Fertilizers Ideas, Tips & Guides

The Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC) team visited the Atlanta Botanical Garden in late August. The garden was full of blooms despite the sweltering heat. One plant that caught my eye was a vine called evergreen wisteria (Callerya reticulata, formerly Millettia reticulata). It was full of fragrant dark purple blooms. Its showy flowers were in clusters or racemes, like spring-blooming wisteria, but held outward instead of downward. Evergreen wisteria is native to Asia and is in the Fabaceae (legume) family with wisteria. Unlike Chinese (Wisteria sinensis) and Japanese (Wisteria floribunda) wisteria, it is not invasive.

Christmas cactus is a beautiful succulent all throughout the year, but especially during the winter, you can coax it to produce abundant festive blooms in red, pink, white, and lavender!

When and How to Fertilize Jasmine

The fall armyworm is a native species that can’t tolerate cold very well. They only overwinter in South Florida and the southernmost regions of Texas. Since they can not tolerate cold, we typically have about four to five generations per year. They begin to show up in late May to early June, but the worst damage typically occurs in August. They migrate north yearly, but their populations are lower for some years, and their damage is minimal. Damage seems worse following droughts.

Chrysanthemums are one of the most popular flowers in the world, and they come in multiple colors. To enjoy most of them, follow these tips to boost their flowering. Each trick will help you ensure that these fall garden stars are in the best shape possible.

Weeds are party crashers—they are not invited, take up space and resources, and are not dressed for the occasion. However, some are extremely useful in the garden. You don’t have to empty your wallet on pricey plant food when you can use these weeds that make good fertilizers!

We’ve gathered tips and tricks that you can follow to extend the life of your orchid while keeping it healthy and thriving! Do this after buying an orchid, and you’ll be surprised. Let’s take a look!

Venus fly traps (also called Venus flytraps or just a flytrap) are among the coolest plants you can grow. In their native habitat, Venus fly traps live for years. Unfortunately, they are often short-lived plants in cultivation, but this is only because most people don’t care for them properly. In this article, you’ll learn all the essential basics of Venus fly trap care. Varieties of Venus fly traps There is only one species of Venus fly trap, Dionaea muscipula, and it is native to a small

Looking for something unusual to grow in the garden? Look no further than chocolate cosmos, a tuberous perennial with velvety blooms and a decadent fragrance. With showy wine-red blossoms that perfume the garden with the distinctive aromas of chocolate and vanilla from mid-summer through fall, chocolate cosmos entices butterflies and curious gardeners alike. The blooms make fragrant cutting for the vase and plants perform beautifully in containers, where their scent can be enjoyed on patios and balconies. Bring the beauty and aroma of chocolate cosmos to your own garden by learning how to grow and care for these unique bloomers.

Given how pricey they are in the market, growing this fruit may seem challenging! But with attention to a few details, it’s fairly easy and super rewarding! Homegrown fresh blueberries are a delight, especially when you have endless buckets to relish. Follow these tricks to double your blueberry harvest in containers or your garden!

You've likely heard that burying banana peels in your garden is a good way to add important nutrients to the soil to grow healthy plants. Banana peels do contain nutrients, but not as many as you may think. Plus, it's not as simple as placing them in the soil and skipping fertilizer or compost.

You heard all about how the spider plant is super hardy and resilient, how it purifies the air and is the best houseplant ever—and got yourself one for your home. But now, it just appears dull and colorless, and you’re filled with regret. Before you lose hope, let’s give your tropical baby a much-deserved day at the spa. Here’s how to make your spider plant shinier & brighter!

Extremely high temperatures during a heatwave can place many plants under so much stress that they may or may not recover. The stress also leaves them vulnerable to plant diseases and pests.

Add more color to your shade garden and containers with the wishbone flower (Torenia). The unique flowers resemble a single snapdragon bloom and have stamens that meet in the center, resembling a wishbone, giving the plant its common name. There are two types of wishbone flowers: one that trails and one that is upright and compact.

Overfeeding your herbs with fertilizers has many drawbacks, so it is important to reduce fertilizing. If you ask why—we’ve explained everything below. Read on to learn why it’s better not to feed herbs very often and what you should do instead!

How to Encourage Chrysanthemums to Bloom Abundantly

When and How to Fertilize Plum Trees

What’s a snake plant without its bright, glossy green leaves and bold yellow stripes? But sometimes, with neglect and unsuitable conditions, even this hardy succulent may succumb to dullness. We share simple tricks that help you unlock its full aesthetic potential and nurse it back to glory! Check it out.

