What Causes Dry Rot in Potatoes? Dry rot of potatoes is caused by several fungi in the genus Fusarium. Fusarium are relatively weak fungi, unable to attack potatoes with intact skin, but once inside the tuber, these pathogens cause significant problems and allow other diseases, like bacterial soft rot, to take hold. Potato dry rot disease is most common in the spring and fall and can remain dormant in the soil....
Creating a Hydrangea Patio Tree Hydrangea in pots make lovely patio companions. Most tend to grow large and shrubby, but with the right care and pruning, you can create a pretty little flowering tree. You can try any type of hydrangea for this project, but Hydrangea paniculata has the most tree-like growth habit. Also known as tree hydrangea or panicle hydrangea, H. paniculata can grow up to 15 feet (4.5 m....
Pruning of Tomatillos Before you decide how to prune tomatillo plants, you must first determine your goals. The way you prune your plant helps determine the number of tomatillos the plants will produce and the size of the fruit. It also affects the date of maturity. Can I Prune a Tomatillo? While tomatillo pruning isn’t absolutely necessary, you can improve the health of the plant and the yield by pruning. First, determine whether you want one or two main central stems....
Plants Rabbits Won’t Eat As a general rule, plants rabbits don’t like include those that have strong scents, spines, prickles, or leathery leaves. Rabbits also tend to avoid plants that exude a milky sap. An innate sense of danger often– but not always– steers animals away from plants that are toxic. Often, native plants are relatively rabbit resistant more so than non-native (exotic) plants. These may include: Yarrow Lupine Lungwort Manzanita Bee balm...
What is a Flowering Rain Garden? A flowering rain garden is simply a rain garden that you design with several flowering species so that you get attractive blooms throughout the growing season. More generally a rain garden is a strategically designed bed or area that traps, filters, and controls storm and runoff water. A rain garden should be made up of plants that can absorb a lot of water and should be situated where runoff and rain tend to collect, the lower spots in your yard....
What is Sandalwood? Sandalwood (Santalum sp.) is a large shrub or tree hardy in zones 10 and 11. While there are over 100 species of sandalwood plants, most varieties are native to India, Hawaii, or Australia. Depending on variety and location, sandalwood may grow as 10 foot tall (3 m.) shrubs or trees up to 30 feet tall (9 m.). They are often found in areas with poor, dry, clay or sandy soils....
Another way is to actually cut back living growth on your houseplant in order to encourage a more shapely and full plant. When should you prune houseplants? How do you prune indoor plants? Let’s take a look. When to Prune Houseplants It is important to know when to prune houseplants because there are good times and bad times to do this task. The best time to prune indoor plants is right at the beginning of the growing season....
What is a Solar Tunnel? What is a solar tunnel? Well, if you look it up on the internet, you’re more likely to find information on skylights than anything to do with gardening. More often, solar tunnel gardens are referred to as high tunnels or low tunnels, depending on their height, or even quick hoops. Basically, a high tunnel is a poor man’s greenhouse made of bent galvanized metal pipe or more often PVC pipe....
Why is Stem Turning Black on Corn Plant? When a dracaena has black stems, it probably means that the plant has begun to rot. This happens because something has weakened the plant enough to allow harmful microorganisms to take over. Here are a few things that can weaken a dracaena: Most people forget to water their plants from time to time, but repeated improper watering over a long period of time can devastate a plant....
Preparing a Firebush Transplant Plan ahead if possible, as advance preparation significantly increases the chance of successfully transplanting a firebush. The best option on when to transplant firebush is to prepare in fall and transplant in spring, although you can also prepare in spring and transplant in fall. If the shrub is very large, you may want to prune the roots a year ahead. Preparation involves tying the lower branches to ready the shrub for root pruning, then pruning the roots after tying up the branches....
