Plants Archives - Page 18 of 45 - Indiana Yard and Garden - Purdue Consumer HorticulturePurdue University Indiana Yard and Garden

Category: Plants

Breezing Through Yard and Garden Damage
Yard and Garden News

Spring Gardening Stories

Recent high winds will no doubt have left their calling card on our yards and gardens. Considering sustained winds of 20-30 mph and gusts up to 40 mph, it’s really quite astonishing that there wasn’t more widespread severe damage. In most windstorms, the trees hardest hit are weak-wooded species, such as silver maples, Siberian elms, river birch and willows. Some trees may have had previously unknown internal decay that resulted in large sections of the…Read more about Breezing Through Yard and Garden Damage[Read More]

Question and Answer
In the Grow (Q & A)

Q. I’ve been interested in purchasing a reel push mower, the kind with no power engine, especially every time I see the price of a barrel of oil rise and every time I try to start my older, smoky power mower. I also like the idea of not polluting the air with noise or exhaust. We have a typical suburban front lawn and a very small backyard (under a lot of trees). Our lawn isn’t…Read more about Question and Answer[Read More]

Preparing Strawberry Patch
Yard and Garden News

Spring Gardening Stories

Given a proper start, your home strawberry patch can bring many years of rewards. The most important considerations for getting off on the right foot include site selection, soil preparation and vigorous, disease-free plants. Choosing which strawberries to grow requires a bit of homework. Most strawberries flower when days are short in spring, producing their bounty of ripe, juicy strawberries in June; such plants are known as June-bearers.Among the June-bearing strawberries, plants can be selected…Read more about Preparing Strawberry Patch[Read More]

Question and Answer
In the Grow (Q & A)

Q. My question is about fruit trees. About 8 years ago, I planted 13 semi-dwarf fruit trees: seven apple trees, two apricot, two cherry and two plum. They are now about 15 or so feet tall. There have only been about six apples total. For some reason, that’s about all of the flowers on them. Please tell me, if you can, why the trees do not produce better than they do. A. Achieving a successful…Read more about Question and Answer[Read More]

Question and Answer
In the Grow (Q & A)

Q) My aunt of 99 years passed away and left me 12 African violets. I’ve tried taking care of them like she did, but I can’t get them to bloom. Could you please give me some tips. A) African violets are generally quite easy to care for, adapting quite well to typical home conditions. The most critical factors are proper light, growing media, nutrition, and moisture. They will bloom best with long days (14-16 hours)…Read more about Question and Answer[Read More]

New Garden Vegetables for 2008
Yard and Garden News

Winter Gardening Stories

Perhaps the only thing vegetable gardeners enjoy more than harvesting their crops is making plans for the coming growing season. Garden catalogs fill the mailbox and online seed houses come alive with tempting photos of luscious ripe harvests, which makes this a perfect time to plan the spring garden! Here’s a look at what’s new for vegetable gardeners in 2008. Bean ‘Gold Dust’ bears butter-yellow wax pods set high on upright bush plants. Good disease…Read more about New Garden Vegetables for 2008[Read More]

Question and Answer
In the Grow (Q & A)

Q. We plant sweet potatoes in a raised bed the length of our garden. We have had an animal go underground and eat one-third of it. This year, some grew 10 inches long and 8 inches around. I’ve read that an animal–“a vole”–could be the problem. What can we do about it? A. There are several species of voles (field mice). Voles are active day and night, year-round. Their territory is usually one-fourth acre or…Read more about Question and Answer[Read More]

Question and Answer
In the Grow (Q & A)

Q. In the last few months, we purchased property that included a portion of an old blueberry farm. We did have some of the bushes removed to have more backyard; however, we still have over 1,000 bushes that haven’t been touched for about three years! Most of the bushes are between six to seven feet high. Just a couple of rows are about four feet. Should we prune or cut down these bushes so they…Read more about Question and Answer[Read More]

Question and Answer
In the Grow (Q & A)

Q. This winter, I was cutting down some trees that had poison ivy growing on them during the summer. I broke out in a rash, even though the poison ivy leaves were gone. Does poison ivy stay poisonous even after the leaves die? How do I remove the plants, even though they are already dead, without becoming contaminated? I am terribly sensitive to poison ivy and thought that I would be safe by waiting until…Read more about Question and Answer[Read More]

Question and Answer
In the Grow (Q & A)

Q. I have a blue prince and princess holly, and I think they are doing fine, but I want to plant another female species (Blue Girl), since it doesn’t grow quite as big. Will the blue prince pollinate the Blue Girl, or do I need the Blue Boy also? Thank you for your advice. A. In order for a female plant to bear fruit, she must be in bloom at the same time as a…Read more about Question and Answer[Read More]