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Fortune Apple Tree Info For over 125 years, Cornell University’s New York State Agricultural Experiment Station has been developing new apple cultivars. One of these, Fortune, is a recent development that is a 1995 cross between Empire and Schoharie Spy, a red variant of Northern Spy. These late season apples shouldn’t be confused with Laxton’s Fortune or the Sister of Fortune cultivars. As mentioned, Fortune apples have a distinct spiciness combined with a flavor that is more tart than sweet....

It’s entirely possible to be a good, efficient gardener and a caring neighbor at the same time, but it requires awareness and consideration. Read on for more ideas on garden etiquette, including lawn mower etiquette. Garden Etiquette Condensing the broad subject of garden etiquette into one phrase is easy: be a good neighbor. However, figuring out how to be a good neighbor when it comes to maintaining your property takes a little more effort....

How Does Rain Reduce Stress? April showers bring May flowers and so much more. If you find rainy days relaxing, you’re not alone. There are several ways that rain soothes and relieves stress: Petrichor – The word for that unique fragrance produced when it is raining is petrichor. It’s a combination of a number of compounds and chemical reactions triggered by rain hitting plants, soil, and bacteria. Most people find the smell refreshing and invigorating....

Vegetable Gardening To-Do List for September This is one of the best months of the year in the upper Midwest for vegetable gardeners. You’ve been harvesting all summer, but now is the big payoff. Here’s what to do now to harvest, extend, and prepare for winter: Thin any seedlings you started last month for a fall harvest.Early in the month you can still get away with starting some cool weather veggies like chard, kale, spinach, and radishes....

Why Doesn’t My Grapefruit Tree Bear Fruit? Is the tree mature enough to bear fruit? You may have started the tree from a seed or a sprout that developed on a grapefruit you bought at the store. Grapefruit tree info says that seed-grown trees may not be mature enough to get grapefruits on trees for 25 years. Grapefruit on a tree does not develop until the tree reaches a certain height....

Tips for African Violet Care When you learn how to grow African violets, you can add several to indoor spaces for bright and cheerful blooms when the outdoor landscape is mostly brown and bare. Growing African violets takes little indoor space; grow them in small pot groupings for a showy display. Soil – Pot the plant into the right soil for the easiest African violet care. Special mixes are available or make your own from peat moss, vermiculite, and perlite in equal parts....

This airy shrub has aromatic green, silvery green, yellow, or green and white foliage depending upon the cultivar. Caryopteris blue mist shrub’s prized feature, however, is the blue to purple blooms, flowering in late summer all the way up until the first heavy winter frost. The flowers on growing blue mist shrubs are great attractors for pollinators such as butterflies and bees. How to Grow a Blue Mist Shrub Blue mist shrub planting can occur in USDA zones 5 through 9 and is deciduous in most regions, although it may remain evergreen in mild climates....

The impact of high heat and drought may be one of the greatest factors in choosing which grape cultivars to grow. Let’s learn more about grapes that can tolerate heat and drought-like conditions. How to Grow Grapes in High Heat and Drought Before adding grapevines to the garden, it will be important to decide which type is most suitable to your climate. American hybrid grapes are a very popular choice throughout the eastern United States....

How to Start an Organic Herb Garden Apart from convenience, one of the best things about growing your own food is that you know exactly what goes into producing it. Growing organic herbs in your garden is as easy as using only organic certified materials and avoiding non-certified ones. Since you’re in control, there are no surprise chemicals and being in control of herbs is so easy. Most of the popular herbs in Western cooking are native to the Mediterranean, so they thrive in similar conditions....

What Is Sorghum? Sorghum doesn’t enjoy as much popularity today as it did in the 1800s. Then it was an important sweetener and many cuisines featured it in classic recipes. It has received more interest in recent years due to its important properties. The Sorghum plant is a southern crop in the grass family. The flower stalk matures in hues of yellow, red, brown and combinations of each. This is Sorghum bicolor, a nutrient rich food for humans and animals....

