When to Water Peace Lily Poke your finger into the potting soil to determine if it’s time to water your peace lily. If the soil feels moist to the first knuckle, it’s too soon for watering peace lilies. If the soil feels dry, it’s time to give your peace lily a drink of water. If you like high-tech gadgets, you can use a water meter. However, the knuckle test is just as reliable and considerably cheaper....

Wildflower Growing in Zone 8 Consisting of both annual and perennial plants, wildflowers are plants that grow naturally without human assistance or intervention. To grow wildflowers for zone 8, it’s important to replicate their natural growing environment – sunlight, moisture, and soil type – as much as possible. All zone 8 wildflowers are not created equal. Some may need dry, sunny growing conditions while others are acclimated to shade or damp, boggy soil....

Nectarines in Pots Growing a nectarine tree in the landscape is easy enough but what about nectarine trees for containers? When growing nectarines in containers, you have to accept that your tree won’t get to be as big as it would if it were planted in the ground, especially if you’re planning on moving the tree with the coming and going of winter. The ideal maximum size for a container is between 15 and 20 gallons (57-76 L....

Fertilizing Radish Plants Just before you plant your radishes, you should work some all-purpose fertilizer into the soil. Apply about one pound (0.45 kg.) of 16-20-0 or 10-10-10 fertilizer per 100 square feet (9 sq. m.) of soil. Ideally, you should be planting your seeds in 10-foot (3 m.) long rows spaced 1 foot (30.5 cm.) apart, but you can scale down for much smaller spaces. Mix the radish plant fertilizer into the top 2-4 inches (5-10 cm....

About Pacific Northwest Planting in June The coastal areas and in around Puget sound tend to (or at least they used to) be a bit drizzly yet mild in the spring, but in the mountainous regions of the Pacific Northwest temperatures may still be closer to freezing at night. That means waiting to plant the garden, or having a greenhouse. All that said, if you are not already growing your crops you need to start ASAP....

Sorrel Plant Division Packed with flavor and easy to grow in USDA plant hardiness zones 4 through 9, sorrel produces a bountiful harvest of tangy, pungent leaves every spring. This hardy plant is happy in full sun or partial shade, in any relatively fertile, well-drained soil. Ideally, try for sorrel plant division every three to five years. Don’t wait too long; older sorrel can develop a hefty root system and separating sorrel plants can be a chore....

Varieties of Sweet Potato Here are some common sweet potato types: Covington – Rosy skin with deep orange flesh. Darby – Deep red skin, deep orange flesh, vigorous vines. Jewel – Coppery skin, bright orange flesh, semi-bush. Bunch Porto-Rico – Yellow-orange skin and flesh, compact bush. Excel – Orange-tan skin, coppery orange flesh, average to vigorous vines. Evangeline – Rosy skin with deep orange flesh. Heartogold – Tan skin, deep orange flesh, vigorous vines....

How to Photograph Plants It would seem that moving targets such as pets and kids would be more difficult to photograph than plants, and they generally are, but getting the right shot of your prized dahlia might be tougher than you think. The trick is to take the shot from a different angle or focus on an entirely surprising area of the dahlia. Instead of taking a straight shot of the flower head, maybe take a shot from the side or just focus on the pistil, the center of the flower....

Nyctinastic Plant Info Tropism is a term that refers to plant movement in response to a growth stimulus, like when sunflowers turn to face the sun. Nyctinasty is a different type of plant movement that is related to night and day. It is not related to a stimulus, but is rather directed by the plant itself in a diurnal cycle. Most legumes, as an example, are nyctinastic, as they close their leaves up each evening and open them again in the morning....

South Dakota USDA Plant Hardiness Map Information South Dakota is divided into zones, as seen on the South Dakota planting map above, according to average winter extreme temperatures. The USDA collected data over thirty years for their new plant hardiness map that was released in 2012. South Dakota zones include the chilly regions of 3b, 4a, 4b, and a couple small sections of 5a. With average winter low temperatures possible of -35 degrees F....

