Ladybug Egg Information The first stage in becoming a ladybug is the egg stage, so let’s absorb a little ladybug egg information. Once the female has mated, she lays between 10 and 50 eggs on a plant that has plenty of food for her children to eat once hatched, usually a plant infested with aphids, scale, or mealybugs. Over the course of the spring and early summer, one female ladybug can lay up to 1,000 eggs....
Transplanting Indian Hawthorn If you want a low-maintenance evergreen shrub to form graceful mounds in your garden, consider Indian hawthorns (Rhaphiolepis species and hybrids). Their attractive, dense foliage and neat, mounded growth habit appeal to many gardeners. And they are ideal low-maintenance plants that don’t demand much to keep looking nice. In spring, Indian hawthorn shrubs offer fragrant pink or white flowers to ornament the garden. These are followed by dark purple berries eaten by wild birds....
What is Internal Tipburn? Problems with vegetables caused by cultural and environmental situations are common. Even professional growers may be beset by nutritional deficiencies, irrigation issues, or even excess fertilization which causes damage to their crops. In the case of internal tipburn, any one of these can cause the situation. Internal tipburn in cole vegetables can be managed, however, and is considered a moderate crop plant concern. The initial signs of internal tipburn in cole vegetables are at the center of the head....
What are Water Garden Weeds? Whether or not a water garden plant is a weed depends on where it is growing. In some cases, harsh winters help keep weeds in check. In warm areas, many common water garden plants become weeds. For example, these are all considered noxious weeds: Water hyacinths Drifts of duckweed Giant Salvinia Hydrilla Creeping water primrose Cattails Some types of water lilies Some of them present such an extreme danger to the environment that they are forbidden in some states....
About Ixora Shrubs If you don’t live in Florida or any other warm weather state, you may not know about Ixora shrubs. The plant can be used in other zones as an annual or as a container plant that gets moved indoors when cold temperatures threaten. The plant has glossy leathery leaves that are oval shaped and stiff. The plant is similar in appearance to and related to the gardenia. Blooms are clusters of four petaled florets which can last four to six weeks on the stem....
Finding Goose and Duck Proof Plants Certain regions are waterfowl Nirvana. If you live in such a site, don’t despair. There are some plants ducks and geese won’t eat. Keeping plants safe from ducks and geese is another option to a waterfowl proof garden by using barriers. Consider some of these plants as well as effective barriers in areas of the garden that are known havens for these birds. Ducks will eat small insects as well as vegetation, while geese tend to stick with foliage and flowers....
Lemongrass Tea Benefits The most common part of lemongrass used is the base of the stem, or white part. This can be chopped up and added to dressing, stir fries, soups, or stews. It also makes a great marinade for chicken and fish. You can use the green part in tea. It is great mixed with black or green tea or as its own tea. Don’t’ know how to make lemongrass tea?...
How to Make a Hula Hoop Wreath Begin, of course, with a hula hoop. Hoops are available in several sizes, from child-sized to very large. If small hula hoops are bigger than you like, you can also use wooden embroidery hoops. Most hula hoops have a plastic coating. It’s fine to leave the coating in place, but be sure to remove it if you want to paint the hoop because the paint won’t adhere....
Growing Mangrove Trees at Home You’ll find mangrove trees in the wild in shallow, brackish waters of the southern United States. They also grow in riverbeds and wetlands. You can start growing mangrove trees in your backyard if you live in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 9-12. If you want an impressive potted plant, consider growing mangroves from seed in containers at home. You’ll have to pick between three different types of mangroves:...
Medinilla Information Medinilla is a tropical shrub that can grow up to 4 ft. (1 m.) tall. It grows like epiphytic orchids, in the holes and crotches of trees. Unlike orchids, though, Medinilla does not absorb atmospheric moisture and nutrients via velamen (the corky epidermis of aerial roots). Instead, the plant has large succulent green leaves, which hold onto or store moisture similar to other succulent plants. In late spring to early summer, the plant is covered by drooping clusters of delicate pink flowers that look somewhat like grapes or wisteria flowers....