Fixing a Vandalized Tree Tree bark is very vulnerable to vandalism. You know how even awkward landscaping attempts, like lawn mowing and weed trimming, can affect trees. Deliberate slicing into the tree’s bark can cause even more damage. If the tree was vandalized in early spring or fall, the bark is looser because of plant tissue growth. This can result in greater problems for the tree. Don’t worry though. You can take steps to start fixing a vandalized tree as soon as you notice the problem....

Tips on Houseplant Winter Care Help indoor plants prepare for their dormant period by decreasing the amount of water and the frequency of irrigation. Water only when the top one to two inches (2.5-5 cm.) of soil feels dry to the touch, using room temperature water. Growth is slower during the winter and too much water can trigger root rot. Some plants need very little water during the winter, while cacti and other succulents may need no water at all until spring....

In addition, if you have plants that don’t like too much direct sun, you can easily diffuse the light in your western window by drawing a sheer curtain. In this way, it can be a very versatile window because you can grow a wider variety of plants. Houseplants for West Windows There are many great plants for west window light that will enjoy the afternoon direct sun and warmer temperatures....

Choosing Houseplants for North-Facing Windows Keep in mind that no plant likes to be placed in a dark corner. There are plants that will tolerate it, but you’ll want to have your plants within a foot (30 cm.) or so away from your north-facing window. Here are some plants that like low light windows: Pothos – Pothos is a wonderful low light houseplant. You can allow the trailing vines to grow long, or if you’d like a bushier look, you can trim them back....

You’ve probably tried rooting a cutting in water but have you tried to grow an entire plant in just water? Anthurium plants like warm, moist conditions, so it would seem possible to grow them in water. The difference between an Anthurium in water vs. soil is the care. An Anthurium in water only will need supplemental feeding more frequently. Learn how to grow Anthurium in water for an eye catching display of the plant and its roots....

Possible Pole Bean Supports Pole One of the most common pole bean supports is, well, the pole. This straight stick is so often used when staking beans that it is has given its name to the bean it supports. The bean pole is used because it is one of the easiest ways to stake up pole beans. When using poles as pole bean supports, you’ll want the pole to be 6 to 8 feet (2-2....

But sometimes people miscalculate, or their lives change, and the tree or shrub turns out to be growing in an inconvenient place. Here are some tips about how to help the tree survive a transplant. Evergreen vs. Deciduous Transplant Trying to transplant an evergreen tree is more difficult than moving a deciduous tree. That’s because evergreens hold onto their leaves or needles all year long. That means that the trees will be bulkier and heavier than a deciduous tree of a similar height....

What is a Panda Plant (Kalanchoe Tomentosa)? More than 100 varieties of Kalanchoe grow in the wilds of Africa and other parts of the Old World. Kalanchoe tomentosa grows wild on the island of Madagascar. In its native environment, growing Kalanchoe panda plants have a woody base and reach several feet (1 m.). As an indoor plant, however, panda plant growth is limited by the size of the container, usually reaching only 1 to 2 feet (31-61 cm....

Information about Blackthorn Plants Blackthorns are small, deciduous trees also referred to as ‘sloe.’ They grow in scrubs, thickets, and woodlands in the wild. In the landscape, hedges are the most common use for growing blackthorn trees. A growing blackthorn tree is spiny and densely limbed. It has smooth, dark brown bark with straight side shoots that become thorned. The leaves are wrinkled, serrated ovals that are pointed at the tip and tapered at the base....

The average home interior is perfect for growing Cattleya orchids. There are just a few details to learn regarding how to grow Cattleya orchids; but once you master those, you will have a lovely and long-term addition to your home. Information About Cattleya Orchids are the largest group of flowering plants. Their presence is in most areas of the world, and they are highly adaptive as a species. Cattleyas are named for William Cattley, an English horticulturist from the 19th century....