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Repotting Orchids
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Date Posted: Sat, May 18 - 8:44 pm
- Hello! I was recently gifted a grocery store orchid in full bloom. I have a black thumb, have never owned an orchid, and am trying not to kill the poor dear. So far it seems pretty happy but it’s also rootbound. It’s in a plastic nursery pot and the roots are growing though the drainage holes. Should I repot it now or wait until it’s done blooming? Thank you!
- Congratulations! What a beautiful gift! Orchids can be so rewarding when they bloom again. First, is to figure out what type of Orchid you have. Most often, I see Moth orchids (Phalaenopsis) at the grocery store, so I'm going to assume that is what you have. These orchids have a main stem that grows up from a single point and they actually prefer to be pretty tight in their containers. You definitely do not want to repot it while it is in bloom - repotting it now will cause it to drop all of its flowers. After it has finished blooming, you can repot it. The Missouri Botanical Garden has a really wonderful guide on repotting Orchids that will be a great resource for you once your orchid has finished blooming: https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/help-for-the-home-gardener/advice-tips-resources/visual-guides/repotting-phalaenopsis-and-other-monopodial-orchid#:~:text=As%20a%20general%20rule%2C%20repot,Repot%20spring%20through%20fall. Good luck! Wishing you lots of success!
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Plant identification and recommendations
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Date Posted: Wed, May 01 - 12:03 am
- I have a lot of what I am told is moss in my yard. Have pictures to send. Can you identify it and provide any treatment options?
- Thank you for reaching out to the Richmond Master Gardeners. I will send you an e-mail to be able to get the pictures from you and we will try to give you some assistance.
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Identifying Plants
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Date Posted: Tue, Mar 26 - 1:41 am
- We were hoping to come to the event today but since it was canceled I'm contacting here instead. We would like help identifying some plants that are in our yard, I can send you photos. We have three kinds of holly and a few kinds of ground cover that we'd like to know more specifically what they are. Thanks.
- Hello! I can do my best to help you identify your plants. I will e-mail you to get your pictures. For others also looking for plant identification, technology has come a long way with plant ID apps. Two that come to mind are iNaturalist (https://www.inaturalist.org/) and Pl@ntnet (https://plantnet.org/en/). Google image also does a good job! And I find so many of the employees at our local garden nurseries to be very helpful with this!
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English Ivy Replacements
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Date Posted: Mon, Mar 18 - 12:49 am
- Hi there! We just had a ton of English ivy removed from our yard and were wondering if someone would be willing to help us plan/design the landscape since we have a mostly clean slate! Thanks for your time. Regards, Haven
- Oh! English Ivy is one of my enemies. I bet it feels so great to have it removed from your yard. And you are absolutely correct in wanting to plant in its place. We do not have any master gardeners going out on site to make recommendations like this, but many of our local nurseries are excellent resources for landscape and design advice (ex Sneeds, Cross Creek, Great Big Green house and I'm sure others)! There are even several local native plant growers that offer their services for this as well (ex Reedy Creek Environmental, Parallel Nursery). It seems like you are looking to take advantage of the blank slate you have and design a wonderful space for yourself. However, it you, or anyone else reading this answer, are interested in strictly filling the space left from removing english Ivy, The Northern Virginia Master Gardeners have a great article about replacing english ivy. Their top three suggestions include: golden ragwort (Packera aurea), Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) and Hairy alumroot (Heuchera villosa). Their full article can be found here: https://mgnv.org/invasive-plants/replacing-english-ivy/ Good luck!! Happy gardening!
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Joining Master Gardeners
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Date Posted: Tue, Mar 05 - 12:26 pm
- Good March morning, I read about Richmond Master Gardeners and would love to learn more about participating. Thanks so much.
- Hello! Thank you so much for your interest in getting involved with the master gardeners. To become a master gardener, there is a 50 hours of classroom instruction that is followed by 50 volunteer hours. Unfortunately, the city of Richmond has been without an extension agent to organize the training program for the last several years. We are hoping to connect with another locality that is offering virtual training classes for 2025, but have yet to nail that down. In the mean time, several of our neighboring counties have an annual training program you could apply to be a part of: Chesterfield, Henrico and Hanover. You can find more information about Chesterfields program here: https://www.chesterfield.gov/441/Master-Gardeners#:~:text=Master%20Gardener%20Requirements,-A%20Virginia%20Cooperative&text=Training%20consists%20of%2050%20hours,programs%20during%20the%20first%20year. And Hanover's here: https://hanovermastergardeners.org/become-a-master-gardener/ While we wish we could bring new members directly into the Richmond group, we do hope you will find a way to get involved in the Master Gardener program! It is very rewarding!
