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About Dry Fig Fruit on Trees Fig trees are extremely shallow rooted and as such, are susceptible to stress. High temperatures and lack of water during summer months will certainly impact the tree, resulting in dry fig fruit on trees. Be sure to mulch heavily around the plant to retain water. Consider putting a soaker or drip hose under the mulch. Another possible origin for withering figs may be that you have a male tree, which produces fruit but whose sole purpose is to cross-pollinate a female fig tree....

Echeveria ‘Lola’ Info Lola echeveria has pale gray-blue leaves, often tinged in pink. Flowers, blooming in summer, are peach or salmon shades. Find a Lola succulent at your local nursery or order from a reputable online site. Avoid ordering from individuals without credentials. Many are ripped off after being enticed by an inexpensive price. You want to start off with a healthy and pest-free plant for the best succulent growing experience....

Fusarium Symptoms in Cucurbits Symptoms of fusarium wilt of cucurbits affected by F. oxysporum f. sp. niveum show early in development. Immature seedlings often damp off at the soil line. More mature plants may show early wilting only during the heat of the day, leading the gardener to believe the plant is suffering from drought stress, but will then die within a few days. During periods of rainfall, a white to pink fungal growth may appear on the surface of dead stems....

Why Carry Your Phone in the Garden? For many of us, time spent in the garden is an escape, a chance to get some peace and commune with nature. So why would we not leave our mobile phones inside during this time? There are some good reasons to consider taking it out in the yard with you. The most important reason is safety. If you have an accident and are out of reach of another person, you can use your phone to call for help....

Can You Grow Bananas from Seed? As mentioned above, the banana you are eating for breakfast has been genetically tinkered with to lack seeds and are usually Cavendish bananas. There are many other banana varieties out there and they do contain seeds. Cavendish bananas are propagated by pups or suckers, pieces of rhizome that form into miniature banana plants that can be severed from the parent and planted to become a separate plant....

Growing New Pothos Vines One way to make foliage grow in the pot is to clip the plant stems under a node to push growing energy to the nodes above. Let a leaf or two remain on what you’ve cut off. New pothos vines will sprout and eventually become longer shoots. If you continue the clipping process your pothos will grow more foliage from each node, but you must allow time for growth....

Instead of dealing with potting soil and planters, why not find some herbs that can grow in water and set up a row of attractive vases on your windowsill? Stems of perennial herbs will grow roots in glasses or jars of plain water, adding to your kitchen décor as well as producing new leaves and buds for use in fresh dishes through the cold, winter months. Herbs That Root in Water Herbs that root in water and grow through the winter months are perennial herbs....

How to Care for Pitcher Plant Indoors Light – If possible, refer to the tag that came with your pitcher plant, as sunlight requirements vary depending on the species. Some require full sunlight and may need supplemental lighting year round, while types that originate in the floor of the rainforest may need filtered light. If you aren’t sure of the variety, place your plant in moderate to bright light and avoid, direct, intense sunlight....

Purple Stripe garlic is suitable for growing in nearly every climate, including those with very cold winters. However, it may struggle in hot, humid climates. Read on to learn about growing Purple Stripe garlic. Growing Garlic with Purple Stripes Plant garlic in the fall, about four to six weeks before the ground freezes in your area. Divide a large Purple Stripe garlic bulb into cloves. Save the plumpest bulbs for planting....

Growing Information on Roses When growing roses, it’s important to choose a site receiving at least six hours of sun each day. Rose bushes must also be located in well-drained, fertile soil. Plant dormant roses in early spring (or fall). Potted plants can be planted any time between spring and fall, but preferably spring. If you’re planting bare root roses, presoak them in water for at least 24 hours prior to placing them in the ground....

Benefits of an Arched Tomato Trellis Many gardeners are aware growing tomatoes directly on the ground exposes the fruit to damp soil, animals, and insects. Not only are the tomatoes dirtier, but they are often damaged by hungry critters. In addition, it’s easy to overlook ripe tomatoes hidden by foliage or, worse yet, step on the fruit as you try to maneuver around the garden. Staking or caging tomatoes reduces these problems, but growing tomatoes on an arch has greater benefits....

