if you find the HTML codes at imgur ... and paste them over the codes you provided... your pix will show up in the post.. when you hit preview ...if you see them.. we will see them ... [there is an edit post function]

there are way to many pix.. for me to be opening all those extra windows ...

welcome to GW ... we will get you up to speed ... and hopefully solve your issue .. its all a learning curve.. GW and the garden ....

ken

Hi, Ken! Thanks for the heads up. The problem appears to be fixed now.

How sunny is your garden area? From the first photo it doesn't appear that this area gets a lot of direct sunlight....which is exactly what all these plants need. I don't see anything that causes me concern otherwise except that you are quite possibly overwatering both the lavender and the salvia (purple sage), which btw is an evergreen subshrub so not at the end of either the growing season OR its lifespan. And chocolate cosmos are always floppy - kind of the nature of the beast.

The money tree should come back just fine. Just make sure the next container has adequate drainage holes and you use a decent quality potting soil. And skip the watering everyday.......water as necessary. It's difficult to say how often that should be, as climate, indoor heat & humidity, size of container, and type of potting soil will all play a big factor. IME, most folks water houseplants too often. Allow to dry out slightly in between watering thoroughly :-))

Update: The cosmos have stopped being floppy. I leaned them up against a wall for a few days, and they seem to be fine. :) The discoloration is still present.

Gardengal: You caught me on the sunlight. This picture was taken around 8pm on a stormy day, but it still doesn't get a lot of sun. I do my best to move them to where they get as much as possible, and it seems to help, but they likely need more. My apartment balcony is north-facing, has two trees in front of it in late spring through summer (of course!), and it's on the Seattle waterfront. I do see others successfully growing these plants, so I know it can be done. What do you recommend? As for the salvia and lavender, I only have one plant that actively likes water, so I didn't water them until the soil had been totally dry, with the exception of the cosmos. Thanks for the feedback on the money tree- I understand killing those things is a bad omen. ;) What do you think about those roots?

Thanks again!

you are a good student ...

first ... they are extremely overgrown for the small pots they are in .. what one might call.. propagation pots .. ... you are going to have a hard time watering them properly ....

they need to up-potted ... you might get help in this regard in the container forum ... as your next biggest hurdle will be the potting media... no dirt .. and i dont know if that bag of what you have standing there is any good ...

second... i dont know money tree.. but it looks like a houseplant.. and there is a very good houseplant forum ... it also looks like its in a very tiny propagation pot... it needs better .. visit that forum ..

personally... i would not have bought such overgrown plants [mostly because they flop real fast.. lol .. your first lesson] ... but that is all part of your learning curve ...

but do try to make it an enjoyable event.. we garden to reduce stress.. not increase it ...

and trust me.. you are not considered a green thumb.. until you have killed.. EVERY PLANT... 3 times ... so if your learning curve isnt fast enough.. and some stuff dies.. consider all the lessons learned [up potting.. media.. size at purchase..e tc] .. and try again ... and again.. and again ....

just dont give up ...

ken

Thanks, I try. :) I feel I am lucky when I find willing teachers, and that they deserve my respect and willingness to listen.

I am actually worried about the repotting process. That probably won't change until I know I can keep my plants alive. :) I know that terracotta has a habit of drying out soil, and that the pots they came in are too restricting. I understand that plastic in general is discouraged. Why? I will look at the forum later tonight. Thanks for the suggestion.

I just bought soil and fertilizer when I bought my plants. I grabbed the ones the nursery recommended to me sense, unfortunately the needs weren't listed on the label as I was told they would be in my research.

The soil I ended up with was this one: http://www.ebstone.org/13_ednas.php

And the fertilizer is this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Earth-Organic-Purpose-Fertilizer-4-4-4/dp/B00GYG3SDU

with these instructions:
http://drearth.net/learning-center/projects/fertilizer-feeding-guide/

From what I've noticed, the money tree frequently is a houseplant. I'll check the forum tonight and consult them, but I have also seen it do well in back yards. It does definitely need a new pot.

I will take smaller plants into account next time. My thinking was that if they were more fully grown, I had less opportunity to ruin them. I'll repot within a week or two. Is there a specific ratio I should look for with size? Do you think it'll fix the floppiness? (It's not a problem yet, except for the cosmos, which have been fixed.)

Gardengal suggested more sunlight. should I opt for a grow light or something? If so, what kind?

Thanks again!

As an aside, I plan on getting a pH test kit so I can rule out soil as a potential problem in any future questions. :) Very excited.

Lavender wants full sun, so I doubt you will find it growing with the ease and vigor on your shady north facing balcony as it would out in the open. Ditto the purple sage. And was that rosemary I saw as well? It too needs as much sun as possible. The mint and choc cosmos are far more tolerant of lower light conditions so they should be OK.

As a relocated Seattleite myself, I understand the situation pretty well. As far north as we are, sun even in summer is lower on the horizon and with a covered north facing balcony, you are really working under shade conditions. If you are watering sparingly, then the assumption is the yellowing foliage is the result of insufficient sunlight coupled with the fact that the pots are remaining moist too long.

Pot up with a good quality potting soil and provide as much sunlight as you possibly can.....maybe raising the containers on a plant stand or using a balcony-hanging window box.

I am actually worried about the repotting process. That probably won't change until I know I can keep my plants alive. :)

==>>> this will be doing it the hard way ...

you are going to have an extremely hard time.. watering.. because they are so root bound ...

and if you repot ... you will need very little fert ... be clear.. they are NOT children.. that need to be feed repeatedly .. they are plants ... this is very hard for newbs to understand ... and dont listen to all the marketing by miracle grow.. about how they are starving to death ...

to make it simpler... you really need to repot ... do visit the container forum ... you have so much to learn about such ...

good luck ....

ken

Thanks gardengal!

Plastic pots are NOT discouraged. Besides, most free pots are plastic. ;)

Don't be worried about re-potting. It's quite easy. At first we are scared that we might hurt the plant, but other than major damage like breaking the main stem, there is precious little physical damage we can do that will hurt a plant. Take a box cutter and hack at the root ball -- the plant will smile and put out fresh new roots.

So long as you are giving it good dirt and more room to wiggle its toes, re-potting is always a net positive experience for a plant. (Though there is a phenomenon called transplant shock where your little green buddy takes a couple days to get used to its new home. .. much more traumatic for you than for the plant... )

So don't worry; be happy.

Dennis