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Sticky Residue on Spider Plants Sticky spider plant leaves are a signal that the piercing, sucking insect known as scale has come to live on your spider plant, making it sticky. There are different kinds of scale, and all are invisible to the naked eye until they form colonies of many. When colonies form on spider plant leaves, a sticky residue remains. Colonies will be visible as small brown patches, usually underneath the leaves of the sticky spider plant....

Appropriate boxwood replacements come in different sizes and hues. Read on for tips on great plants to replace boxwood shrubs. Boxwood Replacements Boxwood is a fabulous shrub when you are creating a garden, easy-care and tolerant of sheering and shaping. It is not without issues though. Pests are one. First, there was boxwood blight, then the box tree caterpillar was found to be decimating these foundation plants. So, whether you are tired of boxwood or fighting boxwood pests, it may be time to consider boxwood alternatives....

I have been considering planting and growing pawpaw trees, but I have a bit of trepidation about the whole deer issue. Are pawpaws deer resistant? Is there a way of keeping deer out of pawpaw trees? Let’s find out more together. About Pawpaw Trees and Deer Are pawpaws deer resistant? Yes – as it turns out, they are classified as a “very resistant” deciduous shrub. A classification such as this, however, should not be interpreted as “completely resistant....

How to Grow Asiatic Lilies Scout for a location and prepare the soil ahead of time when planting Asiatic lilies. Information about the Asiatic lily advises planting in a sunny to partly sunny location. At least six hours of sunlight is necessary for the Asiatic lily plant. Soil should be well-draining, which may require the addition of organic material worked in several inches (8 cm.) deep. If you already have rich, organic soil in the area where you’ll be planting Asiatic lilies, make sure it is loose and well-draining 6 to 8 inches (15-20 cm....

Types of Bird Damage Besides damaging or consuming tender, ripening fruits from trees and beds, birds can spread disease and pests like mites, lice or fleas. Birds vector a surprisingly large number of diseases, including West Nile virus and Salmonella, which are serious hazards to humans. Droppings may stain cement, damage vehicles or create slip and fall hazards – and let’s face it, no one wants to fall in bird poo....

Why Fuchsia Is Dropping Buds Hanging like delicate dancers in brightly colored petticoats, fuchsia blooms are among the most coveted in the plant world. Unfortunately, these plants can be difficult to care for, resulting in fuchsia bud drop when things are not going just their way. If your fuchsia is dropping buds, it’s a warning sign that something is wrong. Usually, the cause is environmental and easy to remedy. Here are some of the most common causes of buds dropping off fuchsia plants:...

Here are a few ideas for building a DIY backyard putting green. Build Your Own Backyard Putting Green To get started building a backyard putting green, you will need equipment for moving the earth, 4-inch (10 cm.) drainage pipe, grass seeds or sprigs, a reel mower, cups and flags, irrigation plan, fertilizer, and pesticide. How to build a putting green at home: Assess your site. It should be in full sun for best turf growth, with no low areas....

How Hardy is Butterfly Bush? Although most types of butterfly bush grow in zones 5 through 9, some tender types need milder winter temperatures found in at least zone 7 or 8. These warm climate butterfly bushes won’t survive a zone 4 winter, so read the label carefully to be sure you’re purchasing a cold hardy butterfly bush suitable for a minimum of zone 5. Reportedly, some of the Buddleja Buzz cultivars may be more appropriate butterfly bushes for zone 4 growing....

Cabbage Fertilizer Basics Enriching garden soil with organic compost is one of the best ways to supply the nutrients necessary for feeding cabbage plants. When using homemade compost, incorporate 2 to 4 inches (5-10 cm.) of compost into the garden soil in late fall or early winter. This gives the compost time to fully decay, so the valuable nutrients are ready for the plants in the spring. In lieu of using compost for feeding cabbage plants, chemical fertilizer can be added to the garden soil....

Wildfire Smoke in Gardens Any gardener whose life was disrupted by wildfires knows that there was wildfire smoke in gardens too. Humans can wear an N-95 mask to go out or, if they are lucky, stay in the house with a HEPA air filter cleaning that smoke out of the air. Garden plants have neither of these options and may be exposed to smoke garden damage. That raises the very real question: how does smoke affect gardens?...

