Spring and fall are excellent planting times and buying opportunities. A trips to a garden center can be very costly unless you go prepared. Here are some practical tips to make those shopping trips more enjoyable and a lot less expensive. Create your landscape plan first before buying plants. First, visit garden centers to pick up great landscaping ideas […]
Archive for the ‘Poisonous or toxic’ Category
Shopping Tips When Purchasing Plants
Posted by Hugh on January 4th, 2017
Posted in Attracting Butterflies, Container growing, Disease resistant, Evergreen, Flowers, Foliage plant, Fruits & Vegetables, Garden Maintenance, Garden Problems, Ground cover, Interior (house) Plants, Landscape ideas, Native Plant, Ornamental fruit, Perennials, Pesticide recommendations, plant nutrition, Planting tips, Poisonous or toxic, Privacy Screen, Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Roses, Southern Appalachian Region, Trees & Shrubs, Vine, Water Gardens, watering tips, Winter Protection 
Comments Off on Shopping Tips When Purchasing PlantsOld-Fashioned Snake Plants
Posted by Hugh on November 29th, 2016
Snake plant (Sansevieria spp.), aka Mother-In-Law’s Tongue, is an easy to grow succulent. It is one of the hardest house plants to kill, grows in almost any room of your home, and demands little attention except an occasional watering. Its leathery sword-shape leaves are usually marked in gray green marbling. Some varieties may be edged in yellow […]
Posted in acidic soil, Container garden, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Evergreen, Fertilizing plants, Fragrant, Interior (house) Plants, Planting tips, Poisonous or toxic, Propagation (Cuttings), Propagation (dividing), Purchasing Plants, Repotting plants, Scale, Snake plant (Sanservieria), Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Tropical Plants (non-hardy), Uncategorized, watering tips, winter hardiness, Winter Protection Comments Off on Old-Fashioned Snake PlantsHouse Plant Basic Care Tips
Posted by Hugh on September 12th, 2016
Tropical house plants decorate homes, restaurants, shopping malls, and work environments (USDA hardiness zones 8 through 11). Many will grow in medium to low light areas of your home, work, and where flowering plants do not perform. Here are some basic house plant tips: They languish in areas where temperatures are below 55 °F. […]
Posted in acidic soil, Aphids, Arrowwood (Syngonium), Bromeliads, Calthea, Chinese evergreen (Aglaonema), Container garden, Dumbcane (Dieffenbachia), Fertilizing plants, Flowering house plant, Foliage plant, Interior (house) Plants, Mealy bugs, Mite susceptible, Mites, Philodendron, plant nutrition, Planting tips, Poisonous or toxic, Potting Mix, Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Repotting plants, Rubber Plant (Ficus), Sanitation, Scale, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer heat tolerant, Tropical Plants (non-hardy), watering tips, winter hardiness, Winter Protection Comments Off on House Plant Basic Care TipsJoe Pye Weed Is No Longer A “Weed”
Posted by Hugh on August 4th, 2016
U.S. native Joe Pye (Eupatorium spp.), formerly “Joe Pye Weed”, has been tamed. Modern day selections grow more compact compared to 8+ feet tall wildlings that inhabit fields across eastern North America (USDA hardiness zones 4-8). Huge, terminal, domed, compound flower heads measure 12-18 inches across (depending on cultivar) and make […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting birds, Bee Favorite, Butterflies, Disease resistant, Eupatorium 'Gateway', Eupatorium rugosum 'Chocolate', Fertilizing plants, Heat Tolerance, Perennials, Planting tips, Poisonous or toxic, Propagation (Cuttings), Propagation (Seed), Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, watering tips, winter hardiness Comments Off on Joe Pye Weed Is No Longer A “Weed”Butterfly Weed – Long-lived Flowering Perennial That Nourish Monarchs
Posted by Hugh on June 21st, 2016
Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), aka butterfly weed, is a tuberous rooted perennial native in the Eastern and southern U.S. (USDA hardiness zones 3 to 9). It grows in dry/rocky open woodlands, prairies, farm fields, and along roadsides. Individual plants typically grow as a clump to 1- 3 feet high and 1 ½ feet wide. Unlike many of […]
