What are Tree Aphids? These tiny, soft-bodied, pear-shaped insects can be almost any color. Aphids on tree foliage and shoots feed by sucking fluid from the tree through a slender mouthpart called a proboscis. They feed in clusters, usually on the undersides of leaves near the point where the leaf attaches to the stem, or on tender young shoots and buds. As they feed, they secrete a sticky fluid called honeydew....
How to Create a Tropical Shade Garden When looking for tropical shade garden ideas, first consider your climate and growing zone. For example, if you live in an Arizona desert, you can still create the feeling of a tropical shade garden. However, you’ll need to do it without a lot of plants having high water demands. Or, if you live in a northern climate, a tropical shade garden should consist of cold-tolerant plants with a tropical appearance....
Read on to learn how to grow Turquoise Puya and astound your friends and make fellow gardeners envious with the daring and bold form. What is Turquoise Puya? Puya berteroniana is an arid climate terrestrial bromeliad. The plant is sold under the name Aqua Sapphire Tower which is an appropriate description for the infrequent colossal flower clusters it produces when mature. The Blue Puya plant is found in the upper elevations of arid Chile....
What is Umbrella Sedge Weed? So then, exactly what is umbrella sedge and how do I recognize it in the landscape? The plant is attractive and related to the bulrushes and papyrus of Biblical Nile fame. Umbrella sedge is a tall grass, which can get up to 16 inches (40 cm.) in height and grows in clumps of plants. It has no recognizable leaves, but produces bracts at the top of the stem, which resemble umbrella spokes....
Root Maggot Lifecycle Vegetable root maggots are the larva of a type of fly called a root maggot fly. There are several kinds with different preferred host plants. The eggs of these root eating insects are laid in the soil and hatch into larva. The larva are the little worms you see on the roots of your plant. The larva will come to the surface to pupate and then they are adults who will start the process all over again....
Why Put Distance Between Watermelon Plants? Just as an architect doesn’t just begin building without a plat and a blueprint, gardeners usually map out the garden plot prior to planting. It’s important to consider where to plant certain plants in relation to other plants, taking into account their different or shared water requirements and sun exposure as well as their mature size. In the case of spacing watermelon plants, those set too far apart waste valuable garden space while those set too close together compete for light, air and soil nutrients, resulting in a potentially compromised crop....
What are Day-Neutral Strawberries? Day-neutral strawberries continue to fruit as long as the weather holds. This means that, unlike the familiar June-bearing cultivars that only fruit for a short time, day-neutral strawberries fruit into the summer and fall, which is great news for strawberry lovers. They also have firmer and larger fruit than June-bearing strawberries. When Do Day-Neutral Strawberries Grow? As long as temperatures remain between 40 and 90 F. (4-32 C....
What are Old English Roses? The roses referred to as English roses are often called Austin roses or David Austin roses. These rose bushes were introduced around 1969 with the introduction of rose bushes named Wife of Bath and Canterbury. Two of Mr. Austin’s rose bushes named Mary Rose and Graham Thomas were introduced in Chelsea, (West London, England) in 1983 and seemed to spark popularity for his English roses in that country as well as the rest of the world....
Facts about Crocodyllus Fern What is a crocodile fern? Crocodile fern plant is a tropical fern suitable for growing outdoors only in the temperate climates of USDA plant hardiness zones 10 and 11 (and sometimes 9, with protection). Grow crocodile fern indoors if your climate has even a possibility of winter frost; chilly temps will kill the plant in a hurry. At maturity, crocodile fern reaches heights of 2 to 5 feet (61 cm....
What is a Pumpkin on a Stick Plant? A pumpkin on a stick plant (Solanum integrifolium) is not a pumpkin. As mentioned, it is a type of eggplant grown as an ornamental, but because of how it looks, confusion is inevitable. Part of the nightshade family and related to tomatoes, potatoes, and peppers, pumpkin on a stick looks exactly like small, orange pumpkins growing on a stick, albeit a stereotypically thorned eggplant stick....
