Author Nik: GaryAntosh
Name: Gary Antosh
Magnolias are among the most beautiful trees, and the early-flowering kinds are near the top of the list for spring display. The Kobus magnolia is one of the most pleasing, and fortunately it is also one of the hardiest.
If you have room in your garden for more shrubs and want a splurge of spring color, grow some of the named hybrid brooms, which are handled by several nurseries in the Fog Belt. They do well in this area. Try to see the brooms in bloom before making your choice, for they vary in color, size and vigor.
Strawberries may be planted at various times. Home gardeners often plant in August, but this is not the best time. Commercial growers, who must obtain high yields, usually plant in early spring, as soon as the soil is workable. Early planting is very important, as the plants then get off to a good start under favorable moisture conditions during the cool weather of early spring and produce early runners, which are more productive than those growing in late summer and fall.
An investment in real estate will most likely benefit the buyer from long-term inflation. If you have a home you may have profited simply by holding onto it and keeping it in good condition over the years. You must continue to protect that profit, however. Should you intend to unload the property – the old homestead one of these days, don’t let it fall into disrepair and run down condition for a real estate broker to market.
Most Enthusiastic gardeners agree that gardening is a grand adventure with thrilling experiences at almost every turn. Yet as I look around among my gardening acquaintances. I am amazed to find that many miss much of the joy of their hobby by limiting their activities to the few short months of summer.
Home gardeners find that rooting scented-leaved geraniums is not always easy. Often they have a favorite plant they want to propagate and after several attempts meet with failure. Among the many kinds, some root very easily, while others are very tricky.
Young or newly transplanted vines are more likely to survive their first winter in a cold climate if they receive some special protection. Questionably hardy vines, or those planted in exposed areas, may need protection every year of their life. In any case, a vigorous, well-grown plant has the greatest chance to resist winter damage.
Lighting for indoor houseplant, what does that mean? In a nutshell, it means that good light – and enough of it – is an important consideration in your plans for lasting effects with indoor plants. If you want to use vines for example on inside walls, away from windows, choose foliage varieties that will tolerate semishade. Or use the vines for temporary rather than permanent or lasting effect.
If you have a greenhouse in which you can give cymbidiums cool nights and bright light, you should surely try a plant or two, for they are very handsome orchids. The plants have rounded pseudobulbs about the size of a fist, which bear eight to twelve long, slender leaves. The roots are fleshy and stay within the compost. They are variously called semi-terrestrial and semi-epiphytic. The flower spike arises from the base of the pseudobulb, within the axil of one of the lower leaves, and grows two to three feet tall (sometimes more). It appears in the fall, and the flowers open from December through April, depending on the habit of the particular plant.
Scented geraniums are bothered by few pests. The most frequent troubles are red spider and white fly. Dipping or spraying with a malathion controls these in the greenhouse, natural insecticides are effective. A weekly spraying with cold water also controls red spider. The force should be hard enough to wash off the mites and webs, but not so hard as to damage the plant. Since red spider favors a warm, dry atmosphere, cool situations arc preferable for the plants. Care in introducing pest-free plants into the house in the first place is helpful.