Winter Decorating with Succulents One of the great things about using succulents as holiday or seasonal decorations for the home is being able to use them afterward. If you start with cuttings, you can continue to grow them outside or in containers as houseplants when there is no longer need for the decorations. If this is your plan, avoid using hot glue or any other methods that might damage the plant, preventing future growth....

How to Make a Seeder A simple homemade garden seeder can be constructed from a variety of materials, many of which may be laying around the garage. A variety of garden seeder instructions can be found on the internet, but the basic design is the same. When making a seed planter, start with at least a ¾-inch (2 cm.) hollow tube. That way, the interior circumference will be large enough for bigger seeds, like lima beans and pumpkins....

Hornbeam Tree Info Hornbeams, also known as ironwood and musclewood, get their common names from their strong wood, which rarely cracks or splits. In fact, early pioneers found these trees ideal for making mallets and other tools as well as bowls and dishes. They are small trees that serve many purposes in the home landscape. In the shade of other trees, they have an attractive, open shape, but in sunlight, they have a tight, dense growth pattern....

In this Beginner’s Guide to Houseplants, you’ll find info on good plants to start with, as well as how to care for your houseplants, and diagnose and treat common problems. Basic Houseplant Growing Tips General Houseplant CareTips for Healthy HouseplantsIdeal Houseplant ClimateRepotting HouseplantsChoosing the Best ContainersSoil for HouseplantsKeeping Houseplants CleanRotating HouseplantsMoving Indoor Plants OutsideAcclimating Houseplants for WinterHouseplant Pruning GuideReviving Overgrown PlantsRoot Pruning HouseplantsKeeping Houseplants Through WinterPropagating Houseplants from SeedsPropagating Houseplant DivisionsPropagating Houseplant Cuttings and Leaves...

How Do Air Plants Reproduce? Air plants, which belong to the genus Tillandsia, reproduce like other flowering plants. They produce flowers, which leads to pollination, and the production of seeds. Air plants also produce offsets– new, smaller plants that are known as pups. Air plant pups will form even if the plant has not been pollinated. Without pollination though, there will be no seeds. In the wild birds, bats, insects, and wind pollinate air plants....

What is a Bioretention System? Rain gardens are an important part of channeling and managing rain water. A bioretention system or stormwater planter is an innovative way of not only holding that water but allowing it to be purified before it is allowed to return to ground water or piped to main wild water sources. A bioretention planter also adds lively appeal to landscaping when appropriate filtering plants are present. A bioretention planter is a contained area with a flat bottom that is filled with plants....

About Nightshade Weeds The nightshade family has many members, all having toxic properties. While some nightshade plants include those in which we commonly cultivate in gardens, like tomatoes and potatoes, it’s the weedy, creeping varieties that are most likely to cause issues in the landscape. Some of the more common of these nightshade weeds include: Climbing nightshade (Solanum dulcamara), or bittersweet, is a trailing/climbing perennial with bluish purple flowers and bright red berries....

Two Kinds of Pepper Plant Pruning First of all, we should make it clear that there are two ways for pruning bell peppers. The first way for pruning pepper plants is early season pruning and the second is late season pruning. We will look at the benefits of both of these. Early Season Pepper Plant Pruning When it comes to bell peppers, pruning at the beginning of the season, before the plant has set fruit, is supposed to help increase yield....

Step-by-Step Instructions Stem Cutting Rosemary Rosemary cuttings are the most common way to propagate rosemary. How to Propagate Rosemary with Layering Propagating a rosemary plant through layering is much like doing so through rosemary cuttings, except the “cuttings” stay attached to the mother plant. How to Propagate Rosemary with Rosemary Seeds Rosemary is not typically propagated from rosemary seeds due to the fact that they are difficult to germinate.

How to Transplant Butterfly Bushes Transplanting a butterfly bush requires some preparation of the new location. Butterfly bushes prefer moist, well-drained soil in partial to full sun. For best results, amend the soil with compost prior to planting. After transplanting, there is little in the way of maintenance for butterfly bushes’ care. Transplanting is much the same as for any other shrub or small tree. Gently dig the butterfly bush plant up from its current location....

