… evergreens, can still be planted this month. Plant on a cloudy day, early in the morning, to prevent heat and transplant shock. Water thoroughly and gently at planting time and continue for the first year with 1 inch of water a week, spread throughout the root zone. Mulch root zones to conserve moisture. Prune spring-flowering shrubs and ornamental trees immediately after they …
Type: Plant Info
… flowers, vibrantly colored summer fruits, and exfoliating bark that adds rich visual interest to winter gardens. It is available both as a single- or multi-stemmed plant and can be a nice … are pruned. Small yellow flowers appear in March, and during a cool spring, they'll last for weeks. Bright red fruit that ripens in midsummer is edible but extremely tart. Fall color can be reddish to purple, depending on the year. The gray-brown to rich-brown exfoliating, flaky bark, is very …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… 15–20 feet high and 8–10 feet wide. Clusters of white flowers bloom in the spring, giving way to red berries in June. The berries are edible and can be used to make pastries and preserves—if you can get them before the birds do. The green leaves turn a … fall, giving the tree an appearance of a rainbow. The narrow habit of this tree makes it ideal for small gardens. Members of the genus Amelanchier offer four seasons of interest -- small white …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Golden yellow cattleya styled flowers come 3 to 5 per spike. Cattleya related orchids are challenging for Chicago area gardeners requiring a high quality grow light and the ability to maintain high humidity levels in winter. The orchid family consists of a large number of …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Light orange cattleya orchid flowers with 3 to 5 flowers per stem in winter. Cattleya orchids can be a challenge for homeowners in the Chicago area to keep overwinter requiring high quality grow lights and high humidity. The orchid family …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Sweetbay magnolia (var. virginiana ) is native to the coastal United States from North Carolina to Massachusetts, where it is notable for its creamy white, lemon-scented blooms. In the more southern parts of its range, sweetbay …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… This vine grows to a height of more than 40 feet, with full shade and moist soil conditions. From March to June, it has salmon and green blooms. It is one of the primary sources for vanilla flavoring. The orchid family consists of a large number of genera, each with its own …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Q. I would like to use some of the flowering shrubs on my property and cut branches to force indoors for late-winter color. What is the best way to do this? A. Branches from most flowering trees or …
Type: Plant Info
… Q. I would like to grow asparagus. How do I get started? A. Asparagus is a perennial vegetable crop that can be … fleshy stems with established roots. You can start asparagus by seed, but that will add a year to the establishment of the bed. Plant the crowns in trenches that are at least 10 inches wide … without forcing the plant to push through 6 inches of soil all at once. Growth will be spindly for the first couple of years. Plan to harvest in year three when the diameter of the stems is …
Type: Plant Info
… The shining or hedge cotoneaster is a northern Asia native notable for its lustrous foliage. It can tolerate a wide range of soils as long as they are well-drained. … pinkish white blooms that appear in mid-spring and attract bees. The foliage turns yellow to red in the fall. Berries ripen to black in the fall as well and remain on the shrub for most of winter. Members of the genus …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
