Browsing Category
Trees & Houseplants : Home & Garden
When Are Green Pear Trees Ready?
Pears need to be harvested and ripened properly to protect the taste and texture of the fruits. Improperly harvested pears may remain rock hard, have a gritty texture and the cores often rot. Pears are harvested before they ripen on the tree, which requires that you check on them daily around harves
How to Replace Bricks Around Flower Beds
Flower beds are typically edged in some way to make them stand out from the rest of the lawn and landscaping. One of those ways is to border the beds with bricks. This adds a nice decorative touch to the yard, but brick does have some issues. It tends to break down over time and can crack or break.
Dwarf Evergreen Shrubs
Potted azaleas look great on decks and patios.C Squared Studios/Photodisc/Getty ImagesDwarf shrubs are those that grow no more than 3 feet tall. Dwarf evergreens have a number of uses in the landscape. They work well in perennial borders where they define areas and add structure. Use them...
How to Use Grocery Store Potatoes As Seed Potatoes
Unlike many other vegetable crops, potatoes are reproduced by planting a section of a mature tuber from the prior year's plants. Typically, potato "seed" is sold in the form of certified seed potatoes that have been specially grown and tested for the presence of any diseases or viral infections. Reg
How to Prune Figs
Fig trees have been widely cultivated all over the world, though they are native to the warm Mediterranean region. Fig trees are prized both for their fruit and their ornamental value, and, with extra care, they will grow in cooler regions of the world. Properly pruning fig trees is not just necessa
What Happens When You Overwater Cucumber Plants?
The amount of water a plant receives may be among the most important predictors of whether that plant survives or dies. Because it is so essential to their plants' survival, overzealous gardeners can sometimes be tempted to overwater their plants to stimulate faster and more efficient growth. This c
Habitat of the Ladybird Spider
If you see adult male and female ladybird spiders side by side, you might think they belong to two different species. The female is a black, velvety creature nearly 3/4ths of an inch long. The male is barely over half her size, with black-and-white striped legs and a brilliant red abdomen featuring
How to Prevent Evaporation
Moisture is lost to the atmosphere from bodies of water because of evaporation and from plants because of transpiration. With evaporation, this usually happens when a surface the water is in contact with becomes heated by sunlight. Temperature, wind and humidity also affect evaporation rates. Accord
Earliest Spring Bulbs
Crocus flowers often push up from beneath the snow.Anna Yu/Photodisc/Getty ImagesAt the end of a long, dark winter, it is a real treat to see the first spring bulbs flowering. Most bulbs, particularly early blooming varieties, should be planted in the fall in order to receive enough...
How to Prune Tree Roses
Tree roses come in a delightful array of colors, fragrances and types. Sometimes also known as standard roses, they are actually a graft of a particular rose variety onto a well-established trunk and rootstock, usually selected for their hardiness. Tree roses need extra care to maintain their shape
How to Grow Citrus Fruit in Cold Weather
Although states like Florida, Georgia and California are well known for growing commercial quantities of citrus fruits, a private homeowner in most states can enjoy the benefits of growing fresh fruit as well. Although warm climates are ideally suited to growing citrus fruits, they can be grown in c
Leland Cypress Growth Rate
The Leyland cypress is known botanically as x Cupressocyparis leylandii. It's a popular ornamental evergreen hybrid often used as a hedging or screening plant. Once it's established, the Leyland cypress grows rapidly, at a rate of about three feet per year.
How to Plug a Leaking Farm Pond
There are many reasons for the water table in a pond to drop. Possible causes should be considered -- such as high water use from neighboring vegetation like willow trees, excessive evaporation due to high temperatures, or drought conditions resulting from low rainfall -- before determining that the
How to Cut Foxglove Flower Blooms
With an abundance of pink and bell-shaped blossoms, the Foxglove plant is a welcome addition to any flower garden. In addition to its beauty, Foxglove also contains a chemical called Digitalis that is used to treat heart conditions, although it can be toxic in certain amounts. Foxglove is a biennial
Regulations for Consumer Units
A consumer unit is a box of electrical breakers and fuses used for controlling the flow of electricity through buildings. In the UK, as of 2009 consumer units are regulated Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE).
How to Remove the First Set of Blossoms From Pepper Plants
Gardeners who want to grow pepper plants have a wide variety to choose from. Whether the peppers you grow are the sweet or hot variety, you should take care to protect them from cold temperatures. Experienced gardeners also remove the first pepper blossoms from the plant to produce a stronger plant
The Best Shade Trees for Phoenix
Shade trees help to serve a multitude of purposes in the environment. They provide homes to wildlife, decrease the use of energy and reduce air temperature. The Urban Forestry Department of the City of Phoenix has recommended a number of shade trees that grow well in Arizona. These...
How Long Does it Take a Mushroom Mini Box to Grow Mushrooms?
Growing mushrooms at home is a fun project that kids especially will enjoy. You can point with pride at the first crop and tell others that you grew them yourself. There are indoor and outdoor kits for growing a wide variety of mushrooms. While timing and techniques vary for different types of mushr
What Is the Origin of the Name Aluminum?
Officially discovered by Hans Christian Oersted in Denmark in 1825 and used by the ancient Greeks and Romans in early civilization, aluminum is a mineral found in the earth's crust. Aluminum is most often used in kitchen utensils, building decor and construction materials.
How to Support Tomato Vines
Home gardeners grow more tomatoes than any other fruit or vegetable. This member of the nightshade family, originally a wild vine with insignificant fruit, has been grown for more than 500 years now. Today's productive vine needs support--lots of it--as the summer wears on and its burden of juicy, t