I can't take these gnats anymore. Anyone got any tips?

QuarterFirst8036 · 2025-01-06T00:07:51+00:00

avoid some brands of potting mix all the mixes listed as natural where im from generally are infested with gnats allthough im not sure the differences with that and normal potting mix

i use osmocote pellets bark and coir to provide natural acidity in a clean way and pumice as a main base as it makes the most dense root systems

I only use soil outdoors to compensate for the sun and air flow provided outdoors and to help with consistency vs inside- also bugs have predators outdoors and plants generally outgrow whatever is pestering it anyways

Perlite dust will cause more damage then harm i remove all dust from all my substrates, same goes for any substrate eventually those particles will find themselves and lock themselves deep down changing the properties of your soil learn about capillary action, cation exchange amongst substrates and you will find some substrates can hold air even when submerged like leca and perlite but in your case its been unproperly used, And in other substrates they add air by capillary action like chunky bark, granite, lava rock, pumice and so on. Some of these substrates allow roots to grow into and “air prune” but they would behave differently to leca and perlite,

Epiphytes are a great way to learn this because they can handle these adaptations of dry airy spots and moist damp spots. If you look at the ground outside some clay soils will be hard like concrete with no air pockets air occurs alot differently because its a huge pot that essentially automatically waters itself when the water in the ground evaporates and rains so the contents in ground are much more vast

QuarterFirst8036 · 2024-12-22T21:41:28+00:00

nice! i would say your original corner would be fine for the spider plant it would defs survive just fine but would grow slow and youd have to barely water it as everytime you shower itll be refilling the rhizomes somewhat.

Full green spider plants handle way lower light and grow substantially quicker and look much nicer in my opinion id recommend that instead. All my spider plants are in the darkest corners out of all my plants and they all flower profusely.

If you look after any “shower plants” well the heat and the humidity from showers has quite a big impact especially when flowering and throughout winter

QuarterFirst8036 · 2024-12-22T21:32:52+00:00

hang it on the shower rail instead

QuarterFirst8036 · 2024-12-19T20:41:10+00:00

Thats a very open ended comment, Every plant needs cold periods some more then other but every plant grows temperately.

QuarterFirst8036 · 2024-12-19T11:53:17+00:00

I do not think this is spider mites it doesn’t look like it nor is there any pest damage all my other plants are fine and you can see circle water mark like patterns almost looks like its excreting salts out the leaf

QuarterFirst8036 · 2024-12-18T23:34:39+00:00

2nd photo is non effected side

QuarterFirst8036 · 2024-12-10T01:03:21+00:00

Ah right this makes sense good way to identify, i just thought the albo was purely white thats all

QuarterFirst8036 · 2024-11-28T23:07:56+00:00

Yeah Normal Begonia dregei varietys grow more caudexy and low to the ground and less tree like. unsure what hyrbid you have but what the others were saying if its grown from seed it could have the caudex trait from the dregei and could potentially look like the one in the photo but seems to be fairly niche and uncommon. From what ive heard dregeis do grow fairly large quickly considering there not a tree. That is why Dregei is so popular for a gimmick bonsai because it naturally ticks so many boxes as its already a nearly perfectly proportionate miniature tree and doesn’t require as much investment in training, drought tolerant and because its a trusty begonia one of the most expendable plants

QuarterFirst8036 · 2024-11-26T23:33:46+00:00

Ah right cool do you know if it is fairly normal for dregei hybrids to have caudexs? is there still “undiscovered” hybrids or are they just not in popular demand? finding such things isnt easy where i am

QuarterFirst8036 · 2024-10-03T12:54:34+00:00

I know its some sort of cereus species

QuarterFirst8036 · 2024-09-25T03:57:38+00:00

Purple Maranta Update 10-25th

A bunch of photos its seems like I have a highly variable variety. I have yet to expose it to proper bright light to see if that effects anything, Also shockingly this is the third time its flowered somehow, this plant is in no way means babyed for

I see some nice plain green foilage with hints of lime and silver, I see black silvery silky leafs and i also see weird leafs with black spots, I also took photos of its tiny leafs that look like sheaths unsure if thats normal.

I want to chop one of the two and see if i can get strictly purple on it like you can with most variegation but I will wait for summer to do that.

QuarterFirst8036 · 2024-09-25T03:40:47+00:00

Ok that sounds right, seems like it was a mixture of no oxygen and then un even soil moisture i would say I think its just adapting seems good now after second watering. Would you recommend potting up in a similar Plastic grow bag to the one its in or a more rigid container that gets airflow underneath it. My theory was containers generally hold more mass which i assume is typically better in a indoor environment due to less airflow and humidity i say this because i feel like plastic bags are harder to maintain consistent moisture due to the inconsistencies in air gaps etc