Can You Eat Chicory Root? Now that we have ascertained that chicory is edible, exactly which parts of the plant are edible? Chicory is an herbaceous plant in the dandelion family. It has bright blue, and sometimes white or pink, blossoms. When eating chicory plants the leaves, buds, and roots can all be consumed. Any trip to New Orleans should include a stop at the famous Café Du Monde for a delicious cup of café au lait with chicory and, of course, a side of hot beignets....

Can You Regrow Lettuce? The simple answer is yes, and regrowing lettuce in water is a super simple experiment. I say experiment because regrowing lettuce in water will not get you enough lettuce to make a salad, but it is a really cool project– something to do in the dead of winter or a fun project with the kids. Why won’t you get much usable lettuce? If the lettuce plants growing in water get roots (and they do) and they get leaves (yep), why won’t they we get enough useful leaves?...

Red Delicious Apple Info If you love and admire the taste of Red Delicious apples, then you must want to learn more about the tree and how to grow it in the landscape. This general information is quite helpful for both growers and consumers. Red Delicious tree size ranges from 10-25 feet (3-8 m.) in height and 12-15 feet (4-5 m.) wide. It becomes more attractive when it bears white-pink colored flowers early in the season....

Yams vs. Sweet Potatoes A major difference between yams and sweet potatoes is that yams are monocots and sweet potatoes are dicots. Additionally, yams are related to lilies and a member of the Dioscoreaceae family while sweet potatoes are a member of the morning glory family (Convolvulaceae). Yams are a root crop common to Africa and Asia while sweet potatoes are native to tropical Central and South America and the Caribbean....

The Companion Plant Cilantro Cilantro, as a companion plant in the garden, is an excellent means of attracting beneficial insects. Beneficial insects in the garden use various means of destroying the bad bugs that exist to maim and mutilate your crops. Often, tiny beneficials lay eggs on your garden plants, which feed on pests after hatching. Plant a few seeds of cilantro for companion planting with various other crops. Tiny flowers of cilantro as a companion plant accommodate beneficial bugs and encourage them to maintain residence in your gardens....

Types of Breadfruit for the Home Garden Breadfruit is a tree native to the Pacific islands but can be cultivated and grown naturally in very warm climates, like south Florida or the Caribbean. In addition to growing it as a large landscape element, breadfruit can be grown for food. It produces more food than most other plants. The fruit is used in ways similar to potatoes: fried, boiled, or baked. There are hundreds of different breadfruit trees, so if you are looking to grow this tree, you have a lot of options for variety....

Common Crepe Myrtle Pests Although there are a number of occasional crepe myrtle insect pests, a few are overwhelmingly common. Knowing how to identify and treat these critters when they appear can help keep your plant healthy and happy for years to come. Here are the top contenders and their warning signs: Crepe myrtle aphids. Of all the possible insects to have on your plants, these are the easiest when it comes to crepe myrtle pest control....

Crepe Myrtle Tree Problems When pruning crepe myrtle, you have to be careful not to cause any crepe myrtle problems. What happens is if you heavily prune your crepe myrtle tree, it will cause the tree to put all their energy into growing new leaves and limbs. This means that no energy will be expended by the tree for flowers, which causes the crepe myrtle problems. When planting a new crepe myrtle, be careful not to plant the tree too deep into the soil....

Aside from culinary uses, it’s the blossoms which provide the greatest appeal for greater sea kale. Growing to heights of 70 inches (180 cm.), multitudes of tiny white “baby’s breath-like” flowers appear on fine branches to give the plant a bush-like presence for about three weeks in early to midsummer. So exactly what is greater sea kale and does it come from the ocean, as the name would suggest?...

Cyclamen mites are most prevalent in warm, humid environments and cause a lot of harm in greenhouses. What Do Cyclamen Mites Look Like? Part of the challenge of cyclamen mite control is the fact that these pests are too small to see without magnification. About a hundredth of a centimeter, the mites are yellowish brown, semi-transparent, and elliptical shaped. They have eight legs. The body is smooth and shiny, and the mite has large mouthparts....