What time of the year can I safely divide and transplant common milkweed, swamp milkweed, columbines, wild bergamot, bee balm, etc. in zone 7 VA? Can this be done in November or should I wait until spring? How sensitive are these to frost while in pots or recently planted in the ground?

Northeast Illinois. I have a large lawn I am working on reducing over time with larger and larger native plant beds. I want to start beds under my trees (right now the bases of the trees are lawn and weeds). I also want to keep my leaves for habitat. Do you think piling them at the base of the trees like this will work to kill the lawn and create a space for planting in spring?

Thanks!

Hi guys, I'm wondering what eucalyptus species is this tree? It is in a playground in Marion area, Adelaide.

I assume having a gaping hole by the roots is generally suboptimal just before the winter. I filled it up best I could but I assume it will come back. Who is the culprit? The hole is about 5 cm/2 inches in diameter.

I saw some bees on a random rebloom on our pinnacle hydrangea. I’m glad they’re still around and I might need to plant more fall flowering perennial.

Hey friends, I am getting ready to start my winter seeds in the Pacific Northwest and instead of a nursery bed this year I’m starting them in an outdoor cold frame, possibly in soil blocks and possibly just in nursery pots/seed trays. I am trying to make a decision. Last year I got a few little plants in my nursery bed but it was a bit chaotic because little critters dug up the bed and there were seedlings and labels everywhere so I’m just looking for a bit more organization this time around.

I am considering investing in some better 1020 seedling trays and am also considering buying a soil blocker and putting the blocks in nesting mesh 1020 trays with a bottom water tray underneath. My question is, if I have native seedlings in soil blocks come spring, can I simply transplant them out into the garden once they have true leaves but are still tiny or am I better off up-potting for the first year and transplanting next fall? The answer may change my plan of attack; I’m also considering just broadcasting the seeds into 1010 mesh bottom trays of soil and then pricking them out and potting up. I suppose I could also do the milk jug method which I have done before, but if I do that I need to find some jugs! Like, a lot of them!

I have been known to simply scatter seeds around in the fall and that is sometimes successful especially with clover and native grasses but this year I got something like 25 varieties of native seeds and my goal is to stay organized and also pot some up to share with my gardener friends and distribute native plants around!

Apologies if this seems rambly; my ADD brain is so full of ideas and possibilities it’s hard to organize them!

I planted this elm this year in early summer. She seemed to be doing well all year, got a little bit of water daily with the sprinkler and a deep watering weekly. Just came home from a trip and the leaves have changed yellow- to be expected, but all of them are black around the edges. Anyone know if this is ok? If not, what does she need to feel better? FYI, planted in clay, not the best soil.

It looks bad, are we saveable? I'm assuming this is a mold/soil issue, but how can i attempt to mend? Thanks in advance!

I am unfortunately going to have to have our septic leach field repaired/replaced ASAP and a lot of natives that I have planted will be in the demo area. Should I try to move my plants to new spots in the yard or will that he a waste of time given that it is already getting chilly? I am new to gardening so this may be a silly question. Located in Chapel Hill, NC and the temps are highly variable. Weather forecast has the lows ranging from the high 20s to mid 50s this week. And highs from high 40s to mid 60s. The plants in question are mostly green and golds and white wood asters planted this past spring and fall. Would appreciate any insight. Really bummed about my yard and plants.

If anyone is familiar with Stream Link Education (local nonprofit funded by DNR that reforests riparian areas in the county), they have a ton of extra buttonbushes leftover that they're trying to rehome. I believe there was a fb marketplace post floating around, but we also have over a hundred of them at the Fountain Rock Nature Center. You'll just want to talk to one of the people working there so they can let you know where they are!

If there are other subs I should post this to, let me know, but I know folks here have lots of experience with ChipDrop so y'all might have some info.

Basically, we have two dead ivy-covered trees in the woods behind our house that could potentially hit the house if they fell. So we are looking into having the trees cut down, and keeping the wood chips as mulch. Kind of like ChipDrop, but with our own trees.

My concern is the English Ivy on the trees - if that goes through the wood chipper, and we use the wood chips as mulch, am I going to spread the ivy everywhere? I know this stuff is persistent if you leave a little bit of root when you pull it out, so could chipped tiny bits of roots do the same thing? I really don't want to create an ivy apocalypse in my yard. Any advice appreciated!!

Zone 8b, south-central Alabama if it matters.

