How to Trim Flowers Pinching back plants is often confused with deadheading. While deadheading refers to the removal of spent flower blooms, pinching should occur before the plant has had a chance to flower. The process of pinching plants is relatively simple. Learning how to trim flowers begins with locating the soft growth tip of each plant. Next, gardeners gently remove the stem just above a set of leaves or nodes....

Glads with Fusarium Wilt Fusarium of gladiolus is a fungus that can damage the corms you’ve stored for the winter. Spots and yellowing are the first signs of problems, turning to larger discolored areas and lesions. These eventually turn to brownish or blackish dry rot. Roots are damaged or have disappeared. Discard these. Others stored with them should be treated. Planting glads with fusarium wilt can result in yellowing foliage, sick plants, and no blooms, if they sprout at all....

What are Some Alkaline Tolerant Plants? Gardening with alkaline soil isn’t a challenge when you use alkaline-tolerant plants. Below is a list of many suitable plants for alkaline soil. Trees Silver Maple Buckeye Hackberry Green Ash Honey Locust Ironwood Austrian Pine Burr Oak Tamarisk Shrubs Barberry Smoke Bush Spirea Cotoneaster Panicle Hydrangea Hydrangea Juniper Potentilla Lilac Viburnum Forsythia Boxwood Euonymus Mock Orange Weigela Oleander Annuals/Perennials Dusty Miller Geranium Yarrow Cinquefoil Astilbe Clematis Coneflower Daylily Coral Bells Honeysuckle Vine Hosta Creeping Phlox Garden Phlox Salvia Brunnera Dianthus Sweet Pea...

Why Doesn’t My Calla Lily Bloom? As long as a calla lily is planted in the right spot and gets the right growing conditions, it should produce abundant blooms. On the other hand, if you have calla lilies not blooming, specifically if they bud but don’t open, then this may indicate a problem with the plants’ conditions: The soil where your plant grows may be too dense or may contain too much heavy clay....

Container Gardening under Trees Digging into the soil to put plants under a tree can be problematic. For instance, the roots are difficult or impossible to dig around. Unless you cut the roots in certain places, their locations will dictate your arrangement. An easier solution, and one that will give you more control, is to use containers. Container flowers under a tree can be arranged however you like. You can even move them out to the sun as needed....

Rainbow Bush Info The elephant bush, native to Africa, is so named because elephants love to eat it. Rainbow portulacaria plant is a warm-weather plant, suitable for growing in USDA plant hardiness zones 10 and 11. For this reason, it is usually grown as an indoor plant. In its natural environment, variegated elephant bush can reach heights of up to 20 feet (6 m.). However, this slow-growing plant is usually limited to 10 feet (3 m....

How to Care for Gollum Jade The Gollum jade crassula is readily available and may come into a simple collection as a cutting. The plant grows and multiplies easily in a sunny location. Adjust the plant gradually into a full sun area if you’re not sure of the conditions it occupied prior to your home or office. If the plant was indoors at a nursery or garden center when you got it, you will also need to acclimate it before placing in full sun....

When to Harvest Celery The time for picking celery is usually after it has been planted for three to five months and should happen before temperatures soar. Normally, the time to harvest for celery is 85 to 120 days after transplant. Time of planting of the crop will dictate the time to harvest for celery. Harvesting celery should be done before hot temperatures occur outside as this can make the celery woody if not well watered....

Homemade Fertilizers for Lawns There are some key ingredients you probably already have in your house that can promote your lawn’s health. These include: Beer: Beer is actually full of nutrients that feed both the grass and the microbes and bacteria that promote its health. Soda: Soda (NOT diet) contains plenty of sugar that feeds those same microbes with carbohydrates. Soap or Shampoo: This makes the ground more absorptive and receptive to your homemade lawn fertilizers....

Information About Honeoye Strawberries Honeoye strawberry plants were developed by the Cornell Research Station, Geneva, N.Y. over three decades ago. This variety has unusual winter hardiness and can thrive even in very low-temperature areas. In addition to the fact that they can grow in chilly climates, Honeoye strawberry plants are extremely productive. They yield a generous harvest over a long season and are classified as June-bearing type plants. Honeoye berries are very large and very delicious....

