Choosing a Location for Bamboo Plants Bamboo (Bambusa spp.) is a versatile plant and most species can survive in many conditions. But bamboo growing in full sun will grow the fastest. Bamboo plants also like to have fertile, slightly acidic, well drained but moist soil. Remember, these are simply the best conditions under which to get the best bamboo growth. As long as you provide a few of these conditions, most bamboos will still be happy....
What is White Asparagus If you’ve ever watched seedlings sprout on a wet paper towel, you’ve probably noticed the stems are white and the leaves are pale yellow. These sprouts aren’t green because they have not begun producing chlorophyll, which is the green pigment that gives herbaceous plants their color. Some plants, like asparagus, won’t produce chlorophyll until they’ve been exposed to sunlight. So what is white asparagus? It’s simple: Asparagus shoots which haven’t seen the light of day....
About Guava Reproduction Guava trees are most often propagated by seed or cuttings. Either method is fairly easy so choose whichever works best for you. Guava Tree Propagation with Seeds Planting seeds is a relatively easy way to propagate a new guava tree, but keep in mind that the trees probably won’t be true to the parent tree. However, it’s still worth a try. When it comes to propagating guava trees with seeds, the best plan is to plant fresh seeds from a ripe, juicy fruit....
Forcing hyacinth bulbs is not a difficult task as long as you start with an appropriate cultivar for forcing and a healthy bulb. Healthy hyacinth flower bulbs are large and firm. Be sure to pick a bulb that will fit into your chosen container and always wear gloves when handling the bulbs as they contain oxalic acid, which can cause irritation to the skin. How to Force a Hyacinth Bulb In order for forcing hyacinth bulbs to be successful, bulbs must be chilled for 13 weeks....
What Does Sulfur Do for Plants? Plants only need 10 to 30 pounds of sulfur per acre . Sulfur also acts as a soil conditioner and helps reduce the sodium content of soils. Sulfur in plants is a component of some vitamins and is important in helping give flavor to mustard, onions and garlic. Sulfur born in fertilizer assists in seed oil production, but the mineral can accumulate in sandy or overworked soil layers....
Beneficial Insects for a Garden When people talk about insects, they often have mosquitoes or flies in mind, bugs that you wish were not in the yard. But many bugs help your plants thrive. In fact, beneficial insects for a garden are a gardener’s best friends. Some insects, like bees and butterflies, pollinate flowers. Other beneficial insects chow down on destructive bugs like aphids and scale insects. Another group of insect, termed parasitoids, live on or inside an insect pest, killing it as they feed....
Information About Lady’s Mantle Plant Lady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis or Alchemilla vulgaris) is an attractive perennial plant. Its soft gray-green foliage is semi-round with scalloped-shaped leaves. In late spring and early summer, the plant produces nearly inconspicuous chartreuse (yellow-green) blooms. This Turkey and Carpathian Mountain native is a low-growing ground cover, about 6 to 12 inches (15-30 cm.) tall, and in addition to its attractive looks, has an interesting background. The plant’s common name is said to have likely come from an ancient legend of it being used to adorn the Virgin Mary, as her cloak was thought to resemble its scalloped leaves....
Tall Plants You Can Grow Indoors Fiddle Leaf fig – Fiddle leaf fig, Ficus lyrata, has been all the rage with its large, glossy foliage and dramatic presence. It is not forgiving to neglect or poor care, however. Be sure to give this plant plenty of bright light and proper watering for greatest success. Wipe the leaves down periodically to keep the leaves dust-free and clean. Weeping fig – The weeping fig, Ficus benjamina, is another plant in the fig family, but this one has gracefully weeping branching and smaller leaves....
About Natural Lawn Care There are no official standards for what constitutes organic practices for managing a lawn. Generally, it means using methods that are more environmentally-friendly and sustainable. This might include choosing an organic fertilizer over a synthetic product, watering less often, choosing low-maintenance grass types, and limiting or avoiding pesticides. What organic or natural care does not mean is simply ignoring the lawn. Leaving it alone except to mow does not necessarily make your lawn better for the environment....
