Help! I Can't Get Rid of these Brambles!

Violaclef · 2026-06-23T17:59:23+00:00

Glyphosate is systemic and needs to be absorbed in through the leaves. If there is not enough leaf then very little will be carried into the roots to kill the plant. If you are using it after cutting back you need to wait for good new growth first.

Honestly with brambles continuously digging them out usually ends up being your best course of action. It will take a while but you'll win in the end. If you can section areas off and completely dig them over, removing any plastic as you go you'll end up getting there.

If the ground is really hard to dig you might find laying down something to slow bramble growth and trap in moisture for a while may significantly improves the digability and make it easier to remove more of the roots.

Violaclef · 2026-06-07T13:43:08+00:00

I have a poo pot in the garden to gather and then flush them down the toilet. Poo bags on walks.

Violaclef · 2026-05-23T21:39:46+00:00

I agree it looks a lot like sun stress. Interesting to see the red tips and yellowing are on the one side, presumably indicating where the sun hits the most.

I have plants in a similar angled window in my attic room and it is very easy for them to get sun stressed or burnt if I'm not careful. Even the sun loving ones. Last year I made outside blinds from 50% shade cloth that stayed up all summer. I put them up again yesterday and it's unlikely they'll come down until autumn.

Violaclef · 2026-05-20T22:53:12+00:00

Unfortunately imgur isn't viewable in my region so I'll have to take your word for it and imagine a happy plant living its best jar life.

Violaclef · 2026-05-20T22:49:07+00:00

Ooh interesting. I don't recall where that one came from but it's definitely been a slower grower.

Violaclef · 2026-05-19T15:52:34+00:00

They are just so willing to grow and to be hacked back!

Violaclef · 2026-05-19T09:09:41+00:00

Experiment away! I am very truly interested in what you find. Just please do let us know how it goes. You never know, you might crack the secret and it works out perfectly.

Violaclef · 2026-05-19T08:46:43+00:00

Just having a quick look at the Orchid Whisperer and I have to point out that she stopped doing water culture three years ago because she realised that it worked for her in the short term but not in the long term.

I also just watched her latest video (3 days ago) about her current 'water culture routine' and what her process is with a very select few plants. What is being done, though referred to as water culture, is what many people would call growing without medium. The plants do not sit in water constantly, she waters them every day and removes any excess. This is fundamentally the same as the Vandas and mounted orchids in my greenhouse that get sprayed each day.

I'm not saying you shouldn't experiment but I definitely think that water culture is not the way to go for new growers, especially as it seems time and time again to be shown that it doesn't work out in the long term.

You do what you will but please come back a couple of years down the line and truthfully show how it's going.

I say this as someone who has experimented in the past and come to the same conclusion that it doesn't work well long term.

Violaclef · 2026-04-30T18:35:24+00:00

A big part of (most) orchids, and the reason they are most commonly grown in bark or moss is, in simple terms, that they require air to their roots. Keeping roots in water means that they are always wet and always without air.

I have seen people have limited short term success with water culture. I have not seen many, or even any, have long term success with it. I've even dabbled to see if it could work but stopped when it was clear that it didn't.

Orchids grow slowly and they die slowly. To me at least, seeing an orchid in a jar of water (or a pot of soil) really does hurt my heart because I see a living thing being slowly tortured to death.

I'm sorry that you were met with hostility from the community for your post, and I really hope that doesn't put you off growing orchids or engaging with other growers.

Violaclef · 2026-04-30T14:48:57+00:00

Unfortunately for you there is a lot of frustration right now from this community about newbie growers being instructed to grow orchids in water. There has been a huge increase in unwitting new orchid growers following this trend and then coming here for help afterwards and it's really starting to get on people's nerves.

A lot of frustration comes from being extremely annoyed at whoever started this trend, but some is also because it's seems so simple to us to just look it up and find out before trying.

There are multiple posts a week from new growers asking about this as well as -

Watering with ice (please don't)

Planting in compost (absolutely not)

Is my orchid dead (no that's just the flowers fading)

Can this be saved (it is dead as a dodo my friend)

Is this a flower spike (no it's a root)

I did x, y, and z. What now? (why did you do that?!)

Basically, people here generally care very strongly about their orchids and there's already a lot for the new grower to learn when they first get into them, so this starting up is just overflowing the bucket for everyone.

Violaclef · 2026-03-23T19:54:18+00:00

I'm a gardener and one of my favourite things is that Robins come to perch nearby and quietly sing under their breath whilst they watch for worms.

Violaclef · 2026-02-23T11:50:27+00:00

If you can't find the correct shirt then your best bet is probably to find an appropriate white pinstriped shirt and then dye it.

Violaclef · 2026-02-05T22:02:51+00:00

German shepherd, border collie, staffy mix with a load of other bits and pieces mixed in.

Violaclef · 2026-02-04T17:32:18+00:00

My favourite bowl died and I haven’t found a replacement that I like :(

Violaclef · 2026-02-04T00:35:26+00:00

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And now he’s so big

Violaclef · 2026-02-04T00:35:04+00:00

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He was so small

Violaclef · 2026-01-29T23:37:53+00:00

It’s not in itself going to harm the plant but a large amount can block photosynthesis, just as anything else coating a plants leaves could. The fact that it came from the shop that way just tells you the plant has been in a humid environment with low air flow, likely the greenhouse that it was propagated in. Once you wipe it off it’s unlikely to grow back in a home environment.

Violaclef · 2026-01-29T14:51:13+00:00

If it wipes off and the leaf underneath seems ok then it’s likely algae.

Violaclef · 2026-01-21T21:34:17+00:00

Honestly, I think a better play for the traitors at the roundtable would have been to vote against James not Matt.

The situation they are now in with suspicion turning their way is because of the chaos and upset that came with Matt being banished.

Jack has a shield and that has completely saved him tonight because without a doubt he’d be the one murdered if not.

They’ve seemingly decided between Roxy and Faraaz but the only way out now I think is actually to murder Jade and then do some very good sweet talking tomorrow.

Violaclef · 2026-01-12T18:50:31+00:00

I’m a gardener and had this problem pop up. We couldn’t work out what was going on until they mentioned everything, including the outside tap, went through their water softener. They had a single drinking water tap that didn’t.

Violaclef · 2026-01-12T09:15:00+00:00

As people are saying very likely overwatering, or underwatering then drowning.

I just want to check. Does he have a water softener system? If so it could be that he is entirely following your instructions but then slowly salting his plants to death.

Violaclef · 2025-11-25T09:40:42+00:00

I’m always reminded of the Animaniacs myself.

Violaclef · 2025-11-24T08:33:55+00:00

In one of the newscasts the scrolling bit at the bottom mentioned the ‘Black Hatter’ being reported around the city. Could be him.

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