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Seed Libraries
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Date Posted: Fri, Mar 01 - 2:05 am
- Hi - I am setting up a seed library at the Chesterfield County Public Library. I saw that you have a well stocked seed library at the Richmond Public Main library. I was hoping to get some insight on the best place to get seeds for our project. Thanks!
- Hello! The seeds for our seed library have all come from our Master Gardeners. They have been a combination of harvested seeds which our MG’s have harvested and packaged in small envelopes, and commercially sold seeds which our MG’s have donated, typically extras from their own seed collections. Its amazing how many seeds are core active group has been able to provide to keep our seed libraries going! We hope you all will find as much success if you ask your members for seeds!
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Joining Richmond Master Gardeners
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Date Posted: Fri, Mar 01 - 1:22 am
- I would like to connect with the Richmond Master Gardeners! I am a Henrico County member but live in the city. I am interested in meeting other gardeners and learning about your projects. Thank you so much!
- Hello! We would love to connect with you as well. I will send you an e-mail to follow up with you directly and help connect you with our gardeners and projects.
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Joining RVA Master Gardeners
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Date Posted: Fri, Mar 01 - 1:11 am
- Hello — I was so excited to read about RVa Master Gardeners! I live in RVa near FH Park and am currently in the Hanover MG Trainee class. I would love to be involved in volunteer activities here — can you please send me information about membership, meetings, etc. Thank you!
- Hi! I'm so excited you are in the training class right now - hope you are enjoying it and getting a lot out of it! Richmond has been without an extension agent for the last several years and are therefore unable to offer the training class ourselves right now. We do, however, have a small group of active members that are meeting regularly and working around the city with the majority of our work being focused with schools and libraries. We are able to accept transfers from other localities after completion of the master gardener training class. I will follow up with an e-mail so that we can connect and I can answer any further questions more directly!
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Vegetables and Fruits for shady areas
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Date Posted: Wed, Feb 28 - 1:00 am
- Are there any fruits or vegetables that would grow well in a pretty shady area? My property has a lot of trees but I would like to try growing edible plants if possible!
- Yes! There are a few vegetable options for shady areas: 1. Salad greens like arugula, spinach, endive and other lettuces. 2. Leafy Greens like swiss chard, collards, kale and mustard greens. 3. Root veggies like carrots, beets, potatoes, radishes, rutabaga and turnips. 4. Brassica veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts and cabbage. 4. herbs The Fairfax Master Gardeners have a great article about shade tolerant fruits. In their article they say: "Gooseberries, red currants and elderberries are the most shade tolerant fruit we can grow in Virginia. Blueberries and some figs will produce a decent crop in light to moderate shade. Serviceberries, pawpaws and cherry trees are small, understory trees that can bear abundant crops." You can find the full article here: https://fairfaxgardening.org/shade-fruits/ Now is a great time to be planning your spring plantings! Happy Gardening!
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Crape Myrtle Bark Scale
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Date Posted: Wed, Feb 28 - 12:46 am
- Other than digging up and destroying crape myrtles what is the next best solution for crape Myrtle scale?
- A systemic insecticide in the spring is the recommended treatment for Crape Myrtle Bark Scale (CMBS) . A soil drench of imidacloprid or dinotefuran is recommended when crape myrtles begin to leaf out in the spring, usually around April. Personally, I've had success with Bonide products and find them to be available at many local garden shops. Bonide has an annual tree and shrub product that has an active ingredient of imidacloprid. (Other insecticide recommendations from the extension office are available here: https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/456/456-017/456-017.html) If you decided to go with an insecticidal soap spray, just be sure to refrain from applying it when pollinators or other beneficial insects such as ladybird beetles are present on the trees. If you would really prefer to stay away from insecticides, another control option is to lightly scrub the main trunks of crape myrtles with soapy water made with mild dish detergent and a stiff-bristled brush to kill and remove CMBS. This also removes some of the sooty mold and the loose exfoliating bark that shelters CMBS, exposing the scales to any spray treatments that may be applied. And finally, its important to check and be sure your control methods are working. To assess if a control treatment was effective or not: check for live CMBS by running a fingernail over the scales and looking for a pinkish-red fluid. Dead scales will be dry, but their white bodies may persist on the trunk and branches of crape myrtle until they weather off. Good luck!!