Plant Gardens 101

Black pine is an excellent candidate for bonsai because it is a sturdy, beautiful tree. It is also one of the most common bonsai plants among bonsai growers and if taken care of properly, it can mature into a well-balanced plant for years to come.

Soil When choosing soil for your black pine bonsai, make sure it’s a good 50% akadama and 50% pumice mix. If it’s a younger tree, you might want to use more grit. These materials help the black pine bonsai grow healthy roots because they drain water well.

Water Black pine bonsai will do well with soil that is evenly moist, so take care not to water too much. They can manage a little dryness and with soil that’s free-draining, overwatering won’t be a problem.

Try to water your black pine bonsai with tap water that has a pH balance range of 5.5 to 6.5. Water two or three times to thoroughly wet the soil. (more…)

In the summer, the sun is shining and everything is vibrant. Even the summer flowers are brighter and bolder. No meek pastels or pasty whites here; summer flower bulbs are vivacious. While less hardy plants are dried, brown, and dying, summer flowers are bright, alive, and thriving. Summer flower bulbs are flowers that bloom in the summer. Some examples are daylilies, lilies, gladiolus, dahlia, begonia, and caladium.

Summer flower bulbs should be planted in early spring. They need to be planted in an area with adequate drainage. Flower bulbs will rot in standing water. For this reason, they should never be planted at the bottom of a hill.

Summer flower bulbs vary in their sun requirements. Dahlias, lilies, and daylilies, for example, thrive in full sun to partial shade. Gladiolus, on the other hand, requires full sun and iris prefer partial shade. When planning your arrangement, pay special attention to the amount of sun your garden or flowerbed receives and pick your flower bulbs accordingly. (more…)

Growing your own plants from seed can be one of the most exciting and worthwhile gardening activities. And of course it is a really inexpensive way to grow the number of plants you need for your garden or containers.

In this article I am going to deal with growing seeds from packets purchased at a garden centre – as this is the easiest way to start. These packets will have a picture on the front and growing instructions on the reverse, including germination times and the best time of year to sow. The instructions are important so do keep the packet safe even if you have used all the seeds!

1. Equipment you need:

• Clean pots or seed trays, with drainage holes and not too flimsy
• Seed compost or multi-purpose compost is just as effective
• Clear plastic bags or cling film or propagator

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The Aster flower is an easily grown sun loving perennial. It comes in a variety of colors and shapes. If you already have asters then you that they are easily grown from divisions, this is simply dividing the plants into smaller sizes for replanting. They do extremely well when planted then divide every two or three years. Simply thin, them out and replant in another sunny location.

Asters can be started from seeds directly into the ground or indoors and later transplanted into your garden when the warmer weather arrives.. If you start them indoors and, start them in pots and then transplant the young plants outdoors in spring when all danger of frosts have passed, If you choose to plant them outdoors, plant them early in the season ( after danger of frost ) covering them lightly with soil and water them well. (more…)

Spring is the favorite season of many. It is a time of rebirth, renewal, and rejuvenation. One of the greatest joys of spring is the beautiful assortment of flowers. You can get this joy at home by planting spring flower bulbs. These are bulbs that bloom in early spring while other plants are still developing.

There are many spring flowering bulbs, but some of the most popular are crocus, tulip, narcissus, and hyacinth. These bulbs should be planted before the ground freezes, preferably in late September or early October. This enables them to develop a strong root system before the first frost. (more…)

Because of the wide variety of orchid species, it’s impossible to generalize about their growing habits and preferences. It all depends on which kind of orchid you’re dealing with whether it prefers to grow in the air, on a rock, in bark or moss or in the soil. Orchids are divided into three different groups.

Epiphytes are the most familiar orchids for most people. They are ‘air growers’, taking their nutrients from the air, though the usually grow on and in trees. Unlike many plants that grow in trees, epiphytic orchids are not parasites and don’t harm the plants on which they grow. Cattleya, cymbidium and dendrobium are epiphytes, as are most of the orchids that are commonly cultivated. (more…)

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Flowering Dogwood trees can be easily grown from seed, however 99.9999% of the seedlings that sprout will be Cornus Florida, which is White Flowering Dogwood. It doesn’t matter if you collect the seeds from a White Dogwood or a Pink Dogwood, the seedlings are likely to be white.

