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How Far to Plant Spreading Plants As a general rule of thumb, most groundcovers do well when spaced 12 to 24 inches (31-61 cm.) apart, but when it comes to figuring the distance between groundcover plants, it’s important to consider the growth habits of the particular plant and how quickly you want to fill the space. Of course, your budget is also an important factor. For example, creeping juniper (Juniperus horizontalis) is a hardy, well-behaved evergreen that can eventually spread to a width of 6 to 8 feet (2-2....

Choosing the Best Drought Tolerant Shrubs The best drought tolerant shrubs vary from region to region. The trick is to find drought resistant shrubs that grow well in your area. Select shrubs on a site-by-site basis, taking soil, climate, and exposure into account. When you are selecting shrubs for arid conditions, remember that all shrubs need irrigation while they are establishing a root system. Even the best drought tolerant shrubs – including drought tolerant evergreen shrubs – only develop the ability to use water efficiently after the initial planting and establishment period is over....

Choosing Shade Tolerant Flowers for Containers Before growing shade flowers in containers, it’s good to have a basic understanding of the various levels of shade. For instance, partial shade generally denotes an area that receives three or four hours of sun per day but not in the middle of the day. Partial shade, suitable for many potted shade flowers, can also include dappled light filtered through the branches of deciduous trees....

Before trying to remove a bird of prey that visits your garden, find out its legal status. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act protects all hawks and owls in the United States and makes it illegal to trap or kill them without a special permit. Permits are only issued after you have tried other methods of convincing the bird to move on. In addition, it is illegal to scare or harass endangered species....

Black Ash Tree Information The tree has smooth bark when it is young, but the bark turns dark gray or brown and gets corky as the tree matures. It grows to some 70 feet (21 m.) tall but remains fairly slender. The branches head upward, forming a slightly rounded crown. The leaves on this ash tree are compound, each including seven to eleven toothed leaflets. The leaflets are not stalked, and they die and fall to the ground in autumn....

Symptoms of Blackberry Cane and Leaf Rust As mentioned, the first sign of blackberries with rust occurs in the late spring and appears as large yellow pustules (uredinia) that split the bark of fruiting canes (floricanes). The canes become brittle and break easily. From these pustules, spores burst forth, infecting leaves and producing smaller yellow uredinia on the underside of the foliage in the early summer. If the infection is severe, defoliation of the entire plant may occur....

Aside from those great reasons to grow the plant, this tree displays beautiful, showy blooms. Sometimes, for growers, you may experience buddha’s hand dropping flowers. Let’s see how to best go about avoiding buddha’s hand losing flowers. How to Avoid No Flowers on Buddha’s Hand If you grow the Buddha’s hand among your other citrus trees, you’ll expect the blooms in spring on most of them before the fruits appear....

Pandorea Vine Information What is a bower vine? The bower vine (Pandorea jasminoides) is an Australian native that goes by several other names, including bower climber, bower of beauty, and just plain Pandorea. It is a frost tender evergreen hardy in USDA zones 9 to 11. It can grow 15 to 25 feet (5-8 m.) in length. It doesn’t grow especially dense, instead spreading out with a delicate, open structure. At the same time, it grows quickly and can be used as a screen....

What is Broomcorn? In addition to more traditional brooms, the broomcorn plant was also used for whiskbrooms, a short, hand broom that may still be used occasionally for small chores. Many brooms are replaced these days with some type of small, electronic sweeping device or with a sweeper product that grabs dust, dirt, and hair. But, just in the previous century, brooms were regularly used as a cleaning device. Many people grew their own broom straw and made their own brooms....

Why Fuchsia Is Dropping Buds Hanging like delicate dancers in brightly colored petticoats, fuchsia blooms are among the most coveted in the plant world. Unfortunately, these plants can be difficult to care for, resulting in fuchsia bud drop when things are not going just their way. If your fuchsia is dropping buds, it’s a warning sign that something is wrong. Usually, the cause is environmental and easy to remedy. Here are some of the most common causes of buds dropping off fuchsia plants:...

