Dandelion Flower Varieties The name “dandelion” comes from a French word, “dent-de-lion,” or lion’s tooth, which refers to the deeply serrated leaves. If you take a close look, you’ll notice that dandelion flowers actually consist of masses of tiny flowers, or florets. The blooms are an important source of nectar for bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. More than 250 species of dandelions have been identified, and unless you’re a botanist, you may find it difficult to tell the difference between types of dandelion plants....

What Vegetables Can Be Grown Upside Down? Tomatoes Tomatoes are one of the best known upside down vegetables. There are hundreds of tutorials online on how to grow these plants upside down and you can even buy kits to help you with this. While any size tomato can be grown upside down, cherry tomatoes tend to be easier to manage when growing vegetables upside down. Cucumbers In a hanging vegetable garden, any vining vegetable can be grown and cucumbers are often a popular choice....

What Were Ancient Vegetables Like When humans first walked this earth, many types of plants our ancestors encountered were poisonous. Naturally, survival depended upon these early humans’ ability to distinguish between ancient vegetables and fruits as to which were edible and which were not. This was all well and good for hunters and gatherers. As people began to manipulate the soil and sow their own seeds, life changed dramatically. So did the size, taste, texture, and even the color of ancient vegetables and fruits....

Why is Watermelon Rotting on Bottom? Watermelon blossom end rot isn’t caused by a pathogen; it’s the result of fruit that lacks the correct amount of calcium to develop properly. When fruits are growing rapidly, they need lots of calcium, but it doesn’t move through the plant very well, so if it’s not available in the soil, they will be deficient. A lack of calcium ultimately causes rapidly developing cells in fruits to collapse on themselves, turning the blossom end of the watermelon into a black, leathery lesion....

Interesting Weld Plant Information Weld plant is also known as dyer’s rocket for the bright yellow dye that has been used as a fabric dye and oil paint colorant since Roman times. Some modern-day painters continue to use the pigment and weld plant dye is still used as a fabric dye, primarily for silk. Otherwise, most gardeners agree that it isn’t the flowers that make reseda weld plants distinctive – it’s the sweet, powerful aroma....

Planting Bunching Onions Plant Welsh onion seeds indoors in March, using a regular commercial potting soil. Keep the soil lightly moist until the seeds germinate, which generally takes seven to 10 days. Plant the seedlings in your garden after about a month, when all danger of frost has passed. Full sun is best, but Welsh onion plants tolerate a bit of light shade. Allow about 8 inches between each seedling. If you have access to established plants, you can easily propagate new plants by division....

What are Acaricides? Acaricides are pesticides that kill ticks and mites, closely related groups of invertebrates. They are one part of a strategy for controlling ticks around homes and should be combined with measures to reduce tick habitats. An acaricide for tick control will include active ingredients like permethrin, cyfluthrin, bifenthrin, carbaryl, and pyrethrin. These chemicals are sometimes called acaricide insecticides, but ticks are arachnids, not insects, so this isn’t technically accurate....

What are Attika Cherries? This is a mid to late season cherry that came to the U.S. from the Czech Republic. Its exact origins and parentage are unknown, but it is a favorite for sweet cherries that are large and durable in storage and transport. Bing cherries are the benchmark for harvest times, and Attika falls later in the season. It can be harvested about one or even two weeks after Bing....

What are Brazil Nuts? The fruit takes about 14 months to mature once pollinated. The resulting fruit is quite large (4-6 inches (10-15 cm.) across and weighing up to 5 pounds or 2.3 kg.) and looks much akin to a coconut endocarp. Inside the hard, woody shell, 8-24 distinctly triangular seeds reside packed together just like orange segments. These seeds are what we refer to as Brazil nuts. Nuts, botanically speaking, are actually a hard-shelled indehiscent fruit like an acorn....

What is a Halophyte Plant? A halophyte is a plant that grows in salty soil, saltwater, or one that might experience contact with saltwater at its roots or other parts of the plant. These originate or grow in saline semi-deserts, seashores, marshes, mangrove swamps, and sloughs. Salt tolerant succulents and other halophytes often originate and grow in and near coastal areas and saline heavy habitats a little further inland. These can also grow in areas that have become salty because of unnatural repeated additions of salt, such as road salt used in winter....

