Environmental Control with Greenhouses Greenhouses allow a gardener the unique opportunity to control the climate no matter what’s actually happening outside. In some regions, having better control means you can grow a wider range of plants, even if they never get to venture outdoors. Many gardeners keep the chill off their plants with unheated greenhouses or cold frames, but this is the least flexible of greenhouse structures. Year-round greenhouse growers will need more complicated systems fitted with heating and cooling systems, ventilation, lights, and shades to cloak plants that require darkness to flower....

What is Valmaine Lettuce? Valmaine lettuce plants are a favorite for authentic Caesar salads, and they are often found in packaged salad mixes. This is because they so readily grow from seed, mature to sizeable heads in about 60 days, and have better tolerance of cold or heat than other romaine lettuce plants. Valmaine romaine lettuce and its hybrids are commercially grown in the southeastern United States because they are resistant to both the serpentine leaf miner and the banded cucumber beetle, which cause devastating crop losses in commercial lettuce fields....

Planting White Peonies The process of planting white peonies is very similar to that of planting other peony varieties. Though plants are often available through local nurseries or home improvement stores, more rare or unique white peony varieties can be purchased online as “bare roots.” Not only is purchasing bare roots sometimes cheaper, but it also affords gardeners with greater selection. Ideally, both bare roots and potted peonies should be planted in the fall, several weeks before the first frost....

Learn more about chicory cold tolerance and what you can do to help protect the plants. Chicory Cold Tolerance Whether you are growing chicory for its leaves or its huge taproot, the plant is very easy to start from seed and grows rapidly in nutrient rich, well-draining soil in a sunny location– and there are various types to grow. Chicory is a perennial which can live three to eight years with good care....

Benefits of Harvesting Rainwater and Using Rainwater in the Garden Why use rainwater in the garden? Here’s some reasons: Enhances the beauty of your garden and community. Provides habitat for birds, butterflies, and other wildlife. Helps the environment by filtering and cleaning rainwater runoff before it runs into local waterways. Recharges the supply of ground water. Controls erosion. Reduces your water bill. Contains no chemicals or dissolved minerals from the soil....

Heavenly bamboo care is simple and straightforward. Once you’ve learned the basics of caring for heavenly bamboo, you can enjoy this attractive plant in your landscape during all seasons. About Heavenly Bamboo Plants If you’re thinking of growing heavenly bamboo, choose a location with full sun. Heavenly bamboo plants are attractive as part of a shrub border, in groupings, or even as a standalone focal point. Small white flowers appear in late spring to summer in USDA garden zones 6 though 9 where it is hardy....

Helleborine Plant Information Helleborine is a type of terrestrial orchid that is native to Europe. When it arrived in North America in the 1800’s, it thrived, and now it grows wild all over the eastern and central U.S. and Canada, as well as in some places in the west. Helleborine will grow in yards, gardens, along roads, in cracks in the sidewalk, in forests, along rivers, and in swamps. The root system of helleborine is large and fibrous, and the bundle shoots up stems that may be as tall as 3....

Gardening Tips for Vegetables These garden tricks and tips are sure to make your vegetable gardening endeavors a little easier (especially if you’re gardening on a budget) as well as a little more interesting. While some of these may not work for everyone, experimenting in the garden is part of the fun. Garden in a bag — This is a great time saving hack when growing vegetables with shallow roots, and it can save on space too....

Carpenter Ant Damage Carpenter ants do not eat wood, but they remove wood as they create tunnels and galleries for their nests. Their primary food sources are proteins and sugars. They feed on living and dead insects outdoors. They are attracted to honeydew, which is a sweet liquid produced by aphids and scale insects. Indoors, carpenter ants feed on meat and sweets such as syrups, honey, and sugar. Carpenter ant tree damage is caused primarily by the ants burrowing tunnels to build their nests....

