Plant Basics

An African violet is a lovely accent for home or office. Easy to take care of, its blossoms can be enjoyed in every season; send a plant as a gift for any occasion. Perhaps you would like to give...

Brassica plants include mustard, collards, kale, broccoli, turnips, cauliflower, and cabbage. The Bassica rapa variety completes its life cycle in roughly 35 days. Because of this rapid...

The Desmodium plant, more commonly known as Beggar's lice, is a weed that's actually a member of the legume family. It's most commonly found in Florida and Texas, although it can also be found in...

Swedish ivy, or Plectranthus australis, propagates easily from cuttings. The lush, bright green foliage makes Swedish ivy a favorite among house plants. Take cuttings from Swedish ivy to replace a...

Preparing bareroot nursery stock sets you on the path to growing a healthy garden. Bareroot stocks are popular among gardeners, because they are often less expensive then container grown plants....

Taking stem cuttings is an efficient and inexpensive way to propagate a new plant, and is easy enough for beginning gardeners. With just a few basic tools, you can replicate a plant that you've...

Topiaries are small varieties of trees that are trained to grow into nontraditional shapes. Topiaries can range in size from small potted plants to larger outdoor trees. The practice of training...

Skunk cabbage is a perennial plant that likes to grow at the edges of streams, ponds and marshes. It produces its own heat and as such is one of the first plants to bloom in late winter. The plant...

Save money by harvesting seeds for next year. Give gifts of seed packets to gardeners, or trade them for other types of seeds. Take the right steps to gather good quality seeds, pack them...

White licorice plants have long, green leaves, grow to 1 to 2 feet tall and wide and do not produce flowers. They are most often used to offset other plants and for edging around gardens. The...

Telegraphs plants, also called semaphore plants or Codariocalyx motorius, are tropical shrubs native to Asia. They are unique in that the leaves have special hinges allowing them to move--at...

For many people, gardening is one of the most relaxing and beautiful experiences in their lives. Every garden is an individual statement about who its owner is as a person and what her tastes are....

The crown of thorns plant, also known as the Christ plant, is as unique as it is popular. It is a succulent that originates from Madagascar and comes from the plant genus Euphorbia. With its woody...

Campanula alpina is a biennial plant that takes its name from the bell-shaped flowers it produces. A biennial plant takes two years to grow from the seed to full bloom before dying. Biennials last...

Native staghorn ferns, also known as elk horn or antelope ferns, are epiphytic perennials or "air" plants found in many tropical climates around the world including the southern United States,...

Pot hanging plants in the spring to accommodate their new growth, or transfer hanging plants any time of year if their root growth or soil conditions require attention. The plant will benefit from...

Bamboo is a plant of the grass family and grows rapidly in certain outdoor locations. Short, curled bamboo is sold in small pots for placement indoors as lucky charms. Some people face problems...

A plant stand is a table or shelf made to hold indoor or outdoor potted plants. Build a corner plant stand or standard plant stand with one or more tiers to hold numerous plants, and if the plants...

Exotic and ornamental, Staghorn ferns, also known as Elk horn, Antelope or Antler ferns are epiphytic perennials or "air" plants that grow attached to tree trunks, branches, walls and rocks. Found...

Daylilies produce large trumpet-shaped blooms that appear for several weeks each spring and summer. They come in bright yellows and oranges, reds, rose colored and multicolored. The rose colored...

Green plants use the process of photosynthesis to convert energy from sunlight into sugar. Using cellular respiration, the plant to transforms the sugar into adenosine triphosphate or ATP, the...

Planting a pineapple at home is a simple process, and to begin, all you need to do is buy a pineapple. The stem of the plant is the part which is rooted in the soil. You cannot just rip the stem...

Coral bells, better known as heuchera (HUE-ker-uh), have a neat mounding shape which makes them an excellent choice for the front of flower borders. Site coral bells where they will have...

Lucky bamboo is a member of the lily family that is often grown hydroponically in containers filled with stones and water. Although named after the bamboo family, it actually has no relation, thus...

A plant stand can be constructed using various designs from the pedestal design with one leg, or a wooden plant stand that resembles a small table. Wooden plant stands can even be constructed as...

