Chocolate mint (Mentha × piperita f. citrata ‘Chocolate’) is a hybrid herb that smells like a candy shop but grows like a workhorse. Breeders created it by crossing orange mint (M. citrata) with peppermint (M. piperita), and the result is a sterile hybrid with the aroma of chocolate and no viable seeds. Plants grow about […]
Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) is one of the most persistent invasive vines in North American gardens. This extremely vigorous perennial is deciduous in northern climates but often stays evergreen where winters are mild. It arrived in the United States in 1806 as a plant for erosion control and as an ornamental, and its fragrant flowers
Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) delivers what its name promises: glossy evergreen leaves that flush reddish-bronze in cold weather and bright red berries that stay on the plant through snow. Native to the woodlands of eastern North America, it is one of the few groundcovers that looks better in December than in July, and it asks for
Rats cause real damage in a garden. They chew through seedlings, eat ripening fruit and vegetables, dig up bulbs, gnaw on irrigation lines, and leave droppings that carry disease. They also reproduce quickly: a single female can produce five to six litters a year, with six to twelve pups in each, which is why one
Gooseberries make some of the best pies, jams, and jellies you can bake, yet fresh berries rarely appear in grocery stores because the season runs only a few weeks. If you like that sharp, tart bite, growing your own is the practical answer. The bushes are self-fertile and long-lived, so a single plant can feed
Bromeliads bring tropical color to gardens and windowsills with glossy rosettes, vivid bracts, and a tolerance for neglect that few houseplants match. These perennials grow outdoors year-round in USDA hardiness zones 10 and 11 and thrive indoors almost anywhere with bright indirect light. More than 2,500 species and countless cultivars exist, so there is a
Peperomia Hope (Peperomia tetraphylla) has become one of the most requested houseplants for a simple reason: it looks delicate but acts tough. Its small, round, deep green leaves grow on trailing stems that spill over the pot rim, and the whole plant stays compact at roughly 12 inches tall and 8 inches wide. It tolerates
Yellow leaves on green bean plants send most gardeners searching, but the color alone does not say what is wrong. Yellowing can mean too much water, too little water, a nutrient shortage, pests, or disease. It can also mean nothing at all: lower leaves naturally fade as plants age. The fix starts with reading the
Every fall, gardeners with a new hibiscus ask the same question: will it survive winter and bloom again? The answer depends on which type you planted and where you live. Hardy hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos) returns reliably in USDA Hardiness Zones 4a through 9b, while tropical types such as Chinese hibiscus and cranberry hibiscus survive outdoors
Coconut trees, scientifically known as Cocos nucifera, are the only species in their genus and a member of the Arecaceae family that includes all palm trees. Every coconut tree is a palm, but not every palm produces coconuts, and only certain cultivars of C. nucifera bear the fruit most people recognize. The distinction drives real
