What is a Samara? A samara is just one type of many fruits produced by flowering plants. The samara is a dry fruit, as opposed to a fleshy fruit, like an apple or cherry. It is further categorized as a dry indehiscent fruit. This means that it does not split open to release the seed. Instead, the seed germinates inside of its casing and then breaks free of it as the plant grows....

Planting Roses in Shade Planting roses in shade won’t work if the plants aren’t exposed to at least a minimal amount of sunlight. Some, like English roses, for instance, will manage with four to five hours of sunlight. Floribunda roses generally do well in partial shade rose gardens, although they may not produce as many blooms as they would in full sunlight. Climbing roses may receive additional sunlight through the top of the plant....

What is a Snowball Cactus? The snowball cactus is botanically named Mammillaria candida. It is covered with dense spines and a white substance sometimes called wool. The wool makes it look like a snowball, but be careful of the dense spines. This is an easy to grow plant and the more sun it gets, the more wool and spines it will produce. Careful with this, though, as too much direct sun can burn this cactus....

Info and Care of Sternbergia This is not to say that your hard red clay won’t need amendments when you’re learning how to grow Sternbergia daffodils. Soil must be well-draining, so you may mix in sand or gravel to assist with drainage. Soil should remain moist, but not soggy. Other than these improvements, you’ll find the winter flowering daffodil does well in existing clay soils. Winter hardy in USDA zones 9 and 10, Sternbergia lutea may provide autumn or winter blossoms in zone 8 and part of zone 7....

Managing Corn with Stewart’s Wilt Manifesting in the form of linear stripes on corn leaves, Stewart’s wilt of corn (corn bacterial leaf spot) is caused by a bacterium called Erwinia stewartii. Infections are generally classified into two types based on when each occur: seedling stage and the leaf blight stage, which impacts older and more mature plants. When infected with Stewart’s wilt, sweet corn may prematurely die back regardless of the age of the plant, if the infection is severe....

Taunton Yew Information Taunton yew shrubs (Taxus x media ‘Tauntonii’) have many features that make them a delight in your backyard or garden. They are also known by the common name Taunton’s yew. Those growing Taunton yews love the shrubs’ deep green needles, which seem to resist summer burn and winter freeze damage. Taunton yew shrubs grow some 3 to 4 feet (1 m.) tall and 5 to 6 feet (1....

Container Grown Eggplant Modern breeding programs are answering the call of the limited space gardener. With the rise of upside down gardening, traditional container gardening has expanded its previous barriers. Eggplants in pots are as easy to grow as tomatoes in pots. They need large enough containers to support the roots of such a heavy plant, a well draining medium, extra food and consistent water and, of course, the right container....

Signs of Shot Hole Fungus Shot hole disease thrives in wet conditions, especially during extended wet periods. The disease is most noticeable in spring, as new growth is most susceptible. Shot hole fungus commonly overwinters inside the infected buds, as well as twig lesions, where the spores may thrive for several months. Therefore, it is important to thoroughly inspect trees after leaf fall for any symptoms. Most signs of shot hole disease occur in spring, causing spots (or lesions) on new buds and young leaves and shoots....

Aster Powdery Mildew Symptoms Powdery mildew is a fungal disease caused by Erysiphe cichoracearum. It is one of the most common diseases found in plants and afflicts not only flowers but vegetables and woody plants as well. The first indication of the disease is a white, powdery growth visible on the upper leaves. This white powder is made up of threads of fungal tissue (mycelium) and mats of asexual spores (condia)....

About Small Summersweet Plants Also commonly known as hummingbird plant, the fragrant white flower spikes of summersweet draw hummingbirds and butterflies to the garden. When the mid to late summer blooms fade, the plant produces seeds that provide food for birds throughout winter. Summersweet grows best in part shade to shade. It also prefers consistently moist soils and cannot survive drought. Due to summersweet’s preference for moist soils and its habit of spreading by dense rhizomes, it is efficiently used for erosion control along the banks of waterways....

Perennial Hibiscus Plants Growing hibiscus in zone 6 is very easy, as long as you choose a hardy variety. Hardy hibiscus plants are usually hardy down to zone 4. Their sizes vary depending on their species, but as a rule, they’re bigger than their tropical cousins, sometimes reaching heights of 15 feet (4.5 m.) and widths of 8 feet (2.5 m.). Their flowers, too, are much larger than those of tropical varieties....

