Potted creeping phlox is beautiful and, once planted, requires minimal care. It may also be known as moss pink, moss phlox, or mountain phlox. Hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees love the nectar-rich blooms. Read on to learn how to grow creeping phlox in a container. Growing Creeping Phlox in Pots Start creeping phlox seeds indoors about six weeks before the last frost in your area. If you prefer, you can start with small plants from a local greenhouse or nursery....

Trimming a Cat’s Claw Vine If you live in a region that is very warm or even hot, cat’s claw vine is one to consider. It thrives in the hottest zones, USDA zones 9 through 12, and readily covers a metal fence or wall. This evergreen vine offers lush, dark green foliage and brilliant butter-colored blossoms. The flowers have lines of scarlet and orange in their throats. Pruning cat’s claw vines is an important part of caring for this plant....

What is Quince Tree Leaf Rust? Quince rust is caused by the fungus Gymnosporangium clavipes. Although it is called quince tree leaf rust, it doesn’t do much damage to the leaves of fruit trees. It attacks the fruit. So, if you are worried about this disease, don’t look for the rust on quince leaves. Most of the symptoms are on the fruit. You may also see some on the twigs. The quince rust fungus requires both a juniper/cedar and pomaceous host....

Effects of Red and Blue Light on Plants What we perceive as white light from the sun is actually made up of all the colors of the rainbow. The three major colors of light are red, blue, and green. We can tell that plants don’t absorb much green light because it reflects off of them and into our eyes, making them appear green. The fact that leaves don’t usually appear blue or red means that they absorb those parts of the light spectrum and use them to grow....

Can I Regrow Fennel? Can I regrow fennel? Absolutely! When you buy fennel from the store, the bottom of the bulb should have a noticeable base to it – this is where the roots grew from. When you cut up your fennel to cook with, leave this base and just a little bit of the attached bulb intact. Regrowing fennel plants is very easy. Simply place the little piece you saved in a shallow dish, glass, or jar of water, with the base facing down....

Scarlet Flax Information Scarlet flax wildflowers are hardy, annual, flowering herbs. This attractive flower has five scarlet petals and stamens that are covered in blue pollen. Each flower lasts only for a few hours, but continues to bloom throughout the day. Scarlet flax wildflowers grow from 1 to 2 feet (0.5 m.) and last about four to six weeks, between the months of April and September. The seeds of the scarlet flax are shiny because the oil content in them is quite high....

Snapdragon Seed Pod Info When the snapdragon flowers die, the dried seed pods, which look like tiny, brown, shrunken skulls, prove just how beautiful and strange nature can be. Watch for the seed pods in late summer, then get your camera because your friends will never believe it! The odd-looking seed heads have been the source of legends for hundreds of years. One story says that women who eat the skull-like seed heads will regain their lost youth and beauty, while some people believed a few of the mystical little pods scattered around the house would protect the residents from curses, sorcery, and other forms of evil....

Snowball Viburnum vs. Hydrangea The old-fashioned snowball bush (Hydrangea arborescens), also called Anabelle hydrangea, produces large clusters of flowers that start out pale green and turn white as they mature. The Chinese snowball viburnum bush (Viburnum macrocephalum) is similar in appearance and also produces flowers that start pale green and age to white even though the two plants aren’t related. If you’re wondering how to tell snowball bushes apart, take a look at these characteristics:...

Zone 3 Seed Starting Starting seeds in zone 3 indoors is sometimes the only way to get a plant to reach maturity in the cold, short growing season of this region. If you look at the back of most seed packets, you’ll see a recommended number of weeks before the average last frost date to start the seeds indoors. These seeds can more or less be grouped into three groups: cold-hardy, hot weather, and fast-growing hot weather....

Stevia Plant Information Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) is a nondescript looking leafy plant reaching 2 to 3 feet (61-91 cm.) in height. It is native to Paraguay, where it’s been used for centuries, possibly millennia, as a sweetener. Stevia leaves contain molecules called glycosides, essentially molecules with sugar attached to them, making the leaves taste sweet. The human body, however, cannot break apart the glycosides, meaning they have no calories when consumed by humans....

