Phoenix Plants

Think before you allow poppies to proliferate. Poppies rob a lot of goodness from your soil.

Pyrus calleryana ‘Bradford’ was once touted as the perfect, sterile garden or landscape tree. It has now bred prolifically with other pear species and spread so extensively that it is now on South Carolina’s invasive plant list. Now is an excellent time to replace these pest trees with something more ecologically sound. We have several options to choose from at the South Carolina Plant Sale or visit your local nursery to find alternatives. The SCBG plant sale is online again this spring; details are here: https://www.clemson.edu/public/scbg/plant-sale/index.html

Check out our list of the Best Desert Plants that will add a ravishing appeal to your home with little upkeep.

Are you looking at plants in your garden and wondering why they aren’t flowering?

Lovers of succulents and oddball plants in general grow bowiea with most of its showy, round green bulbs above the soil surface, and with its twining filigree of stem-like foliage trained up onto some kind of support. That’s how the plant in my dining room (shown) is growing right now. Probably neither is what happens in the wild, but no matter; let the foliage climb up something or let it dangle; bury the bulbs a lot or hardly at all.Order a baby at Logee’s, or better yet order three and cluster them in one pot for company. Each bulb can reach 8 inches in diameter over time, and as for the foliage—there seem to be no end to it (until it simply stops).What matters is that you give it bright light and gritty soil and respect bowiea’s desire to sleep all winter. Stop watering it when the tendrils start to turn yellow and dry up in fall, then water not at all or very rarely when it is sleeping. I usually give it a little drink perhaps once a month in winter out

My longtime friend and fellow garden writer Ken of Ken Druse dot com is author of many books including “The New Shade Garden,” and “Making More Plants,” and “Natural Companions.” We tackled subjects ranging from propagating coleus from cuttings, to repotting a jade plant—and repotting in general—and even why a jade might be blooming now, after many years of ownership with no blooms. Ken shared ideas about some of his favorite unusual houseplants, too (that’s one of his Thai hybrid euphorbias, above), including several that bloom in the offseason.Read along as you listen to the Dec. 17, 2018 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).year-end q&a with ken druse

Marc Hachadourian, Director of Glasshouse Horticulture at the New York Botanical Garden and I answer “yes” to both of the above. And he joined me to talk houseplants, and which ones make the best longtime companions to grow and even share—and how to match them to your site and meet their needs. Spoiler alert: He wants us all to start growing African violets again, and some of their other Gesneriad cousins.Marc is also Senior Curator of Orchids at the New York Botanical Garden’s 55,000-square-foot Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, and author of the recent book “Orchid Modern,” so no surprise that some of his suggestions today are easy to grow orchids because, after all, he’s @orch

Mobee Weinstein is foreman of gardeners for outdoor gardens at New York Botanical Garden in New York City. She’s taught classes in indoor plants at the State University of New York and at NYBG. And she is also the person who first introduced me to many of what have become my favorite houseplants, back when I was a beginning garden writer, and I’d visit her in the NYBG greenhouses while working on a story—some really special times.Mobee shared her list of top indoor ferns to try (including tuber fern, Nephrolepis cordifolia, seen beside her in the photo below); some fern sources; and even some key fern-care advice, like how to water properly.Read along as you listen to the January 27, 2020 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Spotify or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).Plus: Ente

These Interior Decor Ideas with Colorful Houseplants will surely give your rooms a vibrant twist while keeping the essence of nature!

Hedges are the best way to create boundaries for your yard, make a small privacy screen, and shelter little plants from harsh winds. Check out the Best Low Maintenance Hedge Plants you can choose to create the perfect fence for your garden.

Renowned for its distinctive aroma and warm, earthy flavor,Cumin Plant has become a staple spice in various cuisines, adding depth and complexity to a wide range of dishes. The best part- you can grow it at home! Here’s how!

Crassula Ovata, which is commonly known as the jade plant, also goes by other names such as Money Plant, Dollar Plant, Lucky Plant, and Friendship tree. Thanks to its immense popularity as a houseplant, surely you must have one in your home. And, if you’re not growing it indoors yet, you’ll be, after reading these Jade Plant benefits in this article!