gardendigest

Cape Marigold Information As the name indicates, cape marigold (Dimorphotheca sinuata) is native to South Africa. Although cape marigold is an annual in all but the warmest climates, it tends to reseed readily to produce stunning carpets of bright color year after year. In fact, if not controlled by regular deadheading, boisterous cape marigold plants can become invasive, especially in warmer climates. In cooler climates, you may need to replant every spring....

Veggie Plants for Container Growing As a general rule, the best veggie plants for container gardening are dwarf, miniature, or bush types. (A few suggestions are offered in the list below, but there are many varieties – check the seed packet or nursery container). Most container vegetable plants need a container with a depth of at least 8 inches (20.5 cm.). Some, like full-size tomatoes, need a depth of at least 12 inches (30....

Daffodils, for example, are excellent at making more of themselves. Your plant has one bulb, and that bulb makes offsets, or daughter bulbs, at the edge of its basal plate. The mother bulb will nourish the daughters as they grow. In time, the daughter bulbs will be healthy and large enough to start flowering by themselves. Soon enough, the clump of bulbs will become so crowded together that they start competing for nourishment in the soil....

What is Black Canker? Black canker is caused by the fungus Glomerella miyabeana. In willow trees, it often accompanies scab. Leaves that develop irregularly shaped spots are the first sign that a tree may be suffering from black canker. The spots appear in late spring or early summer, and the tree looks otherwise normal. Tree owners hardly notice the problem at this point, even though infected leaves may shrivel. Cankers form at the point where the leaf stem attaches to the twig in late summer, and as the disease progresses, you’ll find cankers where the twigs attach to stems and branches....

Companion Planting with Agapanthus Once you know about plants that grow well with agapanthus, you can select agapanthus companion plants for your garden. The first thing to keep in mind is that companion plants for agapanthus must share the flower’s preferences for temperature, soil, and sun. Agapanthus thrives in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 7 through 11. This perennial can reach 5 feet (1.5 m.) tall, depending on variety, and looks most attractive grown in masses of color....

What is Allelopathy? Allelopathy is a biological phenomenon where one plant inhibits the growth of another. How? Through the release of allelochemicals, certain plants can greatly affect the growth of other plants either in a good or bad way by leaching, decomposition, etc. In essence, plant allelopathy is used as a means of survival in nature, reducing competition from plants nearby. Plant Allelopathy Various parts of plants can have these allelopathic properties, from the foliage and flowers to the roots, bark, soil, and mulch....

Modern gardeners are getting access to all kinds of interesting crops. Crops from around the world allow us to expand our palettes and give us an opportunity to grow something new. Armenian cucumbers are just one such crop. The melon has many of the characteristics of a cucumber but can also be used in sweet dishes. What are Armenian Cucumber Plants? Armenian cucumber melons look much like a cucumber, only often bent rather than straight....

Propagating Azalea Cuttings Rooting azalea stem cuttings and planting azalea seeds are the two main methods of azalea plant propagation. Both will produce new azalea plants, but they may not look the same. A seedling is usually a cross between two different azalea plants, and can look like either parent or a mixture of both. If you want your new plants to be look-alikes of the parent, grow azalea plants from cuttings....

Many types and varieties of black-eyed peas plants are available to grow in your garden. Black-eyed peas growing info says some types are commonly called cowpeas, crowder peas, purple-eyed, black-eyed, frijoles, or cream peas. The black-eyed peas plant may be a bush or a trailing vine and can produce peas throughout the season (indeterminate) or all at once (determinate). It is helpful to know which type you have when planting black-eyed peas....

Grape Leaf Blister Mite Info Adult blister leaf mites are tiny– smaller than a mote of dust. If you could view them with the naked eye though, you would see cream-colored worms with two pairs of legs. Grape erineum mite damage appears on young leaves as dark green to pink tinged swellings on upper areas. The underside of leaves have a concave appearance, littered with blister-like edemas covered with a felted carpeting of dense long leaf hairs....

