Globe Gilia Information This annual wildflower is native to southern California and Baja California. Globe gilia plant communities often occur in areas with well-drained soil and full sun at 6,000 feet elevation or less. The plant often appears after an area has been burned in a wildflower. Globe gilia is also called Queen Anne’s thimble and blue thimble flower. This may be because each blossom resembles a pincushion with pins in it....

Gypsy Cherry Plum Info Gypsy plums are dark carmine red cherry plums that are good for both eating fresh and for cooking. The deep red exterior covers the firm, juicy, sweet orange flesh. The deciduous cherry plum tree has a rounded to spreading habit with ovate, dark green foliage. In the spring, the tree blooms with white blossoms followed by the large red fruit that is ready for harvest by the late summer to early fall....

About Hardiness Growing Zones in Iowa If you are looking for the growing zones in Iowa, you will need to refer to the USDA plant hardiness zone map. The USDA hardiness map above, for Iowa growing zones, can help you determine what planting zone you live in. You can find growing zones in Iowa by looking at the map above and locating the general area in which you live. Then you can compare the color of your planting zone to those found in the legend to the right of the Iowa plant zones map....

About Honey Babe Peaches When it comes to growing a compact peach, Honey Babe is about the best you can do. This dwarf tree is typically only 5 feet (1.5 m.) tall and no wider. You can even grow this peach tree in a container on a patio or porch, as long as there is enough sunlight and you provide larger containers as it grows. This is a firm, freestone peach with yellow-orange flesh....

About Southern Blight on Hostas Southern blight is caused by a fungus. Not limited to hosta, this fungal infection is known to attack a wide range of garden plants. Like many fungi, spores are spread during periods of especially wet or humid weather. In some cases, the fungus is introduced into the garden through infected transplants or contaminated mulch. Since the cause of southern blight, Sclerotium rolfsii, is a parasitic fungus, this means that it actively seeks live plant material upon which to feed....

Reasons for Picking off Faded Cosmos Blossoms Should you deadhead cosmos? The flowers are so small it seems like it may be more trouble than it’s worth, but there are ways to make the job go quicker. Instead of nipping off individual flowers with a thumbnail like you might do with a marigold or petunia, use an inexpensive pair of scissors to cut multiple blooms at the same time. Cosmos is among the easiest of flowers to naturalize in your garden, which means when it goes to seed it will grow wildly anywhere it can reach....

Chrysolphyllum Oliviforme In many ways, the satin leaf is the perfect tree. With a mature height of 45 feet (14 m.), it is small enough for small gardens but doesn’t have that miniature look. It is large enough to serve in bigger landscapes and as a street tree, as well. The evergreen leaves are the satin tree’s prime feature, a full 4 inches (10 cm.) long and two colors. They are a silky-smooth bottle green on top and a glowing silvery copper color beneath....

Propagating Bay Trees from Seed Bay trees are dioecious, which means a male and female plant are both necessary to produce viable seeds. These seeds will form only on the female plant when its small yellow flowers give way in autumn to small, dark purple, egg-shaped berries. Each berry has a single seed inside. Remove the flesh of the berry and plant the seed right away. If you don’t plant the seeds immediately, or if you buy dried seeds, soak them in warm water 24 hours before planting them....

Can High Humidity Hurt Plants? There are some plants that are natives to sweltering tropical locales and love nothing more than air so thick with moisture that a normal person can barely breathe, but your typical indoor plants aren’t among them. High indoor humidity levels cause serious problems for most inside plants by encouraging the growth of fungal and bacterial diseases, which often need very high humidity to infect tissues. The same goes for plants in greenhouses —greenhouse humidity control is vital to preventing the spread of disease....

When to Harvest Lychee Fruit Unlike many fruits, lychees do not continue to ripen after they’re picked, which means it’s important to time your harvest as well as possible. It can be hard to tell from sight, but ripe lychees are slightly more swollen, causing the bumps on the skin to spread out and take on an overall flatter appearance. A more trusted method of testing for ripeness is the taste test....

