Category: Home & Garden

Keep Them Away

Before we jump into our list of plants that these animals tend to pass over, let’s look at how to keep them out of our gardens and properties in the first place.

Somethin’ Smells Funky

Deer have a strong sense of smell, so a common suggestion for preventing their appearance is to spread stinky stuff around your property, or near the plants you are trying to keep these ungulates away from.

I’ve known relatives to use everything from powdered garlic and onion and cayenne pepper to human hair to bottom-shelf perfumes. These natural and inexpensive chemical repellents are met with varying levels of success.

Liquid Fence Repellent Concentrate

If you want to use a stinky solution to deter the local wildlife, I recommend that you consider products intended for this purpose. The strong-smelling deterrents are sometimes vile to our own senses (in the case of products like Liquid Fence, available at Tractor Supply) and sometimes not half bad (such as Messina’s Deer Stopper, available at Amazon and Tractor Supply).

In my experience, the ones that don’t smell as bad to us are typically the most effective. They are usually sourced from natural rosemary and garlic extracts instead of rancid eggs, so they’re more pleasant to apply, too.

Messina’s Deer Stopper via Tractor Supply

Unfortunately, our hungry frenemies tend to grow accustomed to regular scents, and as time goes by, an often-applied deterrent becomes tolerable to their noses.

Deer Out Concentrate available at Amazon

I’ve had excellent luck with products like Scram (available via Home Depot), rotated with a liquid repellant such as Deer Out.

Granular Deer Scram

The solution isn’t to apply more of the same, but to rotate products and keep the local critters on their toes – err, hooves.

This can be followed with application of a stronger formula like Professional Deer Scram.

Deer Scram Professional

This product literally smells like death to deer but isn’t detectable by most humans. It’s made with natural ingredients and is safe around pets and small children. You can purchase it through Amazon.

Afterwards, start the application cycle over again.

Another solution is to use a system such as the above mentioned Messina product. Their original Deer Stopper is made with a combination of spices that includes clove oil as the primary scent. Their Deer Stopper II replaces the clove oil with cinnamon; which provides enough different of a scent to confuse and deter our four legged friends.

Spray the Pests Away

My favorite solution for keeping ungulates and other wild pests away is tied to a fancy piece of motion-sensing technology.

A motion-activated sprinkler is probably the most effective control method I’ve ever used. I employ these in the gardens of many of my clients, and find the results to be utterly satisfying.

All it requires is a sturdy, leak-proof hose bib and a great motion-activated sprinkler attachment.

Orbit Yard Enforcer Motion-Activated Sprinkler

I’ve used Orbit’s Yard Enforcer most frequently, which is available from Amazon, and includes night and day sensors.

Installation is simple:

1. Attach the sprinkler to a piece of rebar or similarly sturdy base.
2. Angle the motion sensor towards where you want the sprinkler head to spray.
3. Adjust sensitivity levels and spray duration.

And you’re done!

The only drawbacks to this solution are that you need to have enough hose length to meet the needs of your property, and you need to keep the hose bib turned on. That’s why durable, high-quality bibs and hoses need to be used to eliminate water waste.

In my experience, there’s no better deterrant than these sprinkler heads.

At their best when protecting your vegetable garden, they can also be effective when employed as spritzing sentries at any openings in your fence line.

Don’t have access to a water hose in the location(s) you want to protect? No problem. I find that ultrasonic repellers work fairly well.

Aspectek Yard Sentinel Ultrasonic Animal Repeller

My go to for this is the Apsectek Yard Sentinel which is also available via Amazon, with or without a strobe light.

It also requires no access to an electrical outlet as it’s can either be powered by the included 33-foot cord or use four C batteries, making it ideal for really remote locations too.

Stay Out of My Yard!

More permanent, structural solutions are also available. And in this case, the most expensive solution is also the most effective.

Here it is:

Simply wall off your property by installing a deer fence.

This method is a relatively arduous undertaking, but the results are proven and effective. The only hangup is that now you’ve got a large fence around your property.

For some folks, that’s just fine. But for others, the aesthetic drawbacks of this netting are a deal-breaker when weighed against the potential benefits.

This project can easily become a very expensive endeavor, but nothing else is as effective. For detailed instructions to set up your own, see our DIY tutorial.

Another method for preventing deer from using your yard as anything more than a highway to more desirable locations is to avoid planting what they want to eat.

Our feature on deer-proof trees is a good place to start, but a variety of perennials and other plantings are excellent choices as well.

Trustworthy Perennials, Annuals, and Bulbs

It’s worth repeating that nothing is truly deer proof, but rather, most plants are merely resistant.

The following is a handy list of a variety of herbaceous plants that are resistant to our four-legged ungulate friends. Follow the links for handy guides that will teach you how to grow them in your garden space.

Read on to learn all you need to know to grow and care for dracaena indoors.

Cultivation and History

Part of the Asparagaceae family, the Dracaena genus includes approximately 120 species, varying in size from small houseplants to larger shrubs and trees. But you may note that some sources claim there are in fact as few as 40 named species in the genus.

This wide range is partially due to the fact that there is an ongoing debate as what exactly should be classified in this genus.

Also worth noting, they often are confused with Cordyline plants, though these are in fact distinct. One clear way to tell the difference is to look at the roots. Cordylines have white roots, while dracaena roots are orange in color.

Most of these species are native to the tropics, in parts of Africa, southern Asia, and northern Australia. A couple are endemic to South America.

While many dracaena trees can grow over 10 feet tall, it is generally the smaller shrubs that are cultivated as indoor houseplants.

These can be found in a wide range of shapes, sizes, and colors, and many popular types feature dazzlingly colorful striped foliage.

Dracaenas have been part of human culture many centuries and was officially named in the 1700s after the ancient Greek Drakaina, a mythical female spirit dragon with humanlike features.

Some varieties contain a red resin in their stems known as “dragon’s blood,” which has been used for thousands of years to make dye, incense, and medicine.

Since the 17th century, it has also been used to make varnish for violins and other string instruments, and is often used in stains and wood polishes.

Dracaena began to appear ornamentally in Europe in the 1800s, and by the end of the century had become a relatively common houseplant.

Propagation

Dracaenas are slow growers, best started from cuttings or purchased as nursery stock.

From Cuttings

The first method that I’ll cover, top cutting, involves snipping off the entire top just below the leaf line, being sure to include at least a few nodes on the stem.

Don’t worry about harming the parent plant – it should begin sprouting new leaves very quickly.

You can choose to either plant the cutting directly in a pot of moist potting soil, or in a translucent vase filled about a quarter of the way with cool water. Be sure to choose a vase or pot that’s large enough, so the cutting does not tip over.

Planting in water first speeds up the process a bit and also is a fun way to monitor the progress of the root development.

Once you have planted the cutting, set the vase or pot in a warm spot (about 65-75°F) that receives indirect sunlight. The first signs of root growth should appear in about a week or two.

If you are using the water method, change the water every few days, checking for white nodules which will develop into roots.

If cuttings are planted in soil, you can check for root growth by gently tugging on the stem. If roots have developed, you should feel resistance.

When the nodules have developed into roots about an inch long, it’s time to transplant the cutting into a two- to four-inch pot with good drainage.

Fill with a porous soil mix that’s rich in organic matter; one that’s formulated for indoor houseplants will work well. Be sure to completely bury the roots.

A second method, rooting stem cuttings, allows you to propagate many cuttings at once.

Start by cutting off the top just as you would for a top cutting, but this time, remove more of the stem along with it. Leave at least half of the stem of the parent plant intact so it can grow back.

Cut the stem into sections, making sure each contains at least a few nodes.

Plant each stem segment in soil or water, with the base facing down to maintain its original orientation, following the same instructions described above.

When plants become root bound, move them to larger containers. See the pruning and maintenance section below for more detailed instructions to transplant your dracaena to a larger pot.

How to Grow

These plants are incredibly easy to grow. Just set them somewhere with filtered light, such as a bright window with a sheer curtain.

Avoid areas that receive direct sunlight, as it could burn the foliage. They can tolerate low light but medium, indirect light is best.

They can tolerate a range of temperatures, with a preference for indoor temperatures ranging from 60 to 70°F during the day, and a bit colder at night.

Just be sure to avoid placing them in locations where the temperature may dip below 55°F, and keep plants out of range of heating or cooling vents, to avoid cold drafts or blasts of heat.

Dracaena can also be grown outdoors year-round in USDA Hardiness Zones 9 to 11.

Watering

Be sure to water with purified water or rainwater, as dracaenas are sensitive to fluoride salts common in tap water.

Keep the soil moist but never soggy, always letting the top of the soil dry out completely between waterings. Too much moisture or poor drainage can cause leaves to yellow and droop, and will likely lead to root rot.

