Posts

Golden Trumpet Flower Allamanda is native to northern South America. As such it requires high light, consistently warm temperatures, and humidity of at least 50 percent. These conditions are hard to simulate in the average home without grow lights, humidifiers, and heaters. Greenhouse conditions are often ideal for Allamanda plant care. Indoors, we tend to have less moisture in the air and the sun doesn’t penetrate the interior for as many hours as the plant needs....

Adding Aluminum to Soil Using aluminum in garden soil is a quick way to lower the soil pH for acid-loving plants such as blueberries, azaleas, and strawberries. You should only use it when a pH test shows that the soil pH is too high by one point or more. High aluminum soil levels are toxic to plants. It takes between 1 and 1.5 pounds (29.5 to 44.5 mL.) of aluminum sulfate per 10 square feet (1 sq....

What is Ash Yellows? Ash yellows is a newly discovered plant disease, first detected in the 1980’s. It probably existed long before that, but wasn’t detected because the symptoms are so similar to those of other plant diseases. In many cases, you won’t be able to get a firm diagnosis without laboratory tests. A tiny, mycoplasma-like organism that we call the ash yellows phytoplasma causes the infection. A disease that infects members of the ash (Fraxinus) family, ash yellows only exists in North America....

So, it goes without saying that growing bamboo in the desert or finding a bamboo for desert climates starts with the right plant selection. With a little extra attention to the type of bamboo you plant in your desert landscape, you may get a good stand of this interesting plant. In fact, you may find that bamboo grows in the desert all too well, outgrowing its designated spot and spreading out of control, though not so much as locating them in more temperate or tropical-like environments....

Bountiful Bean Facts Dating back to the late 1800’s, Bountiful heirloom beans have been grown for their uniformity and ability to produce a profusion of pods. Maturing in as little as 45 days from planting, Bountiful bush beans are an excellent choice for both early and late season plantings in the vegetable garden. Though somewhat lighter in color, Bountiful bush bean pods often reach 7 inches (17 cm.) in length over the course of an extended harvest period....

One such control measure, the use of beneficial insects, is one which has shown to be especially popular for growers wishing to take a more natural and hands-off approach. How do you get these garden friendly bugs into your garden though? Beneficial Bugs for Gardens Beneficial insects can greatly improve the overall health within the garden. When planning each season, many growers intentionally choose varieties of flowers and herbs that will naturally attract large numbers of these garden helpers....

Growing Pansies in Winter Whether or not you can successfully grow pansies outdoors in winter depends on your climate and winter temperatures. Areas much further north than zone 6 are tricky and may have winter weather that kills pansies. When the temperature gets down to about 25 degrees F. (-4 C.), flowers and foliage will begin to wilt, or even freeze. If the cold snap doesn’t last too long, and if the plants are established, they’ll come back and give you more blooms....

Help! My Garden Tools are Rusted Prevention is the best solution for rusty garden tools. Try to clean your tools well after each use with a rag or brush, water, and dish soap or pine sol. Be sure to remove any sap or sticky residue. After cleaning your tools, dry them and then spray them with WD-40 or rub them down with mineral oil. Store your tools hanging on hooks in a dry airy location....

Cedar Apple Rust on Apple Trees Cedar apple rust is a fungal infection caused by the species Gymnosporangium juniper-virginianae. It is often confused with other rust infections but is completely different. What makes cedar apple rust really unique is its life cycle. The fungus requires two completely different host plants to complete a cycle. It infects apples and crabapples in the spring and then juniper plants in the late summer. The fungus is much more damaging to its apple hosts than its juniper hosts....

Care for Staghorn Ferns Before mounting staghorn ferns in your home or yard, make sure you understand the needs of this unique air plant. These are tropical plants, so if grown outdoors, you need to be in a warm, subtropical to tropical climate. They grow large, so only mount in an area that has at least 3 feet (1 m.) for your fern to expand. Your fern will need to be watered regularly but should not be allowed to get soggy where it is mounted to a surface....

