What is Chinese Violet Weed? So what is Chinese violet and how do I recognize it? There are two forms of Chinese violet weeds. The more aggressive form is Asystasia gangetica ssp. micrantha, which features white bell-shaped flowers 2 to 2.5 cm. long, with purple stripes in two parallel lines on the inside and club-shaped seed capsules. It also has opposite leaves having an oval, sometimes nearly triangular, shape that reaches up to 6....

What is Coconut Oil? Fitness magazines, health publications, and internet blogs all tout the advantages of coconut oil. It appears to have several health benefits but is also useful in the garden. However, coconut has the most saturated fat known and is so high in lipids it is actually solid at room temperature. The bottom line is that coconut oil facts are rather muddy and the real research really isn’t finished on this much vaunted alternative fat....

What is Frog Fruit? I love plants with odd names. Frog fruit (Lippia nodiflora syn. Phyla nodiflora) is also called turkey tangle frog fruit. What is frog fruit? It is a native plant of North America and in the Verbena family of flowering herbaceous plants. Frog fruit plants are low growing plants that develop only about 3 to 5 inches (7.5 to 13 cm.) in height. They are found wild in the southern half of the United States through tropical regions....

What is Green Goliath Broccoli? Green Goliath is hybrid broccoli, with seeds bred to withstand extreme temperatures of both heat and cold. It reportedly grows heads of the vegetable clusters as large as one foot (31 cm.) across. After removing the central head, numerous productive side shoots continue to develop and supply the harvest. Harvest for this plant lasts about three weeks instead of the typical all at once. Most broccoli varieties bolt as the summer heats up, while Green Goliath continues to produce....

What is Minette Dwarf Basil? The basil cultivar ‘Minette’ (Ocimum basillicum ‘Minette’) is an adorable dwarf basil that grows into a compact little shrub perfect for knot gardens, edging, and container growing. Plants grow into 10 inch (25 cm.) globes rife with succulent, aromatic, small basil leaves. Tiny this basil may be, but it still packs all of the anise-like sweet flavor along with the fragrant clove scent of the larger basil cultivars....

What is Onion Purple Blotch? Purple blotch in onion is caused by the fungus Alternaria porri. A fairly common disease of onions, it first manifests as small, water-soaked lesions that rapidly develop white centers. As the lesions progress, they turn from brown to purple with a halo of yellow. Often the lesions merge and girdle the leaf, resulting in tip dieback. Less commonly, the bulb becomes infected through the neck or from wounds....

What is Persian Star Garlic? Persian Star purple garlic is a variety with a purple and white striped skin, making this garlic attractive not just for eating but also as decoration and in centerpieces. There are other purple stripe varieties, but this one has the most striking coloration. With origins in the central Asian nation of Uzbekistan, Persian Star garlic is a hardneck variety. This means it will grow a scape, a flowering stem, which is edible....

What is Slow-Release Fertilizer? In a nutshell, slow-release fertilizers are fertilizers that release a small, steady amount of nutrients over a course of time. These can be natural, organic fertilizers that add nutrients to the soil by naturally breaking down and decomposing. Most often, though, when a product is called slow-release fertilizer, it is fertilizer coated with plastic resin or sulfur-based polymers which slowly break down from water, heat, sunlight, and/or soil microbes....

What is Watermelon Rind Necrosis? Watermelon bacterial rind necrosis is a disease that causes discolored areas in the rind of the melon. The first watermelon rind necrosis symptoms are hard, discolored rind areas. Overtime, they grow and form extensive dead-cell areas on the rind. These usually do not touch the melon flesh. What Causes Watermelon Rind Necrosis? Experts believe that watermelon rind necrosis symptoms are caused by bacteria. They think that the bacteria are naturally present in the watermelon....

What Does Well-Drained Soil Mean? Simply put, well-drained soil is soil that allows water to drain at a moderate rate and without water pooling and puddling. These soils do not drain too quickly or too slowly. When soil drains too quickly, the plants do not have enough time to absorb the water and can die. Likewise, when the soil does not drain quickly enough and plants are left in pooling water, their oxygen intake from the soil is reduced and the plants can die....

