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Flowering Evergreen Trees These trees provide glossy, green leaves all year in the right climate, as well as pretty spring flowers: Flowering Evergreen Bushes Use evergreen flowering shrubs as hedges or borders, or in a more natural state in a native bed or planting. Flowering Evergreen Ground Cover As a grass alternative, try these evergreen ground covers that stay green all year and bloom in winter or spring. When choosing flowering evergreens, keep in mind that some are deciduous in colder climates....

Foliage of stromanthe houseplants is a reddish maroon and pink on the backside of the leaves, peeking through the green and white variegated tops. With the right stromanthe plant care, the ‘Triostar’ can reach 2 to 3 feet (up to 1 m.) in height and 1 to 2 feet (31-61 cm.) across. Growing Stromanthe Sanguine Learning how to grow a stromanthe is not complicated, but you must commit to providing regular humidity when growing the Stromanthe ‘Triostar’ plant....

Growing Chocolate Mimosa Not only is the deep chocolate hue of the foliage unusual and elegant, but it also makes care of chocolate mimosa trees easier. The darker foliage makes the tree both accepting of heat and drought tolerant, according to chocolate mimosa information. Deer dislike the odor of the leaves, so you don’t have to worry about these animals munching up your tree. You’ll appreciate the unusual leaf color, but you’ll also love the 1 to 2 inch (2....

Though finding adaptable and easy-to-grow plants is often a priority, it should also be noted that some species may cause more issues than good. The use of Brazilian waterweed in aquariums is just one example of how a single planting may come to overtake its aquatic home. With this in mind, many are left to ask, “Is waterweed invasive?”. Anacharis Plant Info What is Brazilian waterweed? Brazilian waterweed (Egeria densa syn....

What is Asafetida? Asafetida (Ferula foetida) has been cultivated and harvested for centuries. What is Asafetida? This same plant is referred to both as “Food of the Gods” and “Devil’s Dung,” making it confusing to the layperson. Should you eat it? Should you pull it up and discard it? That all depends upon how you wish to use the plant and what traditions your culinary palate can handle. Either way, the perennial herb bears attractive curly, lacy foliage and interesting flowering umbels that can enhance the garden in USDA zones 3 to 8....

The Rules on Deer Fences Deer are elegant and graceful creatures, but these attributes fall short when they have been in the garden eating your prize plants. Look on the internet and deer fencing designs abound, but many of the ideas are expensive, ugly, or take special skills to erect. Attractive deer proof fencing takes a lot of materials and contractor know how. Single strand electric fences or simple deer mesh are fairly easy control options....

How to Get Rid of Fallen Leaves Curious about what to do with fall leaves other than having them hauled away? Consider these options: Mulch: Use a mulching mower to chop leaves into small pieces. They will fall back onto the lawn where the organic material will benefit the soil. You can also spread 3 to 6 inches (7.5-15 cm.) of the chopped leaves as mulch in beds and around trees and shrubs....

Algal Leaf Spot of Avocado Avocado leaf diseases can look so bad that a homeowner will question whether or not their tree will make it to harvest time. Fortunately, many avocado leaf diseases look a lot worse than they really are for established trees, and algal leaf spot of avocados is one of the easy ones! You’ll know you have avocado algal leaf disease when green, yellowish, or red orange raised spots start to appear in abundance on your avocado leaves....

So, it goes without saying that growing bamboo in the desert or finding a bamboo for desert climates starts with the right plant selection. With a little extra attention to the type of bamboo you plant in your desert landscape, you may get a good stand of this interesting plant. In fact, you may find that bamboo grows in the desert all too well, outgrowing its designated spot and spreading out of control, though not so much as locating them in more temperate or tropical-like environments....

Plants with Multicolored Leaves There are several multicolored plants from which to choose. Many of these plants with colorful leaves require a bit more attention when placing them in the landscape. However, it’s worthwhile to get that additional burst of various shades through the summer. Many have insignificant blooms that can be clipped early to direct energy into producing the attractive foliage. Here are a few examples of multi-colored foliage plants for the garden:...

