When to Prune Lavender You’ll start trimming lavender in the second year that it is in the ground. Newly planted or very young plants need a chance to establish themselves, and in order to do this, they need to be able to focus on growing roots. If you cut back lavender in its first year, it will put energy towards growing leaves rather than roots and this will make it a weaker plant in the long term....

Why Use Asters That are Purple? While purple asters have several different tones, their cool hue sets off numerous other colors. When paired with yellow flowers, the effect is absolutely stunning with the sunny tone blending with the stormy sky hue. When you plant different types of purple aster in a grouping, the effect is jaw dropping. Since purple is one of the “cool colors” on the color wheel, it is supposed to relax you....

Do Purple Strawberries Exist? Strawberries are incredibly popular berries, but each year new types of berries are developed through genetic manipulation or are “discovered” like acai berries… okay they are actually drupes, but you get the gist. So, it comes as no surprise that the time has come for the Purple Wonder strawberry! Yes, indeed, the color of the berry is purplish; I’d call it more burgundy. In fact, the color goes through the entire berry unlike the common red strawberry, which is actually white inside....

Whatever the reason you’ve decided to raise turkeys, there are a few things you’ll want to learn to keep them healthy and growing. How to Raise Turkeys at Home Raising turkeys is somewhat like raising chickens. Both need a brooder space when they are young, but size and diets of the two are different. Turkeys need a high-protein turkey starter food for the first six weeks. It is not acceptable to substitute chicken starter food....

Scarlet Calamint Information The red mint shrub plant is a plant native to the southeastern United States. It grows wild in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi, among other states. Like most native plants, it pretty much fends for itself in your garden, and scarlet calamint care is minimal. If you are wondering how to grow scarlet calamint, you’ll want to understand how it grows in the wild. Its preferred habitat is poor soil, and the shrubs are often seen thriving in flat pine woods and along roadsides....

Does My Peace Lily Need a New Pot? Knowing when to repot a peace lily is important. If your plant is rootbound, it’s definitely time for repotting. For example, you may notice roots growing through the drainage hole or emerging on the surface of the soil. The easiest way to tell if your peace lily is rootbound is to slide the plant carefully from the pot so you can see the roots....

Most parts of fungi are microscopic. Some species produce linear strings of cells called hyphae, which by themselves are too narrow to see; others, called yeasts, grow as single cells. Fungal hyphae travel invisibly through soil and colonize food resources. However, many fungal species use hyphae to form larger structures that you might find in your garden or yard. Even mushrooms consist of many hyphae closely packed together. We’ve all seen mushrooms, but observant gardeners might be able to identify another fungal structure, the rhizomorph....

Common Causes for Deformed Rose Flowers and Leaves Most rose deformity in the blooms and sometimes leaves is caused by Mother Nature herself or genetic mutations. Proliferation – Proliferation, or vegetative center, causes deformed rose flowers. This is one of those Mother Nature’s Kitchen items. It can occur with many rose bushes, perhaps a bit more with the floribunda roses. There is some school of thought that using high nitrogen fertilizers can bring about an imbalance within the rose bush that will cause the vegetative center....

What Should Annual Ryegrass Be Used For? There are many benefits to planting ryegrass cover crops. Planting annual ryegrass provides erosion control, increases percolation, reduces compaction and acts as a nurse crop for fall legumes. The question, what should annual ryegrass be used for, goes beyond soil improvement. The plant is also useful to reduce splashing on young plants and minimize disease in tightly planted spaces. Over seeding the grass into commercial crops will prevent competitive weeds and increase fertility when hoed into the earth....

What is Safflower Oil? Safflower is an annual broadleaf oilseed crop that was grown primarily in areas of the western Great Plains. The crop was first propagated in 1925 but was found to have insufficient oil content. In successive years, new varieties of safflower were developed that contained increased oil levels. Where Does Safflower Oil Come From? Safflower does indeed have a flower, but it is cultivated for the oil that is pressed from the seeds of the plant....