When to Transplant Asparagus While asparagus can be transplanted any time during dormancy, early spring is the most suitable, just before plants have begun waking up. This usually makes it easier when trying to dig through the tentacle-like roots. It’s this complex root system that makes asparagus so difficult to transplant, as their entangled roots are not easily removed. How to Transplant Asparagus It’s usually easier to use a spade fork to locate and divide tangled asparagus roots....

Hydroponics at Home Commercial growers have long used this manner of growing for a wide range of crops. Most suggest that you limit your beginning efforts to just a few of the easy crops until you’re familiar with the process. Using hydroponics at home is growing in popularity. Other than indoor hydroponic vegetable crops, you can also grow herbs and ornamentals inside in water. Hydroponic growing is done in special containers, with nutrients added at the appropriate time....

How to Grow Okra If you’re thinking about planting okra, remember that it’s a warm season crop. Growing okra requires a lot of sunshine, so find a place in your garden that doesn’t get much shade. Also, when planting okra, be sure there is good drainage in your garden. When you prepare your garden area for planting okra, add 2 to 3 pounds (.9-.36 kg.) of fertilizer for every 100 square feet (9....

About Jelly Bean Sedums Jelly bean plant facts indicate this plant is a cross of Sedum pachyphyllum and Sedum stahlii, As such, it’s another candidate for neglect and does best without too much attention. Six- to eight-inch (15-20 cm.) stems grow upward and lean when leaves weigh it down. Small yellow flowers appear abundantly in winter to spring during the early years of growth. Planting and Caring for Jelly Bean Plants Grow the sedum jelly bean plant in containers or plant it in the ground....

Care for Zone 8 Juniper Bushes Juniper plants come in many different sizes and shape for landscape use. Generally, juniper varieties fall in to one of four size categories: low growing groundcovers, medium growing shrubs, tall columnar shrubs, or large shrub-like trees. Junipers also come in many colors, from light to dark green, blue shades, or yellow shades. Regardless of shape or color, all junipers have the same growing requirements. Zone 8 juniper plants, like any other juniper plants, prefer to grow in full sun but can tolerate part shade....

Reasons for Growing Lemon Balm Indoors All gardeners know that it is nice to have any green plants indoors, especially during the winter months. However, growing herbs like lemon balm in containers inside add much more than just a cheerful splash of living green. Lemon balm looks nice, but it also smells nice. A whiff of lemon in the winter, and at all times of the year, is a great mood booster....

Kura Clover Uses Kura clover plants are not very well known in this country. It was used in the past as a nectar source for honey production. Currently, its use in grazing is on the top of the list. Kura clover plants are native to Caucasian Russia, Crimea, and Asia Minor. However, it is not cultivated very much in its countries of origin. Kura plants are perennials that spread by underground roots, termed rhizomes....

When Lantana Pruning Should Be Done? Some people believe you should be trimming lantana plants in winter, while others say spring. Basically, you should go with whatever timing works best for you; however, spring is always preferable. Not only do you want to remove old growth, but you also want to ensure hardiness throughout winter, especially in colder regions. For this reason, fall is definitely out when it comes to pruning lantanas, as this can make them more susceptible to winter cold and moisture brought about by any precipitation....

Care of a Gardenia Bush Prior to Transplanting Proper care of a gardenia bush prior to transplanting is crucial to the success of transplanting. Make sure that your gardenia is in the best shape possible, free of fungus and pests. If your gardenia is ailing from any problems, do not attempt to transplant it until you have addressed its current issues. Best Time for Transplanting Gardenia Bushes The best time to transplant gardenia plants is in the fall, after the plant has finished blooming....

About Dwarf Mosaic Virus in Corn Mosaic virus of maize plants is transmitted rapidly by several species of aphids. It is harbored by Johnson grass, a troublesome perennial grass that plagues farmers and gardeners across the country. The disease may also affect a number of other plants, including oats, millet, sugarcane, and sorghum, all of which can also serve as host plants for the virus. However, Johnson grass is the primary culprit....