Do Fuchsias Need to Be Deadheaded? Fuchsias will drop their spent flowers naturally, so if you’re only interested in keeping things neat, deadheading fuchsia plants isn’t really necessary. However, when the flowers drop, they leave behind seed pods, which take energy to form and discourage the growth of new flowers. This means that if you want your fuchsia to continue blooming throughout the summer, it’s a good idea to remove not just the faded flowers but also the swollen seed pods underneath them....

Symptoms of a Strawberry Plant with Black Root Rot Black root rot of strawberries results in decreased productivity and longevity of the crop. Crop losses may be from 30% up to 50%. One or more fungi, such as Rhizoctonia, Pythium, and/or Fusarium, will be present in the soil at the time of planting. When root nematodes are added to the mix, the disease is usually more severe. The first signs of black root rot become apparent in the first year of fruiting....

Symptoms of Sweet Potato Bacterial Stem and Root Rot As the name suggests, the bacterium, E. chrysanthemi, results in rotting of both the tuber and root system of sweet potatoes. While rotting may occur during growing, the infection is more common in stored sweet potatoes. In the garden, foliage symptoms appear as black, necrotic, water-soaked lesions. Stems are also afflicted with dark brown to black lesions along with dark streaks apparent in the vascular tissue....

Teenage Garden Design If you’ve been wanting to get your teens in the garden, teenage garden design is a way to accomplish that end. Instead of forcing your teens out into the family garden, you create teen hangout gardens for them to enjoy. Teen hangout gardens are similar to the dens earlier generations made for their adolescents. Like dens, gardens for teenagers are separate from adult areas – built and furnished just for young people, and they are outside where most teenagers like to be....

Texas Mountain Laurel Info What is a Texas mountain laurel? Of no relation to the flowering mountain laurel shrub native to the eastern United States, this shrub/tree is a native of the Chihuahuan desert. Also known as mescal bean, the Texas mountain laurel (Dermatophyllum secundiflorum syn. Calia secundiflora, formerly Sophora secundiflora) ranges from Texas through the American Southwest and down into Mexico. Slow growing, it can reach up to 30 feet (15 m....

For those of us in the second camp, one tomato that might fit the bill is the Arkansas Traveler, a good drought and heat resistant variety with a pleasant color and a mild flavor. Keep reading to learn more about how to grow Arkansas Traveler tomatoes in the home garden. About Arkansas Traveler Tomato Plants What is an Arkansas Traveler tomato? As the name suggests, this tomato hails from the state of Arkansas, where it was bred at the University of Arkansas by Joe McFerran of the Horticulture Department....

More About Tomatoes The tomato isn’t only the most popular crop grown in the home garden but is arguably the most versatile culinary used whether stewed, roasted, pureed, fresh, dried, or even smoked. Tomatoes are rich in vitamins A and C, low in calories, and a source of lycopene (the “red” in tomatoes), which has been tapped as a cancer fighting agent. Typically, the space requirements for tomatoes are minimal, with the fruit being easy to grow and adaptable to many climates....

Common Varieties of Trumpet Vine Plant Probably the most common of the trumpet vine types is Campsis radicans, also known as trumpet creeper. It grows to 40 feet (12 m.) in length and produces 3 inch (7.5 cm) blossoms that bloom in the summer. It is native to the southeastern United States, but it can survive down to USDA zone 4 and has been naturalized pretty much everywhere in North America....

Growing Juniper Bushes in Zone 7 Junipers are hardy plants that do well in drought conditions. They’ll grow in dry soil that ranges from sand to clay, and they can take a wide range of pH levels. Some are even especially well-suited to salt exposure. They are also, as a rule, hardy from zone 5 to zone 9. This puts zone 7 right in the middle of the range and zone 7 gardeners in a great position....

Utah USDA Plant Hardiness Map Gardening in Utah is much easier when gardeners implement species of plants that are compatible with the plant hardiness zone in which they live. The map above is the latest version of the Utah plant map, which was released in early 2012. Since 1960, the USDA has been gathering data and providing gardeners and plant enthusiasts all over the country with valuable information pertaining to plant hardiness....

