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What is a Mexican Aster? The Mexican aster flower is also known as Sulphur cosmos. The story of this latter name is that Spanish priests grew the flower in their missionary gardens in South and Central America. Native to this region they appreciated the perfect placement of the petals on the flowers. They named them the Greek word cosmos, which refers to an ordered universe or universal harmony. Sulphur cosmos belongs to the Asteraceae family of plants....

Growing Shade Flowers in Hanging Baskets Before selecting hanging shade flowers, you’ll first need to ensure that proper growing conditions for each plant will be met. This means that baskets should be filled with well-draining potting soil or a soil blend specific to the particular flower type. Additionally, all plant hooks and hanging equipment should be strong and properly secured. When choosing shade tolerant flowers for hanging baskets, you will also need to determine how much shade the planting area actually receives....

Choosing Evergreen Vines for Zone 6 Semi-evergreen or semi-deciduous, by definition, is a plant that loses its leaves for only a short time as new leaves form. Evergreen naturally means a plant that retains its foliage throughout the year. Generally, these are two different categories of plants. However, some vines and other plants can be evergreen in warmer climates but semi-evergreen in cooler climates. When vines are used as ground covers and spend some months beneath mounds of snow, it may be irrelevant whether it is semi-evergreen or a true evergreen....

Hardy Magnolia Trees Lots of gardeners think of the spreading magnolia as a tender plant that only thrives under southern skies. The truth is very different. Cold hardy magnolia trees exist and thrive even in zone 4 backyards. U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zone 4 includes some of the coldest regions of the nation. Yet, you’ll find a number of magnolia trees in zone 4 gardens. The key to growing magnolia trees in zone 4 is to pick cold hardy magnolia trees....

What’s more, the fronds will dry and last into the winter, making for an even more welcome splash of color. How can you make sure you’re getting the most out of your astilbe blooms though? Keep reading to learn more about how to fertilize astilbe plants. Fertilizer for Astilbe Plants Feeding astilbe is a very low impact process. Astilbe is a perennial and it really only needs a yearly application of a basic slow release flowering perennial fertilizer....

Why Pruning Impatiens is Important Not only to impatiens flowers fill in shady areas, but they are pretty low maintenance. They need regular waterings but, otherwise, you mostly don’t have to do anything with them for long periods of time. One thing you may want to do occasionally, however, is pruning or cutting back impatiens. About mid-season, you may notice your impatiens getting a little leggy, meaning their stems get quite long and weak and develop fewer flowers....

Why Did My Chard Bolt? Bolting occurs when a vegetable or herb starts to rapidly produce flowers, and this typically makes it inedible. A common cause of bolting is heat. Generally speaking, chard is a plant that does not bolt in the heat of summer, but it can happen. Ruby red and Rhubarb varieties are more inclined to bolt, and they may do it if they were exposed to frost by being planted too early....

Italian Cypress Information These cypress trees grow in a very upright columnar shape. In fact, Italian cypress can get to 70 feet (21 m.) tall or even taller. On the other hand, they only grow between 10 and 20 feet (3-6 m.) wide. Anyone growing Italian cypress knows that these trees shoot up rapidly in the right location, often growing up to 3 feet (.9 m.) per year. How to Grow an Italian Cypress If you want to grow an Italian cypress, first determine if your climate will allow these trees to thrive....

What is Ithaca lettuce? Ithaca lettuce plants are an open pollinated, crisphead lettuce cultivar developed by Dr. Minotti of Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York. Ithaca produces typical iceberg tightly wrapped heads about 5.5 inches (13 cm.) across that stay firm and crisp. They produce excellent, crisp leaves suitable for sandwiches and salads. This cultivar has been a popular variety for eastern commercial growers for some time but will work easily in the home garden as well....

Why is Controlling Wild Violets So Difficult? Wild violets are cool season perennials that grow best in shady, moist soil. There are three problems with these tough little plants that make killing wild violets so difficult. Wild violets have two types of flowers — the pretty purple ones that children gather for their mothers and the plain, unopened ones that shelter beneath leaves that protect them from most types of wild violet control....

