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Guava Disease Identification For lucky gardeners who can grow tropical fruits in their home landscapes, there’s little that beats a good guava. Fragrant and tidy, it’s an easy-care plant, most of the time. When you do have sick guava trees, they can become dramatically ill, so guava disease identification with haste is vital. Learning how to treat guava diseases is par for the course if you’re a guava owner, as is being able to detect signs of guava sickness....

Reasons for Hyacinth Plant Flopping There are several reasons that can be attributed to hyacinth plant flopping. Let’s go over the most common causes for hyacinths falling over in the garden: Top Heaviness and Variety– One of the most common complaints when growing hyacinth flowers is floppy stems. Top heavy hyacinth flowers cause the stem to flop over while in full bloom. Some of the taller varieties of hyacinth flowers are naturally prone to flopping....

Ideal Water Temp for Hydroponics Water is one of the mediums used in hydroponics, but it is not the only medium. Some systems of soilless culture, called aggregate culture, rely on gravel or sand as the primary medium. Other systems of soilless culture, termed aeroponics, suspend the plant roots in air. These systems are the most high-tech hydroponics systems. In all of these systems, however, a nutrient solution is used to feed the plants and water is an essential part of it....

Imperial Star Artichoke Info Since Imperial Star artichokes were specifically bred for cultivation as a cold-climate annual, this variety is well adapted for home gardeners who are unable to grow artichokes as perennials. The key to producing buds on annuals is exposing the Imperial Star artichoke plant to nighttime temperatures in the 50- to 60-degree F. (10 to 16 C.) range for a minimum of two weeks. Imperial Star artichoke plants typically produce one to two primary buds up to 4 ½ inches (11....

Throwing an Independence Day Garden Party Here are a some ideas for celebrating 4th of July in the garden: Plants and decorations Don’t overdo it with decorations for your outdoor 4th of July party. Keep in mind that less is more in many situations. If you have outdoor patriotic plants already in pots, put them in a grouping. You can also use inexpensive outer pots in red, white and blue for the occasion and add a flag to coordinate with them....

You can buy “safe” plant pesticides at any garden center, but when you make your own indoor garden pesticides, you know exactly what substances go into the mix. Here are four easy insecticides for indoors. All these indoor garden pesticides can be tweaked to suit your needs, so don’t be afraid to do a bit of experimentation. If you aren’t sure how a plant will react, treat a couple of leaves and wait a couple of days before spraying the entire plant....

How to Grow Saffron Indoors First, when growing saffron indoors, you’ll want to acquire the bulbs. Make sure you buy from a reputable seed house and that the bulbs are saffron crocus and not autumn meadow crocus — Crocus sativus, not Colchicum autumnale. Note: To figure out how many corms to order, the general rule of thumb is three threads per person times the number of people in the family times the number of saffron dishes made per year....

Red wigglers are the key to starting a worm farm, and their habitat can be made with many household items. Curious how to make a worm farm? First, find a good container that will breathe, hold in the worms, and is large enough for the worms and your level of kitchen scraps. The worms will need bedding, a bit of moisture, and the system will also need regular carbon sources to help the nitrogen balance....

Some of the more positive field pennycress facts reveal the plant has twice as much oil as soybeans, helps control some pests, and reduces nitrogen run-off. Yet, they are branded a weed by many farmers and have an invasiveness rank of 42 out of 100 from the Alaska Natural Heritage Program. If the plant is not useful to you and is invading your land, learn how to control field pennycress by first identifying the plant and then choosing your treatment....

What is Sandfood? Rare and unusual plants are found in most natural communities and sandfood is one of them. Sandfood relies upon a host plant for food. It has no true leaves as we know them and grows up to 6 feet (2 m.) deep into sand dunes. The long root attaches to a nearby plant and pirates that specimen’s nutrients. During a walk along the California coast, you may spot a mushroom shaped object....

Epiphyte Mounting Tips There are 22,000 species of epiphytes around the world. Many of these are becoming common houseplants due to their unique beauty but also their ease of care. Mounting these plants is the best way to view them, provides the plant the aerial situation it requires and assists in epiphyte plant care. Choose any mount that is porous and is free of chemicals and salts. Now it is time to take a few epiphyte mounting tips and get creative....