Oranges for Zone 8 Both sweet oranges (Citrus sinensis) and sour oranges (Citrus aurantium) grow in USDA plant hardiness zones 9 through 11. Although it is possible to start growing oranges in zone 8, you’ll have to take some precautions. First, select cold hardy orange tree varieties. Try “Hamlin” if you are growing oranges for juice. It is fairly cold hardy, but the fruit is damaged during hard freezes. “Ambersweet,” “Valencia,” and “Blood Oranges” are other orange cultivars that might grow outdoors in zone 8....

Chicory Plant Harvest Chicory started out as a pretty blue wildflower growing like a weed around the Mediterranean region in Europe. Although it has been cultivated for over 1,000 years, it hasn’t changed much from its wild form. Many parts of the chicory plant are edible, and it is a vegetable used in three different forms. Some chicory is grown commercially for its hefty roots that are dried and roasted. When ground, the chicory root is used as a coffee-type drink....

What is the Common Garden Snail? Chances are, if you have snails in your garden, they’re the common garden snail, also called the brown garden snail. The scientific name is Helix aspersa. The common garden snail can be identified by its brown rounded shell and grey body. How to Control Garden Snails Here are the most common methods for getting rid of snails in the garden: Introduce predators – One effective organic snail control is to introduce or encourage predators....

Using Landscape Fabric in Vegetable Garden Weeds left to grow rampant in the veggie garden compete for water and nutrients, host diseaseS and pests, and make harvesting difficult. It would seem that landscape fabric for the vegetable garden would be a win/win and indeed laying a barrier of landscape fabric will slow weeds… for a while. Obviously landscape fabric has the benefit of slowing weeds. It allows water to flow freely to roots and can also be used temporarily in the vegetable garden to warm the soil....

Verbena Herbal Uses There have been many ways to use verbena plants – most often vervain varieties or that of lemon verbena. Victorian ladies valued the refreshing scent of lemon verbena, often tucking a sprig into a hanky or rubbing a leaf on the back of their neck, but what about verbena in cooking and verbena as medicine? Using Verbena as Medicine Verbena may contain powerful anti-inflammatory compounds, and the above-ground parts of verbena plants have been used to treat a number of conditions and complaints....

Lemon Tree Pollination “Lemon tree, very pretty, and the lemon flower is sweet,” goes the traditional song. And it’s true – gardeners are attracted by the lemon tree’s shiny green leaves and the white blossoms that smell like heaven. Still, most folks growing lemon trees are also hoping for a lemon crop and, for indoor trees, this requires that you manually pollinate lemons. In warmer climates, lemon trees grow happily outdoors....

What Does Landrace Mean? Landraces of crops are most closely aligned with heirlooms, being that they are naturally occurring. They are indigenous to a certain region and developed their characteristics in response to the growing conditions of that area. Landrace plant species are relatively rare because many have been supplanted with bred crops and have died out due to changing climate and human intervention. Plant varieties aren’t the only species that exist in this category....

What is an Invasive Plant? An invasive plant species is an imported plant that grows and reproduces aggressively, damaging natural ecosystems and putting native plants and wildlife at risk. The difference between weeds and invasive plants is that weeds affect people rather than plants and animals. Invasive plants are unsightly in the landscape, compete with garden and agricultural plants for nutrients and moisture, and reduce agricultural yields. Some weeds are also invasive plants....

True scavengers that love meat and sweet food, yellowjackets are a real nuisance at outdoor get-togethers. They become even meaner when colonies are large and food is scarce. So, how to manage yellowjacket pests? Read on. Killing Yellowjackets Here are some tips on yellowjacket control in the landscape: Watch closely for newly started nests in spring. Knock them down with a broom while the nests are still small. Likewise, you can place a bug-zapper near the entrance to the nest....