Why Do My Roses Have Holes in the Leaves? Holes, rips, or tears in rosebush leaves can be caused in different ways. In some cases, the wind whips the foliage so hard that the leaves will get puncture wounds in them from their own thorns. Small pea-sized hail will also cause holes, rips, or tears in the foliage. Larger hail stones can totally defoliate a rosebush and break off canes as well....

How and When to Harvest Salsify Root Salsify is ready for harvest in the fall when the foliage dies. The flavor is improved if the roots are exposed to a few frosts before harvesting salsify. Dig them with a garden fork or spade, inserting the tool deep enough into the soil that you don’t cut the root. Rinse off the excess soil and then dry the salsify roots with a kitchen or paper towel....

Terms Related to How to Germinate Seeds Viability– When talking about seed germination, viability will refer to the chance that the seed will be able to germinate. Some seeds can sit for years and still have a high viability. Other seeds, though, may lose viability within hours of being removed from the fruit. Dormancy– Some seeds need to have a certain amount of rest time before they can be germinated. A seed’s period of dormancy sometimes also coincides with a stratification process....

Can You Grow a Cherry Tree Pit? Yes indeed. Growing cherry trees from seed is not only an inexpensive way to grow a cherry tree, but it’s also lots of fun and delicious! First, can you grow a cherry tree in your region? Cherry varieties are hardy through USDA plant hardiness zones 5 to 9, depending upon the type. Now comes the hard part. Eat some cherries. That’s a tough one, huh?...

Should I Fertilize Zucchini? As with any fruiting plant, zucchini can benefit from additional feedings. How much and when to apply zucchini plant fertilizer will depend on how well the soil was prepared prior to sowing or transplanting. For optimal production, zucchini should be started in rich, well-draining soil in an area of full sun. Summer squashes are heavy feeders, but if you are lucky enough to have nutrient rich soil, you may not need any additional feeding of zucchini plants....

Do You Prune Mums? ‘Should I prune mums?’ remains one of the most frequently asked questions among first-time chrysanthemum growers. The answer to whether or not you should prune back mums will depend greatly upon the planting process. Each autumn, potted chrysanthemums can be found on offer at garden centers and nurseries. Already in bloom, these plants have already been pruned in order to produce the desired size and shape during the flowering window....

Showy Mountain Ash Information While ash trees grow very tall in cool and moderate hardiness zones, mountain ash are much smaller. They are not in the same genus as ash trees and are native to the northern states. Showy mountain ash trees grow to about 30 feet (9 m.) tall and about half to three-quarters that wide. Their branches grow in an ascending direction and start from very low on the trunk....

Growing Saw Palmetto Trees Although the slow-growing silver saw palmetto palms can spread 20 feet (6 m.) wide, the typical size is 6 feet by 8 feet (2 m. x 2.5 m.) They have stiff, 3 to 6-foot (1-2 m.) long, silvery-green, fan-shaped leaves. The stems and trunks often grow horizontally along the ground. Silver saw palmetto palms produce fragrant, yellowy-white flowers in the spring followed by berry-like fruit, which ripens into a blue-black color....

How Do I Propagate Snapdragon Plants Snapdragon plants can be propagated from cuttings, root division, and from seed. They cross-pollinate easily, so if you plant the seed collected from a parent snapdragon, the resulting child plant is not guaranteed to be true to type, and the color of the flowers might be completely different. If you want your new plants to look the same as their parent, you should stick to vegetative cuttings....

How to Recognize Phylloxera Symptoms Grape root aphids are not actually aphids. They are simply small insects that look like aphids and cause great destruction to their host plant – grapes. Grapevine aphids are scientifically known as grape Phylloxera or Daktulosphaira vitifoliae. They are small insects, which overwinter as nymphs on grape roots beneath the soil. In spring, when soil temperatures stay consistently around 60 degrees F. (16 C.), the insects become active, feeding on grape roots, maturing into adults, and then breeding....

