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Trying to determine whether a plant is going to do well in your landscape relies on many factors, but the planting zone is one of the most important. While there are a couple of different zoning systems, the U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones are the standard. They're listed on nearly every plant tag found in nurseries and garden centers, and should be the first thing you check when searching for trees, shrubs or perennials.
A short growing season isn't the only challenge Maine homeowners face when it comes to gardening. Late spring frosts can be erratic and vary by up to a month from year to year, depending on your particular microclimate. Knowing what to look for and what to expect in Maine weather helps gardeners decide when it's time to begin planting in their areas.
Strawberries are hardy up until about 15 or 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Care for strawberry plants in winter with help from a garden professional in this free video clip.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zone map, there are 10 planting zones in New Mexico, ranging from 4b to 9a. These zones range from the mountainous areas with recorded average annual extreme minimum temperatures down to minus 25 degrees Fahrenheit to the southern areas with average recorded minimum temperatures of 20 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit. Establishing a successful garden in New Mexico will vary by planting zone and entails choosing plants that will thrive in their chosen environment.
When it comes to choosing a suit, you can't go wrong with light gray. As a neutral, gray is flattering to most skin tones, especially those with a cool undertones. If you look good in silver jewelry, gray is a good color for your clothing. A light gray suit can take on many different looks, depending on the style and color of the blouse you choose.
When something is wrong in a plant's environment, it displays symptoms that can help you diagnose the problem. One such problem is too much light, which often goes hand in hand with too much heat and too little water. Whatever the case, understanding the symptoms can help you know when it's time to move your plant to a shadier spot.
If you're wearing light-colored jeans, they will look really great when paired with a dark colored top. Get fashion advice for light-colored jeans with help a designer and fashion professional in this free video clip.
Determining which fertilizer is the best for use in your home garden can be daunting, with so many products available. However, the decision-making process becomes easier if you remember that fertilizer is essentially food for your plants. By considering the current food supply available and then weighing plant nutrient requirements, selecting the best fertilizer for your garden becomes a much easier task.
With tropical blooms standing 4 to 6 feet above multicolored, striped or plain green leaves up to 3 feet long, cannas (Cannas spp.) dominate any garden. Tropical cannas thrive in full sun and bloom in the heat of summer. They're frequently planted in groups in a border or island of their own. Although they are completely hardy in only warm climates, you can grow cannas in cooler climates by adjusting the planting time.
Single, Darwin, Kaufmanii or species, colorful tulips (Tulipa spp.) announce spring’s fullness in flower beds and gift pots. These native wildflowers of Persia and Central Asia were traded across Europe until they reached the Netherlands where they were the object of an economic panic in the mid-17th century. Tulips grow in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 10, but are typically grown as annuals in USDA zones 8 to 10.
Over 237 species of blackberries (Rubus) grow throughout the world, but these sun-loving berries are notoriously thorny and difficult to harvest. If you've avoided growing blackberries in the past because of their thorns, thornless varieties might convert you. These types have all the delicious fruit you'd expect, minus the thorns. Blackberries require more heat than other bramble fruits, making them an ideal choice for warmer climates.
Donna Vinci, a Los Angeles-based clothing company established in 1981, specializes in upscale, special occasion looks. DV only offers its clothing in limited quantities instead of mass producing items. The company has several different collections, each focusing on a different facet of fashion -- from suits and knits to denim and accessories. The binding factor between all the clothing is the elegant use of trims and graphic details, which turn simple garments into truly unique pieces.
Nothing says spring like an ornamental cherry tree in full bloom. Pruning is a good way to keep your tree healthy and putting on a lovely display year after year. Whether you’ve already got one on your property or would like to dress up your yard with a new planting, it helps to familiarize yourself with proper pruning technique.
Blooming late summer through frost, asters (Aster or Symphyotrichum spp.) color beds, borders and containers. The Aster genus includes about 250 species and numerous cultivated varieties and hybrids. Most are characterized by fairly narrow leaves and daisylike flowers ranging from white through blue, purple and pink. The best garden asters are relatively pest and disease free and suit both the site and the specific U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zone.