Posted in acidic soil, Aphids, Attracting Butterflies, Bee Favorite, Butterflies, Butterfly weed (Asclepias), Deer resistant, Drought tolerant, Heat Tolerance, Milkweeds (Asclepias), Native Plant, Perennials, Planting tips, Poisonous or toxic, Propagation (Seed), root injury, Rust diseases, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer flowering, watering tips, Winter Protection Comments Off on Butterfly Weed – Long-lived Flowering Perennial That Nourish MonarchsButtonbush Offers Year-round Interest
Posted by Hugh on June 13th, 2016
Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), aka Button-willow or Honey Bells, is a medium to large native shrub with many fine landscape attributes. This unique flowering shrub is a favorite in attracting beneficial wildlife. It populates bogs, swamps and pond areas, as well as dry limestone bluffs in the eastern U.S. […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting birds, Attracting Butterflies, Bee Favorite, Butterflies, Buttonbush (Cephalanthus), Disease resistant, Disease resistant, Flowering, Fragrant, Heat Tolerance, mulching, Native Plant, Ornamental fruit, Planting tips, Poisonous or toxic, Privacy Screen, Propagation (Cuttings), Propagation (Seed), Pruning, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, Wildlife attractant, winter hardiness Comments Off on Buttonbush Offers Year-round Interest“Neo-Nicotinoid Free” — What Does This Means”
Posted by Hugh on May 27th, 2016
Earlier this year several big box store and regional independent garden center chains announced that the plants they sell in 2016 will be “neonicotinoid-free”. Large regional nurseries and greenhouse operations are also jumping on-board the anti-neonic bandwagon. This means that pesticides containing the ingredient acetamiprid and imidacloprid are members of the neonicotinoid class, and are forbidden to […]
Posted in Bees and other pollinators, Garden Maintenance, Insect (Pest) Problems, Landscape ideas, Pesticide recommendations, Poisonous or toxic, Pollination needs, Purchasing Plants Comments Off on “Neo-Nicotinoid Free” — What Does This Means”Avoid Spotted Spurge in Lawn And Garden Beds
Posted by Hugh on May 4th, 2016
Spotted spurge (Euphorbia maculata) is a dreadful perennial weed that can quickly take over a lawn or garden bed. It often grows in poor compacted soils or in-between cracks in pavement. Once established, it is difficult to eliminate it from your garden. Ideal temperature range for seed germination is 75 to 85 °F, and spurge will germinate […]
Posted in acidic soil, alkaline soil, Garden Problems, Herbicide management, Lawn Care, mulching, Planting tips, Poisonous or toxic, Propagation (dividing), Propagation (Seed), Sanitation, Southern Appalachian Region, Spotted spurge, Weed management, Weeds, Weeds Comments Off on Avoid Spotted Spurge in Lawn And Garden BedsAngel Trumpet Blooms All Summer Long
Posted by Hugh on March 26th, 2016
Angel trumpet (Brugmansia) is tropical plant native from Venezuela to Peru (USDA hardiness zones 7-b to 10). Plants have shown to be surprising hardy outdoors in zone 6-b in a protected area. This beautiful shrub, sometimes grown in a tree form, reaches heights of 6-10 feet. It is a member of the Solanaceae family (tomato, potato, petunia, nicotiana […]
Posted in acidic soil, Angel trumpet (Brugmansia), Bee Favorite, Butterflies, Container garden, Container growing, Disease resistant, Fertilizing plants, Flowers, Heat Tolerance, Landscape ideas, mulching, Planting tips, Poisonous or toxic, Potting Mix, Propagation (Cuttings), Propagation (layering), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Tropical Plants (non-hardy), watering tips, winter hardiness, Winter Protection Comments Off on Angel Trumpet Blooms All Summer LongPeace Lily And Anthurium Plants Around Home Or Office
Posted by Hugh on February 8th, 2016
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum) and anthurium are near perfect foliage plants in poorly lit areas around your home or office. They’re native to the tropical rainforests of Central and South America. Both plants are shade-lovers in their native habitats. Direct sunlight for more than one hour will likely burn leaves. They’re members […]
Posted in acidic soil, Anthurium, Fertilizing plants, Heat Tolerance, Insect (Pest) Problems, Mealy bugs, Mites, Peace lily (Spathiphyllum), Planting tips, Poisonous or toxic, Poisonous plant, Potting Mix, Propagation (dividing), Repotting plants, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer heat tolerant, Tropical Plants (non-hardy), watering tips, winter hardiness, Winter Protection Comments Off on Peace Lily And Anthurium Plants Around Home Or Office
