Category: Home & Garden

The large, eye catching blooms of amaryllis, Hippeastrum x hybridum, can add astonishing color to the garden and make for perfect indoor displays.

Suitable for outdoor cultivation in USDA Hardiness Zones 9-11, the flowers can be forced to bloom indoors and are a popular addition to winter holiday decor.

Amaryllis can be propagated by the home gardener in a three ways: separating offsets, dividing bulbs, and growing from seed.

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In this article, we will discuss how to propagate amaryllis from seed, and the advantages of doing so.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

Why Grow Amaryllis from Seed?

Starting these dramatic flowers from seed is certainly a process, as it can take from three to five years for the plant to bloom, depending on the variety.

Since some types of amaryllis are expensive or can be hard to find, collecting seeds from existing plants may make sense.

However, you need to keep in mind that most of these plants are hybrids, and the seeds you collect will not produce true to the parent plant, but may exhibit some of its characteristics.

Since amaryllis hybridize easily, by cross pollinating and collecting seeds from your own plants, you can easily create brand new, unique varieties!

If you want to produce a clone of a parent plant, then you should consider bulb re-sectioning or separating offsets, check out our guide to learn more.

Since seeds aren’t widely available on the market, the best way to obtain them is from other growers or by pollinating and hybridizing your own flowers.

How to Harvest Seeds

Flowers grown outdoors are likely to be pollinated naturally by insects, but indoor-grown plants should be helped along by hand pollination.

Pollination

The flowers are self-fertile, so you can do this even if you only have one plant. The seeds will not produce a perfect clone in the case of hybrids, but plants will likely retain some of the traits of the parent plant.

Or if you have more than one variety, you can experiment with cross-pollination.

To hand pollinate your amaryllis, take a small paint brush and brush it gently on the anther of the flower to collect the pollen.

The pollen is the yellow dust that covers the tips of the curved stamens, as you can see in the image below:

Then you’ll use the brush to gently transfer the collected pollen to the stigma of another flower – or the same one. The stigma is at the top of the style, protruding from the center of the flower.

For best results, repeat this process once a day over the course of a few days, to ensure the pollination is successful.

If it is done correctly, as the flower starts to fade, you will see a small green pod start to develop at the base of the bloom, behind the petals.

Over time this pod will swell and eventually turn yellow or brown, dry out, and split open at the seams. This ripening process will typically take about four to six weeks.

Collecting the Seeds

When the pod has dried and begun to crack open you can cut it off the plant. Pods are typically divided into three sections, each containing 50-60 seeds – so you will have plenty!

Set the ripe pod in a dark location for a few days to continue to dry.

To collect the seeds, shake the pod over a bowl or plate and let the seeds fall out. Throw away any that appear to be damaged or moldy.

Spread them out on a paper plate or tray to dry for a few more days – or up to a week.

For best results, you should sow the seeds as soon as possible after drying, as they have a short shelf life and do not store very well. As these are tropical plants, they do not need a period of cold stratification prior to planting.

If you do need to store them, dry the seeds for a week, and then keep them in a sealed container in a cool dark location like a pantry. Keep in mind that they will lose viability the longer they are in storage.

How to Sow

You can sow your seeds directly into a container or individual seed trays filled with potting mix amended with perlite or vermiculite to improve drainage.

Sow one seed per cell if using flats, or one inch apart in your container, and cover with a little potting medium, about an eighth of an inch deep. Water in well.

Maintain even moisture in the potting mix, but do not allow it to become waterlogged. In three to five weeks, you’ll see that they’ve germinated as they’ll produce small grass-like leaves.

Alternatively, you can choose to sprout the seeds prior to planting in soil.

An advantage of this method is that you can start a large number of them, and only plant those that have actually germinated.

One way to do this is to float them in water. This can be done by taking a clear glass or baking pan and filling it with at least an inch of tepid water. Spread the seeds on top, discarding any that sink to the bottom, as these will not be viable.

Cover the container with a loose lid, and set it in a warm area, somewhere you can remember to check on it daily and top up the water if any has evaporated.

In one to four weeks, viable seeds will germinate and produce a single root. This root will eventually grow into a bulb. When the root is a half inch or longer, the seedling is ready to plant.

An alternative sprouting method is to wrap seeds in a moist paper towel placed into a sealed ziplock bag. Check on the bag daily and mist with water – do not allow the paper to dry out.

It should take between one and four weeks for the seeds to germinate, and you can plant them when the root is at least half an inch long.

Plant sprouted seeds in a well-draining, sterile potting mixture in small individual containers or in groups in a larger container. Make sure the containers are at least three to four inches deep.

Use a toothpick to create a small hole for the root. Gently place the root into the hole, letting the seed casing rest on top of the soil or just barely covered. Leave an inch or two of space between the seedlings, as they don’t mind being a little crowded.

Water gently and place in a warm location out of direct sunlight.

Don’t forget to label and date your pots!

As roots grow into bulblets, they can be transplanted into larger pots.

Seedling Care

Sprouts will initially resemble a blade of grass and continue to grow slowly over the next few years.

You will need to lightly fertilize your seedlings once every week or two, with a liquid fertilizer such as Miracle-Gro All Purpose Plant Food, available on Amazon, diluted to quarter-strength.

Miracle-Gro All Purpose Plant Food

Make sure it is diluted, or the fertilizer can damage the tiny plants.

Seedlings should be kept in a warm location, such as a greenhouse or indoors on a windowsill with plenty of indirect light.

The soil should be allowed to dry out to an inch down between waterings, but don’t allow it to completely dry out – or become oversaturated. During the winter months you can put them under a grow light.

When the foliage is four to six inches long, you can transplant your seedlings into individual pots of at least six inches deep to give the bulbs room to develop.

Patience is key! Sometimes leaves may appear to brown and die, but don’t worry, new leaves should form to replace them. While all of this is happening, below the soil bulbs are slowly growing.

For the first two to three years, the bulbs are developing and the plant will not go dormant during winter, but growth may slow.

After the second or third year, the plant may go into its first dormancy phase. This is a good sign! It means the bulb is creating a flower and should soon reward you with a spectacular bloom.

With good care, blooms should appear once a year thereafter.

Worth the Wait

It is true that starting amaryllis from seed is a process that requires a lot of patience, but in my opinion, it’s well worth the wait.

You will be able to create brand new hybrids and be rewarded with bountiful displays of unique and colorful flowers for years to come.

Have you grown amaryllis from seed? Share your stories and photos in the comments section below!

And for more information about growing amaryllis, check out these guides next:

The Outer Sunset of San Francisco is “a neighborhood on the edge of the world, a city suburb built on sand dunes, where it is miraculous to even grow a garden on,” says Anastasia Sonkin, co-founder of landscape design firm Talc Studio. “It’s a tough place to plant given the extreme coastal climate conditions—sun, fog, salt, wind, and sand.”

Yet, it is in this very part of the city that we recently spotted a backyard oasis alive with greenery. A miracle? No, just the handiwork of Talc Studio. “That’s where many of the first gardens we made live, and that climate has become one of our specialties,” says Anastasia.

Prior to Talc’s involvement, the backyard was a “big sand pit,” she says. “We would reach our hands into the sand and find relics like marbles, seashells, old concrete, bricks.” Their clients wanted lushness where there was once barrenness. They also asked for a greenhouse that could double as a reading nook, an outdoor dining area, decor and furniture by true artisans. And they wanted to be comfortable walking barefoot outside.

Below, Anastasia and her co-founder, Taylor Palmer, explain how they delivered everything on the homeowners’ wish list. “Gardens are where nature, people, and a particular place find each other. It’s an incredible opportunity to design that unity,” says co-founder Taylor Palmer. “To us it’s moving art—because it’s growing, living, dying, and regenerating.”

Photography by Jorden DeGaetano, courtesy of Talc Studio.

Today’s photos are from Susan Warde in St. Paul, Minnesota (Zone 4b).

I love ponds and waterfalls and fountains but don’t want to deal with the work they entail. So my “water feature” consists of bird baths—a dozen of them: four each in the front, side, and back gardens. Of course they too need some some attention. I clean them two or three times a week and bleach them once a season. And in the fall I need to flip the basins so the winter freeze/thaw cycles (mostly freeze in Minnesota) don’t crack them. Though none of the photos show bathers or drinkers, the birdbaths are heavily patronized—and not just by avian visitors. Squirrels and chipmunks come regularly, and once I even saw a fox drinking, a real treat in the middle of the city.

The crows favor this birdbath in the spring, dunking their snacks in it. I find things like soggy bagels and the entrails of unfortunate small mammals, so for a period of time it needs daily cleaning. In the foreground are sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis, Zones 4–8), a Hosta (Zones 3–9), and a daylily (Hemerocallis hybrid, Zones 3–8). Obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana, Zones 3–9) to the right of and behind the birdbath is just opening. Hakone grass (Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’, Zones 5–9), phlox (Phlox paniculata, Zones 4–8), and rudbeckia (Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldstrum’, Zones 3–9) are also visible.

Here’s another front yard birdbath with Heuchera ‘Green Spice’ (Zones 4–9) and Astilbe ‘Ostrich Plume’ (Zones 4–8).

Along the sidewalk up to the house is a birdbath with a pineapple base, surrounded by rudbeckia, daylilies (Hemerocallis ‘Autumn Gold’, and ’Stella Supreme’), and some vivid phlox.

This tall phlox drops its blossoms into the small birdbath just to the right of the front steps. A neighborhood cat drinks here.

In this photo from the side yard are astilbes (the one on the left is ‘Vision in Red’; I don’t know the name of the pink ones) and ‘Happy Returns’ daylily. The evergreen is Thuja occidentalis ‘Yellow Ribbon’ (Zones 3–7).

A small birdbath along the side path is almost hidden by a tall bearded iris (Iris ‘Sultry Mood’, Zones 3–9). The yellow blossoms are globe flower (Trollius × cultorum ‘Cheddar’, Zones 4–7), and the pink ones are a geranium (Geranium sanguineum, Zones 3–9).

I have a good view of this birdbath from the kitchen window. It’s near the bird feeders and is thus in frequent use. Decorated with snowdrops, it matches a planter on the back steps that contains herbs. More ‘Vision in Red’ astilbes light up this shady area under a small maple; I think the pink ones are Astilbe simplicifolia ‘Sprite’ (Zones 3–9). There are Japanese painted ferns (Athyium niponicum var. pictum, Zones 3–8), a tall glade fern (Diplasium pycnocarpon, Zones 3–8), and a large Lenten rose (Helleborus × nigercors ‘Winter Star’, Zones 5–9), one of the earliest plants to flower in the garden. The hostas, which have become a ground cover in this spot, are ‘Blue Mouse Ears’. Small creeping irises (Iris cristata, Zones 3–9) are in the foreground, and the chartreuse flower clusters in the lower right are lady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis, Zones 3–8).

If you look closely you may be able to see the fern design on the supports of the bench. Perched on top of it is my smallest birdbath. Goldfinches especially are attracted to this one, but this past week a catbird has been bathing in it, without much room to spare. That’s Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’ (Zones 3–9) in the background, doing well after having been severely “pruned” by rabbits last winter. The ferns are Japanese painted fern (flanking the bench) and bulblet fern (Cystopteris bulbifera, Zones 3–8) in front. The tiny hostas are ‘Cameo.’

This is the first birdbath visitors encounter in the back garden. It’s surrounded by hostas, astilbes, wild ginger (Asarum canadense, Zones 4–6), and ferns.

Here’s another low birdbath in the back garden, surrounded by more wild ginger (left) and a mat of Sedum ‘John Creech’ (Zones 3–8). Hostas and ostrich fern (Matteucia struthiopteris, Zones 3–7) form a backdrop.

I need help flipping the top of my largest birdbath, seen here among ferns. The ones arching over the kitty are long beech fern (Phegopteris connectilis, Zones 2–5). To the left are more Japanese painted ferns. Behind the birdbath you can see ‘Lady in Red’ (Athyrium felix-femina var. angustum, Zones 4–8) and to the left of them the fertile fronds of royal fern (Osmunda regalis, Zones 3–9). The small maple is Acer × pseudosieboldianum ‘North Wind’ (Zones 4–8), a replacement for a tree that snapped in half during a heavy snowstorm last April 1.

Last but not least is the birdbath in the very back, enjoyed by the more timid visitors. The tall white-flowered plant in the background is black cohosh (Actea racemosa, Zones 3–8).

Have a garden you’d like to share?

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Diospyros virginiana

I’d like to begin by prefacing this article with a warning: I am a huge fan of American persimmons.

I’ll take one of these over an apple or pear – or even an Asian persimmon – any day of the week.

If you’re looking for an unbiased account of American persimmons, head elsewhere, my friend.

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But if you’re a hardcore advocate like I am, a native plant lover, or simply someone who’s interested in adding a new variety of fruit to the garden, then you’ve come to the right place.

D. virginiana hits all the marks for me, and I’m confident that it will for you as well.

They are easy to care for, without all that intricate pruning and frequent spraying that certain other fruit trees (cough – peaches – cough) require. They can grow in just about any type of soil and they’ll forgive you if they don’t get enough water on occasion.

Despite all that appalling imagined neglect, they’ll reward you with stunningly flavorful fruit with a taste that is complex and sweet.