"Shamrock" inkberry (Ilex glabra "Shamrock") is a broadleaf evergreen shrub prized for the year-round interest it provides, with dark fruits that persist through the winter. This compact shrub grows just 3 to 4 feet tall with a similar spread. Regular pruning will help the "Shamrock" inkberry maintain a dense appearance. This cultivar grows more slowly than others in its species but will still benefit from an occasional rejuvenation pruning whenever it begins to look leggy.
The Norway spruce (Picea abies), a tough coniferous evergreen, grows in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 2 through 7. Growing in a range that includes states as far south as North Carolina and as far north as Maine and into Canada, this tree is adaptable to all sorts of weather, temperature extremes, and wet periods or drought.
Gardeners in Asia, Europe and the United States have for centuries been growing peonies for their striking pink, purple, red and white blossoms. The original peony species (Paeonia lactiflora) is rarely found in nurseries and seed catalogs, but the American Peony Society lists more than 8,000 named cultivars. Most peony species grow best in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 8, but selected herbaceous species will grow in zones 9.
Dark jeans aren't going to go well with all types of colored shirts. Find out if dark jeans go with a light-colored shirt with help from one of the nation's premiere fashion and beauty journalists in this free video clip.
If you want to protect your plants from frost, you need to start making preparations to do so as early as possible. Plant your garden really early and still protect it from frost with help from the owner of Healing Grounds Nursery in this free video clip.
There are a number of things that you can do to prepare your garden in the fall for planting in the following spring. Learn about proper fall garden preparation techniques for spring planting with help from a bulb and garden expert in this free video clip.
Black and light sky blue go really well in a few key styles of makeup. Get makeup ideas for black and light sky blue with help from a licensed cosmetologist in this free video clip.
How you will select a plant grow light depends on a number of different things, including the plants that will be using it. Select a plant grow light with help from a creative and committed designer in this free video clip.
Whether you call it Siberian cypress or Russian arborvitae, Microbiota decussata is a ground-cover shrub with a lot going for it. Gardeners in the cold to moderate climates of U.S. Department of Agriculture planting zones 3 to 7 can use this evergreen as a substitute for juniper in a range of soil types in sites that receive full sun to partial shade. The plant grows to about 1 foot tall with a 6-foot spread and sports attractive bright green new foliage that darkens to a purplish bronze in the winter. The foliage is narrow and scaly, turning down at the…
Multicolored lights decorate your pool at relatively low cost and provide an effect that colors your water in a multitude of ways. A special housing encases the light to prevent water infiltration and the a nearby junction box powers the light and other devices in the pool area. Pool lights are often connected to a light switch to make turning them on and off as convenient as possible but if this isn't the case, carefully hook them up yourself to give you greater control over when the lights get used.
Pumpkins require a long growing season, and because the plants are very frost-tender, gardeners in northern climates may need to start seeds indoors to get a head start. In central and southern areas of the United States, gardeners typically have enough frost-free days to plant seeds directly in the soil. Soil temperatures at 70 degrees Fahrenheit are optimal for pumpkin seeds to germinate. Because pumpkins are vines that root easily where nodes contact the soil, you can also grow plants from cuttings.
Jasmine grows as a vining plant or shrub, depending on its variety. This attractive plant with fragrant yellow, pink or white blooms grows easily in pots due to its adaptation to container gardening. However, container grown jasmine plants can only grow in limited soil, so they must have precise growing conditions to remain healthy. Pruning is an essential requirement that invigorates the potted plant’s growth, enhances its appearance and controls its size and spread. Use sterilized pruning shears when pruning your potted jasmine to prevent fungal diseases.
Silver germander is an eye-catching plant that produces gray-green leaves and attractive light blue flowers, with small white hairs that cover the stems and foliage. It is drought-tolerant and easy to care for. Your pruning method should depend on whether you want to enjoy abundant flowers or intend to grow it as a hedge. You can allow it to grow in its own habit, without the need for pruning. Or you can shear the sides of the plant to create a tight hedge. If you enjoy the snapdragon-like flowers, avoid pruning until new growth appears after spring.
