Cosmos Seed Harvest Info The only problem with collecting cosmos seeds is finding out whether your plant is a hybrid or an heirloom. Hybrid seeds won’t reproduce faithfully the traits of their parent plants and aren’t good candidates for seed saving. The cosmos plant seeds from an heirloom, on the other hand, and are ideal for this project. Tips for Collecting Cosmos Seeds Need to know how to harvest seeds from cosmos?...
What is Leaf Printing? Leaf print art is a classic children’s project that allows kids to create their own designs. It is also an activity that may be used to teach children about the different types of plants. You can take a family walk and collect a variety of leaves. Next, all you need is a roller and some paint, along with some paper. Art prints with leaves can be a simple task or professionally detailed....
Outdoor Bug Control for Houseplants It is so important to take care of bugs on outdoor houseplants before bringing them back indoors for many reasons. The most important reason is to protect the spread of pests to any plants that have remained indoors. Prevention and early control are key in successful pest eradication. Debugging houseplants does not have to be complicated, but it is an important part of houseplant care....
These hardy and reliable plants can also serve as an integral part of the ornamental garden, naturalized landscapes, or even wildflower meadows. Due to their ability to attract and feed large numbers of pollinators, perennial asters are an especially popular choice for gardeners dedicated to creating habitat for bees and butterflies. While the options are nearly limitless, those who choose to grow a species called Aster tongolensis may especially want to understand the value of these perennials....
How Plants Cope with Heat So how do plants cope with heat once temperatures begin to soar? While some plants, like succulents, are well equipped with handling heat by conserving water in their fleshy leaves, the majority of plants do not have this luxury. Therefore, they will normally suffer from the heat in some way or other. Generally, heat stress of a plant will show itself by wilting, which is a sure sign that water loss has taken place....
Naranjilla Fertilizer Needs Naranjilla plants are an excellent addition to the home garden for those who grow in subtropical regions, as well as anyone wishing to add new and lesser known plants to their collections. Whether grown in the ground or cultivated in containers, naranjilla plants do have some special requirements in which to truly thrive. Among these, most importantly, is the specific needs when it comes to fertilizing naranjilla plants....
Feverfew Plant Harvesting A member of the Asteraceae family along with its cousins, sunflowers and dandelions, feverfew has dense clusters of daisy-like flowers. These blooms perch atop stalks over the bushy, dense foliage of the plant. Feverfew, native to southeastern Europe, has alternate yellowish-green, haired leaves that, when crushed, emit a bitter aroma. Established plants attain a height of between 9-24 inches (23 to 61 cm.). Its Latin name Tanacetum parthenium is partially derived from the Greek “parthenium,” meaning “girl” and alluding to another of its uses – to soothe menstrual complaints....
Ornamental grasses offer ease of care and versatility to the landscape. Pennisetum, or fountain grasses, come in many species and are a hardy variety, suited to USDA zone 5. The fountain grass ‘Little Honey’ is a warm season grass and not as hardy, only suited to USDA zone 6. About Pennisetum Little Honey Little honey ornamental grass is a dwarf fountain grass that only gets 12 inches (30 cm.) tall and about a foot (30 m....
Garden Party Theme Ideas When you start planning a garden themed party, the possibilities are endless. You might hold the party in the garden, serve food that was grown in the garden, or just use garden décor indoors. One great garden theme idea is to host neighbors and create a community garden. Everyone can show up in garden clothes with seeds and tools. Once digging and seeding is done, you could even bake up a few homemade veggie pizzas....
About Geranium Houseplants Before we take a look at indoor geranium care, it’s worth mentioning that there are many different varieties of geraniums. The most common variety that is seen everywhere is the zonal geranium. These flower in a variety of colors including white, red, pink, salmon, lavender, and others. Another variety of geranium are the ivy leaf geraniums. These have waxier leaves and are trailing in habit and also flower in a variety of colors....
