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When to Water Container Plants Potted plants tend to dry out more quickly than their in-ground counterparts. The small soil space and the construction of the pot mean the container stores very little moisture. In general, early morning or early evening is the optimal time to water your containers, as this will give the plant some time to take up the water before the heat of the day kicks in, but it will also allow excess water on the plant to evaporate quickly so that the plant is not vulnerable to fungus....

Design Tips for a Beautiful Garden The first step to any garden design is having a plan and putting that plan on paper. Determine the garden’s location and how it will be used. Many factors will ultimately affect each garden design. These may include your region, light and soil conditions, size, types of plants and so on. Region – Become familiar with your hardiness zone. It is also a good idea to become familiar with the different plants well suited for growing in your area....

Bad soil can restrict the water and nutrient uptake of plants, as well as restrict the root development causing plants to yellow, wilt, dry up, be stunted, and even die. Fortunately, poor soils can be amended with soil conditioners. What is soil conditioner? This article will answer that question and explain how to use soil conditioner in the garden. What’s in Soil Conditioner? Soil conditioners are soil amendments that improve the soil structure by increasing aeration, water holding capacity, and nutrients....

How to Care for Agapanthus in Winter There are at least 10 species of Agapanthus with some listed as deciduous and some evergreen. The deciduous species are a bit hardier, as they come from a cooler part of Africa. A trial in the UK showed these varieties could survive outdoors with a little protection. If you wish to be certain your tubers will bloom again, you can also choose to lift them and store them indoors....

Why is My Pea Plant Yellow? There are several possibilities to answer the question, “Why is my pea plant yellow?”. Fusarium wilt, root rot, Ascochyta blight, and downy mildew are all fungi that may afflict these crops and result in yellowing pea plants. Fusarium wilt – Fusarium wilt causes the yellowing of pea plants’ foliage, stunting, and wilting of the entire plant. The base of the stem, however, is not affected....

Growing Yucca in Zone 6 Most varieties of yucca commonly grown are hardy to United States Department of Agriculture zones 5 to 10. These drought-tolerant plants are often found in desert settings where temperatures get scorching during the day but may dip to freezing at night. Such conditions make yucca one of the more versatile plants, as they have adapted to these extremes. Adam’s Needle is one of the more cold hardy species but there are several yuccas for zone 6 from which to choose....

How to Attract Ladybugs to the Garden The number one thing that will help attract ladybugs to your yard is food. Ladybugs eat two things: insect pests and pollen. They need both to survive and when these things are in abundance, ladybugs will happily relocate to your garden. There are several pollen plants that ladybugs like. The blooms on these plants normally have flat flowers (like landing pads) and tend to be white or yellow....

Cross Pollination in Avocados Pollinating in avocado trees is, indeed, the result of cross pollination in avocados. The flowers of the avocado tree are referred to as perfect, meaning they have both male and female reproductive organs. The blooms are yellow green, ½ inch (1 cm.) across and born in clusters or panicles of 200 to 300 near the end of the branches. Of these hundreds of blooms, about five percent are sterile....

Are Hops Grown from Rhizomes or Plants? A rhizome is a subterranean stem of a plant that is capable of sending out roots and shoots from its nodes. Also called rootstocks, rhizomes retain the ability to send new shoots upwards to become a plant. So, the answer is that hops plants are grown from rhizomes, but you can purchase either hops rhizomes for growing or established hops plants for planting in your beer garden....

Basil is a tender annual that will not survive in zones below USDA zone 10, but it grows beautifully as a summer annual in all zones down to 4. Basil is generally planted in May, but you can start it earlier indoors. The plant needs well-drained soil with at least six to eight hours of bright sunlight per day. The best growth is achieved with 10 to 12 hours of light per day, but this can lead to the plant drying out if it is potted....

What is a Bear Paw Succulent? With dark red edges, the fuzzy foliage of the bear paw (Cotyledon tomentosa) is squat and chubby with upper tips that resemble an animal’s foot or paw. The dark red appears when the plant is mildly stressed and makes the shape stand out, drawing attention to the attractive shrub-like plant. It is small and fragile, with leaves becoming chubbier with the amount of water they hold....

