… Q. I want to recycle my fallen leaves into a compost heap. Please give me some advice on starting one this autumn. A. Nine cubic feet, in a neat pile or container, is a good, manageable size for a backyard compost heap. Begin the layering process with a few inches of twigs, which allows for air circulation under the pile. Then add 5 to 10 inches of leaves, grass and shredded garden debris; 1 to 2 inches of manure or synthetic …
Type: Plant Info
… Q. As the snow in my garden melts, there appears to be something wrong with my evergreen shrubs. They look broken and trampled. Is this snow damage and what can I do about it? A. As the snow begins to melt at this time of the year, plants in our gardens are exposed to browsing animals. This …
Type: Plant Info
… available for spot-treating weeds once they have emerged. However, there are a few guidelines to follow, especially since you have recently set down grass seed. Apply the product when the weeds are young and actively growing. Do not apply on a hot or windy day, if the turf is stressed due to drought or if rain is expected within 24 hours. Avoid mowing your lawn for a few days before …
Type: Plant Info
… you know you can grow kiwis right in your own back yard? The fruit of 'Jumbo' hardy kiwi vine is a cousin of the familiar grocery store kiwis. The berries have the same sweet-and-citrus … sweeter. But they're smaller and smooth-skinned so there's no peeling. This variety lives up to its name...'Jumbo.' The berries weigh up to an ounce each, making each one a two-bite snack. There's more good news. 'Jumbo' is hardy to …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… There are many cultigens of top onion, which are thought to be hybrids of Allium cepa , bulb onion, and Allium fistulosum , bunching onion, or their wild ancestors, A. vavilovii and altaicum . According to Dr. Peter Hanelt, editor of Mansfeld's Encyclopedia of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops , it is unlikely to have occurred in nature, because the ranges of the parents do not overlap. The …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… red flowers in early summer. The flowers are fragrant and upfacing on stems that stand only 14 to 18 inches high. This is a dwarf Asiatic hybrid. Asiatic hybrids are the easiest lilies to grow, are quite winter hardy and reproduce readily. They generally bloom earlier than other …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… white flowers with a dark orange throat decorated with dark brown spots. Like most lilies it is fragrant but not overpoweringly so. It is attractive to hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees. White Henryi belongs to the group of Aurelian lily hybrids which generally bloom in July on stout stems supporting …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Electra Alumroot is highly decorative Heuchera villosa hybrid introduced by Terra Nova Nurseries in 2009. It has … with bold red veins. The leaves emerge in the spring a bright yellow with red veins, mellow to a softer yellow-green, and then finally fade to tan over the winter. The contrasting red veins persist on the leaves through the entire …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Stainless Steel Alumroot is a great shade garden selection. This Heuchera was bred by Charles and Martha Oliver of the … outstanding, numerous tall panicles of creamy white flowers. Stainless Steel Alumroot matures to 12 inches tall and 24 inches wide. The inflorescences appear high over the silver foliage in late spring and summer and increase the height to 2 feet. Fantastic in a container, border or as a groundcover in semi- to full shade. Although …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Excellens is a relatively rare cultivar of Manchurian lilac, which produces white blossoms. It was … tubular in form and are borne in large panicles. While the common name of the plant has come to define a shade of pale purple, some species and hybrids have pink or white blossoms. Lilacs begin to set buds for the following year shortly after they finish blooming; if pruning is desired, it …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
