Frost can cause serious damage to tender plants, especially if you live in an area where frosts are uncommon, they pose a real threat to plants that are used to temperatures above freezing. Even if your climate experiences cold winters, a single frost can come late in the spring or early in the fall to […]
When done right, pruning results in a healthy and alluring tree. Nonetheless, if done inadequately, it can hurt the tree. Here are 5 of the most basic tree pruning botches and clarification on how they can affect the soundness of your tree. 1. Topping This may be the most unattractive of all the tree pruning […]
When you prune a plant you cut foliage, branches, or trunks to make the plant more attractive and structurally stronger. Good pruning minimizes damage to growing plant tissue. When it is done badly, it creates problems for the plant. If you’ve pruned your plants inappropriately, you may be wondering how to correct the mistakes. Here […]
What does it mean when you hear you should be quarantining new houseplants? The word quarantine comes from the Italian word “quarantina,” which means forty days. By quarantining your new houseplants for 40 days, you minimize the risk of spreading pests and diseases to your other plants. When to quarantine houseplants There are a few […]
Mistletoe is the festive plant – a symbol of renewal because it stays green all winter. The tradition of hanging it in the house goes back to the times of the ancient Druids. It is supposed to possess mystical powers which bring good luck to the household and wards off evil spirits. It was also […]
A farmer from Scotland discovered something amazing about ancient Scotland buried in the sand dunes of one of the northernmost islands of the country. He found a large stone that didn’t look like it belonged in its environment. When the farmer inspected the stone, he got quite a surprise. Underneath the stone was Skara Brae, […]
Bougainvillea is a thorny, woody, high climbing vine with colorful flowers. These flowers can be red, orange, yellow, purple, pink, or white. Traditionally, bougainvillea flowers, which have tiny white flowers in the middle of colorful and papery petals or bracts, have been used for medicinal purposes. To gain medicinal properties, we can steep dried or […]
By Tanya Lewis, Business Insider Next time you bite into a slice of watermelon or a cob of corn, consider this: These familiar fruits and veggies didn’t always look and taste this way. Genetically modified foods, or GMOs, inspire strong reactions nowadays, but humans have been tweaking the genetics of our favorite produce for millennia. […]
Every gardener needs to know what compost is and how to make their own compost. Compost is a mixture of various organic wastes processed by microorganisms which plants use as fertilizer. Mature compost contains an average of 0,35% nitrogen, 0.20% phosphorus, 0.25% potassium, 2-3% calcium oxide. All kinds, however, have one thing in common – the […]
Gardeners are being warned to take care when handling potting mix after three cases of Legionnaires’ disease in eight days were confirmed in the Tasman district. This follows the death of a person in Dunedin from the disease. Four cases of Legionnaires’ disease have been confirmed in 2019. There have been 53 cases in the region […]
