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Pests of Jasmine There are two main types of jasmine plant pests. The sucking insects, like aphids, are those whose feeding behavior entails piercing the plant material and eating the sap. There are also foliage insects which cause visual damage to the leaves of a plant. Most of these are caterpillars and larvae of a variety of moths and butterflies but a few represent other invertebrates. Pests affecting jasmine plants vary in size and degree of damage but it is best to establish some basic methods of dealing with the invaders....

There are many plants that help soil. Plants can increase porosity, entice beneficial organisms, stabilize soil, and add nutrients back into that soil. What plants improve soil? Both annual and perennial plants can enhance fertility and provide other benefits. Selecting a nitrogen fixing plant reaps that much-needed nutrient. Plants can be used as green manure or cover crops, which are usually planted during the fallow season when crops are not actively growing....

What is Horticultural Soap? What is horticultural soap? Horticultural soap is not a cleaning product for foliage–it is an environmentally friendly application used to eliminate small soft-bodied insects such as aphids, whiteflies, spider mites, and mealybugs. Horticultural soaps may be used either on indoor houseplants or on outdoor plants, including vegetables. Insecticidal soaps have several advantages over pesticides in that they leave no nasty residue, are non-toxic to animals and birds, and do not harm beneficial insects....

Types of Watermelon All varieties of watermelon share a distinct, mouth-watering, thirst-quenching, sugary flesh encased by a solid rind. Some watermelon types have higher sugar content and are sweeter; and some varieties have different colored rind and flesh. Most of us are familiar with the oblong, dark green watermelon with vibrant, ruby red pulp, but melons may also be light pink, yellow, and even orange. Size can vary among watermelons from small 5 pounders (2 kg....

Growing Vegetables in Strange Places Let me preface before I dive into growing vegetables in strange places. One person’s strange is another’s normal. Take the Mansfield Farm in Anglesey, North Wales, for example. This Welsh couple grows strawberries in drainpipes. It may seem strange but, as they explain it, not a new concept. If you’ve ever looked at a drainpipe, there is every likelihood that something is growing in it, so why not strawberries?...

What are Garlic Chives? Its scientific name of Allium tuberosum is indicative of its oniony roots and falls among the family Liliaceae. Unlike onions or other types of garlic, however, the fibrous bulb is not edible but is grown rather for its flowers and stems. It is easy to differentiate between onion chives and garlic chives. Garlic chives have a flat, grass-like leaf, not a hollow one as do onion chives....

What is a Mandala Garden? By definition, a mandala is “a geometric shape or pattern that symbolizes the universe; a meditation tool for creating sacred spaces, relaxation, and focusing the mind; or a symbol used as a gateway to a spiritual journey.” Mandalas are usually a circle that contain starburst, floral, wheel, or spiral patterns within it. A mandala garden is simply a garden space with plants that take on this design principle....

What is a Parterre Garden? The Victorian era began in 1837 and ended with the reign of Queen Victoria in 1901. The period emphasized the importance of what was considered “English” and was characterized by rigid models of behavior. This uptight notion led to similar strict artistic standards. Enter the Parterre garden design. Such garden plans contained plants in a very controlled pattern and allowed the growing middle class of the period to conform to popular English standards in ways that were once the province only of the upper class....

What Is a Tahiti Lime Tree? The genesis of the Tahiti lime tree is a bit nebulous. Recent genetic testing indicates that the Tahiti Persian lime hails from southeast Asia, in east and northeastern India, north Burma, and southwest China and east through the Malay Archipelago. Akin to the key lime, Tahiti Persian limes are undoubtedly a tri-hybrid composed of citron (Citrus medica), pummelo (Citrus grandis), and a micro-citrus specimen (Citrus micrantha) creating a triploid....

When are Vegetables Fresh? Fresh and ripe are not the same thing. Fresh indicates the amount of time since a vegetable was harvested, while ripeness refers to peak maturity. Many vegetables are grown and harvested in various areas of the United States. Some veggies come from foreign countries, depending upon the time of the year and the current growing season. Vegetables, which travel long distances to reach your store shelves, are often picked before they reach peak ripeness....

