Plants in the News

[David Pilling]

A sea of bluebells have suddenly flowered on a hillside on Exmoor for the first time in hundreds of years.

National Park officers believe the plants have lain dormant at Bye Wood, near Winsford in Somerset, for centuries. Clearance work has been going on since last year to create new woodland. As a result, the disturbance has prompted the ancient bluebell bulbs to start sprouting and suggests the site was once completely tree covered.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-61583521

[David Pilling]

World's biggest plant discovered off Australian coast

The largest known plant on Earth - a seagrass roughly three times the size of Manhattan - has been discovered off the coast of Australia.

Using genetic testing, scientists have determined a large underwater meadow in Western Australia is in fact one plant.

It is believed to have spread from a single seed over at least 4,500 years.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-61655327

[David Pilling]

Gardeners warned to report weird froth on plants linked to deadly disease

The spittle looks like a ball of spit

https://www.lancs.live/news/lancashire-news/gardeners-warned-report-weird-froth-24209380?int_source=nba


Scientists are worried that a deadly plant disease known as Xyella could be spread between plants by the spittlebug as a carrier. The Xyella disease has devastated olive groves in Italy in the past few years and experts have called Xyella one of the world's most dangerous pathogens.

[David Pilling]

New Reekie: The world's most pungent plant is about to burst into bloom in Edinburgh

The spectacular Amorphophallus titanum (titan arum) is one of the star attractions at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE).


https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/lifestyle/outdoors/new-reekie-the-worlds-most-pungent-plant-is-about-to-burst-into-bloom-in-edinburgh-3737094?itm_source=parsely-api

[Martin Bohnet]

is A.t. really the only contender? I always thought Rafflesia could be a tough one for that title...

[David Pilling]

More than 30 plants stolen from floral displays in South Shields town centre - South Tyneside Council slams acts of vandalism


https://www.shieldsgazette.com/news/crime/more-than-30-plants-stolen-from-floral-displays-in-south-shields-town-centre-south-tyneside-council-slams-acts-of-vandalism-3736797

[MarkMazer]

" While Poseidon's Ribbon Weed is a clonal species, the plant is not interconnected as Aspen groves are. Aspen groves are not made of multiple plants, but rather gargantuan root networks intertwining beneath tens of thousands of genetically identical trees over hundreds of acres."

https://www.nbc11news.com/2022/06/02/australia-claims-sea-grass-species-largest-plant-apparently-forgetting-about-pando-kebler-aspen-groves/

[MarkMazer]

In the news today...

"Warning: Aroids may be habit-forming.

Recently, aroid-tattooed next-generation gardeners have been showing up at Plant Delights Nursery open houses in North Carolina, something that Tony Avent, the nursery's founder, credits to the current houseplant craze."

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/22/realestate/aroid-plants.html

[Mikent]

More than 30 plants stolen from floral displays in South Shields town centre - South Tyneside Council slams acts of vandalism


https://www.shieldsgazette.com/news/crime/more-than-30-plants-stolen-from-floral-displays-in-south-shields-town-centre-south-tyneside-council-slams-acts-of-vandalism-3736797

Were the plant roots nibbled off? Sounds like grey squirrel vandals.

[David Pilling]

Houseplant from Aldi and Tesco that can keep flies away all summer for just 67p

Flies hate one particular plant that you can pick up in your local Aldi or Tesco. Basil repels flies as they hate the strong smell.
...
Mint is also said to keep flies away
...
If your kitchen has fruit flies, you should half fill a glass with apple cider vinegar and cover it with cling film and poke small holes into the cling film.


https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/houseplant-aldi-tesco-can-keep-24329777

[Diane Whitehead]

Does one need to bruise the basil or mint to release the scent?

[David Pilling]

That's often the catch with using the smell of plants - they have to be damaged. It's not always the case.

[David Pilling]

How about a solar powered plant pot/frame that gradually crushes/agitates the plant growing in it, thus providing a constant smell.

[David Pilling]

Scientists discover new giant water lily species

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-61725827

A new species of giant water lily has been discovered - and it's been hiding in plain sight for 177 years.

The huge plant had been in the archives of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and was growing in a number of aquatic collections but it was mistakenly identified as another species.

[Wylie]

Gardeners warned to report weird froth on plants linked to deadly disease

The spittle looks like a ball of spit

https://www.lancs.live/news/lancashire-news/gardeners-warned-report-weird-froth-24209380?int_source=nba


Scientists are worried that a deadly plant disease known as Xyella could be spread between plants by the spittlebug as a carrier. The Xyella disease has devastated olive groves in Italy in the past few years and experts have called Xyella one of the world's most dangerous pathogens.

This came out several years ago and the EU banned a long list of plants from being imported into the EU. Daylilies were on that list and it killed the import of new cultivars. In order to receive a phytosanitary certificate, daylily roots are very, very clean, but they are no longer allowed in. Nettles are also on that list that has 595 plants listed as hosts.