Why are My Guava Leaves Yellow? Oftentimes, when a gardener reports yellowing guava leaves, it’s on a tree that’s being grown in a pot and overwintered indoors. Guava trees can’t really tolerate temperatures below freezing, which means that gardeners in most zones have to bring them inside for the colder months. This is the likeliest reason for yellow leaves on a guava tree – a combination of different light, water, and humidity....

Ornamental Grass Turning Yellow Here are the most common reasons for dying ornamental grass in the landscape: Pests: Although ornamental grass isn’t typically bugged by insects, mites and aphids can be the reason why ornamental grass is yellowing. Both are tiny, destructive pests that suck the juices from the plant. Mites are difficult to see with the naked eye, but you can tell they’ve been around by the fine webbing they leave on leaves....

Lifespan of Geranium Flowers Geraniums can be split into two main categories. There are true geraniums, which are often called hardy geraniums and cranesbill. They are often confused with common or scented geraniums, which are actually a related but completely separate genus called Pelargoniums. These have a much showier display of flowers than true geraniums, but they are harder to keep alive in the winter. Pelargoniums are native to South Africa and are only hardy in USDA zones 10 and 11....

What are Cachepots? Many people are anxious to repot houseplants as soon as they get them home from the store. However, some plants are extremely sensitive, and repotting immediately can disrupt roots and over stress the plant. A better idea is to leave the plant in its original container and use a cachepot. A cachepot is a decorative planter that you can sit your potted plant inside without having to completely repot the plant....

All parts of calendula plants are useful in many ways. The plant is said to stimulate the immune system and is currently used as an ingredient in many cosmetics. Flowers and leaves of the calendula may be dried and stored for later use. In the vegetable garden, calendula draws aphids away from valuable plants. While uses of calendula plants are diverse, growing calendula in the flower or herb garden is an optimum use of this attractive plant....

How to Avoid Camellia Flower Problems To avoid camellia flower problems, it is best to plant camellias where they will be most happy. Camellia plants like moist soil but do not tolerate “wet feet.” Be sure to plant your camellia somewhere with good drainage. An acid soil of 6.5 is best for camellias, and nutrient levels must be kept consistent. Camellias grow well in containers as long as the soil drains well....

How to Grow Agave in Containers Growing agave plants in pots is fun and rewarding. Any agave can be grown in a container, but the smaller varieties are the most popular. Agave plants love to be root bound, so growing them in pots make these plants excellent candidates for houseplants. All container grown agave pants need a soil that dries slowly but drains quickly. For outdoor containers, you can make a good soil mixture by mixing equal parts of compost; potting mix or garden soil; and either gravel, pumice, or coarse sand....

About Chinese Holly Plants Chinese holly plants can be grown as large shrubs or small trees up to 25 feet (8 m.) tall. They are broadleaf evergreens with the same, glossy green foliage so typical of hollies. Those growing Chinese holly know that the leaves are rather rectangular, about 4 inches (10 cm.) long with large spines. Blossoms are a dull greenish white hue. They are not showy but offer a whopping fragrance....

Thinning Cherry Trees When you thin a fruit tree, it accomplishes more than just giving the remaining fruit more elbow room. Thinning trees also prevents limb breakage, especially if you thin fruit from branch tips. It can also keep the tree producing year after year, rather than having a big set one year and hardly anything the second. Most fruit trees, including cherries, thin themselves; that is, they drop excess or damaged fruit before it matures....

There are two Chinese kale varieties, one with white flowers and one with yellow flowers. The white flower variety is popular and grows up to 19 inches (48 cm.) high. The yellow flower plant only grows to about 8 inches (20 cm.) tall. Both varieties are heat resistant and will grow through the winter in most areas. Growing Chinese Broccoli Plants Growing Chinese broccoli plants is extremely easy. These plants are very forgiving and do well with minimal care....

