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Choosing Tomatoes Resistant to Disease The production of disease-resistant tomato varieties is one of the main objectives of modern hybrid development programs. While this has been successful to some extent, no single tomato hybrid has yet been developed which is resistant to all diseases. Additionally, resistance does not mean total immunity. Gardeners are urged to select disease-resistant tomatoes which are relevant for their gardens. If tobacco mosaic virus was an issue in past years, it only makes sense to select a variety resistant to this disease....

What are Double Potted Plants? Double potted plants are exactly what they sound like, plants growing in a pot that are then plunked into another pot. There are several reasons for this. First off, nursery pots have drainage holes but not all decorative pots do. Plus, they may lack a saucer with which to collect run off. The solution is double potting, or putting a potted plant into a cache pot, a French term meaning “to hide a pot....

Easter cactus is actually a jungle cactus, growing in its native habitat in the Brazilian rainforest. There it is usually found in the crotch of a tree limb, several feet above the ground. This puts the plant in a position to get no more than filtered light, as much of the sun is blocked by surrounding trees. In captivity, these plants are often placed in total darkness of up to 14 hours per day for several weeks to force blooms for the holiday....

Fertilizing an Oleander Oleanders are hardy plants that can grow up to 3 feet (1 m.) in one season. Plants damaged by cold will often re-grow from the base. They can live for more than 100 years, reliably providing the gardener with their stunning summer to mid-fall clusters of large (2 inch or 5 cm.) double blossoms in dizzying hues of pale yellow, peach, salmon, pink, deep red, and even white....

How to Bury a Fruit Tree Notice in the above paragraph I added the caveat “young” fruit tree. There is a logistical reason for this. Without a bobcat or another heavy lifting device, the realities of burying a mature fruit tree are pretty much nil. Also, the branches are more malleable than those on mature trees. However, for young fruit trees, the process of burying fruit trees in winter is fairly simple....

Growing Calendula for Tea Calendula (Calendula officinalis) are loved by gardeners for their vibrant orange and yellow flowers that brighten the back yard from the middle of summer until winter’s first breath. The blossoms send out a siren’s call to bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies. But many people are also growing calendula for tea. Tea made from calendula plants has properties just as exciting as the ornamental value of the plant. Calendula blossoms have long been renowned for their healing properties, and have been found useful for wounds, inflammations of the skin and mouth and sunburns....

Coppertone Stonecrop Info Stonecrop plants come in sizes that are knee high to just a couple of inches (5 cm.) from the ground. Coppertone sedum plants grow 8 inches (20 cm.) tall with short stems that support large rosettes of nearly 2 inches across (5 cm.). These rosettes are the source of the name, as they can be yellowish green, but in full sun turn an orange rust or copper-like tone....

Nectarine Nectar Babe Tree Info Nectarine Nectar Babes have smooth, golden-red fruit that grow on very small trees. The fruit quality of nectarine Nectar Babes is excellent and the flesh has a sweet, rich, delicious flavor. Given that Nectar Babe nectarine trees are natural dwarfs, you may think that the fruit is small too. This is not the case. The succulent freestone nectarines are large and perfect for eating fresh off the tree or canning....

When to Plant Parsnip Seeds Plant parsnips seeds as soon as the ground is workable in spring, but not until the soil has warmed to 40 degrees F. (4 C.). Parsnips don’t germinate well if the soil is too cold or if air temperatures are below 75 degrees F. (24 C.). How to Grow Parsnips from Seed When it comes to growing parsnips from seed, proper soil preparation is critical. Work the soil well to a depth of at least 18 inches (46 cm....

When to Prune a Pine Tree Pines are among the easiest trees to maintain because they have a naturally neat shape that seldom needs correction. About the only time you’ll find yourself pruning pine trees is to correct damage from severe weather or vandalism. There’s also a pruning technique you might want to try if you’d like to encourage a compact growth habit. The best time for pruning pine trees is in spring, but you can prune to correct damage any time of year....

