Ohio Gardening – About the USDA Plant Hardiness Map Ohio gardeners who want to ensure their perennial flowers, shrubs and trees survive all season should use the Ohio planting map, featured above, as a resource. This map divides the United States into hardiness zones based on weather data collected over the last thirty years by the USDA. The latest map, released at the beginning of 2012, is more detailed and sophisticated than the previous version....

About Miniature Irises It’s still an iris, only smaller. In fact, most dwarf irises only reach about 6 to 8 inches (14-20 cm.) tall, making them ideal for borders or even edging. These tiny wildflower wonders spread through underground rhizomatous stems, filling the garden with their lovely spring blooms. While there are many types of dwarf iris, it’s the dwarf crested iris (Iris cristata) that steals my heart. Dwarf crested iris will blanket the site with flowers that are rich in various shades of purple or bluish colors having white and yellow crested markings....

How to garden like Monet? The brilliant impressionistic artist was a skilled horticulturalists who sought out the finest new plants from around the world. He was bold and unafraid to experiment with texture and color. It probably didn’t hurt that he had eight children, as well as six gardeners to help with his garden in Giverny, France. Have you thought about planting a Monet-style garden? Here are a few tips to pique your artistic creativity....

Morning Glory Watering Needs – Germination Morning glory watering needs are different in the varying stages of their lives. If you want to plant morning glory seeds, you’ll need to soak them for 24 hours before planting. Soaking loosens the hard outer coat of the seed and encourages germination. Once you’ve planted the seeds, keep the soil surface consistently moist until the seeds sprout. Watering morning glories at this stage is critical....

Musk Mallow Info Musk mallow (Malva moschata) was transported to North America by European settlers. Unfortunately, it has become invasive throughout much of the northwestern and northeastern parts of the United States, where it is likely to pop up in roadsides, along railroads and dry, grassy fields. Musk mallow often marks the location of old homesteads. Musk mallow is a hardy plant, suitable for growing in USDA plant hardiness zones 3 through 8....

No Pups on Aloe? How to Get Aloe Pups Like most succulents, aloe tends to produce more pups when the plant is slightly crowded in the pot. If you repot your aloe, make sure the new pot is only slightly larger. How old is your aloe plant? Sometimes an aloe won’t produce pups because it isn’t mature enough. Often, aloe vera pups don’t show up until the plant is five or six years old....

Can you really use nasturtiums for pest management? If you’re fighting pests in your flower garden, you may want to give it a try! Read on to learn more about nasturtium insect management, along with a few helpful tips on how to control pests with nasturtiums. Using Nasturtiums as Pest Control While some gardeners are dubious, many seasoned growers are convinced that nasturtium insect management is a critical aspect of a healthy garden....

What is a Native Plant? The definition of “native plant” depends on who you ask. Even the government agencies responsible for the protection of the environment define it differently. For example, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service defines native plants as “A species that, other than as a result of an introduction, historically occurred or currently occurs in that ecosystem.” Some state agencies have more restrictive guidelines, maintaining that native plants are those that existed in the area before the first European contact....

Herbal Tea for Plants Herbs have been used as restoratives, medicines, and tonics for centuries. Their benefits are un-arguable as evident by store shelves filled with beauty, health, and wellness products containing natural herbs. What’s good for you is also good for your garden. Herbal tea for plants is one way to give your plants a booster shot of well-being with organic, time-honored goodness. Plus, herbs are hardy, easy to grow, and have a host of other uses besides fertilizer....

Nemesia cutting propagation isn’t difficult if you know how to proceed. Read on for information about growing nemesia from cuttings. Nemesia Cutting Propagation Nemesia is the genus of a variety of pretty flowering plants including some perennials and some sub-shrubs. All feature flowers with two “lips” and simple, opposite leaves. These are easy plants to love, and many gardeners who have a few plants in the backyard decide that they would like more....

