Plants That Mature Fast Bamboo – A fast growing plant that makes a great privacy screen is bamboo. This tall ornamental grass comes in a variety of species, one of which will fit your needs. Be careful though, some varieties of bamboo can be invasive and must be planted with this in mind. Thuja or arborvitae – This evergreen tree is a popular option when it comes to what to plant for privacy....

Well, not always. Once in a while you end up with misshaped cucumbers. Have you ever wondered what could be causing this to happen to the fruit? Read on to learn more. Reasons for a Deformed Cucumber Deformed cucumbers can happen for a number of reasons. Poor pollination – If your cucumber is funny shaped, you might have a problem with pollination. If there is a lack of insects in your garden area because you have been so diligent in removing or destroying them, you might find that there is nothing to pollinate your cucumbers....

Before going into some of the best red flowering houseplants, you’ll need to know a little about how to care for flowering plants indoors. In general, flowering houseplants require a few hours of direct sunshine indoors to do their best. A temperature range of 65-75 F. (18-24 C.) during the day, and a little cooler at night, is appropriate. What Houseplants Have a Red Flower? There are quite a few plants that can be grown with red flowers indoors....

Grape Hyacinth Weeds Grape hyacinth produces numerous seeds once the blooms are spent and bulbets are formed off the parent bulbs for future flowers. This allows grape hyacinth plants to spread rapidly and sometimes out of control. Grape hyacinth weeds infest untilled fields and garden beds alike and may rely upon sequential grape hyacinth control for complete removal. Most grape hyacinth bulbs are planted on purpose with the intention of brightening up the front path or spring flower bed, but the ease with which this plant reproduces can make it a real nuisance in some instances and its invasive abilities are a threat to crop land....

How to Repair Winter Damage Winter injury to roses can come from strong winter winds whipping around the canes of rose bushes. I like to prune my roses down to about half their height for the winter, excluding the climbers and shrub roses. This pruning is done once there has been a string of very cold days and nights that have convinced the bushes it is time to take their winter nap (aka dormancy)....

Cold Hardy Rhododendrons Rhododendrons are found native in temperate regions of the world. They are outstanding performers and landscape favorites due to their large, showy flowers. Most are evergreen and start blooming in late winter well into the summer. There are many rhododendrons for cold climates as well. New breeding techniques have developed several cultivars that can withstand zone 4 temperatures with ease. Zone 4 rhododendrons are hardy from -30 to -45 degrees F....

What are Robber Flies? Robber flies are members of the family Asilidae and distant relatives of the common housefly. Their appearance is somewhat frightening — after all, a big, hairy, humped flying insect isn’t usually a good thing. Robber fly insects are a mixed blessing to gardeners; if they’re seriously perturbed, they can inflict a painful bite, but they also help rid the garden of harmful pests like grasshoppers, other flies, wasps, leafhoppers, white grubs, and pupating beetles....

Advantages and Disadvantages of Growing in Rockwool Safety: Formed from natural materials, rockwool contains no harmful chemicals. It’s safe to use as a rooting medium and substrate material for plants. On the other hand, human exposure to rockwool represents a health issue. Due to its physical properties, rockwool growing medium can cause irritation to skin, eyes and lungs. Sterile: Since rockwool for plants is a manufactured product, it’s contains no weed seeds, disease pathogens or pests....

Read on to see what varieties of yellow rose might suit your needs, brighten your day, and your landscape. Miniature Yellow Roses While every color of rose is a treasure and beauty, yellow rose varieties have the particular ability to make one smile. Maybe it’s their color that mimics that of a “happy face” or reflects the tones of busy honeybees, but whatever the reason, yellow tones in a rose create a perfect foil for other plants....

Tips for Preparing Roses for Winter Starting Care of Roses in Winter Proper care of roses in winter actually starts in summer. I do not feed my roses any further granular fertilizer after August the 15th. One more feeding of a multipurpose foliar applied fertilizer towards the end of August is okay but that is it, the reason being that I do not want the rose bush still growing hard when the first hard freeze comes as that can kill the bush....

