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About Colored Plastic Mulch Plastic mulch, virtually unknown just a little while ago, is coming into its own. These days, many farms and backyard gardens use “plasticulture” to modify microclimates and improve crop quality. In fact, the benefits of using plastic mulch are numerous. It warms the soil, minimizes evaporation, limits leaching of nutrients from the soil, and results in more and better crops that are ready to harvest earlier. Mulch, of course, is a material you layer over garden soil to reduce weeds, hold in water, and control soil temperature....

When to Prune Sedum Sedum plants are in the family Crassulaceae and are considered easy to grow succulents in most regions. There are many sizes and varieties from which to choose, providing an ideal shape for almost any gardening endeavor. Cutting back sedum plants is not strictly necessary unless they are getting wild and out of control. If you require a very tidy appearance, sedum plant pruning can control errant growth and enforce thicker plants in some cases....

Can You Grow Horse Chestnuts in Pots? You can start horse chestnut trees in containers and plant them out when the trees are two to three years old. By that point, you would need a super huge pot to continue to grow the tree or it will need to get in the ground. Since the tree develops into a 30 to 40 foot (9-12 m.) specimen, container grown horse chestnut plants will eventually need to be moved to a well-prepared site in the landscape....

Propagating Christmas Cactus The very first step is understanding if you actually have a Christmas cactus. Easter and Thanksgiving cacti look deceptively similar. Click here to figure out which you have. Propagating Christmas cactus is easy. In fact, when it comes to the Christmas cactus, propagating is a great way to share this wonderful plant with others. Christmas cactus propagation usually begins by simply taking a short, Y-shaped cutting from the stem tip....

Potted mums are not the same as the hardy varieties that go into garden beds. They are more sensitive to cold and light changes, but you can find them any time of the year and bloom for several weeks in the home interior. Growing chrysanthemums indoors is easy and requires little special care beyond watering, good soil and drainage. Once the blooms are spent, you can keep the plant around for its deeply etched foliage....

Cold Hardy Hydrangeas When you live in zone 6, it sometimes seems as though all the best shrubs require milder climates. But that is not true of cold hardy hydrangeas. With some 23 different types of hydrangeas, you are sure to find hydrangeas for zone 6. The wildly popular, color-changing bigleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla) is the most sensitive to the cold of all the varieties. But it still is hardy in zone 6....

About Celeriac Celeriac is a root vegetable with a celery-like aroma and flavor, albeit a bit earthier and sweeter when cooked. Often described as a cross between celery and parsley with the cooked texture of related parsnips, celeriac can be eaten roasted, baked, or raw although the tough outer skin must be removed prior to ingestion. Dating back to the Middle Ages, celeriac is a form of celery grown for the turgid root that grows at ground level....

Indoor Conifer Plants By far, the easiest of the coniferous houseplants to grow indoors is the Norfolk Island pine or Araucaria heterophylla. These plants have a minimum temperature requirement of about 45 degrees F. (7 C.). Place your Norfolk Island Pine in a window that has plenty of bright, indirect light at a minimum, but some direct sun indoors is very beneficial. Be sure to provide excellent drainage and avoid excessively dry or excessively wet conditions; otherwise, the lower branches will drop off....

They can grow quite tall and, with good care and time, will become striking focal points in your yard or garden. North Central Coniferous Plants There are many different types of northern conifers to choose from when planning for your yard and garden. Here are some options for native species and non-native trees that grow well in this region: Concolor fir: Also known as white fir, this tree has foliage similar to that of blue spruce....

Warm Climate Container Gardening – Hot Weather Container Plants Selecting hot weather container plants that include flowers, grasses, succulents, and herbs can help you create low maintenance, eye-catching containers. Warm climate container gardening requires: The right potWell-draining potting soilA balanced, slow-release fertilizer Hot weather container plants You must keep a close eye on watering needs; plants in containers dry out faster than in-ground plants. Container Gardening in Heat Creating a heat tolerant container garden begins with the correct pot....