It’s hard to describe the flavor of the ripe fruit exactly, but it’s sort of like if a ripe peach was sprinkled with cinnamon and cloves, and wrapped in caramel. The texture is like the most heavenly pudding you can imagine.

Okay, yes – if you’ve ever taken a bite of an unripe astringent persimmon, you won’t ever forget the cottony, puckery experience of tasting the tannin-filled fruit.

I suspect that’s part of the reason that American or “common” persimmons don’t get as much love as their relative D. kaki, the Asian persimmon, of which non-astringent cultivars are available that are lower in tannins. These have to be extremely soft before they’re edible.

On top of that, the fruits don’t travel well. They aren’t commonly cultivated, and their native range is much smaller than that of their Asian cousins.

If you’ve ever bought one of the pretty orange orbs at the grocery store, bitten into it while it was still firm, and it didn’t make your mouth pucker, that was an Asian fruit.

Cultivars of this species – like ‘Fuyu’ and ‘Hachiya’ – are far, far more popular across the world, no doubt because the fruit travels better, and certain varieties still taste good even when they’re not quite ripe.

But American persimmons are intensely flavorful. The trees are more pest and disease resistant than their cousins, and have better tolerance of the cold as well. Personally, I think these fruits need a better public relations team.

Until that happens, I’ll do my best to fill that gap. Ready to become a convert?

By the time you finish reading this guide, you’ll be ready to sing the praises of D. virginiana. And if you live in the right location, I bet you’ll be more than ready to add a tree or two to your garden.

Here’s everything we’ll discuss:

I tend to automatically distrust anyone who says “trust me” but… trust me! If you’re looking for a fruit tree that doesn’t demand lots of attention and care, this is it.

Once you get the hang of when it’s time to pick the fruit for optimal flavor, you’ll be dreaming of the incomparable taste of the petite fruits all year long until harvest season rolls around again.

What Is the American Persimmon?

Also known as Eastern persimmon, possumwood, American ebony, or butterwood, the American or common persimmon is native to the southern and eastern regions of the US stretching from Florida to Connecticut and Iowa to Texas. They also grow native in parts of California and Utah.

Additionally, you can find them today growing in orchards in Oregon, Washington, Arizona, and New Mexico. They grow best in USDA Hardiness Zones 5-9, with a few cultivars that are hardy down to the cold winter temperatures of Zone 4.

The name for the genus Diospyros may be loosely translated from Greek to mean “fruit of the gods.” I think the edible species in this genus are aptly named because their flavor is heavenly.

Part of the Ebony family (Ebenaceae), they are closely related to the Asian persimmon (D. kaki) as well as several other edible species including black sapote (D. digyna), velvet apple (D. discolor), and date plum (D. lotus).

The Texas persimmon (D. texana), which is native to Texas and Mexico, is another closely related member of the genus that produces small purple fruit.

American persimmon trees reach somewhere between 30 and 60 feet tall on average, but they can reach heights of 90 feet or more under optimal conditions.

Trees generally start producing full loads of fruit when they are about seven years old, and their most productive age is often between 25 and 50 years. They can live for up to 150 years.

While most cultivars available to home growers are self-pollinating, most wild trees are dioecious, meaning they produce flowers that are either all male or all female. Both are required for pollination, and fruit is produced only by the females.

The leaves are medium green, oval, and large, about six inches long and three inches wide. In the fall, the leaves may turn yellow or reddish-purple before they drop to the ground.

Large off-white flowers may bloom from early March through June, with the specific timing of the bloom phase depending on the region.

Because they typically flower later in the season than many other types of fruit trees, you generally won’t have to worry about late frosts impacting yields at harvest time.

The trees bloom in late April in my region, Zone 8b in Oregon, which is well after the last average frost date.

Fruits ripen from early September through December, depending on the cultivar.

Mature fruits are about one to two inches in diameter, though a few cultivars grow larger. The unripe fruit is high in tannins, which many an unlucky kid has discovered when they’ve pulled the fruit off the tree for a surreptitious snack.

One of the major differences between the fruit of Asian trees and of American trees is that the fruit of D. virginiana should generally be soft and overripe before you try to eat it.

Almost every single cultivar of American persimmon, as well as native wild fruit, is mouth-puckeringly astringent when the fruit is underripe.

However, some cultivars sweeten up younger than others, and a few cultivars are even ready for eating before they turn soft.

In recent years, a few breeders have created non-astringent cultivars, and that’s exciting news for American persimmon lovers! If you want to learn more about these, check out the section on recommended cultivars below.

The pulp of the fruit is gelatinous and darker than the skin, and fruit may or may not have seeds, depending on whether or not it has been pollinated and the particular cultivar.

The pulp often contains imperfections, brown discoloration or little black spots, but these aren’t anything to worry about. It’s normal, but some people find it unattractive, especially in the processed pulp. You can, however, find a few cultivars that lack these little spots.

As with many fruit trees, plants can produce a heavy crop in one year, followed by a lighter crop the next year. This is known as alternate or biennial bearing.

This happens when a tree devotes all of its energy to producing fruit one year and doesn’t have as much energy to produce the same amount of flowers and fruits the next year.

Cultivation and History

Until recently, like pawpaws and other native fruits, American persimmons were gathered in the wild rather than being cultivated in gardens.

Native Americans valued the fruits, and people from the Cree and Delaware tribes called the fruit pasiminan (or pessemmin, pushemin, pichamin or putchamin, depending on the dialect or spelling), which means dried fruit in Algonquian.

Some native people from the Osage and Quapaw tribes made loaves of mashed, boiled, and sun-dried or grilled pulp, while other tribes dried them to preserve the fruits.

Later, European settlers learned to appreciate the native fruits as well. Spanish and French explorers described the fruit as something like a plum or medlar.

When Captain John Smith of Jamestown bit into a persimmon, he found the experience… less than impressive, according to C.H. Briand, who wrote for the Hunt Institute of Botanical Documentation.

“… if it be not ripe will drawe a mans mouth awrie, with much torment,” he wrote. When ripe, however, he said that the fruit was “… as delicious as an Apricock.”

The plants, including the bark and leaves, have been used medicinally to treat diarrhea, dysentery, fever, syphilis, and thrush, among other ailments.

The fruit has also been used to create alcoholic beverages, including beer, brandy, and wine. During the American Civil War, the seeds were used as a coffee substitute, and vinegar was made out of the pulp.

Because it has such a recent history of cultivation, we have a pretty good idea of how and when the wild plants started to be shaped by human gardeners.

Early breeders in the late 1800s included horticulture professor James Troop of Purdue University and member of the Iowa State Horticultural Society, and F. O. Harrington, from York Center, Iowa.

More recently, plant breeder James Claypool worked with over 2,000 different persimmon cultivars to select trees with improved pest and disease resistance that produced larger, better tasting fruit, and fruit that ripened earlier.

Joseph C. McDaniel, a professor of horticulture at University of Illinois, has also made a big impact on the domestication and breeding of these trees, and is responsible for the selection of ‘John Rick’ and ‘Florence.’

I would be remiss to neglect mentioning Jerry Lehman. A grower with an experimental orchard in Indiana who passed away in 2019, Lehman wanted to help farmers in Indiana by creating a common persimmon that could be grown by commercial farmers there, and he dedicated a good chunk of his life to making that happen.

He sought not only to improve the flavor and size of the persimmon fruit so that they would appeal to buyers, but he also bred the few non-astringent cultivars that exist today.

Persimmons have even featured as fixtures of gardening folklore used to predict the weather.

For instance, cracking open the seeds and finding cotyledons shaped like a spoon are said to indicate a snowy winter ahead, while fork-shaped cotyledons indicate a mild season to come, and knife-shaped seed innards are said to predict bitter cold.

When it comes to American varieties, there are two types: tetraploids with 60 chromosomes, and hexaploids with 90 chromosomes. Similar to avocados as another fruit that has several races in cultivation, with 90-chromosome types and 60-chromosome types.

Almost all cultivars you can purchase or find in breeding programs are 90-chromosome types.

These don’t need pollination from another variety to fruit, and they produce larger persimmons that usually ripen earlier and are a bit sweeter than that of the 60-chromosome types. Tetraploid (60-chromosome) varieties require pollination for fruit production.

When a 60-chromosome tree pollinates a 90-chromosome tree, the resulting fruits are usually seedless, or nearly so.

Propagation

As is the case with most types of fruit trees, you have a variety of options for propagating persimmons, from starting seeds to digging up and transplanting suckers.

Whichever method you choose, it’s generally a smart idea to test your soil before planting, to make sure it doesn’t have any serious deficiencies of nitrogen, potassium, or phosphorus (NPK).

Work in some well-rotted compost if your soil is particularly compacted or nutrient-poor. You can also add some sand to loosen up clay earth.

Remember that you must plant a male and a female tree of different varieties together for pollination, unless you select a self-pollinating cultivar. American persimmons won’t cross-pollinate with Asian ones.

If you have a type that requires another tree for pollination, it helps to plant flowers that attract pollinators like bees and butterflies around your tree.

You won’t know whether you have a male or female until they produce flowers.

From Seed

As with most deciduous fruit trees, common persimmons won’t grow true to type from seed. Seeds also have a low germination rate, and it won’t be possible to tell the males from the females for quite some time. However, if you have quite a bit of time on your hands and you’re looking for an affordable project to try at home, this may be the way to go.

Keep in mind that when you start from seed, your plants may not produce a good-sized harvest for up to a decade – and in some cases, not at all.

However, persimmons that are sown directly wherever you intend to grow them are better able to adapt to the site, even if that site happens to have poor drainage or if it is overly rocky.

You can also start seeds indoors in containers if you prefer. Plan on getting your seeds into their containers about ten weeks before the last frost in your area in the spring.

While they aren’t common, you can purchase seeds from specialty retailers.

You must cold stratify seeds before planting them. That means wrapping them in a moist paper towel and putting that in a zip-top bag. Place the seeds in the refrigerator for three months, frequently checking to make sure the towel is moist.

After three months have passed, plant the seeds an inch deep in a seed-starting medium in a four-inch container, or put them in the soil where you intend to grow them.

Make sure to put the seed in the soil with the “eye” facing up. That’s the rounded end that has a slight opening.

You should consider using biodegradable peat pots that can be planted directly in the ground to reduce the amount of trauma to the roots that’s caused during transplanting.

Keep the soil moist but not wet as they grow. Think of a well-wrung-out sponge and you have a good idea of the level of moisture you’re aiming for.

As mentioned, the seeds have a low germination rate and they can take up to two months to germinate. Consider planting far more than you need, to ensure that you have a few healthy seedlings and at least one female and one male plant.

From Cuttings

I love taking cuttings from fruit trees because it’s such an easy way to duplicate a plant you love.

In the spring, after the plant has emerged from dormancy and leafed out, select a branch that’s about as thick as a pencil and take a cutting that’s about 10 inches long. Remove the leaves from the bottom half of the cutting.

Be sure to take cuttings from both a male and female tree if you don’t have access to a self-pollinating cultivar.

Slice the cut end at an angle of about 45 to 60 degrees and dip it in powdered rooting hormone or a cloning gel.

Olivia’s Cloning Gel

I prefer to use Olivia’s Cloning Gel, and you can pick some up at Arbico Organics.

Prepare the soil outdoors by working in some well-rotted compost, or fill a six-inch pot with potting soil. Stick a pencil or chopstick into the soil to create a hole, and insert the cutting about halfway. Gently press the soil around the cutting to firm it in place.

Water well, and keep the soil moist but not soggy as the cutting begins to take root, which will happen in about four weeks. At that point, you should see some new leaves forming.

Give the twig a gentle tug to see if it resists. If it does, that means roots have formed. Treat rooted cuttings like other transplants at this point, and put the plants in the ground about a month before the first frost arrives in your area if you’ve grown them in containers.

From Suckers

Asian persimmon trees don’t send up suckers, but American ones do. Suckers are the little upshoots that come out of the soil a few feet away from the plant. They’re attached to the roots underground, and you can use them to propagate new trees.

They have the same genetic makeup as the parent tree, which means you’ll need to collect suckers from a male and female tree if you don’t have a self-pollinating cultivar.

The best time of year to harvest them is in the spring when plants are sending up new growth, but before it gets too hot.

Locate a sucker with at least three leaves and gently dig around it. You don’t want to get too close to the roots to avoid damaging them, so leave a four-inch margin around the sucker as you dig. Gently remove soil until you encounter the main root, then snip away the sucker from the main root with pruners.

Trim away the horizontal root, leaving the vertical, fibrous roots in place.

If the sucker has more than three leaves, trim away the excess leaves to encourage new roots to grow rather than foliage.

Plant the sucker in prepared soil outdoors or in a container with potting soil. Keep the soil moist for the first few months.

If you planted in a container, transplant in the fall, following the instructions for transplanting.

From Bare Roots

Bare root plants should go in the ground in the early spring. You don’t want to plant them too late, after the bare root emerges from dormancy and starts developing new growth as they will become stressed and may not survive transplanting.

Before you put them in the ground, clip away any dead roots or branches.

It can be hard to tell if the roots are alive or dead, since they’re often black or dark brown, so give them a little bend. If they feel soft and bounce back, they’re alive. If they snap, snip the root off.

