Why Baby Sapodillas Fall Quite probably a Yucatan native, sapodilla is a slow-growing, upright, long-living, evergreen tree. Tropical specimens can grow to 100 feet (30.5 m.), but grafted cultivars are much smaller at 30-50 feet (9-15 m.) in height. Its foliage is medium green, glossy, and alternate, and makes a lovely ornamental addition to the landscape, not to mention its delicious fruit. The tree blooms with small, bell-shaped flowers several times per year, although it will only yield fruit twice a year....

Why Do I have Skinny Leek Plants? A member of the Allium family and, thus, related to garlic, onion, shallots, and scallions, leeks are a hardy biennial that is grown as an annual. Wild leeks were used as a food source as early as 4,000 B.C., the Bronze Age. Long popular in European cuisine and sometimes referred to as the gourmet’s onion or the poor man’s asparagus, leeks have grown in popularity in the United States....

How to Handle Problems with Seaside Gardening Seaside gardening issues are a direct result of constantly fluid conditions mostly resulting from wind, salt, and sand assaults. The goal then of coastal landscaping is to ensure continuity of the landscape, preservation of the delicate ecosystem, habitat for wildlife, and minimization of storm and other erosion damage– including flooding. Remedies for Seaside Gardening: Windbreaks Before picking and planting anything in the coastal garden, it may be advisable to plant or construct a windbreak....

Information about Solanum Genus The Solanum plant family is a diverse group containing both annuals to perennials with everything from vine, subshrub, shrub, and even small tree habits. The first mention of its generic name comes from Pliny the Elder at the mention of a plant known as ‘strychnos,’ probably Solanum nigrum. The root word for ‘strychnos’ may have come from the Latin word for sun (sol) or possibly from ‘solare’ (meaning “to soothe”) or ‘solamen’ (meaning “comfort”)....

Where Does Squirting Cucumber Grow? Squirting cucumber, also known as spitting cucumber (the names just keep getting better!), is native to the Mediterranean region. It has been introduced to other regions as a garden curiosity for its unique fruit. It was introduced as an ornamental curiosity to the Adelaide Botanical Gardens in 1858, for instance. It certainly didn’t stop there and can now be found not only in the Mediterranean, but in southwest Asia and southern Europe....

When planting a new pollinator garden, there are a few key factors to take into consideration. One is light. To get a sense for how much light your garden receives, go out on a sunny day and take a picture at 9, noon, and 3. Follow the sun, and see where it goes throughout the day. Some parts of your garden may get full sun, while others may get partial or even full shade....

Fusarium Sweet Potato Storage Rots As mentioned, there are several pathogens that can cause storage rot of sweet potatoes, but the fungal diseases caused by Fusarium are the most common reasons for post-harvest losses. Fusarium surface rot and Fusarium root rot are caused by the fungi Fusarium. Fusarium surface rot – Fusarium surface rot is common in sweet potatoes stored post-harvest. Surface rot may also afflict tubers that have been damaged by mechanical injury, nematodes, insects, or other pests, prior to harvest....

When to Pick Strawberries Strawberry season only lasts three to four weeks, so it’s crucial that you know not only how to harvest a strawberry plant, but also when strawberry harvest time begins so that none of them go to waste. In their first year of planting, the berry plants will certainly try to set fruit, but you should be firm and disabuse them of this idea. Why? If the plants bear fruit, all their energy goes into doing so instead of sending off runners....

How to Make a Moss Pole Plant Support Cheese plants are epiphytes, which means they are vertically growing plants that use the support of other plants in their environment. This means that training cheese plant on a moss pole perfectly mimics their natural state. Using moss poles for cheese plants creates the environment Monstera needs to raise the heavy stem upright and provides a pleasing appearance. You will need a stout stake a little bit taller than the plant....

Don’t stop there. A little planning in spring can increase your “fall décor harvest.” Buy seed packets to grow gourds, mini pumpkins, Chinese lanterns, and herbs. If you don’t have berry-producing shrubs, consider adding those wildlife friendly plants to the yard. Thanksgiving Garden Decorations Growing fall decorations for Thanksgiving is easy. Here are some ideas to “grow” your fall décor: Order seeds from seed catalogs in the spring and plant according to package directions in time for a fall harvest....

