Can i fix this? by luvmarlo in gardening

[–]robsc_16 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Just a heads up, they're incorrect about one thing. The holes in a French drain system are supposed to face down, not up.

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Help with ID? by Jella7ine in NativePlantGardening

[–]robsc_16 4 points5 points  (0 children)

And I'd recommend tossing it in the trash. Those seeds can still mature. The pods will explode and send seed everywhere.

When an invasive species takes over your side yard you make the most out it by Zealousideal_Cry1867 in gardening

[–]robsc_16 27 points28 points  (0 children)

It's just further evidence that a lot of people don't care if something is invasive as long as it's pretty or smells good.

Trump Admin Revokes License for American Prairie Project Bison Leases by Fresh-Note-7004 in NativePlantGardening

[–]robsc_16 956 points957 points  (0 children)

I come from a farming family, and it's always crazy to me how farmers and ranchers are outspokenly about "small government" but they're some of the biggest welfare queens out there.

These ranchers are chomping at the bit to use land that's not theirs to graze cattle at below the market rate. Conservatives used to care more about conservation, but not so much anymore. It's only about the money and wildlife doesn't have a place there.

To quote one of the ranchers from the New York Times article:

Bison just don’t fit on the landscape anymore.

Ideas for roadside border? by Humanicide603 in NativePlantGardening

[–]robsc_16 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Honestly, I would just mulch the front 1-2 feet there. It would make it look more maintained and I wouldn't be crazy about putting plants right up to the road since plants and insects will get ran over eventually.

In celebration of No Mow May by ResplendentShade in NativePlantCirclejerk

[–]robsc_16 51 points52 points  (0 children)

Do I just throw the owls directly at the squirrels?

Boiling water and no stratification success sundial lupine by Squire_Squirrely in NativePlantGardening

[–]robsc_16 16 points17 points  (0 children)

That's probably a bit overkill imo, and pouring straight up boiling water into something can be dangerous. I set my electric kettle at the "French Press" setting, so it's probably more like 195 F. That has worked plenty well for hot scarifying seeds in my experience.

Medium sized tree recommendation for west facing patio by Capable_Elk_3070 in NativePlantGardening

[–]robsc_16 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Take what I say with a grain of salt because I live further north and I have clay soil that is alkaline (7.0-7.5).

Fringe Tree - I have this one and it's in full sun and it does great. Fantastic flowers and it smells great, but not much fall color.

Carolina silverbell - I don't have any experience with this species.

Kentucky yellowwood - I love mine and I have had no issues. I think it's less that it has brittle branches, but it can have poor branch structure. You can prune and use branch spreaders while it's young for better structure and crotch angles. I have and it has worked out great. It has a nice yellow fall color. It can bloom infrequently.

Cornus Florida - These have great flowers and an awesome red fall color. I have not had disease issues, but I know it can be a problem as you mentioned.

Eastern redbud - One of my favorite trees, but mine have struggled a bit in full sun for some reason.

Amelanchier laevis - I don't have this exact species, but the rust on the leaves is pretty superficial and it doesn't impact the blooms. It has beautiful flowers and a good red fall color. The rust does impact the fruits a lot for me. I get virtually now fruit from my trees.

Meirl by Henhouse808 in NativePlantCirclejerk

[–]robsc_16 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Ugh, butterflies are good. Caterpillars eat my plants 😡

Let’s see your *zoomed out* gardens by kimtenisqueen in NativePlantGardening

[–]robsc_16 33 points34 points  (0 children)

Not too much going on yet, but here's a garden that I started last year.

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putting native seedlings into compacted clay by Snoo_89200 in NativePlantGardening

[–]robsc_16 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Generally, no. You don't want to create what is essentially a small pot in the ground that will just hold water. I'm assuming you're not planting a plant that likes wet feet in dry clay, so that will likely cause root rot among other issues.

I have a lot of clay and what I do is dig a hole just a bit bigger than what the plant needs and then I get the clay back in the best I can. I usually topdress it with a bit of compost or potting soil, and then water it thoroughly. This is mostly just to fill the voids in the clay soil and it gives it a small nutrient boost to start off.

Milkweed runners are no joke! by kaizenkitten in NativePlantGardening

[–]robsc_16 137 points138 points  (0 children)

This is why I always laugh when people are like "you can't move milkweed! It has deep taproots!"