You should also prune back the length of the stems by about half to encourage bushier growth and to ensure that the roots are not overly burdened by too much top growth while they’re first getting established.

Plant as you would a transplant.

From Seedlings and Transplanting

I believe American persimmon transplants are getting easier to find, and there are more varieties than ever thanks to the breeders who are working to create improved cultivars. If you want to get your hands on some homegrown fruit quickly, purchasing a sapling is the way to go.

The best time to plant nursery grown seedlings and saplings is either in the spring, after the risk of frost has passed, or in the fall, a few weeks before the projected first frost in your area.

If you have a cultivar that isn’t self-pollinating, purchasing transplants is an easy way to ensure you’re getting both a male and a female tree. Make sure to put them no further than 50 feet apart to facilitate pollination, and no less than 20 feet apart from each other and from any nearby structures to allow for adequate airflow and room to grow.

Remember that because these trees have long, deep taproots, you won’t be able to transplant them later if they get too big or start to encroach on a fence, building, or other plants.

Once you’ve acquired your plant, prepare the soil and dig a hole slightly wider and at least twice as deep as the container it’s growing in. Gently remove the transplant from its container. I find it’s easiest to carefully press the sides of the plastic container or roll it gently along the ground to loosen the soil ball.

Fill in the hole with soil so that the plant will sit at the same level it was while growing in the container. The reason we dig deeper than we need is so that those deep roots will be encouraged to grow down into the soil, and so the earth is loose and easy to expand down into.

Place the plant in the hole and gently fill in around the root ball with additional soil. Water well.

Persimmons develop deep taproots, which makes them difficult to transplant as they mature. Make sure to get your transplants in the ground as quickly as possible after purchase, and choose a location where they can grow permanently, for the duration of their lives.

I say this as someone who has been guilty of buying a plant or two and then leaving them in their containers for months before I get around to planting. You can get away with that kind of bad behavior with a hosta, as I’ve discovered, but you might be sorry when your persimmon fails to thrive.

It’s a good idea to use a stake kit at planting to prevent your sapling from leaning or being buffeted by high winds.

Dewitt Tree Support Stake Kit

Nature Hills Nursery carries the Dewitt Tree Support Stake Kit, which includes everything you need.

How to Grow American Persimmons

Unless you live in an area that gets frigid in the winters, this is a tree that is fairly adaptable to a wide variety of conditions.

D. virginiana can survive temperatures down to -25°F, but if you live somewhere that regularly experiences temperatures lower than this, you can forget about growing this tree. Sorry!

This species can handle poor soil that is low in nutrients, rocky, or sandy, poorly-draining sites, and pretty much everything in between.

Of course, you want to try to give your trees the ideal conditions that they prefer to grow and thrive if you want good harvests with high yields, and to avoid diseases.

That means planting in well-drained, loamy soil. Aim for a pH between 6.0 and 6.5.

Plants need full sun to produce and reach their full potential, but they can grow in partial sun or partial shade as well. You’ll likely get fewer fruits if they’re growing in the shade than you would in full sun.

Keep the plants well-watered when they are young, but as they mature, they can handle some drought. Plan on providing around an inch of water per week during the growing season, assuming that you don’t get any rain.

The top two inches of the soil should be allowed to dry out in between waterings.

Apply a balanced fertilizer every year in the spring, starting after the plant has reached an age where it has begun to produce fruit.

Dr. Earth’s Fruit Tree Fertilizer

I like Dr. Earth’s Fruit Tree Fertilizer, which you can find at the Home Depot. Apply as directed on the package.

Place an inch-thick layer of organic mulch, such as rotted wood chips to aid moisture retention and provide nutrients to the soil.

Apply it out to the drip line, but avoid placing any right against the trunk of the tree. A six-inch margin is ideal. Re-apply the mulch yearly in the spring.

Pruning, Training, and Maintenance

While it isn’t necessary, pruning can improve your harvest and make your trees look more attractive.

For young plants under the age of five, prune away weak, thin, diseased, or crossing branches in the early spring, before new growth has emerged.

Retain branches with wide crotch angles, since narrow crotch angles create weak branches that may crack or snap when they’re laden with fruit.

You want to leave about five main branches toward the outside to form the main structure of your tree.

As new shoots emerge in the spring, for the first five years, trim them about a third of the way back to encourage branching.

After that point, you can stop pruning your young trees this way and focus on maintenance.

When it comes to maintenance pruning, you don’t need to fuss much too much if you don’t want to.

Too much pruning leads to fruit drop, so be mindful of that and don’t go overboard. That said, a little bit of pruning encourages new growth and because flowers and fruit emerge from new wood, this can result in higher yields.

If desired, prune the tree in the winter to create a visually pleasing shape, after the leaves have fallen and before any new growth has started.

I like to keep my plants a bit rounded, so I remove any branches that stick out taller than the rest. If you don’t mind it if your plants have a bit of a more natural look, don’t worry about pruning for shape.

Remove any diseased or dead branches throughout the year. I also like to thin the tree slightly by removing any branches that rub or cross whenever I notice them.

Most common cultivars don’t grow nearly as tall as the wild trees do, topping out around 30 feet. If your tree grows taller, you may want to prune it back to make harvesting easier.

Fruits that grow too high up are difficult to harvest, and if they fall to the ground from that high when they’re ripe, they will burst into a mushy mess.

Remember how we talked about alternate bearing above? Not all persimmons experience this, but if yours does, you can help level things out by removing some of the fruit when it is young and still forming.

Flowers that produce next year’s crop are already starting to form while the tree is fruiting. If it’s producing a heavy crop, this can take away much of the energy required for flower production and result in a smaller harvest the following season.

Use a pair of clippers to evenly snip away one-third of the developing fruits on each branch.

American persimmons send up lots of suckers, and you’ll need to pull them up or cut them down whenever they emerge from the ground.

It’s a never-ending job, but if you let the suckers grow in place into full-sized trees, they’ll compete with your existing plant for nutrients and space.

If you want to propagate a few, follow the directions above. Otherwise, these can be tossed on the compost pile.

In the fall, be sure to clean up any fruit or fallen leaves.

This is a good idea in general for all fruit trees because it helps you avoid some of the pests and diseases that stick around over the winter in fallen leaves and fruit. Fallen fruit may also attract some unwanted wildlife into your garden.

Growing Tips

• Provide well-draining, loamy soil for healthy plants, and the best yields.
• Established plants can handle drought, but they should ideally be given regular water, about an inch a week.
• Pruning may help your plants produce a larger harvest, but it isn’t necessary for production.

Cultivars to Select

I have some bad news for you. Most large nurseries don’t carry common persimmons, or if they do, they sell them under a generic name with no information about the cultivar. But there are some wonderful cultivars out there that are worth seeking out.

American Persimmon

Check with specialty nurseries or local enthusiasts to source plants. Nature Hills Nursery carries both bare root and saplings.

Deer Magnet

If you want to attract deer, you couldn’t ask for a better cultivar than ‘Deer Magnet.’

The fruit forms late in the year, from October through December, and stays on the tree well into the winter, providing food for deer and other hungry wildlife.

That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it, as well. It’s delicious, with two-inch fruits that have pungent, flavorful, sweet flesh. This astringent type needs to be overripe to be palatable.

These are even hardy down to Zone 4 and they are self-pollinating, so you don’t have to grow a male tree nearby to produce a harvest.

Dollywood

‘Dollywood’ produces delicious fruits, but what stands out about this tree is its growth habit. It doesn’t grow exceptionally tall, but spreads out with gracefully weeping branches. It makes a gorgeous ornamental option.

Fruit ripens in mid-September to late-October, though the harvest may continue as late as November. This type was one of Jerry Lehman’s most recommended varieties because the fruits don’t need to be overly ripe to enjoy them.

He also touted it as a prolific producer.

It’s self-pollinating, so it doesn’t need a buddy, but you’ll have a larger harvest if there is a male planted nearby.

Early Golden

This cultivar dates back to the 1800s and is the parent plant of many of the newer cultivars that breeders have created in recent decades.

It has golden orange fruit that grows to be about one and a half inches in diameter, with a sweet, mild flavor. The plant stays relatively small, topping out around 10 feet, so it’s ideal for container growing.

This is another type that can survive the winter as far north as Zone 4. Ready for harvest starting in September, it’s important to let the fruits soften before eating.

While it will produce some fruit without a male tree nearby, you’ll get a much better harvest if you plant with a male pollinator.

Early Jewel

This is one of the earliest fruiting types of American persimmons and it has extremely pretty bright red fruit, so its name couldn’t be a better fit.

It starts bearing earlier than most varieties and produces a consistent, heavy crop. The fruits are seedless and ready to pluck in September. When ripe, they are sweet and flavorful.

This is another self-pollinating cultivar.

Killen

Remember how I mentioned those black flecks in the pulp earlier? This variety doesn’t have any of that, and the flesh is known for being free of imperfections. The medium-sized fruits are exceptionally sweet and about an inch in diameter.

‘Killen’ reaches about 25 feet high when it’s mature, and the fruits are ready to pick around mid-October. Let them get soft before eating. No need for a second tree with this cultivar to get a harvest. It’s self-pollinating.

Lehman’s Delight

This is a newer self-pollinating cultivar, bred by Jerry Lehman. It has incredibly large fruit that grows up to three inches in diameter with smooth, sweet flesh.

The tree stays compact but it produces a lot of fruit with an excellent flavor. It’s late to ripen, with fruits starting in October. Fruits should be soft but they don’t need to be overly ripe before you can dig in.

Morris Burton

You know that unicorn of American persimmons that I touched on, the rare non-astringent variety? This is the granddaddy of them all.

Though the other existing non-astringent types haven’t been named or made widely available, they are all bred from ‘Morris Burton.’

It isn’t a prolific producer and can be slow to produce, but breeders are working on using it to create new varieties that are improved in these areas.

You can eat the fruit when it is firm, or let it ripen fully. It gets sweeter as it gets softer. This one is also self-fruitful.

Managing Pests and Disease

American persimmons are extremely resistant to pests and diseases. You won’t need to spray your trees to protect them against problems because they’re so readily able to withstand issues.

That said, there are a handful of things to watch out for. However, if you keep trees healthy by watering them appropriately, pruning if necessary, and planting them in a location where they receive a good amount of sun, they should be able to withstand most problems.

Also, be sure to clean up any plant debris in the fall.

Herbivores

While you might get a break from most pests and diseases while growing persimmons, you’re going to have to go to battle with animals that are looking for a snack.

Birds

All kinds of birds will dine on persimmons, from chunky turkeys to petite warblers. My advice for you is to either net your tree when the fruits are about a month away from harvest time, or just accept your fate.

You’ll still get lots of fruits and the local bird population will thank you for the bounty.

As a bonus, birds can even help you to eliminate pests, not only from your persimmon trees, but from the rest of your garden as well. They’ll come for the fruit, and take care of the bugs as well.

In other words, you give the birds some food and they’ll help to keep your garden healthier. Win-win, right?

Deer

Deer love persimmons so much that when hunters want to attract them, they will often use a product made from the tasty fruits. Deer will nibble on the fallen fruits in your garden and in the wild, and they’ll grab low-hanging, ripe ones off the trees.

They’ll also eat the twigs and leaves, which is especially damaging to young trees or saplings.

Fencing is the best way to keep deer out of an orchard, in my opinion. We also have a full guide to keeping hungry ungulates out of your garden.

Rats

Rats and other types of rodents (as well as squirrels, but I’ll touch on them in a bit more detail below) are particularly fond of fallen fruit. You can be sure when fruits begin to pile up on the ground, the rats and mice are on their way.

Repellents work well to discourage rats from visiting your tree.

Bonide™ Rat Magic

Arbico Organics carries Bonide™ Rat Magic. You can sprinkle the granules around the base of the tree to make it a less appealing option to rodents.

That said, your best bet is to rake up or remove any fallen fruit right away so that they don’t have a regular food source drawing them into the area.

Squirrels

In the grand scheme of things, squirrels aren’t that big of a deal, but they annoy me because they go for the fruits before they’ve had a chance to ripen. Sometimes they steal them, other times they just take a nibble from a bunch and leave them hanging on the tree.

Squirrel baffles or collars stop them from climbing up the trunks, but they can still leap from nearby trees or buildings into your trees. And if you’ve ever seen a determined squirrel, you’re well aware that there’s pretty much no stopping them.

Given that a squirrel’s large area to mass ratio means these animals can fall from any height and hit the ground at exactly the same speed, likely surviving, you have a real challenge on your hands.

If I was hungry and I knew jumping from the top of a house to a nearby tree and missing it probably wouldn’t kill me, I’d be leaping around like a maniac (which probably means I wouldn’t survive long in the wild).

You can purchase deterrents, but I don’t find they do much good when the squirrels are seeking persimmons. What works better is to put feeders in nearby trees to lure them away. With an additional food source that’s readily available, they shouldn’t eat enough fruits to really impact your harvest.

Insects

American persimmons are unbothered by insect pests for the most part, but they aren’t completely immune.

Here are the most common pests to watch for.

Borer

Persimmon trunk clearwing borers (Sannina uroceriformis) bore into the trunks of trees, as you might have guessed from the name.

The adults are black moths with a red band across their bodies. They look a little like wasps.

