Rosie Lerner

rosie@purdue.edu

716 articles by this author

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Outstanding new plants announced for 1997

(Released: 03 October 1996) By B. Rosie Lerner Extension Consumer Horticulture Specialist Six new garden plants have been awarded the prestigious honor of being an All America Selection (AAS) for 1997. These new cultivars have been judged as superior in their class based on their performance in test gardens all over the country. Zinnia angustifolia ‘Crystal White’ is not your ordinary everyday zinnia! Crystal White has a daintier texture, with small, pure-white, daisy-like flowers that […]
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Cover Crops Serve Dual Purpose

Gardeners have long used certain plants known as cover crops to help keep soil from blowing away during winter. An added benefit of raising cover crops is that their foliage and root growth can be tilled under in late winter to help loosen heavy soils and improve overall soil structure and fertility. Cover crops generally are sown in late summer or early fall, after summer vegetables are harvested. The type of plant you grow will […]
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Consider Garden Mums for Fall Color

While many of summer’s perennials are winding down for autumn, you can refresh your garden’s color with garden mums. Colors ranges from many shades of yellow, orange, red, purple, bronze, pink and white. The flowers themselves come in many different forms, from spider types with long, narrow petals to cushion types that have wider, more compact flowers. Some mums are bred as outdoor garden plants, but many are bred as florist-potted plants, meant to be […]
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Consider Garden Mums for Fall Color

While many of summer’s perennials are winding down for autumn, you can refresh your garden’s color with garden mums. Colors ranges from many shades of yellow, orange, red, purple, bronze, pink and white. The flowers themselves come in many different forms, from spider types with long, narrow petals to cushion types that have wider, more compact flowers. Some mums are bred as outdoor garden plants, but many are bred as florist-potted plants, meant to be […]
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September 1996

Q: For the last three years, my husband and I have had a problem with our zucchini plants. After one or two pickings, the plants are plagued with a gray-brown bug that looks like a stink bug. Soon, the plant dies. We have put Sevin on the plant as soon as we see the insects, but the plant still dies. We destroy the plant correctly and put diazinon in the ground to prevent further infestation but […]
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Layering Gives Old Plants New Life

Many a gardener has noticed that branches of some plants seem to take root and form new plants where they lay on the ground. This is a natural process known as layering. We can take advantage of layering to increase the number of plants in our collection or to share our prized plants with friends and family. The concept is similar to propagating by cuttings except, in the case of layering, new plants remain connected […]
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August 1996

Q. We would like to establish tiger lilies along a 50-foot portion of a bank on a farm pond where grass and weeds now grow. We have lilies growing wild along our field. My questions are: Is transplanting from these wild lilies a good bet, or should we buy bulbs? When is the best time to do that? Thanks. – Steven A. Cain, Brookston, Ind. A. I think you may mean daylilies instead of tiger lilies, since […]
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Some Tree Roots Surface on Lawns

Much to the dismay of homeowners, landscape trees sometimes grow roots above the surface of the lawn. These roots can be quite a nuisance to lawn mowers and running feet. There are several reasons why the roots come to the surface. Some tree species seem to be more prone to surface roots than others, most notably silver maple, poplar and willow. Sometimes roots become visible due to erosion of the surface soil. But almost any […]
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Daylily Has Humble Beginnings

What plant started its life as a roadside weed, yet has managed to find its way into nearly every perennial garden in the Midwest? Despite its humble beginnings, the daylily has become the backbone of the flower garden palette for a number of reasons. The daylily is easy to propagate, tolerates most soil conditions, is quite winter hardy, adapts to partial shade as well as full sun, comes in a wide range of colors, has […]
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Clematis is a Popular Garden Climber

Looking for a vigorous climber that has a long season of bloom and can adapt to just about any garden soil? Sound too good to be true? Well, clematis pretty well lives up to the challenge. There are numerous species and literally hundreds of cultivars of clematis, some of which are better adapted to Indiana’s soils and climate than others. Unless you have extremely compacted and poorly drained soil, there’s a selection that you can […]
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