Though adaptable, these tropical plants thrive in climates with high humidity.

You can increase the humidity indoors by setting a shallow tray filled with small rocks underneath the pot, and adding enough water to barely cover the rocks.

The evaporating water will help provide additional moisture. It is also helpful to mist the foliage every few days.

Find more tips on watering here.

Fertilizing

These slow-growing plants don’t require much in the way of fertilizer, and I refrain from feeding mine much at all.

Instead, I opt to keep an eye on them for signs of distress, such as yellowing or browning of leaves, which could indicate a nutrient deficiency.

Pruning and Maintenance

As a dracaena plant grows, it will naturally shed its bottom leaves.

Pruning may be done at any time to remove damaged canes and to prevent them from getting out of control.

Some species can grow up to 10 feet tall, so pruning may be a necessity to keep the size of indoor trees in check.

Luckily, this genus is very tolerant of pruning. You can cut healthy plants back to any height without worry of causing harm. You can also prune them as bonsai plants.

To prune, simply use a sharp blade and cut any cane you wish to remove. Make your cut at a 45-degree angle to avoid water damage.

You can also prune out any leaves that have turned brown or appear to be dead or dying. Brown tips or sections may be trimmed off without removing the whole leaf.

Find more dracaena pruning tips here.

When a section of the stalk is removed, new growth will usually appear below the cut a few weeks later.

If you like, you can also propagate healthy canes that you’ve removed to start a new plant!

It is also a good idea to occasionally dust off the leaves with a damp cloth. Dust can block sunlight, inhibiting photosynthesis.

Repot dracaenas every couple of years to help replenish soil nutrients, as well as to prevent plants from becoming root bound. Select a container that’s two inches larger than the current pot.

A day or so before you plan to repot, water well so that the soil is damp. This will help hold everything together when transplanting.

Carefully slide the plant out of the container, cutting away any roots that may have started growing out of the drainage holes. Running a knife around the inner edge of the container may help to loosen the plant if it’s stuck.

Place the root ball into the new pot, surrounded with moist potting soil. Water thoroughly.

If plants are very large and heavy or unwieldy, instead of repotting, you can replace the top few inches of soil with new soil instead. Top dressing at least one a year helps to restore nutrients without disturbing the roots.

Fluoride toxicity is another potential problem to keep on your radar.

Depending on the species, this may be indicated by browning in the white stripes on leaves, by yellowing and dying leaf tips, or by dead brown spots with bright yellow rings that appear along leaf margins.

Be sure to avoid using fluoridated water on your plants and maintain a soil pH between 6.0 and 6.5. You can learn more about soil testing here.

If you suspect fluoride toxicity, try repotting in fresh soil.

Mealybugs and Scale Insects

Wingless insects with a waxy coat, mealybugs congregate together in what resembles a cotton-like mass, and scale insects have brown bodies with a cotton-like coating.

They also produce fuzzy white egg sacs, which can be found attached to plants.

These pests can be found hiding in protected areas such as leaf axils. Signs of infestation include stunted growth and leaf drop.

Mealybugs, scale, and aphids all secrete honeydew as well, which attracts ants.

Mild infestations can be controlled by spraying plants regularly with a strong stream of water. Spray every few days while pests are present.

Heavy infestations can be controlled with a homemade insecticidal soap, or neem oil.

You can make a simple insecticidal soap for use on these pests by combining a tablespoon of biodegradable liquid soap with a quart of warm water.

You can add a little bit of garlic or hot pepper to the mixture to further deter pests. Spray the tops and bottoms of the leaves daily until the infestation is under control.

Find tips on combating scale insects here or find more information on controlling mealybugs here.

Spider Mites

Almost too small to see, spider mites from the Tetranychidae family may appear as tiny moving spots on the leaves. They cause brown and yellow spotting on foliage, and you may also notice thin webbing.

These pests prefer dry conditions and can often be found on plants that are given too little water. Spraying the foliage with a strong stream of water may knock off the mites.

Neem oil can also be applied when necessary.

Find more information on identifying and controlling spider mites here.

Leaf Spot

Caused by Fusarium moniliforme fungi, this infection is common on many types of dracaenas.

This disease causes spots to form on young leaves. The spots range in size and color, and often look reddish brown or tan with yellow rings.

Control leaf spot by watering at the base of the plant – not overhead – and discarding excess water in the saucers under your plants after watering.

Quick Reference Growing Guide

Plant Type:	Evergreen shrub or tree	Foliage Color:	Green, red, yellow, variegated
Native to:	Africa, southern Asia, northern Australia, South America	Tolerance:	Drought, low light
Hardiness (USDA Zone):	9-11	Soil Type:	Potting soil amended with organic matter
Exposure:	Bright indirect light	Soil pH:	6.0-6.5
Time to Maturity:	Up to 10 years	Soil Drainage:	Well-draining
Height:	Up to 6 feet indoors	Uses:	Ornamental houseplant
Spread:	Varies by species	Order:	Asparagales
Growth Rate:	Slow	Family:	Asparagaceae
Water Needs:	Low	Genus:	Dracaena
Maintenance:	Low	Species:	arborea, draco, fragrans var. massangeana, marginata, reflexa
Common Pests:	Aphids, mealybugs, scale, spider mites	Common Diseases:	Fusarium leaf spot, soft rot

But did you know that someone actually invented this approach?

As the name implies, this method involves growing crops in carefully measured gardening beds, but there’s so much more to it than that!

So what is square foot gardening, and where did it come from? What’s so great about it? Why do people still use this method today, and why is it so popular?

In this article, we’ll explore the roots of this food growing method, and you’ll learn about each of the steps you need to follow to grow a square foot garden of your own.

Here’s what we’ll cover up ahead:

Square foot gardening is an approach to growing food in raised beds in one-foot increments. These one foot by one foot squares are defined with the help of a grid.

This method incorporates polyculture planting, vertical gardening, crop rotation, and intensive spacing, using only 20 percent of the space required in traditional row planting, according to the creator of this system, Mel Bartholomew.

Not only does it reduce the need for space, but it also reduces work – adepts of this no-till method use a weed-free growing medium to reduce time and energy spent on garden chores.

In this food growing method, after a plant is harvested, a new one is sown or planted in its place to keep beds at full occupancy, further reducing the ability of weeds to set up camp.

Compared with traditional row growing, not only is extensive time and energy spent on weed control minimized, tilling and fertilizing are also eliminated, as is the use of pesticides or herbicides.

Watering is also greatly reduced as gardeners are encouraged to provide irrigation only to individual plants as needed.

Although most gardeners use square foot gardening primarily to grow fresh produce, this method can also be used to grow cut flowers or gardens for butterflies and other beneficial insects.

And incorporating pollinator-friendly plants among edibles is certainly encouraged!

Because of its space-saving nature, this approach is great for those who want to grow food in small spaces, but it is by no means limited to those with petite plots of land.

Now that you have an idea of what this approach to growing food is all about, maybe you’re wondering where this method came from?

The phrase “square foot gardening” was coined and the concept developed by civil engineer Mel Bartholomew.

And because of all the other advantages – which we’re about to discover – converts to this method are likely to keep their new hobby going.

Another advantage for beginners – if you want to try edible gardening without changing your landscaping too much, this is the perfect way to give it a try.

All you need is four square feet in the sun, and you won’t even have to sink a shovel into the ground.

Space Savings

One of the most astounding advantages of this method is space savings.

Mel Bartholomew eventually hit on the square foot idea by experimenting with shrinking the space between rows in a traditional row-planted garden.

He found that by doing so, he could produce the same amount of food in just 20 percent of the space needed in traditional row planting.

Want to know how space gets saved with this method?

Basically, the logic goes like this: if you can grow carrots two inches apart in a single-file line in a row, why can’t you grow them two inches apart side by side as well? The answer? You can!

Although the spacing in this method is compact, it still allows for enough airflow to keep plants healthy, as long as you follow the guidelines regarding the number of plants per square foot – you’ll learn more about those later in the article.

While those with plenty of land to farm might nevertheless want to try this method, this approach makes growing food more accessible to those who live in smaller spaces, such as urban settings on small plots of land.

It can even be put to excellent use on patios or balconies!

Excellent Accessibility

Speaking of making gardening more accessible, this method’s standard four-by-four-foot raised bed growing space is the perfect size for reaching across to just about any spot in the bed, whether for planting, harvesting, or amending.

This is quite the ergonomic option!

And by raising the beds off the ground and adding bottoms, this way of growing food is easily adapted for those who have trouble bending or squatting. It can even be made wheelchair accessible.

