Home Gardening Tips

Tips on How to Re-Pot and Divide Orchids

bstanley — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 07:28:37 +0000

A gardener growing orchids in the garden knows when to re-pot it. However, for someone who is a beginner with this lovely plant ,it is very important to know when the leaves and bulbs start getting packed completely in to the pot in such a way that it becomes bulging. At this stage, you should normally prefer re-potting an orchid.Once the flowers start finishing, the plant also begins looking daggy with its loosing lustre appearance. It is the best time to re-pot and divide the orchids. Generally, it happens during the months of October and November and therefore you should better be prepared for such an action. (more…)

Citrus Gall Wasp: Cut the Branch Off

bstanley — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 03:27:29 +0000

If you are growing lemons and grapefruits in your garden then it is very much unlikely that you have never faced one of the most common problems called “Citrus Gall Wasp“. In fact, this problem has spread across the globe within past few years and affecting the lemon and grapefruit trees on a wide scale.

Root cause of the problem is a little female wasp that lays her eggs in a twig or a branch. This laying of eggs causes the gall happening. During the months of August or September, it starts swelling. By the time autumn comes in the problem becomes severe. Complete branch gets affected with acute deformity. If you try to have a closer look, you will observe numerous tiny little holes in the branch. These holes are actually the places where the wasp has virtually escaped. (more…)

Growing High Fruit Bearing Gooseberry Bushes in Garden

bstanley — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:58:31 +0000

If you have a small garden and wish to grow high fruits yielding plants then Gooseberry is one of the perfect choices. Gooseberry bushes normally grow easily and give you large quantities of fruits. Gooseberry fruits are smaller. Growing gooseberry bushes in a little shady area is also possible as the plant is quite tolerant to such conditions.

Gooseberry or the Ribes Grossularia is a typical hardy, deciduous shrub. The plant when fully grown could attain a height of almost three feet and it could cover an area of around 5 feet. The plant to harvest time is normally two years for gooseberry. (more…)

The Time is Ripe for an Apple That Tastes Like Berries and One That Doesn’t Brown

bstanley — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:40:22 +0000

Mention an apple and most people will immediately associate the word with a crisp, juicy, sweet-tart red fruit. However, ask Cornell fruit geneticist Susan Brown about apples, and she will share visions of deep red flesh or skin patterned like feathers on a bird’s back, of flavours like anise, berries, or roses. She will talk of apples loaded with cancer-preventive antioxidants or as much vitamin C as an orange, that do not brown when cut or go soft in storage.At the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station (NYSAES) in Geneva, N.Y., these apples already exist, and new possibilities — whether exotic, delicious, kind of weird or just plain awful (think gasoline, nail-polish remover or soap) — are literally endless. (more…)

Growing Lovely Thryptomene Shrubs in Your Garden

bstanley — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 18:06:13 +0000

“Plant Genus Thryptomene” represents almost 40 different types of plant species of evergreen shrubs.Thryptomene is a Greek nomenclature, which means ‘coy’ or ‘prudish’. It is named on its appearance because when you see the shrub for the first time it will appear like coy or prudish.

Thryptomene is a native plant to western, central, and eastern Australia. The shrub plant has little flowers and when blooming, the shrub gives out a modest looking. Flowers bloom in groups and plenty. During the time from winters to the spring season, the plant produces mass flowers and the whole shrub is cloaked with flowers. This becomes a lovely scene in the garden. (more…)

Tips for Creating a Cyclone-Resistant Tropical Garden

bstanley — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:35:24 +0000

Tropical areas are quite prone to natural disasters like cyclones. If you are residing in such an area then cyclones are almost a fact of your life and if you are a gardener too then you need to understand that you have to be more prepared. Wet season every year brings in increased possibilities for a cyclone hitting the coastlines. Although scientists are working hard but till now it is almost impossible to predict a cyclone and its severity exactly.

As a gardener, I will facilitate you with some of the practical measures that you can easily adopt and minimize the damages and loses. There are few basic principles of making your garden more cyclone-resistant.

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Landscapers Directory

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Taking Care of Indoor Plants: Few More Tips

bstanley — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 12:59:06 +0000

Growing indoor plants provides you several advantages. It is not only the lack of space outside that promotes indoor gardening but there are other factors as well. One of these factors is that these plants when put inside absorb the volatile organic compounds present in the air within our homes. Absorbing of bad air helps us keep our homes fresh with air every time. Indoor plants are our best friends in this respect.You should take care of the indoor plant- pots at regular intervals. You may have to re-pot the plants as the potting mix could become weary at times. Sometimes the plant’s root system may also grow outwards and you need another pot. It is better that you consider re-potting during early winters or early springtime.

If you observe that the plants is overgrowing and bulging out of the pot and even if it is falling over you should shake the plant out of its pot. Take a good garden knife (a kitchen knife would also do) and divide the plant. Alternatively, you can simply re-pot the plant in a bigger sized pot. In any case, the pot must have a sufficient hole for drainage in its bottom. (more…)

Are You Taking Care of Your Garden Sprayer Equipment Properly?

bstanley — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:13:56 +0000

As an active gardener, you must be having and using some kind of sprayer equipment. You must know that it is equipment and it should be ready to use whenever needed. Garden Sprayer is an important weapon fighting against the fungicides. It also helps you control several related plants and other diseases.

There are many types of liquids and solutions used for different purposes in a garden spraying. It could be wetted sulphur, or copper based fungicide and solutions of milk as well. (more…)

Forest Spider Lily: A Rare Blossoming Occasion in a Year

bstanley — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 02:46:39 +0000

When it rains it is not the water that comes down showering only but it is the time when nature comes down to meet the mother earth with all its beauty, elegance, and spreading happiness. Plants welcome the rains with their flowers blooming. Every part of the earth’s surface blooms with a different mood during the rainy season.There are some unusual and rare occasions to see something extra-ordinary happening during this time of the year. I am in receipt of a communiqué from Ashutosh, my friend from India, who described a rare variety of lily flower blooming only once a year and that too during the first showers of rainy season. It is extremely rare and I preferred to share the info with all of you. (more…)

Growing Cherry Tomatoes in Your Garden This Summer

bstanley — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 04:16:11 +0000

Generally marketed as ‘premium tomato’ the cherry tomato is simply a ‘mini-tomato‘. This variety is though similar but not exactly identical with the conventional domestic tomato. It is sweeter and gives a different taste to your salad dish.

Size may vary from thumb tip to the golf ball and shape could be spherical, oval, or oblong. Oblong ones are more towards the plum tomatoes and called as the ‘grape tomato’.

Cherry tomato is an engineered variety of cultivated tomato in terms of Botany. As usual, there are several varieties of cherry tomatoes you can choose from.”Super Sweet 100” and “Gardener’s Delight” are two most popular varieties of cherry tomato in the United States and the United Kingdom respectively.”Santorini” is a typical Greek variety of cherry tomato and is very popular because of its shape and flavor. (more…)