About Diana Hamilton Expertise I can answer questions related to flowering and non-flowering house plants, and herbs. I do not know very much about cactus, orchids and bonsai
Experience For 20 years I owned a florist where I sold cut flowers and all types of house plants and accessories and gave advice to my customers.
Publications I have not had any writings published but I have presented gardening programmes on television, showing viewers how to care for their plants, giving them ideas on suitable plants, discussed problems with experts in different fields and given practical demonstrations on growing seeds, planting tubs and hanging baskets, watering, feeding, pruning etc.
Education/Credentials I am completely self-taught
Awards and Honors I have exhibited plants and flower arrangements in many Flower Shows winning many prizes.
Question hello,
i just purchased a mature ivy plant (very full, long vines) and placed it outside on my patio. it receives direct, morning sunlight for about 6 hours. i've been watering it every 3rd day until the water leaks out of the drainage hole in the bottom. the nursery i bought it from said it did not need to be repotted.
i'm noticing some, not many at this point anyway, of the leaves turning black in spots...and also the bottoms of the vines have a soft, withered look. most of it looks strong and healthy so i want to catch the problem before it gets worse.
thank you so much for providing your service...your expertise is much appreciated!
sherrie
Answer Dear Sherrie,
Please, please remove your ivy plant from all that sun! It starts off as morning sun but must after 6 hours have reached midday sun which is too intense. I have all mine outside but in the shade and they are watered every day. Remove all the dead leaves and the withered parts of the bottom of the stems which are the most vulnerable as they are new and soft.
I am sure that if you do the above the plants will continue to grow strongly.
Good Luck
Diana
Hello again Sherrie,
I forgot to tell you in my answer above that it would be a good idea to give your plant a thoroughly good soaking in a bucket of tepid water - the fact that water just runs through the pot when you water it shows that the soil is completely dried out. Leave the plant in the bucket of water until the air bubbles stop rising to the surface - that shows that all air has been forced out from between the roots and the roots will then be able to absorb the water. Leave the plant to drain before you put it back on its saucer so that the roots are not sitting in water. A good way to test if a plant needs watering is to push a wooden stick/skewer into the soil and see if it comes out dry or wet. Often the top soil may be dry whilst the soil lower down is wet so watering can be left for a bit longer.
