Almond Winter Care Closely related to peaches and other stone fruit trees in the Prunus species, almond trees are hardy in U.S. hardiness zones 5 to 9. In the cooler regions of their range, however, the early spring blooms of almond trees may be susceptible to bud damage or loss from late winter frost. In these locations, it’s recommended that you use later blooming varieties of almond to avoid frost damage....
Steps for Overwintering Carrots in the Ground The first step to leaving carrots in the ground for later harvest in the winter is to make sure that the garden bed is well weeded. This ensures that while you are keeping the carrots alive, you do not also keep the weeds alive for next year. The next step for storing carrots for winter in the ground is to heavily mulch the bed where the carrots are growing with straw or leaves....
Read on for tips on how to overwinter gerbera daisies as houseplants. Gerbera Daisy Winter Care There are a couple ways to care for gerbera daisies in winter. You can treat a gerbera as a regular indoor plant, or you can let it go partly dormant during the winter months. Take a look at the following tips on both methods of overwintering potted gerberas. Dig the gerbera daisy, pot it in a container filled with high quality potting mix, and bring it indoors when nights drop below 40 degrees F....
How to Dry Ornamental Gourds Gourds include flowering plants in the family Cucurbitaceae, most commonly Cucurbita and Lagenaria (calabash or bottle gourd). Ornamental gourds suited for use as DIY decorative gourds are those with a hard skin that when dried has the consistency of wood. How to properly dry your gourds prior to decorating them is key. First, harvest the fruit when it has developed a hard rind and/or wait until the stems dry and turn brown and the foliage has begun to die back....
Making a Paper Garden Most parents are already brainstorming craft projects by late summer. You will need plenty of supplies and ideas to keep antsy little ones busy. Much of what you need can easily be saved, like acorns, twigs, pressed flowers, popsicle sticks, and anything else. Paper flower crafts may also need colored construction paper and paper plates. Paper garden crafts could feature paper plants or simply cut outs from seed catalogs or magazines....
Types and Varieties of Parsley Many people think some parsley types are best for garnish and others are best suited for cooking. Try them all, and you can make your own decision about the best parsley varieties! Curly (Common) Parsley – This standard type of parsley, versatile and easy to grow, is both decorative and edible. Curly parsley varieties include Forest Green parsley and Extra Curled Dwarf parsley, a fast-growing, compact variety....
Groundcover Peanut Varieties The peanuts we know and love as the main ingredient in our PB and J sandwiches is an annual plant. However, it has a relative that is perennial and can be used for year-round groundcover. Other groundcover peanut varieties would be the edible running types, but these will die back in winter and require replanting when temperatures warm up. The ornamental peanut is Arachis glabrata and native to Brazil....
What is Rooting Hormone? When propagating plants using a stem cutting, it is often helpful to use a root-stimulating hormone. Rooting hormone will increase the chance of successful plant rooting in most cases. When rooting hormones are used, the root will generally develop quickly and be of higher quality than when plant-rooting hormones are not used. While there are many plants that root freely on their own, using a root hormone makes the task of propagating difficult plants much easier....
Plants That Grow Well With Astilbe Astilbe likes dappled shade and acidic soil, so finding plants that grow well with astilbe means finding plants with similar soil and light requirements. Since it has such a broad hardiness range, choosing companion plants for astilbe also means choosing plants that will survive your winters. For instance, good astilbe companion plants in zone 9 may not be good astilbe companion plants in zone 3....
Companion Plants for Corn The Three Sisters are made up of corn, winter squash, and mature dry beans, not summer squash or green beans. Summer squash has a short shelf life and hardly any nutrition or calories while winter squash, with its thick outer rind, can be stored for months. Dried beans, unlike green, store for long periods of time and are packed with protein. The combination of these three created a subsistence diet that would have been augmented with fish and game....