Inkberry Plant Information Inkberry is a type of holly bush that is found wild in many southern bogs and damp woodlands. Its round, dense shape forms a thick hedge when it’s grown in a row. Inkberry holly varieties vary from thick 4 foot (1 m.) versions to the almost tree-like 8 foot (2 m.) tall giants. As the plant grows, the bottom branches tend to lose their leaves, giving the bottom of the plant a bare look....

How to Identify Pups on Succulents There are many cute little names for succulents, especially new ones that grow on adult plants. We might call them babies and refer to the adult as the mom. Botanically, they’re referred to as offsets, as they grow from the mature plant. They are also called pups. This is just another name used to identify these young offsets. Succulent offset info says “an offset is a small, virtually complete daughter plant that has been naturally and asexually produced on the mother plant....

Learn more about this skin problem and how you can manage it while still enjoying hyacinths. What is Hyacinth Bulb Itch? If you have ever handled hyacinth bulbs, you may have experienced some degree of itchiness. Some people may feel nothing, others have a mild reaction, and some experience an intense itchy reaction to hyacinth bulbs. An itchy reaction to bulbs is probably not a true hyacinth skin allergy. While it may be possible to be allergic to substances in the bulbs, most people who get itchy from handling them are experiencing irritation from a mineral known as calcium oxalate....

Ivory Silk Japanese Lilac The Ivory Silk cultivar is loved by many gardeners for its impressive size and glorious flower clusters. The plant can grow to 30 feet (9 m.) tall and 15 feet (5 m.) wide. The cream-colored blossoms arrive in summer. They are very showy and last two weeks on the tree. Though most lilac blossoms have a heady fragrance, the Ivory Silk flowers are much subtler. Ivory Silk Japanese lilac thrives in cooler areas, specifically in USDA plant hardiness zones 3 through 6 or 7....

Today, many gardeners know better. The government at both federal and state levels now lists invasive species so that you can make better choices. Avoid these pretty, but harmful flowering invasive bushes and choose native plants instead. Common Invasive Shrubs Butterfly bush. Native to Asia, butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii) appeared in North America around 1900 and is now recognized as invasive in 20 states. Gardeners like this species because it produces clusters of delicate purple flowers and attracts butterflies....

True scavengers that love meat and sweet food, yellowjackets are a real nuisance at outdoor get-togethers. They become even meaner when colonies are large and food is scarce. So, how to manage yellowjacket pests? Read on. Killing Yellowjackets Here are some tips on yellowjacket control in the landscape: Watch closely for newly started nests in spring. Knock them down with a broom while the nests are still small. Likewise, you can place a bug-zapper near the entrance to the nest....

How to Grow Kiwano Kiwano horned fruit performs best in full sunlight and well-drained, slightly acidic soil. Prepare the soil ahead of time by digging in a few inches of manure or compost, as well as an application of balanced garden fertilizer. Plant kiwano horned fruit seeds directly into the garden after all danger of frost has passed and temperatures are consistently above 54 F. (12 C.). Optimum temperatures for germination are between 68 and 95 F....

Knautia Plant Info Knautia is an easy, long-blooming perennial in the garden. These beautiful plants display large amounts of dark pink to almost red pin-cushion blooms that are a little smaller than those of the Scabiosa plant. The foliage of growing Knautia plants is light and cut beautifully. They are not to be planted singly and must have other Knautias around them so they look “like they belong.” I have never seen (nor do I ever want to see) one Knautia plant all by its lonesome....

Different Types of Kohlrabi Kohlrabi varieties are divided into different days to maturity and color. Most develop a round swollen stem, but some varieties of kohlrabi have a more flattened stem. You can find green, purple, white, and even blue fleshed kohlrabi. There are also kohlrabi plant varieties that are slow to bolt. There are types that are resistant to certain insects, such as cabbage worms. Whatever special requirements you need from your kohlrabi crop, there is probably a variety to suit your preferences....