How to Make Hot Horseradish Horseradish not hot? I feel you. I have had dishes where the horseradish was not hot. Perhaps there wasn’t enough horseradish sauce or maybe the sauce was old. Whatever the case, there are some tips to making spicy horseradish. Horseradish is a hardy perennial primarily cultivated for its large taproot — the source of all that delicious heat. When this taproot is grated or crushed, the root cells release pungent oil....

Star of Bethlehem flowers, though attractive for a few weeks when in bloom, have escaped cultivation in many areas. When this happens, they quickly become a danger to native plant life. Star of Bethlehem Facts This plant can quickly out-perform and take over when planted in beds with other ornamental bulbs. Landscapers tell horror stories about trying to get rid of Star of Bethlehem flower bulbs in lawns. This is a shame, because when growing Star of Bethlehem in the garden, it is an attractive addition in the beginning....

Digging and Storing Daffodil Bulbs Remove the wilted blooms, then leave the daffodils alone until the green foliage dies down and turns brown. Don’t rush; the green foliage absorbs sunlight, which provides energy that the bulbs will use later to create new blooms. Cut the wilted foliage at soil level, then lift the bulbs carefully from the ground. Dig several inches from the plant to avoid slicing into the bulbs. Use your hands to brush excess soil from the daffodil bulbs....

How to Care for a Lily Plant Over Winter As a tender plant, it is a good idea to dig up and store your lily bulbs to ensure year after year beauty. Most lilies are hardy to United States Department of Agriculture zone 8 with good mulching. However, bulbs left in the ground during winter freezes may not come back in spring and can even rot. The process is simple and can save the life of a magical flowering plant that has unabashed appeal....

Supporting Wildlife in Gardens A wildlife friendly garden is a great way to start supporting wildlife and helping to protect local species, both endangered and healthy populations. Here are some things you can do: Include plants that attract your local pollinators including birds, butterflies, bees, and bats.Pull out invasive plants on your property. Your local extension office can tell you what to look for and remove.Keep a brush pile in one corner of the yard....

Plant Based Candy Refined sugar has been shown to have some serious unhealthful effects on our bodies, but that doesn’t stop us from craving sweets. Early candies were made from common plants of the region. The licorice root plant started a craze over anise flavored goodies, while the marshmallow root provides us with one of the basics necessary for a s’more. Cinnamon flavor is from tree bark, ginger is a root, and vanilla stems from a bean....

Tatsoi Plant Info Tatsoi (Brassica rapa) is indigenous to Japan where it has been cultivated since 500 A.D. This Asian green belongs to the cabbage family of Brassicas. A low growing annual with small, spoon-shaped leaves, tatsoi is also called spoon mustard, spinach mustard, or rosette bok choy, of which it is a close relative of. They have a mild mustard-like flavor. The plant looks similar to spinach; however, the stems and veins are white and sweet....

How to Clean Lettuce Cleaning lettuce isn’t difficult. There are several ways to wash garden lettuce. Some people prefer to simply rinse lettuce under running water, plucking off each outer leaf layer and gently rubbing them clean with their hands. Others may find it easier to cut off the lettuce head and separate the leaves before swishing them in a bowl of cold water, where the dirt and sand eventually sink to the bottom....

Gardening in Zone 7 When you are gardening in zone 7, you live in an area with a moderately long growing season. The typical growing season generally lasts about eight months in zone 7 and the annual low temperature is about 5 degrees F. (-15 C.). With the first frost around November 15th and the last one about April 15th, planting a garden in zone 7 is a snap. Many crops and ornamentals will grow well in this zone....

Pruning a Japanese Yew Tree Japanese yew cultivars range in size significantly. They can be quite tall or very short. Some cultivars, like ‘Capitata,’ grow tall – up to 50 feet (15 m.). Others, like ‘Emerald Spreader,’ stay short or mounded. Japanese yew pruning is essential if you want to maintain the shrubs in a formal shape or a smaller size than they would naturally grow. Some gardeners make pruning Japanese yew an annual task, regularly clipping off a few inches (5 to 12....

