Category: Plants
It’s Rhubarb Time!
Rhubarb, also known as pieplant, is an herbaceous perennial grown for its unique, tart flavor of the thick leaf stalks (petioles). Rhubarb sends up its thick, edible stalks early in the spring, a much-anticipated harbinger of the coming growing season. Harvest can begin as soon as the stalks are large enough to cut and continues on through late spring. You can cut the stalks with a sharp knife, but be careful not to injure any […]
Coping with Storm-Damaged Trees
Homeowners assessing tree damage caused by recent storms will want to make a few important decisions soon. Small trees with minor damage can probably be taken care of by the homeowner, but large, mature trees likely will need the help of a professional tree service. It can be hard to decide whether trees with severe damage should be removed. Homeowners often are reluctant to cut down a tree, either because of sentimental attachment or because […]
Off with their heads!
Removing spent blossoms from your shrubs and garden flowers can be tedious work, but often pays big dividends. The removal of spent flowers is often referred to as “deadheading.” Pinching or pruning off dead flowers is not just a matter of aesthetics – it can also encourage additional blooming. Many plants – petunia, geranium, marigold, speedwell, and coreopsis, among them – will re-bloom after deadheading. For these plants, the formation of fruit and seed signals […]
Easter Lily Heralds Arrival of Spring
Easter lilies are the perfect symbol to mark the beginning of the spring season. The large, white, trumpet-shaped flowers bring a bit of spring fragrance into the home but can also be enjoyed outdoors later in the season. Like other lilies, the Easter lily grows from a bulb in the soil. This bulb stores food reserves that are used by the plant to produce foliage and flower growth. If encouraged to build up food reserves, […]
Sweet Potato or Yam?
Will you be eating sweet potatoes or yams at your Thanksgiving dinner? While many folks use the terms interchangeably, they are distinct. Botanically speaking, the sweet potato is known as Ipomoea batatasand belongs to the morning glory family (Convolvulaceae). True yams belong to one of several species of Dioscoreain the yam family (Dioscoreace), and their production is limited to tropical climates. So most likely you will be eating sweet potatoes rather than true yams. There […]
Question and Answer
07-05-12 Question and Answer Q. Two years ago, we lost a lilac bush that was over 90 years old. At the time, there were shoots of small lilacs coming up from the ground around the old bush. We took out the dead bush but left the shoots. Will these shoots ever bloom? They haven’t in all the years they have been there. If they aren’t going to bloom, I’d like to remove them. A. The […]
Managing Pests in Home Fruit Plantings
One of the biggest challenges to growing your own fruit crops is doing battle with the many diseases and insect pests that prey upon them. Even trees that did not crop this year due to freeze injury still need protection from pests. Fungal and bacterial diseases can infect foliage, twigs and fruits. Some insects feed on foliage and/or fruit while others bore into twigs and/or fruit. A single fruit can be affected by multiple problems. […]
Managing Pests in Home Fruit Plantings
One of the biggest challenges to growing your own fruit crops is doing battle with the many diseases and insect pests that prey upon them. Even trees that did not crop this year due to freeze injury still need protection from pests. Fungal and bacterial diseases can infect foliage, twigs and fruits. Some insects feed on foliage and/or fruit while others bore into twigs and/or fruit. A single fruit can be affected by multiple problems. […]