Is Creeping Charlie Edible? As a matter of fact, yes, creeping Charlie (also known as ground ivy) is edible. A prime and often cursed at weed of turfgrass and other landscape areas, creeping Charlie is native to Europe and southern Asia but was brought into North America for use medicinally. It rapidly naturalized and is now found everywhere in North America with the exception of the desert southwest and the coldest provinces of Canada....

Avocado Tree Grafting Avocado growers get most of their fruit from grafted avocado trees. Grafting avocado trees is considered necessary in order to obtain a large crop of top quality fruit. Avocado tree grafting isn’t technically necessary to get fruit to grow. However, grafting can speed up the process of fruit bearing. If you grow an avocado tree from an avocado seed, you’ll have to sit with the seedling for six years before you see any fruit....

Can You Grow Horse Chestnuts in Pots? You can start horse chestnut trees in containers and plant them out when the trees are two to three years old. By that point, you would need a super huge pot to continue to grow the tree or it will need to get in the ground. Since the tree develops into a 30 to 40 foot (9-12 m.) specimen, container grown horse chestnut plants will eventually need to be moved to a well-prepared site in the landscape....

Can You Prune Potato Plants? The answer to, “Can you prune potato plants?” is yes, but perhaps that is not the right question. After all, you can pretty much prune anything, although it’s not always the best idea. The correct question is, “Should I cut back the potato plants?” For the most part, potato plants use the nutrients from the foliage to grow healthy spuds. That said, there are some instances where it may be beneficial to prune the tubers to restrain the potato plant growth....

Gardening with Bubble Wrap There are so many ways to repurpose bubble wrap in the garden. For instance, many of us live in climates where temperatures dip during winter months. What better way to protect sensitive plants from the ravages of cold temperatures than with bubble wrap? If you don’t already have some on hand, it comes in easy to handle rolls. It can be stored and reused year after year....

New Zealand Flax Plant Information New Zealand flax plants have two main species in cultivation but numerous cultivars. Cultivars exhibit red, yellow, green, burgundy, purple, maroon, and many more foliage colors. There are even variegated flax for exciting foliar contrast. If plants are in warm enough regions, caring for New Zealand flax is a breeze with few insect or disease complaints and hardy establishment. This flax is named for its fibrous leaves, which were once used to make baskets and textiles....

Are Catnip and Catmint the Same? It can be easy to mistake these two plants as simply different names for the same thing, but they are, in fact, different plants. Both are part of the mint family and both belong to the Nepeta genus – catnip is Nepeta cataria and catmint is Nepeta mussinii. Here are some other differences and similarities between the two plants: Catnip has a weedier appearance, while catmint is often used as a pretty, flowering perennial in beds....

What is a Cherokee Rose? Though it is actually native to China, Taiwan, Laos, and Vietnam, Cherokee rose plants have naturalized in the southeastern United States. Cherokee rose is a climbing rose. In the wild, its stems can grow up to 20 feet (6 m.). In the home landscape, the plants are usually pruned to about 6 feet (2 m.) and grown as hedges. In spring they produce single white blooms with yellow stamens....

Chestnut Blight Facts There is no effective method of treating chestnut blight. Once a tree contracts the disease (as they all eventually do), there is nothing we can do but watch it decline and die. The prognosis is so bleak that when experts are asked how to prevent chestnut blight, their only advice is to avoid planting chestnut trees altogether. Caused by the fungus Cryphonectria parasitica, chestnut blight tore through Eastern and Midwestern hardwood forests, wiping out three and a half billion trees by 1940....

Some people are determined to get rid of the chemicals and are using Vitamin C for chlorine removal. Is it possible to start removing chlorine with Vitamin C? Read on for information about the problems with chlorine and chloramine in water and how Vitamin C can help. Chlorine and Chloramine in Water Everybody knows that chlorine is added to most municipal water – a way to kill off deadly water-borne diseases – and some gardeners do not find this to be a problem....