Agave is a desert plant, and Agave americana is a particularly large species of agave. The leaves grow to be 6 feet long, and have hooked spines on the edges and an especially sharp spine on the...

It's easy to grow pineapple plants and fruit from the leafy tops cut from store-bought fruit, but it does take time. You can expect a well-established plant in a few months, and it will grow...

All parts of the black walnut tree contain juglone, a substance that inhibits growth of or kills some plants, trees and shrubs. Once afflicted, a susceptible plant can't be saved and will continue...

Calaloo is a native plant that grows in the Caribbean Islands and it originated with the African slaves. In 1839, Captain Geoffroy imported it to Europe. Calaloo, called Indian spinach or Chinese...

Many ornamental plants can be propagated with stem cuttings. Many trailing plants, shrubs and even conifers root well with stem cuttings; most tree varieties present more of a challenge. There are...

Philodendron are a type of plant native to tropical South America, and popular as an indoor or office plant because of their hardiness in low light conditions. Some varieties are climbing, like...

Layering is a simple method of propagating many different plants. To perform simple layering, pull a long stem towards the soil and cover it partially with soil until it roots. This method is very...

The key to reproducing a plant from a cutting, is to be sure the parent plant is healthy and youthful. The parent plant, or the plant where the cutting originates from, must be free from diseases...

You can cut a tree, shrub or plant to root if you want to multiply your hedges or fruit trees. Most commercial garden operations use propagated stems to create a unique array of...

Hardy bamboo is an exceptionally tough, fast-growing and easy plant to grow. It makes an excellent privacy screen. The harvested bamboo poles are strong and attractive, and can be used for light...

Trumpet flowers (Brugmansia) are an enchanting addition to any garden. They can be grown as bushes, trained into unique trees and even used as tender hedges. Their large trumpet shaped blossoms...

Synthetic fertilizers contain chemical ingredients that improve plant growth and boost flower or fruit production. While most fertilizers contain the same basic ingredients, formulations will vary...

Photosynthesis is a unique process within plant cells that keeps carbon dioxide coming in and life-sustaining oxygen going out. There are numerous components, including light intensity, that...

Stevia is widely used as a natural, calorie-free sugar substitute. The stevia plant is a challenging herb to grow, though it has proven to adapt to a variety of environments. With proper planting...

Most people associate wintergreen for its minty flavor, used in items such as chewing gum and toothpaste. However, it is not widely known that the wintergreen plant has a multitude of medicinal...

Porcelain flower and wax plant are other names for the hoya plant, as noted on the University of Florida website. The hoya is a succulent plant and has lovely heart-shaped leaves. This plant will...

Its smooth leaves and adaptability to the indoors makes jade one of our most popular houseplants. Flowers arrive just in time to brighten winter holidays. But Crassula ovata is more than just a...

February Daphne is a deciduous shrub that grows 3 to 5 feet high and about 4 feet wide. Intensely fragrant, lilac to rosy purple flowers appear in groups of two to three on leafless stems in late...

Aloe vera grows into an interesting and beautiful plant. When mature, it presents beautiful flowers and its leaves contain antibacterial and medicinal aloe gel. Once the aloe vera plant blooms,...

Hamamelis is the official family name of the witch hazel plant. Hamamelis Virginiana is the more common of the species in America, although there are four species and several cultivars. Witch...

Boston ferns are good for hanging baskets. Their fronds are very long and full. They do well in gentle sunlight and high humidity. They don't like dry heat. They don't like being brought inside...

Harvesting plant seeds is not only a way to save money on next year's garden or a way to continue your garden from one growing season to the next. Harvesting plant seeds has become an important...

The Alameda plant, or Arctostaphylos pallida, is a perennial shrub that is on the threatened list in the United States, and on the endangered list in California, according to the United States...

Magnolias are majestic flowering trees, growing anywhere from 15 to 40 feet depending in which region it resides. The flowers are large, white and fragrant and bloom from May through June and...

Rhododendrons are flowering bushes that are abundant throughout the United States, especially in the Southern region. They are very popular in landscape plans due to the fact that the leaves...