Archive for the 'PLANT GARDEN' Category

Nasturtiums are actually loved for their rich jewel-toned colors. Most of the varieties will behave as perennials in some particular zones and can be used as ornamental plants for your garden.

Nasturtiums are easy and fast to grow and they can do best even if you ignore a little.

Soil and site preferences to grow Nasturtiums

Nasturtiums need average soil and full sunlight to grow. Annual Nasturtium seeds can be sown directly into well weeded soil in spring season.

But, remember to keep an eye and provide enough amount of water, particularly in hot seasons.

The best way to grow Nasturtiums is across the path of the garden instead of allowing them to climb on walls.

Eating Nasturtiums

One of the best features of Nasturtiums is all parts of the plant including seeds, leaves and blooms are edible. The leaves of Nasturtiums are rich sources of vitamin C and the seeds include high iron content.

Nasturtium blooms make wonderful garnishes for your salads and vegetable platters. The young leaves are used as spicy pepper substitute.

Problems with Nasturtiums

Nasturtiums attract aphids and they must be kept away from other plantings. However, if taken proper care, aphids can be easily treated with effective insecticidal soaps.

Window boxes are a great way of gardening if you only have a small amount of space in your backyard.

However, before choosing plants for your window box, you need to take a good look at the area where you want to grow plants.

Check whether it gets full sun all day long or it gets partial or even full shade. Once you know what kind of environment you are growing plants in, it will be easy for you to choose plants for window boxes.

Plants for window boxes:

You can grow any type of plants in window boxes, from herbs and veggies to colorful annuals. On the herb front, basil, lavender, oregano, parsley or scented geraniums do particularly well.

A few veggies, like carrots, spinach, lettuce, peppers and radishes are also good options for your window boxes. Regular annuals like impatiens, coleus and pansies also look attractive in windows.

Designs for window boxes:

Layered designs are perfect for window boxes. Use the tallest plants in the back and shorter, bushy plants in the middle rows. Plant trailers in front to give an overflowing effect.

Hostas are one of the most commonly used landscaping plants. Although they are thought of as undergrowth plants, hostas have outstanding fragrant flowers and don’t require much maintenance.

These attractive plants are available in a variety of colors and sizes, which make them ideal for eye-catching landscaping projects.

Be aware, though, that if you fail to treat hosts properly, you may experience disappointing results. Here are few tips for growing hosta plants carefully:

1. Ensure that you place hostas in deeply shaded areas. Ideally find a location for your hosta plant in your garden that provides sunshine in the morning and shade in the hotter afternoon.
2. Hostas do not require dividing and digging often. But when done, spring is the best time for hostas. After transplanting, don’t forget to water new plants well.
3. Hosta plants are not invulnerable to attack and can easily fall prey to pests. So, it is always a good idea to use special bait/pesticides around the base of hosta plants.
4. Well-drained soil that is rich in nutrients with a slightly elevated pH level is perfect for growing hostas. It requires regular watering and the application of a well-balanced fertilizer.

Have love towards dwarf plants? There are many varieties in natural dwarf plants, one such variety is Fiscus Bonsai.

This perfect indoor bonsai should be kept indoors all round the year.

There are many varieties in fiscus bonsai- narrow leafed fiscus, weeping fiscus, dwarf fiscus.

These varieties of fiscus have small leaves and slow growing habits.

The fist thing to remember when growing Fiscus bonsai is; it is completely indoor plant and should not be left outdoors for a long time.

Some outdoor sunlight and fresh air is accepted but not mandatory. If you want to grow this bonsai plant then you should know different techniques for caring your plant.

Fiscus bonsai care:

Watering needs: The key for perfect growth of the fiscus is the plants should never grow dry. Extended dryness of the soil can lead to dryness of the tree. Daily check the soil and if there is need of water then do not hesitate in watering the plant.

The watering process is different from normal plants. The best way to water your fiscus bonsai is soak the plant up to the trunk in container filled with water for 5-10 min.

There are many reasons why people love their plants. Besides producing a positive, relaxing effect on the human brain and removing unnecessary tensions, healthy air or carbon-dioxide free air boosts the nervous system.

In addition to relaxing you, the greenery around you can improve your immune system.

In order to reap maximum benefits from your plants, you need to give them a lot of care on a continuous basis.

Caring for your plant means you should look after every health requirement of the plant.

Before buying a plant, you should know the requirements of the plant and know what sort of care the plant requires. Even a pot plant in the home requires careful management.

Every plant has its own individual requirements, so you should heed the special requirements before bringing it home. All plants, however, have general basic requirements to ensure healthy and productive growth.

Basic requirements for plants:

Water: This is the most basic requirement for growing a healthy plant. Accurate amounts of water are essential for the proper growth of the plants.