Vegetable Planting Guide for Zone 3 Zone 3 is designated by the average lowest temperature reached in winter: between -30 and -40 degrees F. (-34 to -40 C.). While it is temperature that determines the zone, each zone tends to conform to an average date for the first and last frost dates. The average last frost date of the spring in zone 3 tends to be between May 1st and May 31st, and the average first frost date of the autumn tends to be between September 1st and September 15th....

Are Verbena and Lemon Verbena Different? In short, lemon verbena is one of many plants that could be called a verbena. Around 1,200 species are in the Verbenaceae, or verbena plant family. The ones most commonly called verbenas are the roughly 250 species in the genus Verbena. Lemon verbena is a member of a different genus within the Verbenaceae; it’s classified as Aloysia triphylla. Ornamental members of the genus Verbena include common vervain (V....

What to Feed Banana Plants Like many other plants, banana fertilizer requirements include nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. You may choose to use a balanced fertilizer on a regular basis that contains all of the micro and secondary nutrients the plant needs or divide feedings according to the plant’s growing needs. For example, apply high-nitrogen rich fertilizer once a month during the growing season and then cut back when the plant flowers....

What is a Dutch Hoe? Those who haven’t heard of this tool may ask: what is a Dutch hoe? It’s a new take on an old tool that takes the pain out of weeding. A Dutch hoe, also called a push hoe, doesn’t have the typical hoe blade with its 90-degree-angle. Instead, the blade of the Dutch hoe faces forward. If you are wondering how to use a Dutch hoe, it’s not at all difficult....

What is Cachexia Xyloporosis? Not everyone is familiar with the citrus xyloporosis virus, and this includes many who grow citrus crops. So exactly what is cachexia xyloporosis? Cachexia xyloporosis is a plant disease caused by a viroid, a small, infectious RNA molecule. Cachexia, also known as xyloporosis cachexia of citrus, can be identified by distinctive symptoms. These include severe pitting and gumming in the bark and wood. Xyloporosis cachexia of citrus attacks some tangerine species including Orlando tangelo, mandarins and sweet lime....

What is a Sedum ‘Firestorm’ Plant? Firestorm sedum plants (Sedum adolphii ‘Firestorm’) are a special cultivar of the species Golden sedum, a low growing, sun loving, succulent plant. Reaching a maximum height of around 8 inches (20 cm.), this plant spreads out with many rosettes on stems, sometimes ranging to about 2 feet (61 cm.) in diameter. This growth habit makes it ideal for groundcover or pleasantly undulating borders in garden beds....

Causes of Powdery Mildew on African Violets Powdery mildew thrives where conditions are warm and humid and air circulation is poor. Temperature fluctuations and low light can also contribute to fungal disease. Treating African violets with powdery mildew means taking precautions to avoid these conditions. African Violet Fungal Control If your African violets have powdery mildew fungus, you must first isolate affected plants to prevent the spread of disease. Remove dead plant parts too....

What is Radish White Rust Disease? White rust of radishes is caused by the fungus Albugo candida. The disease usually afflicts the leaves, although it may affect other parts of the plant as well. The fungus appears as white, raised spore masses on the underside of the leaves. The area affected may be barely visible to a ½ inch (1 cm.) across or larger. How is White Rust on Radish Spread?...

Why Do Root Vegetables Get Sweeter With Cold? Winter sweetening is a phenomenon you often see in vegetables that grow naturally in cold weather. While the first frost of fall will kill lots of plants, there are many varieties, root crops in particular, that will survive these much colder temperatures. This is due, in part, to their ability to convert starch into sugar. Over the course of the growing season, these vegetables store up energy in the form of starches....

Keep reading for winter container garden ideas. Winter Container Care How do you go about container gardening in winter? It’s true, you won’t be able to grow tomatoes on your doorstep in January. With a little knowledge of the plants you’re working with though, and a lot of ingenuity, you can have beautiful container winter gardens all around your house. The first thing to be aware of is the USDA hardiness zone you live in....