Planting Midsummer for an Autumn Vegetable Harvest Many people only plant in spring, but in order to get vegetables for fall harvest, you need to do a second or even third planting. To know exactly when to plant, find the average first frost date for your area. Then check the time to maturity on the seeds for each vegetable and you’ll know when to start them. There is some flexibility with when you start the seeds depending on plant type....

How Much Water Do Orchids Need? Perhaps the biggest mistake people make when growing orchids is overwatering them. Despite the fact that they’re tropical and like humidity, orchid water requirements are actually pretty low. In general, orchids like their growing medium to dry out between waterings. To test this, put a finger in the growing medium. If it’s dry about an inch (2.5 cm.) down, it’s time for watering. For indoor plants, this will probably translate to about once a week....

What is a Burl? If you are wondering about tree burls, the best way to define them is as bumps, swellings, or bulges that grow on or from the trunk of a tree. Tree burls are not always smooth. The burl of a tree can be bumpy with a cauliflower texture, or it can appear in a donut shape, circling the base of a branch. The interior burl wood forms swirls that are particularly lovely....

What is Crepe Myrtle Blight? Crepe myrtle tip blight results from a fungus that causes leaves near the tips of the tree branches to turn brown in spring or summer. Look closely at the infected foliage to see the small black spore-bearing bodies. Crepe Myrtle Blight Treatment Treating blight on crepe myrtle begins with proper care and cultivation practices. Like many fungal diseases, crepe myrtle tip blight can be discouraged by following a few simple rules about caring for your trees....

What is Hairy Vetch? A type of legume, hairy vetch (Vicia villosa) is a cold-hardy plant belonging to the same plant family as beans and peas. The plant is sometimes planted in spring, especially in agricultural applications. In the garden, hairy vetch cover crops are usually grown through the winter and plowed into the soil before spring planting. Hairy Vetch Benefits Hairy vetch absorbs nitrogen from the air as it grows....

Will Baby’s Breath Survive Winter? Baby’s breath cold tolerance is pretty good, both in perennial and annual form. The annual varieties grow in zones 2 through 10, while the perennials will survive in zones 3 through 9. The annuals, of course, will not need to be overwintered. If your climate is colder, you can simply plant them in the spring and enjoy flowers all summer. They’ll die back in the fall....

What is Woollypod Vetch? If you know anything about the vetch family of plants, woollypod vetch looks quite similar to other annual and perennial vetches. It’s an annual and a cool-season crop. Woollypod vetch plants are low-lying plants with stems that trail up to a yard. A climber, it will go up any support at all, even grass or grain stems. Most people growing woollypod vetch plants do so to use it as a legume cover crop....

Choosing Zone 4 Clematis Vines Jackmanii is probably the most popular and reliable zone 4 clematis vine. Its deep purple flowers bloom first in spring and then again in late summer through fall, blooming on new wood. Sweet Autumn is another popular cold hardy clematis vine. It is covered in small white, extremely fragrant flowers in late summer through fall. Listed below are additional clematis varieties for zone 4. Chevalier – large, lavender-purple blooms Rebecca – bright red blooms Princess Diana – dark pink, tulip-shaped flowers Niobe – deep red flowers Nelly Moser – light pink flowers with dark pink-red stripes down each petal Josephine – double lilac-pink flowers Duchess of Albany – tulip-shaped, light-dark pink blooms Bee’s Jubilee – small pink and red flowers Andromeda – semi-double, white-pink flowers Ernest Markham – large, magenta-red blooms Avant Garde – burgundy flowers, with pink, double centers Innocent Blush – semi-double flowers with “blushes” of dark pink Fireworks – purple flower with dark purple-red stripes down each petal...

Algal Leaf Spot of Avocado Avocado leaf diseases can look so bad that a homeowner will question whether or not their tree will make it to harvest time. Fortunately, many avocado leaf diseases look a lot worse than they really are for established trees, and algal leaf spot of avocados is one of the easy ones! You’ll know you have avocado algal leaf disease when green, yellowish, or red orange raised spots start to appear in abundance on your avocado leaves....