They lay eggs at the base of trees, and the larvae that hatch out bore into the plants, eventually tunneling up the trunks and pupating in cocoons.

The most serious damage occurs below ground, but you may notice frass (it looks like sawdust) or a black, gummy substance oozing out of infested trees. When the roots are damaged, trees may become weak and the leaves might wilt.

The bugs can even girdle a young tree and kill it.

If you suspect you have this particular pest, you’ll need to dig down into the root area and look for hollowed out roots and holes made by the borers at the base of the trunk.

You can cut out infected roots, and use a knife to dig out the bugs from inside the holes. Other than that, there is no effective control option available.

The best defense is a good offense, and healthy trees are less susceptible to succumbing to an infestation.

Hickory Horned Devil

I always think this pest sounds more like a high school mascot (go Hickory Horned Devils!) than an insect hell-bent on defoliating young persimmon trees, but (Citheronia regalis) is most definitely the latter.

The adults are known as regal or royal walnut moths, and they are quite beautiful.

They are reddish-brown or orange with gray-green spots and yellow banding. They can have a wingspan of nearly six inches.

The caterpillars are also quite attractive looking, in my opinion, growing to about five inches long. They’re blue-green with orange and black-tipped scoli, protruding growths covered in black bristles, which look like a crown of horns.

They may have black markings on their heads and lower body segments, along with shorter black scoli along their bodies.

If you see either adult moths or the caterpillars, don’t kill them. They are an important native insect in the Eastern half of the US as pollinators and food sources for other animals.

So how do you stop them from chomping on the leaves of your trees? If you spot them on mature trees, just wave hello and leave them alone. A large tree won’t lose enough leaves to the nibbling caterpillars to be impacted.

If they are on a young tree under ten years old, gently remove them and place them on a mature persimmon tree instead, or on a mature hickory, sumac, or sweetgum tree because these plants also serve as hosts.

These caterpillars also have several natural predators, including parasitic wasps and flies.

Persimmon Psyllid

These tiny pests (Baeoalitriozus diospyri or Trioza diospyri) are black or tan insects about the size of an aphid (about 0.15 an inch). They can fly or jump and they secrete honeydew as they suck on plant juices.

They are most common in the spring as the weather starts to warm up. Once it gets hot, the populations tend to shrink.

While they can harm Asian trees, they tend to not cause much damage to American varieties. Native wasps and other natural predators tend to keep numbers under control.

If they do cause some damage, you might see curled or distorted leaves.

Monterey Horticultural Oil

Monterey horticultural oil, available at Arbico Organics, controls populations without harming beneficial insects.

Spray on trees in the springs as the bugs start to emerge.

Twig Girdler

Twig girdlers (Oncideres cingulata) are little beetles that not only attack persimmons, but hickories, elms, and pecan trees as well. Even worse, they spread persimmon wilt.

An adult female lays eggs in the early fall, girdling stems by gnawing a circle around the branches as she does so. She lays her eggs in that circular cut, and eventually, the branch may fall to the ground so her offspring can dig down into the soil.

The adults are gray and about three quarters of an inch long. They have two dark bands across their wings and long antennae.

The falling branches aren’t a big deal, and you could safely ignore this pest if it didn’t spread disease. Unfortunately that is not the case, but luckily for you, control is easy.

Pick up any fallen branches right away and burn them to kill the larvae. If you can’t burn plant debris in your area, seal them in a bag and toss them in the trash.

That doesn’t stop the disease from spreading, however, since these bugs carry persimmon wilt and have already nibbled on your tree. That means it’s too late to stop them from potentially transmitting the disease to your plant.

Read more about this disease below to learn how to deal if your tree comes down with wilt.

Webworm

Webworms (Seiarctica echo) can seriously damage young trees, though older trees are more resistant to harm.

It’s easy to tell if you have this pest in your yard because you’ll notice big white tent-like nests in persimmon, sweetgum, pecan, and other types of trees.

The pests hang out in the soil underneath leaf litter during the winter while they pupate, and emerge in the spring as white moths. They lay eggs on the leaves, which hatch into caterpillars that spin silken webs.

The caterpillars create tents for protection and they feed on foliage inside these webs. That can spell disaster for a young tree.

This is the part that gives me the chills to write, but it’s the best way to control these pests:

Go outside with a broom or rake when you see the webs, and sweep the worms out and away from the tree.

I’m warning you right now, wear a hood. And maybe a hazmat suit. Okay, that may be a bit extreme, but after you’ve found a few of these fuzzy wigglers in your hair or crawling down the back of your neck, you won’t want to mess around.

Once you’ve knocked the webs out, rake up the ground surrounding the tree and burn them or bag them up, seal the bag, and toss it in the trash. In the fall, clean up all of the fallen leaf litter to deny them a place to overwinter.

Disease

American persimmons are bothered by just a few diseases, and as with pests, it’s pretty rare that you’ll encounter them.

To help avoid diseases, don’t plant your persimmon with peach or mango trees, which suffer from similar issues.

Anthracnose

Also called leaf spot, anthracnose is caused by types of fungi in the Colletotrichum genus. An adult tree won’t die from this disease, but it can impact your harvest.

You’ll see dropping leaves, and foliage that’s covered in black spots. The spots can be sunken into the surface of foliage, and you may see lesions on the bark as well as the fruit.

Bonide™ Copper Fungicide

Bonide™ Copper Fungicide dust, available at Arbico Organics, is a good treatment option to cure the disease, and you can apply it up to about a week before harvest.

Combine it with water in a hand sprayer and cover the tree as soon as you notice symptoms of this disease. You may need to spray more than once, but use caution. Copper can build up in the soil and kill beneficial microbes.

Persimmon Wilt

Remember how I said persimmons are pretty resistant to disease? This one might be its Achilles’ heel. Cephalosporium diospyri can kill a tree within a few months.

The first sign is wilting foliage, which starts at the top of the tree. Then you’ll see bark beginning to separate from the tree, with red blisters underneath. If you cut the tree down, you’ll see black streaks throughout the rings.

Eventually, the bark ruptures, and the spores escape into the air to attack other trees.

This fungal disease can infect trees that have been damaged by twig girdlers, and the bugs carry the fungi. Controlling these insects is your best bet for keeping this disease away.

If your trees incur any damage from pruning, weed whacking, or mowing, these should be covered with wax to prevent the fungus from taking hold. This is especially true if there are any other trees that have been attacked by the fungus already.

If a tree becomes extremely infected, you’ll need to cut it down and burn it to prevent the fungus from spreading. You can also cut the entire tree down and dispose of it, but don’t use any parts in your compost pile or you risk spreading the fungus.

Harvesting Persimmon Fruit

Trees take about four to nine years to start fruiting if you planted a young seedling. Grafted trees and saplings are faster because they are older when you purchase them, and these are typically ready to harvest from in just three to five years.

A mature tree can give you anywhere between 35 to 75 pounds of fruit per season, depending on the growing conditions and the cultivar.

There’s a common misconception that you have to let American persimmons go through a frost before you can harvest the fruit. In reality, you simply need to wait for the fruit to become completely ripe, which takes time.

When you go out to pick your fruits, don’t use a bag! I know they’re convenient, but the fruits will get all mushy and smashed, and you’ll end up with a bag full of persimmon mess. Use a bucket or basket with firm sides instead, and don’t pack them too deep.

Snip the fruits off the tree using a pair of pruners, and leave the cap in place when harvesting.

The green, leafy cap at the stem end is technically known as the calyx. Leaving it in place helps the fruit stay fresh longer.

You can also lay out tarps or a three-inch layer of straw and let the ripe fruit fall on their own. Just make sure to go out and grab them before the rodents, deer, or wild turkeys do.

If you plucked your treasures before they ripened fully, put them in a bowl with fruit that puts off a high amount of ethylene gas, such as apples or bananas. This will hasten the ripening process.

You can learn more about how to harvest persimmons in this guide.

Preserving

Ripe fruit can be kept in the refrigerator for about a week, or you can freeze the fruits for up to nine months.

Freezing can also help to remove the astringency if you had to pluck your fruits from the tree before they were fully ripe.

To do this, wash the fruits and slice them into quarters after harvesting. Wrap them in foil or place them in plastic baggies and seal them up. After they have frozen solid for at least 24 hours, remove them from the freezer and allow them to thaw out completely.

It actually appears to be the thawing process that removes the tannins, so don’t skip this step and take a bite out of a frozen persimmon!

You can also freeze whole, ripe fruits for eating later. Wash and dry them and place them in a sealable plastic bag. If they were ripe before freezing, you can slice them in half after they have thawed slightly and eat the frozen flesh like a sorbet. It’s delicious.

Dried persimmons are a delight. They’re sort of like a date in flavor, but with subtle notes of clove, caramel, and cinnamon.

To dry whole fruits, you need to start with ones that are slightly underripe. If you try to dry the extremely ripe ones, you’ll end up with a finished product that is chewy on the outside with a weird, unappealing brown powder inside where the flesh used to be.

If you have fruits with seeds, you may want to slice them in half and remove them first so you don’t have to contend with seeds when you’re eating the finished product.

You can go the old-fashioned way or the speedy way to dry the fruits. The old-fashioned way involves washing, drying, and putting them on drying racks over a wood stove, or hanging them in an area that is dry and warm. Turn or rotate the fruits daily, and in a few weeks, they should be good to go.

The fast way involves putting the cleaned fruits in a food dehydrator, or you could dry them in the oven on the lowest setting, which is usually around 170°F.

Place the fruits on a baking sheet and put them in the middle position of the oven. Bake until they are dry and leathery, typically for around 10 hours, checking them occasionally.

If you’re interested in adding a food dehydrator to your collection of kitchen appliances to help you to preserve your homegrown harvest, you can read all about these on our sister site, Foodal.

Finally, processing the pulp to make a puree for storage allows you to enjoy the fruits for a long while, particularly in homemade desserts. Slice the fruits in half, scoop out the flesh, and pick out any seeds. Put it in a bowl and blend it with a hand blender, or pour it into a blender or food processor and puree it.

Lay a piece of cheesecloth or place a sieve over a bowl and pour the pulp into it to remove any impurities, like small seeds or bits of skin. Remember that the pulp might have black flecks in it, but this doesn’t impact the flavor or quality.

Freeze the pulp in jars for up to a year, or store it in the fridge for three months. The pulp is out-of-this-world for use in desserts or as a topping for yogurt, which is what we’ll talk about next.

Recipes and Cooking Ideas

Oranges are often in the spotlight when it comes to high vitamin C content, but persimmons (both Asian and American) actually contain more of this nutrient than citrus fruits.

One fruit contains about 66 milligrams of vitamin C, while a mandarin orange contains just under 27 milligrams.

Remember Jerry Lehman, who worked so hard in his lifetime to create commercially viable persimmons? He shared his family recipe for persimmon pudding over at Farm Flavor.

I can tell you from experience that it’s well worth whipping up. It’s rich, dense, and mildly sweet with the fruity spice of the persimmon front and center.

You can also turn the pulp into a tasty fruit leather. To make it, lay plastic wrap on a cookie sheet and spread a thin layer of pulp over the plastic. Put it in the oven at the lowest setting possible.

Let it bake in the oven for a few hours until it reaches the consistency you like. My sister and I used to fight over whether it’s best slightly gooey, like taffy, or crispy and dry, like potato chips.

The best part of the process is testing as you try to figure out the answer to this.

Try using the pulp in breads, cocktails, cookies, cakes, and as a topping for ice cream.

Quick Reference Growing Guide

American Persimmons Are Finally Getting Their Due

Many fruit trees require careful pruning and regular spraying if you want a robust harvest, but American persimmons aren’t nearly so much work.

You don’t even have to harvest the fruits. Just lay out a tarp and let the bounty come to you.

I realize that a fruit that requires that you grow it yourself if you want a taste probably won’t ever be as popular as one that you can buy practically anywhere, but I think that just makes them all the more special.

Are you growing American persimmons? Let us know in the comments section below, and share your tips with the community!

And for more information about growing fruit trees in your garden, check out these guides next:

It’s heartbreaking when your turnip plants look perfectly healthy above ground, but underground, something sinister is happening.

You have an image in your mind of the picture-perfect roots that you’re about to dig up, after all those weeks of working and waiting.

You can already imagine the earthy aroma as you pull the roasted vegetables out of the oven.

But when you lift your prize out of the ground, the darn things are split or rotting!

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What went wrong?

Turnips can crack, split, or rot for many reasons, from disease to problems with irrigation or nutrition issues.

In some cases, if you’re lucky, you’ll notice some indication above ground that something is amiss, and you can take steps to remedy it before harvest.

Other times, all will appear well when you look at the leaves and stems, and you won’t know that bad things are happening underground until it’s too late.

This guide will arm you with the knowledge of what to look for and how to prevent many potential issues that can cause problems with your crop.

Here’s what we’ll address:

A Short Tutorial on Turnips

Before we jump in, keep this in mind:

If you keep your plants evenly watered, make sure they have adequate air circulation, and observe good gardening practices like testing your soil and rotating your crops, this will go a long way toward avoiding all of the issues we’ll be discussing.

How’s that for motivation for being a responsible gardener?

If you haven’t read our guide to growing turnips yet, now is an excellent time to check it out.