Help, My Lettuce is Not Forming Heads Lettuce is a cool season crop that will bolt or fail to fix heads when daytime temperatures are higher than 70 degrees F. (21 C.) Although relatively easy to grow, head lettuce problems may range from slug and snail damage to loose heads. Pest problems are easy to deal with, but only climactic conditions can ensure head formation. Fixing no head formation on your lettuce crop means providing temperatures and site conditions that encourage formation....
Oakleaf Hydrangea Information Native to the southeastern part of the country, oakleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea quercifolia) are attractive all year long. These hydrangea shrubs bloom in spring and early summer. The panicle flowers are greenish white when they are young, picking up subtle shades of pink and brown as they age. After new flowers stop coming, the blooms stay on the plant and look lovely as they mature. The lobed leaves can grow large, up to 12 inches (31 cm....
Whether you pick a specific theme for your garden or plant a variety of herbs and vegetables, a winter windowsill garden is a practical and decorative solution to year-round gardening. How to Grow a Window Box Veggie Garden The shorter days of winter do not provide the required six to eight hours of sun for vegetables, so you will need to use a supplemental light source that provides full UV spectrum light, in addition to placing your window box veggie garden in a southern or eastern facing window....
What is Charleston Wakefield Cabbage? This variety of heirloom cabbage was developed in the 1800s on Long Island, New York and sold to F. W. Bolgiano seed company. Charleston Wakefield cabbages produce large, dark green, cone-shaped heads. At maturity, the heads average 4 to 6 lbs. (2 to 3 kg.), the largest of the Wakefield varieties. Charleston Wakefield cabbage is a fast-growing variety that matures in as little as 70 days....
Choosing Hedge Plants for Zone 8 In USDA plant hardiness zone 8, winter temperatures dip to 10 to 20 degrees F. (-12 to -7 C.). You’ll want to pick zone 8 hedge plants that thrive in that temperature range. You’ll have so many hedge plants for zone 8 to choose among that you’ll have to narrow it down before going shopping. One big consideration is height. Hedge plants for zone 8 range from sky-scraping arborvitae to ornamental flowering bushes that are knee high or less....
Most are herbaceous perennials, dying to the ground in winter. Lush, beautiful flowers appear in summer, dying back to be replaced with more of the bountiful blooms the following year. The attentive gardener, accustomed to removing the spent blooms of many flowering plants, may nonchalantly be deadheading hibiscus too. While this task is seemingly part of the process of hibiscus flower care, maybe we should stop and inquire “do you have to deadhead hibiscus?...
Houseplant Spring Care: Repotting If your plants need a little more space, spring is a good time for repotting them into slightly larger containers. Don’t repot if it isn’t necessary, and keep in mind that some plants are happier if their roots are a little crowded. Avoid too-large pots, as the excess moisture can cause root rot. How to tell if a plant needs to be repotted? Look for signs like roots growing through the drainage hole, circling the inside of the pot, or growing mat-like over the surface of the potting mix....
What are Heirloom Seeds? There are four characteristics that qualify seeds as heirloom. First off the plant must be open-pollinated. Open-pollinated means the plant has not been cross-pollinated with another varietal and is naturally pollinated via the wind, bees, or other insects. Another quantifier is that the varietal needs to be at least fifty years old; many times passed down from generation to generation and often older than half a century....
Ice Cream Bean Tree Information Ice cream beans are legumes, just like the beans you grow in your vegetable garden. The pods are about a foot long and contain beans about the size of limas surrounded by a sweet, cottony pulp. The pulp has a flavor similar to vanilla ice cream, hence its name. In Columbia, ice cream beans have many uses in folk medicine. Decoctions of the leaves and bark are thought to relieve diarrhea....
About Illinois Beauty Tomato Plants An indeterminate type (vining), Illinois Beauty tomato plants produce during the mid-season of tomato growth and continue until frost in many areas. A salad or slicer tomato that is red, round, and has good flavor, it is suitable for the growth in the market or home garden. This plant produces small 4 to 6 ounce (113-170 g.) fruits. Illinois Beauty tomato care info advises starting seeds of this plant indoors, instead of direct seeding into your outdoor bed....
