Soil pH measures acidity or alkalinity on a scale from 0 to 14, with 7 neutral. Most plants prefer the slightly acidic range of 6 to 7, where nutrients dissolve easily. When the pH drifts outside that band, roots cannot absorb nitrogen, phosphorus, or iron no matter how much fertilizer you add, and the deficiency […]
Plants that grow from cuttings can fill a garden with flowers, herbs, and shrubs for a fraction of the cost of nursery stock. Take a stem from a mature plant you already own, or ask neighbors for a piece of theirs, then root it in a small container of soilless mix. The same planning that
Marigolds are a mainstay in many gardens because they deliver cheerful, abundant color all season and grow easily from seed. Learn how to harvest marigold seeds and you will not have to buy new plants or seed packets for the next growing season. The slivers you collect are inexpensive insurance against spring shortages, and the
A harvest basket looks like a simple accessory, but the right one changes how quickly you move ripe produce out of the garden and into the kitchen. For years, many gardeners made do with a shirt folded into a pouch or carried tomatoes by hand, and the result was bruised fruit and repeated trips. The
Hardy geraniums, also called cranesbill geraniums, are true perennials in the Geranium genus that form low, dense, carpet-like mounds of lobed foliage. Their common name comes from the seed capsule, which resembles a crane’s bill. These are the plants perennial gardeners mean by reliable, long-blooming ground covers, and they should not be confused with the
The Easter cactus (Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri) is a tropical forest cactus that opens star-shaped flowers in spring, near the Easter holiday. In the wild it grows as an epiphyte on trees and rocks in Brazil’s Atlantic rainforest, so it wants dappled light and loose, airy soil rather than desert sun. The plant is frequently mislabeled at
Easter lilies (Lilium longiflorum) push up white, trumpet-shaped flowers on stems that grow fast once the bulb breaks dormancy. Commercial growers force bulbs under glass so plants bloom in time for the holiday, but a bulb planted in the garden follows its own calendar and often waits until its second year to flower. The plant
Lenten rose (Helleborus x hybridus) is not a rose at all. It is a perennial hybrid hellebore in the buttercup family, named for its bloom season, which lands around the Christian season of Lent in late winter, and for its rose-like buds. It flowers when most of the garden is dormant, thrives in partial sun
Vases full of flowers usually cost the garden its looks. Strip enough blooms out of a display bed and bare spots appear where stems used to be. A dedicated cut flower garden solves that by setting aside space where harvesting is the whole point, so cutting never ruins the design. Before ordering a single plant,
Pineapple guava (Acca sellowiana), also called feijoa, is an evergreen tree or multi-stemmed shrub grown for its guava-like fruits and silvery, oval leaves. Flowers in pink, red, and white open in spring, and the tropical-tasting fruit ripens in fall. Despite the name, it is not closely related to the common guava (Psidium guajava), though both
