… Native to the northern hemisphere and named for the Latin word for garlic, alliums have adapted to climates in every part of the world. Ornamental alliums are distinctive plants grown from bulbs, and Rien Poortviet is an attention getter. Easy to grow, it produces mauve balls of flowers atop 35-inch stems from …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Sea Foam shrub rose ( Rosa 'Sea Foam') grows to a height of 30 inches with full sun and moderate soil conditions. From mid-June to mid-October, it produces lightly fragrant, double white flowers that tend to blush pink in … weather. The small, glossy, deep green leaves are disease resistant. Introduced in 1963, this is one of the first cultivars to be informally described as a landscape rose (it needs minimal …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Windspiel is a German word meaning wind play, and it refers to the way the wind moves the blooms of this giant plant that can grow to 7 feet tall. A clump-forming ornamental grass that prefers full sun, it has linear green …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Wall germander is a shrubby broad leaf evergreen that forms a clump of 2’ by 2’. It has aromatic, evergreen foliage and pink to purple two-lipped flowers that appear in clusters in late spring to early summer. Pinch the … bushy growth. It prefers average, dry to medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun. Site in a sheltered location with winter protection to prevent winter die-back. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Q. I enjoy growing plants from cuttings and seeds. What is the procedure for starting a pineapple plant at home? A. Both adults and children will have … 1 inch of gravel in the bottom of the pot. Fill the pot with potting soil, leaving enough room to plant the stalk firmly in the soil without covering any of the leaves. Water the soil, not the … spending a hot and humid Chicago summer outside as soon as the weather permits. It can take up to two years before flowering starts. A dark pink bud will form in the middle of the leaf spray, …
Type: Plant Info
… Q. How should we select pumpkins for cooking and decorating? A. From supermarkets to farm stands and backyard gardens, fall brings vast displays of colorful pumpkins. Pumpkins, as … be free from scratches, soft or rotten spots, and cracks, and should feel heavy relative to its size. Shape is unimportant. There should be 3 to 4 inches of dry stem attached to the pumpkin. If you are …
Type: Plant Info
… College student Jessica Tillery came to the Chicago Botanic Garden for the summer to work in a plant science lab, hoping to jump start her career in habitat restoration—which she … research alongside the Garden’s conservation scientists and graduate students. The science is the core of the REU program, explained conservation scientist Jeremie Fant, Ph.D., but the …
Type: Blog
… Q. Is it possible to grow a beautiful, large fuchsia indoors in winter? A. When bringing a fuchsia … for dormancy, withhold water in October and November, watering slightly only when the soil is quite dry. Check during winter for problems. Leaf drop and failure to flower are normal at this time. In March, gradually resume watering and fertilizing at half …
Type: Plant Info
… Can I actually plant this root and cultivate it as a houseplant? A. Zingiber officinale is a beautiful tropical plant (hardy in zone 10) that produces tall (2-foot), reed-like stems and … dense flower spikes. The rhizome from which it grows is the common ginger of cuisine. Native to India and Malaysia, this ginger would be difficult to grow without a greenhouse. If you want to take on this project, however, plant the rhizome in …
Type: Plant Info
… Purple Sensation Persian onion ( Allium aflatunense 'Purple Sensation') is one of the earliest of the large-flowered, hardy onions that produce hundreds of violet-purple flowers in a globe-like inflorescence up to 4 inches in diameter. Each bloom spike can reach 30 inches in height. Cut flowers usually last … on planting the large bulbs among shrubs and perennials that are in active growth in mid- to late summer to prevent excess moisture in the soil from rotting the bulbs. Recent DNA analysis …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