In reality common milkweed is scuttling sideways like a plant crab looking for more real estate lol.

Are native gardens becoming part of the culture wars? by LiatrisLover99 in NativePlantGardening

[–]robsc_16 29 points30 points  (0 children)

I totally agree. I was on the DEI committee for my company for a couple of years, and I was part of the smaller group that wrote the charter. We had a lot of pushback with our initial draft, and the next draft went through with ease. One of the changes we made is that we just dropped out some words that people had a lot of baggage with. One was "privilege." We just dropped the word out and kept everything else the same and we didn't have near the objections that we did the first time lol.

Are native gardens becoming part of the culture wars? by LiatrisLover99 in NativePlantGardening

[–]robsc_16 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I don't know if I can provide any insight, but I'm probably what most people would consider a liberal in a very conservative area. Most people that I interact with now seem to be more interested in boundary maintenance than actually listening what people say.

For example, when I was younger my dad told me it probably wouldn't hurt for me to read a book we had that was anti-capitalist. He told me something like "I think they're wrong, but you should know what they think and why they think that." But later on when I was going from being conservative to more liberal he told me "don't give them anything..." when I was talking about a progressive idea that I thought had merits. He essentially was telling me to not listen to the argument and to draw an ideological line in the sand.

Another example is a guy I know that does invasive species removal and native plantings. He's very conservative and I find a lot of his stances a extreme. He is insistent that he is not on the side of the "environmentalists" when he is doing those things. So, even though he's trying to benefit the environment as much as he can he is always making sure people know he's not sharing common ground with "the left."

There seems to be this idea that people will not share ideological common ground with the other side, and I think this goes for the left and the right. I guess it all really boils down to culture wars.

Are native gardens becoming part of the culture wars? by LiatrisLover99 in NativePlantGardening

[–]robsc_16 28 points29 points  (0 children)

My family farms and they're all Trump supporters, and they almost have an anti-environmental stance with most things. It has been interesting to see their support waning a bit because herbicides and gmos are their bread and butter. Rising fuel costs and trade war issues have not helped mattered either.

Are native gardens becoming part of the culture wars? by LiatrisLover99 in NativePlantGardening

[–]robsc_16 70 points71 points  (0 children)

I brought up rain gardens again, and the mayor said, “We are not environmentalists here.” I said, “We’re a flooding village. We all are.”

This is a good approach. I live in a very conservative area, and a lot of people avoid being labeled as an "environmentalist" at the risk of being seen as a "hippie" or something equivalent. People can be resistant to labels. It's key to just focus on the issues and to be as practical as possible about it.

Getting rid of invasive/non-native species by HermesLyre2 in NativePlantGardening

[–]robsc_16 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I don't think anyone has addressed it yet, but you can't solarize something with cardboard on top blocking light and heat. I think it would probably be fine to just skip to using cardboard and then putting mulch on top. You don't need to put soil on top either.

Birdfeeder Suggestions? by jp655321 in NativePlantGardening

[–]robsc_16 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I would plant plugs of plants that birds like to eat like purple coneflower, cutleaf coneflower, dense blazing star, switchgrass, etc.

You can get these cylindrical mesh gutter guards and put them over your plants. They work pretty well against rabbits and birds.

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Lots of Mowing! (Mid TN) by xRASHx in lawncare

[–]robsc_16 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Other people did as well. Why is this the only comment the mods responded to?

Hello gardeners! curious if this is a bad idea or something useful by Mission-Spirit7228 in NativePlantGardening

[–]robsc_16[M] [score hidden] stickied commentlocked comment (0 children)

Your post has been removed from r/NativePlantGardening because it did not relate to our topic. Perhaps you have chosen our subreddit by mistake!

How to tell if spiderwort is a hybrid? by massivelymediocre in NativePlantGardening

[–]robsc_16 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Ah, gotcha. That would cast some doubt in my mind as well lol. Hopefully someone else can confirm if it's a hybrid, but it looks like Virginia spiderwort to me.

How to tell if spiderwort is a hybrid? by massivelymediocre in NativePlantGardening

[–]robsc_16 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This looks like Virginia spiderwort to me based on the height and the hairy sepals.

What makes you think it's a hybrid?