Persian ironwood offers year-round interest with showy red flowers in spring and lovely, exfoliating bark on display in winter. Read on for more Persian ironwood facts, including tips on how to care for the tree. Persian Ironwood Facts It will not surprise you to learn that the Persian ironwood tree is native to Iran, modern-day Persia. It is a fairly small tree, topping out at 35 feet (11 m.) but is often seen shorter....
Can You Hard Prune Red Tips? Photinia tolerates even the most severe pruning and grows back looking better than ever. The only problem with hard pruning is that the tender new growth is susceptible to scales and aphids. Keep a bottle of insecticidal soap or horticultural oil on hand and use them according to the label instructions at the first sign of insects. Photinia Rejuvenation Rejuvenate red tip photinia when the shrub doesn’t color up as it should or when it looks overgrown, congested, or straggly with dead areas in the center....
There’s no trick to harvesting mint leaves, the trick might be having enough uses for mint herbs. Keep reading to find out how to harvest mint leaves. When Can I Harvest Mint? Mint is a greedy perennial that at first develops into a tidy, bushy green clump. Of course, the disguise of the well-mannered herb doesn’t last long and soon enough it’s off to conquer the rest of the garden....
Is Pine Straw Good Mulch? Pine straw is freely available in areas with pine trees and is inexpensive to purchase in bales. Pine straw mulch benefits are plentiful and said to help create ideal conditions for acid-loving plants. Some would argue that they may even help acidify alkaline soils, although this has been highly debated, dependent on your location and current soil conditions. Many gardeners find the constant pine needles under their trees an unsightly mess, but using pine straw for garden mulch is effective for winter protection and a host of other uses....
Recognizing Light Plane Tree Winter Damage In winter, plane trees lose their leaves, become dormant, and basically wait until spring for any growth. In some cases, new spring growth has already begun when a frost comes along, and the new shoots get damaged. It is best to wait and see once temperatures warm up before drastically pruning the plant. The only time plane tree winter care should involve pruning is when there is a broken limb that may be hazardous....
Daffodil Flower Bulbs Not Growing If your daffodil bulbs did not come up, there are a number of things to consider. Did you plant the bulbs upside-down? Daffodil bulbs should be planted with the pointy side up. Did you plant too late in the season? The best time for planting daffodil bulbs is fall, between September and Thanksgiving. If you forgot to plant, you can put the bulbs in the ground later, but you probably won’t see much growth the first year....
DIY Eggshell Planters Eggshells are fragile, which makes them so easy to break when you want to cook an omelet. If you are careful though, it’s entirely possible to get plants to grow in an eggshell. The first step in making DIY eggshell planters is to crack the raw egg carefully. Select an egg, then tap it – about two-thirds of the way from the bottom on the side of the bowl....
Causes for Plants Going Brown in Center Crown and Root Rot The center rotting out of a plant is almost always related to crown or root rot. Most plants can’t tolerate a soggy environment, especially those with crowns densely covered with leaves, like African violets. When you keep the soil wet all the time, fungal pathogens take advantage of the humidity that develops under the leaves of these low-growing plants, reproducing rapidly....
Plumbago plants are sprawling shrubs with branches that resemble vines. It is prized for the profusion of blue phlox-like flowers it produces for extended periods of time. It has few pests and diseases are rare. Two additional bonuses are its deer resistance and, once established, these easy-growing shrubs also tolerate drought. How to Grow a Plumbago Plant If you live in a USDA plant hardiness zone of 9-11, caring for plumbago will be much easier, and your selection of where to grow plumbago is endless....
What is Potato Scurf? Potato scurf is an infection of the skin of developing tubers caused by the fungus Helminthosporium solani. Although this disease wasn’t widely recognized until the 1990s, it has quickly become a problem for potato producers everywhere. Even though the fungus is usually confined to the epidermal layer of the potato tuber, it can damage the internal tissue that’s in direct contact with infected skins. Infected potato tubers develop well-defined, tan to silver lesions that may join as they spread across the potato’s surface....
