preserving/drying Calla Lily bouquet

QuestionHello, I am hoping to preserve my calla lily bouquet and was wondering the best way I can do it at home without losing the colour or them turning brown. There are also oriental grasses in the bouquet. Many

pruning of azaleas

QuestionI LIVE IN CENTRAL FLORIDA AND SOME OF MY AZALEAS ARE BLOOMING NOW I WANT TO KNOW WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO TRIM THEM TO GIVE THEM SHAPE AnswerHi Donna, Thanx for your question. Heres a great website (

thyme magic carpet

QuestionHi! I am planning to have thyme magic carpet in my front yard, i heard its easy to grow and it grow low which is what i want. how much seeds do i need if i am starting from seeds? the area is ab

iron/perennials

QuestionIs there such as thing as plants getting too much iron? AnswerGreetings, Reg! The answer to your questions is, well, yes. While iron is important for the chlorophyll formation (plants get their green color

Magnolia bushes

QuestionWhen is the best time to prune magnolias? I didnt know that te buses grown into trees until I was reading this website. However, we dont want them to get very high. I dont know exactly what

Somethings Eating the Leaves on my Asiatic Lillies

QuestionQUESTION: Something (I dont know whether its an animal or an insect) is gradually eating the leaves of my Asiatic lillies. Should I/can I try to stop this? Fyi, I have a Japanese bettle trap not far away fro

Pruning Fushia

QuestionWhen do you prune fuchsias grown outside on Central Oregon Coast? (Mine grow as perennials) AnswerGreetings Cece, Your timing for this question is excellent. The best time to prune perennial fu

Calla Lily Amethyst

QuestionHI, was wondering instead of putting in basement, can you bring them indoors for the winter? AnswerHi Cheryl, Thanx for your question. One doesnt necessarily have to put them in the baseme

Is this poison oak/ivy?

Questionthere are 2 plants growing right next to each other in the shade of my canna lily/spiderwort. They are both about 7 inches tall and are an inch apart. Theyre growing straight up. Here are some pictures ht

Shrub!

QuestionQUESTION: can you ID this shrub? Ive been taking care of it. When winter comes and it goes dormant I plan to move it. Any idea what it is? http://desiraidesigns.com/plants/DSC_0029.jpg http://desiraidesig

Astibules

QuestionI live in No. Calif and have Astilbes planted all around my bird bath. They have always preformed as they should but already this year they are turning brow. Isnt this too early? Do you think they are dying

Need flowering plant ideas

Question Partial shade garden I live in zone 9a and have a garden space that was previously partial shade with ardisia japonica as a ground cover. We lost a tree a couple of years ago, and the ground cover ha

Pencil tree

Question Pencil tree Can you tell me what might be happening to this Pencil tree? I lost a couple last year after they started looking like this? Thank you, Jerry AnswerHi Jerry, Thanx for your question. Th

Help, cross breeding hibiscus?

QuestionHi! I like asking you questions cause youre nice. Heres a forum post I made on helpfulgardener.com, that I decided to ask you also: This is my first serious year of gardening. Ive always kept houseplants,

pansies and violas

Questionhi how do you keep pansies and violas flowering for longer? how do you keep them from year to year? will they survive a harsh winter? what pest are they prone to? what is the difference between them both? wh

Bouganville

QuestionHello Tom, I live in CoraI Springs, Florida (south Florida). I replaced my white fly stricken ficus trees with 50 bougainvillea plants two years ago. They have taken off and are everything I expected and mo

how to grow lillies from seed

QuestionQUESTION: Im one of the experts on this website but i need to ask how to grow lillies from seed. I have a stargazer lily with a seed pod and it is swelling but i do not know how to collect seeds and i have g

Begonias inside

QuestionIs it possible to winterize begonia tubers wrapped in a paper bag and putting them in the vegetable crisper of the refridgerator? And if so, how long should they remain there? Id really rather pr

Shade lovers

QuestionHey! I think I finally have a question for you thats actually in your expertise! LOL! Shade loving perennials! And by shade loving, I mean 90% shade. Im running out of front yard to plant stuff. Which lea

collecting seed

QuestionHiya Tom My experience is growing plants from seed is good but it is mainly bedding plants. I have grown perrenials from seed by mistake, e.g. i have i Cyclamen seedling in my greenhouse but i have no idea