How to transplant an apple tree? What is lemon tree transplant shock? Can mature fruit trees be transplanted? Read on for answers to fruit tree transplant questions. Best Time to Transplant Fruit Trees Transplanting young, newly purchased fruit trees is a matter of getting the timing and the procedure right. The best time to transplant fruit trees is usually spring, but the options depend on the presentation of the tree....

Why are Some Tomatoes Green Inside? Most tomatoes ripen from the inside out, hence the tomato seeds are green because they contain chlorophyll, the pigment in plants which gives them a green hue. Chlorophyll allows plants to absorb energy from light in a process called photosynthesis. As the seeds mature, the outer layer hardens to protect the interior embryo. The seeds also turn beige or off white color when they are ripe....

Trailing Rosemary Plant Info Trailing, or creeping, rosemary is a cultivar of the herbaceous shrubs of Mediterranean origin. The evergreen perennial is useful trained over fences, rockeries, and raised beds. It is an attractive groundcover over time with its fine, leathery foliage and sweet flowers. Rosemary groundcover provides scented foliage which helps minimize weeds and is an excellent foil for other dry landscape plants. Rosemary is an excellent xeriscape plant with high drought tolerance once established....

When to Move Trees Move a deciduous tree in early spring before it begins to leaf out or early fall after the leaves begin to turn color. Don’t move evergreens during a growth flush or in the fall when it’s too late for them to become established before winter weather arrives. Late summer is usually a good time to move evergreens. Tree and shrub roots extend well beyond the volume of soil that you will be able to move....

Interesting Bladderwort Information The bladderwort family includes about 200 species, but only about 50 exist in the United States. Although the visible stems are bare, the plants have small, underwater leaves that resemble rubbery bladders. The bladders are equipped with tiny hairs that are triggered by small insects, like mosquito larvae and water fleas. The trigger opens a “trap door” that lures the creatures with a sweet, slimy substance. Once the creatures are lured into the trap, they are eaten and digested by the plant....

Controlling Weeds in a Vegetable Garden Weeds not only compete for water, nutrients, and growing space but also provide a haven and hiding place for disease and pests. Vegetable weeds controlled early in the season can help prevent these issues and slow the spread of the nuisance plants. Cultural controls are safe and effective methods of weed control. These may include synthetic or organic mulches, weeding, or hoeing and cover crops....

Successful Container Gardening in the Central Region Growing a successful potted vegetable garden begins with the proper selection of containers. Large containers provide more room for root growth than smaller ones. Since they hold more soil, larger planters don’t dry out as quickly and there is less chance of nutrient depletion. Unfortunately, large store-bought flowerpots can be quite pricey. To control the initial cost of a potted vegetable garden, consider using inexpensive five gallon buckets, large storage totes, or recycled potting soil bags....

Water Oak Information Quercus nigra is a tolerant plant that can grow in partial shade or sun to full sun. These elegant trees are deciduous to semi-evergreen and an important part of ecosystems from New Jersey to Florida and west to Texas. Water oaks grow at a fantastic rate of up to 24 inches (61 cm.) per year. Caring for a water oak is easy, but it is a weak wooded tree prone to many diseases and insect pests....

What Does Sow Thinly Mean? Planting seeds is a joyful occupation, as you are beginning new plant life and the potential that each seed has to become food or simply an ornamental treasure. Many sowing instructions will ask you to sow thinly. This is a rather opaque instruction, however, as every gardener’s notion of what is thin would tend to vary. It is a little bit like old recipes that ask for a pinch or dash of something....

What is a Berm? A berm is often overlooked because it is specifically designed to blend into a landscape, and because at its essence, a berm is simply a mound of soil. Berms are often linear, always rounded, and may vary in height. What are Berms for? Berm uses are either practical or aesthetic. For instance, a berm in the landscape may be constructed from soil to hold water in around a tree so the water doesn’t just run away from the roots but, instead, soaks down into the root system....