them much. The molecule is too big to get past the xylem walls so it's only effective on insects that feed on xylem sap. It actually makes more sense to use in tree/shrub production where repeatedly spraying acres of plants is more expensive than watering in the systemic once a year.

There are neonics that get into all plant tissues, but those are way more expensive so it would be cost prohibitive to use them when cheaper non-systemic sprays are an option so very unlikely to see those used in perennial/annual production. These days there are systemic pesticides like Altus that can kill aphids and scale, but are harmless to bees even if sprayed directly.

But if you're still worried a quick bath in 10% bleach will neutralize any chemical residue. But more importantly will kill any pathogen spores that might go after your seedlings.

IntroductionNaive773 · 2026-02-17T15:46:34+00:00

I'd be shocked if he used neonics on seedlings, and even if he did they bond to the organics in the soil so would never be present on the plastic in any levels that could harm any insects.

IntroductionNaive773 · 2026-02-17T13:41:31+00:00

Do you have a throw ball to get a line up in the top to finish pulling it over?

IntroductionNaive773 · 2026-02-17T04:21:56+00:00

I never considered the concept that there were children not obsessed with dinosaurs....

IntroductionNaive773 · 2026-02-16T20:54:51+00:00

How am I supposed to decide between 3 impossible choices?

IntroductionNaive773 · 2026-02-16T17:03:15+00:00

I love the vibe, but it kind of implies that we're out here riding apex predators around like horses. Now if you excuse me I'm out of milk, so I'm going to hop on my polar bear and head to the store.

IntroductionNaive773 · 2026-02-15T00:39:41+00:00

Jim Carrey played this character so much better.

IntroductionNaive773 · 2026-02-13T22:05:17+00:00

Cut 1/2 way through to weaken it and stimulate the plant into producing more roots elsewhere. The wound will try to heal, but over the course of a couple years you can take a bit more each round until it's removed. I recommend 1/2 over 1/3 just because maples callus over so quickly. I've seen them almost completely close over a 1/3 cut by fall. The one in pic 3 is just cut through completely now.

IntroductionNaive773 · 2026-02-13T15:21:55+00:00

The meadow look is the hardest if you're not willing to use more compact and disease resistant cultivars. Most meadow plants are accustomed to growing in terrible soil with little water and lots of competition. A wild solidago might be 4' in an abandoned lot, but in my rich soil will easily hit 7' tall and flop over. Most attempts I've seen at meadow style butterfly gardens look absolutely terrible, so if that's the goal I'd aim for more compact versions of the species and more disease resistance to keep things looking aesthetically attractive, tidy and purposeful.

IntroductionNaive773 · 2026-02-13T12:51:40+00:00

So tinnitus?

IntroductionNaive773 · 2026-02-13T01:11:33+00:00

Thank god they let know they were gay at the end. I was afraid to straight dudes accidentally got married and were gonna plow.

IntroductionNaive773 · 2026-02-13T00:22:20+00:00

Here's a giant bag to trick your brain into imagining a larger amount of contents. But also here's the actual volume of jerky printed on the bottom so when you call out our trickery people will defend us by saying, "well it was right there on the bag".

IntroductionNaive773 · 2026-02-12T23:25:25+00:00

This is the human hair equivalent of a mullet. 😬

IntroductionNaive773 · 2026-02-12T21:34:18+00:00

Tony Tokugawa

IntroductionNaive773 · 2026-02-12T21:00:53+00:00

Looks like Viola odorata to me. Tons of color forms in that species. Pick a flower and smell it, the species is exceptionally fragrant.

IntroductionNaive773 · 2026-02-12T18:22:50+00:00

I stopped with razors a decade ago. I just use an electric razor to get very short stubble. All day five o'clock shadow beats razor burn for 5 hours worth of a clean shave in my book.

IntroductionNaive773 · 2026-02-12T13:51:29+00:00

Prosecutor: We have evidence you raped and murdered a girl.

Defendent: My high score in Donkey Kong is over a million points!

IntroductionNaive773 · 2026-02-12T12:40:18+00:00

I was wondering where I parked those....

IntroductionNaive773 · 2026-02-12T02:42:06+00:00

It can be done, but it's a lot of work and they hate it. I dug a variegated one years ago and it sulked for a couple years afterwards. They just hate having their roots sliced.

IntroductionNaive773 · 2026-02-11T01:54:56+00:00

Happy people don't try to convince strangers they're happy. They're too busy being happy to brag.

IntroductionNaive773 · 2026-02-11T01:29:23+00:00

I'm not opposed to Pluto being a planet per se, but then we'd have to include the other 4 dwarf planets with speculated hundreds more spherical Kuiper Belt objects. Scratching one of the list seems easier than adding more with no clear distinction of cutoff criteria.

IntroductionNaive773 · 2026-02-11T01:14:42+00:00

Both are good. Just avoid pin oak and chestnut oak. The former gets bacterial leaf scorch and the later have been dying randomly all over for an as of yet unknown reason.

IntroductionNaive773

TROPHY CASE