Natural Christmas Crafts Making nature crafts for Christmas can be as simple or complicated as you wish. Using items from the garden or landscape may require early preparation, like hanging flowers from summer blooming shrubs to dry. Others can be accomplished immediately with items you’ve just taken. Either way, natural Christmas decorations add a personal touch to holiday decorating. Christmas Crafts from the Garden The following list of decorations includes things you can easily design and make yourself....
There is nothing more exciting than the first blooms of spring and few things more discouraging than the failure of a favorite plant to produce flowers. Blind shoots form at the end of many types of plants, resulting in a lack of flowers. Bulbs, like daffodils, also go blind suddenly one season and form copious foliage but no blooms. There are a variety of factors that can cause this. Some of them are correctable and some of them are the capriciousness of nature....
When to Grow Grass in the Northwest Turf grass is dormant during the winter months and then begins to grow when average daily temperatures are above 50 F (10 C) which is around late March to April for most of the Pacific Northwest. Grass grows most rapidly when temperatures warm to 70-75 F (21-24 C); May and early June for this region. As summer temperatures soar grass begins to slow its growth, but picks right back up again in the late summer as temps cool....
Horseradish History Before we get into horseradish container growing, I want to share some interesting horseradish history. Horseradish originated in southern Russia and the eastern region of Ukraine. An herb, it has traditionally been grown for centuries for not only culinary use but medicinal use as well. Horseradish was incorporated into the Passover Seder as one of the bitter herbs during the Middle Ages and is still used to this day....
How to Propagate a Voodoo Lily You will know you are in the presence of a voodoo lily even before you see it if it is blooming. The flower gives off an unmistakable scent that is reminiscent of something that is rotting. This attracts pollinators, such as flies, and ensures that the plant can set seed. The odor is only strong for the first day and fades quickly. Soon seed will set and offsets will form....
The latest horticultural flipflop among scientists involves how to handle roots when you transplant container trees. Many experts now recommend root washing before planting. What is root washing? Read on for all the information you need to understand the root washing method. What is Root Washing? If you haven’t heard of or don’t understand root washing, you’re not alone. It’s a relatively new idea that container-grown trees will be healthier if you wash all of the soil from their roots before you transplant them....
Selecting Fruit Trees for Southwestern States The southwestern states encompass plateaus, mountains, and canyons with vast variations in USDA growing zones ranging from chilly zone 4 to warm, arid deserts with summer highs well above 100 F. (38 C.). In the warm areas of the Southwest, cherries and many other types of fruit trees have a difficult time because they require a winter chilling period of 400 hours or more, with temperatures between 32-45 F....
Drying Fruit for Long-Term Storage Drying food removes the moisture from it so bacteria, yeast, and mold can’t cultivate and end up spoiling the food. Dried or dehydrated fruit from the garden then becomes much lighter in weight and smaller in size. Dried food can then be rehydrated if desired or eaten as is. There are a number of ways to dry food. The age-old method is drying via the sun, hence the term sun dried fruit, like tomatoes....
Identifying Cabbage Maggots Cabbage maggots and cabbage maggot flies are most often seen in cool, wet weather and most commonly affect gardens in the north. The cabbage maggot feeds off the roots of cole crops like: cabbage broccoli cauliflower collards Brussels sprouts The cabbage maggot is the larva of the cabbage maggot fly. The larva is small, about ¼-inch (6 mm.) long and is white or cream colored. The cabbage maggot fly looks like the common housefly but will have stripes on its body....
Pruning Photinia Shrubs Unfortunately, cutting back photinia shrubs also encourages the spread of a devastating fungus, commonly known as photinia leaf spot, that favors the tender new leaves of the shrub. So let’s begin by saying that if you live in an area plagued by this leaf spot, pruning photinia, particularly those grown close together, is not a good idea. If you feel you must, then when to prune red tip photinia becomes crucial....
Trimming Schefflera Houseplants The tropical Schefflera plant, also known as umbrella plant or tree, can grow quite large outdoors in the right climate. Indoors, this popular houseplant can be trimmed and maintained at a manageable size. Pruning Schefflera plants is easy and nothing that should prevent you from enjoying this beautiful plant in your home. If you have ever seen a native Schefflera outdoors, you may be surprised to find how large they grow....
