If you are fortunate enough to still have a good, thriving Christmas poinsettia and have wondered once what it might take to bring it back into bloom, wonder no more…it is now time to cut it back. This is not a process that you can wait until . . .
Tomato plants are an easy-to-grow crop as long as everything goes well and I’m talking about the weather. Rain, draught, heat, cold and wind are all factors in the good and poor production of tomatoes. Too much rain causes a condition known as . . .
Gardening is supposed to be a relaxing hobby that one should look forward to each and every day. A hobby where you simply plant flowers and seeds, sit back and enjoy the wondrous beauty and feel proud of your hard work and accomplishments. But what . . .
Brugmansia, also known as Angel’s Trumpets are sometimes confused with their “close cousin” Datura. Brugmansia has trumpet flowers that are smooth and hang down but Datura’s flowers are erect and have spines. The flowers come . . .
The “Rule of Thumb” for pruning blooming plants is to prune after they bloom. Azalea (Rhododendron), Flowering Crabapple, Forsythia, Hawthorn, Lilac (Syringa vulgaris), Magnolia, Mockorange (Philadelphus), Mountain Laurel and Rhododendron . . .
For over 50 years “accent plants” meant vinca vine, asparagus sprengerii and spike. But now there are many other plants that fall into this specialized category, and some of which you may know. Plants such as the sweet potato vine (ipomoea), . . .
Originally the weather forecast for last weekend called for rain with lows in the low 40s. We were so lucky that time that they were wrong. Instead we are getting perfect highs in the 70s with lows only dipping into the low 50s and no rain at all, . . .
Well, totally unlike last year’s spring season, this year’s spring gardening is off to a very slow start. In 2012 we experienced temperatures in the middle to high 80s in March, repeated again and again in April. This year frankly, it is . . .
Reasons for pruning include: removing dead or diseased branches, branches that rub together, keeping your plants at a manageable size, to encourage fruiting or flowering, to open up walkways and to keep trees and shrubs from touching your house or . . .
With March temperatures hovering around 22-38 degrees, we all welcome any sign of spring. One of my favorite signs is a mixed garden pot of spring flowering bulbs. Mixed gardens are usually made up of an assortment of spring bulbs such as tulips, hyacinths, . . .
St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner so many of you will be looking to buy a shamrock plant, i.e. oxalis plant. Oxalis is grown from tiny bulbuls, which rapidly re-develop underground and continue to grow year after year, making it a perennial. . . .
A lot of people are get enthused about gardening early especially when it comes to starting tomato seeds. Trust me, the first of April is soon enough. Instead of sowing tomato seeds too early, let’s simply get ready to sow the seeds by locating . . .
Everybody knows that when flowers are purchased for Valentine’s Day, having them delivered to work makes the best impact or perhaps the surprise of them being on the table at your favorite restaurant would make a big impression. This year Valentine’s . . .
Now that Christmas is over we do not have to give up color in our homes. There are many beautiful flowering plants that can be purchased and arranged in our homes for that “lively” look of spring. Plants available at this time of year include . . .
If you have a friend or someone in your family that is really into gardening, or even into floral designing, your local garden center or local florist may be a great source for those hard-to-find stocking stuffers. Just think of a bag or wicker basket . . .
During the fall months your Christmas cactus will set its buds for flowering around Thanksgiving (sometimes sooner) and this is the crucial time for getting blooms and keeping them from falling off just after you see them form. There are three reasons . . .
Getting Amaryllis into bloom usually takes about six to eight weeks from the time you plant the bulb and get it growing, so late October, early November is a good time to start. These large bulbs are very easy to grow and would really make a great . . .
Walnut trees are planted for several good reasons such as their appearance, shade and of course, their fruit. But there are many factors to consider when you incorporate a walnut tree into your landscape; first they can be considered a very messy plant . . .
Truly the best time to plant garden perennials is in the fall. The reasons are many such as when you walk around your yard, you can see where you have “holes”. You can easily envision what size and what colors you need to complete any particular . . .
Probably the most asked question right now is, “Can I cut back my rose bushes at this time?” and the answer is, “No!” In fact from now until Thanksgiving nothing should be cut back with the exception of your lawn. When you cut . . .
AERATING YOUR LAWN
If your lawn is hard and very compacted, it is probably time to aerate your lawn. Aerating is described as drilling small holes in your grass in order to allow for moisture, air and nutrients to penetrate your yard and in return, . . .
Watering your plants, especially those that are containerized need to be kept watered and fertilized several times during the week unless it happens to rain. But don’t be fooled by a quick downpour as potted plants rarely get enough water into . . .
I was recently asked how to keep raccoons out of the corn patch and really only knew of one sure way to accomplish that task…an electric wire. As a grower of thousands of vegetable plants, hosta and garden mums, as well as many other “tasty” . . .
This is one of those hot/dry summers that makes you wish that you had chosen garden plants that can really tolerate a good hot and dry summer. The selection of perennials is quite extensive. Most of your shrubs and trees (once they are established) . . .
There are approximately 23 species of hydrangeas but only five are commonly sold in this area. These Japanese natives are known as big leaf, French, garden or florist quality hydrangeas. All seem to winter hardy here even though they are only rated . . .
Garden mums, chyrsanthemums are easily fooled into thinking that every time the temperatures outside at night cool down just a little, it must be fall so they immediately want to set bud and flower. The problem is that just as fast as they set bud, . . .
This has been the most unusual winter/spring, going into summer that I have ever seen. Winter was warm and dry… spring was early, warm and dry… and now we have summer coming up again, warm and dry. You may want to consider watering, not . . .
Sweet potatoes, unlike regular potatoes cannot tolerate cold weather and therefore are never available until around the Mother’s Day season. Sweet potatoes are easy to grow as they prefer “bad” soil, compact and dry, are just fine. . . .
The weather forecast is finally what we have all been waiting for. The lows are high and the highs are perfect. The recent warm/hot weather of early March was simply ridiculous. Now, even though it may be a little bit early still, the forecast is great. . . .
It seems like I keep harping about the same old thing, must you need to prune your flowering shrubs just as soon as they are finished blooming. Forsythia, magnolia, azaleas and some early rhododendron have already bloomed and now is the only time of . . .