Reduced Work

You know what else makes gardening more accessible? Less work.

Gardening can be so much fun, and Mel Bartholomew wanted to accentuate that by reducing the work involved – work like tilling and weeding.

When a weed-free soil mix and landscape fabric are used as recommended, weeding is reduced to virtually nil compared to growing in the ground.

Sure, wind and birds will still deposit the occasional random seed in the growing medium, but since growers are planting in specific patterns, those uninvited weedy guests are easy to identify and remove.

And since this is a no-till method, there is no backbreaking labor involved in working the soil. The recommended growing medium is light and friable, and won’t require any hard labor to get it to stay that way.

That means more time to lounge on your porch swing, admiring your crops as they grow, and watching the pollinators put on a show!

Less Need for Tools

Since there’s less work involved, there are fewer gardening tools required with this growing method.

Essentially, all you’ll need for a square foot garden in the way of tools is a pair of gardening gloves, your handy trowel or hori hori, and a pair of pruners.

Since this is a no-till method, you won’t need any large machinery like rototillers either.

Less Need for Testing

If you’ve felt nervous about the thought of performing a soil test, that’s one less worry you’ll have with this food growing system, since a specific growing medium is used instead of soil from the ground.

You won’t have to worry about whether you have the right nutrients or minerals in your soil, because everything you’ll need is in the growing medium you’ll add to your boxes.

Keeps Your Plants Tidy

Because of its well-ordered grid system, this gardening method will appeal to those of us who prefer to keep our landscapes looking tidy.

The use of the grid on the raised bed tells you that each crop has a dedicated space.

Growing on the grid will create visual order and keep things neat.

Prevents Compaction

By growing in a raised bed, gardeners avoid the risk of walking on – and thus, compressing – the growing medium.

Even gardeners mindful to avoid walking on garden rows may occasionally forget or accidentally step into a row, which will compress soil and have a detrimental effect on crops. (Not to mention the damage that can be sustained by a plant that gets stepped on!)

Preventing compaction helps to keep the growing medium light and airy, allowing roots to grow without deforming them, as sometimes happens with crooked carrots.

Are There Any Disadvantages?

Does this method of food production sound like it might be too good to be true?

Some critics of this method argue that, in spite of its space- and work-saving techniques, startup can be expensive. The purchase or construction of a raised bed may be costly, as can the ingredients for the weed-free growing mix.

Certainly, each gardener has to weigh the costs and benefits for themselves to decide which growing method will be the most time-, energy-, and cost-efficient.

But by being creative when it comes to sourcing materials to create raised beds, using reclaimed materials like cement blocks, bricks, or scrap lumber, the cost of startup can be greatly reduced.

It may help you to gauge long term costs and benefits to know that the growing medium, once in place, will last for seven to 10 years.

When you compare the costs of setup, seeds, and plants over a 10-year period to the cost of purchasing fresh, organic produce for 10 years, you might find that the initial investment is well worth it!

Another potential drawback to this method is that it is less functional in arid climates where a raised container will dry out faster than the ground. Yet, even in the face of this problem, there are solutions.

Those in arid climates should use wide beds instead of long narrow ones, which will dry out faster.

Dry climate gardeners may wish to protect beds with wind breaks, and experiment with sinking beds into the ground.

Also, in dry areas, beds should be 10 to 12 inches deep (rather than just six) to allow room for heavy mulching, which will help to slow moisture evaporation and keep the soil cool during summer heatwaves.

Now that you are all psyched up about how great square foot gardening is, let’s get down to business and start taking the steps that will enable you to turn these ideas into fresh, homegrown produce.

Calculate Your Food Needs

One of the hardest things about gardening is calculating how much food to grow to meet your needs.

Luckily, when it comes to square foot gardening, Mel Bartholomew has done the math for us. (Thanks, Mel!)

Mel recommended two four-by-four-foot raised bed boxes per adult to meet the need for two meals worth of vegetables per day during the growing season. A third box could be used to grow produce for preserving or sharing.

For a child’s needs, he recommended two three-by-three-foot boxes for two meals worth of veggies per day during the growing season.

You can use those recommendations to estimate your own growing needs.

If you eat lots and lots of vegetables, want to preserve more food for winter, or want to make sure you have plenty of fresh produce to share with extended family or friends, you may want to add additional boxes.

Choose Your Location

One of the most appealing features of square foot gardening is the flexibility it provides – since the raised beds are compact, they can be positioned around your yard wherever is convenient.

First and foremost – look for the sun. Your beds will be most productive if you’re able to locate them in full sun. That’s to say, select a spot that receives six to eight hours of direct sunlight each day.

Next, try to locate your boxes with close access to your home, particularly your kitchen, so you’ll see your raised beds from inside your house and remember to go out and harvest fresh veggies and herbs regularly for your meals.

Be creative when choosing your location, and remember, there’s no need to dig up your garden soil – you can set up square foot boxes on a patio, balcony, or lawn without breaking any soil (or even a sweat)!

However, for any bed you build or buy, it’s important to determine where the best setup should take place without creating drainage problems, rot, or damage to the surface below, depending on your space and the product or design.

And of course, keep in mind that not all raised beds may be appropriate for all surfaces.

Likewise, avoid positioning raised beds in areas with poor drainage so that water is able to drain from them adequately.

In addition to scoping out sunlight, choosing a convenient spot, and avoiding placing your boxes where they might either cause or succumb to problems, you will also want to make sure the ground is more or less level.

Once you have a good location, make sure to leave an aisle at least three feet wide between beds to allow people to pass easily, to kneel or squat near the raised beds, and to allow the passage of wheelbarrows if needed.

Choose and Install Your Raised Beds

The raised bed size that Mel Bartholomew recommended in his system is four feet long, four feet wide, and just six inches tall.

Why these dimensions?

Even the innermost spot in a four-by-four-foot bed is accessible from all sides by most adults. For children, a three-by-three-foot bed will allow easy access.

However, if you are planning to place your beds alongside a fence, a different shape may work better for you, such as a two-by-eight-foot or a two-by-six-foot bed.

As far as depth goes, six inches will be deep enough for most crops, and most gardeners. Bartholomew didn’t recommend using deeper beds for most crops, for efficiency’s sake.

After much experimenting, he found that six inches was deep enough to grow most vegetables, while crops requiring deeper soil, such as leeks, potatoes, and long varieties of carrots, could be accommodated by adding an additional layer on top of the raised bed.

Perhaps you found the perfect raised beds – but they are 12 inches deep. If you would like to use deeper raised beds and haven’t filled them yet, there is a work-around that will allow you to maintain the recommended depth.

Instead of filling them with growing medium to 12 inches, fill the bottom six inches with sand, a cheaper ingredient, then add landscape fabric liners and fill with growing medium.

Whatever dimensions you choose, remember to plan the width and length of the beds so that you can easily reach the innermost point of the bed – without stepping, kneeling, or sitting on the growing medium.

Walking, kneeling, or sitting on the medium will cause it to become compacted, which is not a great recipe for gardening success!

Once you decide on the best dimensions for your raised beds, you can choose to build your own, or to purchase a ready-made kit.

If you’re building your own boxes, you can rely on your sense of creativity and imagination in choosing your materials.

Lumber is the obvious choice, but other materials can work as well, such as brick, stone, or concrete blocks. Whatever material you use, make sure it will contain the growing medium you add to the beds without letting it spill out, and that it will allow water to drain from the bottom.

Add Accessories

In addition to a raised bed, you may want to purchase or build some accessories to help in your food growing adventure.

And if there’s one accessory that’s a must, it’s a trellis. One of the ways this method accomplishes its goal of saving space is by incorporating trellises for vertical growing.

A trellis will help you grow vining crops such as pole beans, cucumbers, melons, or peas, and vining varieties of winter or summer squash.

Make sure to position the trellis on the north side of the raised bed so the other veggies in the bed don’t get too much shade.

You can make your own trellis from a couple of metal fence posts and a piece of livestock panel, or any other materials that are sturdy enough to support vining plants with large fruits such as pumpkins and watermelons.

Of course, there are also premade trellises that you can purchase, saving yourself a bit of work.

If you do purchase a trellis, make sure it is rated to hold the weight of the plants you will be growing on it.

Just make sure whatever accessories you choose match the dimensions of your box.

Plan Your Crop Layout

Your square foot garden will be the most productive if you plan the layout of your beds wisely, using a grid design, square foot by square foot.

Playing around with how to lay out the crops in a garden bed can be a fun part of the process of growing food, a great activity to indulge in during late winter while waiting for spring to arrive.

You can create your own plan on a piece of graph paper, but if you have a gardening journal, that would be even better – that way you can chart your progress throughout the years as well, making crop rotation easier.