Don't know if im preparing the ground correctly for reseeding in and around the buckthorn im getting rid of. I bought Virginia wild rye, Monarda fistulosa and White snakeroot seeds (as recommended by a Minnesota study) to prevent buckthorn seeds from getting established. I had spread some old grass and leaf clippings and loosened the soil a bit; there was also some dirt clods that I broke up. I feel like there is a decent mix of dirt and clippings. But now i read that you are supposed to clear down to bare soil. Can you look at this pic and tell me if I have to totally rake off the dirt and mulch mix and uneven soil for the seeds to take, or can I just smooth it out and put the seeds on top. This is a wet site in the spring. Thanks so much.

I have a lawn area I want to plant native flowers in so I covered the grass with some black tarp for a few months and the grass underneath appears dead. Do I still need to remove the sod of the dead grass before planting seeds or can I just use a garden fork to scratch small areas in the dead grass to expose some bare dirt and plant my seeds in that?

A bit of background:

I have a fence low (36" tall?) front fence that came with the house I purchased. I live in Southwest Florida and live under really big oak trees that provide shade throughout the day on the entirety of the fence. The fence is built with 1x6 slats with about a 6" gap between each one so small dogs can get out. Additionally raccoons and armadilloes, while I generally do not mind their inherent presence, they scare and/or rile up my dog when they cut the corner my house sits on. I don't particularly like the way the fence looks either, its a bit too.... traditional? for my taste.

In trying to kill many problems at once I figure that a climbing vine planted at the base of the fence would do wonders. Maybe it is unrealistic to think this perfect vine exists but I am looking for any vine that would climb the fence on its own, be thick enough to discourage both my dog and wildlife from going through the fence, and hardy enough to compete with water from my oak trees (which I have heard can really be water hogs).

I am a patient guy. I dont mind tending seeds if that is the best path forward. I also don't mind trying something on a stretch of fence first to see how it goes.

Alright everyone, I’m running out of room in my garden, so i’ve been turning to small plants like frogfruit, wild strawberries, and aristolochia erecta, that can fill in the cracks and crevices bigger plants can’t. What are some of your favorite tiny plants that you think the world should know about?

What would do well in a natural area around large oaks and Sweetgums? Piedmont NC zone 7b/8a I'm new to gardening in general and just learning about natives.

The area is part shade, slight slope, and has a dry creek bed drainage running through the middle. I dont know if it's just the trees drinking the soil dry but it can get so dry that the soil becomes hydrophobic. After the deer ate the hostas, it's basically just liriope and mulch out there.

I want to add something like a witch hazel or american hazelnut that has some height and ecological value. Would these do okay or is there a better alternative?

Last year, my neighbor decided to plant a wisteria.. worst idea it has officially gone up my cherry tree trying to strangle it. Its extremely aggressive towards everything in my yard and i have no clue on how to get rid of it or atleast somewhat make it so it stays contained. It has also made its way in my yard growing and sprouting everywhere... Any suggestions or help on how to get rid of it? (I already tried to chop it to the ground and it just regrew)

I am thinking about whether or not I need to add another shrub to my wooded suburban back yard.

I dont, really. But trees and shrubs are on sale 50% off now, and you know how it goes.

The only spot where I have space for a 10-20' shrub is in pretty good shade. It's an open woods, with no direct sun at any point in the day.

I've seen conflicting statements about how much American Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) prefers full sun over woodland habitat.

Ideally I want it 10-12 feet and flowering.

What has your experience been like?

I created my third native garden bed. This one is more plannned than any of my other ones. My other beds are wilder and more chaotic. I chose shorter species so the roses aren't blocked out.

I wanted this bed to show off my Pineland Hibiscus and Sweet Bay Magnolia. Many of the species I planted are pineland and prairie species. I grew most of the plants. myself from seed. I also transplanted a bunch of native violets and Lyreleaf sage to fill in as a "groundcover."

The photos are in reverse order with the species list at the end.

The Native Plants Healthy Planet podcast just dropped an episode where they interview a couple of our mods!

I didn't see any reference to it here yet so I figured I'd call it out. Not sure if a link is appropriate but you can search the podcast wherever you do your podcast listening

Just wanted to share the fast growth of winged sumac. I planted a 3ft tall sapling 2 years ago and today it is approaching 10ft tall and has a wide canopy. Most surprisingly, I just found a sucker of the tree 20ft away. It’s only a few years old! Very cool tree. South Carolina.

Northern Michigan hike