What are Leafrollers? Leafrollers are small caterpillars, reaching about an inch (2.5 cm.) in length, often with dark heads and bodies in colors ranging from green to brown. They feed inside nests made from leaves of their host plants, rolled together, and tied with silk. Once inside their leaf nests, leafrollers chew holes through the tissue, sometimes adding more leaves to the nest to keep themselves protected from predators. Leafroller damage is usually minor, but some years it may be quite severe....

How to Grow a Lotus Plant Growing lotus plants requires a certain amount of diligence. The plants will spread quickly and easily if grown in the soil, so it’s best to plant them in containers. Make sure your container has no drainage holes – lotus roots can easily escape through them, and since your container will be underwater, drainage is a non-issue. If you’re growing lotus plants from rhizomes, fill a container with garden soil and lightly cover the rhizomes, leaving the pointed tips slightly exposed....

Healthy sago leaves are a deep green. If you notice your sago leaves turning yellow, the plant may be suffering from nutrient deficiencies. However, yellow sago palm fronds may also indicate other problems. Read on for information about what to do if you see your sago leaves turning yellow. My Sago Palm is Turning Yellow If you find yourself complaining that “My sago palm is turning yellow,” you may want to start fertilizing your plant....

Neptune Tomato Info What is a Neptune tomato? The tomato “Neptune” cultivar is relatively new on the tomato scene. Developed by Dr. J. W. Scott at the University of Florida’s Gulf Coast Research and Education Center and released to the public in 1999, it is bred specifically to stand up to hot and wet summers in places like the Deep South and Hawaii, where tomatoes are famously hard to grow. This tomato plant performs well in hot weather, which is a must....

Avocado You can grow an avocado tree just from the pit! Remove the pit from the avocado, rinse it, and soak it in a bowl of water for an hour. Then stick three toothpicks in it in the shape of a triangle, and rest it on a cup of water so just the flat bottom is submerged. Leave it in a warm and bright area, and soon it should crack open and grow roots!...

Growing Fruit Trees Fruit trees require full sunlight and well-draining soil in order to thrive. If planting more than one tree, be sure to leave adequate space in between for airflow. Young trees should be pruned to help them develop a framework with a strong central leader and reduced vertical growth. When Should Pear Trees Bear Fruit? A tree purchased at a nursery is usually one or two years old. The time that it takes a tree to mature enough to produce fruit depends on the variety of tree....

What Causes Pea Streak in Plants? If you aren’t quite clear on this disease, you may still be asking “what is pea streak virus?” It’s a virus that infects pea plants, causing them to develop bruise-colored streaks extending the entire length of the stem. According to pea streak virus information, this is not a rare disease. Pea streak in plants is quite widespread in pea-growing areas, especially in pea crops growing at the end of the season....

Waterlogging Peach Tree Problems While most crop plants prefer not to have standing water, some can tolerate it better than others. Peach trees are not on that list. They are very sensitive to waterlogging. Standing water around the roots of a tree can cause serious problems. The main issue is that the waterlogging creates an anaerobic environment for the roots. Roots need access to oxygen in the soil to be healthy and to grow....

Additionally, a pecan tree with Spanish moss may suffer broken branches if the weight of the moss is great, especially when the moss is wet and heavy after a rainfall. A thick growth of Spanish moss can also prevent sun from reaching the leaves. Read on and learn what you can do about pecans and Spanish moss. Managing Pecans and Spanish Moss Currently, there are no chemical herbicides labeled for controlling Spanish moss on pecans in the United States, although some growers report success by spraying copper sulfate, potassium, or a mixture of baking soda and water....

Griselinia Growing Season Griselinia littoralis is grown for its evergreen foliage, which looks neat and tidy all year long. The shrub produces tiny greenish yellow flowers in spring, but they are seldom noticed. If you’ve planted both a male and female plant, the flowers are followed by purple, berry-like fruit. Griselinia self-seeds as the fruit drops to the ground. Spring and fall are good times for planting griselinia shrubs. Plant the shrub in a hole as deep as the root ball and twice as wide....