Moving Plumeria Plants Established plants may suddenly no longer fit where they were growing. If a mature plant needs to be moved, plan a season ahead. At this time, cut around the root mass to sever some of the larger roots–also known as root pruning. This will stimulate new root growth, but roots will be easier to manage the next year when the plant is moved. Moving plumeria plants that are large can take a couple of gardeners....
Container Grown Cosmos Cosmos flowers can be successfully grown in containers. Species plants can grow as much as 6 feet (2 m.) tall, so look for dwarf or compact cultivars for containers. Of the 20 species of annual and perennial cosmos flowers, cultivars of C. sulphureus and C. bipinnatus are best suited to containers. C. sulphureus comes in shades of yellow, orange, and red while C. bipinnatus blooms in pink and rose tones....
Creating a Hydrangea Patio Tree Hydrangea in pots make lovely patio companions. Most tend to grow large and shrubby, but with the right care and pruning, you can create a pretty little flowering tree. You can try any type of hydrangea for this project, but Hydrangea paniculata has the most tree-like growth habit. Also known as tree hydrangea or panicle hydrangea, H. paniculata can grow up to 15 feet (4.5 m....
What are Rose Beads? Preserving rose petals is a common sentimental process. You may also want to try making rose beads from these lovely flowers. They are easy to make, take few tools and very little skill, but can make an interesting way to save a treasured memory. Rose beads may become part of a necklace or bracelet, something that will stand the test of time and can be passed down to your children....
Agastache Pruning Info Many of our native perennial herbs are designed by nature to thrive without any human intervention. That being said, even a hardy specimen like anise hyssop can benefit from some minor meddling. Pruning anise hyssop when it is young in early spring will help force a bushier plant. Cutting back anise hyssop in late winter will allow the fresh, new stems to come up unimpeded. The plant can also do quite well without any trimming but, if you choose to cut, know when to prune Agastache for the most effective maintenance experience....
What is Cole Crop Soft Rot? Soft rot in cole crops is caused by the bacterium Erwinia carotovora. It can affect both heading cole crops (like cabbage and broccoli) and leafing cole crops (like kale and mustard greens). Soft rot starts as small, water soaked patches and can spread quickly to large, sunken, brown areas that have a rotten consistency and give off a foul smell. Sometimes, symptoms don’t show or spread until after harvest, especially if they are bruised or damaged during transport, which means seemingly healthy plants can quickly become rotten and slimy in storage....
When to Repot an African Violet Most plants need repotting at some point to either increase the container size or to refresh the soil. There are several schools of thought on the right way to repot, but all agree you can buy or make your own African violet mix. Before removing your plant, select a container that is one third the size of the plant’s leaf spread. Most collectors recommend repotting at least once and up to twice per year....
What is a Riparian Garden? The word riparian comes from the Latin word for river bank. Due to the proximity of water, riparian ecosystems contain moister soil than upland areas, soil that has been built in variegated layers of sediment. Plants for riparian areas are very important in preventing erosion of the soil, but that’s not all. The trees and shrubs planted in riparian ecosystems influence both the quality of the water in the river or lake and the health of the area’s fish and wildlife....
Landscaping with Rocks and Pebbles When we hear the word “mulch,” we oftentimes think of wood chips, straw, or composts. However, landscape rocks are also generally described as mulch. Just like organic mulching materials, rock and pebble mulches have their pros and cons in the landscape. While excellent at controlling erosion, rock mulches do not help retain moisture in the soil like organic mulches. In fact, rock mulches tend to heat up quite a bit in the sun, causing the soil beneath them to be hot and dry....
How to Harvest Pumpkin Seeds Harvest pumpkins any time before the first hard frost in autumn. You’ll know when pumpkins are ready to harvest – the vines will die and turn brown and the pumpkins will be bright orange with a hard rind. Use garden shears or scissors to cut the pumpkin from the vine. Now that you’ve successfully harvested the ripe pumpkins, it’s time to remove the juicy seeds. Use a sharp, sturdy knife to cut around the top of the pumpkin, then carefully remove the “lid....