Among the many grape varieties, muscadine grapes stand out as an oddity. The grapes hang from the vines individually instead of in bunches, and they need a climate with mild winters. Native to the southeastern United States, these grape vines freeze to the ground at temperatures below 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Exposure to frost can prevent or delay the fruit production for that growing season. To maximize your harvest, protection of the muscadine vines during frosts and freezes is critical.
Primroses begin flowering in spring and continue to send up new blooms throughout the summer. These perennial plants can survive freezing temperatures during the winter because they enter a period of dormancy. Freezing that occurs before the plants go dormant or after they break dormancy in spring can damage the plants. Protecting and preparing the primroses during freezing weather helps ensure the plants don't suffer cold damage.
Food coloring affects a wheat plant in somewhat minor but interesting ways. The dye in food coloring mainly alters the coloring of plants, rather than affecting their growth. Adding food coloring to plants is a common science experiment in school, and it can help teach students about plant water uptake.
Cacti are hardy desert plants that are commonly thought to be easy to grow because they will stand up to a lot of misuse, save for overwatering. However, when cutting a cactus for propagation it can be difficult to get the cuts to grow on their own. This is because a cactus cutting needs to develop a callous or “scab” before it is planted if it is to have the highest possible success rate.
Pears are hardy trees commonly found in the home garden. Asian and European pears are grown throughout the United States. Pears grown in frost-prone areas may succumb to bud damage in areas with late-spring frosts or in low-lying areas where frost persists. Pears already growing in frosty areas can have some limited protection, but it is easiest to grow-short season pears in areas with late frosts.
You can add a sort of lens flare effect in the image-editing shareware program PhotoFiltre, though it doesn't have the multi-layer capabilities necessary to create a true lens flare effect. The software has the ability to overlay a mask on an image and that mask can apply different color and transparency effects. To achieve the lens flare effect in PhotoFiltre, you must overlay a mask that approximates the lens flare and then adjust the color and transparency to look like extra light coming into the shot.
Plants need sunlight in order to survive. The sunlight is actually used to help create the sugars that plants use as nutrients. Some plants require a lot less sunlight than others to make this process, photosynthesis, occur. Such plants are placed in full or partial shade. Other plants need a lot of sunlight. Gardeners trying to cultivate such plants must find a way to redirect the sunlight to the plant. There are a few simple ways to do so.
Light-emitting diodes first were used in the 1990s for indicator lights on electronics. The technology soon spread to flashlights, hazard lights and even stand-alone lamp fixtures, in a variety of intensities and colors. While considerably more efficient than incandescent light bulbs, LEDs have certain characteristics of which users should be aware, including their response to temperature.
Crabgrass, the bane of homeowners who painstakingly care for their lawns, provides an effective temporary forage crop during the summer. The most commonly cultivated species is large crabgrass (Digitaria sanguinalis), also known as digitgrass for its flower branches that resemble fingers. Large crabgrass spreads by roots, produced when the nodes touch the soil. Because it readily reseeds itself, it’s the gift that keeps on giving when grown as forage.
The Austrian scientist Johann Gregor Mendel is sometimes credited as the founder of the plant genetics and inheritance schools of thought, based on his experiments with peas in the mid- to late-1860s. However, humans have been breeding plants and manipulating species to create hybrids for thousands of years. Today, theories of hybridization have evolved significantly from early explanations, but are still based on the ideas underlying genetics and inheritance.
Hardy hibiscus plants have tropical-looking blooms but they withstand frost and low temperatures. They grow well to USDA hardiness zone 4, making them a suitable choice for both cold and mild climates. The hibiscus plant goes dormant after frost exposure, but the roots remain alive. Although the roots usually survive without any frost protection, providing some protection in the coldest climates can prevent frost heave. Heave occurs when the soil pushes up during winter freeze and thaw cycles, which can cause broken roots.
