What is Snow Mold? As the snow melts for the last time this spring, you may notice some unusual brown rings and matted areas on your lawn. This is the calling card of one of the more frustrating turfgrass diseases: snow mold fungus. Snow mold in grass is a problem that seems to defy logic entirely. After all, isn’t it too cold under the snow for fungi to grow? Snow mold is actually a group of fungal diseases caused by pathogenic fungi that lie dormant in the soil until the conditions are just right to invade nearby grasses....

Speckled Alder Information Speckled alder trees growing in the wild look a lot like shrubs. According to speckled alder information, these trees do not get above 25 feet (7.5 m.) tall, and can be much shorter. In addition, speckled alder trees usually grow with multiple slender stems like bushes. The common name comes from the fact that the stems, heavily lined with horizontally borne lenticels, appear speckled. Both male and female alder flowers are called catkins....

Flower Gardening with Spring Bulbs There are many types of spring flowering bulbs to choose from. Most people select some of each kind for a brilliant spring display. Tulip – These happy spring flowers are probably one of the more well-known spring bulbs. There are many variations and tons of colors to choose from. These bulbs prefer well drained or sandy soil that is rich in fertilizer. Plant tulips in the fall for spring blooms....

When planting a new pollinator garden, there are a few key factors to take into consideration. One is light. To get a sense for how much light your garden receives, go out on a sunny day and take a picture at 9, noon, and 3. Follow the sun, and see where it goes throughout the day. Some parts of your garden may get full sun, while others may get partial or even full shade....

About Pecans with Stem End Blight This fungus normally attacks during the water stage of growth and progresses. If you look inside before the shell forms, you’ll find a brown liquid that’s not at all appetizing. Not all nuts will be affected, but enough that your harvest can be severely lessened. Sunken, black, shiny lesions appear and spread to the shuck, the result of stem end blight of pecans. The fungus, Botryosphaeria dothidea, is thought to spread by insects as they feed on the nuts....

Stipa grass is also known as nassella, stipa feather grass, Mexican feather grass, or Texas needle grass. Botanically, stipa feather grass is referred to as Nassella tenuissima, formerly Stipa tenuissima. Interested in learning how to grow Mexican feather grass? Read on to learn more. Growing Stipa Grass Plants Stipa feather grass is suitable for growing in USDA plant hardiness zones 7 through 11. Purchase this perennial plant at a garden center or nursery or propagate a new plant by dividing existing mature plants....

What is Sand Storing? Did you know that the American household wastes more food per year than restaurants, groceries, and farms combined? A bountiful fall harvest, although a boon, may lead you to wonder about alternative root vegetable storage. Storing veggies in sand was mentioned above, but what is sand storing? Root vegetable storage, along with other crops such as apples, is not a new concept. Our forefathers, or mothers, used to store root veggies in a root cellar, often nestled in among sand....

Strawberries are prone to attack by a number of pests, so it makes perfect sense to plant them alongside neighbors that help keep invaders at bay. Other strawberry companions provide shade that keep strawberries cool when afternoon sunlight is a little too strong. Strawberries repay the favor by serving as a beneficial living mulch, keeping weeds in check and the soil cool and moist. Wondering what to plant with strawberries?...

Should I Fertilize Sunflowers? Like any plant in the home landscape, deciding how and when to begin feeding sunflower plants will be largely dependent on conditions in the garden. Whether growing sunflowers commercially or in a small row in the backyard, these plants will require ample nutrients. In fact, sunflowers are known to be extremely heavy feeders throughout the growing season. While it is possible to grow them without feeding sunflower plants, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and a wide range of micronutrients will all need to be present in the soil in order to obtain the best results....

Sunroom for All Seasons A sunroom is a glorious place to enjoy your morning cup of coffee, watch the birds, or grow a wide variety of plants. Sunroom plants are a welcome addition to any sunroom, especially in the dead of winter. Sunrooms allow you to grow a wide variety of plants that, otherwise, would not thrive in your particular climate. Some people enjoy bringing patio plants in after the summer heat passes and allowing them to overwinter in a warm sunroom....

