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As a gardener, you need to know your microclimates so you can place plants in the most optimal spots. What Makes a Microclimate? Microclimates have become the talk of the town as gardeners try to manage their landscapes more efficiently and earth friendly. What causes microclimates? Every piece of land has a dip, large tree, wall, or a hill that creates a microclimate. These are just objects that change the exposure the site has or blocks wind, rain, and other elements....

How to Care for Sago Palms Sago palms are easy to care for but do require special needs, such as bright light, although they will tolerate low-light conditions. What they will not tolerate, however, is too much moisture. Sago palms prefer to be situated in well-drained soil, and like other cycad plants, they do not respond well to overwatering. In fact, too much water can quickly lead to root rot and eventual death....

In this article we will take a look at two classifications of roses, the Floribunda rose and the Polyantha rose. What are Floribunda Roses? When looking up the word Floribunda in the dictionary you will find something such as this: New Latin, feminine of floribundus– flowering freely. Just as the name suggests, the floribunda rose is a beautiful bloom machine. She loves to bloom with clusters of beautiful blooms with several of her blooms in flower at one time....

Why Is Bush Honeysuckle Bad? While the U.S. has native honeysuckles—attractive flowering vines that pollinators love—non-native bush honeysuckles have become much more widespread. The most common are Tatarian, Morrow’s, Amur, and Bell’s. Non-native bush honeysuckles are bad to have around mostly because they crowd out native species that are better for wildlife. They leaf out earlier and block light to incoming native plants. Birds eat the berries of bush honeysuckle, but they are essentially junk food and don’t provide adequate nutrition....

January King cabbage plants survive winter’s worst, including hard freezes and snowfall, to provide purple cabbage heads in January. Read on for information on growing January King and tips for cabbage uses. January King Winter Cabbage When you are growing January King cabbage plants, you are growing the best cabbage in its class. These vigorous heirloom plants produce gorgeous cabbage heads with pale green inner leaves and outer leaves in deep purple tinged slightly with green....

Propagation of Bottlebrush Trees Bottlebrushes grow into big shrubs or small trees. They are excellent garden plants and can range from several feet (1 to 1.5 m.) tall to over 10 feet (3 m.). Most tolerate frost and require little care once established. The blaze of flowers is spectacular in summer, and their nectar attracts birds and insects. Most species are frost tolerant. It is understandable that you might want to increase the number of these lovely trees in the backyard....

New York Aster Information New York aster (Aster Novi-belgii), or Michaelmas daisy, is a variety of aster that is taller, which makes it a good choice for a bed’s backdrop. Many of the cultivars of New York aster are very tall, more than 2 feet (61 cm.) and as tall as 6 feet (2 m.). Colors are varied too, with hundreds of cultivars in white, pink, purple, red, blue, yellow, orange, and even those with double blooms....

Cutting Back Moonflowers Moonflowers are beloved for their light, sweet-scented, trumpet-shaped, white to purple flowers, which bloom from dusk to dawn. Perennials only in warm climates of U.S. hardiness zones 10-12, moonflower vines are grown as annuals in cooler climates, where they have no trouble covering whatever structure you place them on. With its rapid and rampant growth, gardeners who prefer a tidy, tame garden may find themselves trimming moonflower plants three times a year to control their shape and growth....

Common Pansy Problems Pansies and other members of the viola family, have their fair share of fungal pansy plant issues, including anthracnose, cercospora leaf spot, powdery mildew and botrytis blight. In early spring or fall, pansies are popular cool weather plants because they hold up to the cooler temperatures much better than many other plants. However, as spring and fall tend to be cool, rainy seasons in many regions, pansies are often exposed to fungal spores which spread on wind, water and rain....

Reasons for No Fruit on Kiwi Vine There may be several reasons why a kiwi vine is not fruiting. The first thing to discuss is the type of kiwi planted relative to the climate. Kiwi fruit grows wild in southwestern China and was introduced to the United Kingdom, Europe, the United States, and New Zealand in the early 1900’s. New Zealand has since become a major producer and exporter; hence the term “kiwi” is sometimes used in reference to its people....