Plant growth is a process where a plant increases in its size and number of leaves. There is not much to know about plant growth for growing plants in the house.

All that requires is proper plant care. Remember that the more you care your indoor plants, the better the plants growth will be.

Therefore, it is essential for you to know about the needs of the plant for a proper plant growth so that the plant stays healthy and alive.

In general, the needs of the indoor plants are much less than you usually offer the outdoor plants.

The essentials of a plant growth

Focusing on the essentials of the plant growth will make you grow any kind of plant, as the art of gardening moves around these factors.

Temperature: As different plants need different conditions to grow well, you need to consider the range of its temperature.

As an ideal rule, temperatures ranging between 65 to 75 F in the daytime and 60 to 65 degrees at nighttime are optimum. The temperature range fluctuates according to the plant, but it is the common range.

Today, more and more people are showing interest in taking up a garden shrub than ever before.

Garden shrubs are not only a great way to add beauty to your house, but also increase your property value. Maintaining a garden shrub is easy as well as cost effective.

Types of garden shrubs

Wide varieties of shrubs are available for gardening. Depending on their appearance and use, the shrubs are categorized into evergreen and deciduous.

Evergreen shrubs

Evergreen shrubs usually persevere and maintain its color throughout the year. These shrubs enhance year-round beauty and prettiness to gardens.

Evergreen shrubs are divided into needled evergreen and broadleaf evergreen. Needled evergreen shrubs possess needle type foliage whereas broadleaf evergreen shrubs possess broad leaves.

Evergreen shrubs generally lose some of their leaves yearly. The broadleaf evergreen shrubs lose some of the older leaves in the winter season or when they start their re-growth in the spring. Needled evergreen shrubs maintain its foliage for at least two years.

Adam’s Needle (Yucca filamentosa): It is a common evergreen perennial shrub having lengthy deep underground stem. Rarely, it possesses an above ground stem.

In this world, disease occurrence is not limited to human beings. Animals and plants are also more susceptible to diseases and infections.

Diseases pose a hazardous risk to all living creatures on this earth.

As a gardener, get aware of the possible garden diseases that plants can come across. Garden diseases to the plants are literally innumerable, but the most common are:

Honey fungus: Honey fungus, as its name suggests, is the most serious fungal disease that primarily live inside dead plant materials-on the stumps or on branches-and forms rhizomorphs, the darkly pigmented root-like strands.

These rhizomorphs then contaminates the roots of nearby plants. But, in some cases, it acts as a parasite in attacking and killing living plants.

Apple, Cherry, Birch, Apricot, Crab Apple, Rose, Lilac, Peach are the most common plants that are vulnerable to honey fungus.

Downy mildew: This is a fungal garden disease that commonly grows in cool, wet conditions. The disease affects a wide variety of plants, including vegetables plants [Vegetable Garden] and fruit trees.

It damages the young plants where the leaves turn into yellow and develops fungal spores under the leaves. These spores usually spread by wind.

Gardening is very interesting and mostly loved by all. But, you have to take proper care for perfect growth of the plants in your garden.

Garden makes your landscape more beautiful and impressive.

The first important thing you have to keep in mind for proper plant care is you have to take proper care of the roots.

Roots are the vital part of the plant, but unfortunately they are most neglected part of the plant.

You have to know that roots are opportunistic and they do not grow in any particular direction.

Root flourishes in soils [Soil testing] that supply adequate oxygen, water, nutrients, support and warmth. A healthy root system is essential for optimum growth.

How to take care of your plants?

Caring for plants causes too much concern for so many people. House plant care is not as difficult as it appears. You have to first take care of your plant by watering it properly.

Many house plants ruin due to over watering. You should make sure that the soil is dry for watering. To know whether the soil is dry, test it with finger. The index finger should be inserted into the soil up to the first joint. If you feel that the soil is wet, then you should not water the plant as it is not ready to receive the water.

Different herbs have different needs and aromatic plants need special care.

For aromatic plants like lavender, you can use lavender seeds.

Irrespective of the struggle, it is a source of great satisfaction to the deeply interested gardener to know that he is giving his plants the best start, and the plants show their appreciation with brushwood and more numerous blossoms.

You can grow several aromatic plants or fragrant herbs just in your window sill. You can start with fresh small plants or seeds.

The important things to consider are light and temperature if you want to grow the aromatic plants indoor. Once you plant a plant or sow seeds, you have to use regular potting soil for fast growth.

If you have backyard, you can grow aromatic plants that need more sunlight without any problem. Basil is a popular fragrant herb that needs the sunlight more and can be grown in the backyard. Other aromatic plants like thyme, sage, marjoram and lavender are easily grown with the help of potting soil.