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Trees & Houseplants : Home & Garden
How to Trim Evergreen Trees
Providing much-needed greenery in the winter landscape, evergreens provide year-round interest in a landscape while requiring very little care from the gardener. In most cases they require pruning only to maintain them at certain sizes or shapes unless they are part of a formal garden or manicured h
How to Grow Ginger
Asian cooks prize ginger not only for its tasty, bulbous roots, but also for its young, grasslike stems. Unless you live in the hottest part of the United States (USDA zone 10), you'll have to grow this tender herb in a pot and bring it indoors in cold weather.
Energy Alternatives
The general acceptance of global warming and the 2007-08 surge in fossil fuel prices have come together to attract interest to green, alternative energy in a way never before seen. Today, practical technology exists to create more forms of green energy more cheaply than had been the case during the
What Are Rare Heirloom Seeds & Plants?
Heirloom vegetables offer incredible flavor, smells and textures.Jim Franco/Digital Vision/Getty ImagesHeirloom seeds are seeds handed down from generation to generation. Heirloom seeds differ from hybrid seed in that heirlooms are open-pollinated varieties, rather than engineered ones....
How to Separate Daylilies
Daylilies are perennial plants that grow from rhizomes. Growing horizontally under the ground, long-lasting lily plants will happily spend several years in the same spot producing ever-larger clumps of foliage and flowers. Separating overgrown daylily clumps is known as propagation by division. Dayl
How to Kill Bees Fast
Bees play a crucial role in pollinating plants. However, bees can be nasty pests when they swarm or sting to protect themselves or their hive. The carpenter bee can cause serious damage to buildings. Killing bees has to be done properly in order to avoid stings or cause further structural damage. Al
How to Transplant Oriental Poppies
Oriental poppies are a startling, exotic species of flower to house in your garden, silky to the touch and available in colors from creamy white to purple, salmon and crimson. These early summer bloomers grow from 2 feet to 4 feet high, have long stems that are 6 inches in length and can make a bold
Pests on Cucumber Plants
Cucumber beetles, aphids, mites and pickle worms commonly infest cucumber gardens, according to Ohio State University Extension. These insects can damage plants, reduce cucumber yields or kill off your cucumber plants. Gardeners should monitor their cucumber plants during the growing season for sign
Organic Fruit Trees & Vegetables
Create your own back yard organic garden.Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty ImagesOrganic fruit trees and vegetables are grown without the use of herbicides or pesticides. Farmers use organic methods that include crop rotation, composting and the use of natural predators, like lady bugs, to eat...
How to Stop Animals & Bugs From Eating Your Plants
Insects and wildlife are hazards in any garden. Whether the gardener is growing flowers or vegetables and fruit, there is always an insect or animal willing to relieve the gardener of the fruit of his hard labor. Protect crops and flowers with inexpensive and green techniques that repel bugs and wil
Root Rot on Vegetables
Root rot is a fungus brought on by excess moisture in crops. There are several varieties of root rot caused by fungus. Common types include Phtophthora, Pythium and Armillaria root rot.
How to Prune a Kaffir Lime Tree
Kaffir lime trees will grow in the ground if you live in a warm tropical part of the country or in a container for regions that experience cool winters. These citrus trees produce bumpy looking limes that are frequently called for in Asian cooking. Pruning your Kaffir lime tree is essential for main
Can Patchouli Grow in Michigan?
While patchouli originates from tropical regions, it's not impossible for northern gardeners to cultivate the herb. But unlike common sage, which it resembles, patchouli won't survive Michigan winters if it is left outside.
How to Propagate Crocosmia From Seed
Croscosmia is a cheerful South African perennial flowering plant that grows from a bulb, or corm, and features bright red, yellow or orange blooms and attractive, pleated leaves. A relative of the iris, crocosmia grows to a height of 3 to 4 feet tall, and excels in shrub borders, flower beds and as
Will My Walnut Trees Recover From the Deer Eating the Tops?
Deer are a serious threat to the survival of young walnut trees, especially because the plants are small enough that deer can reach the young buds. The buds are the deer's favorite part of the walnut tree, especially in very early spring when there is little foliage or other food to be found and the
How to Keep Hornets & Wasps Away
Wasps and hornets are bothersome, yet necessary, insects. But even if they are an important part of our ecosystem, nothing is quite as annoying as hornets and wasps flying around your yard while you're trying to enjoy a day outside. In addition, these insects may pose a health risk---hornet and wasp
How to Pot an Epiphyllum
Epiphyllum, or orchid cactus, are orchid lookalike plants, but they are not relatives of orchids. They are native to the rain forests of Central America and Mexico and are a hybrids of epiphytic cacti. Epiphytes are plants that often grow on other plants or trees in the wild and get their nutrient
Rosy Glow Barberry Winter Care
Rosy glow barberry (Berberis thunbergii) is a type of compact shrub that brightens the landscape with spatula-shaped leaves in shades of pink and purple. The foliage and bright red berries provide fall and winter interest in the landscape. While this type of barberry is winter hardy and thrives in t
How to Catch a Butterfly With Your Hands
Having the desire to catch a butterfly floating around the garden is not unusual. Perhaps you have wondered what it feels like to hold one, or whether you could look after one as a pet. Maybe you just want to take a closer look at its attractive wings. Before that happens, however, you need to catch