There are a few different things to take into consideration when making this plan.

We’ve already discussed how the use of trellises can help you take advantage of vertical growing space.

In addition to incorporating a trellis into your plan, you’ll also want to include a mix of crops in each bed, plant them so that the tallest members are on the north side, and grow the right number of plants per square foot.

If this is not your first year growing in your raised bed, you’ll also want to check what you planted in previous years so you can rotate your crops to reduce the risk of pest and disease problems.

And you’ll also want to know how to handle perennial vegetable crops.

Let’s discuss each of these aspects of the planning process so you can confidently design a bountiful and thriving square foot garden bed.

Plan for the Right Number of Plants Per Square Foot

First and foremost when planning the layout of a square foot garden bed, you’ll want to know how many plants of each crop can comfortably fit into one square foot – that’s to say, one square of the grid.

Crops are planted at a certain density within each square, at their ideal distances from one another, maximizing each plant’s space and nutrient use and allowing each of them to act as a living mulch to crowd out weeds.

It’s best to plant or sow each square to maximum capacity to take advantage of the living mulch capabilities of a densely planted bed.

You’ll probably want to draw this design out before the big day, so you can use it to guide you while you’re planting.

Then, once you are ready to sow or plant, mark each square foot of soil with the right planting pattern.

This can be done with your finger, a dibber, or a pencil. To measure out distances, use a ruler, or make things easier with a seed sowing template. (You’ll learn more about those a little later in the article.)

Here are the general number and spacing rules for the most common vegetables, herbs, and flowers you are likely to plant in your raised beds, listed from most densely planted to least densely planted:

16-Per-Square Plantings

Small-sized crops like these are planted 16 per grid section and are grown three inches apart:

To mark a section for sowing, first make a cross to divide it into four equal parts, then divide each of those parts into four equal sections.

Sow seeds or place transplants at the center of each of the four small sections.

9-Per-Square Plantings

These crops are grown nine per grid section, four inches apart:

To divide up this section for nine plants, make two vertical and two horizontal lines, spaced four inches apart. Plant or sow your veggies In the middle of each small section.

8-Per-Square Plantings

Plant these crops eight per square, at least three inches apart:

There is more than one way to lay out an eight-per-square planting.

One way is to divide the square into four equal sections (making a cross), then make two more vertical lines, and poke holes along those vertical lines, spaced three inches apart.

4-Per-Square Plantings

Grow these plants four per square at six inches apart:

Score a dividing line horizontally across the middle of the square, and then another that runs vertically.

Now you have four smaller squares – mark the center of each of these smaller sections with your finger or a pencil, and sow or transplant in those four spots.

2-Per-Square Plantings

These crops should be planted two per square, growing them six inches apart within the square:

For vining crops like cucumbers, sow seeds at the back of the square near the trellis. For lettuce, seeds can be sown diagonally from each other, six inches apart.

1-Per-Square Plantings

The following crops are grown one plant per square foot:

For these crops, simply poke a single hole in the center of the one-by-one-foot square of your choice, and sow the seeds or transplant the seedling.

Note: if you include mint in your raised bed, it will likely be there to stay and may take over your entire bed eventually! Instead, you may prefer to plant it nearby in a separate container.

While most crops will fit nicely into one square of the grid, some plants need more space to flourish, and a more complex use of the grid system.

Here are some of the most common types and their spacing requirements:

1-Per-2 Planting Squares

Some crops require two square feet:

Sow seeds or transplant seedlings into the middle of a group of two grid sections, preferably on the north side of the raised bed where a trellis has been installed.

1-Per-4 Planting Squares

The following crops will need four square feet:

For bush tomatoes, place the transplant in the center of a group of four grid sections and provide a tomato trellis or cage support.

1-Per-9 Planting Squares

And the largest of vegetable crops will need a whopping nine square feet to grow:

For bush varieties of summer squash, place two or three seeds in the center of a group of nine sections.

Keep Height in Mind

If you will be planting short plants with taller ones, make sure to locate taller veggies (for example, tomatoes, corn, and okra) on the north side of your bed to allow shorter ones (like bok choy, chives, and lettuce) to get their share of the sun’s rays.

On the other hand, if you are mixing tall plants with a blend of shade- and heat-loving plants, plant your tall ones right in the middle. Plant shade-lovers on the north side of them, and heat-lovers on the south side.

Shade lovers, as well as any remaining cool-season crops, will appreciate the cooling shade of tall plants as the heat of summer sets in.

As previously mentioned, you’ll also want to position trellises on the north side of raised beds to avoid shading out smaller vegetables.

Plan a Polyculture

One of the essential tenets of square foot gardening is to avoid a monoculture growing style.

Not sure what “monoculture” is? Think about Iowa cornfields – nothing but corn as far as the eye can see. In backyard terms, imagine a four-by-four-foot raised bed – where nothing grows but tomatoes. Monoculture is monotonous!

Besides the fact that they are incredibly boring to behold, the problem with monocultures is that they make the spread of pests and diseases far too easy, along with depleting nutrients and minerals from the soil.

The approach you should instead use with your beds is to grow a “polyculture,” a mix of several different crops in one space.

That means if you want to grow several tomato plants, you should aim to spread them out between multiple beds.

That doesn’t mean you can’t grow more than one plant of the same type of crop in one box – you certainly can. Just try to keep things as diverse as possible!

Grown in the square foot gardening style, here’s an example of the types of plants a single polyculture bed might include: one vining tomato, one pepper, one melon, one okra, eight peas, nine bush beans, one cauliflower, one broccoli, one kale, four leaf lettuces, 16 small onions, 16 small radishes, four bok choy, 16 carrots, and four small marigolds (which are also edible) – all in one four-by-four-foot raised bed.

That’s a lot of food!

Need an example? If you planted tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, and chives in one bed this year, try to switch it up next year and plant okra, pole beans, corn, bok choy, and carrots instead.

If you have only one raised bed, you can do the rotating within that bed. But if you have multiple boxes, you can easily shift planting groups from one box to the next from year to year.

Planning these rotations will be easier if you draw out a plan each year and keep these designs handy in a gardening journal, binder, or notebook, so you can refer to layouts from previous years.

Perennial Vegetables

When planning the layout of your raised beds, you may consider growing a selection of edible perennials as well as annuals.

In fact, you might want to dedicate a permanent bed to perennials like Jerusalem artichokes (also known as sunchokes), asparagus, and cold-hardy herbs.

Just remember that you will need to divide perennials from time to time.

While crops like asparagus, sunchokes, and herbs make good candidates for this growing method, some perennials that require more space simply aren’t ideal, such as globe artichokes and rhubarb.

The foliage of these can easily outgrow a four-by-four-foot bed and may create too much shade to grow other veggies nearby.

Grow these crops separately – or be prepared to devote an entire raised bed to each of them.

Mix and Add Growing Medium

Once you have come up with a planting plan and either purchased or built your square foot boxes, it’s time to fill them with growing medium.

In the square foot gardening method, a very specific mix of ingredients is used to create this medium. It’s called “Mel’s Mix,” named after the founder of this system.

This weed-free growing medium is used instead of garden soil, giving the system that touch of magic which saves so much time on weeding.

This growing medium is composed of equal parts peat moss or coconut coir, vermiculite, and compost. This mix is water retentive, provides excellent drainage, and provides all the minerals and nutrients your crops will need.

You’ll need eight cubic feet of growing medium to fill one raised bed that is four feet long by four feet wide by six inches tall.

And yes, you want to fill it all the way to the brim to start with – the mix will settle, leaving a bit of room between the top of the soil and the rim of the bed.

That means you’ll need 2.66 cubic feet of each of the three ingredients required for each four-by-four raised bed.

This plant mix will last for seven to 10 years before needing to be changed, and it should be refreshed with a trowel-full or so of compost every time a plant is removed.

Peat Moss or Coconut Coir

Peat moss or coconut coir provides a light, water retentive medium for your veggies to grow in.

While peat moss is the traditional ingredient here, I’m going to encourage you to use coconut coir instead, for three good reasons.

The first is that peat moss is a non-renewable resource, while coconut coir is a byproduct of coconut harvesting that has the same light, airy, and water-retentive qualities.

Read our article to learn more about the issues with peat and why coconut coir is a suitable alternative.

The final ingredient you’ll need to make your own growing medium is compost, and according to Mel Bartholomew, if you can’t afford or can’t get your hands on the coir or vermiculite to make this growing medium, a bed filled with 100 percent compost will also do the job if you have no other options.

However, using just compost as a growing medium isn’t ideal – so do try to create a more balanced blend if possible. Either way, make sure to use weed-free compost.