Sunspot Sunflower Information Dwarf Sunspot sunflower (Helianthus annuus ‘Sunspot’) reaches heights of only about 24 inches (61 cm.), which makes it ideal for growing in the garden or in containers. The stems are sturdy enough to support the big, golden yellow blooms, measuring about 10 inches (25 cm.) in diameter– perfect for cut flower arrangements. Growing Sunspot Sunflowers Plant dwarf Sunspot sunflower seeds directly in the garden in late spring or early summer when all danger of frost has passed....

An apple tree that not only produces an abundance of fresh fruit but also makes an appealing landscape plant is Sweet Sixteen. Continue reading to learn how to grow a Sweet Sixteen apple tree. Sweet Sixteen Apple Info Sweet Sixteen apples are loved by apple fans because of their sweet, crisp fruit. This apple tree produces an abundance of medium to large mid-season apples. The skin is a blushing pink to red color, while the sweet, juicy, crisp flesh is cream to yellow....

Controlling Ticks in my Garden Ticks can carry lyme disease and other of dangerous diseases, and although there are several types of ticks, they all have eight legs and rounded bodies. Contrary to popular belief, ticks don’t jump or fly and they don’t fall from trees. However, they wait on convenient places such as brush, shrubs or blades of grass, where they are primed to grasp warm bodies that walk by....

How to Grow Chives Indoors A sunny south window offers the six to eight hours of full sunlight needed when growing chives inside. Rotate pots if chives are reaching toward the light. If a sunny window is not an option, chives growing indoors can get the necessary light from a fluorescent fixture 6 to 12 inches (15-30.5 cm.) above the pot. Two 40-watt bulbs work best when growing chives inside. Chives growing indoors appreciate other growing pots close by to provide humidity as well as a fan for air circulation....

Propagating Ligularia by Splitting Dividing perennials can rejuvenate them and stimulate new growth. Sometimes perennials will let you know when they need to be divided by not blooming well or when the center of the plant dies, leaving only a sort of donut shape of growth around the original plant crown. The plant overcrowds itself, and absorption of water and nutrients becomes restricted. Ligularia usually only needs to be divided for these reasons every five to ten years....

Creeping Savory Uses Creeping savory (Satureja spicigera) is a variety of savory herb and, as such, its uses are many. Here are just a few of the most common creeping savory uses in the garden: Traditionally, savory was used to relieve sore throats, coughs, flatulence, diarrhea, menstrual problems, arthritis, and insect bites. It shouldn’t be used by pregnant women. Creeping savory has a flavor similar to thyme or marjoram. It is used either fresh or dried to flavor a variety of foods....

Pruning Walnut Trees Trimming a walnut tree properly is vital to your investment. When you are developing a young walnut tree, you are developing its structure. You need to decide how high up you want the scaffold (side) branches on the trunk. For harvesting nuts, you might start your scaffold branches as low as 4 ½ feet (1.5 m.). For a shade tree, you might start your side branches at 6 to 8 feet (2 m....

What Causes Southern Blight of Tomatoes? Southern blight is caused by a fungus that can live in the top 2 to 3 inches (5-8 cm.) of soil for several years. The disease is unleashed when plant matter is left to decompose on the soil surface. Signs of Southern Blight of Tomatoes Southern blight of tomatoes is generally a problem in warm, damp weather and can be a serious problem in tropical and subtropical climates....

About Potato Spotted Wilt Spotted wilt on potato plants is often mistaken for early blight, another common ailment amongst the Solanaceous plant family. The upper leaves are affected first. The disease spreads through infected seed, insects and weed hosts, especially those in the nightshade family. Tomato spotted wilt virus, or TPWV, was first described around 1919 in Australia. It is now in almost every region of the world, with the exception of very cold climates....

Topsoil vs. Potting Soil When looking into what is potting soil and what is topsoil, you’ll find that they have very little in common. In fact, potting soil may have no actual soil in it at all. It needs to drain well while staying aerated, and each manufacturer has its own special blend. Ingredients such as sphagnum moss, coir or coconut husks, bark, and vermiculite are mixed together to give a texture that holds growing roots, delivering food and moisture while allowing the proper drainage required for potted plants....