Hardenbergia coral pea appears as a woody, climbing evergreen with dark green leather-like leaves blooming in a mass of dark purple blooms. Coral pea tends to be leggy at the base and profuse towards the top, as it clambers over walls or fences. In southeast Australia, it grows as a ground cover over the rocky, shrub filled environment. The moderately growing Hardenbergia coral pea vine is a perennial attaining lengths of up to 50 feet (15 m....

How to Grow Winter Squash Winter squash can grow from a size large enough to be one serving on up to serving a table full of people. Furthermore, they take a long time to be ripe for harvest. If you want to know when to plant winter squash, remember that it takes 80 to 110 days to fully ripen. Therefore, growing winter squash means planting it as soon as the chance of spring frost is over so you have enough time before the first frost in late fall....

What is a Shower Caddy Garden? A shower caddy garden is an arrangement of plants in one of those tiered shelving units that are intended for the shower. Instead of putting shampoo and soap on the shelves, you put plants there. Adding small potted plants to the shower caddy creates vertical appeal and adds a touch of nature to the bathroom or wherever you choose to hang it. You can use these hanging gardens to good advantage anywhere in the house or the backyard....

Old Man Cactus Houseplants This cactus can go outside in USDA zones 9 and 10. Native to Mexico, they need hot, dry climates and bright sunlight. The long hair is used by the plant to keep itself cool in its natural habitat. As an outdoor plant, they can get 45 feet (13 m.) tall but are generally slow growing as potted plants. Old man cacti are mostly grown as houseplants and stay small and easily kept in a container for their entire lives....

How to Tell if a Species is Invasive Keep in mind that invasive plants aren’t always ugly. In fact, many were transported because of their beauty, or because they were effective, fast-growing groundcovers. Invasive species identification is further complicated because many plants are invasive in certain areas but perfectly well-behaved in others. For example, English ivy is beloved in many parts of the U.S., but these fast-growing vines have created serious problems in the Pacific Northwest and eastern coastal states, where attempts at control have cost taxpayers millions of dollars....

How to Care for a Jasmine Houseplant Indoor jasmine plants actually benefit from spending time outdoors. In summer, locate indoor jasmine plants in a partly sunny spot to encourage robust growth. Jasmine flowers are set during another outdoor stretch of six weeks in the cool of autumn. This encourages buds to form for the typical February bloom of jasmine flowers. If indoor jasmine plants don’t bloom, it may be they’ve not been exposed to cool enough temperatures....

About Mole Plants Botanically the mole plant is called Euphorbia lathyris. Other common names are caper spurge, leafy spurge, and gopher spurge. Caper spurge mole plant is either an annual or biennial plant that exudes latex when cut or broken. It has cup-shaped, greenish or yellow flowers. The plant is upright, leaves are linear and bluish-green in color. Unfortunately, all parts of the mole spurge plant are poisonous. Please don’t mistake it for the plant that produces capers, as some have, since the poison in the caper spurge mole plant can be quite toxic....

What are Leek Moths? Also called onion leaf miners, leek moths (Acrolepiopsis assectella Zeller) were first detected in North America in 1993. Natives of Europe, Asia, and Africa, their appearance on the North American cotenant began in Ontario, Canada, and a few years later they moved south into the U.S. They were slow to catch on at first, but now pose a significant threat to allium crops. They are known to feed on 60 different species of allium, both cultivated and wild....

Does Lettuce Need to be protected from Frost? Growing your own lettuce is a beautiful thing. Not only is it rewarding to pick your own fresh produce, but once picked, lettuce will continue to grow, giving you successive harvests of fresh greens. But what happens when temperatures dip toward the freezing mark? Does your lettuce need to be protected from frost? Lettuce seedlings will generally tolerate a light frost and, unlike most vegetables, continue to grow through the fall when the possibility is a probability in some regions....

Licorice Plant in Containers As it’s actually a vine, licorice plants growing in containers are used for its unusual foliage. Flowers may appear on the licorice vine but are not significant or showy. When adding licorice vine to a combination pot, plant it on the edges so that it can cascade over the sides. Licorice plants in containers grow well in full sun to part shade. Choose a tall container that allows plenty of space for the licorice vine to spill over the sides....