Citrus Leaf Problems The most common citrus leaf problem for lemon, lime, and orange tree leaves is leaf drop. This can be caused by any number of reasons, but the most common is a great fluctuation in temperature, causing the leaves falling off a citrus tree to continue to drop until the tree can handle the temperature once more. Citrus trees like warm weather but do best in temperatures that don’t go much above 60 to 65 degrees F....

Winterizing Cold Hardy Jasmine As mentioned above, jasmine may not survive winters in zone 5, which can plummet to -20 degrees F. (-29 C.). If you decide to try growing jasmine in zone 5, the plants will require plenty of winter protection. Even winter jasmine, which tolerates temperatures as cold as 0 degrees F. (-18 C.), certainly won’t make it through a tough zone 5 winter without adequate cover to protect the roots....

How to Keep Warm in the Garden For some, fall and winter gardening is still full of physical labor, the kind that takes moments to warm a body up. For other cold weather gardeners, some minor harvesting may be the extent of cold weather gardening. For the latter, learning how to keep warm in the garden is of paramount concern since it’s a little difficult to harvest cool weather veggies with frozen fingers....

What are Olive Bud Mites? What are olive bud mites? They’re little creatures that measure about 0.1-0.2 millimeters long – too small to see with the naked eye. Under a microscope, you can see that they’re yellow, teardrop shaped, and four legged. They live and feed exclusively on olive trees. Since you can’t see them, the best way to tell if you have olive bud mites is to look for the damage caused by them....

What are Daybreak Peas? The ‘Daybreak’ pea variety is an early, sweet, shelling pea notable for its compact vines which make the plants perfect for small garden spaces or container gardening. Just remember if growing Daybreak peas in a container to provide a trellis for them to clamber up. Daybreak matures in about 54 days and is resistant to fusarium wilt. This cultivar only reaches to about 24 inches (61 cm....

What are Desmodium Plants? Desmodium is an herby perennial. Some varieties grow tall, up to 2 to 4 feet (61 cm. to 1 m.), but they tend to grow more like a trailing groundcover. They will climb if given the right support. Desmodium varieties are legumes, so they fix nitrogen in the soil, and this has made them a popular choice as an intercrop, especially with corn where they prevent the growth of weeds....

Companion Planting with Dianthus When it comes to dianthus plant companions, look for plants that share the same growing conditions. For example, dianthus prefers bright sunlight and well-drained, dry soil, so plants that like shade and moist soil aren’t good companion plants for dianthus. Often, other old-fashioned flowers, like roses or verbena, complement dianthus beautifully. Mild-scented flowers, such as lavender or scented geraniums, work well, but be careful of strong-scented plants that may detract from the aroma of dianthus....

Propagating Dogwood Cuttings Knowing when to take cuttings of dogwood stems can mean the difference between successful propagation and failure. The best time to cut is in the spring, as soon as the tree completes its bloom cycle. You know the stem is ready to cut if it snaps when you bend it in half. Cuttings aren’t always successful, so take more than you need. The cuttings should be 3 to 5 inches (8-13 cm....

Engelmann Prickly Pear Cactus Facts Prickly pears belong to the cactus genus Opuntia, and there are several species in the genus, including O. engelmannii. Other names for this species are tulip prickly pear, nopal prickly pear, Texas prickly pear, and cactus apple. There are several varieties of Engelmann prickly pear as well. Like other prickly pears, this species is segmented and grows and spreads with multiple flat, oblong pads. Depending on the variety, the pads may or may not have spines that can grow up to three inches (7....

ET’s Finger Jade Plants ET’s Finger is a cultivar of jade, Crassula ovata. Jade plants are succulents with fleshy foliage and are native to South Africa. It is an evergreen shrub that thrives in hot, dry, sunny environments. For most people, growing a jade outside isn’t possible, but it makes a great houseplant. What makes the ET’s Finger jade so unique is the shape of the leaves. The original jade has small, flesh, oval leaves....