Posts

Impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV) is one of the most common viruses in the plant world. It’s an intimidating diagnosis for your plants, but without understanding the disease, you’ll never be able to manage it properly. What is INSV? INSV is an aggressive plant virus that can quickly infect greenhouses and gardens, and is especially common in impatiens plants. It results in total losses, since plants affected by impatiens necrotic spot virus are no longer marketable, cannot be used for seed-saving and can continue to spread the virus as long as they’re present....

What Causes Turf Scalping? A scalped lawn is a detraction to an otherwise green, lush grassy area. A lawn looks scalped because it is. The grass has literally been almost entirely removed. Usually, scalping a lawn is accidental and could be due to operator error, topography differentials, or improperly maintained equipment. Scalping a lawn is often caused when the mower blade is set too low. Ideal mowing should see you removing no more than 1/3 of the grass height each time....

Mountain Fleece Information Mountain fleece is native to the Himalayas, so it’s no surprise that this tough plant tolerates winters as far north as USDA plant hardiness zone 4. Keep in mind, however, that persicaria doesn’t do well above zone 8 or 9. At maturity, mountain fleece reaches heights of 3 to 4 feet (1 m.), with a similar spread. This plant is a real charmer in flower beds or borders, or alongside a stream or pond....

What is Slow-Release Fertilizer? In a nutshell, slow-release fertilizers are fertilizers that release a small, steady amount of nutrients over a course of time. These can be natural, organic fertilizers that add nutrients to the soil by naturally breaking down and decomposing. Most often, though, when a product is called slow-release fertilizer, it is fertilizer coated with plastic resin or sulfur-based polymers which slowly break down from water, heat, sunlight, and/or soil microbes....

What to Do with Pumpkin Seeds Pumpkins are pretty easy to grow and a common supermarket staple in fall. Most of us will have the occasion to carve one up and make it a jack-o-lantern or simply roast it for pie. Before you do either though, you need to clean out the guts and seeds. Stop yourself before dumping them out. There are many pumpkin seed uses and the benefits are worth the processing time....

Why are Watermelons Losing Flowers? Flowers falling off watermelon plants during the first stages of blooms are usually male flowers, not the female blossoms that produce the melons. These first blossoms are borne to pollinate the upcoming female blooms, usually in the following 10 to 14 days. So, while they will drop, watermelons losing flowers in the beginning is normal. We want the female flowers to remain on the vine for pollination and to eventually become melons....

What is a Hairy Potato? A potato with hairs is actually a potato plant with hairy leaves, not hairy tubers. The original hairy potato, Solanum berthaultii, is a wild species native to Bolivia, and probably the ancestor of the domesticated South American potato plant. The hairy potato grows three feet (1 m.) and taller. It produces purple, blue, or white flowers and green, speckled berries. The tubers are too small to be valuable for eating and the plant naturally grows in dry regions of Bolivia at high elevations....

The weather is still warm for most of the winter but not too hot, the sun’s rays are weaker, so they won’t burn tender seedlings, and there are fewer insects to deal with. Gardeners in the warmest parts of the country can grow year-round gardens, simply splitting up the planting duties into cool weather and warm weather crops. Year-Round Gardens Winter gardening in warm climates is almost upside down from what northern gardeners are used to....

What are Armyworms? Armyworms are the 1 ½-inch long larvae of a very innocuous tan to brown moth common in gardens. These smooth-skinned larvae vary widely in color, from pale green to dark green-brown and black. Many bear long, orange, white or black stripes along their sides and have a yellow to orange head. They change colors as they mature, making identification tricky. These larvae feed primarily at night, in large groups, and prefer cereal grains like wheat or corn and grasses....

What is Baby Bok Choy? A cool season vegetable, baby bok choy forms smaller heads than the taller bok choy varietals, about half the size of standard bok choy. Pretty much any variety of bok choy can be grown as baby bok choy but some types, like “Shanghai,” are bred specifically to be harvested at their diminutive height for maximum sweetness. Bok Choy vs. Baby Bok Choy Plants So yes, bok choy and baby bok choy are basically the same....

