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What is Plum Pox? Plum pox is a virus in the genus Potyvirus, which includes several commonly known mosaic viruses that infect garden vegetables. It is generally only transmitted over short distances, since it remains viable for just a few minutes inside the aphids that transmit the virus, such as green peach and spirea aphids. Aphids spread plum pox virus when they probe infected plant leaves for potential food sources but move from the plant instead of settling down to feed....

Growing Yucca Plant Indoors More than 20 species of yucca exist. The coloration on yucca plants ranges from green to bluish with variegations of cream, yellow, and white, depending on the cultivar. Yucca plants grow on canes, or large, woody stems. Once placed in a sunny to partly shaded location indoors, yucca houseplant care is easy. When growing the yucca plant indoors, try to locate it in a partially shaded area of bright, but indirect light for better leaf color....

What is Junegrass? Prairie junegrass grows natively in most parts of North America. Where does Junegrass grow? It is found from Ontario to British Columbia, and down south to Delaware, California, and Mexico. This hardy, adaptable grass grows in the Plains Mountains, meadow foothills, and forests. Its primary habitat is open, rocky sites. This makes junegrass in landscapes that are challenging a perfect addition. Junegrass is a perennial, cool season, tufting true grass....

Initial Steps for Potting Orchid Keikis Removing your keiki too early will significantly decrease its chances of survival. Before removing the keiki, make absolutely sure that the plantlet is old enough to be taken from its mother and that the root system is quite healthy. Success in potting orchid keikis requires that the keiki have at least three leaves and roots that are 2 to 3 inches long (5-8 cm.), ideally with root tips that are dark green....

How to Propagate Wisteria Cuttings Taking Wisteria Cuttings Propagating wisteria from cuttings starts with getting the cuttings. As mentioned, a great source of cuttings can come from pruning wisteria, but you can also take wisteria cuttings from the plant specifically for rooting wisteria plants. Cuttings of wisteria need to be taken from the softwood. This is wood that is still green and has not developed woody bark. The cutting should be about 3 to 6 inches (7....

Redspire Pear Information ‘Redsire’ is an attractive Callery pear cultivar. Its large, showy blossoms are larger than other ornamental pear flowers and are a dramatic, snowy white. Callery ‘Redspire’ pears are deciduous trees, losing their foliage in winter. New leaves grow in a deep purple. They mature to glossy green with a hint of red, then light up your garden in the autumn as they turn yellow, purple, and crimson. Fall color is even better in the southernmost regions....

Regrow Herbs from Cuttings Root propagation from stem cuttings is a tried and true method for regrowing herb plants. Simply snip off the top 3 to 4 inches (8-10 cm.) from the fresh stems of discarded kitchen scrap herbs. Leave the first two sets of leaves at the top (growing end) of each stem but remove the lower leaves. Next, place the stems in a cylindrical container of fresh water. (Use distilled or spring water if your tap water is treated....

What Should Annual Ryegrass Be Used For? There are many benefits to planting ryegrass cover crops. Planting annual ryegrass provides erosion control, increases percolation, reduces compaction and acts as a nurse crop for fall legumes. The question, what should annual ryegrass be used for, goes beyond soil improvement. The plant is also useful to reduce splashing on young plants and minimize disease in tightly planted spaces. Over seeding the grass into commercial crops will prevent competitive weeds and increase fertility when hoed into the earth....

Hellebore Seed Propagation Beautiful hellebore plants (Helleborus spp) usually produce seeds in springtime. The seeds grow in seed pods that appear once the blossoms are spent, usually in late spring or early summer. You may be tempted to hold off on planting hellebore seeds until fall or even the following spring. However, this is a mistake, since a delay in planting can prevent hellebore seed propagation. Planting Hellebore Seeds To be sure you will be successful with seed grown hellebores, you need to get those seeds into the ground as quickly as possible....

Shrubs for Shade and Wet Soil If your backyard has more shade than sun and has consistently wet soil, you won’t be able to plant traditional garden favorites like roses or hydrangeas or oak trees. But that doesn’t mean you can’t plant anything. There are some trees and some shrubs that will appreciate light shade and moist soil. You just need to take the time to find them. We’ll give you a hint: native plants are your best bet....