Division and Bulb Chipping Propagation Many flowering bulbs multiply easily in the ground by forming bulblets around the base of the parent bulb. These offsets are easily recognizable when new shoots of greenery appear beside the mother plant. Daffodils and crocuses are easily propagated by the removal and replanting of these offsets. Plants such as lilies produce bulbils in the leaf axils. These bulbils can be easily removed when ripe and planted in a pot until they reach a size suitable to survive outdoors....

Banana Tree Fruit Can a banana plant grow fruit? Of course, it can – they’re called bananas! That being said, not all banana plants produce fruit that you can eat. Some varieties like the red banana, the dwarf banana, and the pink velvet banana are grown for their flowers. They do make fruit, but it’s not edible. When you’re choosing a banana plant, make sure to pick one that’s bred to make tasty fruit....

You can collect seed and germinate it, but don’t expect the same cultivar as the parent plant. Can Figs Grow from Seed? Figs have been cultivated since around 5,000 BC. Their sweet flavor and rich scent truly make them fruits of the gods. Figs are propagated in several ways. Fig seed propagation is probably the most fickle of the methods but can result in a new cultivar and an interesting process....

Can You Eat Chicory Root? Now that we have ascertained that chicory is edible, exactly which parts of the plant are edible? Chicory is an herbaceous plant in the dandelion family. It has bright blue, and sometimes white or pink, blossoms. When eating chicory plants the leaves, buds, and roots can all be consumed. Any trip to New Orleans should include a stop at the famous Café Du Monde for a delicious cup of café au lait with chicory and, of course, a side of hot beignets....

About Olive Pit Propagation Yes, you can grow an olive pit, but there’s one caveat – it has to be a “fresh” pit. By this I mean not a pit from a store bought olive. The olives that we eat are treated with lye, among other things, and are unlikely to engender olive pit propagation. Oh, by the way, did you know that both green and black olives are the same?...

Outdoors, guava trees can reach heights of 30 feet (9 m.), but indoor trees are generally much smaller. Most varieties flower and set fruit at about four or five years of age. Read on to learn about growing and caring for guava indoors. Tips on Guava Growing Indoors Guava is easy to propagate by seed, but many people have good luck starting trees with stem cuttings or air layering. If done properly, both techniques have a very high rate of success....

Spider Plant Division Spider plants have tubular roots that grow rapidly. That’s why spider plants outgrow their pots so quickly— the roots just need more room to grow. If you’ve moved your spider into new, bigger pots several times, it should be thriving. If it is struggling, it may be time to think about spider plant division. If you want to know when to split a spider plant, dividing spider plants is appropriate when the roots are crowded....

What is Canna Rust? Cannas growing in southern regions of the U.S. are more often afflicted with canna rust, a fungal infection caused by the pathogen Puccinia thaliae. While not usually deadly, severe infections can result in not only wilt and chlorosis of the leaves, but eventual death. Canna Rust Symptoms Symptoms first appear as yellow to tan pustules on the foliage and stems. These pustules are often parallel to the leaf veins....

Chamomile Drying Techniques There are two types of chamomile: German and Roman. While both contain essential oils and antioxidants that help relax the body and perk us up when fatigued, German chamomile is the type most often grown for its medicinal purposes, as its oil is stronger. As mentioned, chamomile preservation involves drying the flowers. There are four techniques for drying chamomile flowers. Drying is the oldest, as well as the easiest and safest, form of food preservation....

About Cherry Plum Golden Sphere Golden Sphere cherry plum trees hail from the Ukraine and are readily available through much of Europe. These deciduous plum trees have a rounded to spreading habit. Foliage is ovate and dark green accented by white blooms in the spring. The ensuing fruit is large and golden-yellow outside and in. Cherry plum makes a lovely addition to the garden either as a fruit tree or specimen tree and can be grown in the garden or in a container....