Transplanting Hawthorn Hedges Hawthorns (Crataegus monogyna) are often used for hedges. A dense hawthorn hedge offers great protection for small wildlife and birds and also does a good job at keeping out intruders. Hawthorns produce flowers in early summer, followed by showy berries. These stay on the shrubs into winter, providing birds with food during the cold months. Although the shrubs are happy campers once they are in the soil, the “thorn” part of hawthorn becomes important if you are thinking of hawthorn hedge transplanting or trimming hawthorns for that matter....
Trees that Handle Drought All trees need some water, but if you are planting new trees or replacing those in your backyard, it pays to select trees that handle drought. You can identify drought tolerant deciduous trees and drought resistant evergreen trees if you know what to look for. A few species – like birch, dogwood and sycamore – are decidedly not good dry-weather species, but many others species resist drought to some extent....
Using Sawdust in Compost These days, woodworking is a popular pastime (though not as popular as gardening). A great many people enjoy putting objects together with their own two hands and enjoy the feeling of accomplishment that comes from taking a pile of wood planks and turning them into something lovely and useful. Besides a feeling of pride, the other byproduct of a woodworking hobby is a whole lot of sawdust....
Growing mixed ornamental and edible containers actually makes a lot of sense. It’s an efficient way to grow edible plants without building raised beds or plowing up the lawn for a garden patch. However, growing vegetables and flowers in pots does require a bit of planning. Here are some tips on growing potted veggies and flowers to get you started. Ornamental and Edible Containers It’s essential to consider each plant’s growing conditions before you grow food crops with ornamentals....
What is Grape Vein Clearing Virus? Over the last few decades, occurrences of vein clearing of grapes have appeared in the United States, across the Midwest and in parts of the South. Though the decline in health of grapevines with vein clearing virus may not be immediately noticeable, plant growth may become stunted over time. Additionally, grape clusters produced may be reduced in size, misshapen, or even have undesirable textures. One of the most noticeable and obvious vein clearing symptoms occurs in the veins of grapevine leaves....
Symptoms of Volutella Blight on Boxwood The first sign of volutella blight on boxwood is delayed and stunted growth in spring, typically followed by the dieback of branches. Leaves turn yellow, darkening to tan as the disease progresses, often with black streaks on the petioles (small stems that join the leaves to the branch). Unlike healthy leaves that spread out, leaves affected by volutella blight remain close to the stem. If conditions are wet, you may notice masses of pinkish spores on the lower surface of foliage....
Carrotwood Tree Information What is a carrotwood tree? Growing only 30 to 40 feet (10-12 m.) tall with a spread of twenty to thirty feet (6-10 m.), carrotwoods are decorative, little trees with a lot of potential in the home landscape. Many small trees are a disaster around patios and decks because they drop litter in the form of leaves, flowers, and fruit, but carrotwoods are neat trees that don’t require constant cleanup....
What is a Fringed Bleeding Heart? Fringed bleeding heart (Dicentra eximia) is native to the eastern United States. It is found naturally throughout forest floors and shaded, rocky out-crops of the Appalachian Mountains. This native variety is also known as wild bleeding heart. They grow best in moist, humus rich soil in full to partially shaded locations. In the wild, fringed bleeding-heart plants will naturalize by self-seeding, but they are not considered to be aggressive or invasive....
What is a Leaf Rake Used for? A leaf rake is a lightweight rake that is shaped like a fan with flat, springy tines radiating outward. This type of rake is designed to be light enough to glide over grass without damaging it and digging into the turf. Leaf rakes are also sometimes referred to as lawn rakes. There are steel, polypropylene or bamboo types of leaf rakes available. The beauty of bamboo or polypropylene leaf rakes over steel rakes is that they are predominantly rust free; the wire holding the tines together may rust if not stored properly or oiled, however....
What is a Legacy Garden? Here’s one useful way to look at creating legacy gardens: A legacy garden involves learning about the past, growing for the future, and living in the present time. Legacy Garden Ideas When it comes to legacy garden ideas, the possibilities are nearly endless, and nearly any type of plant can become a legacy garden plant. For example: Legacy garden ideas for schools – Most American schools aren’t in session during the summer months, which makes gardening projects very challenging....
