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Some Plants Are Poisonous

Most plants in our environment offer many benefits, including beauty, privacy, food, fragrance and medicine. But there are a few plants out there that can prove harmful when inappropriately used or accidentally eaten or touched. Gardeners, particularly those with young children and pets, should familiarize themselves with these potential foes. Numerous reference books have been written on the subject of toxic plants, including some that have excellent illustrations and/or photographs. However, there may be some […]
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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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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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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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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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How Plants Are Named

Plants have names, just like people do. Sometimes two or more plants share the same name, or an individual plant may be known by several different names, depending on local and family traditions. So the everyday, common names we give plants can be confusing to gardeners. To make the naming of plants more precise and universal, an international system of naming plants is used by scientists and plant professionals. Known as the “International Code of […]
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April 1996

Q.Can you give me the proper way to freeze corn on the cob so it doesn’t lose its firmness? – Edward Serfin, Demotte, Ind. A. Sorry, but this is outside my area of expertise, and I don’t want to give advice on food preparation since improperly stored foods could actually cause one of my readers harm! Please contact the consumer and family science educator at your county Cooperative Extension Service office. He or she is specially […]
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Prepare Garden Tools and Equipment for Winter

Though you may have thought your gardening chores were behind you, don’t forget to tuck your gardening tools into bed for the winter. Too often we forget to prepare our tools and equipment for their winter hiatus, but a little bit of attention now will be rewarded with years of good service from gardening tools. It’s hard to know when to call the gardening season quits some years. Just when we think we’ve mowed the […]
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Page last modified: July 3, 2017

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