When to Repot a Sago Palm How do you know when to repot a sago palm? Often, the plant itself will tell you. Sago palms’ roots are surprisingly large for the size of their foliage. Even if your palm looks modest above ground, you may notice roots escaping through drainage holes, water taking a long time to drain, or even the sides of your container bulging out. This means it’s time to repot!...

How to Handle Problems with Seaside Gardening Seaside gardening issues are a direct result of constantly fluid conditions mostly resulting from wind, salt, and sand assaults. The goal then of coastal landscaping is to ensure continuity of the landscape, preservation of the delicate ecosystem, habitat for wildlife, and minimization of storm and other erosion damage– including flooding. Remedies for Seaside Gardening: Windbreaks Before picking and planting anything in the coastal garden, it may be advisable to plant or construct a windbreak....

Winter Pollen Issues Even though the usual pollen allergy suspects, blooming plants, are gone for the season, that doesn’t mean that pollen isn’t still a problem for susceptible individuals. Mountain cedar trees, found primarily in South and central Texas, are a type of juniper that pollinates in the winter, often triggering seasonal plant allergies. From December through March, these winter allergy plants send up great clouds of “smoke,” actually pollen, and it is a major cause of hay fever....

Trees That Grow in Shade Few, if any, trees do better in shade than in sun, but many tolerate shade. When you are growing trees in shade, it is easiest to find trees that accept light shade. It is hardest to find good tree choices for heavy shade areas. If you search for a tree for a light-shade area, you have many to choose from, including evergreens, conifers, and deciduous broad leaf....

How Can You Tell Plants Have Too Much Water? The signs of an overwatered plant are: Lower leaves are yellow Plant looks wilted Roots will be rotting or stunted No new growth Young leaves will turn brown Soil will appear green (which is algae) The signs of plants affected by too much water are very similar to plants that have too little water. Why are Plants Affected by Too Much Water?...

Silky Dog Information Silky dogwood (Cornus amomum) is named for the silky gray hairs that cover the undersides of leaves and twigs, which turn purplish in spring and reddish brown in autumn. It is from these silky hairs that make silky dogwood identification fairly easy. Clusters of tiny creamy white flowers bloom in late spring and early summer. The plant is often found in shade or semi-shade but tolerates moderate sunlight....

Skeleton Flower Info The flora of Asia provides a distinctive flavor to the home landscape. Planting skeleton flowers brings in the ambiance of Japan, China, Honshu, Hokkaido and the Yunnan province. These regions provide the mountainous wood habitat necessary for skeleton flower growing conditions. These plants have a secret. When mountain rains arrive, the lovely blooms turn clear, glowing with pearly iridescence. Diphylleia grayi is a deciduous perennial which dies back in winter....

Sky Plant Bromeliads Bromeliads are found in most areas of the world but are mostly tropical to subtropical plants. They grow without root support in soil and can even be found in habitat hanging from trees. Tillandsia sky plant is a member of this family and produces a rosette form of leaves that funnel to a central core. The plant is native from Mexico to Nicaragua and naturally grows on trees and even rock faces....

Growing Society Garlic Society garlic care is minimal in USDA gardening zones 7-10, where it is hardy. Growing society garlic produces sweet-smelling flowers with stems that smell faintly of garlic when crushed. Society garlic flowers bloom in a tubular shape with 8 to 20 flowers on each cluster. Flowers widen to an inch (2.5 cm.) on this long-lived perennial, which spreads slowly and is not invasive. Of the Amaryllis family, society garlic flowers may be lavender, variegated or pink in color....

What is Spinach Blight? Fresh spinach is nutritious, delicious and a speedy grower. From seed to table, it usually only takes just over a month before you can start harvesting the tender, sweet baby leaves. Spinach blight is an issue that can rapidly decimate your tasty crop. What is spinach blight? It is a virus that is spread by leafhoppers, aphids, and cucumber beetles. There is no treatment for the disease, so prevention is your best option....

How to Stake Pepper Plants Staking pepper plants may not be a requirement for growing them in your garden, but it has its advantages. Not only does pepper staking help support plants, keeping them upright, but pepper staking can also reduce sunscald on fruits and helps keep them off the ground, where they are susceptible to pests or rotting. The best way to stake peppers is to drive a wooden or metal stake next to the plant or every 3 to 4 feet (0....