The only predictable way to grow a Pink Dogwood, Red Dogwood, or one of the beautiful Dogwoods with variegated leaves, is to bud or graft the desired variety onto a White Dogwood seedling. (more…)

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Peppers are a warm weather vegetable that can be finicky at times and difficult to grow, particularly in mild climates. Peppers require a lengthy growing season and warm temperatures within a specific range to thrive fully. There are two types of peppers: sweet and hot. Sweet peppers are bell-shaped and come in a variety of colors ranging from green and red to purple and even white. Hot peppers are smaller and thinner and come in shades of green, yellow, and red. While homegrown peppers can be difficult at times, they are not an impossible plant for the home gardener to grow. In this article, we’ll provide some tips that will help you grow your best peppers ever.

Peppers can either be purchased as young plants from a nursery or grown indoors from seed. Either method is perfectly acceptable; it is simply a matter of how much time and effort you want to put into your plants. There are several benefits to growing the plants from seed. For starters, a packet contains enough seeds for an enormous garden of pepper plants and can usually be purchased for less than $2.00. Young pepper plants purchased from a nursery, on the other hand, will cost you about that same amount, per plant. So depending on how many plants you want, growing from seed can save quite a bit of money. Second, if you want to try some unusual varieties of peppers, you will most likely have to order seeds and grow them yourself. Nurseries will almost always have sweet bell, jalapeno, and banana peppers as young plants, but rarely will they have more obscure varieties such as Hungarian Yellow Wax, Anaheim, and Serrano peppers. (more…)

Growing chillies is fantastic fun but results often depend on the climate where you live. However, there are things you can do to grow excellent quality and quantities of chillies in most climates.

I live in an area where chillies do not grow very well outdoors so I grow them in a greenhouse but what I am going to talk about here can be used when growing outdoors.

The first thing to think about is seed. You can walk into a supermarket, buy a chilli and use the seeds from the chilli you cook with. Not after you have cooked them though. It is better to buy from a specialist seed company though as these seeds will be from chillies which have been specially grown for their seeds. You can buy these from supermarkets, DIY stores or major seed supply companies. However, I like to buy my chilli seeds from specialist chilli growers. They are easy enough to find now that the internet has been developed but my Grandfather never had the internet yet he found a specialist company many years ago before chillies became a popular food in the UK.

So how do you grow them. Well you could just throw a few seeds in a pot and hope for the best but by taking some careful steps you can maximise your success. (more…)

Perennials are a favorite type of garden plant for many gardens as they will bloom for several seasons without replanting. Perhaps one of the best qualities of perennials is that you can divide them and make more plants for free! Dividing your perennials periodically is important as it will keep them from getting overcrowded and help insure healthy lush plants.

Many perennials can be divided easily, but this does not hold try for every variety. In general, division is easiest with perennials that grow in clumps or ones with an expanding root mass. Perennials which stem from single taproot typically cannot be divided but can be duplicated by using root cuttings or seeds.

It is important to divide the plant at a time when the plant is most likely to be receptive to this procedure. Fr plants that come up in spring and summer, the best time to divide them is in the fall Perennials that bloom in the fall or late summer should be divided in the spring. (more…)

Redcurrants, and their less well known cousins, whitecurrants are some of the most useful, and most easily grown fruit bushes available to the gardener. Not only do they produce tasty nutritious fruit, crammed with Vitamin C and anti-oxidants but they have good ornamental value and, being extremely hardy, they will grow in colder spots and on poorer ground than most other fruit. Every garden should have redcurrants, so here are some tips and tricks to help grow them successfully.

Varieties first. For redcurrants, Junifer is early and excellent while Rovada (which is one of the best tasting redcurrants there is) crops later. Whitecurrants are thinner on the ground but I like Blanka which yields better thanVersailles (don’t turn your nose up at whitecurrants – their jelly is sensational). All the varieties named have good disease resistance.

Redcurrants and whitecurrants are both completely self-fertile, so there is none of the poring over books needed to decide what goes with what. (more…)

There are many varieties of eggplants and they come in all shapes and sizes. The most common eggplant is called black beauty.

There are a number of great dishes you can make with eggplant including my favorite eggplant parmesan.

If eggplant is not part of your home vegetable garden you really should consider it. They are easy to grow with a little care and a couple of plants can produce all the of the eggplant you will need for an entire growing season.
If you plan on starting your eggplant from seed, as opposed to buying a plant from a local home or garden center, you should start them indoors about 6 to 8 weeks prior to the last frost of the season, in a portable planting greenhouse available at any garden center for less than $5.00.

