Take Your Houseplant For A Walk Day 2024 is on Saturday, July 27, 2024: What's wrong with my houseplant?

Saturday, July 27, 2024 is Take Your Houseplant For A Walk Day 2024. Take Your Houseplant for a Walk day! Take Your Houseplant for a

Good morning Nicole Nevermore,

I hope your day is starting off okay. I just got in from my morning walk at Venice Beach. I enjoy watching these huge high flying pelicans dive straight down into the water and pop up with a fish.

If you have only had your plant for a week or so, I will assume fluoride toxicity is NOT your problem, because you should have only watered your plant NO MORE than one time in a week. I hope your realize Dracaenas are very sensitive to fluoride. You must use distilled water or water that has been aged for at least three (3) days. The ageing will cause the fluoride and chorine to evaporate.

In this short amount of time, I believe your problem is lighting. You must understand that Dracaena plants are usually grown in large, shaded production greenhouses in the United States for sale as houseplants. They are not acclimated to partial or direct sun rays. Immediately placing a shade-grown Dracaena into partial or direct sunlight will cause leaf scalding. Your plant needs time to adjust. Start off by placing your Dracaena on the north side of your house before placing it on the western side, especially in the summer.

Dracaena Massangeana or corn plant will tolerate full sun, which is needed for it to bloom, but you must gradually move it to sunnier locations over a two to four month period.

I have written several answers on Yahoo about the best indoor plants. Some of the plants in my house are over twenty (20) years old and over six feet tall. I have a lot of indoor plants, but I strongly believe they should earn/pay for their keep (smile).

Therefore, all my indoor plants create/filter clean air within my house. When people on Yahoo ask me for the best indoor plant, I always recommend a plant within the Dracaena Family.

Dracaenas are VERY easy to grow. They scored best in its class for removing Formaldehyde which is used in new carpets and pressed woods used for making furniture. They also did well for removing cigarette smoke (placed fifth) and other irritates which affects the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, and throat.

The first website is a study by NASA. It rates the best plants against cleaning indoor house air. Please put the second website in your favorites for future reference. The second website is from the University of Florida. This website will give you everything you need to know (I do mean everything) about the Dracaena family including the Massangeana.

You may also wish, this is up to you, too invest in a pH Soil Testing Meter. Each plant’s pH level is difference. Good pH levels will yield DISEASE FREE and insect free healthy plants you can be proud of. The meters cost about ten ($10) dollars. The meters are very easy to use. The meter will last you for YEARS. They do not need batteries or electrical plugs. The website below is my favorite. It explains pH levels and why it is so important to every plant. I prefer the meters over the kits because you can use them over and over for years.

Dracaenas like a pH soil level of 6.5. If your soil’s pH level moves above 7.5, your plant may develop deficiencies in iron, magnesium, and potassium.

Nicole Nevermore, if you decide to get more indoor plants, the NASA researchers recommend/suggest you use one (1) plant per 100 square feet or 10x10 ft. room to get maximum cleaning of the air in your living area. You will easily notice the difference.

I realize I wrote a lot of extra material, but gardeners spend too much time and money just to lose a houseplant after a year or two and never know why.

You and your family have a beautiful New Year. Peace, from Los Angeles.

How much should I pay a dog sitter for the day?

Kids around our neighborhood do this as a part time job. They will take in mail, water houseplants, walk/feed animals, etc. Here's what they charge: $5.00 per trip that they have to make to the house. Which means that if you want someone to walk your dog three times/day then they would charge $15.00/day. Twice, then $10.00/day. I don't know how others do it, but that's how they do it here. The kids have a pretty good business going for them!

How can I get rid of those small gnats swarming my houseplants?

It's not easy, but here's the scoop:

Fungus Gnats

A little critter that flits around houseplants, your fruit bowl and your nose may come from garden soil into your home. This small dark gray fly, called a fungus gnat, seems to come from nowhere and is about 1/8 inch long.

They are attracted to (imagine this) fungus. When plants indoors are watered generously and kept somewhat humid, fungus grows in potting soil rich in organic matter.

Often mistaken for fruit flies, the gnats flock to indoor pots and lay their 200-plus eggs in the decomposing organic material. Small white larvae feed on soil fungi 10-14 days before developing into adult flies. The larvae feed on plant roots as well as fungi, and in large numbers may cause plants to decline.

Adult fungus gnats are primarily a nuisance, though new research has pointed to them as disease carriers. A doctoral candidate from University of Georgia says that adult fungus gnats may occasionally transmit several plant diseases.

So when you find a fungus gnat walking around the edge of your cup as you’re about to take a drink, what do you do? First, don’t over-water your plants. The majority of houseplants need to dry out somewhat between watering anyway, and the decreased moisture reduces fungus growth.

Potting mixes make a difference too. A fresh potting mix, high in compost or peat moss is more attractive to fungus gnats than a mix in which organic material is largely decomposed.

Plants brought in from the patio may be infested with eggs and larvae. Ideally, these pots are treated before bringing them inside.

Drenching indoor plants with a solution of Bt (bacillus thuringiensis H-14) for three weeks is a good routine control for fungus gnats. Gnatrol and Knock-Out Gnats from Gardens Alive are two products that contain the strain of Bt most effective on these pests. This “organic” pesticide is ingested by the larvae form of the insect and is only effective at that life stage.

Adults are attracted to the color yellow. To monitor the effectiveness of control measures, yellow sticky traps, or yellow paper painted with Tanglefoot, can be placed near houseplants.

Another possibility is to add a thin layer of sand to potted plants. A half inch layer prevents development of the insect from egg to adult. Whether the eggs dry out or the adults are unable to emerge. Either way, the problem is usually eliminated.

The best way to eliminate a problem with fungus gnats, or any other problem in houseplants is prevention. Avoid overwatering, duplicate the native environment of the plant as much as possible – light, fertility, water, and temperature.

Isolate newly purchased plants in case they are infested with gnats or disease. Observe the plants for several weeks before placing them in the same vicinity as other houseplants.

Finally, treat pots coming in from the garden with a soil drench of Bt to eliminate the possible infestation of fungus gnats.

BT - Bacillus thuringiensis, an organic control for caterpillars, to kill insect larvae. Bacillus thuringiensis (or Bt) is a bacteria and is safe to use around children and pets.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards, Wendy