Here’s a quick rundown of the basics:

Turnips, Brassica rapa subsp. rapa, are suitable for growing in gardens in USDA Hardiness Zones 2-9. They prefer cool weather, which is why they’re usually grown in the spring or fall, or as a winter crop in warmer areas.

These root crops need well-draining, loose, nutrient-rich soil to thrive. They also require consistent, even moisture.

If you leave your turnips in the ground too long, you leave them open to various risks that could result in cracking, so pull them as soon as they’re ready.

Harvest time will vary, depending on the variety you’re growing, but most cultivars mature in 30 to 60 days.

Check your seed packet and make a note in your gardening journal of the expected harvest date.

Why Your Turnips Are Cracking

First up, we’ll cover various diseases that can cause problems with your harvest.

Next, we’ll address environmental conditions and improper gardening practices that can cause physiological problems in your crop like cracking, splitting, and rotting.

Disease

Several diseases can cause your turnip harvest to crack and rot.

Whether fungal or bacterial, or caused by water molds, prevention is your best bet to keep these problems out of your veggie patch.

You can learn more about the common diseases that affect turnip crops in this guide.

Anthracnose

Anthracnose is a disease caused by the fungus Colletotrichum higginsianum. The good news is that you can usually see the disease progressing on the leaves of your turnip plants before it causes damage to the roots.

It first appears as small, circular lesions on the foliage that look dry and brown. Later, similar lesions start forming underground on the roots as well.

When you pull them up, the roots will have dry, sunken areas that are discolored and cracked.

This disease spreads in warm, moist weather, so it’s usually more of a problem for spring growers, or early in the fall planting season. It may be spread through infected seed, weeds, and garden debris.

To prevent this disease, be sure to purchase disease-free seed from a reputable source, water only at the base of plants, and keep the garden free of weeds and plant debris.

Proper spacing also goes a long way towards prevention. If necessary, trim some of the leaves from each plant to improve air circulation.

You don’t need to take a lot, just a few so they aren’t crowded. Don’t worry, a bit of pruning won’t impact your harvest, and turnip greens are delicious and nutritious!

Bonide Copper Fungicide

If you catch an infection quickly, you can treat Anthracnose with a copper fungicide like this one from Bonide, which you can find at Arbico Organics.

Spray the plant’s leaves every week until harvest time.

Don’t spray the day before you plan to harvest if you intend to eat the leaves, and never mix copper fungicides with other products.

Bacterial Soft Rot

Bacterial soft rot is caused by Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum bacteria.

If it infects the roots, it will cause mushy, water-soaked spots to form on your crops, rendering them inedible. Yuck!

How do you know if your turnips are infected with soft rot? You’ll notice the leaves and stems starting to appear water-soaked and turning mushy, and the rotting spots will usually smell bad.

Should I get a little more specific? Unsurprisingly, the foliage will smell like rotting vegetables that you’ve left in your refrigerator’s back corner for far too long.

The bacteria can survive in the soil and on plant debris, making it hard to control this disease once it sets in, and there’s no effective treatment for it.

To prevent a recurrence in future crops, maintain good air circulation by spacing seeds or transplants as recommended, and pruning away some of the foliage as needed, as described above.

Irrigate at the ground level rather than sprinkling the foliage, and clean your tools with a 1:10 mixture of bleach and water in between uses.

If you notice symptoms of this disease, pull the plants and destroy them. Don’t plant anything in the Brassica family in that area for at least three years.

Black Rot

Black rot is a serious disease caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris subsp. campestris. If the name alone doesn’t strike fear into your heart, just wait: there’s more.

Black rot spreads incredibly easily, and the bacteria that cause it can survive for years on buried plant material. By the time you realize your plants have it, they could already be toast.

If your plants are infected, as the name suggests, this disease can cause your turnips to rot away underground, and you won’t get to enjoy any of the fruits of your labor.

To learn how to identify, prevent, and deal with this problem, check out our complete guide to turnip black rot.

Downy Mildew

Downy mildew loves the type of environmental conditions that are common in many areas in the fall, which also happens to be an ideal time to grow turnips.

When moisture levels are high and the weather is cool, that’s when Peronspora parastica, the water mold or oomycete that causes this disease, can take hold.

Symptoms usually start on the lower leaves, where you’ll see yellow spots that may turn brown and expand. Later, you’ll observe “downy” white moldy mats on the foliage. Eventually, the affected leaves will wither and die back.

In severe cases, the disease can spread to the crown and infect the roots, causing them to turn brown or black and develop cracks.

Sometimes, you may not even notice that your harvest is infected until the roots deteriorate in storage.

Brown Heart/Hollow Heart

A boron deficiency isn’t as common in the garden as some other issues you might come across, but if your soil is overly acidic or alkaline, sandy with insufficient amendments of organic matter, or overly dry, this may be the culprit.

While the foliage above ground will often appear healthy, it may sometimes be stunted or thick, or leaves may turn yellow or appear otherwise discolored.

Cracking and rotting in this case typically occurs internally, and this condition is also known as hollow heart. You probably won’t notice it until after you’ve pulled up your turnips and started prepping them in the kitchen.

Excessive Heat

Some may like it hot, but turnips do not. If the air temperatures start to crawl above 75°F, you run the risk of harvesting roots that have become woody and cracked.

While hot weather may lead to stunted growth and a woody texture in your roots, it may also cause them to grow unusually fast, which can lead to cracking.

Beyond the weather itself, a failure to carefully attend to the needs of your crops may lead to cracking.

Following up a heatwave by pouring on the water can cause the roots to take up too much too quickly, and they crack or split as a result (see more on this below in the section on Water Problems).

There isn’t a lot you can do to control the weather. But you can protect your plants, and provide supplemental irrigation.

If you have a brief warm spell, try putting a shade cloth over your plants to keep the temperature down a little. Mulching around your plants can also help to protect them from the heat and retain moisture in the soil.

Watering deeply and consistently is key to growing healthy root crops. Don’t wait to water until the soil is completely dried out, and keep an eye on the weather forecast so you can anticipate your plants’ needs.

If you’re planting your crop in the fall and you regularly run into warmer than expected temperatures early in the season, try starting your plants indoors next year, and wait to transplant them outside until summer has officially sung its last hurrah.

As a root crop, transplanting turnips isn’t ideal. But neither are woody and cracked roots.

It might be worth the risk to transplant them as seedlings rather than planting seeds directly in the ground.

To make the transition easier, plant seedlings indoors in peat pots and harden them off for at least a week before transplanting them out into the garden, right in their biodegradable containers.

Water Problems

This is, by far, the most common reason for cracked roots.

Just as they might incur damage if they’re too hot and dry, if turnip plants get a sudden surge of water thanks to a springtime downpour or strong autumn storm, they’re likely to take up this water too quickly, which can lead to cracking.

It’s not such a problem if your plants have been evenly watered and then they get hit by a hard rain. But if your turnips have gone through a bit of a dry spell and then they’re suddenly flooded, this may cause them to crack.

The best practice here is to keep your turnips moist but not waterlogged, and avoid letting the soil dry out. They need regular, consistent water, and the soil should always feel like a well-wrung out sponge.

All Is Not Lost!

A cracked turnip isn’t necessarily inedible. Use your judgment, but if the root looks otherwise fine, go ahead and dig in.

However, if you see any mold or rot, it’s probably best to toss it out.

The next step is to take a deep breath and don’t let yourself become discouraged! Problems hit every gardener now and then. You’re working with living organisms, and everything isn’t to go right all the time.

If you’ve encountered problems with cracked roots, please share your questions and stories in the comments below. We’d love to hear what you discovered, and what worked for you!

If you want to learn more about growing turnips in your garden, check out these guides next:

If you’re the adventurous foodie type, broccolini might be something you’ve not only heard of, but cooked at home or eaten in a restaurant.

But what about the similarly named broccoli rabe, also known as rapini? Are these two vegetables the same thing?

Ready for a quick and simple answer? No, they’re not!

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We’re going to get up close and personal and learn the difference between these two veggies – and look at their origins, growing conditions, flavor, and uses in the kitchen.

Broccolini

Although sometimes called “baby broccoli,” broccolini is not simply an immature version of broccoli.

While it’s leaves look an awful lot like those of broccoli, its stems are longer and thinner, and its florets are smaller, looser, and more open.

In fact, this vegetable is part broccoli Brassica oleracea var. italica – but only part.

The other half of its parentage comes from a lesser-known Brassicaceae family relative, Chinese kale, B. oleracea var. alboglabra.

Origins

This hybrid veggie was bred by the Sakata Seed Company, a Japanese seed purveyor.

When Sakata first cultivated this new creation, they tried marketing it under the cultivar name ‘Aspabroc,’ alluding to the slightly asparagus-like taste and texture of its stems.

When ‘Aspabroc’ didn’t make a big hit in the US, Sakata partnered with the Mann Packing Company in California to remarket this vegetable. Under its new name, broccolini, sales took off.

In the Garden

This brassica grows best in a cool season vegetable garden with full sun and regular water.

Compared to its broccoli parent, however, this hybrid is less cold hardy, and less tolerant of temperature extremes, but it’s a bit more heat tolerant.

Plants will come to maturity, and be ready for harvest in 50-56 days.

You can learn more about growing this gourmet veggie in our dedicated broccolini growing guide.

And if you are a seed saver, don’t forget that this plant is a hybrid, so any seeds saved from these plants won’t sow true.

‘Aspabroc’ Broccolini

To try growing this vegetable from seed in your own garden, you can find packs of 25 seeds of the ‘Aspabroc’ F1 hybrid cultivar at Amazon.

Flavor

When it comes to flavor, broccolini’s taste is reminiscent of its heritage, thus its nickname “baby broccoli.”

Different growing conditions will make for some variation in taste, but generally this veggie tastes sweeter and milder than broccoli and can have a taste faintly reminiscent of asparagus.

In the Kitchen

I find broccolini a breeze to handle in the kitchen since you don’t have to worry about cutting up the florets. I like to trim the stems just a tad if needed, then cook the stems whole with the florets attached.

This veggie is a rare treat in all sorts of recipes. When I have it on hand, I like to keep things simple and serve it sauteed with garlic – topped with a squirt of lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil, and some sea salt.

But broccolini is also delicious roasted or grilled.

If the thought of grilling this vegetable has your taste buds clamoring, I recommend checking out this recipe on our sister site Foodal for a grilled tomato and broccolini pasta salad.

The spice-loaded balsamic dressing that tops this pasta salad makes this dish quite the flavor adventure.

Broccoli Rabe

Departing from our pursuit of broccolini, we now come to another sort of broccoli – broccoli rabe, or as it is also commonly known, rapini.

The thing is, despite its familiar looking florets and green stems, rapini isn’t a broccoli at all – and the relationship between the two is more distant than you would think.

Also known as broccoletto, or sometimes just “rabe” or “raab,” this vegetable is actually closely related to the turnip.

In fact, rapini and turnips are not only the same species, but the same subspecies: B. rapa var. rapa.

This relationship becomes apparent when you examine the plant’s leaves. Rapini leaves have toothed margins, like turnip leaves do, unlike broccoli’s smooth leaf margins.

Origins

According to Sonoma County master gardener Sandy Main, the origins of this member of the mustard family go back to either China or the Mediterranean region, both places where it is commonly eaten today.

Culinarily speaking, rapini is very much associated with southern Italian cuisine, but also the cuisines of Galicia, the autonomous community in Spain, and Portugal.

In the Garden

The growing conditions for rapini are similar to those for broccolini – full sun, regular water, in a cool season garden.

Where these two differ is in their cold and heat tolerance. Rapini is not as heat tolerant as broccolini. On the other hand, it is very cold hardy and can withstand light freezes very well.

Plants come to maturity and are ready for harvest in 40-70 days, depending on the variety.

Typically the plant is harvested before the flower buds open, when plants are 10-15 inches tall.

When you harvest, you need to cut the plants at ground level. However, if you leave a couple of leaves behind, rapini plants tend to re-sprout, providing additional harvests.

‘Spring Rapini’

And if you spare a few plants from harvesting, since this one is open-pollinated, seeds can be saved for replanting in subsequent growing seasons.

If you’re ready to try this cool season vegetable out in your garden, you can source seed packs of various sizes for the fast-growing ‘Spring Rapini’ cultivar at True Leaf Market.

Read more about growing broccoli rabe here.

Flavor

Rapini’s small, green florets may make you expect a certain familiar flavor profile, but its taste is actually more similar to turnip greens or mustard greens.

It has a nutty and bitter flavor. However, its sharp, pungent compounds can be reduced – if so desired – by blanching.

In the Kitchen

Since rapini offers you stems, leaves, and florets to work with, you have choices on how to use these.

Rapini’s small, loose florets and long thin stems can be used like broccolini, and its edible leaves can be used like turnip or mustard greens.

Raw, rapini can be turned into pesto. Cooked, it can be used in omelets, stir fries, or as a pizza topping.

If you’re ready to expand your culinary range with rapini, I recommend trying out this tasty recipe on our sister site Foodal. It combines rapini florets with pecorino cheese and red chili peppers – and tops these ingredients onto crusty slices of baguette.

Sounds like a glorious appetizer or light lunch, doesn’t it?

Now that your stomach is growling, are you ready to see a side by side breakdown of these two veggies before you head to the kitchen?

