Questions tagged [botany]

15 questions
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In The Martian, Mark keeps the largest potatoes for his food supply and replants the smaller ones. Doesn't this cultivate smaller potatoes?

I was watching The Martian, and there is a scene with Mark harvests his potatoes and says that he keeps the larger ones for his food supply and replants the smaller ones. Wouldn't this create a genetic propensity for the next harvest to favor…
Zhro
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Does my rose flower have another flower bud in it?

Title says it all... what's going on with my rose flower? [Update]: The inside flower has now also opened!
ghariam2
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5
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What is the plant genus or species which is most durable to darkness?

I would like to buy indoor plants to put them in a room which usually have a very low amount of natural and/or artificial light. I understand that such indoor plants are usually low-height (up to 1 meter height) domesticated cultivar subspecies of…
JohnDoea
5
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2 answers

Caring for Edelweiss (suddenly started withering)

I recently bought a pot of Edelweiss in central Switzerland, in a village at an elevation of ~600m. The plant was looking healthy enough and was one of about a dozen pots ligned up outside the shop in the heat and dust and sun. They didn't look like…
TheChymera
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4
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What kind of Dieffenbachia is this?

I'm quite sure this recently acquired beauty is a Dieffenbachia, but I can't seem to figure out what kind. Also, I really can't find any list of all kinds with photos or other good identification details included, online. Is there some web-resource…
3
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What is the driving force behind flower stalks growing towards the light?

When a plant starts to flower, the flower stalk grows towards the light. If a potted plant has a flower stalk, a pedicel, already growing in towards the sunlight, then the same potted plant is turned 180° the pedicel will bend so the flower is…
GardenGems
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Can a plant survive bottled in its own ecosystem for 50 years?

I came across a story on about David Latimer, who put spiderwort plants into a bottle garden ("terrarium") in 1960, watered it in 1972, and then sealed the bung. The plants have been living, thriving even, in their own ecosystem since. The story was…
mathgenius
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Is it possible to cut a 10cm (4 inches) basil stem and regrow its roots for replanting?

I have a basil plant that got really distressed by repotting it and all the leaves from the lower parts of the stem fell off and the stem itself turned brown. RN its trying to escape its new pot as best as it can. I'd like to reign it in and cut…
user81993
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Stages of leaf drop in trees

A red maple that is over 10 years old, but less than 20 in the Mid-Atlantic region of U.S.A. has dropped some leaves. I did not see any change in the leaf color before these leaves started dropping. It's more than a few at this point. I looked up…
John Polo
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Is it safe to water my plants with diluted Trisodium Phosphate (TSP)?

I occasionally use TSP (Sodium Triphosphate) to degrease and clean mechanical parts for restoration work. It's very effective, but I'm a bit concerned about dumping the resulting waste solution down the drain. TSP is known to aggressively promote…
ATL_DEV
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Can you identify this blooming plant?

I found this plant and tried identifying it online based on leaves/buds but got no results. The location is North East US, during the day, March 5, 2020. Any idea what this plant is called?
Wonka
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What are good introductory texts on botanics and horticulture?

I refer with this question to those among you who have a strong background and work in fields like: botanics, horticulture, dendrology, etc. I would like to start building a solid preparation, both practical and theoretical, in horticulture, with a…
usumdelphini
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How to draw with a plants on the concrete wall?

I have a concrete(stone) vertical wall? I want to put picture on it using plants. I have several limitations: I can not place external blocks to let plants growth on it. Initially picture should not be visible, so picture would grow out from the…
bion anon
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Is there a way to revive these over watered and "rain soaked" Duranta plants?

I'm a hobbyist gardener and totally new to this craft of botany, so need some expert help here. Last month on 15th November, I bought these Golden Duranta Plants from a nursery nearby which were about two months old. The idea was to plant these into…
Prahlad Yeri
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Seedling growing into adjacent seed

I planted 5 seeds for a Norway spruce (Picea Abies) on January 12, 2020, and so far I have three seedlings that are growing at a similar rate (though one is a bit bigger). I noticed something very particular with one of the seedlings however. At…
Matt Croak
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