What is Sooty Mold? Sooty mold is a type of plant mold. It is a type of mold that grows in the honeydew or secretion of many common plant pests, such as aphids or scale. The pests cover the leaves of your plant in honeydew and the sooty mold spore lands on the honeydew and begins to reproduce. Symptoms of Sooty Plant Mold Growth Sooty mold looks a lot like the name implies....

South African Persimmons African persimmon, or jackalberry persimmon trees (Diospyros mespiliformis), are also sometimes referred to as African ebony. This is due to their renowned dense, fine-grain, dark wood color. Ebony is prized for use in the making of musical instruments, such as pianos and violins, and wood carvings. This heartwood is very hard, heavy, and strong – and is resistant to the termites it’s surrounded by. For this reason, ebony is also prized for use in floors and high-quality furniture....

About South Central Fall Planting The U.S. has many gardening regions. What and when to plant for southern winter crops vary but typical fall crops for South Central U.S. include frost-tolerant vegetables such as: Beets Broccoli Brussels sprouts Cabbage Carrot Cauliflower Chard Collard Garlic Kale Lettuce Mustard Onion Parsley Spinach Turnip Frost-susceptible vegetables include: Beans Cantaloupe Corn Cucumber Eggplant Okra Peppers Irish potato Sweet potato Squash Tomato Watermelon Group those together so they can be removed easily after a killing frost....

Azalea Color Change There are over 10,000 cultivars of azalea. The huge diversity of size and color as well as the plant’s shade loving nature have made azaleas one of the premier landscape shrubs in many regions. Sometimes, the plants are observed having different colored azalea blooms. What can account for this since azaleas do not change flower color as they age? The anomaly is likely the result of a sport, one of nature’s little jokes as it continues to increase diversity in the world....

String Trimmer Information A weed eater is a hand-held tool consisting of a long shaft with a handle on one end and a rotating head on the other. The tools are sometimes called string trimmers or line trimmers because they cut down plants with rotating heads that feed out plastic string. Regardless of what you call a weed eater, they are very useful garden tools for those with large backyards or lawns....

How to Grow Watermelons on Trellises Space is at a premium and getting more so. Population density has more of us living in townhouses or condominiums with little to no garden space. For many, lack of space isn’t a deterrent but a challenge when creating a garden and that’s where vertical gardening comes into play. Quite an array of veggies can be grown vertically, but one of the most surprising is watermelon trellis growing....

Symptoms of Disease in Lychee Though the glossy, green foliage of lychee trees is resistant to many fungal diseases, they can still experience their fair share of disease related problems. Many of these problems stem from growing lychee trees in unsuitable locations. Lychee trees grow best in the subtropics where there are periods of warmth, but also periods of cool (not cold) weather. Lychee trees need a period of about three months of dry, cool (not freezing) winter weather for the plants to go semi-dormant and to control disease spread....

What to Do with Tigridia Bulbs in Winter? In many ways, Tigridia is quite resilient. It can tolerate heat and humidity, full or partial sun, and a gamut of soil pH conditions. The bulbs cannot, however, survive in wet soil or freezing temperatures. Tigridia, also referred to as tiger flower, peacock flower, and jockey’s cap lily, is native to warmer latitudes like Mexico, Guatemala, San Salvador, and Honduras. This means the bulbs need to be protected from cold temperatures....

How to Make a Tomato Cage Making tomato cages is not too difficult. If you’re growing a small, bush-like tomato plant, a small cage (purchased from most garden centers) or even a tomato stake should be adequate. However, larger tomato plants require something a bit sturdier, such as homemade wire cages. In fact, some of the best tomato cages are homemade rather than purchased. Depending on the materials or method used, building tomato cages is relatively inexpensive....

Any gardener who has seen the beauty of crepe myrtles has probably wondered if they can grow one themselves. Unfortunately, only people who live in USDA zone 6 or higher can grow crepe myrtles in the ground. But, for those Northern climated people, it is possible to grow crepe myrtles in containers. What to Grow Crepe Myrtles In? The first thing to keep in mind when you are thinking of planting crepe myrtles in containers is that a full-grown tree will need a rather large container....