Showing posts with label Flower. Show all posts
Gardener's Guide to Heliotrope Plant Care
Posted by Unknown in Flower on Monday, 13 May 2013
D Swain
Yahoo! Contributor Network
Heliotropes
are flowering herbaceous plants that produce a vanilla/cinammon
fragrance. If you want to grow one of these in your garden, there are a
few things you'll need to know. This article will give you a few tips on
caring for a heliotrope plant.
Sun
Heliotrope
plants will rotate their leaves in order to face the sun. This helps
them to absorb the most possible light. You just need to make sure that
you put the plant in a location that provides it with four to six hours
of direct sunlight every day.
Soil
It is best that
you plant heliotropes in very fertile soil. It also needs to drain very
well. You can put a layer of mulch around the plant which will help
retain more water. Make sure that you don't put the mulch too close to
the plant that it restricts its growth.
Water
Your heliotrope
plant will grow properly as long as you provide it with water on a
weekly basis. However, if your area hasn't received a lot of rainfall
during the week, you may need to water twice. Also, you should feed the
plant a balanced fertilizer during every season except for winter.
Environment
It is best that
you plant your heliotrope during the early stages of spring. Allow time
for the last frost of the year to pass before you plant it. You will
need to bring the plant inside during the winter months.
Bloom
Heliotrope plants bloom in the summer and fall. The plants have dark green foliage and purple flowers.
These are a few
tips on caring for a heliotrope plant. Make sure that you plant it in
well-drained and fertile soil. Although they turn their leaves to face
the sun, make sure the heliotrope is placed in a location with four to
six hours of direct sunlight.
How To Control Black Spot Of Roses
Posted by Unknown in Flower, Plant Diseases, Rose on Sunday, 12 May 2013
Plant Pathology Infobytes
Gardeners
who want to keep their rose garden the envy of the neighborhood should
plan to keep black spot fungus disease under control. Black spot is rose
"public enemy number one" and commonly makes its appearance in the
spring following warm, wet weather.
Symptoms of
black spot begin on leaves as small, pin-head sized black or dark brown
spots which are circular in shape. The spots increase in size, and
infected leaves eventually turn yellow and fall from the plant.
Continued plant
attack by black spot results in unattractive foliage as well as reduced
size, number, and quality of blooms. Successive seasons of defoliation
weakens plants and increases susceptibility to winter kill and other
disorders.
Black spot
usually occurs on the lower portion of the rose bush first and moves
upward as the season progresses. Leaves are most susceptible to
infection when young but can be invaded at any point of development
during periods when showers are numerous.
Rose varieties
vary in susceptibility to the black spot fungus. Grandiflora and
floribunda types are generally more resistant than hybrid tea varieties,
and gardeners who have hybrid teas in their planting should plan to
carry out a full-season black spot control program. The following
control guidelines are suggested.
- When watering overhead, do so early in the day so that plants have a chance to thoroughly dry before nightfall. Since moisture on leaves is necessary for infection to take place, this cultural procedure is very important in cutting down on foliage infection.
- A regular fungicide spray program throughout the growing season is generally necessary to control blackspot.
- Most fungicides can safely be combined with insecticides and miticides and will perform better when small amount of spreader- sticker material is added to the spray solution. Dust formulations of rose fungicides generally don't provide the same level of control as liquids.
- Regularity of spraying and thorough coverage are important to control. It's important to realize that fungicides protect plants from infection, and once the black spot fungus has invaded foliage, fungicide application is of limited value. For this reason, keep your plants covered with a protective fungicide at all times during the growing season
- If only a few leaves show symptoms of black spot, remove and burn them. This will cut down on fungus spread to healthy foliage. Remove all diseased leaves from around the plants in the fall and destroy.
- New plantings should be in areas with good air circulation to promote rapid drying of leaves. Also, avoid shady areas and dense plantings where high humidity problems are most likely to occur.
Just how
important is rose disease control? Any successful grower will tell you,
"Don't even think about growing roses unless you are willing to devote
special attention to the control of diseases and other pests." Yet, for
individuals who are truly fond of roses, the pleasure of producing their
own blooms will justify the time and expense required to keep disease
problems to a minimum.
For additional information on blackspot and other rose diseases, check with us at your county Extension office.
Infobytes newsletter was written by the late Dr. Frank Killebrew, Extension Specialist.
Gardening Column: 5 Trends That Are Sprouting for '13
Posted by Unknown in Flower, Gardening, Vegetable, Vertical Gardening on Wednesday, 8 May 2013
Color, vertical gardening hot in '13
sctimes.com
With lows
lingering in the 20s, it’s hard to imagine that in a few weeks tulips
and daffodils will be blooming and it will be time to set out the
tomatoes. Spring is Minnesota’s most fickle season as well as its
shortest one. But it will come, and garden centers and nurseries will be
overflowing with gorgeous plants and garden ideas.