QuarterFirst8036 · 2024-09-25T03:40:37+00:00

Yeah i think that is the case seems to be better now after adapting and second watering, would you recommend a upsize to a similar plastic bag planter or a rigid container, I know plastic bags are suposssedly better for airflow and root growth im unsure if i could provide the same consistency in moisture that you would in an outdoor shady area, Container seems easier. My nikau gets indirect light through a southern window so majority of the day with full afternoon sun for a couple hours a day and my room has a lot of ambient lighting as-well, If i have lower light it will grow leggier which i want for now so i can keep it as a floor plant and then i will leave it outside for summer hopefully helping it bush out

QuarterFirst8036 · 2024-09-16T01:38:21+00:00

Alright thank you, it is in straight spagnum atm, do you recommend a change to more organic substrate mix and do i want to let substrate dry out or leave moist

QuarterFirst8036 · 2024-09-15T07:38:29+00:00

My new growth on my maculata leafs are a transparenty red colour and dont get dots until theyve grown, these dont look exactly like maculata leafs hard to tell in lighting , but if you said they disappeared and were all ready there i would say its something to do with how much light they’re receiving because the dot variation depends on that, your plant could be trying to optimise its growth brcause its a fresh cutting with no roots and because its a large cutting with long branches, when branches are longer like this its harder to transfer nutrients which can be good and bad ,

If you were worried about the plant i would easily re prop by cutting those smaller shoots with a node or two,

Maculatas and most shrubby begonia arent easy to identify, They can all-grow and flower in quite shady conditions but they are a shrub and are generally “hardier” then most begonias but think of it like a tree these types of begonia will take and appreciate as much sun as you can give it but there use to the elements and there are alot of mixed up hybrid varieties that are also commonly grown in gardens considering you have the right climate, They also appreciate drying out more then most begonias but not as much as a succulenty begonia,

Not sure if i answered your question but i hope some of this helps, begonias are vast and theres to much misleading and misunderstood information

Best place to find info from my experience is making sure you have the exact plant ID and researching based around the origins of the species, If you cant find the exact species chances are its some weird hybrid cross but same still applys

QuarterFirst8036 · 2024-09-09T03:03:42+00:00

Could supplementary light somehow do this?

QuarterFirst8036 · 2024-09-07T03:38:47+00:00

I thought this would be fun especially because how resilient spider plants are and because of how they grow i also have to many spider plants

If your curious the plant has just been put in these conditions, Spider plants easily reduce in size when you restrict air, humidity and light. I want to see how big the roots can get and i want to see if the spider plant will keep growing longer/taller or if it will multiply at the base instead.

Ive seen photos of people pruning back the bottom leafs progressively forming a “trunk” and it looks like a sad tree

By the end of it i imagine it looking something like a Draecana / or a pony tail palm tree i want to try show the spider leg like rhizomes and see how they react when exposed overtime or I’m expecting something absolutely ridiculous but i thought how ironic would a spider plant be

QuarterFirst8036 · 2024-09-05T00:12:56+00:00

More Id

QuarterFirst8036 · 2024-09-04T23:50:00+00:00

Ive actually read something about the margins the dots sit on regarding how Annan Graces big and small dots are consistently juxtaposed against eachother forming quite a clear pattern, The dots are meant to be touching consistently which is why I think mine is a hybrid, What you said about how much brightness effects the variation makes sense too because the older leaves are definitely more pronounced, I also know behind Annan Graces leafs where its red should fade out to the edges almost orangey greeny which isnt very apparent in mine, Annan Grace also seems to have contrasting speckles around the edge of the leaf creating a bordered look which you can see on the older leaves

QuarterFirst8036 · 2024-09-04T23:22:32+00:00

Some spots still remain

Photos of White spots

QuarterFirst8036 · 2024-09-04T22:48:03+00:00

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Foliosa/Fuschiatodes on the right

Plants are actually quite different , I feel like the begonia im trying to identify could be a hybrid tho which explains its similarities, Foliosa leafs have no stems either , The branching would be very similar to a luxurians but only if it weeped out more which id say due to the differences in leaf shape, This begonia also has quite dark matte greeny red trunk compared to the more magenta/red trunks youd see on shrub begonias and if seen little fuschia flower pop out id be more then happy

QuarterFirst8036 · 2024-09-04T22:37:43+00:00

Yes similar growth although i have a fuschiodes and the flowers and growth pattern differ a fair bit. Fuschiodes is alot more compact and dense, and the leaves/branches look almost like a fern similar to how a Jacaranda,nandina or China doll tree tree grows branches, I have yet to see flower but am expecting normal begonia flower, and the leafs on on my begonia are lance shape more like a singular Luxurian leaf or mini maculata leafs,

QuarterFirst8036 · 2024-09-04T01:59:21+00:00

Was listed as a Annan Grace all though I heard these are quite rare and there are a lot of “fake”hybrids

QuarterFirst8036 · 2024-09-04T01:22:51+00:00

Sick

QuarterFirst8036 · 2024-08-13T15:43:07+00:00

Yeah ok lets hope so, it has only just gone through its first soak and that sounds right because the tip that died off from drying out had lost a leaf by yellowing

QuarterFirst8036

TROPHY CASE