There is nothing more exciting than the first blooms of spring and few things more discouraging than the failure of a favorite plant to produce flowers. Blind shoots form at the end of many types of plants, resulting in a lack of flowers. Bulbs, like daffodils, also go blind suddenly one season and form copious foliage but no blooms. There are a variety of factors that can cause this. Some of them are correctable and some of them are the capriciousness of nature....

What are Some Non-Plant Alternatives to Grass? Lawn alternatives don’t have to be limited to plants. Hard surfaces such as stones, gravels, or pebbles can be just as effective. All of these provide interesting texture and are available in a variety of colors and sizes that will fit into any landscape design. They are also easy to apply and relatively inexpensive, depending on what you choose and how you use it....

What Are Outdoor Zones? In reference to garden zoning, backyard zones simply refer to the use of different areas for designated purposes. At a basic level, outdoor zones allow landscapers to divide a backyard into multiple interesting “rooms” in order to maximize overall enjoyment. While careful planning is often required to achieve the desired effect, any size garden can be split into several useful areas. How to Divide a Backyard While the concept of splitting a garden may initially seem somewhat daunting, the process is actually quite straightforward....

Overwintering in a Cold Frame There are many types of cold frames, both plain and fancy, and the type of cold frame will determine exactly how much protection it provides. However, the basic premise is that cold frames trap heat from the sun, thus heating the soil and creating an environment substantially warmer than outside the cold frame. Can you place dormant plants in cold frames? A cold frame isn’t the same as a heated greenhouse, so don’t expect to keep tender plants lush year round....

Names of Parade Roses Parade roses are essentially miniature roses. These petite roses come in as many colors and variations as their larger sisters. Some names of parade roses are: Carnival Mandarin Sunblaze Lavender Sunblaze Incognito Vista Baby Boomer Jeanne LaJoie Climber There are many, many more varieties available beyond this for gardeners to grow. How to Care for Parade Roses Growing parade roses is much like growing full size roses....

Diseases of Passion Vines Below you will find information about viral and fungal issues affecting passion vine plants. Viruses Some species of passion vines are susceptible to viruses. Some can catch passion flower vine diseases by being infested with viral infections from chewing insect pests. The worst insect transmitters are several species of aphids. The viral diseases of passion vines are also transmitted by grafting knives, scissors, and pruners. None of the viruses are transmitted through seeds....

Pawpaw Sucker Maintenance In the wild, younger pawpaw trees sucker profusely, forming colonies of naturally cloned pawpaw trees. Pawpaw suckers may sprout up several feet (1 to 2 m.) away from the parent plant’s trunk. By growing like this, older pawpaw trees provide sun and wind protection to tender, young saplings. With more roots, colonized wild pawpaw trees can expand into areas to take up more nutrients and water, while the wide spread of pawpaw thickets can also generate more energy through photosynthesis....

About Pawpaw Tree Pruning Pawpaw trees have grown in North America for centuries, and Indigenous Americans relied on pawpaw fruit for part of their diet. The trees are deciduous and develop purple flowers in spring before leafing. Fruits appear in summer and ripen in fall. They can grow to 6 inches (15 cm.) long and half that wide. Pawpaw trees can grow with a single trunk or with multiple trunks. They also tend to produce suckers and grow in clumps....

Pawpaw Propagation by Seed The most common and successful way of propagating pawpaws is the harvest and planting of seed. In fact, the harvest step isn’t even entirely necessary, as the entire pawpaw fruit can be planted in the ground the autumn, with very good likelihood that it will put up shoots in the spring. If you do wish to harvest seeds from the fruit, however, it’s important to let the fruit ripen to maturity first, as it tends to drop from the tree while still green....

Identifying Pear Oak Root Fungus If a healthy tree suddenly gets limp and lacks vigor, it may be pear armillaria root and crown rot. Pears with armillaria root rot are not going to get better and the disease can be spread quickly in orchard situations. To avoid loss of the tree, site selection, plant resistance and careful sanitation practices may help. The fungus lives in the roots of trees and thrives when soil is cool and moist....