Beautyberry Shrub Info Beautyberries live up to their common name, which comes from the botanical name Callicarpa, meaning beautiful fruit. Also called the American mulberry, beautyberries are Native American shrubs that grow wild in woodland areas in Southeastern states. Other types of beautyberries include the Asian species: Japanese beautyberry (C. japonica), Chinese purple beautyberry (C. dichotoma), and another Chinese species, C. bodinieri, which is cold hardy to USDA zone 5. Beautyberry shrubs reseed themselves readily, and the Asian species are considered invasive in some areas....

Small Lawn Trees Here are some good trees for a small yard: Star Magnolia – Hardy in USDA zones 4 through 8, this tree tops out at 20 feet (6 m.) in height and reaches a spread of 10 to 15 feet (3 to 4.5 m.). It produces fragrant, white, star-shaped flowers in early spring. It is deciduous, and its dark green leaves turn yellow in the fall. Loquat – Hardy in USDA zones 7 through 10, this tree reaches 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 m....

Bougainvillea Basics The bougainvillea plant is native to Brazil and introduced to Europe in the 19th century. The famous Kew gardens were instrumental in the propagation and spread of the plants. Trimming bougainvilleas yields cuttings that were rooted and grown on for new specimens. The startling colors of the plant are actually from bracts or modified leaves, not flowers as they appear. The best time to prune bougainvillea for cuttings is in late winter to earliest spring before new growth has flushed, but when bud nodes are swelling....

Buddhist Garden Elements Choose Buddhist garden elements carefully; a simple, uncluttered garden promotes a feeling of calm. Statues Statues of Buddha should be raised above the ground to display proper respect. Often, statues are placed on a marble slab or altar table, but even a mound of stones or a woven mat is appropriate. The statues are often used in conjunction with a peaceful garden pond and floating lotus blooms. The statues should face your home....

Butterfly Container Garden Ideas One of the most important things to think about is choosing the right plants. If you really want to create a butterfly haven, you should arrange a mix of host plants and nectar plants. For butterflies, nectar is a prime food source. Nectar Plants for Butterflies Flowers that are especially nectar-rich feature big bloom clusters like the following: Mums Yarrow Butterfly weed Coneflowers These big, open nectar sources are easily accessible to butterflies’ proboscises....

Can You Eat Snapdragons? You’ll find me using snapdragons in the garden, a lot! It’s simply because I live in a mild climate and the little beauties pop up year after year, and I let them. And I’m not the only one using snapdragons in the garden. They come in tons of colors and sizes so whatever your garden scheme, there’s a snappy for you. I must confess that until recently it never occurred to me to wonder about eating snapdragon flowers....

How to Make Houseplants Thrive Water your plants wisely. Always thoroughly soak your plants and let water escape the drainage hole. Never let your plant sit in water for extended periods of time. Wait until the top one to two inches (2.5-5 cm.) of the soil is dry before watering again. You want to have a happy medium between underwatering and overwatering. Know when to fertilize. Be sure to regularly fertilize during the active growing season....

True Cinnamon Tree So, I keep mentioning “true” cinnamon trees. What does that mean? The kind of cinnamon usually bought and used in the United States comes from C. cassia trees. True cinnamon comes from Ceylon cinnamon. The botanical name C. zeylanicum is Latin for Ceylon. Ceylon was an independent country in the Commonwealth of Nations between 1948 and 1972. In 1972, the country became a republic within the Commonwealth and changed its name to Sri Lanka....

Chestnut Tree Information Before you start growing chestnut trees, read up on chestnut tree information. That will help you determine whether your backyard will be a good site for one of these trees. Additionally, it is important to note that these are not the same trees as horse chestnuts (Aesculus) – of which the nuts are not edible. The size of chestnut trees depends on the species, but, generally, chestnuts are big trees....

While most clivias are grown as interesting houseplants, in suitable locations they can be grown as outdoor container plants. However, they must be brought indoors for overwintering. The attraction to clivia plants can be found in their stunning blooms, which vary in color from pale orange to red. The fragrant, trumpet-like flowers are similar to that of amaryllis but smaller. Unlike the amaryllis, clivias retain their foliage year-round. Tips for Growing Clivia Indoor clivias prefer bright, indirect light while those grown outdoors need shade....