Indiana Yard and Garden – Purdue Consumer Horticulture A Purdue Extension Service for Home Gardeners

Yard and Garden News

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.

Outstanding new plants announced for 1997

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 virtually carpet the dwarf, 10-inch high plants. Zinnia angustifolia is a different species from the…Read more about Outstanding new plants announced for 1997[Read More]

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Cover Crops Serve Dual Purpose

Gardeners have long used certain plants known as cover crops to help keep soil from blowing away during winter. An added benefit of raising cover crops is that their foliage and root growth can be tilled under in late winter to help loosen heavy soils and improve overall soil structure and fertility. Cover crops generally are sown in late summer or early fall, after summer vegetables are harvested. The type of plant you grow will…Read more about Cover Crops Serve Dual Purpose[Read More]

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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…Read more about Consider Garden Mums for Fall Color[Read More]

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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…Read more about Layering Gives Old Plants New Life[Read More]

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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…Read more about Some Tree Roots Surface on Lawns[Read More]

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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…Read more about Daylily Has Humble Beginnings[Read More]

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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…Read more about Clematis is a Popular Garden Climber[Read More]

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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…Read more about How Plants Are Named[Read More]

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Celebrate ‘The Year of the Sunflower’

1996 has been proclaimed ‘The Year of the Sunflower’ by the National Garden Bureau, an organization that promotes gardening throughout the United States. The sunflower is enjoying renewed popularity as an ornamental these days, but sunflower remnants found in its native North America have been estimated to be in existence as early as 3000 B.C. The sunflower has long been used as a source of food. Native American populations ground the seed into a flour…Read more about Celebrate ‘The Year of the Sunflower’[Read More]

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Penstemon ‘Husker Red’ is 1996 Perennial Plant of the Year

The Perennial Plant Association has selected Penstemon digitalis ‘Husker Red’ as its 1996 Perennial Plant of the Year. Members of the association, generally professional plant growers, select a perennial each year to educate the gardening public and promote planting of perennial flowers. The Penstemon, also known as beardtongue, is not widely known to the American public despite the fact that several species of this plant are native throughout the United States and Canada. Penstemon digitalis…Read more about Penstemon ‘Husker Red’ is 1996 Perennial Plant of the Year[Read More]

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Page last modified: June 30, 2017

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