Rain Garden Plants for Shade – Shrubs Start with a shrub—or a few depending on the size of the rain garden—to deflect and slow down the rain coming into the garden. A larger plant also anchors the garden and serves as a focal point. Try these shade-tolerant species: Chokecherry. Choose red or black chokecherry depending on the color of berry you prefer. Red chokecherry grows a little taller, up to about 13 feet (4 m)....
Daffodils, for example, are excellent at making more of themselves. Your plant has one bulb, and that bulb makes offsets, or daughter bulbs, at the edge of its basal plate. The mother bulb will nourish the daughters as they grow. In time, the daughter bulbs will be healthy and large enough to start flowering by themselves. Soon enough, the clump of bulbs will become so crowded together that they start competing for nourishment in the soil....
Pitcher Plant Seeds Collect pitcher plant seeds in late fall by pinching open the dry capsules over an envelope or piece of paper towel. Drop the seeds into a sandwich bag, along with a fungicide, and shake the bag to coat the seeds. Pour the seeds and powder onto a new sheet of paper towel and blow off the excess powder. Spread the seeds out on a dampened paper towel, roll up the towel and store it in a zip-top bag in the refrigerator for two to three months....
Importance of Pruning an Acacia Growing naturally with no pruning, the acacia tree tends to sprout multiple trunks and wispy branches that droop. If you don’t cut back an acacia and shape it for a single trunk, it will stay fairly small and look more like a large shrub than a tree. With pruning, however, you get a shapelier, single-trunk tree that grows to about 15 to 20 feet (4.5 to 6 m....
How to Prune Brugmansia Pruning brugmansia forces it to grow more limbs, thus producing more flowers. Therefore, knowing how to prune brugmansia is important. The correct method for pruning these shrub-like plants is to cut off all but the newest growth. Prune back tips to about ½ inch (1 cm.) from the node. Do not prune the main leader unless you want to grow brugmansia in tree form. If you want a bushy tree, prune lateral branches at the joint....
The popularity of watermelon in the United States is inarguable, leading many of us to try our hand at growing watermelons in our home gardens. Because the habitat of watermelon is vining, the fruit tends to need a lot of space, or possibly some cutting back of the watermelon vines. Can You Prune Watermelon Plants? As previously mentioned, watermelons do require significant space. Not only do the vines reach significant length, but the fruit itself can weigh as much as 200 pounds (91 kg....
Diseases of Radishes Radish is a member of the family Brassicaceae, and is grown for its slightly spicy, crunchy taproot. This herbaceous annual or biennial should be grown in full sun in loose, compost amended, well-draining soil. Seeds can be sown as early as 5 weeks prior to the last average frost date for your region and then for a continual supply, sown every 10 days. Quit sowing when temps reach over 80 degrees F....
What is a No-Dig Garden Bed? You hear everywhere that you need to till your earth before planting. The prevailing wisdom is that it loosens the soil and spreads the nutrients of compost and last year’s decomposing plants throughout. And this wisdom prevails because for the first year the plants do tend to grow at a faster rate. But in exchange for that faster rate, you throw off the delicate balance of the soil, encourage erosion, kill beneficial worms and nematodes, and unearth weed seeds....
Pear Tree Leaf Problems When you only see sparse leaves on pear trees, it’s an indication that the tree is stressed or not getting what it needs. Since the tree needs leaves in order to remain healthy, it’s important to figure out the cause of pear tree leaf problems. If you are noticing that your pear tree has small leaves just after leaf break, the situation might right itself quickly. Sometimes, an unusually cool and rainy spring season causes a delay in fruit tree leaf development....
Boronia Information Boronia is a genus of evergreen shrub that includes many varieties. The perennial species called Red Boronia, native to western Australia, is beloved by gardeners for its showy blossoms. The foliage is a deep green and the pink flowers are shaped like tulips. Red Boronia’s flowers are fragrant and sweet smelling. They make excellent cut flowers and the bell-shaped flowers bloom from spring through early summer, attracting butterflies and bees....