Without those vivid-colored blooms, your Thanksgiving cactus will look dull. Don’t worry; we have excellent gardening tips to make your cactus bloom earlier, on time, and beyond.

With fall just around the corner, it's easy to forget about your garden you've been tending to all summer long. And while you may be thinking it's not even worth it to keep your garden thriving for the fall, it's actually easier than you may think!

Flowering Bulbs are a great way to grow beautiful flowers without spending lots of money. If you're thinking about planting flowering bulbs, here are some tips on how to get the most beautiful blooms from bulbs.

Having a shed in your yard is great because it provides extra storage for things that you reach for often while you're outside gardening, playing yard games, and more. However, keeping some of these items in your shed actually might be doing more harm than good.

Did you know that you should probably be using fertilizer for your vegetable garden? We know it can sometimes be difficult to figure out when to fertilize your vegetables and even how much fertilizer to use but luckily, we've got you covered. Read on to see what happens if you don't use fertilizer for your garden and why it's an essential part of keeping your plants and produce healthy and thriving.

Amy Cox remembers the first time she learned she could grow a lawn out of clover. «Where has this been all my life?» she mused. «Why is this a secret?»

The plants recommended in this article are very heat tolerant, but even the best-adapted plants need a little extra care when extreme heat strikes. Since heat can stress plants, and stress can lead to further problems, reducing that stress is paramount. Here are some ways to keep plants thriving through very high temperatures.

How to Grow Broccoli in Containers

Planting Your First Vegetable Garden: A Beginner’s Guide

How to Grow Eggplant in Containers

Keeping plants healthy and vibrant in the extreme summertime heat can be a daunting task, especially when breezy spring turns to stifling summer in the sunny South. But most who garden or enjoy plants want to ensure that their plants, whether indoor or outdoor, stay hydrated and healthy. No one wants to lose a beloved plant or vegetable, especially if there are simple steps you can take to set the plant up for having a successful growing life. Granted, there are some drought-tolerant plants that fare better than others in the heat of summer, but there are also some easy steps to take that can help most potted plants stay healthy. In fact, there is one specific step that inspires health in a plant, and it’s one step you don’t want to skip when potting your plants.

All Natives!

If you’ve ever grown geraniums, odds are pretty good you’ve asked yourself, “Why on earth are my geranium leaves turning yellow?!” It happens to the best of us, but it is manageable and, yes, even preventable. There are several reasons why geranium leaves may begin to turn yellow and drop off. Common causes include geranium diseases, light exposure, and nutrient deficiencies. We’ll take you through them one by one to make sure your geranium plants remain lush and beautiful. Why grow annual geraniums Annual geraniums offer big, blowsy colorful blooms, interesting foliage, and, in the case of scented ge

Has this ever happened to you? You purchase a gorgeous hanging basket overflowing with colorful blooms in late May, only to find that come midsummer it’s looking a bit... droopy and sad, with far too many leaves and not enough flowers? There are many reasons why a hanging basket might not be performing as well as it did earlier in the season, as they have several needs that should be met on a consistent basis. Typically, hanging baskets are made up of annuals or tender perennials. In the confines of such small containers as hanging baskets, these plants are much more demanding than they would be in a larger container or in the ground. But never fear: as long as you provide them with the right amount of sunlight, water, fertilizer, and pruning in the form of deadheading and pinching, you have the greatest chance possible to keep your basket a blooming powerhouse until the first frost. But first, you have to start with the most ideal plant material possible.  

Few things are as satisfying to a gardener as picking a homegrown, sun-warmed berry right off the plant and tossing it straight into your waiting mouth. If you’ve never grown your own berries because you think you don’t have enough room—or you think it requires too much effort—boy, do we have some great news for you! Growing berries in containers is the easiest and most foolproof way to grow your own small-space fruit garden. Plus, it’s fun! Why grow berries in containers? Berry plants are great candidates for container gardening, especially if you pay careful attentio

Plants need a certain amount of specific nutrients to grow well. Most of the time, garden and houseplants do fine without any help from you. But fertilizing actually gives plants a boost that helps them flourish. “Photosynthesis is how plants make food,” says Stacey Hirvela, horticulturalist withSpring Meadow Nursery andProven Winners Color Choice Shrubs. “But fertilizer is like giving them vitamins.”

Coffee wakes you up in the morning and might do the same for your plants! Well, not in the same way, but this quick homemade fertilizer does wonders and is the best way to put coffee dregs to good use!

When the South begins to alight in tulips, you know spring is well on its way. But before those glorious blooms start to burst forth from the earth, there are a few things to keep in mind. From the best time to plant in the South to how to care for your bulbs once in ground, these are the tulip tips you need to know for springtime success.