How to Make a Cinder Block Garden Using cinder blocks for garden beds is especially nice because you can so easily pick your height. Do you want a bed close to the ground? Just do one layer. Want your plants higher and easier to reach? Go for two or three layers. If you do more than one layer, make sure to place it so that the joints between the blocks in the second layer sit over the middle of the blocks in the first layer, just like in a brick wall....

Raspberry Plant Propagation Raspberries, whether red, yellow, purple, or black, are susceptible to viruses. Resist the urge to propagate raspberries from an existing patch or your neighbor’s garden as these plants may be infected. It is always best to acquire stock from a reputable nursery. Raspberry propagations are available as transplants, suckers, tips, root cuttings, or tissue-cultured plants. How to Propagate Raspberries Raspberry propagations from nurseries arrive in culture vessels, in rooting cubes, or as year old dormant plants....

Growing a Red Jade Vine This tropical plant is suitable for growing in USDA plant hardiness zones 10 and above. Warmth is critical and red jade vine plants are likely to turn yellow and drop leaves if temperatures drop below 55 F. (13 C.). It’s easy to understand why the plant is often grown in greenhouses in cooler climates. Red jade vine plants require moist, rich, well-drained soil. Although partial shade is preferred, red jade vine plants are happiest when their roots are in full shade....

What is a Red Spider Mite? Red spider mites can be one of two kinds of mites, either the European red spider mite or the Southern red spider mite. The most common red spider mite is the Southern variety. The European spider mite is normally only seen on apple trees, while the Southern spider mite attacks a much wider variety of plants. A spider mite is related to spiders and is an arachnid, but is smaller and has only one body section (where spiders have two)....

Redspire Pear Information ‘Redsire’ is an attractive Callery pear cultivar. Its large, showy blossoms are larger than other ornamental pear flowers and are a dramatic, snowy white. Callery ‘Redspire’ pears are deciduous trees, losing their foliage in winter. New leaves grow in a deep purple. They mature to glossy green with a hint of red, then light up your garden in the autumn as they turn yellow, purple, and crimson. Fall color is even better in the southernmost regions....

November Gardening Chores The creation of a regional to-do list will help ensure that growers stay on the path to completion of crucial garden chores before the winter season arrives. Let’s examine these regional garden chores more closely. Northwest As the weather begins to cool and becomes progressively more wet, November gardening chores in the Pacific Northwest include preparing perennial plants for coming cold and possible snow. Mulching will ensure that plants have the best chance of survival into the spring....

When to Start Companion Planting for Rose Bushes With hybrid tea roses, wait a couple years before doing any companion planting, as they need to get their root systems going well prior to adding any competition for water and nutrients. Truthfully, I would apply this same rule to all of the rose bush plantings as a good rule of thumb. Keep in mind that some companion plants can easily become overgrown, thus some maintenance to keep them under control will be required....

If you think you’re seeing powdery mildew on your roses, take a few minutes to learn why it’s there and what can be done about it. Identifying Powdery Mildew on Roses Powdery mildew looks a lot like it sounds – like a fine, soft powder sprinkled on your plant. It’s important to periodically inspect your rose bushes on both sides of the leaves, as well as the stems. This common fungus can spread from the leaves to the stems, and even to the buds themselves....

What is a Sansa Apple? Not everyone is familiar with the delicious Sansa apple. Sansa apple trees produce a delicious, juicy, apple hybrid, resulting from a cross between Galas and a Japanese apple called Akane. Akane itself is a cross between Jonathan and Worcester Permain. If you start Sansa apple tree growing, your orchard will produce some of the first truly sweet apples of the season. They ripen late summer through fall and are ideal for eating right off the tree....

Tips on Installing Plants in Sandy Soil It can be tough finding shade-loving plants for sandy soil. This is due to the challenges with low light and poor soil. If you have just one of these challenges it would be easier, but with both a gardener has to get very creative. Shade and sand plants will not only receive little photosynthesis but will also live in a perpetually dry environment. Don’t despair if this situation is your garden....