June Planting in the Ohio Valley Late springs coupled with cool temperatures or copious amounts of rain can delay Ohio Valley planting. If these vegetable crops didn’t make it into the ground in May, there’s still time to add them to Ohio Valley gardens in early June: BeansBrussels SproutsCabbage (Late varieties)CeleryCornEggplantNew Zealand SpinachOkraPeppersTomatillosTomatoes In areas where squash bugs and cucumber beetles are problematic, delaying Ohio Valley planting of cucurbits can curb destructive populations of these insects....
Rhubarb Victoria Variety Most gardeners today grow rhubarb for its tart, succulent leaf stalks. They are often used as “fruit” in pies, jams, and sauces. Rhubarb is divided into two groups, one with red stalks and one with green. Victoria is among the most popular green-stalked varieties. Don’t be surprised to see red blush in the base of the stalks of the rhubarb Victoria variety as well. You’ll find several hundred thousand heirloom vegetable varieties in commerce, but only a few are considered all-time greats....
River Birch Tree Facts River birch trees (Betula nigra) are hardy in USDA zones 4 through 9. They are more heat tolerant than most of their birch relatives, making them a good choice in many parts of the southern U.S. They grow naturally in wet environments along river and stream banks, so they are used to very moist soil. They will tolerate soil that is acidic, neutral, or alkaline as well as poorly or well-drained soil....
What is Blue Eyed Grass? The gardener looking for a substitute for iris or other bulb flowers should explore the blue eyed grass plant (Sisyrinchium spp.). So what is blue eyed grass and is it a suitable plant for the garden? This plant is clumping and can get 4 to 16 inches (10-40 cm.) tall and equally wide. Blue eyed grass wildflower grows from hardy rhizomes that send out tall, blade-like foliage, much like grass blades and this is where the “grass” in its name derives....
Rotting lucky bamboo plants seem a decided sign of ill fortune. But preventing rot in lucky bamboo is not too difficult if you are attentive to the plant and act quickly when you see a problem with the plant’s roots. Read on to learn how to keep a lucky bamboo from rotting, especially when it’s grown in water. Rotting Lucky Bamboo Plants The lucky bamboo is a little green plant with one or more slender stems that grow roots on the lower end and leaves on the upper end....
Should You Deadhead Foxgloves? Most of us are familiar with foxglove, or Digitalis. It has a sinister history as a poison but, today, Digitalis is used in heart medicines. These amazing plants are biennial and bloom in the second year. Creamy white or lavender, bell-shaped flowers tower over the basal rosette. So what about deadheading the plant’s flowers? Removing spent foxglove flowers may encourage reblooming and further enjoyment of the plant late into the season....
About Compost and Slugs Are slugs good for compost? Slugs usually feed on living plant matter, but they also like plant debris and fresh garbage. For slugs, the compost bin is a perfect environment. What could be good about slugs in compost? Slugs are experts at breaking down organic matter, thus contributing to the process of decomposition. In fact, some gardeners don’t kill slugs at all. Instead, they actually pick the critters off plants and toss them in the compost bin....
How Apps That Measure Moisture Work Smart soil moisture measurement technology begins with a planter sensor or probe which is inserted into the soil. This sensor uses a wireless connection, via radio waves, Bluetooth, or a Wi-Fi router to communicate with a smart device, such as a phone or tablet. Smart moisture monitoring systems are fairly simple to set up. Once the sensor is in place and connected to a smart device, the user will need to download the appropriate application and access the plant database....
Spring & Summer Snowflake Bulbs Despite the name, summer snowflake bulbs (Leucojum aestivum) bloom in mid to late spring in most areas, just a couple of weeks after the spring snowflakes (Leucojum vernum). Both bulbs have grass-like foliage and dainty, fragrant drooping bells. They look almost exactly like snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis), which bloom a couple of weeks before spring snowflakes. You can tell the difference between the two flowers by the fact that snowflakes have a green dot at the tip of each of its six petals, while snowdrops have dots on only three of its petals....
The Perennial Plant Called Soapwort Going back to the early settlers, soapwort plant was commonly grown and used as a detergent and soap. It can grow anywhere between 1 to 3 feet (30.5-91.5 cm.) high and since it self-sows readily, soapwort can be used as a groundcover in suitable areas. The plant typically grows in colonies, blooming from midsummer to fall. The flower clusters are pale pink to white and lightly scented....
