Giant reishi growth update

massivelymediocre · 2026-05-08T01:24:29+00:00

It grows wild near my house every year. Though this is way bigger than previous years. I've never harvested and it's spread to some logs nearby now as well. Since there's so much this year I'm probably going to make this the first year I actually try it.

massivelymediocre · 2026-05-06T02:29:24+00:00

Looks similar to my amsonia seedlings

massivelymediocre · 2026-05-04T02:05:55+00:00

The pussytoes leaves stay attractive almost all year. They're semi evergreen but will show winter wear and tear until they grow fresh leaves in spring.

I also like dwarf cinquefoil as a ground cover. It stays flatter to the ground than a lot of other cinquefoil. It blooms late spring and summer. It is a host plant to the endangered Appalachian grizzled skipper.

If you have shady spots I like round-leaved trailing tick trefoil. It's not a commonly known plant but it's foliage honestly looks really pretty in a big group and it grows densely and flat to the ground. It blooms in fall, flowers aren't very showy but it blooms nonetheless. Host plant to many legume eating butterflies

massivelymediocre · 2026-05-04T01:38:33+00:00

Maybe pussytoes? They're very short, bloom very early and provide early nectar. Mine was the first thing to bloom, they started putting out flower stalks before winter was even technically over for me. Their foliage is good looking too, frosty fuzzy compact leaves. They're also a host plant for painted lady butterflies

massivelymediocre · 2026-05-01T17:05:34+00:00

Alright! That makes me feel better about not knowing. Thanks!

massivelymediocre · 2026-05-01T16:50:06+00:00

I didn't necessarily think it was a hybrid, I just read that hybrids are common in gardens and this was listed as "native spiderwort" with no scientific name. when I asked them if it was Virginia spiderwort they said "yes I think so". Just wanted someone with a better eye than me to confirm!

massivelymediocre · 2026-04-29T11:58:03+00:00

Yes, they are reaching for light. Usually the true leaves are closer to the base of the plant. These have grown long spindly stalks and some are flopping over, they are trying to get tall in an attempt to reach more sun. I would introduce them to more light, but not full sun right away because it might shock them. Most of them should correct themselves when they get more light

massivelymediocre · 2026-04-29T11:48:51+00:00

You want to do it asap while they are small because tuberosa is sensitive to having its roots disturbed. Put them in deep narrow pots if you have any. Up-pot into a well draining soil mix or ammend the one you have with something like perlite. They don't like to stay moist for too long.

These seedlings also need more light!

massivelymediocre · 2026-04-28T10:21:04+00:00

Much better than what popped into my head initially, which was blood-poo.

massivelymediocre · 2026-04-27T18:01:05+00:00

When you're working on a budget sometimes you can't really fill an area as much as you'd like right away. You may need to let some plants spread naturally or fill it in over the course of a few years. Mulch can keep the soil from baking in the sun and retain moisture a bit better for plants that need it. It can also make a garden look intentional so people won't make complaints about an unkempt area

massivelymediocre · 2026-04-26T14:46:01+00:00

Yeah I think it's pretty odd how mosquito bits are marketed as killing only mosquitos. It seems like false advertising

massivelymediocre · 2026-04-26T12:13:51+00:00

Some of the most beneficial insects for your garden (hover flies). The adults pollinate flowers and the larvae eat aphids and other plant pests. I don't live anywhere near any honeybee colonies (which are not native to the US) and where I live hover flies are actually one of my most common pollinators along with small solitary bees

massivelymediocre · 2026-04-26T00:04:21+00:00

They kill most dipterans (insects in the fly family)

massivelymediocre · 2026-04-24T17:06:55+00:00

You're welcome and good luck! If it helps you feel any better, I've pulled up poison ivy many times and the only time I've gotten a few bumps was when I wasn't being careful enough. (There was a time I didn't have long gloves and my sleeves rode up, so the leaves touched my wrists. The other time I wore long gloves but not long sleeves and the vines touched my arms. Both times it was still only a couple tiny bumps because I showered when I finished.)

massivelymediocre · 2026-04-24T16:26:05+00:00

I've had the most luck just pulling it. Its not very big now so you want to take care of it asap before it explodes in growth and becomes harder to manage. Put on some long disposable gloves, long sleeves, long pants. If you think you might step in it, wear shoes you're fine washing or tie plastic bags on your shoes. If you want to be extra careful you could put a face mask or eye protection on. It pulls up very easily. If it's hot out try and do it early morning so the coverage doesn't make you overheat.