Using Salt on Asparagus Weeds One of the first spring vegetables is asparagus. The crisp spears are perfect in a variety of preparations and adapt well to a host of cuisine types. Asparagus are perennials which grow from crowns planted 6 to 8 inches (15-20 cm.) beneath the soil surface. This means deep hoeing is not an option to get rid of weeds. Using salt for weed control is an old farm tradition, and while the high salinity does kill some annual weeds, persistent perennial weeds may be resistant, and the practice leaves an excess of salt in the bed which can be detrimental to the asparagus....

Problems with Plants That Grow in Sand Sandy soils are especially troublesome to gardeners for many reasons. While well draining and able to prevent root rot in sensitive plants, this free-draining soil has great difficulty in retaining moisture and valuable nutrients in the garden. This is especially true in climates that receive hot summer temperatures. Sandy soil may also become more acidic, requiring balanced applications of lime to correct the pH levels of the soil....

How Many Seeds Per Hole? The size and age of the seeds to be planted figure into the equation. So does the expected germination rate for each type of seed. To learn the expected germination rate for each type of seed, it is normally found in the information on the back of the seed packet, or you may search the online. Age of the seed is a factor too. We expect seeds to be fresh when packaged, but after that our only indication of their true age is the expiration date on the packaging....

Shade trees in the Rockies also need to be vigorous and hardy to survive the see-saw of weather conditions and temperatures. Some suggestions might help get you started on the shady retreat of your dreams. Cultivated Shade Trees for West North Central Region Before you purchase and plant a tree, evaluate your soil and drainage conditions. Make sure you know your individual hardiness rating, as microclimates across the region vary....

Should You Deadhead Hollyhocks? Deadheading hollyhock plants isn’t necessary, but it is a good idea. It can help keep the blooms going longer throughout the season and also keeps your plants looking nicer and tidier. Think of deadheading this plant as a way of pruning to coax it into producing flowers right up to the fall and even the first frost. It’s also a good idea to remove dead and damaged leaves, too, for a better overall look and a healthier plant....

Panic can set in as we begin to wonder if the plant is dormant or dead. We may search the internet with the vague question: when do plants wake up in spring? Of course, there is no exact answer to that question because it depends on too many variables, such as which plant it is, what zone you live in, and precise details of the weather your area has been experiencing....

Here are a few examples of beautiful, easy-to-grow bulbs from South Africa. South African Flower Bulbs That Bloom in Winter Chasmanthe – This plant shows off fans of bright green leaves in autumn, followed by spiky orange-red flowers in late winter or early spring. Chasmanthe buds may be damaged by a late frost. Deadhead regularly, as Chasmanthe can be aggressive. Sparaxis (harlequin flower, wandflower) – This plant consists of sword-shaped leaves and clusters of spiky, long lasting blooms....

About Fusarium Spinach Wilt Symptoms of spinach fusarium usually affect older foliage first, as the disease, which attacks spinach through the roots, takes a while to spread throughout the plant. However, it can sometimes affect very young plants. Infected spinach plants are unable to take up water and nutrients through the damaged taproot, which causes plants to turn yellow, wilt, and die. Spinach plants that manage to survive are usually severely stunted....

Dividing Phlox Plants Perennials, like phlox, need dividing every few years for many reasons – to keep them in control, to rejuvenate them, or just to create more plants for other garden spots. So, how do you know when to divide phlox plants? As a general rule, phlox plant division can be done every two to four years in spring or fall. When phlox plants start producing fewer or no blooms, it may be time to divide them....

On the other hand, you have some plants that just don’t transplant well. You can try growing them indoors and then moving them out into the garden, but the chances are that you will lose the tender seedling before you ever get to enjoy it. So what is a gardener to do when they have soil that they can’t plant directly in but have seeds that they cannot start indoors?...