Propagating Roses in Water Here are the simple steps for rooting rose cuttings in water: Early summer is prime time for rose water propagation. Be sure the parent plant is growing well and free of pests or disease. Use a clean knife or pruners to cut a rose stem measuring about 4 to 6 inches (10-15 cm.) long. Make the cut just below node, which is the point where a leaf attaches to the stem....
Why Harvest Echinacea? This native plant has long been used in herbal remedies. Native Americans used it to treat bites, stings, and burns. Modern research has determined that echinacea is useful in many medical preparations because it boosts the immune system, reduces inflammation, and shows antibacterial properties. Every part of the plant is edible. You can dry the flowers, leaves, and roots to create teas, tinctures using alcohol to extract the healing compounds, and decoctions to extract substances from the roots using boiling water....
When to Harvest Sweet Potatoes When to harvest sweet potatoes depends largely on the seasonal growing. If the growing season has been good with adequate water and sunshine, harvesting sweet potatoes should begin about 100 to 110 days after planting depending on the variety. A good rule of thumb is to watch for the first signs of yellowing leaves. Usually this occurs in late September or early October before the first frost....
Fixing a Vandalized Tree Tree bark is very vulnerable to vandalism. You know how even awkward landscaping attempts, like lawn mowing and weed trimming, can affect trees. Deliberate slicing into the tree’s bark can cause even more damage. If the tree was vandalized in early spring or fall, the bark is looser because of plant tissue growth. This can result in greater problems for the tree. Don’t worry though. You can take steps to start fixing a vandalized tree as soon as you notice the problem....
What Houseplants Need to Live The most important elements required for healthy houseplants include light, water, temperature, and humidity. If any or all of these factors are not properly implemented, your houseplants will inevitably suffer. Light The amount and intensity of light in keeping houseplants healthy is crucial for their normal life cycle. Insufficient light results in pale, leggy, and weak plants. If this happens, try moving the houseplants to another location such as a sunny window or beneath grow lights, but do so gradually to reduce the amount of stress, or shock, inflicted on the plants....
Reasons for Yucca Plant with Black Spots Spots on yucca leaves are primarily a visual distraction but in some cases can actually impose health problems as well. Yucca plant foliage is sensitive to overhead watering in warm, moist regions, which promotes fungal spore development. Additionally, insect feeding may cause a yucca plant with black spots. Bacteria are also present in overly moist environments. We will investigate each possibility to see if the cause can be narrowed down....
How Do Flowers Get Their Colors and Why? The colors you see in flowers come from the DNA of a plant. Genes in a plant’s DNA direct cells to produce pigments of various colors. When a flower is red, for instance, it means that the cells in the petals have produced a pigment that absorbs all colors of light but red. When you look at that flower, it reflects red light, so it appears to be red....
What is Sagebrush? While familiar to most people, there are wonderful attributes to this plant. What is sagebrush and what are uses for sagebrush? This amazingly adaptive plant is tough enough to thrive in inhospitable terrain. It has fine hairs on the leaves that help prevent moisture loss and produces a deep taproot that dredges moisture from nearly subterranean deposits of moisture under the earth. This plant is a member of the family Artemisia, or wormwood, of which there are varieties across the globe....
Planting Tulip Bulbs to Survive the Winter If you plan from the start to keep your tulip bulbs in their container in the winter, then you can take steps when planting the tulip bulbs in containers to make sure they will survive the winter. Drainage is extra important – In the winter, what kills hardy plants and bulbs more often than not is ice rather than the cold itself. Making sure that the drainage in the container is excellent and that water from melting snow or from routine watering does not get trapped in the container to freeze will help keep your tulip bulbs alive over the winter....
What to Do About Garden Scorpions Scorpions are recognizable by their crab-like appearance and long slim tail tipped with a poisonous barb. Are garden scorpions poisonous? The most dangerous scorpion, the bark scorpion, only lives in a small area of Arizona. The other species simply deliver a vicious sting which causes redness and swelling. In rare cases, people may experience an allergic reaction, much like a bee sting. Nonetheless, it is unpleasant to get stung, so caution should be taken to minimize scorpions in the garden if you reside in areas known for their presence....
