Each year, the National Garden Bureau selects a flower to promote, and this year the annual garden flower known as vinca is the star of the show! Vinca is a popular annual bedding plant in the Midwest with loads of single-flower blooms in shades of red, pink and white. More accurately identified botanically as Catharanthus, there is much confusion regarding the name of this plant. Catharanthus is the sun-loving, summer-flowering plant that is grown as […]
Do you turn green with envy while admiring the neighbor’s garden but don’t think your thumb is green enough? Anyone can develop a green thumb, as long as they’re willing to invest a little time, patience and elbow grease. Good planning is essential to successful gardening. Start your garden off right by selecting a location that receives at least six hours of direct sunlight daily. Check the site for good drainage by making sure water […]
Many landscape plants will require pruning at some stage of their life. Plants may need to be pruned to reduce or maintain plant size or to remove dead or damaged material. Pruning is also used to reduce overcrowding and rejuvenate older, overgrown plants to produce more flowering, fruiting and/or leaf canopy. Using the right tool for the job will help protect both plant and human. Both the size of the material being cut and its […]
Instead of throwing out that pineapple top, turn it into a houseplant! Carrot tops and avocado pits can also be salvaged from the garbage pail to the ranks of houseplants. To grow a pineapple, cut off the leafy top, leaving about a one-fourth inch of the fruit attached. Scoop out the pulp and let the top air dry for a few days. Then, press the top into a pot or pan of moistened rooting media, […]
Christmas cacti are not only popular holiday gift plants, but they are also the subject of frequent debate among gardeners. There appears to be much confusion about these unique tropical cacti regarding care, maintenance and, especially, on how to get them to re-bloom. The following tips address the most frequently asked questions. We typically think of cacti as being heat tolerant, but Christmas cacti will keep their blossoms longer in cooler temperatures. Keep the plant […]
The recent warm spell has many a gardener wondering what to do about bulbs–and perhaps a few other plants poking their foliage through the soil. This is the time of year when we normally expect temperatures to be cold enough to signal the hardening-off period to plants. And for a brief while, it was cold enough to start that process. The longer the warm spell, however, the more plants have begun to sprout new growth […]
Although much of the vanilla used for flavoring and fragrance today is produced synthetically, natural vanilla comes from the seed pod of an orchid plant. Vanilla planifolia is a vigorous, vining orchid that can reach up to 300 feet in its native tropical American environment. The vine produces greenish-yellow flowers that must be hand-pollinated outside of its native habitat to ensure good fruit set. The pods grow to about 6-9 inches long and are harvested […]
Five new vegetable garden cultivars have been awarded the prestigious honor of being an All America Selection (AAS) for the year 2002. These new cultivars have been judged as superior in their class, based on their performance in test gardens all over the country. The AAS winners are selected from many new cultivars, based on garden performance as well as production performance in the greenhouse. Although no plant offers a guarantee of success in an […]
Although some folks may be sad to see fall coming a bit early this year, many gardeners are looking forward to harvesting their sweet potato treasures. Sweet potatoes are warm-season plants that are very sensitive to cold temperatures. The tuberous roots should be harvested by the time frost kills the vines or soon thereafter. Sweet potato roots continue to grow until frost kills the vines. Roots can be left in the ground for a short […]
Eight new ornamental garden plants have been awarded the prestigious honor of being an All America Selection (AAS) for the year 2002. These new cultivars have been judged as superior in their class based on their performance in test gardens all over the country. The AAS winners are selected from many new cultivars, based on garden performance as well as production performance in the greenhouse. Although no plant offers a guarantee of success in an […]
