Every plant professional or serious gardener sooner or later learns about the possibilities of vermiculite. Vermiculite, a form of mica, is a soft, spongy mineral, practically worthless before being processed. Deposits are found throughout the world. In the US it has been mined in Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. After […]

Indoor house plants and foliage plants should be decorative, since adding beauty to the indoor scene is their primary purpose. Equally important, however, is their durability, and the ease with which they may be grown. Often we are apt to be so “taken” with a plant’s appearance that we buy it without giving a thought […]

“What shall I do with my poinsettia?” This is a question often heard shortly after the new year starts and the colorful bracts on this favorite Christmas flower have begun to fade and fall leaving only the sickly yellow flowerets to exude their sticky juice on window sill, kitchen counter or flower stand. Many persons […]

Heavy snow should be removed from branches of evergreens to prevent possible serious damage. This is best done before the snow begins to melt, for if it partially melts and then freezes, an attempt to remove it would mean a loss of foliage encrusted in the ice. A forest of Christmas trees will be removed […]

In our garden or the grocery store the honeybee plays a part in our everyday life as a pollination and honey producer. There was a time when apple and pear varieties in the northeast where considered to be commercially self-unfruitful. Their pollen was too heavy to be carried by wind. In the absence of insects, […]

“What has been – will be.” This classic statement has been passes down from generation to generation. The existence of irregular fluctuations in weather of sufficient severity to cause severe damage to commercial fruit trees and buds has long been confirmed. These can take many forms, such as: Severe winters of protracted cold Early fall […]