Macaw Palm Info The macaw palm, Acrocomia aculeata, got its name because its nuts are consumed by the hyacinth macaw, a South American parrot. The tree is also called the grugru palm or the coyol palm. A fermented beverage called coyol wine is made from the tree’s sap. Macaw palm plants are slow growing as seedlings. However, once they get going, they can reach 30 feet (9 m.) tall within five to ten years and can potentially reach 65 feet (20 m....

Mahogany Seed Propagation Mahogany is a beautiful tree, tall with large buttresses on the trunks and broad crowns of shining leaves. It is, unfortunately, disappearing in its native ranges, a victim of its own value. Mahogany wood is said to be valued at four times the price of any other wood. If you would like to help increase the number of mahogany tree seedlings on the planet, or just have a hankering for a homegrown tree in your backyard, consider mahogany seed propagation....

What is Microclover? Microclover is a clover plant, which means it belongs to the genus of plants called Trifolium. Like all other clovers, microclover is a legume. This means it fixes nitrogen, taking nitrogen from the air, and, with the assistance of bacteria in root nodules, converts it into a form that is usable by plants. Growing a microclover lawn, one that has a mix of grass and clover, adds nitrogen to the soil and reduces the need for fertilizer....

Symptoms of Cotton Root Rot of Okra Symptoms of Texas root rot in okra generally appear during summer and early autumn when soil temperatures have reached at least 82 F. (28 C.). The leaves of a plant infected with cotton root rot of okra turn brown and dry, but usually don’t drop from the plant. When the wilted plant is pulled, the taproot will show severe rot and may be covered by a fuzzy, beige mold....

Oleander Toxicity Is oleander poisonous? Unfortunately, oleander in the landscape is considered to be highly toxic whether the plant is fresh or dried. The good news is that there have been very few reports of human death due to oleander toxicity, probably due to the plant’s vile taste, says the University of Wisconsin’s BioWeb. The bad news, according to UW, is that many animals, including dogs, cats, cows, horses, and even birds have succumbed to oleander poisoning....

Growing Orange Star Plants Growing orange star plants is very rewarding and not at all difficult. The plants are compact, rarely growing over a foot (31 cm.) tall. In the spring, they put up taller stems that produce dazzling orange flowers that bloom over the course of one to three months. The plant comes back from bulbs each spring, but the bulbs can easily rot if they become waterlogged. If you plant your bulbs in a sandy or rocky area and you live in zone 7 or warmer, the bulbs will probably be fine overwintering outside....

Alternaria Blotch on Orange Trees Alternaria blotch on orange trees is also known as alternaria rot or black rot. It is caused by the pathogen Alternaria citri and is a non-toxic strain of fungus. Alternaria rot can be found on both lemons and oranges. The rot is softer on lemons but more pronounced on oranges, causing hard black spots on the peel. Alternaria blotch on orange and lemon trees can cause the citrus fruit to drop from the tree and develop rotten areas....

The following information will help keep you and your family safe. Is it Safe to Order Garden Supplies? The U.S. Postal Service and the World Health Organization (WHO) have announced that there is very little risk that an infected person can contaminate commercial goods, even when the package is shipped from another country. The chance that COVID-19 will be carried on a package is also low. Due to shipping conditions, the virus is unlikely to survive for more than a few days, and one study by the National Institutes of Health indicated the virus may survive on cardboard for no more than 24 hours....

When to Prune Pitcher Plants If you are wondering when to prune pitcher plants, understand that trimming pitcher plants is not a daily or weekly task. In fact, pitcher plants can go for a long time without requiring a pruning. Sometimes, however, pruning a pitcher plant will increase its vigor and create a fuller plant, and these are the pitcher plant pruning opportunities you want to take advantage of. First, if your pitcher plant blooms, you should prune off the blossoms of a pitcher plant when they wilt, just as you deadhead other plants....

Can You Plant Dracaena Outdoors? Dracaena varieties are among the most popular houseplants because they have gorgeous foliage, come in a lot of different sizes and colors, and because they are difficult to kill. One sure way to kill your dracaena is to plant it outdoors in a climate that is too cold. Dracaena is a tropical plant that won’t tolerate frost. If you live in zones 9, 10, or 11 though, go for it....