Most weed invasions happen when you let the weeds get past you. If you don’t let them flower, they won’t reproduce (seed-in). Frequent mowing or a sharp machete may delay their ability to flower and seed. This is only a temporary solution. Some weeds flower and seed below the mower’s cut. Examples are common lawn […]
Archive for the ‘Purchasing Plants’ Category
Seeds One Year…Weeds For Eight Years
Posted by Hugh on September 1st, 2013
Posted in Aggressive grower, Annuals, Flowers, Ground cover, Jewels of Opar (Talinum), Landscape ideas, Melampodium (Medallion flower), Morning glory (Ipomoea), mulching, Propagation (Seed), Purchasing Plants, Sanitation, Southern Appalachian Region, Vine, Weed control, winter hardiness 
Comments Off on Seeds One Year…Weeds For Eight YearsDeterminate Vs Indeterminate Tomato Varieties
Posted by Hugh on May 26th, 2013
There are many tomato varieties from which to select. You may find 100 or more varieties listed in garden catalogs. Depending on your garden space and needs, the two categories of tomato varieties to grow are determinate or indeterminate types. Short bush type growers are called determinate tomatoes. They require no support and you can […]
Posted in Fruits & Vegetables, Harvest Time, Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Southern Appalachian Region, Staking, Tomato Comments Off on Determinate Vs Indeterminate Tomato VarietiesWhy Peonies Do Not Bloom
Posted by Hugh on April 20th, 2013
Herbaceous peonies (Paeonia x lactiflora) are among the easy to care for and long-lived garden perennials. If you plant them correctly in compost rich, well-drained soil and a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight, they will bloom for the next 30+ years. If peonies fail to bloom, here are 8 probable causes: 1. Planting crowns […]
Posted in acidic soil, Failure to Bloom, Fertilizing plants, Heat Tolerance, Peonies, Peony, Perennials, plant nutrition, Planting tips, Purchasing Plants, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, winter injury Comments Off on Why Peonies Do Not BloomBuy This Poinsettia, Perhaps Not That One!
Posted by Hugh on December 19th, 2012
There are so many colorful poinsettia varieties in stores this holiday season. Some plants will not make it to the first of the year. What attracts you into buying the plant is the colorful bracts (modified leaves). The “true” poinsettia flowers lie in the center of the bracts. If the yellow stamens are immature or […]
Posted in Fertilizing plants, Poinsettia, Purchasing Plants, Southern Appalachian Region, Tropical Plants (non-hardy), watering tips Comments Off on Buy This Poinsettia, Perhaps Not That One!Are You Growing A Thanksgiving or Christmas Cactus?
Posted by Hugh on November 27th, 2012
If your “Christmas cactus” is blooming on Thanksgiving Day, it is likely not a true Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera x buckleyi) which flowers a month or more later. Thanksgiving cactus (S. truncata) is frequently sold as “Christmas cactus”. Holiday shoppers often decorate with what’s in the store after Thanksgiving and the plants are frequently mislabeled. Christmas […]
Posted in Autumn flowering, Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera), Failure to Bloom, Fertilizing plants, Interior (house) Plants, Potting Mix, Purchasing Plants, Repotting plants, Tropical Plants (non-hardy) Comments Off on Are You Growing A Thanksgiving or Christmas Cactus?Minor Bulbs Get A Jump On Spring
Posted by Hugh on October 18th, 2012
Companion bulbs, often called “minor bulbs”, are early signs that spring is coming. Three of the most reliable are snowdrops, winter aconites and Glory of the snow. They bloom before crocus. Winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) returns with floral beauty less than three months after planting. Plants poke through the ground, grow and flower 3 to 6 inches […]
Posted in acidic soil, Bees and other pollinators, Chionodoxa (Glory of the Snow), Flowering Bulb, Landscape ideas, Perennials, Purchasing Plants, Snowdrops (Galanthus), Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Spring flowering bulbs, Uncategorized, watering tips, Winter aconite (Eranthis), Winter flowering, winter hardiness Comments Off on Minor Bulbs Get A Jump On SpringKatsura Tree Comes Home To America
Posted by Hugh on April 1st, 2012
Katsura tree (Cercidophyllum japonicum) is a large 50-60 feet tall tree from Japan and China. Katsura became extinct in North America during the Pleistocene Age and was re-introduced in 1862 by botanist Thomas Hogg. It is truly a beautiful tree, yet is still rarely planted. Katsura is hardy in zones 4-8. It prefers a moist well-drained, compost-rich soil […]
Posted in acidic soil, Disease resistant, Heat Tolerance, Katsura tree (Cercidophyllum), Large Shade trees, Purchasing Plants, Southern Appalachian Region, watering tips, Weeping habit, winter hardiness Comments Off on Katsura Tree Comes Home To AmericaRe-Potting Indoor Plants
Posted by Hugh on February 13th, 2012
The golden rule for house plant care is to repot them once a year. Times of seasonal change signal the best opportunity for repotting most house plants. September starts a slowdown and March (late February) a re-awakening period for your house plants. Most, but not all plants, should be re-potted in one of these periods. Purchase a […]
Posted in Interior (house) Plants, Orchids, Planting tips, Potting Mix, Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Repotting plants, Southern Appalachian Region, Tropical Plants (non-hardy), watering tips Comments Off on Re-Potting Indoor Plants‘Little King’ Birch For Small Gardens
Posted by Hugh on January 12th, 2012
Little King, aka Fox Valley™, (Betula nigra ‘Little King’) is a 10-12 foot tall shrubby river birch, which fits into small landscapes. Simple minimal pruning can shape it into a lovely small tree. Little King possesses the desirable traits of large river birches, including an oft-white exfoliating bark. River birch exhibits good heat tolerance in the Southeastern U.S. (USDA zones 4-8) and has […]
Posted in acidic soil, Drought tolerant, Heat Tolerance, Native Plant, Purchasing Plants, river birch, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer heat tolerant, watering tips Comments Off on ‘Little King’ Birch For Small GardensThujopsis: Semi-Dwarf Evergreen Shrub
Posted by Hugh on November 28th, 2011
Hiba or false arborvitae (Thujopsis dolobrata) is a slow to moderate growing evergreen shrub or tree. It is also called elkhorn cedar and deerhorn cedar, referring to the shape of its scale-like leaves. Tall 50-80 feet tall tree forms arefound in the forests of Japan. This native of Japan and China has a pyramidal form and beautiful dense foliage, similar […]
Posted in acidic soil, DWARF CONIFERS, Evergreen, Evergreens, Landscape ideas, Purchasing Plants, Southern Appalachian Region, Thujopsis, Trees & Shrubs, watering evergreens, watering tips, Winter Garden Interest, Winter Protection Comments Off on Thujopsis: Semi-Dwarf Evergreen Shrub