Northern Sea Oats in the Garden Northern sea oats decorative grass is a versatile plant that performs equally well in sun or shade. The grass is loosely tufted and forms a clump. The leaves are dark green, long, and slightly pointed at the end, resembling bamboo leaves. The real attraction is the flower’s seed head, which is a wide, flat construction whose texture resembles wheat heads. The flowers are dangling panicles and the foliage turns a rich bronze in fall....

Pacific Rhododendron Info Using native plants in the landscape is a foolproof way to reduce maintenance. This is because they are already adapted to growing well in the region and suffer less problems than exotic or imported species. The soil should be acidic for growing California rosebay and it needs to live in an area that has cool winters and mild summers. If you’re looking for a bee magnet and a breathtaking early summer bloomer, consider Pacific rhododendron plants....

Pentas Flowers Info Pentas (Pentas lanceolata) are also called Egyptian stars for the bloom’s five-pointed shape. The plant is a shrub that gets up to 6 feet (2 m.) tall and 3 feet (1 m.) wide. It is a scrubby plant with an unruly shape, sporting oval to spear-shaped foliage. The flowers are generally pink, red, or white but new cultivars have introduced tones of purple and lavender and mixed blooms such as pink with red centers....

What is a Periodic Cicada? Periodic cicada is a specific species that appears like clockwork every 13 or 17 years. These are the pests that can harm oaks and other deciduous trees, usually when the females lay eggs in the young shoots. However, because periodic cicada emergence is spaced so far apart, healthy trees are able to rebound with little ill effect. Some trees, including mesquite, may lose branches when the females make small slits where she deposits her eggs....

Pickerel rush care is easy and the tenacious plant is an unusual addition to riparian zones and along home ponds. Few tips are necessary to learn how to grow pickerel rush, but this semi-aquatic plant is worth a try if you plant it in a submerged pot to prevent unwanted spreading. About Pickerelweed Plants Pickerelweed plants are rushes that are closely related to grasses. The plants are in the family Pontederia, named after an 18th century botany professor....

When to Pick Leaf Lettuce Lettuce is a cool-weather crop and, although it needs sun, is one of the few crops that will do well in partial shade. Unlike lettuces such as iceberg, loose-leaf lettuce doesn’t form a head but, instead, loose leaves. This means that while the entire head of iceberg is harvested, picking loose-leaf lettuce is just that – picking leaves. So when to pick leaf lettuce? Loose-leaf lettuce harvest can begin anytime the leaves have formed but prior to the formation of a seed stalk....

Are Any Plants Poisonous to Goats? There are more than 700 species of plants in the United States that have been recognized as causing toxicity in ruminants. Plants dangerous to goats are more likely to be ingested when the animals are near starvation and eat plants they normally would avoid, however, that isn’t the only time a goat will feed on toxic plant life. Goats are often used in the clearing of woodlands and wetlands, thus exposing them to casual ingestion of plants that are toxic to goats....

Plants That Like Full Sun and Sand: Sandy Soil, Full Sun Plants A sandy soil is fast draining due to its larger soil particles than clay or silt types. While that might be advantageous, the quick moving water also depletes the soil of nutrients and moisture. Believe it or not, some plants prefer a dry, nutrient poor soil, and those are the plants to seek out. Here are popular full sun plants for sandy soil that thrive in low fertility and moisture....

Clothing Material Made from Plants The most commonly used plants for making clothing comes from hemp, ramie, cotton, and flax. Hemp Plant fiber clothing made from hemp is tough and durable, but separating, spinning, and weaving the tough fibers into fabric is a major project. Hemp grows in nearly any climate, with the exception of extreme heat or cold. It is relatively drought tolerant and can usually withstand frost. Hemp is usually grown in large agricultural operations and may not be well-suited for a backyard garden....

Pristine Apple Facts Pristine apple trees produce outstanding fruit with good disease and pest resistance. The plants are the result of an early breeding experiment with ‘Camuzat’ as the seed and ‘Co-op 10’ providing the pollen. The fruits are beautiful, medium to large apples with almost perfect golden skin. Pristine apple trees were introduced in 1974 and originally called ‘Co-op 32.’ This is because the variety was developed with the cooperation of the New Jersey, Illinois, and Indiana breeding stations and was likely the 32nd cross....