What Can I Plant with Jalapeno Peppers? Some good jalapeno companion plants are those that improve the flavor of the peppers. Basil, in particular, improves the flavor of all pepper varieties, jalapenos included, if it is planted nearby. Jalapeno companion plants that improve the overall health of the peppers include chamomile and marigolds, which release a chemical into the ground that drives away harmful nematodes and eelworms that prey upon pepper plants, among others....

About Feather Reed Grass ‘Avalanche’ Feather reed grass is a group of nearly 250 species of ornamental grasses that are native to wet and temperate regions. They form dense clumps of grass that stand perfectly upright, and they produce flower stalks and plumes in the summer. ‘Avalanche’ is a cultivar of a hybrid species of feather reed grass that is native to Europe and Asia. When growing avalanche grass, expect the tight clumps to grow to 18 to 36 inches (0....

Overwintering Lantana Plants Lantana (Lantana camara) is native to Central and South America. However, it has naturalized in the southeast part of the country. Lantana grows to 6 feet (2 m.) tall and 8 feet (2.5 m.) wide, with dark green stems and leaves and the familiar clusters of flowers in shades of red, orange, yellow and pink. These blossoms cover the plant all summer long. When you worry about caring for lantana plants over winter, remember that lantana can grow outdoors all winter long in U....

Lavandin Information Lavandin is related to the common lavender. What is lavandin? French lavender plants are sterile hybrid crosses between English lavender (L. augusifolia) and Portuguese lavender (L. latifolia). The result is Lavandula x intermedia, or lavandin. There are many uses for lavandin, most in the cosmetics industry, due to the high amount of aromatic oils in the plant. Lavandin only produces flowers once per year, but the plant is filled with blooms and flowers which have a higher camphor content than English lavender....

How to Tell When a Pumpkin is Ripe Color is a Good Indicator Chances are that if your pumpkin is orange all the way around, your pumpkin is ripe. But on the other hand, a pumpkin doesn’t need to be all the way orange to be ripe and some pumpkins are ripe when they are still completely green. When you are ready to harvest a pumpkin, use other ways to double-check whether it is ripe or not....

Why a Leek Plant Flowers and Bolts When many plants bolt or go to seed, like broccoli or basil, it is due to warm temperatures. With leeks, it’s different. When leeks go to seed, it is normally due to being exposed to optimal temperatures followed by cold temperatures. In other words, a leek flowering is due to cold weather, not warm weather. When a leek flowers, it causes the neck or lower stem of the leek to become woody and tough and the leek will become bitter....

What Causes Fruit Drop in Lemons? Generally, you may see lemons falling from trees if the tree sets more fruit than it can support. A lemon tree normally goes through three periods of fruit drop. The first drop occurs when 70 to 80 percent of the flowers fall from the tree without ever setting fruit. A week or so later, pea-sized fruit drop from the tree. The third drop occurs in spring when the fruit is about the size of a golf ball....

Lettuce Types for the Garden The five varieties of lettuce that can be grown in the garden include the following: Crisphead or Iceberg Crisphead lettuce, more commonly known as iceberg, has a tight head of crisp leaves. Often found in the local salad bar and a virtual staple in the delicious BLT, it’s actually one of the more difficult lettuce varieties to grow. This lettuce variety is not fond of hot summer temps or water stress and may rot from the inside out....

What is Lewisia? Lewisia is hardy in USDA zones 3 to 8. There are several species available and this native of North America performs well in alpine gardens, rockeries, planters, or even along a gravel path. Lewisia bitterroot plants are herbs with medicinal uses and a name straight from history after Meriwether Lewis, the famed explorer. An interesting bit of Lewisia plant info includes its status as the Montana state flower....

How Much Water does a Plane Tree Need? As with all trees, the age of the plane tree dictates the amount of watering it requires, but that isn’t the only factor to consider regarding plane tree irrigation. The time of the year and weather conditions are, of course, a huge factor when determining a plane tree’s water needs. Soil conditions are also a factor when determining when and how much water a tree needs....