Also, ensuring that a wide variety of ingredients went into making the compost is what makes the square foot gardening method function without the addition of added fertilizers.

If you have enough homemade compost, by all means, use your own.

Pour equal parts of each ingredient into a large bin, into a wheelbarrow, or onto a clean tarp. Mix them up, then transfer the mix into your lined raised bed.

As you fill the raised bed with growing medium, spray it down with water to moisten it.

Add a Grid

You might have noticed the obvious thing that turns a raised bed into a square foot garden: the square foot grid.

The grid is what defines each square foot section, aiding you as you plan, plant, and resow your bed.

These grids can be made of just about anything – wood slats, bamboo stakes, string, or even sticks.

According to Bartholomew’s canon, this grid is typically an easy-to-make, homemade measuring tool crafted from long, thin slats of wood that are then cross-hatched and fashioned into square-foot-sized squares.

Sow and Plant

At this point your beds are filled with growing medium, there’s a grid at the ready to show the boundary of each square foot, and you have any accessories you’ll need, such as a trellis.

And now, finally, it’s time to sow your seeds or put in transplants.

When you’re ready to plant, go ahead and water in the growing medium if it hasn’t rained recently – I like to do this a day ahead of time, so that the medium is moist but not sopping wet.

Sowing Seeds

Mel Bartholomew was interested in reducing waste in the garden, so one of the tenets of his method is to sow only the seeds you need.

For most vegetables, you will sow just one seed per intended plant. This approach differs from traditional row planting, which often involves sowing many seeds and then thinning once seedlings are established.

One of the exceptions to this is with carrots and lettuce – rather than sowing just one seed per intended plant, sow two or three seeds.

Likewise, if the crop or variety you want to grow has a low germination rate, plant more than one seed, then thin as needed, leaving the strongest looking seedlings and removing the others.

Also, before you get started, be sure to sow your seeds at the appropriate time, since some vegetables grow best in spring or fall and others need the heat of summer.

If you need a refresher on which ones are which, check out our article on sowing vegetable seeds, where you’ll also learn which seeds you should start indoors rather than direct sowing.

Each square is going to have a planting pattern with seeds sown in one, two, four, eight, nine, or 16 spots, apart from the few exceptions listed above which require more room.

Using the guidelines listed above, find the sowing distance and pattern for any given crop, then poke holes in the growing medium to receive the seeds. You can do this with the help of a dibber, a pencil, your finger, or even a twig.

The same pattern advice holds true for transplanting seedlings as for sowing seeds – check the crop’s recommended growing density, poke holes to establish the pattern for that individual square, then insert the plant in the appropriate location.

Need more tips? You can learn more about starting and transplanting annual plants in our article!

Maintain Your Plantings

Maintaining your square foot garden will be much like caring for any other form of garden, but with the promise of less work!

Mulch

Plant growth will eventually cover the soil, forming a living mulch. But you’ll want to consider adding a layer of mulch anyway.

To assist with water conservation, place a layer of mulch about one inch thick around plants once seedlings are established, leaving about an inch around the stems of plants that is mulch-free. This will help prevent fungal problems.

Use mulch made from organic materials, such as bark, leaf litter, straw, coconut coir husks, or pine straw, rather than inorganic mulches such as pebbles or recycled rubber chips.

Learn more about different types of mulch with our article.

In more arid climates, deep mulching – a layer of two to four inches of mulch – will be needed to prevent drying out and to keep soil temperatures lower during heat waves.

Watering

Mel Bartholomew’s recommended watering method is rather quaint – using a cup to scoop up sun-warmed water from a bucket then applying it to the root zone of each individual plant.

Gardeners may wish to emulate his preferred way of watering, or use other watering methods, such as watering with a hose and watering wand or using drip irrigation.

Read our article to determine which type of watering is best for you.

Weeding

With this method of growing food, weeding will be reduced to a minimum – only seed that the wind blows in and what birds scatter will be available to germinate in your growing medium.

Plus, if you are using the planting patterns recommended, you’ll easily be able to recognize any uninvited guests to the garden soil and quickly remove them before they become a problem.

Make sure to line your beds with landscape fabric to prevent grass from growing up into them, as well as the roots of nearby shrubs or trees.

To prevent plants from dropping seeds in your weed-free growing medium, snip off flowers before they go to seed.

Fertilizing

Compost is the only fertilizer used with this system and the recommended soil medium contains a hefty dose.

To replenish the nutrient content of your raised beds, add scoopfuls of compost when harvesting plants from the bed, adding just enough compost to replace the soil that has been removed.

Harvest and Resow

Once you’ve put in your work creating, filling, and planting your beds, before you know it you’ll have produce to harvest for a fresh summer salad or a satisfying main course.

While some plants can be harvested to cut and come again, such as when harvesting lettuce or picking kale, other crops like radishes and carrots are plucked from the soil once they are ready to pick, leaving an empty space behind.

These vacancies can be filled by sowing another round of seeds. But before resowing, remember to mix in a trowel full of compost to replace what has been harvested.

Once you’ve harvested everything you can eat, it’s simple to plant another succession and have delicious veggies again in no time, provided the length of your growing season will permit it!

And if some seedlings don’t do so well the first time around, you can just plant new seeds in their place.

However, it’s wise in more crowded squares (such as in eight-, nine-, and 16-plant spacings) to wait for other successful veggies in the same plot to reach maturity and harvest first, so they don’t overshadow and crowd out your tiny new plant introductions.

But marjoram deserves its own spot in your kitchen garden for when you need something a little more elegant with a milder flavor.

Like oregano, marjoram is ideal if you have a sunny, dry spot in the garden where water-loving plants fail to thrive.

Plus, the pretty purple or pink blossoms will attract pollinators like honeybees, bumblebees, and butterflies, which benefits your whole garden.

Ready to add this versatile herb to your yard? Here’s what I’ll cover in this article:

What Is Marjoram?

Marjoram, Origanum majorana, looks a lot like oregano, O. vulgare, and that’s not a surprise given that they’re close relatives. Both are species of the Origanum genus.

Just to confuse matters, oregano is sometimes referred to as “wild marjoram,” and a third species, Cretan oregano, O. onites, is often called “pot marjoram.”

O. majorana has small, oval leaves, with a gray-green color, and they are covered in soft hairs. In the spring, if allowed to bloom, it has pink or purple blossoms.

Flavor-wise, marjoram is woodier and more floral than oregano, with a slight note of pine. Oregano is stronger and spicier.

Marjoram tends to grow a bit less aggressively than oregano, and it can’t handle cold weather as well as oregano.

Marjoram is a perennial in USDA Hardiness Zones 9 and 10, but you can grow it as an annual in cooler areas.

Plants reach mature dimensions of about 24 inches tall and 18 inches wide.

If growth is left unchecked, it will send out rhizomes and reseed readily, which means it can gradually take over an entire corner of your garden.

Sometimes called sweet or knotted marjoram, this member of the mint family is often included in the classic French blend of herbes de Provence.

In 1557, the famous English poet Thomas Tusser described marjoram as one of the 21 essential herbs for strewing in his instructional work Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandrie.

For those not in the know, herb strewing was the practice of scattering aromatic plants around the homes of royalty in the United Kingdom to cover up unpleasant odors.

Anatomist Charles Estienne recommended growing marjoram in home gardens in his book L’agriculture et Maison Rustique, one of the first published works on agriculture, printed in 1564.

Dutch settlers brought this herb to New York’s Hudson Valley, but it didn’t become widely known in the US until the mid-1900s.

It has been used as a folk remedy around the Western world to treat indigestion, headaches, rheumatism, and toothaches.

Recent studies have shown that the essential oils in O. majorana contain antioxidants, and may have antifungal, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties.

By Seed

Left to its own devices, marjoram will self-seed readily. That should tell you how simple it is to start plants from seed yourself.

Start seeds indoors eight weeks before the last frost, or outdoors after all danger of frost has passed.

Sprinkle seeds onto a seed-starting mixture indoors in seed flats or in a container at least six inches wide and deep, and cover gently with 1/4 inch of soil.

Water using a spray bottle to avoid dislodging the seeds. Keep the soil moist but not wet.

Outdoors, sow seeds when the daytime air temperature is around 60-80°F. Sprinkle seeds on prepared ground and cover with 1/4 inch of soil. Keep moist.

You should see seedlings emerge in about a week. Once plants are two inches tall, if grown outdoors, thin them to six inches apart.

You can transplant seeds started indoors after plants have been growing for about 6 to 8 weeks. But first, you need to harden them off.

To do this, set the pots outside in a sheltered location for an hour or two, gradually increasing the length of time over the course of a week.

By Division

Existing plants should be divided in the spring while the weather is cool.