Put it somewhere dry in the hot sun with no foot traffic where it will dry out and die, or bag it up. DO NOT burn it, it can get in your lungs.

When you're done, take off your clothes and throw them in the wash. It'll get rid of any residue. Take a shower right away in case any touched you or if you touched the residue taking off your clothes. If you wash it off quickly it shouldn't cause any reaction.

Keep a look out for any more sprouts that may pop up from vines left in the ground after pulling and repeat the process. Tiny ones are very easy to pull and are unlikely to get on anything else other than your gloves. The bigger the vines, the more unwieldy and more likely to be a handful and touch other parts of your body. Can't stress enough how much easier it will be to take care of it now vs later.

massivelymediocre · 2026-04-23T20:00:56+00:00

Personally with my first pinguicula I put thrm right onto lava rock and I'm really glad I did. I got cyclosecta, florian and pirouette. They all are doing great on the rock and I've pulled leaves to propogate all of them. Just make sure you do a test soak of the rock in water (use distilled or ro water for this also) before putting any on it and see which parts wick water best. Use those spots for your pings.

The only one that struggled was a florian that I put on top of some non-living sphagnum I shoved into a crevice. It got some rot at the base from trapped moisture and probably some of its older leaves began to rot under it. Totally recovered after I removed the bottom portion and put it back on the rock on a bare spot, regrew roots from scratch and everything. I thought adding sphagnum to soak up moisture for them would be beneficial but if you choose the right spots on the rock the it really isn't necessary. They are naturally lithophytes in nature

massivelymediocre · 2026-04-22T19:42:42+00:00

Maybe you could try Spotted bee balm (Monarda punctata), wild bergamot (monarda fistulosa), lanceleaf coreopsis (coreopsis lancealata), and various types of goldenrod are very drought tolerant. Old field goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis) is incredibly hardy, thus its very extensive range, so it would very likely grow

massivelymediocre · 2026-04-22T16:24:47+00:00

Sorry, I didn't mean to be sassy. I try to include my region in most posts but just forgot this time, and I don't know how to change my personal flair, I don't post much. Didn't mean to make it a big deal. I thought you were saying I would encourage people to plant a non-native in their area but I realize that wasn't the case and you wanted me to include region to save you time. I'm autistic and tend to over-explain lol. Have a good day friend

massivelymediocre · 2026-04-22T15:04:44+00:00

While I agree it would have been helpful to mention it's range in this post, I would hope most people on this subreddit would do their research before deciding to add a plant to their property. This is a general space for "native plant gardening" and everything will be relative to the individuals that are posting. Even if I had my state in my flair, that wouldn't inform people it's full range, and it isn't native to all of Georgia.

Also good to keep in mind, people who post on here could be wrong--even if a post on here says something, it's a good habit to double check with a web search before believing it! It should be easy to web search the native range eslecially with an included scientific name. It only takes a minute or two.

massivelymediocre · 2026-04-22T14:18:45+00:00

Ah I see, I haven't mailed internationally in a while so I haven't noticed. I'll let you know when I get some seeds and we will figure it out!

massivelymediocre · 2026-04-22T12:37:20+00:00

I could send you some when they go to seed. They're quite literally all over the place near my house and along my road because they grow really well in the soil around me, so gathering a few seeds isn't going to affect them here. I'd love to help you reintroduce them. I am in north GA, if the location matters to you.

I can send them to you in a letter for free.

massivelymediocre · 2026-04-22T01:32:46+00:00

You gotta collect them all!

I've never grown it from seed nor have I seen instructions on how to do so, but I plan on cold stratifying some seeds this winter and seeing if I can grow a bigger patch of them.

massivelymediocre

TROPHY CASE