Sugar Snappy Pea Info Burpee Super Snappy peas are the biggest of the sugar snap peas. The pods contain between eight and ten peas. You can let the pods dry and remove just the peas to use, but like other sugar snap pea varieties, the pod is just as delicious. Enjoy the entire pod with peas fresh, in savory dishes like stir fries, or preserve them by freezing. For a pea, Super Snappy is unique among varieties in that it does not need a support on which to grow....

Common Pests Found on Swiss Chard It isn’t just us who enjoy those delicious, nutritious leafy greens. Sometimes it seems like there’s no battling the insects for our produce. In order to control pests, it is important to learn to identify them. Bugs that attack Swiss chard, for example, are equal opportunists. Some, such as blister beetles, love the veggie, as do leaf miner larvae. Lygus bugs and their nymphs feed on the leaves and the buds of flowering plants....

How Gardening Helps Kids With the development of school and community gardens, the impact of planting vegetables and flowers with children has come into focus. These school gardens are undoubtedly a valuable classroom resource. However, they may also contribute to the overall well-being of students. The development of outdoor hobbies and interacting with nature can enhance our lives. Therapeutic gardening for kids is certainly no exception to this thinking. As many educators have learned, gardening as therapy for children has provided kids with valuable tools for life....

Can You Start Plants from Tomato Slices? Tomato slice propagation is a new one to me, but really, there are seeds in there, so why not? Of course, there is one thing to keep in mind: your tomatoes might be sterile. So you might get plants by planting tomato slices, but they may never beget fruit. Still, if you have a couple of tomatoes that are going south, instead of throwing them out, a little experiment in tomato slice propagation should be order....

What Not to Do When Tulip Leaves are Yellow So your tulip leaves are turning yellow. If your tulip bulbs are healthy, the foliage will die down and turn yellow after blooming ends. This is 100 percent a-okay. The important thing, however, is that you must live with the yellow tulip leaves, even if you think they’re ugly. This is because the leaves absorb sunlight, which in turn provides energy to feed the bulbs throughout the winter....

Growing Tuscan Blue Rosemary All varieties of rosemary bloom with delicate flowers. The color of the flowers can vary from type to type, ranging from shades of pink to blue to white. Tuscan blue rosemary plants (Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Tuscan Blue’), true to their name, produce deep blue to violet flowers. The plant should bloom from winter to spring. Flowers may come back again for a smaller showing in summer or autumn....

Does Urine Deter Pests? Gardeners report mixed results with predator urine. Fox urine works best for repelling small mammals like rabbits, squirrels, and cats. Coyote urine and the urine of larger predators is a better choice for deer and other larger animals, and is also reported to work against woodchuck, raccoon, skunk, and smaller mammals. Predator urine in gardens is not a foolproof solution to pest problems. One common complaint is that herbivores may become habituated to scent repellents and return to the area....

Planting in North Carolina Using the USDA Plant Hardiness Map If you live in North Carolina, you enjoy a relatively temperate climate, which makes it possible to grow a wide variety of trees, shrubs, and perennial flowers. The 2012 North Carolina USDA planting map, as seen above, indicates which growing zones cover certain areas of the state. While the northwestern part of the state has the coolest average extreme winter lows, down to a possible -15 degrees F....

More Information About The USDA Arizona Hardiness Zone Map Above is the USDA Arizona map for planting and growing zones. The USDA zones were created to help gardeners understand what will grow best in their garden. Using the zone system will help gardeners in Arizona climate zones to be more successful in their landscaping efforts. To learn what the USDA Arizona hardiness zones for plants are in your area, find where you live on the map then note the color over that area....

What is Western Honeysuckle? This North American native vine produces lovely, fragrant flowers. Bees and hummingbirds love western honeysuckle vines for the fragrant, trumpet-shaped blossoms that are rich in nectar. Kids also love to suck the sweet nectar from the base of a honeysuckle flower. Gardeners, on the other hand, appreciate the way these vines twine their way up fences and trellises or ramble over trees. They provide year-round greenery as well as brilliant flowers in season....