Dig a hole six to 12 inches wider than the plant in all directions and one foot deep, and use a shovel to lift the root ball out of the soil. Use clippers or a garden knife to cut the plant in half, roots and all.

Put half of the plant back in the ground and fill around it with soil.

Transplant the other half of the plant to a prepared spot in the garden or a container. Give it a good drink of water to help settle the soil.

Alternatively, you can use a garden spade or trowel to cut a section of the plant, straight down through the roots, to remove and transplant.

Via Cuttings

Cuttings are best taken in the late spring or early summer. Find a healthy branch that hasn’t flowered and cut a six-inch piece.

Prepare a small pot with moist seed starting mix.

Cut the base at an angle to maximize the surface area of the cut, and ensure that it slides into the planting medium easily.

Remove any leaves from the bottom third of the cutting. This helps to prevent rot and encourages roots to emerge.

Dip the cutting in powdered rooting hormone and poke a hole into the seed starting mix with your finger or a pencil.

Insert the cutting and gently pack the dirt into the hole and around the base of the stem. Place the pot in a shady location out of direct sunlight.

Keep the potting medium moist but not waterlogged. In two weeks, your cutting should have developed roots.

To test this, give the cutting a gentle tug. If you feel resistance, it has taken root and you can treat it like any other transplant and plant it out into the garden or in a container.

By Layering

To propagate by layering, find a healthy branch at the outer edge of the plant and lay it flat against the ground, keeping the end that is still attached to the parent plant intact.

Leaving two to three inches of the tip exposed, bury the branch in the soil about 1/2 inch deep and use a stone to keep it in place.

After a few weeks, the branch will develop a root system and you can clip it away from the parent plant before digging it out.

Marjoram has shallow roots, so it’s best to dig wide rather than deep while pulling your new plant out of the ground. You’ll want to give it six inches in all directions and dig down about four inches.

Now you can transplant your marjoram in prepared soil.

How to Grow

For best results, marjoram needs fertile, loamy soil. This herb prefers a neutral pH around 7.0, but it can handle a wide range, from 4.9 to 8.7.

Marjoram doesn’t require a lot of water. The soil should be well-draining and be allowed to dry out about an inch down between watering. Wet feet are marjoram’s biggest enemy.

Though it can handle drought conditions, for the best flavor, make sure your plant is watered regularly.

These plants have shallow roots, so they dry out quickly. This isn’t a problem most of the time, but when the weather gets really hot, you’ll need to keep an eye on your plants.

A bit of organic mulch like leaves and straw can help to retain moisture in the soil.

Marjoram also needs a full sun location, but will tolerate partial shade in particularly hot climates.

Cut the stems back after flowering in early summer, to stimulate new growth.

If you want to leave blossoms on the plant to encourage pollinators or to allow the plant to self-seed, trim it back in the fall to maintain its shape.

Prune in spring to remove weak or dead growth and to keep the plant’s size in check. It can get scraggly after several years if you don’t prune regularly.

Aphids

The peach aphid (Myzus persicae) is a common pest that loves to attack marjoram. It’s a tiny, green, tear-drop shaped insect that sucks the sap out of plants, leaving behind a sticky substance called honeydew in its wake.

A few aphids aren’t usually a cause for concern, but a large infestation can stunt growth, and they may cause yellowing or necrotic spots to develop on plants.

Controlling them is generally as easy as blasting the plant with water from the hose to knock them free. Do this every day for a week to be sure you’ve got the population under control.

If things get bad, you can use canola oil as a pesticide because it smothers the little pests. Spray plants so that they’re saturated, applying the oil to the foliage once a week for three weeks.

Learn more about how to manage aphids in your garden.

Cutworms

Cutworms (Agrotis spp.) chew through the base of plants, killing them. They’re usually active at night, which makes them hard to spot – until you come outside and find your marjoram plant lying on the ground.

It’s important to keep the ground around your plants clear to avoid giving the worms a place to hide.

A layer of diatomaceous earth scattered around plants will help keep cutworms away.

You can also make cardboard collars to deny cutworms access to your plants. Get a toilet paper tube and cut it in half. Place it around the base of each marjoram seedling, sinking an inch of the tube into the soil.

Spider Mites

Spider mites attack a variety of plants in the garden. The two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae) in particular is the one you’ll most commonly see snacking on your marjoram.

You’ll usually see the fine webbing on your plants before you notice the tiny arachnids.

If an infestation is bad, the leaves may turn yellow and drop off the plant.

The first line of attack is to spray plants with a strong blast of water to knock them away. This is sometimes enough to keep the populations small enough that plants don’t suffer.

You should also encourage lacewings and ladybugs to visit your garden, or you can purchase and introduce predatory mites, available from Arbico Organics.

While you can use insecticides to control them, keep in mind that you run the risk of killing off the beneficial insects in your garden.

Read more about controlling spider mites here.

Thrips

Western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) are a common pest that can cause an incredible amount of damage. The millimeter-long insects have feathery, clear wings and their color can range from pale yellow to dark brown.

An infestation may cause leaves and flowers to become distorted, sunken, or to appear silvery. The insects suck the fluid out of the plant and can spread disease.

Not only do thrips harm plants and transmit diseases, they can also bite humans, causing skin irritation.

Reflective mulches are a good deterrent, but if you end up with an infestation, insecticides are the only way to get rid of them.

If your plants are struggling, but hanging on, it may be best to just let the insects do their thing. If an infestation worsens and your plants are suffering, use a spinosad-based insecticide.

Remember, you’ll likely kill off beneficial insects in the process, but sometimes it’s the only option.

For more tips, read our thrip management guide here.

Disease

While I’m busy battling diseases on my other plants, my marjoram is generally off in the corner, happily growing, disease free. Every once in a while, however, you may need to tackle a fungal issue.

Mint Rust

Mint rust, as the name implies, appears as rusty orange blisters on the undersides of the leaves of marjoram plants. The top of the leaf might have light yellow spots.

Eventually, leaves may drop and the plant’s growth can become stunted, or it may even die.

This disease is caused by the fungus Puccinia menthae. This fungus thrives in damp, humid conditions, and in areas where plants are crowded or have poor air circulation.

That’s why pruning to control the size of the herb is important. You don’t want plants growing too close together, or becoming too dense, as this reduces airflow which will allow a buildup of humidity.

You should also water at the base of plants in the morning, so they have time to dry out over the course of the day.

While marjoram plants don’t necessarily need mulching, if you struggle with rust in your garden, you can place wood mulch around plants to prevent water from splashing on them.

Keep any wild mint plants well away from your garden, because they can carry and spread the disease.

If all that fails, you can trim the plant back to the ground in the fall and apply a fungicide to the stems and the ground surrounding the plant.

Look for one that contains Azoxystrobin, and apply it according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Harvesting

If you are primarily interested in harvesting the leaves, don’t let your plants bloom. Prune the blossoms as they begin to form.

To harvest, simply snip the branches and flowers as you need them, using a pair of scissors or clippers.

If you want a large harvest, you can cut the plant back close to the ground in the early summer for a second harvest by fall.

Recipes and Cooking Ideas

Marjoram is a classic seasoning for meats like pork, duck, goose, and chicken. It’s also tasty in tomato dishes. Because it has a subtle flavor, it lends itself to seasoning delicately flavored veggies like zucchini.

The fresh leaves are also delicious tossed into a salad. I think the addition of a few whole leaves take a traditional Caesar salad to the next level.

You can also chop fresh leaves into equal parts cream cheese and sour cream to make a light dip for veggies.

If you’re cooking with marjoram, add it towards the end or toss it in just before serving so you don’t lose that subtle flavor.

Quick Reference Growing Guide

Plant Type:	Perennial herb	Water Needs:	Low
Native to:	Mediterranean, western Asia	Maintenance:	Low
Hardiness (USDA Zone):	7-9	Soil Type:	Rich, loamy, sandy
Season:	Spring-fall	Soil pH:	4.9-8.7 (7.0 ideal)
Exposure:	Full sun	Soil Drainage:	Well-draining
Time to Maturity:	70-90 days	Companion Planting:	Lavender, rosemary, sage, thyme
Spacing:	6-12 inches	Avoid Planting With:	Basil, chives, cilantro, parsley
Planting Depth:	1/2 inch	Attracts:	Bees, butterflies
Height:	12-24 inches	Order:	Lamiales
Spread:	12-18 inches	Family:	Lamiaceae
Tolerance:	Drought (when established)	Genus:	Origanum
Pests & Diseases:	Aphids, cutworms, spider mites, thrips; mint rust	Species:	majorana

1. Allium

Ornamental alliums (Allium spp.) are striking. Instantly identifiable with their architectural shape and bright colors, it’s impossible to mistake them for anything else.