How to Get Bougainvillea to Flower “Why doesn’t my bougainvillea bloom?” It’s a common question that growers everywhere ask about the gorgeous plants they brought home from the nursery, when they find the blooms stop coming shortly after the plant landed in its new spot in the garden. The problem with bougainvillea is that they’re tough plants, hardy to the point of almost being weeds. That being said, they need to be cared for like weeds if you’re to find success with them....
Reasons for Lychee Not Flowering One of the most delightful aspects of a lychee tree is its long clusters of small flowers in early spring. In warmer zones, the flowers appear in February and March. In cooler parts of the range, look for them in April. If you see no flowers on lychee trees in your yard, there is definitely a problem. Temperature – Climate is the first thing to consider when lychee trees won’t flower, or you notice lychee flower drop....
About O’Henry Peach Trees Given that O’Henry peaches are an extremely popular market cultivar, you may have sampled an O’Henry peach. If you haven’t yet, you are really in for a treat. Fruit from O’Henry trees is both delicious and beautiful. The firm, yellow flesh is streaked with red and has a superb flavor. O’Henry peaches are medium-sized trees. They grow to 30 feet (9 m.) tall with a 15 foot (4....
How to Create a Children’s Snack Garden When I was little, you couldn’t get me to eat a tomato – never, no way, yuck! That is until my grandfather, an avid gardener as well as a frequent babysitter, got me out into his garden. Suddenly, cherry tomatoes were a revelation. Many kids completely change their minds about veggies when they are the ones participating in the gardening and harvesting. To get them interested, choose an area of the garden just for them....
What Do You Need for Starting Seeds in a Bag? In northern climates, seeds need to be started indoors for the best chance at germination. Other factors besides cold temperatures can affect sprouting, such as rain and wind, which may wash away seeds. To keep control of your future plants and get them ahead for the growing season, try the baggie seed starting method. It’s cheap, easy, and effective. You can use a clear plastic bag that has a zipper, or not....
About Growing Guava Guava is a warm weather tree, suited to zones 9b through 11. Young trees that experience temperatures below about 30 degrees F. (-1 C.) may be damaged or could die. A guava tree will grow to about 20 feet (6 m.) tall, so it needs space to grow. Your guava will need warmth and full sun but will tolerate a variety of soil types and drought conditions. While a guava tree is a great shade tree for warm-climate gardens, a great reason to grow one is to enjoy the fruit....
Can You Grow a Pear Tree in a Pot? Pears, among other fruit trees, are excellent candidates for growth in gardens with less than ideal conditions. Whether growing in a small backyard, a rooftop without garden space, or a sunny apartment balcony, container grown pears is a fantastic way to maximize and utilize every inch of growing potential. So, yes, pear trees can definitely be grown in a potted environment....
Propagating Canary Vine Canary vine (Tropaeolum peregrinum), also commonly known as canary creeper, is a tender perennial that is hardy in zones 9 or 10 and warmer, which means that most gardeners treat it as an annual. Annual plants live their entire lives in one growing season and often come back the next year from seeds. This is almost always the method for propagating canary vine plants. Canary vine flowers bloom in late summer to early fall, forming their seeds afterward....
Pygmy Date Palm Information More significant than its name implies, the pygmy date palm tree (Phoenix roebelenii) is a member of the family Arecaceae, a huge group with over 2,600 species found in tropical and subtropical climates of the world. Pygmy palm growing is used in a variety of interiorscapes and commercial plantings due to its graceful form and height of 6 to 10 feet (1.8-3 m.). Pygmy date palm information allows that this particular genus is known as a date palm due to its often sweet, sugary fruit pulp found in some species of Arecaceae....
Quaking Aspen Tree Facts Before planting a quaking aspen tree in your garden, you’ll need to understand the pros and cons of cultivated aspen trees. Some gardeners love them, some do not. Aspen trees grow very quickly and are very hardy. That means that you can “furnish” a new backyard in just a few seasons if you plant aspens. Aspens are small and won’t overwhelm your yard, and sometimes they provide nice autumn color....