What is a Star Magnolia? The star magnolia (Magnolia stellata) is known as a small tree or large shrub that is native to Japan. The habit is oval with low branches and very close-set stems. There are many cultivars available such as Centennial, which grows to 25 feet (7.5 m.) and has white flowers with a pink tinge; Rosea, which has pink flowers that fade to white; or Royal Star, which reaches a mature height of 20 feet (6 m....

What is Pit Split in Stone Fruit? About 40 days after the tree blooms, the pit inside the fruit begins to harden. At this point the flesh adheres to the pit tightly. Anything that causes rapid swelling and growth of the flesh exerts pressure on the pit. If the fruit swells before the bond between the pit and the flesh weakens, the pit may be pulled apart. If the fracture occurs along the suture line that runs down the side of the pit, the result is pit split....

What is a Strap Leaf Caladium? Caladium plants are known for striking foliage. The large, heart or arrow-shaped leaves come in a range of colors and patterns. Native to the subtropics, these plants generally thrive best in warm and shady spots. Varieties that can tolerate more sun are called strap leaf caladium. If you admire these gorgeous plants but have little shade, try one of several strap leaf varieties. Like the fancy leaf varieties, they look nice in mass plantings, around trees, and they pair well with begonias, ferns, and impatiens....

Growing Conditions for Strawflowers Strawflowers (Helichrysum bracteatum syn. Xerochrysum bracteatum) are members of the daisy family and growing conditions are similar. They are well-suited for the sunniest spot in your garden. Strawflowers are heat tolerant and they grow in nearly any well-drained soil. How to Grow Strawflowers It’s easy to plant strawflower seeds directly in the garden after you’re sure all danger of frost has passed. Dig the soil to a depth of at least 8 to 10 inches (20....

Varieties of Sweet Potato Here are some common sweet potato types: Covington – Rosy skin with deep orange flesh. Darby – Deep red skin, deep orange flesh, vigorous vines. Jewel – Coppery skin, bright orange flesh, semi-bush. Bunch Porto-Rico – Yellow-orange skin and flesh, compact bush. Excel – Orange-tan skin, coppery orange flesh, average to vigorous vines. Evangeline – Rosy skin with deep orange flesh. Heartogold – Tan skin, deep orange flesh, vigorous vines....

About Barley Take-All Disease Take-all disease in barley is caused by the pathogen Gaeumannomyces graminis. As mentioned, it afflicts small cereal grains such as wheat, barley, and oats as well as bentgrass. The disease survives on crop debris, grassy host weeds, and volunteer cereals. The mycelium infects the roots of living hosts and as the root dies it colonizes the dying tissue. The fungus is primarily soil borne but soil fragments can be transmitted by wind, water, animals, and cultivating tools or machinery....

Taylor’s Gold Pear Information For a tasty pear, Taylor’s Gold is hard to beat. It was discovered in New Zealand in the 1980’s and is thought to be a sport of the Comice variety, although some believe it is a cross between Comice and Bosc. Taylor’s Gold has golden-brown skin reminiscent of Bosc, but the flesh is more similar to Comice. The white flesh is creamy and melts in the mouth and the flavor is sweet, making this an excellent fresh-eating pear....

How to Grow a Lemon Tree Outdoors Lemons are more cold-sensitive than all other citrus trees. Due to this cold sensitivity, lemon trees should be planted near the south side of the home. Lemon trees need protection from frost. Growing them near the house should help with this. Lemon trees also require full sunlight for adequate growth. While lemon trees can tolerate a range of soils, including poor soil, most prefer well-drained, slightly acidic soil....

Popular Shrubs for Hedges Shrubs for hedges should suit your purpose as well as your location, and a large part of your success in gardening with hedges depends on choosing the right plants. Deciduous hedges provide cooling shade for the garden in summer while allowing warming sunlight in during the winter months, but they aren’t a good choice for situations where you want year-round privacy. Evergreen hedges are great for areas where winters are cold and you will have few other plants to break the monotony of the winter landscape....