… curious gardeners, but also butterflies and bees. Sweet almond verbena is a wonderful shrub to use in container or annual plantings in the Chicago region, but it is not hardy to our USDA Zone 5, but rather to USDA Zones 8, 9, or 10. However, if you find yourself in Florida for a better part of the year, you might be familiar with this bush, because it was the Florida …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… but well drained soils. Divide when the clumps of corms have become so congested they start to push up to the surface of the soil. Interplant corms with companion plants that begin growth late in the season to accommodate the luxuriant spring foliage and that provide a backdrop for the flowers in Fall. Examples include cultivars of Heuchera , Phlox paniculata , …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… but well-drained soil, and divide when the clumps of corms have become so congested they start to push up to the surface of the soil. Interplant the corms with companion plants that begin growth late in the season to accommodate the luxuriant spring foliage, which provides a backdrop for the flowers in fall. Examples include cultivars of Heuchera , Phlox paniculata , …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… It has medium green leaves edged in white as well as red stems in winter. In early May to June it produces flat clusters of insignificant yellow-white flowers which give way to whitish fruit. To maintain the red stems, the oldest stems should be removed each year. Members of the genus Cornus , commonly known as dogwoods, are welcome in the home garden for their multi-season interest -- be it flowers, fruit, foliage and/or bark -- and their range …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Golden Prairie Fire dogwood is a cultivar of Cornus alba , a multi-stem shrub which is native to Asia. The foliage emerges golden and fades to soft yellow as the season progresses, then turns orange-red in the fall. Creamy white flowers … Members of the genus Cornus , commonly known as dogwoods, are welcome in the home garden for their multi-season interest -- be it flowers, fruit, foliage and/or bark -- and their range …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… recognizable and beloved wildflowers, but there are a few things you may not know about them. For one thing, there are several wild species of Rudbeckia growing in the region and several … My favorite, sweet black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia subtomentosa) , is a native species of moist to wet prairies and woodland edges. Although the flowers are very similar, the familiar common … (ligule or ray) of an individual flower called a ray or ligulate flower. I know this is hard to get your head around, since the entire heads of many tiny flowers are arranged in a way that …
Type: Plant Info
… in the spongy moth life cycle is the egg mass stage. Female moths lay eggs from late July to early August on almost any sheltered surface — bark crevices, rocks, picnic tables, vehicles. Egg masses, each containing 100 to 1,000 eggs, overwinter and hatch into tiny larvae the following spring, usually in early May … moth into the Midwest from the Northeast. Homeowners can assist by searching their property for egg masses or any other signs of spongy moths. If you live outside a quarantined area and …
Type: Plant Info
… as a beacon of color on a cold, leafless winter day. Though this species has a bad reputation for robbing eggs from other birds' nests, squirrels and crows, in turn, raid the nests of jays. There's much to admire about the blue jay, which belongs to the Corvidae family, one of the most intelligent of bird families. The blue jay builds a bulky …
Type: Birding
… Q: How do I water my orchid? A. In order to determine how often you need to water your orchid, it is important to know what type of medium … to water it. Place the pot in a sink and allow the water to run through the planting medium for a few minutes and allow it to drain, then repeat. It is important to make sure that the orchid drains completely. Do not allow the plant to sit in water. The good news—it is almost impossible to overwater an orchid if it is potted correctly. …
Type: Plant Info
… Q. Are there advantages to routinely spraying my trees with oils? A. Routine spraying of any product on healthy trees … bud yet, and the weather should be calm with little wind. There are a few trees sensitive to dormant oil that should not be treated: maple, hickory, redbud, blue spruce, black walnut, beech, Douglas fir and several other evergreens. For these trees, a lighterweight version, sometimes called horticultural or summer oil, is …
Type: Plant Info