Here are five trends you can expect to see in 2013.
1 Small plants for small yards. More
and more gardeners are growing ornamental and edible plants in smaller
spaces, even in containers. This year, you will see down-sized shrubs,
such as the new Bobo hydrangea that tops out at 3 feet tall or Show Off
Sugar Baby forsythia, a spring-bloomer that stays less than 2 feet tall.
You’ll also see more vegetables identified with the code word “patio,”
meaning they are perfect for growing in pots.
2 Vertical gardening.
Garden shows this winter have been full of gadgets that let you grow
plants vertically — hanging pockets, wall-like dividers with troughs for
growing lettuce or other plants, planters for succulents that look like
picture frames and can be hung on a wall. The cool factor is very high
with these devices, but pay attention to how much soil the plants are
given. If it’s not much, expect to water and fertilize often.
3 Bright colors.
After this winter, we need color and there will be plenty of it in the
garden centers. You’ll see more bright hues of orange, yellow and red in
annuals as well as lots of bright, crayon-like colors in containers and
garden accessories. One of my favorite new annuals is Superbells Lemon
Slice calibrachoa, a two-toned calibrachoa flowers abundantly and will
bring a smile to anyone who sees it in a hanging basket or container.
4 Mixing edibles and ornamentals.
The trend toward including edible plants in ornamental gardens is
continuing, and you may see examples at nurseries and garden centers of
ways to add greens and other vegetables to flower or shrub beds. Swiss
chard is often used in ornamental beds, but peppers, purple cabbage or a
garden teepee covered in green beans can add beauty to any space.
5 Paint-by-numbers gardens.
Many new gardeners aren’t sure what to plant or how to combine plants,
and the green industry is figuring out how to guide these new gardeners.
For example, Garden Artistry (www.gardenartistryinspires.com) has
created four sets of plant combinations that grow well together,
encourage beneficial insects and look gorgeous. Unfortunately, the
prepackaged plants are only available in the Chicago area now, but I
think this idea will catch on, giving young gardeners just the right
information to create beautiful spaces. Check out the website and pick
up your own set of plants based on the suggested designs.
For new
vegetable gardeners, a program called the 5-by-5 Challenge
(www.5x5challenge.com) has been launched by ChiotsRun.com, an organic
vegetable garden blogger, to give recommendations of what to plant and
how to grow vegetables in a small (5-by-5 foot) bed. The website
recommends varieties and garden layouts for a simple 5-by-5-foot raised
bed and offers discussion forums and other ways to get advice from more
experienced gardeners. This trend is one of my favorites of the year
because it really helps people start gardening.
This is the opinion of Mary Lahr Schier, editor of Northern Gardener magazine. She blogs at blog.northerngardener.org and mynortherngarden.com.
Deadly Nature
Posted by Unknown in Flower
Nepenthes rajah
is an insectivorous pitcher plant species of the Nepenthaceae family.
It is endemic to Mount Kinabalu and neighbouring Mount Tambuyukon in
Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.
A drowned lizard found in a freshly opened pitcher of N. rajah
Choosing Your Roses
Posted by Unknown in Flower, Horticulture and Floriculture, Rose on Saturday, 23 March 2013
Flowering Gardening Guide
Roses have long been a favorite among all types of gardeners, and roses continue to enjoy great popularity today.
Roses are perennial flowers of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. That family contains over 100 species and comes in a variety of colors. Besides that, many thousands of rose hybrids and cultivars have been bred and selected for garden use. In addition to their beauty as cut flowers and in bouquets, roses are among the most useful and attractive flowers to grace the landscape of any home.
As a matter of fact, the exterior of any home can be made more graceful and more inviting through the use of wonderful landscape roses. Choosing the forms and colors will ensue that they compliment the overall style of your home and contribute to the overall success of your landscape design.
Fortunately, the number of ornamental landscape roses make finding them an easy task. The difficulty consists of choosing the right ones from this sheer endless variety. There are a number of classes of roses whose characteristics make them great for use as landscape ornamentals. For instance, the gardener who wants to grow roses up and over an archway or a trellis may want to use tall growing tea roses. Tea roses are renowned for their nodding blooms, therefore all who pass under the arch would be treated to the beautiful sight of roses in full bloom.
To accent a wall or other permanent structure, a true climbing rose is often the best choice. True climbing roses can be trained to many different effects, including climbing up the length of the structure, or accenting the tops and sides of a wall or building.