Cumin Herb Information Cumin seeds are usually yellowish-brown in color, oblong in shape, resembling a caraway seed. They have been used since ancient Egyptian times. Cumin is referred to in the Bible and the ancient Greeks used the spice as a table-side condiment just as we use a salt shaker. Spanish and Portuguese colonists brought it to the New World. During medieval times, cumin purportedly kept chickens and lovers from wandering off....

Is Manure Good or Bad? What are different types of manure? Domestic pets and livestock can all contribute to manure for the garden, but each has a specific manner in which it should be handled for the health of your garden (and you in some cases). Manure is simply the waste products of animals that have been composted to remove any pathogens and break it down for quicker uptake by plants....

Garden Hose Information It may seem like a hose is just a hose. However, each spring, home improvement stores and garden centers fill aisles with different types of garden hoses. These hoses come in many different lengths, most commonly 25-100 feet (7.5 to 30 m.). Naturally, what length you need depends on what you are watering. If your garden is only 10 feet (3 m.) away from the spigot, it’s probably not necessary to buy a 100-foot long hose (30 m....

Eugenia Plant Facts The Eugenia genus contains over 1,000 different species. The group is native to tropical regions and cannot survive freezing conditions. Some forms can easily grow up to 20 feet (6 m.) high, but the shrub is easy to keep to a lower habit with annual pruning. Leaves are shiny and oval, with news leaves arriving reddish in hue and changing to green as they age. Brush cherry is an evergreen and performs best in sun but can tolerate partial shade....

When to Fertilize Wax Plants Hoyas most likely originated in India. There are at least 100 species, many of which produce marvelous bloom clusters. Most growers find them to be unfussy little plants that simply need average light, warm interior temperatures, and regular water. The best performance can be achieved with a regular feeding program. This will fuel growth, enhance health, and increase the chances of some of the beautiful blooms....

What is Fine Fescue? Fine fescues encompass at least five major species. These are: Hard fescue Sheep fescue Chewings fescue Creeping red fescue Slender creeping red fescue The five varieties are often sold as a blended seed mix for better turf vigor. These grasses are perfect for temperate and cooler regions, especially maritime and low mountainous climates. The majority of the species clump and form tufts with the exception of the red creeping varieties, which spread by rhizomes....

What is Rose Picker’s Disease? I had never heard of rose picker’s disease or the Sporothrix schenckii fungus until about eight years ago now. Had someone told me about this before, then I would have thought they were joking due to my being a Rosarian. However, the disease and the fungus became very real to me when my dear mother fell into a climbing rose bush in her backyard. She got several puncture wounds from that fall and a few nasty cuts....

Dropping of Buds on Gardenia Bushes A commonly seen problem is gardenia buds falling off plants. This can be caused by a variety of things. Probably the most common reason for gardenia buds falling off plants is a change in location. Gardenias do not like to be disturbed. They are extremely sensitive to being moved or even touched. Try to keep gardenia flower plants in one location, moving as little as possible....

Is Goat Manure Good Fertilizer? One of the most common uses for goat manure is as a fertilizer. Goat manure fertilizer can help gardeners produce healthier plants and crop yields. Goats not only produce neater pelletized droppings, but their manure doesn’t typically attract insects or burn plants as does manure from cows or horses. Goat manure is virtually odorless and is beneficial for the soil. This manure contains adequate amounts of the nutrients that plants need for optimal growth, especially when the goats have bed in stalls....

Horse Chestnut Cutting Propagation There are a few ways to propagate this tree. Growing from the dropped conkers is one way of getting them started. You may ask, “will horse chestnuts grow from cuttings?”. They will, and it is actually one of the easiest ways of horse chestnut cutting propagation. You may take young softwood cuttings in spring or hardwood cuttings in autumn. Take cuttings from the youngest trees available, as immature cuttings reproduce best....