If you’ve never heard of stacked garden beds, read on. We’ll give you the ins and outs of stackable raised beds as well as stack garden planters. Stacking Garden Beds Raised beds are extremely helpful when your own garden soil isn’t particularly fertile or is difficult to work. By adding a raised bed on top, you can save yourself the trouble of digging down so far in the bed, and give your crops a top layer of rich, well-draining soil....
Amur Chokecherry Information Commonly known as Amur chokecherry, Amur cherry, or Manchurian cherry, these trees provide food and nesting sites for robins, thrushes, grosbeak, woodpeckers, jays, bluebirds, catbirds, kingbirds, and grouse. In the wild, the berries are also eaten by chipmunks, squirrels, skunks, foxes, deer, bear, and moose. Chokecherries are also edible to humans and are used in jams and jellies. Amur chokecherries provide four seasons of interest in the landscape....
What is Aspergillus alliaceus? Growing cactus, whether in a pot or in the landscape, can seriously challenge a gardener’s wit and skills. They’re so different from most ornamental plants as to almost be a different creature entirely, yet there are a number of features that cactus share with other landscape choices. For example, they still get sick from much the same types of disease. Cactus stem and branch rot, for instance, is caused by a species of an already familiar fungal pathogen: Aspergillus, though the species particular to this cactus problem is alliaceus....
Gray’s Sedge Information Grassy type plants provide airy elegance in many garden settings. Gray’s sedge (Carex grayi) is a native species that has funny star-like flower heads and arching to erect sword shaped foliage from which its genus name is derived. What is Gray’s sedge? This plant grows wild in wet to moist deciduous forests, along streams, swamps and boggy areas. The plant grows wild in more than half of eastern North America....
What is Sodium? The first question you need to answer is, what is sodium? Sodium is a mineral that is generally not needed in plants. A few varieties of plants need sodium to help concentrate carbon dioxide, but most plants use only a trace amount to promote metabolism. So where does all the salt come from? Sodium is found in many minerals and is released when they break down over time....
What is Yangmei Fruit? Yangmei fruit trees are evergreens that produce purplish round fruit that looks somewhat like a berry, hence their alternate name of Chinese strawberry. The fruit is actually not a berry, however, but a drupe like cherries. That means that there is a single stone seed in the center of the fruit surrounded by juicy pulp. The fruit is sweet/tart and high in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. The fruit is often used to make healthy juices as well as being canned, dried, pickled, and even made into an alcoholic wine-like beverage....
When Do Kiwis Flower? Kiwi fruits grow on vigorous vines that require a strong support structure. You can grow them on a sturdy arbor, trellis, or fence. Each vine can grow 15 feet (4.5 m.) long. Most kiwi plants are specifically male or female. You need both to produce fruit. One male plant can fertilize up to eight female plants. There are many cultivars. Some are self-fertile cultivars. In that case, you only need one plant, which saves space....
Yellow Oleander Information Yellow oleander trees are so small that many consider them large bushes. Yellow oleander information suggests that these evergreen plants rarely get over 10 feet (3 m.) when cultivated, although they can get to 20 feet (6 m.) in the wild. The flower of yellow oleander looks like a narrow tube that flares out at the tip into five petals, twisted into a spiral shape. They are fragrant, about 2 inches (5 cm....
What Are Aeoniums? Succulent plants have a special adaptive survival strategy for hot, dry locations. They come in a wide range of colors, textures, and sizes. What are aeoniums? These plants also have the fleshy leaved characteristic of succulents, where they store moisture. Unlike many other succulents, however, aeoniums have shallow root systems and cannot be allowed to dry out completely. Only the top few inches (8 cm.) of soil should be allowed to dry out when growing aeoniums....
Types of Tillandsia Tillandsia plant types are epiphytes, a huge group of plants with roots that anchor the plant to a host – often a tree or a rock. Epiphytes are different from parasitic plants because, unlike parasites, they take no nutrients from the host plant. Instead, they survive by absorbing nutrients from the air, from composted material on the host plant, and from the rain. Examples of well-known epiphytes include various mosses, ferns, lichens, and orchids....