Broccolini and Broccoli Rabe Comparison Table

Stalking Your Green Veggies

Now that you’ve gotten to know broccolini’s mild florets and rapini’s pungent leaves a little better, you can proudly say you’ve made another notch on your foodie belt.

Which of these two veggies has you inspired to add it to your garden – or throw it into your wok? Let us know in the comments.

And if you’re interested in bringing other compelling flavors to your garden patch, you can learn more about growing cruciferous vegetables right here:

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Holiday parks have been a staple for decades for families planning a memorable getaway in the UK, especially as there are so many destinations available.

With beautiful UK scenery, plenty of activities to try out, and some of the best accommodations to rest after a long day of adventuring, holiday parks offer something for everyone.

Best UK holiday park destinations

If you’re looking to narrow down your location choices for your next holiday parks UK break, here are three of the best destinations to suit all of your getaway needs.

1. New Forest

Situated in the heart of the New Forest National Park, this location is for those who want to be surrounded by nature’s beauty.

Here you can escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life and transport yourself to the tranquillity of the forest.

Accommodation

You’ll find a range of accommodation choices, including traditional woodland lodges, or a modern take on camping with camping pods. You might even opt to have a hot tub in your accommodation that you can use to unwind after a long day of exploring the forest.

Activities

Perfect for nature lovers, there are plenty of activities to keep you busy. You could go on a guided forest walk, or cycle along some of the best scenic trails. Many of the options here accommodate your dog, so everyone can enjoy a woodland retreat.

Entertainment

With family-friendly shows and live music hosted at your chosen holiday park, you’ll never run out of options. And for a more chilled night, you can head to a local restaurant to soak up the views even more.

Lincolnshire

This county offers plenty of fun for the whole family, and being situated near some stunning lakes, there are plenty of recreational activities to try while you’re here.

Accommodation

You can step right from your stylish caravan into the beautiful scenery that surrounds you, or be even closer to nature on a traditional camping site.

Activities

Due to the array of lakes, both at your holiday park and surrounding areas, there are plenty of activities to make the most of the water. With fishing, wakeboarding, swimming, and waterskiing just some of the options, you’re truly spoilt for choice.

Entertainment

Your child could meet some of their new favourite characters on the family stage at your holiday park, or wind down at the outdoor cinema. And with plenty of bars and restaurants on-site, there’s a food and drinks option for everyone.

Isle of Wight

Staying in the Isle of Wight will provide everything you need to make the most of your seaside getaway.

Accommodation

Most of your accommodation options will provide beautiful sea views. Whether you’re staying in a caravan or a lodge, you can wake up to beach vibes every morning.

Activities

Staying by the beach means you have everything you need right on your doorstep. Whether you want to swim in the sea, build sandcastles, or just sit back and enjoy the views, there’s something for every member of the family. You can also take walks into the charming towns to explore everything else that the Isle of Wight has to offer.

Entertainment

In addition to the usual restaurants and live shows, you can also see what seasonal events are on during your holiday. As we’re getting closer to Halloween, there may be spooky activities to try at your holiday park, including pumpkin carving!

With just three of the best UK holiday park destinations to visit for your next break and so many reasons to explore them, which one do you fancy visiting?

Propagating lipstick plants is a fun and cost-effective way to expand your collection.

It’s also surprisingly easy to do, and in this post I’m going to show you how to multiply Aeschynanthus by rooting the cuttings in water or soil, with step-by-step instructions.

I’ll explain the best time to propagate your lipstick plant, provide a list of the supplies you’ll need, and share my tips for success.

Lipstick Plant Propagation Methods

There are three methods you can use to propagate a lipstick plant – divide it, grow it from seeds, or take cuttings.

Since rooting the stems is the easiest option, it’s the method I’ll focus on in this guide. But first, let’s take a closer look at each of the three techniques.

The methods I’ll describe here will work for all varieties, from the curly leaf ones to the beautiful Black Pagoda lipstick plant.

From Cuttings

Propagating lipstick plants from cuttings is the most popular method, and the one I recommend. That’s because it’s the simplest way to turn one plant into several.

It involves taking stem cuttings from your mature plant, and then rooting them in either water or soil.

Roots develop from the leaf nodes in as little as 4-6 weeks, and should be ready to pot up within a few months.

While it is possible to propagate Aeschynanthus from a single leaf, it takes a long time and is not always successful. But it’s fun to experiment.

By Division

Another way to propagate Aeschynanthus is by division, which involves splitting a mature plant into several smaller sections.

Each section will have its own root system, which you can then pot up in separate containers or transplant into your garden.

This is the quickest way to get a new plant, but is more labor intensive, since you have to remove the mother from its pot or dig it up.

From Seeds

The final way to propagate lipstick plants is by growing them from seeds, which you can either buy or collect yourself.

While germination is usually fairly fast, this is still the slowest of the three options.

Related Post: How To Care For A Lipstick Plant (Aeschynanthus radicans)

When To Propagate Aeschynanthus

You can propagate lipstick plant cuttings at any time during the year, but it can take longer to root them in the colder months.

The best time to take cuttings is in the spring or summer when it’s warm and humid outside, and the plant is actively growing.

If you want to divide yours, I recommend doing it in the spring so that your new babies have plenty of time to become established over the summer.

Propagating Lipstick Plant From Stem Cuttings

Since rooting stem cuttings is the easiest and most popular way to propagate Aeschynanthus, this is the method I’m going to describe step by step.

First, let’s look at how to take and prepare your clippings so that you achieve the best results.

How To Take Lipstick Plant Cuttings

Using a sterilized pair of precision pruners or micro-snips, take a cutting around 4 to 6 inches long from a mature, healthy stem.

Be sure to make your cut just above a set of leaves, at a 45-degree angle. Your clipping should contain several sets of leaves.

Preparing Lipstick Plant Cuttings For Propagation

To prepare your clippings, remove the lower leaves to expose a few inches of the stem and 1-2 sets of nodes.

You can do this by pinching or snipping them off, but don’t remove them all, you should keep a few at the top.

Propagating Lipstick Plant From A Leaf

If you want to try multiplying your lipstick plant from a single leaf rather than a stem, it is possible.

But it takes a long time to get a mature plant that way, and the chance of success is lower.

If you choose this method, use a sterilized pair of precision pruners or micro-snips to clip off a healthy leaf and its stem.

You can then follow the instructions for propagating cuttings below, as they are the same for rooting the leaves.

Tips For Propagating Lipstick Plant In Water Or Soil

Now that you have prepared your Aeschynanthus cuttings for propagation, it’s time to root them in either water or soil.

Be sure to work quickly, because if they sit too long your cuttings may become shriveled or dried out, which means they may not root.

Propagating Lipstick Plant In Water

To propagate your lipstick plant cuttings in water, submerge them in a vase so that all of the exposed nodes are covered but none of the leaves are.

I like to use a clear vase for this, because it’s easy and fun to watch the roots develop.

Place the vase in a bright, warm spot and check it often to make sure the water remains clean and topped off.

You’ll soon see the roots begin to develop. Once they’re around 3 to 4 inches long, it’s time to pot them up.

Though this method is quick and easy, the main disadvantage is that the roots tend to be weaker and thinner than they are when you propagate them in soil.

This can make your cuttings vulnerable to severe transplant shock. This is why I recommend potting them up as soon as the roots are long enough.

Rooting Lipstick Plant Cuttings In Soil

This isn’t the most popular method for propagating lipstick plants because it’s a little more complicated and you’ll need a few more things to do it.

But it has the advantage of producing stronger, more robust roots that will stand a better chance of survival once they’re potted up.

For the best success, dust the stems with rooting hormone then plant them 3 to 4 inches deep in fresh potting soil or a lightweight medium.

Close the lid on your propagation chamber (if you’re using one), or tent a plastic bag over the pot. Place the container in a warm spot with lots of bright, indirect light, and keep the soil moist.

Related Post: How To Make A Propagation Box For Rooting Cuttings

How Long Does It Take To Root Lipstick Plant Cuttings?

When conditions are right, it takes around 4 to 6 weeks for lipstick plant cuttings to root.

If you used a clear vase of water, you can easily see when they are ready for potting up – generally around 2 months.

To tell when they’re rooted in soil, look for new leaves on top. You can also gently tug the cuttings – they shouldn’t move if they have roots.

Why Won’t My Lipstick Plant Propagate?

There are a few different things that could stop or hinder your lipstick plant from propagating.

First, consider the time of year. It will take longer or may not work at all in the colder months when the plant’s growth naturally slows down.

They need warmth and bright light to form roots. So use a heat mat if your house is very cool, and add a grow light if there’s not enough indirect sun.

Make sure that the nodes on the stem are completely submerged if you’re propagating them in water, or that the soil stays evenly moist.

Related Post: Plant Propagation: A Detailed Guide For Beginners

How To Care For Aeschynanthus Cuttings

Your lipstick plant cuttings will require a combination of warmth, light, and moisture to survive during propagation.

Place them in a warm, bright part of your home, away from direct sunlight. In a vase, the water level should never drop below the exposed nodes or baby roots.

If you’re propagating them in soil, ensure the medium never dries out. Keep the container covered to maintain the moisture level, or mist them daily.

Potting Up Rooted Lipstick Plant Cuttings

Once your clippings have developed roots around 3 to 4 inches long or you see new growth on the top, it’s time to pot them up.

Fill a clean container with fresh, pre-moistened potting soil. Bury the stems at the same depth they were in the water or growing medium, making sure the roots are fully covered.

Gently press the soil around them, then water lightly. Finally, return them to a warm location with plenty of indirect light and allow your babies to settle into their new homes.

Related Post: The Best Plant Propagation Tools, Equipment & Supplies

FAQs

Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about propagating lipstick plants. If yours isn’t listed, please add in the comments section below.

Can you grow lipstick plant from a cutting?

Yes, you can grow lipstick plant from a cutting by rooting it in either water or soil. It’s easy to do, even if you’re a beginner.

Can you grow a lipstick plant from a leaf?

It is possible to grow a lipstick plant from a leaf, but it is more difficult than stem cuttings. The success rate is usually much lower, since a single leaf may not grow into a full sized plant, and if it does it will take a very long time.

Is lipstick plant easy to propagate?

Yes, lipstick plants are very easy to propagate, even if you have little experience. The main methods are rooting cuttings in soil or water, dividing them, or starting them from seed.

Can you root lipstick plants in water?

Yes, you can root lipstick plants in water, and it’s my favorite method to use. It’s very easy and fun to watch the roots forming, especially if you use a clear vase.

More About Plant Propagation

Share your tips for how to propagate lipstick plant in the comments section below.

Step By Step Instructions

How To Propagate Lipstick Plant

Learn how to propagate your lipstick plant, with these step-by-step instructions. Discover my tips for success, including how to take and prepare your cuttings, and how to tell when it’s time to pot them up.

Prep Time
15 minutes

Active Time
5 minutes

Additional Time
30 days

Total Time
30 days

Difficulty
Easy

Instructions

1. Take the cutting – Use sterilized precision pruners or micro-snip pruners to take a cutting around 4 to 6 inches long from a mature, healthy stem. Cut just above a set of leaves, at a 45-degree angle.
2. Prepare the stems – Pinch or snip off the lower leaves to expose 2-3 inches of the stem and at least 1 set of nodes. Don’t remove all of the leaves, keep a few on top.
3. Submerge the cutting – Fill a clear vase with tepid water and place the cuttings inside, making sure the leaf nodes are submerged but none of the leaves are.
4. Place somewhere warm and bright – Move the vase to a warm and bright location. Avoid direct sunlight, because it may burn the leaves or shrivel the cuttings. Use a grow light if your home is dark.
5. Keep the water clean and filled – If the water begins to look murky, rinse out the vase and refill it with fresh, tepid water. Top off the level as the water evaporates so it always stays above the nodes.
6. Watch for roots – Roots should begin to form within 4 to 6 weeks. Once they’re 3 to 4 inches long, they’re ready to pot up.
7. Pot up the rooted cuttings – Fill a 4” container with fresh potting soil and bury the stems at the same depth they were in the water, making sure all of the roots are covered. Gently press the soil around them, water lightly, and place in a warm location with plenty of indirect light.

Notes

• Be sure to place your lipstick plant cuttings into the water as quickly as you can so they don’t have a chance to dry out, or they may not root.
• Once your lipstick plant cuttings have 3-4” long roots, pot them into fresh soil. Leaving them in water for too long can weaken the roots and cause severe transplant shock.
• If you prefer to propagate your lipstick plant in soil rather than water, be sure to dust the stems with rooting hormone and use a lightweight medium. This method may take longer, but it is more likely to result in hardier roots that transplant successfully.

A single word on a begonia label might cause you to miss out on a beautiful bargain: annual.

Most begonias are commonly considered annuals and new starts may even have a tag that describes them as annuals at box stores or local nurseries.

But they are actually perennials grown as annuals. If you keep that in mind and tend to them properly, they’re a reliable source of free bedding plants for future seasons and indoor color in winter.

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Many gardeners trash those Mother’s Day hanging baskets or mass plantings of wax begonias at season’s end at the same time when they’re pulling up zinnias and other summer annuals.

But you know what? You don’t have to.

