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Let’s take a close look at this destructive pest, beginning with its intriguing characteristics, and concluding with measures for deterring and eradicating it in your garden. The aphid is a tiny, soft-bodied insect that spells trouble in the garden. Its salivary secretions are phytotoxic, causing galls to form; disfiguring buds, flowers, fruit, and leaves; hollowing stems; spreading viruses; stunting growth, and literally sucking the life out of plants. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products....

African violets (Saintpaulia ionantha) are one of the world’s most popular flowering houseplants, so we expect them to … you know, flower. Experts insist they easily bear an endless springtime of blooms, to which many of their owners sadly shake their heads. Both sides are right: African violets do bloom easily year-round, but they’re also a little weird. How to get African violets to bloom. African violets need bright indirect light, humidity, consistent fertilization and watering, but never overwatering....

But sometimes, they struggle. Delphinium spp. Every spring, I hold my breath and watch the flower beds at the front of the house. The first year that I lived in my little red Alaska home, I planted three delphiniums. And each year, I wonder if they will make it. Have they survived the winter? Did my resident moose trample them to death in the muddy throes of spring? It always amazes me when they push up new stalks through last year’s dead growth, promising brilliant blue-purple flowers to catch the sunrise....

But even those with little admiration for Mother Nature would find yews quite fascinating. Taxus spp. The thing about plant geeks is that they can find the most seemingly insignificant bit of greenery to be cool. The flora that fascinates us would make a layman’s eyes glaze over, while also putting them in a near-fugue state. Exhibit A: me nerding out over a fern’s life cycle at last year’s Super Bowl party....

Growing Banana Trees in Pots is a simple way to include this amazing large foliage tropical plant in your home and garden, especially if you don’t have much space or you live in a cold climate. Not only for fruits, but you can also grow it for its beautiful big leaves. Is banana a herb? Check out here Can a Banana Tree in Pots Bear Fruits? The first question that may arise in your mind would be whether you will be able to enjoy bananas if you grow them in pots....

If you want to try your hand at growing fruit in your garden, then blueberries are an excellent choice. They are fairly easy, and can be planted in most climates. Plus, with the proper care, they will continue producing for several decades. Many people are afraid to try growing blueberries because they seem like a lot of work. And well, they can be. But one thing is for sure. For the small amount of effort you need to put in, you will be handsomely rewarded with a large bounty year after year....

Celery can be a difficult plant to start from seed and may frustrate beginner gardeners. However, with a little knowledge and some patience, anyone can learn how to grow celery at home! Table of Contents Homegrown celery often has a much stronger taste than store-bought celery because commercial growers blanch their celery. This gives the plant a lighter green color and a mild, sweet taste. Celery has been cultivated in the Mediterranean for thousands of years....

If you love to experiment and look for other ways of propagation than seeds, stem cuttings, and grafting then learn How to Grow Lemon Trees from Lemon Leaves in this post and try this brilliant hack at home. Learn how to grow a lemon tree in a pot here How to Grow Lemon Trees from Lemon Leaves? The best time to start this lemon tree from leaves trial is when the weather is warm and slightly humid enough after early spring....

Continue on to learn all you need to know to grow shrubs in containers. There are a number of reasons gardeners choose to plant shrubs in containers. A common one is limited space, but potted plants can also be useful if you are looking to grow species that are not well suited to your climate, or simply want the flexibility to move your plants around. They can also create a nice aesthetic on a patio or deck....

Who knew that mulch can be the enemy? It’s sad, but true – a thick layer of mulch can be a haven for these pathogens. There are few things more disheartening in gardening than stepping outside and finding that your precious plants have collapsed. While there can be other causes for the collapse, crown rot is a common culprit. As I’m sure you know, fungi and water molds run rampant in the soil, and disease-causing pathogens can get the upper hand (or leaf)....

If you’re wondering whether you’d be able to grow enormous berries like the ones you see in the store, or if they’d be smaller, or how long the lovely fruits have been around, you’ve come to the right place. Rubus fruticosus agg. There’s nothing like picking a plump, juicy-looking blackberry from the vines in your own yard and popping it into your mouth. The tart, sweet flavor of homegrown blackberries is unbeatable....

Propagating basil is a great way to multiply your supply and get even more of your favorite herb. In this post, I’ll share the most common methods to try, and show you step by step how to propagate basil by cuttings or division. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced gardener, learning how to propagate basil is a great way to ensure you always have it when you need it....

Growing vegetables on a balcony is an apt idea for city dwellers who do not have their own garden. This way, you can grow your own fresh and organic vegetables. Here are all the details on How to Start a Balcony Vegetable Garden! Have a look at the vegetables you can harvest indoors year-round here Best Vegetables for Balcony Garden Vegetables that don’t require a lot of space are ideal for growing on the balcony....

Storing bulbs for winter is super easy, and a great way to keep your favorite summer flowering bulbs year after year. In this post, I’ll show you when and how to dig up bulbs, and give you step-by-step instructions for how to store bulbs over the winter. Tropical plants add wonderful, lush foliage and bright colorful blooms to summer landscape. In cold climates, it’s common to grow tropical plants as annuals that will die over the winter, and be replaced every spring....

Even to experts, rose classifications can be a complicated subject. If you’ve ever checked out the roses at your local nursery, I’m sure you’ve noticed that some appear to grow small and have petite blossoms, while others are big and bushy, with blossoms that look like they must have a thousand petals. Maybe you’ve heard of wild or tea roses, but you’re wondering what sets them all apart. If so, I feel you....

A really interesting plant that’s getting a lot of attention these days is shampoo ginger, also known as ‘awapuhi kuahiwi. A relative of both turmeric (Curcuma longa) and ginger (Zingiber officinale), red pinecone ginger is one of those tropical plants with aesthetic appeal and medicinal applications. It even shares the same genus with ginger, so you know it has to have a synergistic effect. The bright red flower has been used as a hair conditioner for a long time in its native homes of Asia and Australia, and also in Hawaii where it is naturalized....

It’s only spoken in a hushed whisper, but right here, right now, you’re going to read that password in print for the first time ever. Rumor has it there’s a secret password to freely get inside every arboretum, conservatory, and botanical garden in the United States. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. That password is: Felco F-2....

But if you thought raspberries and blackberries were juicy, meet the boysenberry. This plump, sweet-tart fruit takes juiciness to a whole new level. The biggest benefit of juicy, reddish-black boysenberries is that they make the most excellent pie filling you’ll ever taste. (Okay, rhubarb is one of my favorite fillings, too.) Each berry weighs around 7-8 grams, which is heavy for the fruit of a brambly Rubus plant. For comparison, a typical blackberry weighs 5-7 grams, and a raspberry averages 3-5 grams....

By Erin Marissa Russell Are you curious about using garden lime for tomatoes? Want to know how to do it, as well as the benefits and potential problems of tomatoes and garden lime? Just keep reading. We’ve prepared this article to guide you every step of the way. What Is Garden Lime? Garden lime is calcium carbonate, and it’s used to raise the pH level of soil as well as to add calcium to the soil for plants....

They’re both consumed as whole grains or cereal grains. They’re both cultivated and cherished across the world. They’re both a part of the human diet, whether processed or in their whole forms. And they both have similar plant structures. So, wheat vs barley: what’s the difference? Table of Contents Whole wheat is something that people in North America are highly familiar with. And both barley and wheat are important in so many ways....