Indoor Fruit Trees - Easy Care And Enjoyable

Filed Under (Gardening) by Jim and Laura Hofman on 19-10-2008

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by Jim and Laura Hofman

Specialty gardeners and gardeners with limited space are jumping on board one of the most popular new gardening niches - growing fruit indoors. Indoor fruit trees are a perfect option for anyone who enjoys fresh fruit and gardening. Even if you live in a small apartment, you’ll have room for an indoor fruit tree, which are now readily available from online outlets.

Let’s take a look at indoor fruit trees in general. Indoor fruit trees are, as their name implies, specially developed to thrive indoors. Unlike standard fruit trees one might see at an orchard, indoor fruit trees are quite small, usually topping out at 10 feet maximum. Indoor fruit trees are available for just about any citrus fruit you desire - orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, and more.

How Do Growers Ship Indoor Fruit Trees?

When you purchase an indoor fruit tree, expect it to arrive in a standard planting container, usually a 5 gallon size container. There is no specific season for shipping indoor fruit trees - they can be bought and shipped at any time of year.

Does An Indoor Fruit Tree Need Special Care?

Since indoor fruit trees are hardy, they are relatively easy care and suitable for even beginning gardeners. While growers always include specific indoor fruit tree growing instructions, in general there are just a few things to keep in mind. Give your indoor fruit tree plenty of sun exposure, and don’t over water. Also, follow specific instructions for your type of indoor fruit tree.

What Is The Fruit Yield From An Indoor Fruit Tree?

You’ll normally receive several pounds of fruit from an indoor fruit tree annually. Of course, actual yield depends upon how well the tree is cared for, as well as the specific type of indoor fruit tree you own.

Indoor Fruit Tree Miscellaneous

While it isn’t completely necessary, indoor fruit trees can benefit if they spend warmer months outdoors on a patio or balcony. When the temperature drops consistently into the low 40’s, bring the indoor fruit tree inside. In terms of watering, usually every 10-14 days is sufficient. You may also want to consider a time release citrus fertilizer for your indoor fruit tree, which are available online or at garden centers.

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The Bauty of Growing Perennial

Filed Under (Gardening) by Gary Antosh on 18-10-2008

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by Kent Higgins

Biennials are usually very stunning plants with a good number of attractive flowers. They are somewhat troublesome for the gardener, since they do not bloom until their second year. Their great advantage is that their seeding stage produces new plants, which will bloom again two years later, making it unnecessary to plant additional seeds.

Most people are unaware that biennials are called biennials because of the fact that they form new plants every two years. Some gardeners are shocked when the witness the new growth because they were unaware that this phenomenon would take place. What a pleasant surprise for the novice gardener!

The biennials are usually planted in early summer and transplanted to high-quality soil when they are big enough to handle. It is a good thought to pot them at this time, particularly in logistical areas where plants can’t be left outdoors in winter. In some cases, they can be transplanted to a cold frame, and then placed in the flowerbed the following spring.

Careful soil preparation is essential to biennials as well as annuals. After planting, if you want an uninterrupted growth of new plants, it is best not to weed and cultivate too persistently. If a really persnickety biennial patch is planted, it will be essential to swap the plants with new ones each year.

Perennials are the fundamental flowers in most any garden. Each year they die and renew themselves for the next growing season. They are long-lived and last for many seasons. Most novice gardeners, or gardeners who don’t harbor a passion for continuously working with their plants, have a great affection for perennials because of their long-lasting properties.

Perennials are also among our oldest plants. They have been refined for centuries and often, as a result of breeding and crossbreeding, bear no semblance to their wild ancestors. In some perennials, the blossoms have become so specialized through centuries of cultivation that they no longer produce seeds.

Amateur botanists and gardeners are continually developing other perennials. As an effect of this cultivation and in breeding, perennials are not as resilient as other varieties. Another drawback is the inclination of certain perennials to die down after flowering, thereby leaving gaps in the garden.

Whether you are an avid gardener and love spending time working with your outdoor plants, or you’re a weekend warrior who does the bare minimum to get the look you desire, you will likely have an appreciation for flowers. Just like a wireless rock speaker, they add a beautiful touch of color to every garden. The big decision is the type of flowering plant to choose.

No matter which plant type you prefer, there are advantages as well as drawbacks. But, because flowers add such a pleasant esthetic to your garden, you will likely spend more time focused on the advantages.

