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Can Music Accelerate Plant Growth? Believe it or not, numerous studies have indicated that playing music for plants really does promote faster, healthier growth. In 1962, an Indian botanist conducted several experiments on music and plant growth. He found that certain plants grew an extra 20 percent in height when exposed to music, with a considerably greater growth in biomass. He found similar results for agricultural crops, such as peanuts, rice, and tobacco, when he played music through loudspeakers placed around the field....

If you have underwatered trees, you need to get them some water. Fixing dehydrated trees is more complex than simply turning on the hose, however. Read on for information about how, when and how much to water stressed trees. When Your Tree is Dehydrated You can tell if your tree is water stressed by looking at the foliage. Both leaves and needles turn yellow, scorch and even fall when the tree is deprived of water over a significant period of time....

Why is Bark Peeling Off my Tree? When bark peels off a tree, determine whether the tree is going through a normal shedding process or if injury or disease is causing the problem. If you see bark covering the wood after the old bark peels away, the tree is probably undergoing a normal shedding process. If you see bare wood or mats of fungus under the peeling bark, the tree is suffering from environmental damage or disease....

Pilea Friendship Plants The friendship plant bears its name due to the rapid rooting of cuttings that can be established for new plants to give to friends and family. This cute little Pilea will get about 6 inches (15 cm.) high and rarely up to 12 inches (30.5 cm.). It is useful in low-light situations, although it does need several hours a day of sunlight. With proper care, this little gem might even favor you with its pale pink flowers....

What are Snowdrops in the Green? Galanthus is the botanical name for snowdrops. These easy-to-grow charmers are in bloom from January often until March. Planting snowdrops in the green is the traditional method to enjoy these little darlings. Novice gardeners may want to know “What are snowdrops in the green?” and “When is the best time to plant them?”. These questions and more will be answered. Flowers on snowdrops may last a month or two in late winter to early spring....

What is Pollen? Pollen is a small grain made up of just a few cells and is produced by both flowering plants and cone-bearing plants, known as angiosperms and gymnosperms. If you are allergic, you feel the presence of pollen in the spring. If not, you likely notice it dusting surfaces, often giving things, like your car, a greenish tinge. Pollen grains are unique to the plants they come from and can be identified under a microscope by shape, size, and the presence of surface textures....

About Cabbage Looper Pests Cabbage loopers have up to seven instars. The larvae mature to thick green caterpillars with a white stripe running along either side. They have five pairs of prologs and a cigar shaped body, which is thinner at the head end. By the time the larvae reaches maturity, it may be as much as 2 inches (5 cm.) long. Once the looper pupates, it becomes a grayish brown moth....

Troubleshooting Drooping Yucca Plants How to revive a droopy yucca plant depends on what is causing the issue. Here are some reasons for yucca drooping along with steps you can take to remedy the situation. Improper watering Yucca is a succulent plant, meaning that the fleshy leaves store water to sustain the plant when water is scarce. Like all succulent plants, yucca is prone to rot, a type of fungal disease that develops when conditions are too wet....

Red Baron Peach Info Red Baron peaches are widely available in supermarkets because they don’t transport well. These delicate fruits are popular home orchard plants that bloom and produce prolifically. In fact, the production is so high, culling the blossoms to minimize fruit per stem tip is advised for better fruit size. That being said, with a little care, harvesting Red Baron peaches in August and taking those first bites is one of the highlights of the summer....

How to Root Jade Plant Cuttings Growing jade plants from cuttings starts with taking the cutting. Select a branch on the jade plant that is healthy and free from disease. The branch should be 3 to 4 inches (8-10 cm.) long for rooting a jade plant. If there is not a branch that long on the jade plant, you may want to try the directions for propagating jade plants from leaves (which is lower in this article)....

‘Perfection Drumhead’ cabbage is just one example of a cultivar that adds both taste and visual appeal to the home garden. About Perfection Drumhead Cabbage Dating back to the 1800’s, Perfection Drumhead savoy cabbage has long been a staple for many vegetable growers. Like most savoy types, these heirloom cabbage plants are known for their textured and wrinkled appearance. In this savoy cabbage, the growing heads form large groups of loosely packed leaves which keep exceptionally well in the garden....

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....

Should I Fertilize Zucchini? As with any fruiting plant, zucchini can benefit from additional feedings. How much and when to apply zucchini plant fertilizer will depend on how well the soil was prepared prior to sowing or transplanting. For optimal production, zucchini should be started in rich, well-draining soil in an area of full sun. Summer squashes are heavy feeders, but if you are lucky enough to have nutrient rich soil, you may not need any additional feeding of zucchini plants....

Sky Plant Bromeliads Bromeliads are found in most areas of the world but are mostly tropical to subtropical plants. They grow without root support in soil and can even be found in habitat hanging from trees. Tillandsia sky plant is a member of this family and produces a rosette form of leaves that funnel to a central core. The plant is native from Mexico to Nicaragua and naturally grows on trees and even rock faces....

Spring Lawn Cleanup It may not be a lot of fun, but spring lawn maintenance requires a few hours of spring lawn cleanup. It’s tempting to get started on the first sunny day, but it’s critical to wait until the ground is dry or you may compact the soil and damage the tender roots. Once the lawn is dry, you can gently rake away dead grass, leaves, twigs, and other debris....

Not All Thrips on Flowers Are Bad If you are wondering how to kill thrips, insecticides work. The problem with killing them is that you will accidentally kill things that are beneficial to your plants. This includes some species of thrips. Therefore, you want to form a plan of thrip control because controlling thrips is much better for your plants than getting rid of thrips altogether. There are other pests that can cause damage similar to that of thrips....

Growing Hibiscus in Containers Many people who are growing a hibiscus plant choose to do so in a container. This allows them to move the hibiscus plant to ideal locations, depending on the time of year. Provide the plants with at least six hours of sunlight, especially if you want to see those lovely blooms. Although warm, humid conditions are ideal for tropical hibiscus, you may want to provide a little afternoon shade when it’s overly hot....

Propagating Ligularia by Splitting Dividing perennials can rejuvenate them and stimulate new growth. Sometimes perennials will let you know when they need to be divided by not blooming well or when the center of the plant dies, leaving only a sort of donut shape of growth around the original plant crown. The plant overcrowds itself, and absorption of water and nutrients becomes restricted. Ligularia usually only needs to be divided for these reasons every five to ten years....

What Causes Southern Blight of Tomatoes? Southern blight is caused by a fungus that can live in the top 2 to 3 inches (5-8 cm.) of soil for several years. The disease is unleashed when plant matter is left to decompose on the soil surface. Signs of Southern Blight of Tomatoes Southern blight of tomatoes is generally a problem in warm, damp weather and can be a serious problem in tropical and subtropical climates....

What is Pecan Cotton Root Rot? Outside of Texas, when this infection strikes a pecan tree or other plant, Texas root rot is the more common name. In Texas it is called cotton root rot. It is one of the deadliest fungal infections — caused by Phymatortrichum omnivorum — that can strike any plant, affecting more than 2,000 species. The fungus thrives in hot and moist weather, but it lives deep in the soil, and when and where it will attack plant roots is impossible to predict....