Normal Reasons for Shrubs Not Leafing Out Those of us who keep garden journals and know exactly when our shrubs leafed out in previous years may become alarmed when bushes leaf out late. Temperature and day length control the timing, so you can expect shrubs to leaf out later in years when temperatures are cooler and earlier in warm years. These year-to-year variations are normal. You might also see variations as a shrub matures....

Why Do My Tomatoes Crack? Sometimes, the fluctuation of temperatures during the spring can cause issues for newly growing tomato transplants. This is why it’s so important to mulch your plants, either with organic mulch like wood chips or plastic. This mulch will also conserve moisture and even prevents disease from spreading. When it comes to mulch and tomatoes, red plastic mulch has shown to be the best mulch to help prevent tomato cracking....

Relay Succession Planting in the Garden Relay planting is a kind of succession planting where you plant seeds for any given crop on a time spaced schedule. This kind of planting is commonly used with vegetables that may be ready for harvest only at one time. Relay planting in succession is often done with: Lettuce Beans Peas Corn Carrots Radish Spinach Beets Greens To do relay planting, simply plan on planting a new set of seeds about once every two to three weeks....

Gravel in the Landscape Too much gravel in the landscape may not be wise. There are many reasons why large amounts of gravel are not an ideal addition to a xeriscaped yard. The first is that gravel tends to reflect rather than absorb the heat in these areas. The reflected heat will add stress to the plants that are planted in the graveled area. The second reason is that gravel may harm your xeriscape by working its way into the soil....

Vegetable landscaping allows the grower to enjoy home-grown fruits and vegetables and save on their grocery bills without having to have a large separate vegetable garden. Landscaping with Vegetables So, what vegetables can be used for landscapes? There are plenty. Vegetable landscapes are nothing more than mixing flowers and vegetables throughout the garden, otherwise known as edible landscaping. In this type of garden design, you can have fruit and nut trees growing in the same place as your ornamental plants....

She came so close to not ever coming to be, as she was hybridized at the time of the World War II conflict. What many folks do not know is that Peace was named Mme A. Meilland in France, Gloria Dei in Germany, and Gioia in Italy. It has been estimated that more than 50 million of the roses we know as Peace have been planted all over the world....

What is Alkaline Soil? Alkaline soil is referred to by some gardeners as “sweet soil.” The pH level of alkaline soil is above 7, and it usually contains a great deal of sodium, calcium, and magnesium. Since alkaline soil is less soluble than acidic or neutral soil, availability of nutrients is often limited. It is due to this that stunted growth and nutrient deficiency are common. What Makes Soil Alkaline? In arid or desert areas where rainfall is slim and places where there are dense forests, soil tends to be more alkaline....

In some zones, this plant is considered invasive so check with your local extension office before purchase. Otherwise, throw caution to the wind and check out Arizona grape ivy plants (Cissus trifoliata). What is Arizona Grape Ivy? Vertical spaces with green vines spilling over them accent the garden and lend lushness that bare wall or trellis simply can’t fake. Arizona grape ivy plants are fast growing, easy care vines with tiny flowers and pretty lobed leaves....

What is Broccolini? Broccolini is a hybrid of European broccoli and Chinese gai lan. In Italian, the word ‘broccolini’ means baby broccoli, hence it’s other common name. Although it is partially comprised of broccoli, unlike broccoli, broccolini has very small florets and a tender stem (no need to peel!) with large, edible leaves. It has a subtle sweet/peppery flavor. Broccolini Information Broccolini was developed over a span of eight years by the Sakata Seed Company of Yokohama, Japan in Salinas, California in 1993....

What is Coconut Oil? Fitness magazines, health publications, and internet blogs all tout the advantages of coconut oil. It appears to have several health benefits but is also useful in the garden. However, coconut has the most saturated fat known and is so high in lipids it is actually solid at room temperature. The bottom line is that coconut oil facts are rather muddy and the real research really isn’t finished on this much vaunted alternative fat....