… Ask most families what their favorite fruit is and the answer is unanimous — the apple! Whether picked fresh on a crisp autumn day or baked … children than any other fruit. The good news for gardeners is that you don't need an orchard to grow apples. There are several options available to both suburban and urban gardeners who have … should be no problem planting more than one variety, necessary for cross-pollination and the best fruit production. …
Type: Plant Info
… ...and this year's fall colors It’s hard to think of fall without picturing a mosaic of trees with warm-colored hues. Amber browns, golden … Garden. At the Garden, peak fall color emerges around mid-October. This year’s fall color show is not a drastic change, but the colors are a little “off,” according to Boyce Tankersley, … tree walk begins at the Visitor Center and proceeds south along the Garden’s East Road on the way to the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation Science Center . Given the fluctuation in …
Type: Blog
… Description: The most common year-round woodpecker at the Garden is frequently spotted-especially in the McDonald Woods and Barbara Brown Nature Reserve. Even on … give its whinnylike call in the woods at the Garden. This hardy, adaptable bird is built to get food left by other birds that leave town for the winter. Woodpeckers can go up and down … that long tongue when he's not using it? He wraps it inside his head around his skull. The best “human” example of a woodpecker's tongue wrapped around its skull is a retractable tape …
Type: Birding
… Plant, water, and grow! Whether you are a parent, teacher, or caregiver, teaching children to plant seeds is a simple and authentic way to help them engage with nature. It’s an activity that the littlest of sprouts can do “all by … trug full of soil makes filling pots easy for younger gardeners. Watering in the seeds is the best part of planting. Set out the potting mix in a wide-mouth container such as a flexible …
Type: Blog
… C-shaped grubs of these beetles feed on the roots of turf grass, causing dead brown patches to appear. Timing & Life Cycle Adult beetles emerge in early July and feed for four to six weeks … to plant tissue. Skeletonized leaves and petals eventually will drop off. The damage, however, is largely aesthetic, and most plants do not die from these attacks. When found in large numbers, … Hand-picking Japanese beetles from plants or knocking them into a bucket of soapy water is the best control. Beetles are attracted to plants where other beetles already are feeding, so …
Type: Plant Info
… This is a Caribbean cultivar, Kashee, highly valued in Saint Vincent for cooking. Through genetic, historical, and morphological data, we were able to match this cultivar to the Tahitian cultivar, Puero, which has the same distinct spiky skin. Breadfruit If you visit …
Type: Blog
… When the rosarian William Radler was a teenager, he resolved to breed a hardy rose that was beautiful, bloomed all season, was disease resistant, and … Knock Out ™ , the award-winning shrub rose that mail-order catalogs call "perhaps the best-ever landscape rose for four-season interest." Mr. Radler germinated the first Knock Out … available to the public with 250,000 plants in production. And a star was born. Knock Out is a four-season winner that will endear itself to gardeners eager for the beauty and versatility …
Type: Plant Info
… Thinking Outside the Pot While the wind is howling and the temperatures plunge, I like to repot my succulents and other houseplants—a fun … At a recent succulent class at the Garden, we used glass containers. There’s no right or wrong way to layer potting materials in glass, but it’s fun to make the layers interesting. I often …
Type: Plant Info
… Why Care about Fungi? The Chicago area is host to more than a thousand species of mushrooms and mushroom like fungi—beneficial, … Other fungi are plant pathogens . In large forests that extend miles, older trees die to make way for new trees—it is a natural part of the life cycle. Forest fungi help this regeneration to …
Type: Plant Info
… When farmers’ markets wind down, many of us want to preserve the bounty of this year for the next. Why not save save seeds from your last tomatoes … the “parent plant.” 2. Selecting Choose a ripe, disease-free tomato; one past being edible is best. 3. Removing Cut the tomato ‘around the equator’ and squeeze out the seeds and ‘goo’ in …
Type: Blog