The Polyantha or modern day Floribunda rose is a great choice for gardeners looking for a vibrant splash of color for the background. These popular varieties of roses have large sprays of blooms, and they are popular choices for providing color in the landscape.
If roses are to be planted in front of other plants in the landscape, miniature or low growing China roses are a perfect choice. Roses can even be used as hedges, with modern Shrub roses and Rugosa roses being excellent choices.
Of course, as with any aspect of gardening, color is an important consideration. After all, every gardener’s goal is a garden full of colorful, vibrant and healthy plants. Fortunately, roses come in so many shapes, sizes, textures and colors that there truly is a rose for every gardener.
The goal of choosing the best color roses for the landscape should be to compliment the color of the surrounding landscape. For instance, a spray of plain white tea roses can be striking against a dark red brick home, or an arrangement of pink roses can be the perfect compliment to a stone or marble entranceway. With so many colors of roses to choose from, it should be easy to find colors that compliment and enhance any decorating scheme.
One popular trend in the world of landscaping is to use a variety of different plants and flowers in the landscape. Whereas single species landscaping was in vogue a few years ago, most of today’s gardeners like to use a mix of different colors, species and styles of plants. Doing so not only makes for a vibrant garden, but it is thought to enhance the health of the soil as well. My rule of thumb: Design your garden like Mother Nature would do it.
Fortunately, roses lend themselves well to this mixture, and roses can be a beautiful part of an overall landscape of plants and flowers. In addition, there are roses suitable for a variety of climates. Choosing the best rose varieties for your specific climate should mean fewer pesticides, few disease issues and an overall healthier garden.
Ideal Environment for Plantation | Horticultural Crops
Posted by Unknown in Flower, Horticulture, India on Saturday, 26 January 2013
The
diverse agro-climatic condition prevailing in Karnataka is suitable for
growing a variety of horticultural crops such as fruits, vegetables,
flowers, spices, plantation crops, root and tuber crops, and medicinal
and aromatic crops.
The total area under plantation and horticulture crops was 20.51 lakh hectares with annual production of 138.65 lakh mt.
The
thrust areas are: Hybrid seed production of vegetables and cut flowers
especially under poly houses for export with tie up with Safal Fruit and
Vegetable Auction Market (SFVAM), oil palm cultivation and contract
farming of medicinal and aromatic crops, viz., Aloe Vera, Coleus
forskoli, Ashwagandha and Patchouli.
Gherkins,
rose onion, flowers and vanilla are notified under Agri-Export Zones,
covering 15 districts. Along with National Horticulture Mission (NHM),
the Government is also implementing a pilot project on adoption of
Israeli Technology in 10 taluks.
SERICULTURE
The
area under mulberry cultivation has come down from 97647 hectares
(2006-07) to 77,329 hectares (2008-09), mainly on account of uprooting
of mulberry plantations in Ramanagara, Mysore, Bangalore Rural and
Tumkur districts and also crop diversification. Accordingly, the cocoon
production has also come down to 53377 MT (2008-09) from 58697 MT
(2006-07).
Issues
concerning plantation and horticulture in the State are: - There is a
need to strengthening of technical staff of the horticulture department
particularly at the field level, lack of support system for market
oriented production, short supply of quality planting material and
improved varieties, especially under medicinal and aromatic plants,
deficit infrastructure in AEZ and lack of coordinated approach, adoption
of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices to reduce losses,
increase productivity are the areas of concern.
The
Coffee Board may promote organic farming to meet international standard
of productivity. The Coconut Development Board may promote
multi-storied cropping system.
Improved
mulberry varieties and silk worm races have to be widely popularised in
non-traditional areas. The weakest link in the sericulture sector is
the reelers.
Promotion
of shoot rearing method, bivoltine races, deficit in inadequate network
and technology transfer in non-traditional areas and lack of effective
tripartite arrangement for recovery of loan from farmers in post-cocoon
activities, are the issues to be addressed by the agencies concerned. As
the existing multi-voltine races are not ideally suited in high
rainfall districts, races suitable to various agro climatic zones of the
State to be evolved.
There
is good potential for corporate/contract farming (soil to silk) to
achieve international quality and ensure continues supply to the
industries. The department and banks may promote such models.
Banks to scale up disbursement to sericulture sector as adequate potential exists.
The
department and banks need to work out a realistic working capital cycle
to meet requirements of the reelers. Upgradation of machinery and
cost-effective technology to enhance productivity and quality of the
post-cocoon activity.
Banks
may finance for pre-cooling, grading and packing houses for fruits and
vegetables, dry land horticulture, high density planting, multi-tier
cropping systems small and medium capacity tissue culture units.
The crop insurance scheme/weather based insurance may be extended to all the horticultural crops.
The Hindu