They’re also incredibly simple to grow and hardy all the way north to USDA Zone 3.

Whether you go for big, bold drumsticks (A. sphaerocephalon) or petite little dwarf blue alliums (A. azureum), if you leave the heads on after the flowers have faded, they’ll send out seeds and spread around without becoming aggressive in the garden.

‘In Orbit’ is a definite favorite of mine. Okay, it’s impossible to narrow it down to one favorite, but it would make it in my top 10, for sure.

It produces lavender balls that sparkle like purple fireworks from spring through fall.

‘In Orbit’ Ornamental Allium

Want one? Or dozens? We don’t blame you at all. Burpee carries live plants. Grab a few, and in a few years, you’ll have lots, lots more!

Learn more about growing ornamental alliums in our guide.

2. Balloon Flower

Balloon flowers (Platycodon grandiflorus) don’t need an invitation to sow themselves all over the place in Zones 3 through 8. In fact, you might need to discourage them a little.

They can become a bit aggressive when left to their own devices.

Balloon Flower

Deadhead some of the plants so that there are fewer seeds to spread themselves about. Otherwise, expect them to return year after year.

Pick up a packet of 50 seeds at Earthbeat Seeds.

You can learn more about growing balloon flowers here.

3. Borage

While this list is focused on ornamentals, borage (Borago officinalis) is one of those plants that can do double duty.

The bright blue star-shaped blossoms are just as beautiful in the garden as they are in an herb pot.

If you live in an area where they’ve naturalized, then you know they can spread themselves around without any trouble at all. They’re not invasive jerks, though. Just politely pushy.

Borage Seeds

Snag a packet, ounce, quarter pound, pound, or five pounds of seed at Eden Brothers.

Enjoy them in posies, cocktails, or just leave them to form a beautiful blue field. So long as you’re in Zones 3 to 10, you won’t have to worry much about getting them to return.

Learn how to grow borage in our guide.

4. Clary Sage

Clary sage (Salvia sclarea) is a short-lived perennial or biennial with appealing pink, violet, and white blossoms from late spring until midsummer in Zones 5 to 9.

The foliage can be medium green to grayish green.

The plants spread in large, loose masses as far as you’ll let them. Just avoid wet areas because this plant can’t stand wet feet.

Beyond their ornamental value, these flowers are highly sought after and useful culinary herbs with a delightful camphor fragrance and flavor.

You can use the blooms and leaves in any recipe that calls for sage.

‘Pink Sundae’ Clary Sage

‘Pink Sundae’ is an elegant cultivar with distinct veins highlighted by bright mauve.

Eden Brothers carries a variety of size options, including small packets, one-ounce, and quarter-pound containers of seed.

5. Columbine

Columbines (Aquilegia spp.) are sweet and delicate, evanescent in nature – they vanish after just a few years.

But fear not. You don’t need to replenish them like annuals. Just let them go to seed, and they’ll keep returning.

If you’re worried about a self-seeder turning into a malevolent menace, columbines are a good option. They’re pleasantly polite.

Double columbines are particularly lovely, with their full blossoms in colors that range from pastel to bold hues.

Columbine Tall Double Mix

If you live in Zones 3 to 8, you can add these herbaceous spring bloomers to your garden by heading to Eden Brothers for a mixture of frilly double blossoms in a blend of pink, purple, red, lavender, and maroon hues.

They carry small packets and one-ounce containers of seed, so you have options.

Check out our guide to growing columbines for more information.

6. Common Poppy

Common, field, corn, or Flanders poppies (Papaver rhoeas) are the ultimate example of set it and forget it plants.

They will return year after year with their cardinal red flowers and downy leaves on plants that can grow over two feet tall.

The name Flanders comes from World War I-era tales claiming these poppies inhabited battlefields in Flanders, Belgium and northwest France that were disturbed by the movement of the soldiers.

The flowers survived the destruction, reseeded, and filled these disturbed areas along the Western front. If they can manage that, they can certainly provide perennial color in your space.

Red Corn Poppy

To give them a start, bring home a packet, ounce, quarter-pound, pound, or five pounds of seeds from Eden Brothers. If you live in Zones 1 to 10, they’ll return reliably year after year.

Have a read of our guide to growing poppies to learn more.

7. Coneflower

Echinacea species aren’t aggressive, but they will casually spread like a purple porcupine meandering through the garden.

If you want to give them a little encouragement, take the dry seed heads and rub them between your hands over prepared soil where you want them to get established.

Purple Coneflowers

Eden Brothers carries small packets and bulk packages of heirloom purple coneflower seeds.

Coneflowers have a low germination rate, so give them a boost and cold-stratify them for a few weeks in moist sand or soil before planting.

Depending on the particular cultivar and species, you can find varieties that will thrive from Zone 3 to 9.

Learn more about coneflowers and how to grow them in our guide.

8. Cosmos

Cosmos can be annuals or perennials, depending on the species.

Chocolate cosmos (C. atrosanguineus) is the most popular of the perennial options, and it will reliably return in Zones 9 and up, or Zones 7 and 8 with a little mulch blanket.

But it’s not just the original plants that will keep coming back. They’ll send out seeds so new plants will grow as well.

If you’re in Zone 7 or 8, wait for the flowers to be totally spent and the seeds to fall, and then place an inch of mulch over the soil to protect the seeds.

‘Choca Mocha’ Cosmos

The velvety reddish-brown blossoms on ‘Choca Mocha’ just beg you to rub them between your fingers, and they’ll add a depth to your garden that few other flowers can achieve.

Make one yours by purchasing a live plant from Burpee.

You can learn more about growing cosmos here.

9. Deadnettle

Deadnettle (Lamium spp.) is a surprisingly striking plant for something that’s often considered a humble filler at best and a weed at worst.

My favorite ones have gray leaves edged in green and are topped with petite but eye-catching reddish-purple blossoms. But of course, there are many options out there, including some with white flowers and spotted or solid leaves.

It’s beyond me why these plants are called deadnettles since I don’t think they look much at all like stinging nettle, but maybe that’s just me!

These mint relatives, which absolutely won’t sting you (that’s where the “dead” part of the common name comes from), are edible on top of being beautiful, and will bring some attractive foliage to the garden if it’s feeling a bit flower-heavy.

Just be aware that deadnettle can become a bit overly enthusiastic in its spread and will stretch out far and wide in the right conditions in Zones 3 to 8. It’s even considered invasive in Vermont.

10. Delphinium

Darling delphiniums (Delphinium spp.) are reliable self-seeders in Zones 3 to 9, but they’re not invasive.

Rather than lopping off the flower spikes after those vibrant purple, blue, white, lilac, yellow, or red flowers fade, let the seeds spread themselves around. While delphiniums are short-lived perennials, a patch will keep returning year after year.

Don’t confuse them with larkspur, though. While they look similar, larkspur is an annual.

I think ‘Magic Fountains’ is a particularly beautiful D. elatum cultivar.

‘Magic Fountains’ Delphinium

The full flowers are dramatically deep royal purple with a bright white center. Bring home the magic by grabbing a live plant in a #1 container from Nature Hills Nursery.

Read our guide to learn more about growing delphiniums.

11. Euphorbia

Plants in the Euphorbia genus run the gamut from noxious weeds to fuss-free ornamentals like gopher plants (E. rigida) and flowering spurge (E. martinii).

While you’re welcome to plant the weedy kind if that’s your thing and it’s legal in your area, we’re talking about the ornamental types here.

Once they’re in your garden bed, Euphorbia species need little maintenance and will happily self-seed in Zones 4 and up, depending on the species.

E. lactea ‘Crested Cactus’ is a unique and fascinating option.

The bottom half of the plant is a cactus-like succulent rootstock with a coral-like, fan-shaped succulent grafted on top.

‘Crested Cactus’ Euphorbia

Plant one, or several, in the garden and wait for the comments to come rolling in.

Nature Hills Nursery carries this alien-like euphorbia.

12. False Indigo

Beautiful false indigo (Baptisia australis) is instantly recognizable as the clusters of deep blue flower spikes you might see swaying in the wind of the prairie.

It’s just as elegant tamed and planted in the garden, whether you use it in a group for impact or to fill in a wildflower garden. And it’s hardy enough to grow pretty much anywhere from Zone 3 to 11.

The word “false” in the name separates this North American native from “true” indigo (Indigofera tinctoria), but it can also be used to make blue dye.

Wild Blue False Indigo

I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t want this beauty adding color to your garden. Do you agree? Snag packets of 50 seeds at Earthbeat Seeds.