Eggplants grow best when the soil temperature is 80 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Spread about an inch to two inches of freshly cut grass clippings at the base of each eggplant to help keep a warmer temperature in the soil. (more…)

Whether for shredding over fresh salads, using in vegetable medleys or casseroles, or simply for healthy anytime of day snacking, carrots are one of the most popular root crops enjoyed and consumed worldwide. A hardy growing vegetable, carrots are excellent growers in nearly all regions of the world, and their fresh taste and snap are so pleasing. Carrots are excellent additions to backyard gardens and container gardens alike, so read on, to find the basics of growing delicious tasting organic carrots year after year. (more…)

Melons aren’t vegetables of course but that does not mean you can’t add a few varieties to your home vegetable garden.

Melons range from cantaloupe to watermelon and honeydew and many other varieties in between.

Most grow on vines, so they do take up some space if you do not put the time in to have them grow vertically up a trellis.

If you are willing to either put the time in to direct growth vertically or are willing to part with your gardening area, melons can add some great tasting produce just a few feet from the kitchen window. (more…)

Common Thyme or English Thyme (Latin name Thymus vulgaris) is a Mediterranean native plant, perfect for dry herb gardens. This versatile plant is a favorite ingredient in kitchen gardens, grows well between rocks or spilling over containers and is a staple in classic Medieval knot gardens.

These herbs grow as small shrubs or shrublets with tiny, oval leaves measuring just 1/4 inch long. They are perennial and flower in late spring to early summer in little whorls on the tips of the stems. The flowers are shaped like tiny trumpets, usually in white or pale violet. (more…)

Arugula is a very popular green to add to any salad or as a stand alone side to your dinner or lunch. And who can resist, it is enriched with plenty of Vitamins A, C, K and Folate as well as the nutritional minerals Calcium and Potassium. Its rich peppery taste also makes arugula a good choice to use in pasta dishes. Here is how you can grow some great tasting arugula in your home vegetable garden.

Arugula is a colder weather crop and germinates best in a soil temperature in the range of forty to fifty-five degrees Fahrenheit. As soon as you work the soil (after the freeze is over) you can begin planting arugula.

Arugula is typical to many other vegetables in that it likes a pH level in the soil to be as neutral as possible. Test your soil to make sure the level sits above six and as close to seven as possible. You can get a pH soil tester at any home or garden center for a few bucks. (more…)

The sage herbs you cook with in the kitchen also a makes a delicious addition to dry gardens. They grow to a height of three feet tall and almost as wide. The stems are square and woody, usually covers with short hairs. All parts of this grayish green plant are aromatic. Salvia leaves are long and thin, up to 4 inches long and 1/2 inch across. They are crinkly, fragrant and sticky and can be used in cooking either fresh or dried. Culinary Sage or salvia officinalis is native to the Mediterranean region, making it a perfect plant for dry gardens. Sage grows in full sun to partial, dappled shade, and are hardy to about 20 degrees.

Sage plants flower in the summer with upright usually with blue or light blue flowers. They are beautiful in arrangements, or dried for kitchen decoration. Salvia can tolerate regular garden watering, but will also do well in drought conditions. After a few years they will need to be cut back to remove dead branches and maintain shape. (more…)

While we all know that garlic has many health benefits such as being a natural antibiotic, you may not know that they can also be healthy for your garden as well. As a companion plant, when they are planted near roses and raspberries, garlic will improve the growth and health of your plants. It has the added benefit of deterring Japanese beetles and aphids. Garlic is easy to grow and each planted clove will produce a full head of Garlic with between 8 to 20 cloves per head. To get started in with planting your garlic, first purchase your garlic of choice. Since the garlic from grocery stores has antisprouting chemicals added to it, be sure and buy your garlic from a reputable source rather than a grocery store. One variety that you may enjoy that is popular here in the Mid-South is the mild flavored ‘Elephant’ garlic which has large clusters.

Planting Garlic

One half pound of garlic seed is a good start and will produce about 15 plants. Garlic is divided into hardnecks (Allium sativum var. ohioscorodon) and softnecks (Allium sativum var. sativum). First, check online catalogs or your local co-op for the variety that will suit your needs best. (more…)