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Caring For Your Indoor Bamboo Plant

Filed Under (Gardening) by Gary Antosh on 18-10-2008

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by Thomas Fryd

The bamboo plant is actually a type of grass that is found mainly in the tropical regions of the world. As such, these plants have acclimatized to areas with warm weather and high rainfall. They are beautifully simple plants and for this reason, many people choose to grow them indoors. Bamboo is a relatively easy plant to care for if you follow a number of tips.

How Do You Take Care Of These Things?

To ensure that your bamboo remains healthy, you must first realize that they need high humidity and warmth. If you keep this in mind, the rest will follow.

When you have purchased your bamboo, situate it in a spot that is sheltered, but has a balance of light and shade. This will allow the plant to acclimatize to living indoors. Do not fertilize the bamboo when you get it home as it was most probably already fertilized in the nursery.

The amount of water that your bamboo will need will depend upon the microclimate in its position. If you find that the soil dries out fast indoors, a deep soaking water is the best option to prevent it from stressing as a result of not enough water. This may not necessarily mean it has to be watered daily; each plant has to be treated according to its individual needs. If the leaves of the plant are curling, it will need more water: drooping leaves suggest it is getting too much.

A great way to care for the watering needs of your bamboo is to “mist” it. A pebble tray is also a wise choice. Misting will replicate the conditions that the bamboo would experience in nature. A pebble tray is a simple tray filled with pebbles and enough water so that the pebbles can just be seen above the surface. The pot containing the bamboo is put on top of the pebbles making sure that it does not touch the water.

It will become easier to care for your bamboo once you have had some practice. There may be times when you will have to place the bamboo palms out into your garden to allow it to obtain the necessary amount of sunlight, or alternatively you can place lights near the plant to replicate sunlight and help the plant achieve photosynthesis.

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Flowering Bulb Displays

Filed Under (Gardening) by Keith Markensen on 15-10-2008

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by Keith Markensen

You can have an attractive arrangement of flowers in your home throughout winter and spring if you plant bulbs in ornamental pots that have been filled with fibre.

The bulbs should be planted into the pots as soon as they are available, usually in August through to early September, in order for them to be successful. The purpose-made fibre should be made damp before it is placed into the bowl. Prior to this, a few pieces of charcoal should be placed into the bowl. The tips of the bulbs should be just visible when they are set into position in the fibre.

Place the bulbs in a cool position to ensure that the roots develop freely. The ideal position is outdoors beneath a 9 inch mound of peat, or covered with sacking and a piece of board to prevent rain getting in.

Should it not be possible to place the bulbs outdoors, they should be placed in a deep box or bath in the coolest possible place and covered as per the outdoors method. Around 4 to 8 weeks later, root development should be considerable and shoots of about 2 inches should be evident. If this is so, the covering must be removed and the bulbs left until the shoots have turned green. “Forcing” can then commence, placing them in a warm room. The shoots will very quickly come into bloom provided the fibre is kept moist.

To ensure that the display is over an extended period of time, choose varieties carefully.

Hyacinths - The “Roman White” variety of hyacinth is the very first of this group to flower. It has blooms that look like white bluebells. Next after this variety are the prepared hyacinths - they have been specially treated to induce flowering at Christmas time.

The regular large-flowered, untreated hyacinths do not normally flower until the spring.

Narcissus

It is easy to obtain blooms from the Narcissus known as “Paper-white” in December and a succession of blooms can be maintained by numerous other kinds usually found in bulb catalogues.

Other varieties of this group force easily and are followed by other single early tulips.

Holiday Treatment of Room Plants

It can be a problem caring for room plants when you are away on holidays unless you can arrange for someone to water them. It is possible to prevent damage to the plants if you are away for a week or so, provided you take the proper precautions.

The best method is to fill a large bath or similar receptacle with damp moss, then place the potted plants deeply into this, with the moss covering the soil by about 1 to 2 inches. A product known as “granulated peat” or damp sacking can be used instead of the moss. The last step in this procedure is to cover the moistening material with polythene tissue or plastic sheeting to prevent the evaporation of moisture. Ensure that the plants have been well watered before they are plunged.

Another alternative front yard landscaping method is to place the plants in a group with a pail of water nearby, placing a piece of wick between the water source and each plant. This will ensure a constant water supply to the soil around the plant without distorting your garden landscaping plans.

If you have access to a garden, the pots can be placed into the soil up to their rims, ensuring that a shady spot is chosen.

In each of these methods, you must ensure that the soil in the pot is well soaked with water before plunging is done or the plants are connected with the siphon-wicks.

