How to Make a Dracaena Bonsai Tree Dracaena marginata, commonly known as a Madagascar dragon tree or red-edged dracaena, is the species that’s most frequently trained as a bonsai. In the wild they can grow to 12 feet (4 m.) in height, but if kept in a small pot indoors, they should stay small. If you want to train a dracaena as a bonsai, start by laying the potted plant on its side in the bright sun....

Information on Bonsai Care The basic care of bonsais doesn’t differ much from their larger relatives with regard to temperature, light requirements, humidity, and rest periods. However, they do require a little assistance to keep up their overall health. First, use a special potting mix, a watering can with a fine nozzle, and a fertilizer specific to bonsai trees. Remember that bonsai grow best in little soil that is slightly mounded....

Burning Bush Stays Green When you buy a young burning bush (Euonymus alata), its leaves may be green. You will often see green burning bush plants in nurseries and garden stores. The leaves always grow in green but then they are supposed to change to red as summer arrives. If your green burning bush plants stay green, something is amiss. The most likely problem is lack of sufficient sun, but other issues may be at play when your burning bush isn’t changing color....

Why Bradford Pear Does Not Bloom A Bradford pear tree does not need another tree nearby in order to bloom. It usually produces a profuse display of flowers whether it stands alone or is planted in a group. No blooms on your Bradford pear tree could be a sign of disease or plant culture problems. The first thing to note about a non-flowering Bradford pear tree is that it takes about 5 years of growth for the tree to be mature enough to bloom....

About Chickens in the Garden There are a number of reasons to allow the chickens to forage in the garden. It keeps them happy certainly, but chickens also control insects, keep down weeds, and improve the soil with their pecking and manure; and eating a variety of food makes for better tasting eggs. The downside to free range chickens is that they tend to get into areas you may not want them....

Chitalpa Information Chitalpa trees (x Chitalpa tashkentensis) can grow into 30 foot tall trees (9 m.) or as large, multi-stemmed shrubs. They are deciduous and lose leaves in winter. Their leaves are elliptical, and in terms of shape, they are about at the halfway point between the narrow leaves of desert willow and the heart-shaped foliage of catalpa. The pink chitalpa flowers look like catalpa blossoms but smaller. They are trumpet shaped and grow in erect clusters....

What is Guttation? Plants gather a lot of the moisture and nutrients they need to survive through their roots. In order to move these things upward, the plant has tiny holes in its leaves called stomata. Evaporation of moisture through these holes creates a vacuum that pulls water and nutrients in the roots up against the pull of gravity and throughout the plant. This process is called transpiration. Transpiration stops at night when the stomata close, but the plant compensates by drawing in extra moisture through the roots and building up pressure to force nutrients upward....

Contorted White Pine Information Contorted white pine trees (Pinus strobus ‘Contorta’ or ‘Torulosa’) share many of the traits of eastern white pine, a native needled evergreen. Both grow relatively rapidly and can live over 100 years. While eastern white pine trees shoot up to 80 feet (24 m.) in cultivation and can attain 200 feet (61 m.) in the wild, twisted white pine trees don’t. Contorted white pine information suggests that this cultivar tops out around 40 feet (12 m....

Let’s learn more about rice with straighthead disease. What is Rice Straighthead Disease? Rice straighthead disease may affect random spots scattered around a field. In this case, it is easy to spot because rice with straighthead disease is much darker green than unaffected rice plants. In some cases, however, straighthead disease of rice may affect entire crops. The disease is rarely found in clay soil, but is more common in sand or loam....

If attaching creeping fig to a wall is your desire, the first year of growth can be slow, so have patience and use a few tricks to get your fig clinging to the wall in subsequent years. How Creeping Fig Attaches and Grows Some vines need a lattice or fence to cling to and grow, but creeping fig can attach to and grow up any type of wall. They do this by secreting a sticky substance from the aerial roots....