When Do Desert Roses Bloom? Desert roses typically bloom for several weeks throughout spring and summer. With proper care, some new and improved cultivars may bloom year round. Again, be patient. Desert rose plants may not produce blooms for several months, but if the plant is healthy and growing conditions are right, it will eventually produce blooms. Reasons for Desert Rose Plants Not Blooming Below you will find some of the most common reasons for non-flowering and tips for getting desert roses to bloom....

Reasons for Dragon Fruit not Blooming When flowers won’t form on pitaya, the plant’s care and environment may need a bit of tweaking. The following tips on caring for pitaya may help. If your pitaya won’t bloom, try moving the plant into a warmer or more sheltered environment. If the temperature drops below 65 degrees F. (18 C.), conditions may be too chilly. Some experts prefer to grow dragon fruit cactus in a greenhouse....

Plants That Prefer to be Root Bound Some plants that are happier as root bound houseplants include: Peace lily Spider plant African violets Aloe Umbrella tree Ficus Agapanthus Asparagus fern Spider lily Christmas cactus Jade plant Snake plant Boston fern Why Some Plants do Better as Root Bound The reasons some houseplants perform better as root bound houseplants are varied. In some cases, like with a Boston fern or African violets, a houseplant does not transplant well and transplanting the root bound plant will be more likely to kill it then help it....

Crinum lily pup division is the technique most growers use to propagate and produce new plants. Propagating crinum lilies is the best way to get more of the large and hardy plants. Learning more about dividing crinum lilies can help gardeners maintain the health of established plantings and add more plants to the garden at no additional cost. Getting More Plants from Crinum Lily Pups The crinum lily is a member of the Amaryllis family and produces a bulbil, growing on the stem at the base where the flower sprouted....

Best Time to Water Plants in the Vegetable Garden The answer to when to water plants in the vegetable garden actually has two answers. Watering Plants in the Morning The very best time to water plants is in the early morning, while it is still cool. This will allow the water to run down into the soil and reach the roots of the plant without too much excess water lost to evaporation....

White Mulberry Info White mulberry trees (Morus alba) are native to China. They were originally brought to North America for silk production. White mulberry trees are the preferred food source of silkworms, so these trees were thought to be essential in producing silk outside of China. However, the bottom fell out of the silk industry in the United States before it even started. Startup costs proved much too high, and the few fields of these mulberry trees were abandoned....

What is Rose Balling? Rose “balling” normally happens when a rosebud forms naturally and begins to open, but once the new swollen bud gets rained on, soaking the outer petals, and then subsequently dries too quickly in the sun’s heat, the petals fuse together. This fusion does not allow the petals to unfurl like they normally would, resulting in rosebuds dying before opening or failing to open at all. Eventually, the fused ball of petals dies and falls off of the rose bush....

Why Won’t My Quince Tree Fruit? There are number of factors that can affect the fruiting of quince trees. Here are some of the more common ones: Age The reason behind a quince tree not fruiting may not be a complicated one. It could be simply that the tree is not mature enough to bear fruit yet. A quince tree can reasonably be expected to start bearing fruit when it reaches five or six years in age....

Wild Tassel Hyacinth Info Tassel grape hyacinth (Leopoldia comosa or Leopoldia muscari), also known as tassel hyacinth, fringe hyacinth, or musk hyacinth, is a wildflower native to Turkey, Iraq, and southeastern Europe. Tassel grape hyacinths are similar to the familiar garden-variety grape hyacinths, but the brownish green flowers are topped by tufts of violet-blue, fringe-like blooms. The lower part of the flowers are fertile, but the tassels are sterile. Tassel hyacinth bulbs are hardy to USDA plant hardiness zones 4 through 8....

Other info says they’re called Quaker lady bluets because the pale color of the flower is similar to the shades of fabric used in making dresses worn by Quaker ladies. Whatever the reason for the name, finding wildflower bluets in your yard or garden is a charming addition. Quaker Lady Bluets The common name of wildflower bluets, of course, refers to the color of the tiny, mounding clumps of flowers, interpreted from the Latin (caerulea, from caeruleus)....