… plants and habitats as effective as possible in order to maintain healthy natural areas that support wildlife and pollinators, and help keep our air and water clean. This is no small task. … Tansy aster ( Machaeranthera canescens ): This purple-flowered plant is good for pollinators, one of the few plants that flowers late in the season, and on top of that, is really good at … Eshleman Woolly plantain ( Plantago patagonica ) by Andrea Kramer This summer was a busy one. My students and I spent many weeks in the Colorado Plateau working with collaborators to …
Type: Blog
… There are a lot more flowers on a milkweed plant than the number of fruits produced, but only one or two pollinated flowers develop into mature follicles. The energy it takes for a plant to … reproduce. Follicles developing on butterfly weed ( Asclepias tuberosa ). Approximately one follicle per flower cluster matures. Next time you see a milkweed in bloom, take a closer …
Type: Blog
… the breakdown of organic matter and helping plant roots extract nutrients from the soil. One of the most important things a gardener can do to address both of these extremes is to … invasions, including borers, bark beetles, canker, and root disease fungi. Water matters One of the best tools a gardener can have right now is a rain gauge. Keeping an eye on the …
Type: Blog
… many times. Some are easier to prune than others, and some are downright intimidating. The one tree that is the most difficult to prune has been named “The Spirit Breaker,” and we always draw straws to see who gets to prune that one—it takes a full day! Overall, I very much enjoy this late-winter pruning project, as it has …
Type: Blog
… produce their flowers on a single stem and others are branching—displaying multiple flowers on one stem. While Teddy Bear and Golden Bear have massive flower heads that look like big yellow … the flower opens. You might consider where to place a bird feeder filled with sunflower seeds. One study suggests that sunflower shells contain allelochemicals that have a strong inhibitory …
Type: Blog
… vinegar for fresh vinaigrettes all summer and fall. ‘Purple Osmin’ Fruity and sweet, this is one of the darkest of all basils, and delicious in Italian and Thai recipes. ‘Sweet Thai’ The … ready to use. Harvest a whole plant by cutting straight across the main stem, leaving at least one leaf node with two shoots—the plant will rebranch from there. Start a new batch of seed …
Type: Blog
… As soon as your plant has grown a root and a stem that is 1-2 inches long, turn the bag one quarter turn and put it back. You may have to wait a week – less if your bean is warm, more … grow plants – are some of the most patient people you will ever meet! Here are the results of one bag I started about three weeks ago. Since I turned the bag clockwise, the roots and stem …
Type: Blog
… to be perfect. The tape will fix that. Cut a large window in each divider. Cut a window on one end of the box. Tape the dividers in place as shown in the picture. Pardon the crude … the hole you cut. Just for fun, I used several different seeds from a bean soup mix to see if one kind would get through the maze better than the others. It was like a bean-seed “race.” You … that grew the farthest and were closest to completing the maze had leggy stems that would not support growth upward to the last window. If I leave them a few more weeks, they could possibly …
Type: Blog
… to avoid embarrassment) gave me a bag full of gooseneck loosestrife ( Lysimachia clethroides ) one summer eons ago. Drooping elegant stems covered with white starry flowers looked so nice. … boxwoods, farewell to my fern-leaf Japanese maples. Choose hardy plants (or feel free to help support the green industry when you purchase replacements). Have a Plan After a long, dreary … If you don’t know whether the soil has the right amount of minerals and organic matter to support your plants, they may not thrive where you place them. I Forgot to Water I like to …
Type: Plant Info
… Very dark, lacy foliage is a dramatic background for lovely pink flowers. Tall, Dark, and Airy One of the easiest tall and dark plants to grow, bronze fennel can be sown from seed. Its dark …
Type: Plant Info