Blue Atlas Cedar Care The Blue Atlas cedar is a stately and majestic evergreen with a strong, vertical trunk and open, almost horizontal limbs. With its stiff, blue-green needles, it makes an exceptional specimen tree for big backyards. Blue Atlas cedar care starts with selecting an appropriate planting location. If you decide to plant a Blue Atlas cedar, give it plenty of room to spread out. The trees don’t thrive in restricted space....

About Datura Plant Propagation Datura is a lovely flowering plant with large, trumpet-shaped blooms that open upwards toward the sun. It is oftentimes confused with brugmansia, which is also commonly called angel’s trumpet. However, the trumpet-shaped blooms of brugmansia hang down, while datura blooms face up. Hardy in zones 7-11, datura is grown and divided just like any perennial in these locations. It is important to note that datura contains toxins in all parts of the plant, which have been known to cause skin irritations, and ingestion can be fatal....

Growing Squash Indoors Although vining squash needs a large growing space, smaller bush-type squash plants are suitable for growing indoors. They may be smaller, but indoor squash plants can produce a hefty harvest beginning about sixty days after planting. Some popular available in compact bush varieties include: Buttercup Butternut Acorn Yellow Crookneck Patty Pan Zucchini How to Grow Squash Inside Bush squash doesn’t require a huge growing space like standard vining squash, but it’s still a relatively large plant....

Planting Hosta in Cold Climates There are many beautiful varieties of hostas for zone 3. With their easy care and maintenance, hostas are an excellent choice for shady spots in the garden or borders. Planting a hosta in cold climates is as simple as digging a hole, putting the hosta in, filling the remaining space with soil, and watering. Once planted, water daily for the first week, every other day the second week, then once a week until established....

Selecting Perennials for Zone 9 Since perennial plants for zone 9 are so abundant, choosing the right ones means narrowing the list to those that pique your interest the most, provided they are suitable candidates for your particular gardening site. Below are merely a handful of perennials in zone 9 gardens that stand out amongst most others. Buddleia (Buddleia spp.), also known as butterfly bush for very good reason, is a sun-loving, flowering shrub that reaches heights of 3 to 5 feet (1-1....

Learn How to Compost Nut Shells Every successful compost pile includes a mixture of brown and green ingredients, or those that break down into carbon and nitrogen. Composting nut shells will add to the carbon side of the list. You may not have enough nut shells to completely fill out the pile of brown ingredients, but any shells you create in your kitchen will be a welcome addition to the pile....

Information on Picking Squash Blossoms Flowers from summer squash, zucchini, late-season pumpkins, and winter squash make tasty garnishes or even side dishes. The plants produce both male and female flowers, with a higher population of them male. The female blossoms will become the fruit so in order to preserve your harvest, it is best to pick the male blooms. Being aware of the difference between male and female blooms is important to know when picking squash blossoms....

Using Passover Flowers Flowers are not traditionally part of the celebration, but as with Easter, Passover falls in the spring when fresh, new blooms are available and new life is on everyone’s mind. There is no reason not to use flowers for Passover, and there are multiple ways you can use them, including decorating and gifting. Use flowers on the seder dinner table, if you are hosting, or around the room and house to include the freshness and beauty of spring blooms....

How to Stop Weeds Using Flowers Farmers have always used cover crops (like peas, beans, soybeans, wheat, and rye) to smother out pesky weeds and replace nutrients, like nitrogen, which can be leached from the soil by rains and waterings. In flower beds and home vegetable gardens, you can also use this method of dense planting for weed control. In vegetable gardens, herbs can be tucked in the spaces around vegetable plants....

Types of Petunia Plants There are four main types of petunia plants: Grandiflora, Multiflora, Milliflora, and Spreading (Wave). All four are readily available in series, which are groups of plants with uniform size and flowering habits. The only varying characteristic is the range of colors of different petunia flowers within each series. Varieties of Petunias The oldest types are Grandiflora petunias, which were developed in the 1950s. Grandiflora petunia varieties boast blooms measuring up to 5 inches (12....