Best Perennial Plants

The best guess is that most are wind-pollinated, but thrips and moths may also help.Two main types of papayas are available in commerce, Hawaiian and Mexican. They are currently cultivated in warm areas around the world, including Florida in the United...

One plant has become two.Some smaller or younger clumps might be loose enough for you to pull divisions off by hand. Watch and see that the whole plant is moving as you lift. Try to get a grip where leaves meet roots, and gently wiggle and pull.

Larkspur is a serious problem for cattle ranchers in the western United States; if eaten, the animals die within a few hours from cardiotoxic and neuromuscular blocking effects.On the other side of the coin, Larkspur has been used in the past as an herbal...

This is not a tall bearded but rather a medium bearded. I would suggest that the modern gardener look to the older historic iris as the backbone of any garden. It is truly one of the best pinks in the historic category.- Bred by Benson in 1963, Skywatch...

Cut off the branch at the desired location, or flush with the trunk. Use pruning shears and trim the dead flower section back to the foliage. Use this method if you desire a single-trunk corn plant, or desire to eliminate a trunk.Trim off plumes of spent...

Protect yourself from exposure by wearing long sleeves, pants, shoes with socks, waterproof gloves, goggles and a face mask. Early pest detection and control is crucial to keep aphids from injuring an African violet.

Air drying is the easiest option, but delicate tulips often lose their color and shape when dehydrated this way. Carefully dry each delicate blossom, and you can keep tulips in a vase all year.Success at drying tulip flowers starts with picking the right...

Apply a general-purpose, water-soluble houseplant fertilizer at half the rate recommended on the package. Ferns prefer indirect light such as that from a north-facing window.Provide humidity around the fern.

The top of the root ball should be 1 inch below the container rim. Place a sheet of fine mesh, such as screen mesh, over the drainage holes to prevent horsetail rhizomes from growing through them, and spread a layer of general purpose potting soil over...

Mexican bird of paradise (Caesalpinia mexicana) blooms sulfur yellow with a strong fragrance.Strelitzia reginae var. Caesalpinia (also dwarf poinciana) are evergreen or deciduous desert-adapted trees or shrubs with small, oval leaves and brightly-colored...

Division is the fastest method to propagate anthuriums and can be done by the average home gardener.Anthuriums are tropical plants often used in bouquets and floral arrangements.Examine the plant and look for offshoots that emerge from the ground near...

Daily drip irrigation from a soaker hose will prevent kangaroo paw from going dormant in summer but will also shorten its lifespan considerably. Add the fungicide to the sprayer's tank before the water to ensure it mixes properly.

Deadleafing, or removing dead leaves, is closely related to deadheading and usually performed at the same time. Since balloon flowers bloom all summer long, they also benefit from severe deadheading and cutting back at mid-season, which encourages them...

Check with your local garden center for fungicide recommendations to tread powdery mildew.Insects that affect Echinacea and Echinacea seedlings include Japanese beetles and aphids.

Since I've discovered they are related to hibiscus and have learned so much about them, I didn't consider the marsh mallow a weed anymore, and I alllowed two of them to grow in my garden.The popular marshmallow sweets were first made from the marsh mallow's...

This cattail grows in full or partial sun and reaches 2 to 3 feet tall.Cattails require moist or wet soil and will not survive drought conditions without supplemental watering to keep the soil from drying out.

This will be a short look into the case for both sides and a hope to give you a better idea of what you love and why. Will their main focus be the historical or the modern? What do you collect?

It is generally good practice to mulch well around the plant in the fall. But what if we take a step back in time and bring back an "old" thing? Trimming old or browning leaves allows for a fresh flush of foliage to emerge.

Don't go looking for the cheapest iris on the market. These iris are grown from tissue culture, along with most box store iris. When you are paying bargain basement prices, just hope the color is close to what you are wanting.

A miniature form of its parent, Euphorbia x martinii, with an extremely long blooming period. The family of Euphorbias I'm passionate about is commonly known as 'Shrubby Spurges'. An added bonus - the flowers of 'Helena's Blush' are variegated as well!Another...

I couldn't help myself - I watched the plant all summer, waiting for the seeds to ripen. Or maybe they sensed how much I loved them, so they must have sent some vibes which made me unconsciously protect myself from their poison.

With proper care, they grow oblong, light-green foliage in their first year and bloom the next year.Foxglove flowers resemble the snipped off fingers of a glove.Water foxgloves immediately after planting them, thoroughly soaking the soil around the plants.

Use this culm to prepare several cuttings 2 to 3 nodes in length, leaving about 4 inches on each side. While reproduction from seed is the easiest way for the species to reproduce, bamboo plants do not produce many viable seeds.

Note that some varieties start to re-bloom only after a few years The cattelya grows best in tropical climates.Bearded irises are available in a range of colors, sizes -- under 8 inches to 42 inches tall -- and color patterns (including dark lower petals...

This distant relative of culinary sage is best pruned minimally, to support general plant health and encourage optimal flowering in the landscape.Culinary sage is a cousin to the purple sage shrub.Prune purple sage only with a purpose, because any unnecessary...

Once you know the longevity of the plant, you can plan your garden (and your finances) accordingly.Thanks to the following DG members for the use of their photos:Questions? Have you ever planted a perennial and been disappointed when it disappeared from...

Arrange the flowers in waves of texture and color to appeal to the eye of the admirer. Take a gander at an antique quilt for color, texture and pattern inspiration.Don't forget to water the flowers as the weather grows hot.