The following news stories are written by Rosie Lerner, Extension Consumer Horticulture Specialist, and are distributed to news media around the state by Agricultural Communication Service, at Purdue University.
To state the obvious, many of our landscape plants really show the signs of excessive heat and extreme drought. Some trees are losing leaves already and may be turning color before they drop. Others have turned completely brown while still remaining attached. Early fall color and/or defoliation is common when plants are under stress and this season has been quite challenging for many trees, both old and young. The intense heat made it difficult for […]
The early arrival of summer’s extreme heat coupled with drought for many weeks now is tough on garden plants as well as their caretakers. Just as flowers and landscape plants have been gasping for water in much of the state, some vegetable crops are also struggling to stay productive. Tomatoes, peppers, melons, squash, pumpkins, cucumbers and green beans typically drop their blossoms without setting fruit when day temperatures are above 90 F, even if not […]
Dry summers are not that unusual in the Midwest, but this year’s dry spell – and now drought in many areas – has come considerably earlier than usual. Summer is just now officially getting started! Gardeners have a battle on their hands to keep plants healthy when extremely high temperatures are accompanied by lack of rain. During prolonged drought conditions, water restrictions or just limited ability to water to a huge number of plants, you […]
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. […]
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. […]
As most gardeners have marveled, we’re having one of the earliest “spring” seasons this year, with woody plants and herbaceous perennials three to six weeks ahead of “normal.” And then, perhaps inevitably, “normal” spring frost and freeze visited. Being so much further along in their development, plants are quite vulnerable to damage. Home fruit-growers have reason to be concerned: At 28 F, you can expect a 10-percent loss of flowers/young developing fruit. However, at 25 […]
Cool-season crops such as lettuce, potatoes, peas, cauliflower and onions actually prefer the cool, moist conditions of spring. With the extended mild winter, coupled with unseasonably warm conditions just at winter’s end, our cool-season crops may be in fast-forward mode! By March 13, soil temperatures under bare ground have already reached the upper 40s to mid 50s F in northern Indiana and in the 60s in southern Indiana. These temperatures are in the optimum range […]
What better way to scratch your gardening itch this winter than to page through garden catalogs or surf websites with the promise of mouth-watering produce for the coming growing season! Here’s a look at just a few of the new vegetable seed offerings for 2012. Try a few alongside your old standby favorites so that you can compare performance in your garden. Following the description of each vegetable is the number of days to maturity […]
And the winner is, Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’ for the Perennial Plant Association Perennial of the Year! Known as Siberian bugloss by many longtime gardeners, Brunnera macrophylla is a hardy (native to Siberia), low-growing clump-former, reaching 18 inches tall and wide. Brunneras are generally grown for their lovely small blue spring flowers that remind of forget-me-not. ‘Jack Frost’ is particularly notable for all-season interest with striking silver leaves with contrasting green venation and leaf edge. […]
Amaryllis is a popular holiday gift plant but may have the lucky recipient wondering about its proper care. Amaryllis is a tender bulb that won’t survive outdoors even in the mildest of Indiana winters. But it can be grown indoors to provide a dramatic show of color during dreary winter months. The showy flowers range from crimson, scarlet, rose, lavender, white or bi-colored combinations. Although each plant may produce only one cluster of 2-4 blooms, […]
