Home And Garden

Yard equipment is expensive to purchase—and can become dangerous and prone to costly repairs if some simple maintenance checks aren’t followed. For example, the average lawn mower needs to be replaced every six years, but you can extend its life by keeping the blade sharp and following these tips from one of our readers to regularly clean the mower deck . Lawn tractors are among the most repair-prone products we test, but again, some regular precautions (including proper battery storage ) will ensure trouble-free operation. Hedge and string trimmers, garden tillers and chain saws require less maintenance, but will last longer and cut better if you perform a few simple maintenance steps. One especially crucial one is to run the machines’ gas tanks dry or stabilize the gasoline before storing them away for the winter. Lawn-mower care Mowers are replaced every six years, on average, according to the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, an industry trade group. But yours can last m...

Cleaning your garden tools regularly after use is ideal, but at the least they should be cleaned before putting them away for winter.  Clean tools work more effectively, so are easier to use, and they last longer. Keeping blades sharp improves cutting, which is easier on you and the plants.  Keeping tools used in soil cleaned keeps their edges sharper too, preventing rust from forming, and removes possible disease-laden soil particles.  Cleaning tools even more often when working on infected plants is essential to prevent disease spread.  If pruning diseased limbs from trees, keep a container of rubbing alcohol, bleach (one part to 9 parts water), or disinfectant (such as Lysol) handy to dip blades in between pruning each plant to avoid spreading disease. For tools such as shovels, hoes and garden forks that are used in soil, wash them after use with a forceful stream of water from the hose.  For stubborn soils such as clay, use a wire-bristle brush or dul...

Scientific Name :  Narcissus pseudonarcissus Common name:  daffodil, common daffodil, wild daffodil, Easter lily, Lent lily, downdilly. Taxonomy Class: Equisetopsida Subclass: Magnoliidae Superorder: Lilianae Order: Asparagales Family: Amaryllidaceae Genus: Narcissus Plant type:  Flower Sun exposure:  Full Sun, Part Sun Soil type:  Loamy Soil pH:  Slightly Acidic to Neutral Flower color:  Orange, Yellow, White Bloom time:  Spring Sunny, yellow daffodils are a wonderful sign that spring has arrived! Plant the bulbs in the fall and they will bloom in late winter or early spring. Daffodils are hardy and easy perennials to grow in most areas in North America, except Southern Florida. Their attractive flowers usually bear showy yellow or white flowers with six petals and a trumpet-shape central corona. Leafless stems bear between 1 and 20 flowers; sometimes the flowers need to be staked so that they don’t weigh down the stems. ...

Croton plants ( Codiaeum variegatum ) are incredibly varied plants that are often grown as a houseplant. The croton indoor plant has a reputation for being fussy, but in reality, if you know about caring for a croton houseplant properly, it can make for a resilient and hard to kill plant. Croton Indoor Plant The croton plant is often grown outdoors in tropical climates, but also make excellent houseplants. Crotons come in a wide variety of leaf shapes and colors. Leaves can be short, long, twisted, thin, thick and several of these combined. Colors range from green, variegated, yellow, red, orange, cream, pink and black to a combination of all these. It is safe to say that if you look hard enough, you will find a croton that matches your décor. When considering croton growing, check the variety you have purchased to determine the light needs of your specific variety. Some varieties of croton need high light while others need medium or low light. In general, the more variegated a...

Description Purple heart is a long-jointed sprawling groundcover plant with succulent stems and pointed leaves. The leaves are about 1 in (2.5.cm) wide and 3-5 in (7.6-12.7 cm) long. The stems and upper surfaces of the leaves are a deep royal purple that becomes suffused with a faint dusty turquoise-gunmetal undertone as the foliage grows older. The undersides of the leaves are an even more vivid violet that shades towards pink where the petioles clasp and encircle the stem. Pale orchid-pink 0.5-0.75 in (1.3-1.9 cm) three-petaled flowers emerge from curving double bracts at the stem tips. Purple heart blooms constantly during warm weather, but the flowers are open only in the morning. Location The wild form of  Tradescantia pallida  (also seen in the literature as Setcreasea pallida ) grows in eastern Mexico from Tamaulipas to Yucatan. Culture Rich sandy soils seem to suit it best, but purple heart performs well on coral rock soils too. Light:  Purple heart grows mos...

The smaller the garden - the more it needs a distinctive 'theme’ to link the various plants and design elements. When you are deciding on a style, think about the way you want to use the garden and the amount of work involved in maintenance so you pick one that’s right for you. Cottage garden A cottage garden is a good style for an enthusiast who wants to shoe-horn lots of different plants into the space. Use a mixture of traditional perennials, old-fashioned hardy annuals or roses and wild flowers, with fruit and vegetables, and native species of trees and shrubs. You don’t need a quaint 'olde worlde' cottage as this style of garden suits most traditional houses. Five plants for a cottage garden Shrub rose, Rosa 'Fantin Latour' Meadow cranesbill, Geranium pratenses 'Mrs Kendall Clarke' Verbena, Verbena bonariensis Japanese anemone, Anemone x hybrida 'Whirlwind' Lavender, Lavandula 'Sawyers' Contemporary garden Contemp...

Sixteen plant food nutrients are essential for proper crop development. Each is equally important to the plant, yet each is required in vastly different amounts. These differences have led to the grouping of these essential elements into three categories; primary (macro) nutrients, secondary nutrients, and micronutrients. PRIMARY (MACRO) NUTRIENTS Primary (macro) nutrients are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. They are the most frequently required in a crop fertilization program. Also, they are need in the greatest total quantity by plants as fertilizer. NITROGEN · Necessary for formation of amino acids, the building blocks of protein · Essential for plant cell division, vital for plant growth · Directly involved in photosynthesis · Necessary component of vitamins · Aids in production and use of carbohydrates · Affects energy reactions in the plant PHOSPHORUS · Involved in photosynthesis, respiration, energy storage and transfer, cell division, and enlargement · Promot...