You may be gardening outside of the areas where begonias are hardy: USDA Zones 9 to 11 for tuberous (B. x tuberhybrida) types, and Zones 10 to 11 for wax (B. x semperflorens-cultorum) varieties.

But you can still bring plants or tubers indoors for the winter in colder areas. Tend them carefully for a few months and you’ll have bedding plants or tuberous starts ready to go in the ground in the spring, with no need to buy new ones.

Another species, the tuberous B. grandis, or hardy begonia, grows as a perennial in USDA Hardiness Zones 6 to 9, so gardeners in parts of the Midwest, Southeast, and Northwest are able to keep this type alive in winter in the ground or in a container.

Winterizing isn’t ordinarily as much of an issue for the rhizomatous and rex begonias grown as houseplants, though you might occasionally see them in the perennial landscape in Florida or other parts of Zones 10 to 11.

You can find more information on caring for these in our guide to growing rex begonias indoors.

In this guide, I’ll focus on winterizing methods for wax, hardy, and tuberous begonias grown outdoors. Here’s what to expect:

Planning for the Cold

Don’t think of winterizing these plants as an emergency response.

It’s something you plan as you design your garden and plant, not a last-minute race to drag pots into the garage and throw sheets around when snow is forecast that night.

One critical part of this planning is knowing the USDA Hardiness Zone for your growing area and whether the begonia you’re growing is hardy there.

The Begoniaceae family includes dramatic tropical beauties, sweet little bedding plants for cottage gardens, and hundreds of other diverse ornamentals.

If you live in a warmer climate in Zones 9 to 12, you may be able to grow at least one type outdoors year-round in a garden bed or container.

But those who live in Zones 6 to 8 must plan either to grow a hardy begonia, lift tubers to store, or dig up plants with fibrous roots from the ground to overwinter in containers indoors.

Even hardy begonias can’t withstand winter weather in Zones 3 to 5, so gardeners in those areas must opt for growing these plants as annuals, and then bringing the tubers or plants indoors for the coldest months.

Be sure to identify your selected variety early on to meet its specific needs for winter.

It’s also important to recognize dormancy habits so you don’t think a living plant has died on you, or a malingering plant is healthy when it’s not.

Tuberous begonias, for example, go dormant in winter even indoors, and drop their leaves and die back. Wax begonias have fibrous roots and may do so well indoors that they not only keep their leaves or grow new ones, they continue to bloom.

Hardy begonias planted outdoors will die back naturally in Zones 6 to 9. If you plan to overwinter them in pots in colder regions, you’ll need to trim the stems back yourself.

Plan accommodations for any that must overwinter indoors well ahead of time.

There’s no point saving these ornamentals for next year if you can’t provide the proper humidity, light, water, and temperature in your home or any outbuilding where you plan to stash them until next spring.

Prepare a spot with optimal exposure ahead of bringing any live wax begonia plants inside.

You’d be amazed at how few places you might have available for a plant that requires decent humidity and bright, indirect light, so start looking before you actually need that ideal location.

You’ll also need to winterize before it’s too chilly for your chosen type, so note when such weather typically arrives in your gardening journal or set a text reminder on your cell phone.

Also leave time to schedule an inspection of any plants you plan to protect for the winter. Look for pests like spider mites, mealybugs, or scale, and evidence of ailments including root rot.

If a pest population or damage is discovered but it’s minimal, eliminate the problem before you make the effort to winterize.

When pests are proliferating or plants are unhealthy, destroy those specimens, skip winterizing, and find new options for the next growing season.

Once you’re done planning, here’s how to complete winter preparations for the various types of begonias:

Bring Wax Begonias Inside for Winter

Old-school but ever-popular wax begonias are one of the easiest mass-planting flowers to overwinter and grow again next year.

They’ll grow as perennials in Zones 10 and 11, but those gardeners in Zones 3 to 9 must provide them with a winter home if they’re expected to survive weather colder than about 60°F.

Prepare for the transition by reducing irrigation by half starting in late summer. By late August, cease fertilizing.

Rake plant debris from the garden bed or pick dead leaves and weeds from container-grown plants. The last thing you want is to bring bugs or fungal diseases inside with the plants.

To ease their transition to a new indoor environment, pinch the stems back to a height of about three inches. Some old-timers also pinch all the flowers in late summer, but I’ve found it’s enough to deadhead any that have turned brown.

Container-grown outdoor plants can move inside in their outdoor pots if they’re not too heavy and you have somewhere to set or hang them. Ensure they have drainage holes at the bottom and a saucer to catch excess water.

If they’re growing in a garden plot or landscape, you’ll want to transplant them into lightweight, shallow pots filled with a sterile, well-draining potting mix.

Remember, while they need humus-rich soil to aid in drainage, they don’t need fertilizer during the winter, so avoid premade mixes that contain time-release fertilizer.

Dig up the plants before you anticipate temperatures below 60°F to arrive, and repot them at the same level they were in the ground, backfilling with fresh potting mix.

When they’re indoors, the plants require plentiful indirect light. Direct sunlight will scorch the leaves, so avoid that.

Water sparingly in winter, only when the soil is dry to about an inch and a half below the surface, which you can check with your pinky or a soil moisture meter. If in doubt, skip the water since these ornamentals are particularly prone to root rot from overwatering.

During the winter, keep the plants healthy by consistently deadheading the blooms, removing dead leaves with a sharp, clean paring knife, and immediately removing any plant debris from the soil surface to discourage disease.

These ornamentals don’t like transitions (I can relate!), so ease their stress by introducing them to new conditions gradually.

Start with a few hours a day in the new location, whether moving the plant to a warmer indoor spot in autumn or a cooler outdoor spot in spring.

Add an hour or two per day until a week has passed. By then, your begonia should be acclimated.

Learn more tips for growing and caring for wax begonias in our guide.

Save Tuberous Begonias for Next Year

Their green foliage is so sprightly and those double-bloom rosettes so pretty that of course, we’d all like to bring B. x tuberhybrida inside for the winter.

But this variety would only have a short life as a blooming houseplant in cold weather. It goes dormant as the days get shorter, whether it’s out in the winter weather or not.

As a budget-stretching alternative, dig up and store the tubers during the cold months. Then use them to start new plants you can transplant outside in spring.

To prepare tuberous begonias for winter storage, reduce water to a quarter of the usual amount and stop fertilizing in late summer, about eight weeks ahead of the average first frost date in your area.

Plan to lift the tubers a few days after the first frost in your area but well before the ground freezes. Be sure to remove dead leaves, weeds, and any other plant debris so you won’t be inviting fungi or bugs to overwinter with the tubers.

Use a trowel or small spade to dig up the plants, tubers and all.

Gently shake all but a thin coating of soil loose from each tuber.

Leave the stems attached, but trim them to be an inch long.

Let the tubers “cure” in a cool, dry space like a shed or garage for a couple of weeks. This allows them to dry, so they’ll stay fresh in storage. You’ll know that they’re ready when the remaining stem stubs are loose and dry.

Then dust off any soil that is still holding on with a fine paintbrush or clean toothbrush, and nestle the cured tubers into a couple of inches of sawdust or a peat alternative in a cardboard container. I like to use shoeboxes, or something of a similar size.

Vermiculite

Organic vermiculite is my top pick for indoor gardening projects like this one. Natural horticultural vermiculite is available in eight-quart bags from Burpee.

Cover the tubers with another inch of sawdust or vermiculite and stow the box somewhere that’s reliably 40 to 50°F.

They should be fine until you are ready to replant them outdoors or start new plants from the tubers indoors. But do check first to make sure the tubers have not become overly moist, mushy, or odiferous, and destroy any that are.

Some folks like to use a separate small paper bag to contain each tuber, so if one goes bad it won’t affect the others and can be readily disposed of.

To learn more about propagating tuberous begonias from tubers, see our guide.

Prepare Hardy Begonias for Freezing Weather

Hardy begonias offer gardeners in Zones 6 to 9 a chance to grow these plants outdoors year-round.

They are hardy down to about 23°F, though a protective mulch may be needed to help them through the winter in the coldest Zones within their range.

The heart-shaped leaves are lovely even without blooms, but they also produce clusters of fragrant flowers in white or shades of pink.

They have a lovely trait of blooming from midsummer through late fall and are a hit with pollinators.

As the days get shorter in autumn, they begin to go dormant, with the first sign being yellowing leaves.

The cool thing about these is that during dormancy, they form pea-sized bulbils that will drop to available soil and sprout into new hardy begonia plants come spring.

If you like, you can harvest these bulbils yourself and plant them where you’d like to see more begonias.

Hardy begonias have tuberous roots but the overwintering process is not the same as you’d use for less cold-resistant tuberous types.

To help them thrive in dormancy, make sure to weed around the plants, deadhead spent flowers, and apply a heavy layer of mulch to any you are keeping in the ground in the weeks leading up to the average first frost date in your area.

You can also dig them up to overwinter in containers in a frost-free shed or garage, or anywhere that’s cool but not freezing.

Cut the stems to stand four inches above the tuberous roots first, and lift them from the soil the same way you would wax begonias.

Note you won’t be growing these as houseplants inside in the winter. They won’t bloom indoors when the days are short and will still go dormant.

If you’re interested in begonias that do grow well as houseplants, see our guide. (coming soon!)

Container-grown B. grandis can simply be moved directly into your chosen cool-but-not-freezing spot after the first frost, but be sure to mulch the plants heavily first.

Come spring, out they go, but only after a week or so of hardening off in their pots.

A Winter Break with Begonias

I’m a fan of keeping begonias alive over the winter so they’ll grow again next season, and not only because I love a bargain.

Tending these flowers all year long gives me more opportunities to grub around in the dirt, and I’m delighted to have a piece of the garden kept inside under my watchful eye in the gloomy months.

Have you had the pleasure of protecting a begonia from the cold so it could survive the winter? We’d appreciate reading about your experience or tips in the comments section below.

We’ll also respond ASAP if you have a question about overwintering these varieties that you didn’t see covered in this guide.

For additional strategies for winterizing flowers, read these articles next:

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Organic coffee has recently acquired greater prominence, and for good reason. This brew provides a lot of benefits beyond your morning caffeine fix.

From ecological sustainability to better health, natural coffee is a choice that tastes great and gives that good feeling. In this article, we’ll explore some of the great benefits of organic coffee.

Organic coffee and its advantages 

Here are a few of the numerous benefits of organic coffee:

1. Environmental sustainability

One of the essential benefits of organic espresso is its positive effect on the climate. Natural espresso is grown without manufactured pesticides, fertilisers, or herbicides. This avoids unsafe chemicals being released into the water and soil, which in turn helps to limit pollution and safeguard ecosystems. 

Moreover, natural coffee farms utilise sustainable cultivating practices, such as shade-grown cultivation, which preserves regular habitats and biodiversity.

2. Health benefits of organic coffee

Natural coffee is cultivated without synthetic compounds, which can leave deposits on coffee beans. You can decrease your exposure to these possibly unsafe substances by choosing organic.

Also, natural coffee is, in many cases, fresher, as it is commonly roasted in more modest clusters. 

Fresher coffee beans retain more natural antioxidants, which have several health benefits. These cell reinforcements are useful for combatting inflammation, reducing the risk of chronic illnesses, and promoting overall health.

3. Superior taste

A lot of fans testify to the unrivaled taste of organic coffee. Natural espresso beans are frequently grown at higher heights in soil rich in nutrients, which can improve their flavour profile.

The absence of synthetic contaminations likewise permits the genuine essence of the coffee to radiate, bringing about a cleaner, more tasty cup.

4. Supporting small farmers

Most organic coffee is produced by small-scale farmers who adhere to sustainable and ethical farming practices. By purchasing organic coffee, you support these local farmers and their communities. Fairtrade certifications are often associated with organic coffee, ensuring farmers receive fair labour wages.

5. Reduced exposure to GMOs

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are a concern in modern agriculture. Organic coffee is typically non-GMO, offering peace of mind to consumers who wish to avoid genetically modified products. This can be particularly important for individuals who are sensitive to GMOs or have ethical concerns about their use. They are considered the selection of coffee beans.

6. Decrease risk of mycotoxins

Mycotoxins are unsafe compounds delivered by moulds that can grow on espresso beans, particularly in muggy conditions. Natural coffee isn’t too susceptible to mycotoxin pollution since it’s commonly grown in environments less conducive to mould development. This can lessen the risk of mycotoxin exposure, which has been linked to a range of health problems.

Conclusion 

Organic coffee provides many benefits that are more than just an enjoyable drink. From ecological sustainability and incredible taste to its health benefits, choosing natural coffee can positively influence your wellbeing and that of the earth.

The next time you go for your morning blend, consider making it organic for a better, more delectable, and sustainable coffee experience.

Kale is really a must for the backyard vegetable garden. Growing this veggie at home makes it easy to have a nutrient-dense green on hand, right outside your back door.

To make sure you have a steady supply of this cruciferous vegetable, you’ll want to grow it in the best conditions – which, of course, includes knowing how much sun to provide it with.

As with most of the important questions in life, this one doesn’t have an easy answer. How much sun this member of the Brassicaceae family will need will depend on your growing conditions. If you’re new to growing kale, check out our full growing guide.

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So, I’ll offer you sun recommendations for various different situations, and your efforts to grow this superfood at home should be met with success.