Manfreda Plant Info Succulent lovers will adore Manfreda plants. They have an interesting form and unique foliage that makes for a great houseplant or outdoor plant in hot, dry areas. Some of the species even have quite spectacular flowers. Good drainage is essential for these succulents, but minimal care is required. Some growers refer to these plants as false agave due to their rosette form and thick, succulent leaves with gentle serration along the edges, which do, in fact, resemble agave plants....

Biting Midge Info No-see-ums are so small that they can pass through the average door screen. These itty-bitty flies are found almost everywhere. The tiny terrors inflict a shockingly painful bite, especially for their size. They go by various names. In the northeast they are called “punkies,” in the southeast “50’s,” referring to their habit of showing up in the evening, and in the southwest they are called “pinyon gnats.” Up in Canada they appear as “moose gnats....

Vervain Herbal Information Vervain belongs to the genus Verbena – the friendly little annual found in many flowerbeds. While garden verbena is a sub-tropical plant, Vervain is native to southern Europe and most likely found its way to the New World with early settlers. Vervain is a spreading plant that displays stiff, erect stems and reaches mature heights of 12 to 36 inches (31-91 cm.). Narrow spikes of tiny, blue flowers appear from early summer until autumn....

What is a Granny Smith Apple? The original Granny Smith was discovered by Australian Maria Ann Smith. The tree grew on her property in a spot where she tossed crabapples. One little seedling grew into an apple tree with beautiful green fruits. Today, no one is certain of its parentage, but apple experts suggest the Granny Smith resulted from a cross between a Rome Beauty and a French crabapple. Granny Smith is now among the most popular of apple varieties....

What is a Gravel Bed for Trees? A gravel bed is just what it sounds like, a “bed” or pile of gravel. Trees intended for transplant are planted in the gravel and kept there for up to six months. They are given water and sometimes liquid nutrients but not provided any soil. The lack of soil stresses the trees, which is required so they can focus their energy on producing more feeder roots to seek nutrients....

What is a House Jungle? We are bombarded everyday by photos of lush gardens and interiors with a large amount of plants everywhere. For those of us that have limited space indoors, or even no outdoor space, it doesn’t mean that you are limited in what you can grow. With some creativity, you can create a lush feel in your own apartment with a variety of plants – your own little houseplant jungle....

Japanese Plum Yew Info Like boxwoods, plum yew plants make excellent, slow-growing, formal clipped hedges or borders. Also, like boxwoods, the shrubs can be kept trimmed to a low height of a foot (30.5 cm.) if desired. Plum yew plants (Cephalotaxus harringtonia) are dioecious, coniferous evergreens that when grown as a shrub reach a height of about 5 to 10 feet (2-3 m.) or when grown as a tree 20 to 30 feet (6-9 m....

What is a Mardi Gras Aeonium? Growing in a rosette form, green center stripes decorate lemon-colored base leaves. Colors may change seasonally as various stressors affect the growing plant. A ruby red blush appears in cooler temperatures when the plant is in bright light. Leaf edges turn a pinkish red, causing the appearance of a blush. The red shades may become more pronounced as the plant is exposed to dropping temperatures....

How to Make a Mermaid Garden Nearly any container can be magically turned into a mermaid fairy garden. The container must have good drainage holes in the bottom (unless you’re making a mermaid fairy garden in a terrarium). Fill the container nearly to the top with commercial potting mix (never use regular garden soil). If you’re using cacti or succulents, use a mixture of half potting mix and half sand, vermiculite, or pumice....

What is a Squash Arch? It’s not easy to grow squash vertically. Like snap peas, these veggies are heavy. Even a load of zucchini can take down a small trellis, and winter squash is even heavier. That’s why it’s time to consider a DIY squash arch. What is a squash arch? It’s an arch made of PVC piping and fencing tough enough to bear the load of a productive squash plant....