Pruning in the Garden Nothing improves the appearance of a garden like pruning at just the right time. The plants look neater, and they’ll often reward you with a fresh flush of flowers after a good trim. The best time for pruning in the garden depends on the type of plant. Do you have to prune garden plants? Most plants will survive without pruning, but they will live longer, healthier lives and look better if you do prune them....

What is a Huckleberry? Huckleberries are perennial shrubs about 2 to 3 feet (61 to 91.5 cm.) tall when grown in full sun but may become 10 feet (3 m.) or more when grown in shade conditions – most are deciduous but some are evergreen. New leaves are bronze to red in color and mature into a glossy green through the summer months. The black-purple berries of huckleberry plants are the resultant of tiny, pale pink urn-shaped flowers that appear in the spring....

Why Do Roses Change Color? While it may seem uncommon, color changing in roses actually happens more often than one would think…and for many different reasons. Determining the cause of your changing rose color is the first step to getting the plant back to its original hue. Graft reversion Many rosebushes are what are known as grafted roses. This means that the upper part of the bush, the part the blooms are on and color we want it to be, is perhaps not hardy enough on its own root system to survive and thrive in many climatic conditions....

Fall Planted Flower Bulbs for Zone 4 There are a host of cold-hardy bulbs. Many spring-blooming varieties actually require a chilling period to break the dormancy of the embryonic plant inside the bulb. But a word of caution… many of the fall-planted bulbs are not hardy when confronted with extremely deep freezes. Culture is also a factor when planting bulbs in cold climates. Preparing the soil and enhancing drainage and fertility can help ensure color displays from bulbs....

About Growing Cherry Trees in Zone 5 Sweet cherries, the ones most commonly found in the supermarket, are meaty and sweet. Sour cherries are generally used to make preserves and sauces and are smaller than their sweet relations. Both sweet and sour are fairly hardy cherry trees. Sweet varieties are suited to USDA zones 5 to 7 while sour cultivars are suited to zones 4 to 6. Thus, there is no need to search for cold-hardy cherry trees, as either type will thrive in USDA zone 5....

Growing Bamboo in Zone 6 Most bamboo grows in temperate to warm Asia, China, and Japan, but some forms occur in other regions of the world. The most cold-tolerant groups are Phyllostachys and Fargesia. These can tolerate temperatures of -15 degrees Fahrenheit (-26 C.). Zone 6 gardeners can expect temperatures to drop to -10 degrees Fahrenheit (-23 C.), which means some bamboo species will thrive in the zone. Deciding which hardy bamboo plants to choose from these groups will depend upon what form you require....

Cottage Garden History While cottage gardens are trendy in the modern era, they did provide a solution to those with a lack of garden space in the days of old England. Many of the workers in the villages owned small homes with even smaller gardens. These gardens would have to supply the family with fresh produce. Many families would have gone hungry if they had not had the benefit of home-grown food....

Amaryllis Bulbs and Water Although most amaryllis bulbs are forced indoors using soil, they can also be easily rooted and grown in water too. The main thing to keep in mind when growing amaryllis in water is not to let the bulb itself come in contact with the water, as this will promote rot. So how then is it done, you ask. With the use of a jar specifically designed for forcing bulbs in water, you’ll be amazed at just how easy it is to force an amaryllis in water....

Zone 7 Bushes and Shrubs You’ll find an abundance of riches if you are looking for zone 7 bushes and shrubs. Zone 7 is an area where average winter lows get to between 0 degrees and 10 degrees F. (-18 to -12 C.). This climate pleases both evergreens and deciduous shrubs. When you are choosing shrubs for zone 7, you’ll face a number of preliminary decisions. First is the issue of whether you prefer the year-round texture evergreen shrubs offer or the autumn color some deciduous plants provide....

Why is My Cactus Oozing Sap? There are several reasons for sap leaking from a cactus. It could be an indication of a fungal disease, pest problem, tissue injury, or even the result of freezing or excess sun exposure. You will need to become a detective and round up the clues to diagnose the issue by the process of elimination. It’s important to verify that correct care is given, as improper cultivation can also be a cause of a cactus oozing sap....