Ways to Eat Flowers From floral ice cubes to decadent cakes topped with rose petals, edible flowers are sure to take food to the next level. Incorporating edible blooms into the kitchen can be done even by novice cooks, as long as a few important aspects are taken into consideration. The ways to eat flowers are limitless. From sweet to savory, there are edible flowers that fit into nearly every flavor profile....

How Often Do I Water a Rose Bush? Some roses, such as Tuscan Sun (floribunda), will let you know right away when they need a drink. Other roses will tolerate things for a long while and then, seemingly all at once, look sick and droopy. I guess what I mean to say is that different roses have different watering needs. Note how long it takes your rose bush getting droopy and water it slightly more often than it takes for the rose plant to start to droop....

What is Push-Pull Technology? It can be a real challenge to avoid harsh and dangerous chemical pesticides that not only damage our environment by poisoning pollinators but can also poison us. With push-pull methods, however, this may be changing. Push-pull pest control is a chemical free method that has become very popular in Australia and Africa for food crops. How push-pull works is by using companion plants that deter and repel (push) insects away from important food crops and decoy plants that attract (pull) pests to different locations where they are trapped or preyed upon by beneficial insects....

Rock purslane plants are suitable for growing in USDA plant hardiness zones 8 and above. They can withstand temps as low as 25 degrees F. (-4 C.) and tolerate drought like a champ. In cooler climates, you can plant rock purslane as an annual. This versatile, spreading plant works well in rock gardens and is an ideal plant for xeriscaping. Rock purslane plants are also deer resistant. Read on for information on growing rock purslane....

When to Plant Bulbs Is it too late to plant bulbs? Here is how you know: When is it too late to plant bulbs? The main thing you need know about when to plant bulbs is that you can plant bulbs until the ground is frozen. Frost does not make a difference in when to plant spring bulbs. Frost mostly affects plants above the ground, not those below the ground. That being said, your bulbs will perform better in the spring if they have a few weeks to establish themselves in the ground....

When to Pick Basil Harvesting of basil can begin as soon as the plant has at least six sets of leaves. Thereafter, harvest basil as often as needed. Pick basil in the morning when the essential oils are at their peak freshness. How to Harvest Basil To harvest a small amount of basil, just remove a few leaves for use. Cut back whole stem for use in larger harvests. Cutting back entire stems will result in a bushier plant that produces more leaves too....

How to Prune a Leucadendron Plant Leucadendrons bloom in the spring, then continue to put out fresh growth throughout the summer. As the plant is flowering, it’s a good idea to remove spent blooms to keep it neat and to encourage more blooms. Cutting back a leucadendron is earnest and best done after the flowers have all passed. Leucadendron pruning is not an exact science, and the plants can take a lot of shearing very forgivingly....

Many forms of blight, leaf spot, and mildew occur through the planting of contaminated seed. This is especially true of crops like tomatoes, peppers, and various brassicas. In recent years, many growers have turned to the process of hot water seed treatment as a means of prevention for these crop diseases. Should I Treat My Seed with Hot Water? Many organic and conventional gardeners may be left to ask, “Why soak seeds in hot water?...

How to Attract Birds in the Garden Encourage birds to take up residence in your garden by providing them with the three essentials: food, water, and shelter. If you provide any of these essentials, you will occasionally see birds in the garden, but if you want them to take up residence, you must provide all three when attracting birds to your garden. Trees and shrubs provide hiding places and nesting sites for birds....

Can You Grow Bluestar Plants in Winter? Native bluestar amsonia plants grace plenty of gardens as low-maintenance, easy to grow perennials. If you plant them in full sun or partial shade in moist soil, the shrubs provide dense clusters of spring flowers and golden fall foliage. But can you grow bluestar plants in winter? That depends on a comparison of amsonia cold tolerance to the coldest temperatures in your region in winter....