Winter’s icy grip can cause potential problems for our plant friends. As long as a plant is used in the correct United States Department of Agriculture zone, it should be able to withstand whatever weather winter dishes out. However, a combination of conditions, sustained cold and ice, and an unhealthy plant can all contribute to winter damage of shrubs even in the correct hardiness zone. Types of Cold Injury in Shrubs The most obvious of the types of cold injury in shrubs is physical....

What Soil Do Bulbs Like? Bulbs like a neutral pH 7.0, which is ideal soil for bulbs. Neutral pH is important in establishing root health and growth. Lower than 7.0 is acidic and higher than this is alkaline, neither of which help the roots develop. The best kind of soil for planting bulbs is sandy loam – a balanced mix of clay, sand, silt, and organic matter. Keep in mind that “balance” is needed as soil requirements for bulbs....

Causes of Southern Peas with Burnt Leaves Leaf discoloration and damage can come from many fronts. It may be disease, insect or animal pests, chemical drift, poor cultivation, bad soil fertility, or pH. The list goes on. Discovering what might be causing leaf burn on southern peas takes a bit of sleuthing. It’s best to start with the most common causes of the problem and see if one of those is the culprit....

Arid, desert-like regions receive blazing sun, cold nights, and very little precipitation. This is a recipe for disaster for Southwest container vegetables without careful preparation and management. The benefits of container gardening outweigh these challenges. They are perfect for smaller sites like patios and lanais, are easy to keep an eye on, and provide a gardening experience for those with limited mobility. Container Vegetables in the Southwest Growing vegetables close to the home keeps them near to hand and within just a few steps for care and harvest....

Proper Eggplant Spacing Eggplant has a growth habit similar to that of a tomato; however, eggplants are planted closer together than tomato plants and some varieties don’t need to be staked. There are even smaller eggplant varietals and ornamentals that can be grown in containers. Either way, the proper spacing between eggplants can be crucial in the amount of fruit they set. How Far Apart to Space Eggplant? Whenever you plant a garden, some consideration and planning should occur in deciding where to set certain plants and drafting how far apart they need to be to maximize the use of the plot....

About Spinach White Rust Disease White rust is a fungal disease caused by the pathogen Albugo occidentalis. There are many strains of Albugo that can affect a wide variety of plants. However, the Albugo occidentalis strain is host specific to spinach and strawberries. Initial symptoms of spinach white rust disease may look very much like the initial symptoms of downy mildew. As the disease progresses, the two become distinguishable by their specific symptoms....

Managing Japanese spirea is reliant on learning about how the plant propagates and distributes. About Spirea Control Japanese spirea is a perennial, deciduous shrub in the rose family. This spirea shrub generally attains a height of 4 to 6 feet (1-2 m.) across and wide. It has adapted to disturbed areas such as those along streams, rivers, forest borders, roadsides, fields, and areas of power lines. It can rapidly take over these disturbed areas and overtake native populations....

Rhubarb Spots on Leaves There are a couple of diseases common to rhubarb, which may result in spots on rhubarb leaves. Usually, leaf spots are more of an aesthetic issue and the unsightly spots don’t affect the edibility of the plant. The two most common diseases seen in rhubarb that result in spotted foliage are Ascochyta rei and Ramularia rei. Ascochyta leaf spot is first seen as small, greenish-yellow blotches, less than ½ inch (1 cm....

Spotted Asparagus Beetles in Gardens Asparagus is a favorite food of two very similar bugs: the asparagus beetle and the spotted asparagus beetle. Of the two, the spotted asparagus beetle is much less of a concern, so it’s important to be able to tell them apart. The asparagus beetle is blue or black with six off-white spots on its back. The spotted asparagus beetle, on the other hand, is a rusty orange color with a varying number of black spots on its back....

Why is Stem Turning Black on Corn Plant? When a dracaena has black stems, it probably means that the plant has begun to rot. This happens because something has weakened the plant enough to allow harmful microorganisms to take over. Here are a few things that can weaken a dracaena: Most people forget to water their plants from time to time, but repeated improper watering over a long period of time can devastate a plant....