More commonly known as a spider plant, Chlorophytum comosum is native to South Africa and often used as a house plant. It helps improve air quality by battling benzene and carbon monoxide. These plants are known for their ability to live even under less-than-ideal conditions and top lists of hard-to-kill plants. Killing this type of plant can prove difficult due to the plant's resilience, but it can be done if the gardener is persistent.
The sweet pea was first described in Sicily in 1695. By 1700, it had spread to Britain and the Netherlands, where the sturdy annual's long-lasting blooms assured it a place in gardens for years to come. Perfect for cut flowers and formal or casual gardens, sweet peas are one of the most versatile flower choices available.
Two common misconceptions prevent many gardeners from planting camellias, according to the U.S. National Arboretum. The first is that camellias are picky and difficult to grow successfully. The second myth is that camellias only grow in very mild climate zones. Fortunately, not only are camellias fairly easy to grow in the right conditions, but they also have an much larger hardiness zone range than some might think.
Provide your family with ample sources of protein and other nutrients by growing lentil plants in your home or garden. These plants stem from the legume or "bean" family, but they have distinctive characteristics when compared to other foods within the same family. Lentils grow on pods and within envelopes of green foliage. The edible lentils are the plant's seeds.
Black bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra) is a running bamboo, which means it spreads by growing rhizomes underneath the soil. They spread very quickly, by as much as 5 feet each year. When you want to plant some black bamboo elsewhere in the yard or give some to a friend or family member, simply divide the original plant and transplant the separated clump.
Each wood species has distinctive characteristics related to its appearance and the sound it produces. Rosewood and cherrywood are used to create the back and sides of the guitar, while spruce is generally used for the top of the guitar since its grain is tight and compact. The majority of guitar makers consider the guitar's top to be most important in establishing its tonal quality. Although the species of wood typically determines the quality of sound it transmits, the design of the guitar and skill of the craftsman -- or luthier, a maker of guitars and violins -- is equally…
Black lights don't have the strongest effect on plant growth when compared with other types of lights, but you can still use black lights in combination with other lights to create a full spectrum of light for your plants. The black light gives off a low glow that isn't enough to sustain a plant alone. Plants may grow underneath a black light, but they won't grow as quickly and they may become droopy and die faster, so it's vital that you use a variety of lights to give your plants the best start.
Most people associate rainbows with rainy days. When the clouds part enough to let sunlight through, the light passes through the raindrops in the air. The rain scatters the light, turning it into several different colors. Sunlight contains all of the colors that your eyes see and the reflection separates colors. Reflective objects, such as water and prisms, can help you see the colors found in rays of light. Students in the sixth grade can rely on reflective objects to observe rainbows and learn about light.
A Helleri holly is a Japanese variety (Ilex crenata) that grows 4 feet tall and 5 feet wide, keeping a neat, mounded shape without the need for pruning. The dense, tight, dark green foliage has a grayish cast to it, and it persists through winter, giving structure to the garden after other plants fade. Helleri hollies have rounded leaves without the prickly spines that you find on most hollies. Because of their fine-textured foliage, they may be mistaken for boxwoods.
A fall vegetable garden is not something you should attempt without a certain degree of planning. Learn about planning your fall vegetable garden with help from a social entrepreneur in this free video clip.
In the online children's game "Moshi Monsters," each player grows Moshling seeds in his Moshling Garden. The objective of most gardening in the game is to attract and capture Moshlings, which are small pets for your Moshi Monster. To attract a Moshling, you grow the appropriate combination of single-colored plants. However, you may instead wish to grow a multiple-color plant, which is called a "Rox Flower." Rox Flowers do not attract Moshlings. However, when you dig up a Rox Flower, you earn between one and 100 Rox, which is the online currency of "Moshi Monsters."
The plumbago plant (Plumbago auriculata) is an evergreen shrub with abundant pale blue flowers. It is commonly known as Cape Leadwort or Cape Plumbago. Plumbago auriculata plants provide a spray of color to gardens and landscapes from spring through fall. Although it's most suited to the warm climates of Florida and California, you can grow the plants in containers that you can bring indoors for protection and continued growth over the winter.