Plant Spacing for Hops Hops plants are no shrinking violets. Although the bines die back at summer’s end, they begin all over again the following spring. In one growing season, they can get 25 feet (7.5 m.) in length, with each plant up to 12 inches (30.5 cm.) in diameter. It’s necessary to allow the plants to shoot up like this. If you try to keep the bines under 10 feet (3 m....

What are Horsetail Weeds? The horsetail weed family (Equisetum spp.), closely related to the fern family, contains over 30 ancient species of plants. At one time, horsetail was the dominant plant on the earth and was said to have grown to a very large size. Today, there are two forms of this perennial plant. One is known as “scouring rush,” and has no leaves but instead has hollow and jointed stems....

Adding compost to existing plants will slowly feed them as the compost continues to break down. It also prevents some weeds, keeps soil moist, helps regulate the temperature of the dirt, and has many more benefits. How to amend soil around existing plants with compost depends upon the age of the plant, the use for the compost, and even the time of year. When to Put Compost in Garden Beds There are several reasons to add compost to your soil....

If you are wondering how often to repot a fiddle leaf fig, there are several schools of thought. Read up on them and pick the one that suits you best. Fiddle Leaf Fig Magic It seems just a few years ago, the fiddle leaf fig came into the spotlight. Although it had been around for years, suddenly, this stunning houseplant was on everybody’s “must have” list. And it is a magnificent plant, growing to 6 feet (2m....

Is Fire Good for Soil? The first questions to ask: what is the effect of fire on soil? Is fire good for soil? Generally, the answer is no, the effects of forest fire can be devastating for soil. Fire can be good for forests, wildlife, and vegetation if it does not get out of hand. Prescribed burns help to maintain wildlife habitat for both game and non-game species, especially if some sections are left unburned to provide nesting areas....

Can You Grow New Guinea Impatiens from Seeds? Several varieties of New Guinea impatiens, like many other hybridized plants, do not produce viable seed, or they produce seed that reverts back to one of the original plants used to create the hybrid. This is why many plants, including most New Guinea impatiens, are propagated by cuttings and not by seed. Propagating by cuttings produces exact clones of the plant the cutting was taken from....

The Christmas cactus has rounded scalloped leaves, while the Thanksgiving cactus has pointy leaf tips. The Easter cactus also has more rounded scalloped edges. Holiday Cactus Care Luckily, caring for all three kinds of holiday cactus is essentially the same. In most growing zones, they are not considered hardy and will need to be kept as a houseplant year round or brought indoors during the colder months. Unlike their desert cactus cousins that require a warm and dry environment, Christmas cacti prefer humidity and moisture....

About Chinese Forget-Me-Not Chinese forget-me-not (Cynoglossum amabile) is a flower native to China and Bhutan. It can be grown as a perennial or annual, depending on your region’s climate. In most places, gardeners use it as a cool weather annual. Other common names include blue showers and hound’s tongue. The leaves of Chinese forget-me-not are grayish-green, oval, and long, and the growth habit is full and bushy. The real show, though, are the flowers....

Plant Windows for Growing Plants Indoors Transforming an existing picture window does involve some construction steps and expense, and it can’t be done in a rental property without permission from your landlord. The ideal thing would be to incorporate a plant window into the construction of a new home. Open plant windows are different from normal plant windows because plants grow in a large box or container that is deeper than a normal windowsill....

Grapes in Champagne For a sparkling wine to be classified as champagne, you must use a champagne wine produced from chardonnay, pinot noir, or pinot Meunier varieties in the Champagne region of France. Planting these grapes is the first step toward making a bottle of champagne. If you want to operate by the rule books, however, there are other restrictions on what can be called champagne. In addition to the mandate that champagne must be made from these grape species, you’ll have to use the traditional method of producing it....

About Ficus Tree Propagation The main reason people propagate house plants is to create new plants. You can share them with friends or add another plant to your home. Another reason is to control growth. Weeping ficus is a large tree. In the wild it grows up to 50 feet (15 m.) tall. Indoors in a container it won’t grow so big, but you still may want to control its height and shape through propagation....