Flowers are wonderful. They fill our lives with color, help provide us with food and ensure plants can reproduce. Gardeners, whether they grow ornamentals or vegetables, try to encourage flowers on their plants. However, flowers are not always a positive in the life of a plant. There are times when a gardener, especially one who…
Month: May 2017
Ornamental Onion, Allium christophii
Nothing beats the “wow!” power of the ornamental onions for sheer showiness. Pollinators would agree because ornamental onions are magnets for bees, bumble bees and butterflies! Allium christophii, sometimes called Star of Persia, has 1 inch star-like metallic purple flowers, combined into one large cluster 6 inches across. This ornamental onion has 18 inch…
Creepy Loosestrife Sawfly
Much to my dismay I was not happy to see that my patch of ground cover Lysimachia nummularia – Golden Creeping Jenny has been devoured by the Creepy Loosestrife Sawfly. Sawflies are actually a non-stinging wasp that can do some damage on some of our ornamental plants. Luckily enough for me my creeping jenny will…
Growing Requirements for Selected Culinary Herbs
All herbs grow best where they receive 6 or more hours of uninterrupted sunlight daily. Amend heavy clay soils with compost to provide a deep, loamy soil suitable for good plant growth. One inch of water per week, precipitation and irrigation combined, is best. Basil This is an annual plant easily grown from seed. …
Honey Locust Plant Bug
The other day while out for a walk I noticed some honey locust tree leaves that weren’t looking too good. Honey locust are fairly disease and insect free tree but the last few years we’ve seen the honey locust plant bug (HLPB) do some cosmetic damage to the leaves. The HLPB overwinters as eggs in…
White Clover
White clover (Trifolium repens) is probably one of the most commonly known and easily identified weed along with wild violets and dandelions. Most people fall under two camps with this plant. They either love or hate it. Native to Europe white clover was brought over with the early settlers. After escaping cultivation it easily established…
Tough Places to Grow Turf
As versatile as lawn grasses may be, there are many locations where they just won’t flourish. In general, a lawn needs at least 5 hours of sun each day, a large uninterrupted area, well-drained soil, and a relatively flat grade or slightly rolling topography. Slopes, shade, compacted soils, heavy foot traffic, and poor air circulation…
How to ID and Manage Japanese Beetles
Download a PDF of this Blog Post Fast Facts Japanese beetles are non-native, invasive pests that damage over 400 different types of plants by feeding on leaves, flowers, and fruits. Feeding on leaves results in lacey, doily-like leaves, flower feeding results in shredded flowers, and fruit can be hollowed out Adults are 1/2 an inch…