What is a Tipu Tree? A tipu tree (Tipuana tipu) is a shade tree planted frequently in the warmer parts of the world. In the United States it is used as a flowering accent tree or a landscape tree. The tree has a single trunk and a high spreading canopy. It can grow to over 60 feet (18 m.) in height and about the same in width. However, in cultivation the trees usually don’t get that big....

Companions for Tomatoes When we are talking about companions for tomatoes, we aren’t talking about the type of support humans get from friends and family, but in a sense, maybe we are. Companion planting is a form of polyculture or using multiple crops in the same space to the mutual benefit of each – much as humans benefit from those we interact with. These benefits include pest and disease control, aid in pollination, and offering refuge for beneficial insects, all of which will increase crop yields....

Can Dogwood Trees be Transplanted? Dogwoods are lovely plants with four seasons of interest. Their characteristic flowers are actually bracts, or modified leaves, which surround the actual tiny flower. In fall, the leaves turn red and orange and bright red fruits form, which birds adore. Their year-round beauty is a boon to any garden and should be preserved. If a dogwood needs to be moved, choose a site that is suitable so it doesn’t need to be moved again....

What are Feeder Roots? Most gardeners are familiar with thick, woody, tree roots. These are the large roots you see when a tree tips over and its roots are pulled from the ground. Sometimes the longest of these roots is a tap root: a thick, long root that heads straight down into the ground. In some trees, like oak, the taproot can sink into the ground as far as the tree is tall....

About Pruning Boysenberries Boysenberries resulted from a cross between the European raspberry, the blackberry, and the loganberry by Napa farmer Rudolf Boysen during the 1920s. These luscious berries offer the dark color and intense sweetness of a blackberry with the tartness of a raspberry. Boysenberries are brambles, like their genetic parents, and many varieties have canes armed with noteworthy thorns. Like most brambles, boysenberries require a trellis system to support their weight....

Mother Fern Houseplant In its native New Zealand, Mother Fern is eaten by the Maori, wherein young fronds are collected and eaten raw or cooked like a vegetable. Mother Fern houseplant has brilliantly green, finely serrated fronds which emerge from a solitary crown. The resulting foliage develops into a lush, feathery evergreen arch perfect for containers and hanging baskets. Mother Fern Propagation Producing neither flowers nor fruit, Mother Fern reproduces instead vegetatively; offsets grow and then fall from the mother plant to grow into new plants; however, most plants sold as Mother Fern houseplants are the sterile hybrid A....

Why a Spider Plant Looks Wilted So if you’re asking, “Why is my spider plant wilting?”, you’ll need to do a bit of troubleshooting. When spider plant leaves look droopy, it can mean one of several things. Water – One obvious problem is improper watering. Spider plants need a good amount of watering during the summer – the soil should not be allowed to dry out. Overwatering can also cause problems, however, with wilting and yellowing plants....

Protecting Herbs from Pests The essential fragrant oils of most herbs are a natural repellent to many insects. Despite this, sometimes pests like slugs encroach the herb garden and ravage your plants. The good news is that most of these pests are really just that; they do not usually cause severe damage and are mostly a nuisance. Aphids – Aphids love the tender new leaves of herbs and, in large numbers, may cause curling of the foliage....

Feeding Tuberous Begonias I need a moment to process that last part – tuberous begonias. Showy and stunning with so many options. Single or double blossoms. Plain or ruffled flowers. Color palette from white to crimson with bicolor options. Cascading or upright varieties. I LOVE THEM! These are flowers that you definitely want to thrive! Fertilizing tuberous begonia is important because they are heavy feeders, not unlike most plants which are heavy bloomers....

What Not to Do When Tulip Leaves are Yellow So, your tulip leaves are turning yellow. If your tulip bulbs are healthy, the foliage will die down and turn yellow after blooming ends. This is 100 percent okay. The important thing, however, is that you must live with the yellow tulip leaves, even if you think they’re ugly. This is because the leaves absorb sunlight, which in turn provides energy to feed the bulbs throughout the winter....