PlantLife Online

We receive a lot of questions on the topic of pruning roses so here is a quick guide to keep roses healthy and producing flowers.

The how and why: (See diagram on the right)

(1) The first pruning cuts should be to remove all the deador damaged canes, dead and damaged canes will attract insects and disease.

(2) Your next cuts should be to remove any suckers growing below or away from the main stem.*

Its no surprise to anyone who has been to their local garden center recently that succulents are all the rage. They come in countless shapes, sizes and colors turns out they are also one of natures most durable plant. One of my favorite aspects about using succulents in the landscape is their ability to add a different texture from your normal flat leaf species of plants. The succulents interesting plump leaves add year round texture and color to any landscape. When used as a groundcover succulents can make a dramatic back drop your yard.

Insects like the Lady Beetle (aka Ladybug) and its larva play an important role in reducing and controlling populations of insect pests. Every gardener has come a cross pests like the aphid and mealy bug and boy can they be annoying, but rather than using an insecticide sit back and let nature due the work. Insecticides kill the good guys too!

Some seeds float in the wind others helicopter to the ground these interesting weed seeds of the Redstem Stork's Bill corkscrew their way into the ground. Each “storks bill” which is the sword like projections off the plant are cluster of five seeds, each with the long tail tapering out to the end of the “bill”. These tails are tightly bound and make the central, elongated “bill”.

Blights of all kinds are fairly common in the landscape but few can be as annoying as those that affect your tomatoes. Unfortunately there is no cure all for blight once a garden is infected but the following tips will help prevent the spread of blight as well as many other common crop diseases.

1. Use only clean seed saved from disease free plants.
2. Use blight resistant or tolerant varieties.
3. Remove and destroy crop residue at the end of the season.

WATERING

If the water supply is heavily chlorinated, draw water and let it sit for 24 hours before using it. This allows the chlorine to evaporate. Softened water has too much salt for your plant’s health. Use rainwater or water from an outside tap, which is not softened. Frequency of watering is somewhat dependent on weather conditions and placement.

General Guidelines:

Soil-moisture sensors hooked to sprinkler systems could put a huge dent in homeowners’ utility bills—and help conserve much-needed water, a new University of Florida study says.

Researcher Michael Dukes found that for three of four rain sensors tested, water savings ranged from 69 percent to 92 percent, compared to grass watered without the help of sensors.

A tree is a beautiful asset to any landscape but they have more to offer than just shade. Healthy trees absorb carbon dioxide and other pollutants released with the burning of fossil fuels and other human activities. A well-placed tree in your yard can reduce your utility bills by conserving energy, increase your property’s value and offer positive psychological and social benefits to you and your community.

Lucky Bamboo has been a symbol of the Chinese practice of Feng Shui for centuries. It is said that the Bamboo is luckiest when you receive it as a gift, this does not mean that you cannot buy one, consider the Bamboo as gift from yourself. The Bamboo plant symbolizes luck and success because of its ability to grow quickly and has strength and resilience. Feng Shui literally means "wind" and "water". Like wind and water, its principles involve movement, flow, circulation, and the harmonious rhythm of natural energies.

iron chlorosisCommon nutrient deficiencies have similar symptoms in most plants, by knowing what to look for you can make adjustments that will get your plant healthy in no time. One of the number one reasons plants in our landscape, garden or home die is over watering.