About Zone 8 Shade Vines If you live in zone 8, you live in a warm climate with mild winters. That means you have a lot of choices for plants that will thrive in your garden, even if you have a lot of shade. Vines are popular in all zones because they grow quickly to cover things you don’t want to see, like that big air conditioning unit, but also because they soften lines, add pretty, colorful flowers, and foliage, and some even turn color in the fall....

Differences Between Bees It can be easy to confuse bee species with wasps and hornets, but there are important differences. Not least of these is that most wasps and hornets are not pollinators. They do not carry pollen from plant to plant but may feed on nectar from flowers. This difference leads to an easy way to distinguish between most bees and non-bees: bees are hairier, which is how they can carry pollen, while wasps and hornets are smooth....

Diseases of Parsnip Parsnips are very easy to grow and generally don’t give too much trouble to gardeners, provided they’re raised in loose soil that drains well. Raised beds make root crops like parsnips extra easy, since you don’t have to fight with rocks and underground roots, but even in those conditions, you may encounter these parsnip diseases: Leaf spot. Leaf spot is caused by one of several fungal pathogens that feed on leaf tissues, causing small to medium sized yellow spots to form....

Planting Companions with Succulents Companion planting is often used to add height above ground hugging succulent plants. Drought tolerant flowering plants such as the osteospermum are good candidates. The flowers on this daisy may stand upright or trail alongside your succulents, as do blooms of the perennial Santa Barbara daisy. Allow them to trail among taller succulents like aloe and agave. Ornamental grasses, often with autumn blooms and interest through winter, are appropriate companion plants for succulents....

How to Store Finished Compost Any good gardener plans ahead. This may mean that your compost for the following year is finished before it is time to lay it. That means keeping compost in a condition where it’s still moist and nutrient rich for the next season. One of the easiest methods of compost storage is on the ground covered with a tarp or plastic sheeting. This will prevent excess moisture from rain and snow runoff, but allow a bit of humidity to seep in and keep the pile damp....

Turning units for compost allow you to mix up the compost, providing oxygen to all the little microbes and bacteria that are breaking it down. They also allow you to easily spread moisture throughout the bin, so you don’t have dry areas. It also increases the temperature, thereby enhancing organic breakdown. They can be difficult for some people to turn if they are heavily loaded but some barrel varieties are designed to be fairly easy to use....

Cucumbers for Pots Some varieties grow better than others in containers. Excellent options in selecting cucumbers for pots are the bush varieties such as Hybrid, Salad and Picklebush. These will still require some staking but have a more robust plant that adapts well to containers. Cucumbers need a male and female flower to pollinate unless they are parthenocarpic, which means they set fruit without pollination. A small parthenocarpic variety perfect for container grown cucumbers is Arkansas Little Leaf....

Can Dahlias Be Grown in Containers? Can dahlias be grown in containers? Yes, but it’s a little bit of a process. If you want a bulb you can plant and forget, you may want to pick a different plant. Choose a container that’s big enough in diameter that the tuber can fit comfortably when laid horizontally in the bottom. Just-planted dahlias tubers are at risk of rotting, so make sure your container has plenty of drainage....

Signs of Cowpea Curculio Cowpea curculio insects are a destructive type of weevil that is most commonly found on cowpeas. While adult cowpea curculio damage plants as they feed, further damage is done when larvae are hatched and begin to feed inside the developing cowpea pods, leading to decreased yields. Cowpea curculio damage may not be immediately noticeable. Most often, gardeners and large-scale growers will notice eaten sections or indentations in the cowpea pods....

Linden Borer Information Not all insect damage is caused by pests imported into the U.S. Native insects can become pests too, given the right circumstances. Take the linden borer (Saperda vestita), for example. This long-horned beetle is native to the eastern and central regions of the country. The adult insects are olive green and ½ to ¾ inches (12.5 – 19 mm.) long. They have antenna that are just as long as and sometimes longer than their bodies....