Managing Shade Vegetables, Fruit and Herbs Sunlight comes in many forms. It can be direct or it can be filtered through the canopy of overhead trees. It can be more or less intense, depending upon the time of day. Sunlight can also be reflected off nearby objects, such as a light-colored wall or body of water. Before gardeners begin the process of selecting vegetables, fruits and herbs that grow in shade, it’s advisable to determine how much and how many hours of sunlight the garden receives....

Read on if you’re seeing tomatoes rotting on the bottom to learn how to stop tomato blossom end rot. Tomato Plants with Blossom Rot The spot on the fruit where the blossom once was marks the center of blossom end rot. Typically, the problem starts on the first flush of fruits and those that haven’t quite reached their full size. The spot appears watery and yellowish-brown at first and will grow until it destroys much of the fruit....

Identifying Blueberries with Stem Canker If you live in the southeastern part of the country, your blueberries are at risk for botryosphaeria stem canker. This is a serious fungal disease of the berry shrubs and requires quick action on your part. That means you’ll want to recognize stem canker on blueberry plants rapidly. The first signs you are likely to spot if your berry bushes have botryosphaeria stem canker are lesions appearing on the stems of the shrubs....

Brazil Nut Tree Facts Brazil nut trees are a key element of rainforest preservation. Because their worth comes from harvesting Brazil nuts, which can be done when they fall naturally to the forest floor. Brazil nut trees discourage the slash and burn farming that’s ravaging the rainforest. Together with rubber, which can be harvested without harming the trees, Brazil nuts form a year-long source of low-impact livelihood called “extractivism.” Unfortunately, Brazil nut harvest depends upon a large undisturbed habitat for the trees as well as the pollinating bees and the seed-spreading rodents....

Can You Grow Lemongrass Indoors? Can you grow lemongrass indoors? Absolutely! In fact, growing lemongrass indoors is a necessity in colder climates, as lemongrass grown outdoors will not survive the winter. If you can find lemongrass for sale in your grocery store, buy some. Pick the stalks with the greenest centers and the bulbs still intact on the bottom. Place them, bulb down, in a glass with a few inches (8 cm....

How to Grow Shiitake Mushrooms Growing shiitake mushrooms for commercial production requires significant investment capital as well as very specific shiitake mushroom care. However, shiitake mushroom growing for the home gardener or hobbyist isn’t very difficult and can be very rewarding. Shiitakes are wood-decay fungi, meaning they grow on logs. Growing shiitake mushrooms takes place either on logs or in bags of nutrient-enriched sawdust or other organic material, called bag culture....

Growing Daphne Plants Before you decide that this fragrant beauty is just what you want, there are a couple of things you should know about daphne. First of all, the plant is poisonous. In fact, it is so toxic that chewing on the flowers, foliage, or red berries can be fatal. You should never plant daphne shrubs where pets or children play. Another potential problem with daphne is that it is known to die suddenly and seemingly without cause....

Cutting yucca flower stalks after they die is thought to spur further flowers. Should you remove spent yucca flowers? If you have questions on how to care for yucca after blooming, read on for a few answers. Should You Remove Spent Yucca Flowers? Yuccas produce a flower spire with many dangling panicles, which are individual flowers. Yuccas are members of the lily family with blooms of similar form but much different foliage....

Should I Prune Catnip? Catnip will grow well in almost any soil but prefers a moderately rich loam that is well-draining. This herb prefers full sun but will tolerate partial shade. Water young plants twice a week but as they establish, reduce watering to once a week depending upon weather conditions. Really, that’s about it with regards to caring for these herbs, with the exception of pruning catnip plants. If you’re asking, “When should I prune catnip?...

What is Stalk Rot in Celery? Rotting stalks in celery are often a sign of infection with the fungus Rhizoctonia solani. Stalk rot, also called crater rot or basal stalk rot, develops most frequently when the weather is warm and wet. The same soil-borne fungus also causes damping off in seedlings of celery and other garden vegetables. Stalk rot typically begins near the base of the outer leaf petioles (stalks) after the fungus invades through wounds or open stomata (pores)....