If you live in the West, look into California native ornamental grasses and you may be astonished by the number and range of available choices. Nevada residents can also consider Nevada native grasses. All are hardy and versatile, having adapted over centuries to their particular ecosystems and climates. California Native Ornamental Grasses The hardest part of putting native California grasses in your landscape will be selecting among the many beautiful plants available....

Zone 4 Invasive Plants Invasive plants in zone 4 cover lots of territories, but here are some of the most commonly found invasive species with some alternatives you can plant instead. Gorse and Brooms– Gorse, Scotch broom, and other brooms are common invasive plants that thrive in zone 4. Each mature shrub can produce over 12,000 seeds that can survive in the soil for up to 50 years. These shrubs become highly flammable fuel for wildfires and both the flowers and seeds are toxic to humans and livestock....

Propagating Norfolk Pines Norfolk Island pine plants look a bit like pine trees, hence the name, but they aren’t even in the same family. They do come from Norfolk Island, however, in the South Seas, where they mature into straight, stately trees up to 200 feet (60 m.) tall. Norfolk Island pine trees are not very cold tolerant. They only thrive in USDA plant hardiness zones 10 and 11. In the rest of the country, people bring them indoors as potted plants, often used as living non-traditional Christmas trees....

About Pacific Northwest Gardens Northwest gardening tasks seem to never end, but it can help to accomplish something every month of the year. Doing so will help you get a jump start on spring planting and make sure pests and disease don’t take root in your garden. Outside of general cleanup, there are still many chores to do that will make life easier when the warm weather arrives. Weather can really run the gamut in the Pacific Northwest....

Most Common Pests of the Northwest Arguably, the most common Pacific Northwest pests are slugs and snails. These terrestrial gastropods can wreak havoc in the garden, especially around tender new plants. Cool, overcast, and rainy weather bring out these mollusks to feed on leaves. Irregular holes found anywhere on the leaf are a sure sign of these northwestern garden pests, but a telltale trace of slime will be the main clue if unsure....

How to Grow an Obedient Plant Obedient plant info tells us there is nothing obedient about the spread of the species. Newer cultivars, such as ‘Miss Manners’, tend to maintain a clumping form and not get out of hand, but the original variety with pastel flowers can take over the bed in which it grows. Obedient plant care often includes digging rhizomes and deadheading spent flowers before seeds can drop. If you’re wondering whether you can divide the obedient plant, the answer is a resounding yes....

Signs of Root Knot Nematodes on Onions Nematodes are microscopic roundworms that live in the soil, most of which do not damage plants. The root knot nematode is not one of those roundworms. It lives in the roots of a host plant, and there are four species that affect onions. They are able to infect onion roots when temperatures in the soil are over 41 degrees F. (5 degrees C.). Above the soil, what you’ll see in root knot nematode of onion infections is uneven growth and stunted plants....

Growing Orient Express cabbages is almost the same as growing regular cabbage, except the tender, crunchy cabbage ripens much faster and is ready to use in only three to four weeks. Plant this cabbage in early spring, then plant a second crop in late summer for harvest in fall. Orient Express Cabbage Care Loosen the soil in a spot where Orient Express Chinese cabbages are exposed to several hours of sunlight per day....

About Othonna ‘Little Pickles’ Othonna capensis is a fairly slow-growing evergreen succulent. ‘Little Pickles’ is so named for its one-inch (2.5 cm.), pudgy, blue-green leaves that do, indeed, resemble tiny pickles. Indigenous to the Drakensberg Mountains of South Africa, the plant grows in low-growing clumps of about 4 inches (10 cm.) in height and a foot (30.5 cm.) across. Yellow, daisy-like blooms emerge and wave cheerily an inch (2.5 cm.) or so from above the foliage....

Palm Tree Choices Palm tree care starts with the proper selection of species. Choose one that is hardy in your region and situate it where it gets adequate light and has excellent drainage. There are many varieties of palms from which to choose, but consideration should also be taken as to the plant’s mature size. Some are towering plants and don’t fit into many home landscape situations. Hardy palms are those that can withstand light freezes and even a bit of snow....