About Artichokes in Pots Artichokes thrive with mild winters and cool, foggy summers where they can be grown as perennials. In these mild climates, USDA zones 8 and 9, artichokes in pots can be overwintered when pruned and mulched. Those in cooler regions needn’t despair; you can still grow artichokes in pots, albeit as annuals which are planted in the spring. In the subtropical regions of zones 10 and 11, container grown artichokes should be planted in the fall....
What is Prairie Grass? Prairie bromegrass (Bromus willdenowii) is native to South America and has been in the United States for about 150 years. It’s also known as Bromus prairie grass, rescue grass, and matua. Found mainly along roadsides, hay meadows, or in pastures, this grass is a cool-season bunchgrass that matures at about 2 to 3 feet (0.5 to 1 m.) in height. Although this grass is a perennial, it acts as an annual in parts of the southeast United States....
Prairie Smoke Plant This interesting looking plant is naturally found growing in prairies within the United States. The plant’s low-growing, fern like, gray-green foliage is semi-evergreen, turning red, orange, or purple in late fall and lasting throughout winter. This wildflower is among one of the earliest blooming prairie plants of spring and continues through summer with nodding rose-pink colored flowers. Blooming is soon followed by the long-plumed seedpods, which look a lot like puffs of smoke—giving the plant its name....
What Causes Sweet Pea Bud Drop? We all hate to see the sweet pea flowers falling off, but it’s even more distressing when the buds drop off before the flowers begin to bloom. Insect invasions and plant diseases don’t cause sweet pea bud drop. It’s simply the result of the weather and environment. You can expect to see sweet peas dropping buds when night temperatures below 30 degrees Fahrenheit (-1 C....
Cassia Tree Propagation Golden shower trees only thrive in very warm temperatures like USDA plant hardiness zones 10b and 11. They do well in southern Florida, Central America, and the Caribbean. In toasty regions, these ornamentals grow quickly to their mature size. They can get as big as 40 feet (12 m.) tall and wide. The trees drop leaves in early spring to prepare for the flowers to come. The golden shower display is most gorgeous in late spring to early summer, when heavy clusters of showy golden blooms cover the branches....
Propagating Epiphytic Plants There are many types of epiphytic plants. Bromeliads are one of the most common houseplants, but you may also come upon epiphytic cacti, Tillandsia, and other species. Each has a different method of reproduction. Knowing how to propagate epiphytic plants will help increase your collection and sustain any favorite specimens. Epiphyte plant propagation is not particularly difficult but there are a few rules to observe, and patience is a virtue....
Chinese Evergreen Pruning Many houseplants require regular or even constant pruning and pinching to keep them looking good. One of the advantages of Chinese evergreens is that they are very low maintenance. As long as you keep these plants in low light areas with temperatures of 65 to 75 degrees F. (18-23 C.), they will likely thrive. Due to the dense leafing of the plant, trimming Chinese evergreens is not a must....
Pruning Fig Trees After Transplanting There are many situations where you might want to prune a fig tree. The first time you should be doing fig bush pruning is when you first transplant your young fig tree. When a fig tree is first planted, you should trim a fig tree back by about half. This will allow the tree to focus on developing its roots and becoming well established. It will also help the fig tree grow side branches for a bushier tree....
When to Prune Sycamore Trees It isn’t absolutely necessary to prune your sycamore, but there are some good reasons to do it. Pruning can help you shape the tree to look a certain way. As a city street tree, a heavy type of pruning called pollarding is used to keep sycamore trees smaller and with a dense canopy. Lighter pruning can be done for a degree of the same effect, but also to thin the canopy and to allow more air circulation to keep the tree healthy and disease free....
When to Prune Thyme Plants The right time to trim thyme will depend on the kind of pruning you plan on performing on the plant. There are four ways of pruning thyme plants and they are: Hard Rejuvenation – Late fall after first frost Light Rejuvenation – After blooming in the summer Shaping – During spring Harvesting – Anytime during active growth (spring and summer) Let’s look at why and how to prune thyme in these different ways....