What is an Arctic Ice Echeveria? Succulents are the perfect starter plant for the novice gardener in that they require minimal care plus they come in a dazzling array of shapes, sizes, and colors. Succulent gardens are all the rage and for good reason. Echeveria is a variety of succulent plant of which there are actually around 150 cultivated types and are native from Texas to Central America. Echeveria ‘Arctic Ice’ is actually a hybrid produced by Altman Plants....

What is an English Hawthorn? English hawthorn, or Crataegus laevigata, is a small to medium-sized tree native to Europe and North Africa. It typically grows to reach 15 to 25 feet (5-8 m.), with a similar spread. The tree has lobed, green leaves and attractive bark similar to that of an apple tree. The branches of most varieties are thorny. English hawthorn is adapted to USDA zones 4b to 8. English hawthorns are commonly used as street trees and in urban landscapes, since they are tolerant of poor air and soil conditions and can be grown successfully even where the roots will be confined to relatively small spaces....

Australian Tree Trees It’s easy to fall for the highly ornamental, silver tea tree, a member of the large Myrtaceae family. If you read Esperance tea tree information, you’ll find that the trees produce generous amounts of silky pink flowers annually. The blossoms generally open in spring, but they can flower at any point between May and October, depending on when your area gets rainfall. The silvery foliage is beautiful with and without the flowers....

Fall Mulch for Plants In a lot of areas, autumn is a time of drier air and more drastic shifts in temperature than in the summer growing season. If you have perennials or cool weather annuals, laying down a good, thick layer of mulch is highly advisable if you want them to stay healthy in the fall and survive the winter. Organic mulches such as pine needles, sawdust, straw, grass clippings, and fallen leaves are good for introducing nutrients into the soil....

Reasons Why Figs Won’t Get Ripe The long and short of why a fig tree is taking a long time to ripen its fruit or the figs won’t get ripe at all is stress. Fig trees are very susceptible to stress and when under stress, they will slow down or even stop ripening their fruit. The most common stress responsible for when figs don’t ripen is lack of water, especially in high heat conditions....

Frozen Pindo Palm: Is my Pindo Palm Dead? You will probably need to wait a few weeks to determine the severity of pindo palm frost damage. According to North Carolina State University Extension, you may not know until late spring or early summer, as palms grow slowly and may take several months to re-leaf after pindo palm freeze damage. In the meantime, don’t be tempted to pull or prune dead-looking fronds....

Fuchsia Sunlight Requirements Below you will find information about fuchsia sun needs based on the most common factors influencing the growth of these plants. Climate – Your fuchsia plants can tolerate more sunlight if you live in a climate with mild summers. On the flip side, fuchsias in a hot climate will likely do better in very light sunlight or even total shade. Cultivar – Not all fuchsias are created equal, and some are more sun tolerant than others....

Garden to Table Meaning If garden to table trends ring some bells, it is likely due to the concept of farm to table, wherein the table is situated right on the farm and the food served comes directly from its fields or other locally, sustainable producer. One of the first farm to table restaurants is Chez Panisse in Berkeley, C.A. opened by Chef Alice Waters in 1971. So what is garden to table then?...

The leaves “float” on the surface of the water, supported by spongy veins. Their size allows the plant to take in the maximum sunshine possible. The underside of each leaf has spines, thought to be a way of preventing fish from nibbling on them. Leaves are anchored by submerged stalks up to 26 feet (7.9 m) long that embed themselves in the lake or river bottom. Victoria Water Lily Given that the native range of this large lily is in South America, from Bolivia in the south to Guyana in the north, one might wonder why it is called the Victoria water lily....

Growing Streptocarpella Also known as false African violet, streptocarpella plant is a member of the Gerneriaceae family. First time growers most commonly acquire plants as a gift, or as a winter purchase from garden centers. It is easy for gardeners to be drawn to their gorgeous blue flowers and long cascading growth habit. One of the most commonly available cultivars, Streptocarpella ‘Concord Blue,’ is especially prized for its use as an annual in outdoor containers....