It could be an easily curable physiological condition known as cork spot. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. What is Apple Cork Rot? Cork spot is a disorder of the tree’s physiology and has nothing to do with a disease. The condition causes the fruit to have an unappealing outside appearance and a corky texture on the interior....
It’s uncanny how much this flower resembles a tropical bird, isn’t it? Also known as crane flower, bird of paradise (Strelitzia spp.) belongs to the Strelitziaceae family, of which Madagascar’s theatrical traveler’s palm (Ravenala madagascariensis) is also a part. This family loves drama, and it’s fantastic if you’re looking for stunning ornamentals to add to the garden. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....
Their soft and silky petals reflect the sun’s light, making them shine. They truly are the stars of the native wildflower super-bloom! We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. They are easy to grow, and once you sow them in your garden, they will return every year. Ready to welcome this cheerful wildflower into your landscape?...
There are dozens of types of this tasty cool-weather annual that you can grow, for a fact. There are rosettes of mild tatsoi, big broad leaves of Southern varieties like ‘Old Fashioned,’ and thin stalks of mizuna with serrated leaves. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All of the many available types grow quite quickly....
Native to South America, tropical Hippeastrum can be grown outdoors in USDA Hardiness Zones 9-11, and indoors in colder areas. These striking flowers are often forced to bloom in the winter, adding some sparkle to holiday decor. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. Ready to get started? Here’s what I’ll cover: Though it is possible to grow amaryllis from seed, the process from seed to flower is slow, taking from three to five years....
Tall, upright stems with bright green foliage, and fragrant flower heads that bloom in midsummer, add texture and interest to the garden. This biennial plant completes its life cycle in two years. Once established, it will readily self-seed – without becoming invasive – and new plants will pop up come springtime. Suitable for growers in USDA Hardiness Zones 4-9, in cooler areas, it can take up to four years to mature and set seed....
I was a kid in Williamsburg, Virginia, which had long springs and sandy soil. In those days, I would carefully tend a small packet’s worth of these annuals in a four-by-four-foot garden plot, deadheading each spent bloom. We didn’t plant until June, and there would still be plenty to pick for our favorite teachers when we returned to school in September. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products....
Rhododendrons, like yours truly, need a little winter consideration. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. In our guide to growing rhododendrons, we cover how to cultivate these plants in your landscape. In this article, we’ll help your rhodies weather the chilly months, though you’ll have to find your own solutions for mustering through the winter blahs – I hear yoga helps....
This is one of those ironies that confronts gardeners. You may grow sunflowers because they’re so beautiful, but many of us also choose this particular type of flower because they’re beneficial to pollinators and attract wildlife. Some of us also want to grow seed to feed the feathery ones in the cold months. So why does it seem so awful when the local critters help themselves? Weren’t we planning for them to receive this bounty eventually anyhow?...
But did you know that the part of the broccoli plant that we typically consume is actually comprised of thousands of tiny, unopened blooms? Allowing the broccoli plant to mature rather than harvesting the head means there’s time for those blooms to open and potentially be pollinated, resulting in the production of seed. These seeds can be collected, stored, and planted over several growing seasons. Saving seeds from your garden is a wise choice with many perks....
We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. In green, white, yellow, and variegated combinations, the leaves – often of enormous proportions – brighten dark areas of the landscape to bring them into vivid focus. Our guide to growing hostas has all you need to know for successful cultivation. This short article offers five tips for successfully moving plants from one part of the landscape to another....
Although soil fumigation is sometimes recommended, it typically doesn’t work. This fungus is unusually resistant to fungicides. Plus, the organism often lurks in the soil in pieces of old infected trees, or in roots in the soil where fungicides can’t contact it. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. Armillaria Attacks Throughout the World While Armillaria mellea is the most common source of this type of root rot, many other species could be involved....
One of the best things about this hardy green is that it is fairly flexible in terms of when you may start growing it, and a few weeks’ difference won’t set your plants back too much. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. When to Sow Based on Hardiness Zone Your USDA Plant Hardiness Zone is an important factor to consider when you are deciding what month to sow kale....
I know I’m not alone in selecting plants and gardening practices that encourage the presence of wildlife, most especially a motley crew of feathered friends. Not only are these animals a welcome audial addition to my garden, they also bring unexpected flecks and flutters of color that add real variety to stands of flowers and grasses. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....
You’ve nurtured your celery plant from the time it was a seedling with impossibly thin “stalks,” and now they’re getting big and tall. The leaves are fragrant. You’re pretty sure the herbaceous vegetable – a member of the Apiaceae family, like carrots and cilantro – is ready to eat. Pretty sure, but not totally sure. So how do you know? When is it time to harvest a crisp, crunchy, flavorful stalk and spread it with creamy peanut butter (or Ranch sauce, if you’re like my spouse)?...
Sometimes, heads that should be snowy white take on a purplish hue. A member of the Brassicaceae family, cauliflower can suffer a number of difficulties when grown in home garden, such as not forming heads. If you are new to growing this cruciferous vegetable, why not see our guide to growing cauliflower here. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....
But before the leaves fall, while you’re out in the garden doing your autumn perennial cutbacks, consider whether your landscape could use another tree or two. Even if it means more leaves to rake. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. Why Plant in Fall? Planting in autumn, with the season’s still-warm soil and plentiful rains, offers a tree just the right amount of time to establish a root system before the ground freezes (if that’s a thing where you live)....
There are 11 species in the Forsythia genus and numerous cultivated varieties that vary in height, growth habit, bloom time, and to some degree, color. In our guide to growing forsythia, we discuss all you need to know to successfully cultivate this sturdy, long-lived bush, suitable for USDA Hardiness Zones 5 to 8. It requires a full sun location and well-draining soil with a pH of 6.5 to 7.5. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products....
Do you know who else loves brussels sprouts? Bugs. Caterpillars, worms, and little sap-sucking insects of all kinds can’t seem to get enough of cole crops in general. The good news is that brussels sprouts have the advantage of growing big, attractive leaves that we humans don’t usually use. Insects often attack this foliage first. In most cases, it doesn’t matter much if you see some cosmetic damage to the foliage, so long as the heads are not impacted....
As ideal for brightening up a dull space as it is for adding life to a boring salad, nasturtiums are one of the best-loved edible flower varieties. These colorful flowers grow quickly, happily, and easily, and they thrive in poor soils. This means they don’t need extra fertilization, or really any extra love at all – in fact, they are so easy to grow that they are often overlooked entirely by many gardeners....
