Growing Hydrangeas in Zone 9 While there are a few hot weather hydrangeas that can tolerate zone 9 gardens, it doesn’t usually just come down to temperature. Hydrangeas love water– that’s how they got their name. That means that if you live in a zone 9 that’s especially arid, you’re going to want to plant a hydrangea that’s especially drought tolerant. If you live in a moister part of zone 9, however, your options are much more open and really only restricted by temperature....

Signs of Burnt Orchid Leaves Recognizing scorched leaves on orchids isn’t rocket science. That said, sunburn in orchids is often evidenced by a white patch surrounded by a dark ring, or you may see several small spots. Severely burnt orchid leaves may display a reddish purple tint or leaves may turn black or yellow. If the scorched spot is contained to a small area, just leave it alone and wait for the plant to recover....

What are Canopy Soils? A canopy is the name given to the space made up of the collected treetops in a dense forest. These canopies are home to some of the greatest biodiversity on earth, but they are also some of the least studied. While some elements of these canopies remain a mystery, there is one we’re actively learning more about: soil in trees that develops far above the ground. Canopy soil isn’t found everywhere, but it has been documented in forests in North, Central, and South America, East Asia, and New Zealand....

How to Prevent Lemon Balm Weeds A weed is defined as any plant that grows where you don’t want it, and lemon balm proves the point. This dainty little plant that looks so innocent when you buy it at the garden center can reach a height of 2 feet (61 cm.) and a spread of 3 feet (1 m.) by the end of the first growing season. Worse yet, the plant self-seeds itself like a champ and before you know it, you have a garden full of more lemon balm than you ever wanted– or needed....

What is a Korean Maple? Korean maple trees (Acer pseudosieboldianum) look quite a bit like the popular Japanese maples, but they are hardier. The trees thrive in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 8. The tree is native to China and Korea, where it grows in forested areas. This small, specialty maple matures to about 25 feet tall (7.5 m.) and wide. Korean Maple Information The Korean maple is a delicate tree with some exceptional features....

What is Vine Charcoal? Vine charcoal is simply charcoal made from vines, often grape vines. You can also make it from other plant materials. Willow switches work well too, as do twigs from many trees. Just be sure the growth isn’t too new. Depending on what you use and how you prepare it, you can end up with charcoal sticks of varying hardness and even warmer or cooler tones of black....

What are Gratitude Flowers? Gratitude flowers help a child put into words the people, places, and things they feel thankful or grateful for in their life. Whether it’s Mom and Dad, the family pet, or a nice, warm place to live, making gratitude flowers can help children feel good about themselves and those around them. Whenever anyone is having a challenging day, a look at the gratitude flowers on display should provide a positive pick-me-up....

Collecting Seeds from Marigold Flowers Collecting seeds from marigold flowers is easy. That being said, the plants don’t form recognizable seed pods, so finding the seeds is tricky if you don’t know where to look. The first thing you need to do is wait for the flowers to fade and dry. Choose a flower head that is very withered and dried out. It should be mostly brown, with just a little bit of green left at the base....

What is a ‘Millionaire’ Watermelon? ‘Millionaire’ is a seedless hybrid watermelon. The seeds for these watermelons are created by cross-pollinating two plants which are incompatible due to the number of chromosomes present. This incompatibility causes the “offspring” (seeds) of the cross pollination to be sterile. Any fruit yielded from the sterile plant will not produce seeds, therefore, giving us wonderful seedless melons. Millionaire watermelon plants produce 15 to 22 pound (7-10 kg....

What are Moondials? Before you get too excited about moondials, there’s one thing you have to understand: they don’t work very well. For one thing, the time the moon is in a particular spot in the sky changes by 48 minutes every night! For another, the moon isn’t always up at night, and sometimes even when it is, it’s not bright enough to cast a readable shadow. Basically, using moondials in gardens for reliable timekeeping is wishful thinking....

How to Grow Moss in a Pot Growing moss in plant pots is easy. Find a wide, shallow container. Concrete or terracotta pots work well because they keep the soil cool, but other containers are also acceptable. Gather your moss. Look for moss in your own garden, often found in damp spots under a dripping faucet or in a shady corner. If you don’t have moss, ask a friend or neighbor if you can harvest a small patch....

Do Sansevierias (Mother-in-Law’s Tongue) Have Flowers? Yes, they do. Though mother-in-law’s tongue flowers are extremely rare, these hardy houseplants can have flowers. What Do Sansevierias (Mother-in-Law’s Tongue) Flowers Look Like? Mother-in-law’s tongue flowers grow on a very long flower stalk. The stalk can reach a length of up to 3 feet (1 m.) and will be covered in dozens of flower buds. The flowers themselves will be white or cream colored....

If your lament is “my magnolia tree does not bloom,” take action to help the tree. Read on for information about magnolia blooming problems and what to do to encourage those beautiful flowers. Why a Magnolia Tree Doesn’t Flower Whenever a flowering tree fails to blossom, the first thing to do is to check its hardiness zone. The plant hardiness zone indicates what type of weather your tree will survive....

Why Won’t My Okra Bloom? Here are the most common reasons for non-blooming okra plants: Time. Flowering should begin around 50 to 65 days after planting, depending on the variety. The plants can then produce pods for 10 to 12 weeks. Okra with no flowers may just require patience. Not enough sun. Okra is a full-sun plant, and it won’t bloom well unless it has at least six to eight hours of daily sun....

How to Get a Hyacinth Bulb to Bloom Hyacinth flowers not blooming is a common garden problem with many easy solutions, depending on the cause of your bloom failure. Having no blooms on hyacinths is a frustrating problem. After all, these bulbs are practically fool proof. If you’ve got lots of stalks, but no hyacinth flowers, run down this checklist before you panic. Timing – Not all hyacinths bloom at the same time, though you can reasonably expect them to appear sometime in early spring....

How to Root Lychee Cuttings As mentioned, seed viability is scant, and traditional grafting budding techniques are unreliable, so the best way to grow lychee is via lychee cutting propagation or marcotting. Marcotting is just another term for air-layering, which encourages the formation of roots on a portion of a branch. The first step to growing lychee from cuttings is to soak a few handfuls of sphagnum moss for each layer for an hour in warm water....

When to Prune a Crabapple Tree The time for crabapple pruning is when the tree is dormant, but when the possibility of severely cold weather has passed. This means pruning should be done in late winter or early spring, depending on your local climate and temperatures. Suckers, the little shoots that come straight out of the ground around the base of the tree, can be pruned away at any time of year....

Growing a Ripple Jade Plant Place your ripple jade outside, if possible, when temperatures allow. If you live in an area that doesn’t have freezing temperatures, grow ripple jade plants in the ground. These plants make an attractive border or background plant for shorter succulents. Happy, healthy plants produce white blooms in spring to summer. When planted inland, morning sun is preferable. Locate ripple jade plants in full morning sun to keep them vigorous....

How to Grow Sedum When growing sedum, keep in mind that sedum plants need very little attention or care. They will thrive in conditions that many other plants thrive in, but will do just as well in less hospitable areas. They are ideal for that part of your yard that gets too much sun or too little water to grow anything else. A common name for sedum is stonecrop, due to the fact that many gardeners joke that only stones need less care and live longer....

About Compost and Slugs Are slugs good for compost? Slugs usually feed on living plant matter, but they also like plant debris and fresh garbage. For slugs, the compost bin is a perfect environment. What could be good about slugs in compost? Slugs are experts at breaking down organic matter, thus contributing to the process of decomposition. In fact, some gardeners don’t kill slugs at all. Instead, they actually pick the critters off plants and toss them in the compost bin....