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Trees & Houseplants : Home & Garden

How to Plant Peanut Plants

In order to grow a peanut plant you will first need to purchase raw peanuts from the fruit and produce section at a local grocery store. This is the best way to be sure the seeds are healthy. Peanut plants are most commonly grown in flower pots, and like any other plant require care and patience. It

How to Kill Ants on Gardenias

Outdoor ants are attracted primarily to sugars and the sweet smell emitted by sugar and sucrose-based compounds. When ants are found on flowers or vegetation, they are typically attracted to plant secretions that contain natural sugars. If gardeners want to eliminate the insects, killing the visible

How Far Apart to Plant Okra Seed?

Abelmoschus esculentus (okra) is an edible member of the Malvaceae family that also includes rose of sharon and hollyhock plants. Although hybrid varieties may be smaller, heirloom varieties often grow to be 4 to 5 feet tall and are covered with large tropical-looking foliage. The tender and delicio

How to Keep My Tomato Plants From Getting Blight

Two diseases called "blight," both caused by fungi, may affect tomato plants. Early blight occurs in the spring and late blight occurs in late summer. Blight affects all visible parts of the plant, including stems, leaves and fruit. Brown or gray lesions on the stems or leaves, and discolored, bruis

The Best Way to Kill Purple Weeds

Controlling weeds in the garden or on your lawn can seem like an impossible task. Sometimes it may seem that no matter how you try to get rid of weeds, they just keep coming back. Purple lawn weeds are especially aggravating as they can destroy the look of your lawn and are difficult to remove. Lear

A Master Gardener's Advice on How to Amend Clay Soil

Trained master gardeners volunteer to help County Extension Agents by teaching and sharing their knowledge. If you have clay soil, enhance it with amendments to improve its texture and drainage, based on advice that master gardeners have given to other gardeners around the country. "Clay soils retai

Dwarf Loropetalum Shrub Size

The reddish purple foliage and magenta-pink ribbon-like flowers of Chinese fringeflower shrubs (Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum) provide attractive color contrast to other green-leaved landscape shrubs. They also are an alternative to the thorny, invasive purple-leaved barberry shrubs in the easter

How to Improve Washington Sandy Soils

Washington has a wide range of soil types that includes loamy glacial till west of the Cascade Range and sandy arid steppes that are widely used for farmland in the eastern portion of the state. Washington's sandy soils drain well, but they are not always nutrient rich. To improve the soils, you sho

How to Make an Olive Tree Grow Faster

The olive tree is a vigorously growing evergreen tree that grows as a single-trunk or multi-trunked tree. It produces stiff, grayish-green foliage on a gray-colored, bumpy trunk. This Mediterranean tree produces snowy, creamy white blooms and produces edible, green- to black-colored fruit that defol

How to Grow an African daisy

The name African daisy is often used for a variety of flowering plants native to South Africa. These plants are part of the massive Asteraceae or Compositae (daisy) family, which includes more than 20,000 species. African daisies come in an array of colors, including reds, oranges and whites, and bl

How to Grow Stargazer Lilies in a Greenhouse

Stargazer is a cultivar of Oriental hybrid lily grown for its speckled, rose-and-white colored flowers and sweet fragrance. The plants grow to between 3 and 5 feet in height and produce four to five flowers on each side stem, making them an exceptionally dramatic specimen in garden beds and as cut f

Tomatoes for Mosquito Repellent

Researchers have discovered that a compound found in tomato plants is effective against mosquitoes and other types of insects. The compound mimics the effectiveness of DEET, but without the potential health risks.

Japanese Plants With Orange Flowers

Japan has six climatic regions; however, the country primarily has a temperate climate. Numerous species of flowering plants flourish in Japan's climate. Many of these flowering plants have varieties that develop orange flowers. Orange is a vibrant shade that adds the illusion of warmth in a gard

Can You Recycle Washing Machines?

In this day and age, it's possible to recycle most of the items we need to get rid of. But don't get caught up on the word "recycle" and think that dismantling at a recycling center is the only way to get more use out of an old appliance; donating working appliances or selling them to scrap yards ar

The Best Time to Plant Rudbeckia Hirta Seeds

Across the woodland meadows, prairies and pastures of temperate North America, the common black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) grows among grasses and weeds in a mixed setting. Also known as gloriosa daisy, it grows 12 to 36 inches tall and up to 18 inches wide. This herbaceous plant is short-lived, s

Why Are There White Leaves on My Tomato Plants?

Tomato plants are affected by the world around them, and white leaves may indicate a reaction to a few different elements in their environment. The proper adjustments will have your plants green and full of healthy leaves again.

Purple Leaf Plum Tree Propagation

Purple leaf plum (Prunus cerasifera) is a landscape ornamental that provides 1- to 3-inch, edible fruit. A stunning tree, both in and out of bloom, this member of the rose family grows to a height of 25 feet with an equal spread. Full sun brings out the deepest purple foliage when grown within zones

How to Propagate Echium

Echium is a botanical genus comprised of 60 species of herbaceous flowering plants with fuzzy, green, lance-like leaves and funnel-shaped, blue summer flowers. Also known by the common names viper's bugloss, tower of jewels, and pride of Madeira, Echium performs well in gardens and home landscapes i