Gardeners are always looking for ways to reduce waste. We compost our food scraps, save our grass clippings, and constantly look at ways to give back to our soil. Coffee grounds are a natural byproduct of enjoying a cup of Joe, but they don’t need to be garbage. Growing mushrooms with coffee grounds provides the pasteurized substrate that spawn need to colonize and grow mycelium, which will eventually fruit....
What Causes Potato Curly Top Virus? The pathogen is transmitted by the beet leafhopper, Curculifer tenellus. As its name indicates, the leafhopper pest transmits the disease to a number of crops and weeds, including: Beets Tomatoes Peppers Squash Beans Cucurbits Spinach Both the leafhopper and virus survive on a wide range of weeds and wild plants. The leafhopper ingests cell sap, which contains the virus, which then incubates in the leafhopper for 4 to 21 hours before being transmitted....
How To Use Different Types of Compost Spreaders Compost spreaders come in varying sizes as well as manual and motorized. You also can buy a tow-behind compost spreader if you own a garden tractor or ATV. Large volume spreaders are ideal for field use, while smaller spreaders benefit orchards, vineyards and small-scale vegetable farming. Before you go out and purchase equipment, make sure it is the best equipment for the job, and it fits within your budget....
Hyssop Plant Information Agastache plants are known for their brightly colored blooms, which attract hummingbirds and butterflies. In fact, another name for the plant is hummingbird mint. All Agastache plant types produce bushy plants with colorful spikes of flowers. Hyssop flowers are also edible and a colorful way to brighten the kitchen garden. These plants are hardy to USDA zone 5 and survive freezing winters with some mulch over the root zone quite well, provided soils drain freely....
Arctic Poppy Facts Papaver nudicaule is the botanical name for the Iceland poppy plant. The plants provide an alternative for beds and borders, containers, rocky areas, and cottage gardens. The cheery blooms are up to 3 inches (7.5 cm.) across and consistently produce during spring. These plants are propagated primarily through seed sown in spring or late summer. Arctic poppy’s native range is arctic to sub-arctic climes. They are tolerant of temperate zones, provided there is not an excess of humidity....
Using Gardens for Meditating Gardens provide holistic peace and tranquility, so why not go one step further and bring in meditation garden ideas that will enhance the practice and place you in a space that encourages the technique. In fine weather, there are few things more peaceful than relaxing in an outdoor living space. Plants for meditation can enhance the therapeutic experience of being outdoors and open up a space to allow your mind to clear and your meditation practice flourish....
Indigo Plant Information According to indigo plant information, these plants are native to subtropical as well as tropical locations around the world. They are members of the pea family. Some indigo plant varieties have beautiful flowers. For example, the flowers of Indigofera amblyanthan are soft pink racemes and cultivated for their ornamental beauty. One of the most attractive indigo shrubs is Indigofera heterantha, with its long clusters of rosy purple, pea-like flowers....
As a gardener, you need to know your microclimates so you can place plants in the most optimal spots. What Makes a Microclimate? Microclimates have become the talk of the town as gardeners try to manage their landscapes more efficiently and earth friendly. What causes microclimates? Every piece of land has a dip, large tree, wall, or a hill that creates a microclimate. These are just objects that change the exposure the site has or blocks wind, rain, and other elements....
English Garden Info The classic English garden may date as far back as the first century A.D. when the Roman conquerors invaded Britain. It is believed that this primitive English garden included symmetrical gravel walkways, carefully planted short hedges, park-like open lawn space, and a small kitchen garden with herbs and vegetables. In the Middle Ages, when the English garden appeared in our history once more, it still contained a carefully planted kitchen garden along with an outdoor “room” of sorts in which to play lawn games....
Fall-planted bulbs will add an exciting dimension to your flower garden in early spring while spring-planted bulbs will add brilliant color to your garden throughout the summer. There is one thing that you can always count on with bulbs: they will steal the show in your flower garden! So when is the best time for planting to take advantage of these blooms? Keep reading to get tips for adding bulbs to your flower garden....