What are Parasitic Plants? What are parasitic plants? The simple explanation is that they are heterotrophic, meaning that they are plants that rely on other plants in whole, or in part, for their water and nutrition. They are able to siphon these resources from another plant because they possess modified roots, called haustoria, which penetrate undetected into the pipeline, or vascular system, of their host. I liken it to a computer virus latching onto your computer system undetected, siphoning and draining your resources....

When to Harvest Peppers Peppers have been cultivated in Central and South America, Mexico, and the West Indies since ancient times, but it was early explorers like Columbus who brought the pepper to Europe. They became popular and were then brought to North America with the first European colonists. Peppers are tropical plants that are grown as warm season annuals here. Given plenty of sun, peppers are relatively easy to grow....

Are Pine Needles Bad for Compost? Many people avoid using pine needles in compost because they think it will make the compost more acidic. Even though pine needles have a pH between 3.2 and 3.8 when they fall from the tree, they have a nearly neutral pH after composting. You can safely add pine needles to compost without fear that the finished product will harm your plants or acidify the soil....

Thrips Spider mites Aphids Whiteflies Leafhoppers Caterpillars Here are some tips about creating pirate bug habitats to attract these garden helpers. Pirate Bug Life Cycle Pirate bugs in gardens may be tiny, but their populations can grow fast in good conditions. To set up appropriate pirate bug habitats, you need to understand the pirate bug life cycle. The female lays minute pirate bug eggs in plant tissue a few days after mating....

However, when it comes to plant pruning, many questions arise as to what is old wood and what is new wood? Distinguishing between old and new wood is crucial in understanding the correct wood pruning methods for your plants. What is Old Wood? Spring flowering shrubs such as forsythia bloom on last year’s stems, which are known as old wood. The best time to prune these types of plants is right after they bloom....

Most horticulturalists refer to cultivars of Acer palmatum as Japanese maples, but a few also include A. japonicum cultivars. While A. palmatum is hardy in USDA plant hardiness zones 6 through 8, A. japonicum extends the growing area into zone 5. This variety is also sturdier in appearance and bears reddish purple flowers in spring. Growing Japanese maples make excellent specimen or lawn trees. Smaller cultivars are the perfect size for shrub borders and large patio containers....

Choosing Shrubs for Pacific Northwest Gardens Whether you are searching for shrubs in northwest states that provide food (like berries) for wildlife, or you want to brighten up the winter landscape with a blooming perennial, there are plenty of options for suitable Pacific Northwest bushes. There are even suitable northwestern shrubs that are drought tolerant and plenty of native Pacific Northwest bushes that are acclimated to the region, thus, making them low maintenance....

Are Grapes Self-Fruitful? Whether you need two grapevines for pollination depends on the type of grape you are growing. There are three different types of grapes: American (V. labrusca), European (V. viniferia), and North American native grapes called muscadines (V. rotundifolia). Most bunching grapes are self-fruitful and, thus, do not require a pollinator. That said, they will often benefit from having a pollinator nearby. The exception is Brighton, a common variety of grape that is not self-pollinating....

Problems of Pomegranates Pomegranates are fairly vigorous trees or shrubs which adapt well to regions that support citrus plants. There are also varieties suited for semi-temperate zones but these need well-drained soil and protection from excess moisture. Although the plant likes supplemental irrigation in summer for best fruit formation, overly wet soils and humidity can cause a variety of pomegranate tree diseases. There are many methods of treating pomegranate fruit diseases, so don’t despair and keep reading for some solutions....

About Potato Grow Bags You can make a bag out of burlap or even grow potatoes in a cardboard box. The container or bag lets the plant spread out its roots and you can still add layers of soil. The reason for layering is the same as hilling. Potato tubers send out roots at the eyes, which branch out in the soil. The more you cover the top of the root zone, the more roots they send out....