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Gardening Gloves: Your Gardening Friend

Filed Under (Gardening) by Marci of Mossy Oaks Nursery on 15-10-2008

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by Marci of Mossy Oaks Nursery

Your gardens can provide a lot of enjoyment during the season as your flowers bloom with vibrant color. You can breathe in the sweet smelling flowers in the evening breeze as you are gathering your herbs and vegetables. But while you’re doing this, make sure you have your hands protected with a good pair of leather gloves.

As a beginning gardener, make sure that you choose the right gloves, because they can be the most important thing that you have. Here are a few tips that can make purchasing your gloves a less difficult task.

Your leather gardening gloves should be of good quality so that whatever job you set out to do, the task can be completed with your hands being fully protected. If you get a couple of pairs of the cloth backed leather gloves for general-purpose gardening your hands will be comfortable and cool while they work.

When you prune your roses you stand a chance of tearing up your arms from the thorns of the rose bushes. A good pair of leather gloves with gauntlets will protect your arms from those sharp thorns.

Pesticides are harmful and can absorb through your skin, so make sure that you use a pair of neoprene gloves to keep you healthy, while you’re treating your garden for insects and diseases.

Get yourself a pair of rubber gloves with cotton lining for those times when you’re working in the mud after a good rain or after you’ve watered your garden.

In the winter time, if you’re working in your garden setting out seedlings. You fingers get cold to the bone. You need to protect them from the cold, but you can’t wear full fingered gloves because you might mash your seedlings to pieces. You need to use a pair of gloves that are fingerless. This way, you can keep your hands warm, and not slow down your job.

Blisters, mud, dirt, thorns, and chemicals are only a few of the things that you need to protect your hands from while gardening. Comfortable fitting gloves are always an important part of your gardening glove selection. Make sure the fingers aren’t too long. They’ll bend over and make it difficult to grab weeds or most any type of work you try to do. If your gloves are too tight then you can’t move your fingers well enough to perform your gardening tasks.

For more information about gardening tips go to Mossy Oaks Nursery.

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Simple Tips on How to Grow a Beautiful Lawn

Filed Under (Gardening) by Gary Antosh on 15-10-2008

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by Kent Higgins

Taking proper care of a lawn is vital to the success of any landscape design. A beautiful, healthy lawn will always add to the aesthetics of the landscape, whereas a poorly maintained lawn will ruin the effect. Here are a few lawn care tips that will assist you in the maintenance of your lawn.

Choosing the Right Grass for Your Lawn

There are many types of lawn grass and these are used according to the purpose of the lawn and the climate. Consider the following points when deciding which grass you need.

What is going to be the use of the lawn?

Is it to be purely ornamental or is it a play area for the children?

What budget are you able to afford for the lawn?

Do you have the amount of time required to spend on the maintenance of the lawn you choose?

What are you looking for regarding the appearance of the lawn?

How much sun or shade will your lawn have? Is the area wet or dry?

What characteristics does your soil have?

Mowing your lawn

It is important that the lawn is regularly mowed to make sure it looks its best. However, there are some things you should consider before you start mowing. Firstly, you should not cut the lawn too severely as it can cause damage to the grass. It is also the case that a lawn that is cut too low will grow faster and in turn require more watering and therefore further maintenance. Follow these tips when mowing your lawn:

* Don’t cut the grass too short. Not only does it damage the grass, it will also allow weed growth.

* The different types of grass require different cut heights, so make sure that you check this with the landscaping company. As a rule of thumb, the best height is 3-4 inches.

* It is not a good idea to remove more that a third of the leaf in one cut.

* Ensure that the mower blades are sharp before each mowing. Having a spare set of blades will help you.

* Maintain your mower, including changing the oil once or twice in the mowing season.

Watering your Lawn

As with most living things, grass is able to adapt to varying conditions. “Stressing” the grass a little, by not watering too much, is a good idea as it promotes deeper and stronger root growth. This stronger root growth will in turn ensure healthier grass growth. Consider the following points:

* Early morning is the ideal time to water your lawn as it will reach the roots before the heat of the day causes it to evaporate. Mid afternoon is not so good as the water will evaporate and if you water at night you increase the chance of diseases developing.

* Water evenly, avoiding “pooling” in areas or missing others.

* For lawns on sloping ground with newly added lawn fertilizer, take care that the water does not simply run off or it may wash down all lawn fertilizer that you might have added. You may need to water this area in shorter, more frequent bursts to be sure that the lawn has enough liquid supply.

* During hotter times in summer or in periods of drought you may have to make a decision between more regular watering or allowing the lawn to become dormant. Repeatedly allowing the grass to become dormant is not a good idea as it creates too much stress on the plant.

* A newly planted lawn will require more frequent waterings to ensure that it “beds” down well and that the roots are well established.

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