How to Grow Bok Choy As a fall crop, bok choy care is simple. It can be direct-seeded ¼ to ½ inch (6 to 13 mm.) deep in rich, fertile garden soil. In areas where rains create saturated conditions, good drainage is recommended. Fall crops can be planted in full sun. Planting bok choy in small batches every two weeks will supply a steady and continuous harvest. Planting bok choy for a spring crop is more challenging....

About Blooming Beet Plants Beets have been cultivated since ancient Greek and Roman times and are grown for their sweet root or their nutritious greens. If you are a beet lover, there are many types of beets to experiment growing in the garden. Common names for this delicious veggie include: Beetroot Chard European sugar beet Red garden beet Mangel or mangel-wurzel Harvard beet Blood turnip Spinach beet Beets origins stem from the Mediterranean coast (sea beets) and were first cultivated for their leaves and used medicinally, eventually carrying over into culinary uses of both foliage and root....

The list of welcome garden visitors includes not only our friends, family members, and “furry” friends (our dogs, cats, and maybe even a rabbit or two), but also ladybugs, praying mantis, dragonflies, bees, and butterflies to name a few. One of my favorite garden guests, though, is the butterfly. Let’s look at plants that attract butterflies so that you can welcome these flying beauties. Starting Butterfly Gardening If you like to see the butterflies gracefully dancing about your smiling blooms like I do, planting some flowering plants that help attract them is a great thing to do....

You receive a bonsai as a gift for Christmas or for your birthday. You love it and want it to care for it well and keep it growing strong. However, despite your best efforts, it begins to yellow and/or the leaves begin to fall off, and pretty soon all you have is a dead plant in a pot. Here is a bit of information that may help you avoid this scenario, or in the least, help you to make a more successful second attempt....

What are Carnivorous Plants? The vast array of forms in the carnivorous plant family is far too numerous to detail entirely in a list of carnivorous plants, and their predatory methods range the limits of imagination. Their reputation as man eaters is entirely false but some carnivorous plants can catch small mammals and amphibians, such as frogs. The smallest of the group are just an inch (2.5 cm.) high and the largest may get 50 feet (15 m....

Many gardeners don’t bother growing cauliflower, as it has the reputation of being one of the more temperamental crops and with good reason. Bringing cauliflower to fruition means knowing when is the best time to plant and when to harvest cauliflower. Read on to learn how to plant cauliflower and other helpful cauliflower planting tips to make this crop a success. Best Time to Plant Cauliflower Cauliflower is a cool season veggie from the Brassicaceae family, which includes broccoli, and, in fact, cauliflower is often referred to as ‘heading broccoli....

What is Pantone? Pantone has a color of the year, which for 2018 is a stunning purple called Ultra Violet, but it has also arranged several palettes for the year. Pantone’s Verdure palette is earthy, vegetal, and inspired by cottage gardens. The colors include rich greens, pale blues, and pretty purples, as well as cream and light yellow. Together, the colors invoke health and growth, perfect for garden design. Whether you want to use the latest color palette or a particularly favorite one from yesteryear, incorporating these colors into the garden is easy....

What to Plant Next to Yams Golden yams are native to South America and have been grown as a crop for over 5,000 years. These easy-to-grow tubers prefer United States Department of Agriculture zones 9 through 12. Yams may be white, purple, brown, reddish, or the classic, sweet, orange-fleshed variety grown in southern regions of the United States. Plants that grow well with yams might be those that are also in the morning glory family, pest deterrents, or simply those that complement the attractive foliage and starry purple flowers of sweet potatoes....

Cotton Plant Info While cotton (Gossypium) has been around for a long time and grown mainly for its fibers, cotton growing with kids can be a fun learning experience. Not only will they get a chance to learn some cotton plant info, but they will love the fluffy, white product of all their labor. You can take the lesson further by exploring how your harvested cotton gets processed to make the clothes we wear....