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What Do Hardiness Zones Mean? The USDA plant hardiness map is created and updated every few years by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It divides North America into eleven zones by minimum average annual temperatures. The lower the number is, the lower the temperatures in that zone. Each zone represents ten degrees of temperature difference. Each zone is also divided into “a” and “b” segments. These represent five degrees of temperature difference....

Pollination is what produces seeds and fruits. It is the means by which a plant will eventually replicate itself, and a byproduct of that process gives us our melons, tomatoes, and other foods. So, it is crucial to include pollinator animals when planning a garden. Providing them with foods they need, boosts pollination and plant health. What is Animal Pollination? Outside of bees, other animals are part of pollination. Moths, flies, beetles, and other insects pollinate as they move among plants....

About Weeping Ornamental Trees Most weeping trees are grafted trees. On weeping ornamental trees, the graft union is usually at the top of the trunk, just below the tree canopy. A benefit of having this graft union where it is on weeping trees is that the weeping branches generally hide it. A drawback is that in the winter the graft union doesn’t have the protection and insulation of snow or mulch at the ground level....

What are Dinnerplate Dahlias? The dinnerplate dahlia (also spelled dinner plate) is simply a variety of dahlia that produces big, plate-sized blooms. You can find them in a range of colors and forms, and they are essentially just larger versions of the many varieties of dahlia. Dahlias are already spectacular and showy flowers, so adding dinnerplate varieties to your beds adds even more drama. Dahlias offer a greater range of color and form than most other flower types, so if you want some dinnerplate blooms in your garden, you have a lot of options....

What are Garden Shears? Basically, garden shears are used to cut branches and stems up to about ¾ inch (2 cm.) in diameter. Don’t attempt to use your garden shears on larger branches because you risk ruining the blades. (You need a different tool for that job.) There are two basic types of garden shears, although they come in different models and sizes. Knowing when to use shears depends on the type you have and the task at hand....

What Causes Apricot Crown Gall? Galls are very common distortions on a wide variety of plants. They may come from disease abnormalities or from an insect. In the case of the crown gall of apricot, the pest is actually a bacterium. There are no chemical corrections for the disease, but it can be prevented fairly simply. The bacteria responsible is Agrobacterium tumefaciens (syn. Rhizobium radiobacter). The bacteria live in soil and survives for many seasons....

Growing coral trees is only appropriate outdoors in USDA zones 9 and up. Coral tree care is easy if you are in the correct region, but some growers may find them messy. Find out how to grow coral trees and add some of their intense beauty to your garden. What is a Coral Tree? Coral trees are members of the genus Erythrina and are primarily found in South Africa and South America....

Climatic conditions will dictate which type of fern homeowners may incorporate into their landscape. One type of fern, called the deer fern, is especially adapted to growth in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. What is a Deer Fern? Deer fern, or Blechnum spicant, is a type of evergreen fern native to hardwood forests. Commonly found growing in deeply shaded areas, these plants reach sizes of 2 feet (61 cm....

For home gardeners and commercial growers alike, catching and combating the problem in the early stages of infestation is recommended. What is White Peach Scale White peach scale insects (Pseudaulacaspis pentagona) are tiny armored bugs which consume sap and infest the bark, leaves, and fruit of trees such as peach, cherry and persimmon. These insects can inhabit over 100 species of plants and have worldwide distribution. These insects are very small, with adult females averaging 3/64 to 3/32 of an inch (1 to 2....

Learning more about shade tolerant meadow plants can help gardeners continue to beautify and repurpose unused areas of their yards. This article will help gardeners living in the Central Ohio region, but everyone can benefit from the same general guidelines. How to Create a Shady Meadow Garden The creation of a shade tolerant meadow begins with careful planning. Before selecting plants, observe the conditions in the proposed planting location. This includes learning more about the soil types and understanding exactly how many hours of sunlight the planting space will receive throughout the year....

Read on for more info on pecan cutting propagation. Pecan Cuttings Propagation Even without a crop of tasty nuts, pecan trees are appealing ornamentals. These trees are easy to propagate in several different ways, including planting pecan seeds and rooting pecan cuttings. Of the two methods, using pecan cutting propagation is preferable since each cutting develops into a clone of the parent plant, growing exactly the same type of nuts....

Trees that Tolerate Full Sun Many trees prefer growing in a site that gets sun all day long. If you are looking for trees for sun in zone 9, you’ll have to select among hundreds. It will be easier to narrow down the field if you evaluate other qualities, you’d like in trees for sun in zone 9. Consider things like: Do you want an ornamental with showy flowers? Are you thinking of zone 9 trees for full sun that also provide an autumn display?...

Top 10 White Perennial Flowers Achillea – Considered by many growers to be a wildflower, white yarrow blooms each season to offer highly ornamental clusters of small flowers. These white perennial flowers are also known to be resistant to both disease and insect pressure. Azalea – White perennials for shade are often much more difficult to find. However, azaleas adapt to these growing conditions quite well. Though typically seen in shades of bright pink and red, white azaleas come in both dwarf and tall types....

Container Vegetables to Plant in Spring For this project you will need a watering can, pots, potting soil, and seeds. Use whatever spring vegetables you like to eat. Onions, lettuce, and carrots are good container vegetables to plant in spring, but you can also grow spinach, radishes, or beans. The first step is to fill your pots with a good potting soil for container vegetables. And yes, you really do need to use potting soil, not garden soil....

In working toward the improvement of soil, it’s vital to have a firm understanding of its type and its composition. When planning the landscape, growers can use this information to make better informed planting decisions. Finding flowers which grow well in full sun and poor conditions may seem difficult, but it’s not impossible. Ornamental gardeners with clay soil, for example, are able to craft beautiful flower borders through the use of tough and highly adaptable plants....

Golden Star Wildflowers The golden star (Bloomeria crocea) is a bulbous diminutive plant at just 6 to 12 inches (15-31 cm.) that is native in southern California. Named after the botanist Dr. Hiram Green Bloomer, the golden star is a geophyte, which means it grows from buds on an underground bulb. From April through June, it produces clusters of bright yellow, star-shaped flowers along hillsides, coastal sage scrub, grassland and chaparral edges, and in dry flats, often in heavy clay soil....

How Can I Propagate Lemongrass? Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus), sometimes spelled lemon grass, is indeed a member of the grass family that includes corn and wheat. It is winter hardy to only USDA zone 10 but can be container grown and brought indoors to shelter it from winter temperatures. There are only two of the 55 species of Cymbopogon used as lemongrass. They are usually labeled as East or West Indian lemongrass and are used in cooking or to make tea or tisanes....

Can I Put Wood Chips In My Compost? If you want to put wood chips in compost, the process will work best if the chips are as small as possible, preferably 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm.) at most. Be patient; composting wood chips is a long, slow process that can take as long as three or four years. The larger the chips, the longer the process takes. Some types of wood, including cedar, cypress, oak, redwood, and American mahogany, are especially slow to decompose....

Can Japanese Maples Be Grown in Containers? Growing Japanese maples in containers is not as unusual as you may think. Many different types of trees thrive in containers. The smaller the mature size of the species, the more likely it is that the tree will grow happily in a large pot. You can grow both evergreen and deciduous trees in containers. Smaller species and dwarf varieties of evergreens usually do well as container-grown plants....

Rumberry Info Rumberries (Myrciaria floribunda) are not commonly seen in the United States, but Cuba, Guatemala, southern Mexico, Brazil, and many other warm region countries may have small pockets of the plants. Guavaberry as food used to be more popular, but its use is not as common today. This is probably because there is little commercial value in the plants, and the fruits are so tiny and time consuming to harvest....