Petunias are very popular in the garden but in colder climates they are annuals. The wild petunia, Ruellia humilis, is a hardy perennial that can take the place of other petunias.
Ruellia humilis
Dynamic Accumulators – Do They Exist?
Dynamic accumulators, like comfrey, have become a hot topic. These plants are reported to have extraordinary powers to absorb more minerals than the average plant. This makes them very useful if you are trying to make nutrient-dense compost for your garden.
Imagine how great it would be if you could grow a plant that increases the nutrients you are lacking in the garden. That is precisely what people are doing with dynamic accumulator plants—or at least that is what is being claimed.
In this post, I will examine the idea of accumulator plants and try to figure out what they are. Do they exist? Do they add any real value? Is comfrey a good one?
Why Hydrangeas Don’t Flower
Why does my hydrangea not flower? This most commonly asked question about hydrangeas, especially in colder climates. The answer is not always a simple one but I’ll try to answer the question in this post.
Reasons for not flowering depend very much on the type of hydrangea you are growing. It is therefore important that you know the type. Have a look at Hydrangea Identification to find out which type you have.
Hydrangea Myths
Hydrangeas are very popular shrubs for the garden, but they can be a bit tricky to grow if you listen to all of the hydrangea myths on the internet and in books. In this blog, I will look at the truth behind some of the more common hydrangea myths. Once you have the facts, you will find that hydrangeas are easy to grow.
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Hydrangea Identification
Are you wondering why your hydrangea is not flowering? Would you like to know when and how to prune your hydrangea? These are important questions, but no one can provide the correct answers until you know what type of hydrangea you have. This post will help with your hydrangea identification. It won’t provide cultivar names but it will identify the type of hydrangea.
It is always a good idea to keep plant names since it makes it so much easier to find the correct cultural information at a later date. But life happens and it is quite common for people to lose the name of a plant.
Are Flower Pots a Fire Hazard?
It has been a dry summer and flower pots are being blamed for several fires. The news headings are everywhere!
- “Fire Chief Gord Weir stands outside of a home damaged by a fire …. He suspects the fire may have been caused by peat moss left in an old flower pot” (ref 1)
- “Flower pots became a major Montreal fire hazard” (ref 2)
- “Des Moines fire officials said a flower pot spontaneously combusted Wednesday, causing more than $80,000 in damage to a home” (ref 3)
The facts seem simple. Flower pot soil is made mostly of peat moss, something that burns easily. When it gets too hot it ignites and starts to burn. If the pot is near a home, the house also catches on fire.
What is the real story behind all this? Can peat moss spontaneously combust? Lets have a look at the facts.
Itea virginica Little Henry
Itea virginica ‘Sprich’, aka Little Henry, is a small shrub that offers several seasons of interest. Adding it to a rock garden containing larger plants would be a perfect place for it. Alternatively it can make a nice addition to the front of a perennial bed. Since it can take quite heavy shade it also works well in a shade garden, next to your favorite hosta. It will look its best with at least 6 hours of sun.
Earwigs – Getting Rid of the Pincher Bug
Earwigs (Forficula auricularia) are common garden insects that do very little damage to plants provided the numbers stay low. As the numbers increase, they can become a serious pest in the garden. When that happens it is time to get rid of the earwig bug or at least try to reduce their numbers to an acceptable level.
Eggshells – Decomposition After One Year
A year ago I started a study to see if eggshells decompose in soil; Eggshells – Decomposition Study. It is now one year later and time to have a look at the buried eggshells.
Campanula betulifolia
A lovely campanula for the rock garden, Campanula betulifolia has large flowers in white or light pink. The white form is more readily available. The flowers tend to point down so it is a good idea to locate the plant higher up so that it is easy to see inside the bells.
Hummingbird Nectar Food – Should You Buy It?
I was in the local hardware store and spotted some hummingbird nectar for sale. Bottles of red stuff and bottles of white stuff. Odd that they would have it in two colors. What is the difference, and is one better than the other?
The label on the bottle was interesting. This was a bottle of Perky-Pet Hummingbird Nectar Concentrate and the label clearly says it is ‘100% High Energy Sucrose’. Is that different from regular sucrose? I did not know that pure sucrose was a liquid! My myth busting antennae went up and I had to have a closer look.
Do you need to buy this product? I have been using a DIY solution for a couple of years and it seems to be working. Maybe I am short changing my hummingbirds? Should I fork out $7 for a better product?
Fish Fertilizer is Damaging the Environment
I always thought that fish fertilizer was an acceptable product. As a nitrogen source, it is very overpriced, as explained in Fish Fertilizer—Is It Worth Buying? But at least the fertilizer is being made from a resource that is a waste product, namely, fish guts (offal), bones, and heads. It seemed like a good use for this waste product.
But a comment left on my other post by Cynthia E. Olen, June 12, 2016, made me rethink things. Thank you, Cynthia.
Did you know that companies are harvesting whole fish to make the fertilizer? I didn’t believe it myself, but it is true.
