Archive for the ‘Planting tips’ Category

Add Alliums In Your Spring Flower Garden

              Ornamental alliums, members of the onion family (Amaryllidaceae), produce flowers that are uniquely ball shaped and stand atop long, graceful stems. Young children marvel about the lollipop or stargazing blooms. Depending on species, alliums come in many colors (white, yellow, pink, purple, blue), shapes (round, oval, cascading), and sizes (5 inches to 5 feet tall). […]

New ‘Black and Bloom’ Salvia Lovely Touch To Late Summer Garden

Blue anise sage (Salvia guaranitica) is native to central South America (USDA hardiness zones 7-10). It primarily utilized as a garden annual in the U.S., but is rated a tender perennial in protected locations with winter mulch cover in zone 6. Plants exhibit a shrubby, somewhat open habit with upright branching, to 3-5 feet tall as a perennial and 2 ½ […]

10 Winter Care Tips For Landscape Plants

              Fall-planted perennials, shrubs and trees need some additional attention. Here are 10 basic tips to help plants get past potential winter woes: Select balled-and-burlapped (b&b) or container-grown plants rather than bare-rooted stock. Most bare-root plants are planted in late winter or early spring when plants are still dormant. Evergreens, […]

Foxtail Lilies Are Uniquely Different

  Foxtail lilies or desert candles (Eremurus spp.) are beginning to find an audience with U.S. gardeners. Foxtail lilies are indigenous to the grasslands and semi-arid parts of Iran, Turkey, and Afghanistan (USDA hardiness zones 5–8). Tall spires of brightly colored flowers emerge in late spring; small individual flowers are densely packed together. Each showy […]

Critter-Resistant Flower Bulbs

              Who doesn’t love colorful flowering bulbs in the early spring garden? Unfortunately, many gardens are terrorized by flower-devouring deer or bulb-chomping squirrels, voles and other critters. When utilizing smelly sprays, expensive fencing, or firearms are not options, plant a wide choice of flower bulbs that critters don’t like. […]

Fall Lawn And Landscape Planting Tips

            The combination of warm soil and cool air makes autumn an ideal time to plant new trees, shrubs, perennials, and cool season annuals. You may want to divide certain perennials such as iris, hostas, daylilies, and lots more. Fall weather favors root growth which aids transplants to recover quickly before winter’s chill arrives. Autumn planting […]

‘Victory’ Chosen Hosta Plant Of The Year For 2015

The Hosta Growers Association has selected ‘Victory’ the Hosta of the Year for 2015 (USDA Zones 3–9). ‘Victory’ is a large hosta cultivar with gold edged variegated leaves and an upright vase-shaped plant habit. Victory hosta is a sport of H. nigrescens ‘Elatior’, distinctive also for its beautiful, upright form. Plant develops into a broad 3 – […]

Fall Landscaping Tips

                  Cool autumn temperatures and increased rainfall make Autumn an ideal time to plant. Attractive landscaping adds value to your home and property. Selecting select deciduous trees and shrubs may reduce home winter heating bills and provide cooling shade in summer. Gardeners living in condos or townhouses should also consider a winter hardy […]

Dwarf Ginkgoes For Small Spaces

  Prehistoric Ginkgo trees (Ginkgo biloba) are easily identified by their triangular shaped leaves (USDA hardiness zones 4-8). Trees mature to huge sizes, up to 80 – 90 feet high. Their growth rates are initially slow during the early establishment years. Ginkgo tree are “dioecious”, either male and female. Most (not all) ginkgoes develop into tall pyramidal […]

Italian Arum Returns Every Autumn

Italian arum (Arum italicum) is a long-lived woodland perennial native to Italy and much of the Mediterranean region. Several members of the arum family (Araceae), including this species, are also known as “Lords and Ladies”. It typically grows 9-18 inches tall (depending on location) and slowly spreads over many years. Shoots first emerge from beneath the woodland leaf […]