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How to Propagate Garlic You know you want it. Garlic with its pungent, zesty flavor and intense aromatic properties is actually quite easy to grow. Choice of variety that is suitable for your growing zone and soil is the first concern when propagating garlic bulbs. Softneck varieties grow best in warm climates, while the hardneck types are more suited to cooler climes. For the indecisive gardener, the Asian species can perform well in either climate....

Using Geometry in Gardens For centuries, designers have used the golden rectangle in garden design, sometimes without even realizing it. If you’re wondering how this could be, take a look at your own garden. How many groups of 3, 5, and 8 do you see? You planted them that way because you found a grouping that size visually appealing without knowing that groups of this size are an integral part of the golden ratio....

Goldfish Hanging Plant Info Because of its very specific needs, the goldfish hanging plant has a well-deserved reputation as a fussy plant rife with problems. With goldfish houseplants, attention to detail is the key to success. As with so many of our windowsill guests, goldfish plant care begins with understanding where and how they grow in their natural state. Goldfish plants belong to the genus Columnea. They are epiphytes, a type of plant that grows upon other plants, usually a tree....

So how did such a lovely plant get such an unusual name? While no one may know for certain, some people think the plant was named for the way its flowers hang down like spiders. Others believe it comes from its medicinal properties, as it was once used to treat spider bites. Regardless of how the plant got its name, spiderwort is well worth having in the garden. About Spiderwort Flowers The three-petaled spiderwort flowers are usually blue to purple, but may also be pink, white, or red....

There are two main types of cucumber. Slicing varieties are meant to be eaten fresh, while pickling types are bumpy, rough, and require blanching and pickling for the best flavor. Whichever variety you choose to grow, you need to know how to tell when cucumbers are ready to pick. When to Pick a Cucumber Cucumbers need a long growing season and are ready for harvest in 50 to 70 days....

Hedge Rose Varieties There are many types of plants that make beautiful hedges. Using roses for hedges adds that extra something to the landscape. All the hedge row varieties are nicely behaved to USDA zone 2. They have no major pest problems and many are even unpalatable to deer. Giving them a good start at planting will start these roses off to best advantage and minimize future hedge rose care. Depending how tall you want your border, there are tall and short roses for hedges....

Identification of Woodpecker Damage to Trees Woodpecker tree damage normally appears as holes in trees. Depending on the species of woodpecker that is pecking at your tree, these holes may be clustered or in a straight line. While most of the time these holes are small in diameter, if the woodpecker has settled on your tree as a nesting spot, the hole can be quite large. Woodpecker holes in trees happen for a variety of reasons....

When a tree has bad soil, it cannot establish roots and grow well. That means that improving soil around trees can be the most important part of tree care. Read on for information about the effects of compacted soil around trees and tips on how to improve the soil around an established tree. If Your Tree Has Bad Soil A tree’s roots uptake water and nutrients that allow the tree to produce energy and grow....

About Watering a Fig Tree Fig trees grow wild in dry, sunny regions with deep soil as well as in rocky areas. They thrive in light, well-draining soil but will also do well in poor soil types. Hence, the tree does especially well in areas that mimic the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean climates. Fig trees have a deep, aggressive root system that searches out groundwater in aquifers, ravines, or through cracks in rocks....

Learn Why Burning Poison Ivy Is Dangerous Poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans), poison oak (T. diversilobum) and poison sumac (T. vernix) can produce an allergic reaction if any part of the plant – leaves, stems, roots or berries – is touched, bruised, crushed, cut or burned. The colorless oil, urushiol, is quickly absorbed by the skin and can adhere to clothing, pet fur, camping equipment, and yard tools. Touching those items even weeks later can cause a reaction, referred to as contact dermatitis....

Garden Weed Management When it comes to weed control in gardens, both patience and persistence are necessary. And, of course, some weed removing tools may be handy too. Dense planting and the application of mulch can be one of the most effective methods in managing weeds. In addition to helping with soil moisture, mulch reduces weed growth by reducing the light weed seeds require for germination. Those that do somehow germinate (and they sometimes do) can usually be pulled up rather easily....

Any time those tissues are punctured in a maple tree, you may see a maple tree oozing sap. Read on to find out what it means when your maple tree is dripping sap. Why is My Maple Tree Leaking Sap? Unless you are a maple sugar farmer, it is disconcerting to see your maple tree oozing sap. The cause of sap leaking from maple trees can be as benign as birds eating the sweet sap to potentially fatal diseases of the maple....

Norway Maple Tree Info Maple trees are classics of the landscape genre. Norway maple (Acer platanoides) has made its own place in the culture and is a common shade tree that resembles sugar maples. The plant has several seasons of interest and retains a compact crown and dense growth. Norway maple has a high tolerance to pollution and is adaptable to many soils including clay, sand, or acidic conditions. This elegant tree is a useful addition to the landscape, provided some care is taken to minimize seedlings, which are rampant the following season....

Propagating Oak Trees For convenience, the many species of oak are divided into two main groups: red oaks and white oaks. You can tell which group an oak belongs to by taking a close look at the leaves. Red oak leaves have pointed lobes with little bristles at the tips, while the lobes on white oak leaves are rounded. Propagating oak trees is good for the environment and it’s an easy, fun project for kids....

Droopy, Leggy, Overgrown Parsley If you have a drooping parsley plant or parsley plants falling over every which way, it may be too late, especially if the plant has blossomed and gone to seed. Don’t despair. Parsley grows rapidly from seed or you can get some inexpensive starts from the local nursery. Moving forward, however, you will want to learn how to trim parsley (and use it!) to avoid drooping and falling over parsley plants....

About Cherry Tree Propagation via Cuttings There are two types of cherry tree: tart (Prunus cerasus) and sweet (Prunus avium) cherries, both of which are members of the stone fruit family. While you can propagate a cherry tree using its seeds, the tree is likely a hybrid, meaning the resultant offspring will end up with the characteristics of one of the parent plants. If you want to get a true “copy” of your tree, you need to propagate the cherry tree from cuttings....

Steps for Planting Roses Start by digging a hole for planting the rose in. See if the depth is right for your area. By this I mean that in my area I need to plant the actual graft of the rose bush at least 2 inches (5 cm.) below what will be my finished grade line to help with winter protection. In your area, you may not need to do that....

Planting Spring Flowers in Bulb Gardens Most spring bulbs require a period of chilling to enforce blooms, which means planting in fall. Such cold weather flower bulbs should go into the ground before it freezes with enough time to produce some roots. In most zones, September is ideal, but in cooler areas like zone 3, cool climate bulbs need to be planted in early spring as soon as the ground is workable....

Varieties of Squash There are many varieties of squash, most of which are vine plants; there are a number of bush types as well, however. Before you grow squash, be sure you know which type you have and plan your garden accordingly. There are two types of squash varieties: summer and winter. Summer varieties of squash are large and bushy. These types of plants do not spread as the vine types do....

When is the Seed Ball Season? If you’ve never used seed balls, it’s an interesting concept. Gardeners either purchase or make seed balls by stirring humus, clay and the desired seeds together. Small balls are formed by rolling the mixture between the hands. The seeds balls are then tossed into the landscape, which is why they are sometimes called seed bombs. The seed ball protects the seeds from the hungry mouths of small animals and birds....