Here’s what I’ll cover:

Your Cool Weather Cole Crop

Kale, Brassica oleracea var. acephala, is a cool weather plant – it grows best and will produce plenty of fresh green leaves when the temperature is under 75°F.

Due to these requirements, it is typically grown in spring or fall throughout all USDA Hardiness Zones. In Zones 7-10, it will even continue growing through the winter.

When grown for a spring or fall harvest, this veggie should be placed in a full sun location. This will give it the environment it needs to produce an abundance of leaves.

You can plant it in partial shade during spring and fall, but it will likely produce smaller yields. This may be preferable if you live in a climate with hot spring or fall temperatures.

However, you might want to sacrifice some of your spring growth if you want to harvest these leafy greens during the summer months.

The Situation with Summer

Remember, this veggie is not a summer crop by nature – unless you live somewhere with relatively cool summers that stay at or around 75°F.

If that happens to be your situation, as it is for many folks living in the Pacific Northwest, go ahead and place your plants in full sun and they will happily produce leafy greens for you from spring all the way through to fall.

On the other hand, if the idea of such cool summer temperatures sounds like a wild fantasy to you, you probably live somewhere where days with highs around 100°F aren’t uncommon, like I do.

How do you keep your cool-weather plants happy when the mercury is susceptible to rising into the triple digits?

In this situation, you’ll need to plant them in part shade.

When I lived in North Carolina, I had a dozen raised beds in my small backyard that all received some shade during the hottest months – thanks to a couple of regal, fully grown willow oak and black walnut trees.

Planted throughout my raised beds, my kale thrived all summer long, with the shade from those well-established trees offering them just enough relief from the midsummer heat.

A Multi-Season Solution

One of the reasons growing kale in part shade worked well for me in Zone 7b was that in spring, those big oak and walnut trees hadn’t leafed out yet, allowing my plants to get more sun.

My plants were already nicely established by the time summer rolled around, and the trees provided them with some much needed shade from the summer heat.

This is the strategy I still adopt in order to harvest my favorite leafy greens in spring and summer – I plant them in a spot that receives full sun in spring, and partial shade in summer.

You may have a spot like this in your own garden. If so, you may want to give this method a try.

Or, you might try growing these leafy vegetables in containers.

Place the containers in a full sun location in spring, and then move them to part shade when the summer sun – and heat – reaches a peak.

If you’re growing for a fall harvest, start your containers in partial shade and move to full sun when autumn weather arrives.

Just make sure to keep them well watered, since plants dry out more quickly in containers.

Fifty Shades of Kale

Yes, there may just be fifty ways to shade your kale. My favorite way to grow it is the multi-season solution, so I can harvest it from spring through fall.

What do you think, are you ready to give this method a try? Or will you just plant your leafy greens in full sun and enjoy them during the cool seasons? Let us know in the comments.

And while you have your mind on kale, I highly recommend these other articles – I consider them required reading for successful gardening of this brassica!

Caraway, or Carum carvi, is a biennial herb that is entirely edible. It’s best known for its pungent fruit, or seed, that is used to flavor classic rye bread.

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In this guide, we’ll talk about when and how to harvest caraway seed at the peak of their flavor for consumption and future crops.

All in Good Time

C. carvi is a pretty plant, with feathery leaves and umbrella-like flowerheads made up of many tiny white or pink blossoms. It infuses a garden with a pleasant aroma and attracts beneficial insects.

In temperate zones, where caraway grows as a biennial, it matures in its second summer. In warmer climes, it grows as an annual, and matures in late spring.

The tender young leaves can be eaten fresh in salads and the roots can be consumed as you would potatoes or carrots at the end of the plant’s life cycle.

But the seed is a bit finicky when it comes to harvesting. It’s all about timing.

Cutting and Curing

Check your plant each morning, and when you see that most of the flowerheads have turned brown, it’s time to cut them off. This is the most crucial step in the harvesting process.

If you cut too soon, the fruit will be immature, lacking in oil and flavor.

If you wait too long, the fruit may shatter, or burst from the plant and land on the ground, too tiny to gather without great patience.

Some folks like to leave a good bit of stem attached, bunch the stems, put a paper bag around them, and suspend the whole bunch upside-down.

Others spread out a clean cloth and place short-stemmed flowerheads on top. The purpose of each method to allow the harvested plants time to dry out, or cure.

Choose a location for the bag or cloth that is dry and undisturbed.

After several weeks, check for dryness. If you shake the paper bag and hear rattling, or you lift a flowerhead from the cloth and fruit falls, it’s time for the next step.

Threshing

Once dry, the seed must be separated from the dry plant fibers, or chaff. This is called threshing.

Gently rub each flowerhead between your thumb and index finger to release any remaining seed.

If you’ve been working with a paper bag, now it’s time to spread the contents out onto a clean cloth.

Use a piece of cardboard to gently fan away the lighter chaff, and remove the rest carefully by hand, retaining only the two-tone brown ridged seed.

Once cured and threshed, caraway has a shelf life of up to four years in an airtight glass jar stored in a cool, dark, dry location. Use it in the kitchen, or save it to start next year’s crop.

A Labor of Love

I know you’re going to agree that separating such tiny fruit from chaff is totally worth it when you taste the robust flavor of homegrown caraway in your baked goods and savory dishes.

For a steady supply of this biennial herb, sow it annually. A jarful makes a clever hostess gift when dining at a friend’s home.

Happy harvesting!

Let us know which method you use in the comments section below!

And for more caraway plant guides, be sure to check out some of these:

Today we’re back in Carla Z. Mudry’s garden in Malvern, Pennsylvania, celebrating the blooms of the end of summer.

Azaleas (Rhododendron hybrids, Zones 6–9) are traditionally a feature of spring gardens, but new breeding, notable in the Encore series, has created forms that bloom in the spring and then rebloom in late summer, so we get a bit of spring delicacy in the late summer.

Hardy hibiscus like this are hybrids of U.S. native species such as Hibiscus moscheutos (Zones 5–9) and Hibiscus coccineus (Zones 5–9), and they end the summer by producing truly enormous flowers. As with most hibiscus, each individual bloom only lasts one day, but they are produced in great abundance and make a dramatic statement in late summer.

Hardy hibiscus come in a range of colors, from deep red to white and various pinks and bicolors in between.

New York ironweed is a towering native perennial, that, depending on the form and garden conditions, can reach as tall as 6 or 8 feet. The large clusters of small purple flowers are very attractive to many insects, including this beautiful swallowtail butterfly.

Seven-sons flower is a small tree that, unlike many trees, doesn’t bloom in spring but rather late summer. The big clusters of white flowers develop into pinkish seed heads that remain attractive a long time.

Though native to Asia, the blooms of seven-sons flower are very attractive to many of our native butterflies and other insects.

What says summer more than black-eyed Susans? So cheerful and vigorous!

Another classic end-of-summer bloom is Japanese anemone (Anemone hupehensis, Zones 4–8). It thrives in sun or partial shade and brings a great parade of delicate-looking pink flowers on vigorous plants. Some cultivars can spread a little aggressively, so choose small growing selections for small gardens.

Crocosmia is a genus of bulbs native to South Africa that have brilliant yellow, orange, or red flowers in summer. This looks like it might be the classic cultivar ‘Emily McKenzie’ (Zones 6–9).

Have a garden you’d like to share?

Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!

To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.

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For forward-thinking gardeners, stretching out the flowering season for as long as possible is a no-brainer to create borders that look good almost entirely year-round. But it takes careful planning, editing, and maintenance. And in autumn, arguably, the balance is most finely calibrated. As summer ends, a garden that remains vibrant until the first frost can be mesmerizingly beautiful, making the most of autumn’s soft, hazy light. Follow these eight seasonal pointers to keep your borders singing for as long as possible.

1. Keep deadheading.

2. Lean in to jewel colors.

3. Go big on asters.

4. Maximise structure.

Solar panels are a huge part of generating energy within your home, and roof-mounted solar panels have become increasingly popular in recent years. However, like many physical services, you often want to focus on local businesses and contractors for the best results.

Image source

Like many home improvement tasks and other larger-scope services, it can be more challenging than you might think to find a good local company. But how do you narrow down your options, especially if you are not sure where to turn first?

Explore Nearby Businesses

It is often a good idea to simply look up nearby businesses in the niche that you need. Even if none of them are exactly what you are looking for, it can still be a good way to kickstart your search. For example, you might get an idea of which services you actually need or what keywords could help you narrow down your search results.

This is also a good way to find out which businesses are close to you and how far you might need to go before you can find a suitable local business. For example, if your town does not have a solar panel specialist in it, you might need to expand your range and consider businesses in nearby cities.

Look At International Options

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when looking for this kind of work is ignoring larger companies. Unless you are specifically looking for local contractors, there is sometimes value in seeing which larger solar panel companies might be operating in your area.

For example, companies like Solarstone operate across Europe and various other parts of the world. While their site might appear in Swedish depending on the link you follow, which would make some users immediately leave, they are a well-regarded company throughout many parts of the world.

Solarstone solar panels are compatible with all common roofing materials. They fit in seamlessly as the discreet solar panels are nearly invisible to the naked eye. In that way, this makes Solarstone fully equipped to serve customers with exceptional workmanship… If they offer solcellstak (solar roof) products near you, then working with them is hardly a bad idea.

Rely on Common Sense

Services like solar panel installation are not necessarily that hard to find, but you do not just want to settle for the first option you find – or the cheapest one. Spending some time exploring the various companies you could work with might make a huge difference and help you avoid getting stuck with a contractor who does a rough job.

Sometimes it’s good to slow down and think carefully about the options you have available, even if you already think you have found the perfect solar roof service. The more options you examine and the more businesses you compare, the more likely you are to find something even better that you would have otherwise overlooked.

At the end of the day, quality comes first. No matter which company you choose or the contractor you hire, make sure that you are working with one that you can rely on.

A trellis is a utilitarian thing. Normally, vines scramble along the ground until they find something to climb on. We gardeners, always seeking to help a plant out, are smart enough to try to put something right next to the vine for it to grow on. While some gardeners stop there, we all want to make this structure as attractive as possible. Limiting factors are our budgets, engineering ability (thanks for nothing, gravity!), durability, and style.

To get the most creative outcome, loosen up your definition of a trellis. Typically, a trellis is an upright structure, taller than it is wide, with enough horizontal and vertical pieces for a vine to wrap around or onto. And what is an arbor but two parallel trellises connected across the top? And isn’t a fence just a trellis that is longer than it is tall?

A trellis is one of the easiest—and best—ways to add art to the garden. Few of us can afford the kind of sculptures that take our breath away whenever we see them in a landscape. But we can build a few trellises and make them as artful as we want. Here are some ideas that run the gamut from utilitarian to imaginative.

1. Grow up and over

Let’s not get hung up on an arbor-trellis argument. After all, an arbor is simply two trellises connected at the top. And what could be a more charming way to grow gourds or climbing fruits (maybe not watermelons, though) than on something that allows you to walk beneath them? This arbor creatively solves the space problem those area hogs pose

2./3. Go rustic or refined

As with most things, the style you choose for your trellis is yours. The more rustic option (left) is less expensive because found branches are cheaper than lumber. It is also more forgiving of mistakes. The more refined version (right) lends a certain order to a garden and gives you the opportunity to add some color. The vines have no preference, so the decision is all on you.

4. Copper can be customized

While it isn’t cheap, copper isn’t necessarily cost prohibitive. It is easy to work with (soldering is both easy to learn and often optional) and fun to design with. Anchoring it can be as easy as slipping it over some rebar stakes pounded into the ground. As it ages, it gains a wonderful patina, increasing the chances it will be the best kind of trellis: one that looks good with nothing on.

5. Fencing doesn’t have to be a fence

Wire fencing can be as versatile as copper—at much less cost. This hog wire fenc­ing is curved into an interesting shape (a light bulb? dueling question marks?), signaling a level of artistry that must be explored. The rust it has developed only makes it more interesting.

6. Squares are cool

Trellises tend to be triangular, but there is no rule about that. If calculating angles isn’t your thing, just keep it square. The unexpected shape is certain to catch the eye. Offsetting the laterals on adjacent sides will keep the trellis from looking like a mini-skyscraper or hollow apartment building.

7. It’s a classic for a reason

Bamboo (or branches) and twine are all it takes. The opening in the middle allows for air circulation and easy harvesting. Construction is simple. Build the sides first, which consist of two uprights and two horizontal crosspieces. After getting a friend to help you stand them up, lash them where you want them to cross, then add the top crossbeam. Twine running down from the top gives your vines something to climb on.

8. Make it a work of art

One way to know if you have a cool trellis is if you are reluctant to let anything climb on it at all. These split bamboo canes ensure that this vegetable garden is as ornamental as any other bed in the garden.

Great Plants

Covering your trellis

You know you have an attractive trellis if you are tempted to skip planting a vine under it altogether. But we gardeners must grow things. Here are some ideas.

‘Etoile Violette’ clematis Clematis ‘Etoile Violette, Zones 4–9	‘Crimson Cascade’ honeysuckle Lonicera sempervirens ‘Crimson Cascade’, Zones 4–9
Nasturtium Tropaeolum majus cv., annual	Trumpet vine Campsis radicans, Zones 4–9
Sugar snap pea	Scarlet runner bean
Cucumber	Malabar spinach