Pitcher Plant Flowers Have you noticed something different about your pitcher plant or one from someone else’s garden – something appearing somewhat like a flower? Then the plant is blooming or getting ready to. Flowers of pitcher plants make an appearance in a two- to three-week span of time in April or May, depending on the climate and the specific plant type. The flowers, which look much like upside-down umbrellas, rise above the pitchers, a functional design that serves to protect friendly pollinators from inadvertently getting caught in the pitcher....

Why Do I have Skinny Leek Plants? A member of the Allium family and, thus, related to garlic, onion, shallots, and scallions, leeks are a hardy biennial that is grown as an annual. Wild leeks were used as a food source as early as 4,000 B.C., the Bronze Age. Long popular in European cuisine and sometimes referred to as the gourmet’s onion or the poor man’s asparagus, leeks have grown in popularity in the United States....

About Autumn Brilliance Serviceberries ‘Autumn Brilliance’ serviceberries (Amelanchier x grandflora) are a cross between A. canadensis and A. laevis. Its genus name stems from the French provincial name for Amelanchier ovalis, a European plant in this genus and, of course, its cultivar name is reminiscent of its brilliant orange/red fall hues. It is hardy in USDA zones 4 through 9. The serviceberry ‘Autumn Brilliance’ has an upright, highly branching form that grows from between 15 and 25 feet (4-8 m....

Showy Rattlebox Information Showy crotalaria, also known as showy rattlebox, rattleweed, and cat’s bell, is a plant native to Asia. It is an annual that sets seeds in pods that make a rattling noise when they are dried, hence its common names. Showy crotalaria is a member of the legume family; therefore, it fixes nitrogen in the soil just as other legumes do. It was for this purpose that showy rattlebox was introduced to the U....

Skunk Cabbage Facts So what is skunk cabbage? Skunk cabbage is a perennial wildflower that grows in swampy, wet areas of forest lands. This unusual plant sprouts very early in the spring, and has an odd chemistry that creates its own heat, often melting the snow around itself as it first sprouts in the spring. While the first sprout, a pod-like growth, looks like something out of a science-fiction movie, the skunk cabbage is a plain-looking green plant once the leaves appear....

Getting Rid of Slugs in Container Plants Before resorting to toxic chemicals, try non-toxic solutions to deter slugs from pot plants. Slug Proofing Containers with Copper Copper discourages slugs because the slime from the pest’s body reacts with the copper, which creates an unpleasant electric shock to slugs in container plants. Purchase copper rings large enough to fit around single plants or small plant groupings. You can also place thin, self-adhesive copper tape around containers....

Making Terrariums from Soda Bottles Creating a pop bottle terrarium is easy. To make a garden in a bottle, wash and dry a 2-liter plastic soda bottle. Draw a line around the bottle about 6 to 8 inches from the bottom, then cut the bottle with a pair of sharp scissors. Set the top of the bottle aside for later. Place a 1 to 2-inch layer of pebbles in the bottom of the bottle, then sprinkle a small handful of charcoal over the pebbles....

DIY Slow Release Watering Slow release watering directly at the root zone helps a plant develop deep, vigorous roots, while replenishing the moisture aerial plant tissues lost to transpiration. It can also prevent many diseases that spread in the splashes of water. Crafty gardeners are always coming up with new ways to make DIY slow release watering systems. Whether made with PVC pipes, a five-gallon bucket, milk jugs, or soda bottles, the concept is pretty much the same....

What is Amaryllis Southern Blight Disease? Southern blight of amaryllis is a fungal disease that can affect these plants. The causal agent is the fungus Sclerotium rolfsii. It also causes disease in legumes, cruciferous vegetables, and cucurbits, among many other plants you may have in your garden. There are a lot of different plants, and weeds, that can play host to the southern blight fungus. For amaryllis, you are most likely to see the disease if you grow them outdoors....

About Spider Mites in Trees Although we sometimes call them “bugs” or “insects,” the fact that they have eight legs means that technically, spider mites are more closely related to spiders and ticks. They can seriously damage trees because they are present in large numbers. Each adult female can lay around 100 eggs and, in warm weather, they can have up to 30 generations in a year. The last clutch of eggs overwinters on the trees and waits until warm weather returns to hatch....