Why is Wearing a Hat Important? For many people, spending time in the garden is a daily occurrence. Regardless of the temperatures, bright sunny days can be especially harsh on unprotected skin. Harmful UV rays have been linked to skin cancer, as well as early signs of aging (wrinkles). Wearing a hat while gardening is just one way to help protect yourself from the sun’s harsh rays. Choosing a Good Sun Hat When it comes to hats for gardeners, the options are virtually limitless....

Gardening Tasks for Winter: Pruning When cleaning gardens over winter, the first item on the list is to remove all fading annuals and veggies. Ideally, you would perform garden cleaning in the fall, but if the days got away from you, do it now. These may be composted unless they show signs of disease of insect infestation. Next, it’s time for the lopper and pruning shears. If you haven’t done so already, cut back all perennials that either die back in the winter or benefit from dormant pruning....

The Benefits of Leaf Compost Composting leaves makes a dark, rich, earthy, organic matter that can be used like soil. It adds nutrients to the garden soil and the larger particle size helps enhance the tilth and loosen compacted earth. Compost retains moisture and repels weeds when used as a top dressing or mulch. How to Compost Leaves The compost bin doesn’t have to be a complex structure and you can even compost in a pile....

Tomato Anthracnose Information Anthracnose is a disease that can be brought about by a number of different fungi in the genus Colletotrichum. The fungus can infect both green and ripe fruit, though symptoms don’t appear until the fruit begins to ripen. Tomato anthracnose symptoms appear as sunken, watery spots on ripe fruits. As the spots grow, they sink into the fruit and darken in color. Sometimes spores appear as pink masses in the center of the lesions....

Using Crabgrass Prevention to Control Crabgrass The most effective way to get rid of crabgrass is to make sure that you don’t get it in the first place. A healthy and thick lawn is essential to be able to accomplish this. A healthy, crabgrass free lawn will start with proper watering practices. Water your lawn deeply for long periods about once a week. Do not water frequently and shallowly, as this will encourage crabgrass to grow....

Seed Library Info The benefits of a seed lending library are many: it is a way to have fun, build community with fellow gardeners, and support people who are new to the world of gardening. It also preserves rare, open-pollinated or heirloom seeds and encourages gardeners to save quality seeds that are suitable for your local growing area. So how does a seed library work? A seed library takes some time and effort to put together, but the way the library works is very simple: gardeners “borrow” seeds from the library at planting time....

What to Do with Pumpkins After the Holidays The tradition of jack-o-lanterns came to the U.S. via Irish immigrants (though they were actually turnips rather than pumpkins), and while it is a fun and imaginative project, the end result is often tossed out after a few weeks. Instead of throwing the carved pumpkin away, cut it up into pieces and leave it outside for our feathered and furred friends to snack on or add it to the compost pile....

How to Get Rid of Dandelions There are several methods for dandelion control. All methods for dandelion removal must be performed every year. Due to the fact that dandelion seeds can travel several miles on the wind, it is difficult, if not impossible, to have permanent removal of this weed from a garden or lawn. How to Kill Dandelions with Herbicide There are two basic types of herbicide that can be used on dandelions....

Sometimes determining sun density and partial sun patterns can be a difficult thing. Sunlight is necessary for photosynthesis, which is the process by which plants make food that they need to thrive. Most light requirements are listed on seed packets or on the plastic inserts that are found in potted plants. These light requirements are relative to the amount of sun necessary for plant food production. What Is Partial Sunlight?...

Dichondra Plant Info Dichondra (Dichondra repens) is a perennial groundcover plant (in USDA zones 7-11) that has a somewhat upright, creeping habit with circular leaves. It is not usually over 2 inches (5 cm.) in height and retains its bright green color in temperatures as low as 25 degrees F. (-3 C.). When this groundcover becomes full, it appears as a dense, carpet-like grass and is often planted in places where other turf-type grass does not grow well....