Why Hibiscus Buds Drop and How to Fix It

Double-flowering hibiscus varieties are more prone to bud drop than others. If temperatures in your area reach 90°F or above, heat stress is likely the cause. Provide midday and afternoon shade. Fertilize weekly with

Top Annuals for Fragrant Flowers

Everyone likes a beautiful bloom, but everyone loves a fragrant one! Happily, theres a wealth of easy-to-grow annuals that offer sweetly scented flowers you can include in your garden—from light citrusy and floral sce

Preventing Brown Leaves on Geraniums: Managing Botrytis Blight

Your geraniums are likely suffering from botrytis blight, also called gray mold. This fungal disease attacks many plants, especially during cool, wet weather. It can be severe in enclosed greenhouses, under cloudy con

Perennial Flowers by Season: A Guide to Staggered Bloom Times

Perennials are loved by gardeners for their ability to grace a garden year after year, often growing stronger and more beautiful as they age. But unlike ever-blooming annuals, most perennials have a relatively short bloo

Forcing Spring Bulbs Indoors: A Step-by-Step Guide to Early Blooms

Tulips, hyacinths, grape hyacinths, and Iris reticulata can bring spring indoors weeks ahead of schedule. During the dreary winter months, you’ll enjoy the powerful fragrance of hyacinths, the sweet scent of paperwhit

Winter-Blooming Flowers for Southern Gardens: Annuals and Perennials That Love Cool Weather

Gardeners across the South and Southern California enjoy a wide selection of plants—both annuals and perennials—that flourish in cooler temperatures and deliver vibrant winter blooms. Winter-Flowering Annuals True annual

Are Begonias Annuals or Perennials?

There are no perennial begonias. There are forms that make great houseplants and will grow year-round indoors, but outdoors the plants are all unable to tolerate frost. More On Begonias Easy Shade Container Garden

How to Attract Hummingbirds to Your Garden

The Hummingbird-Friendly Yard Hummingbirds prefer gardens with open spaces for easy movement between nectar sources. An ideal yard is roughly one-fourth shaded, one-fourth partially shaded, and half in open sun—most f

Ornamental Grass 101: Choosing, Planting, and Maintaining Grasses

As gardeners have discovered the beautiful structure, admirable hardiness, and unique colors of ornamental grasses, these plants have jumped into the limelight. There are many options when it comes to ornamental grass

How to Grow Reblooming Irises for Spring and Fall Flowers

‘Immortality’ is one of the most popular and reliable reblooming irises. While most irises bloom only in spring, rebloomers flower again in late summer or fall, and in long seasons may produce a third or fourth flush.

Keeping Ornamental Grasses Happy: Planting and Care Guide

If you dont have an abundance of time to maintain your garden, ornamental grasses are a perfect plant choice. Most species are not picky about soil, though they appreciate good drainage, as do most plants. Once theyre

Should You Remove Hosta Flower Stems?

Removing hosta flower stalks doesn’t affect leaf growth either way. Some gardeners cut them because they feel the tall stems detract from the foliage; others enjoy the blooms—some hostas are even bred for colorful, f

How to Grow Healthy Plants: A Gardener's Guide to Nurturing Flowers

Growing flowers may be easier than raising kids, but the two pursuits have their similarities. Building a good home environment for strong roots, weeding out bad company, giving extra protection at the toddler stage,

Top 10 Perennials for Long-Lasting Garden Color

Perennials form the backbone of a low-maintenance garden, but many have frustratingly short bloom periods—often just four weeks compared to all-season annuals. The Perennial Plant Association’s “Plant of the Year” awa

Growing Cactus Plants in Cold-Winter Climates

For gardeners in northern regions, growing cactus plants can be a prickly subject. Cacti thrive on light, heat, and excellent drainage. Though you may think theyre limited to the Desert Southwest, many are hardy enoug

Choosing and Cultivating Pansies for Year-Round Color

Pansy Basics Gardeners in warmer zones have long known that pansies can be planted in fall and continue to grow and bloom all winter and into spring. What isnt as well known is that pansies can overwinter as far north

Best Ferns for Your Garden

If you have lots of shade but too many deer for hostas, rely on ferns for color and texture, especially blended with flowers. Many are natives, with a startling variety of colors, shapes, sizes. Ferns are part of an anci

Planning a Perennial Cutting Garden

Lush flowerbeds overflowing with colorful blooms make you want to snip stems for indoors. But you may be reluctant, afraid of leaving bare spots. Hesitate no more. Two strategies for producing plenty of cuttable flowers

Staking and Training Perennials

The keys to a perennial gardens beauty lie largely unseen. Showy bloomers and striking foliage command attention, but well-amended soil, compost, mulch, and nutrients invisibly fuel the show. Similarly, stakes and suppor

Can I Start New Plants from the Pods on My Daffodils?

Yes, those capsules at daffodil stem tips are seedpods. Many experts recommend removing them so bulbs have more energy for next years flowers. You can collect seed, but if from a hybrid bulb, the plant may not resemble t