… water them. Once they’ve germinated, keep the ground moist but not sopping wet. You can also buy flats of blue salvia for transplanting into the garden. Once the flowers start to fade and …
Type: Plant Info
Q. Please advise on special winter protection for my garden plants. A. Many winter injuries common to plants in the Chicago area can be avoided with a few precautionary practices: Since evergreens continue to lose moisture through their needles all winter long, they need a healthy supply of water in the root zone to avoid winter burn. During short periods of winter thaw, consider watering all …
Type: Plant Info
Large pink flowers with golden cups bordered in white and edged in pink are produced at each of the nodes on the upright pseudobulbs that resemble canes. Grow this orchid in bright light, high relative humidity with good air movement, and exceptionally well- drained orchid growing medium. They flower best if they spend the summer outdoors and then come back in before the first hard frost. The …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
Beautiful exfoliating bark on the mature trunks of the European white birch contrast wonderfully with the black younger stems and conifers throughout the year but particularly in winter. In a good year the foliage turns a clear yellow in fall; in a typical year the foliage is yellowish brown. A short lived tree in this climate due to the prevalence of the bronze headed birch borer. Plant where …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
Pinkish-lavender "moth" flowers are edged in white on this distinctive orchid. This genus of orchids is among the easiest for homeowners to grow indoors because they tolerate lower light levels, drier atmospheres, and are fairly forgiving of overwatering. However, best results are obtained when this plant is grown in bright light, moderate to high humidity, and well-drained soils that are allowed …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
Over a dozen bright yellow flowers broadly splotched in dark red-brown with delicate red patterning on the lips are produced on each flowering stem of this dancing lady orchid.& Grow indoors in bright light, relatively high humidity and warm temperatures for the best results. Ensure the potting media is free draining and fertilize with dilute foliar feed during the summer months. The orchid …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
Large, broad-petaled pink flowers are splotched in dark pink to red, surrounded by a white halo with a yellow patterned lip. Indoors, the plants perform best if provided with bright light, high humidity, warm temperatures, and exceptionally well-drained potting media that is kept moist. In summer, applications of dilute foliar feed fertilizers will ensure the plant produces and stores enough …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
Large pinkish-purple flowers with prominent purple spots and blotches appear in masses towards the growing tip of the single cane. In the wild, aerial roots arising along the cane intertwine themselves with surrounding vegetation to keep the plants upright when in flower. In cultivation staking is required. Bright light, high humidity and high temperatures with exceptionally well drained potting …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
× Aliceara Marfitch 'Howard's Dream' produces large, star-shaped, dark plum flowers variously marked in burgundy, yellow, and white produced on tall, branched spikes from November through March. This orchid is easy to grow, but needs space, bright light, and humidity for best results. The genus name was created to identify all of the offspring of crosses involving the naturally occuring genera …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
The Rantings & Ravings of a Pruning Freak “When’s the best time to prune?” “Anytime!” It doesn’t matter what season you’re in because there’s always something that can be pruned. You just have to know the plant, its growth characteristics, its best time for pruning, and what your intentions are for that plant as it plays into the whole of your garden design. “Well, I don’t have a design. I just …
Type: Plant Info