13. Forget-Me-Not

I triple-dog dare you not to be happy when you’re holding a posy of forget-me-nots (Myosotis sylvatica).

The blue (or pink, or white) blossoms with their cheerful yellow centers add joyous color to the landscape for months and months.

When they’re done, they set to work seeding themselves so they can repeat the performance next year.

Just don’t forget that they’re considered invasive in some areas.

Do your research before planting and consider a self-seeding native such as alpine forget-me-nots (M. asiatica syn. M. alpestris) instead. They’re a bit more petite but every bit as colorful.

Forget-Me-Nots

Both species grow in Zones 3 to 8, and both will go dormant in the heat of the summer. Don’t worry, they’ll return.

Don’t forget to pick up a packet, ounce, quarter-pound, or pound of seeds at Eden Brothers.

Our guide has more information about how to grow forget-me-nots.

14. Foxglove

Common foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) is a classic choice for the cottage garden.

In Britain, these plants were considered home to the fairies, and woe be to anyone who plucked the flowers and disturbed their home.

You can find flowers in white, cream, pink, purple, lavender, and yellow, most with speckles and flecks of contrasting colors, all happily growing in Zones 4 to 9 where they’re considered biennials.

In the Pacific Northwest and other temperate climates, some foxgloves – such as D. parviflora, D. lutea, D. grandiflora, and D. ferruginea – are short-lived perennials. Outside of that range, these flowers are grown as annuals.

Most bloom and produce seeds that sow themselves around the garden in their second year. Some hybrids will bloom in the first year, though. If you have a partially shady spot that could use some tall color, this is a killer option.

‘Rose Shades’ Foxglove

Speaking of killers, don’t eat them. They’re highly toxic.

‘Rose Shades’ is a lovely pick with tall spikes of rosy white and pink flowers. Burpee has bundles of four plants available to get you started.

Check out our guide to growing foxglove here.

15. Gladiolus

Sword-shaped leaves with tall spikes of vibrant blossoms are the hallmarks of gorgeous gladioli (Gladiolus spp.). In fact, “gladius” means sword in Latin.

They’re perfect for cut flower arrangements, but if you want to let them seed themselves throughout the garden, you just need to leave a few spikes in place after the blossoms fade.

In Zones 8 to 10, they’ll reliably return. But even in Zone 7, if you add an inch-thick layer of mulch to the garden after the seeds drop, they’ll be back the next year.

Hardy gladiolus, on the other hand, can handle climates as cold as that of Zone 3.

Cultivars such as G. ramosus ‘Volcano,’ G. nanus ‘Galaxian,’ and G. nanus ‘Atom’ are hardy, and most others that are will call it out in their name or plant tag description.

‘Nanus Impressive’ Gladiolus

‘Nanus Impressive’ lives up to its moniker. They’ll pierce your heart with their light pink petals with a deep fuchsia patch rimmed in red. They’re pretty eye-catching.

Impress the world with a few of your own. Grab 10, 50, or 100 bulbs at Dutch Grown.

Learn more about growing gladiolus here.

16. Hollyhock

It’s pretty hard to imagine a cottage garden without a few tall stalks of sweet hollyhocks (Alcea rosea).

Hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies love them, and we love them, too. They’re edible, can be used to make dyes, and who didn’t turn the flowers into fairy dolls when they were young?

Hollyhocks grow in Zones 3 to 9 as biennials or short-lived perennials. But if you neglect your deadheading chores, they’ll come back year after year.

I bought a house with a decidedly abandoned yard, and once we mowed the lawn, we discovered heaps of hollyhocks that started poking their heads up out of the edges of the lawn area.

Believe me when I say that while they may look delicate, they’re pretty tough.

Hollyhocks Mixed Colors

While the singles are perfectly magical, the double flowers are hard to compete with. Snag a packet, ounce, or quarter-pound of seeds in a mix of hues at Eden Brothers.

Check out our guide to learn more about growing hollyhocks.

17. Hosta

Hostas are one of the most popular garden plants in North America. We can’t get enough of our plantain lilies because they fill shady areas that are difficult to liven up.

Some hybrids are sterile, without viable seed, but others will happily spread themselves around, assuming you live in Zones 3 to 9.

Much of the time, the new plants won’t look like the parents. But that’s all part of the fun, right?

Don’t snip off the flower stalks after they fade. Leave them in place to do their thing naturally, or wait for the stalks to form seed heads.

Then, rub the seed heads between your fingers. If the head is dry and opens readily, the seeds inside are ready to be planted.

‘Francee’ Hosta

‘Francee’ will grow true from seed, which is excellent, because the green leaves trimmed in white are something you’ll want to keep around.

Snag a live plant in a gallon-size container at Fast Growing Trees.

Learn more about growing hostas in our guide.

18. Lady’s Mantle

Alchemilla mollis is one of those adaptable, tough, but attractive plants that can fill in spaces in the garden where you’re sick of fighting to keep things alive.

However, that tough nature and its aggressive seeding habit can also make lady’s mantle a bit too enthusiastic in some environments.

If you’re willing to make the effort to keep it in check and you live Zones 3 to 8, add the velvety, serrated leaves and sprays of chartreuse flowers to your garden for some easygoing texture.

Lady’s Mantle

Visit our friends at Nature Hills Nursery to bring home this pretty lady as a live plant in a #1 container.

Learn all about how to grow lady’s mantle in our guide.

19. Lupine

One of the first flowers that I planted when I moved from a hot climate to a cooler one was the lupine (Lupinus spp.).

They’re just so whimsical and eye-catching, but they’re fairly particular about where they’ll grow.

In some areas, people grow them as annuals or half-hardy perennials. But in the right climate, they’ll self-seed without any effort. You can find species, hybrids, and cultivars that will thrive everywhere from Zone 4 to 9.

For the best performance, most US gardeners will be better off with the North American natives L. polyphyllus or L. perennis, or one of their hybrids.

Wild Lupine

I totally get why lupines are experiencing newfound popularity these days.

If you’re on the lupine train, grab some live wild lupine plants at Nature Hills Nursery.

They carry a three-pack of two-inch pots or #1 containers.

20. Marigold

Not all marigolds are perennials, but some are. Mexican or bush (Tagetes lemmoni) marigolds are perennials, while all the others we typically grow in our gardens are annuals.

Regardless, they’ll all toss out seeds and come back every season.

Bush marigolds aren’t like the ones you grow as annuals. They’re huge, reaching up to six feet tall and sometimes even taller, and they’re evergreen in Zones 8 to 11.

After the flowers are done blooming, they’ll go to seed, and those seeds will start new plants if you let them.

Bush Marigolds

If you’d like to give growing this shrub a go, pick up a packet of 50 seeds at Amazon.

Learn more about growing marigolds in our guide.

21. Morning Glory

In Zones 9 to 11, some species of morning glory (Ipomoea spp.) are perennials, though many people in Zones 8 and down grow them as annuals.

Blue dawn flower (I. indica), Mexican morning glory (I. tricolor), heavenly blue (I. violacea), and moonflower (I. alba) are all tender perennials.

 Just remember that some morning glories are considered invasive, so check with your local planting regulations.

These enchanting vines are covered in brilliant blossoms that stretch open with the sunrise and close up tight in the afternoon heat.

They also grow quickly, up to 10 feet per season. When they’re done blooming, green seed pods form. Once the pods turn brown, they will open, and the goodies inside will drop to the ground, starting new vines.

The annual types do the same thing, which is why many people believe all morning glories are perennials.

By the way, if you’re interested in saving your morning glory seeds, we have a guide that can walk you through the process.

‘Grandpa Ott’s’ Morning Glory

‘Grandpa Ott’s’ is a dramatic option all dressed up in dark purple petals. Packets of seeds can be had at Botanical Interests.

Learn more about morning glories in our growing guide.

22. Nasturtium

Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus) are perennials in Zones 9 and up, but they self-seed so reliably that many people just assume they’re perennials in colder regions as well, despite the fact that the plant is actually dying each year.

That’s part of their charm as well as their downfall, because they can be a bit aggressive in the right conditions.

My solution to keeping them in check is to eat the papery blossoms as they appear so they don’t go to seed and turn my garden into a carpet of nasturtium.

But at the end of the year, I let a few go to seed so I don’t have to buy new ones next year.

‘Alaska’ Nasturtiums

To get you started, Burpee carries packets of 50 or 125 ‘Alaska’ seeds in mixed colors. ‘Alaska’ has variegated foliage, so it’s beautiful even when it isn’t in bloom.

Learn how to grow nasturtiums in our guide.

23. Pampas Grass

Pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana) is having a moment. It seems everyone wants to get their hands on the grass with the massive, fluffy heads to fill vases and pots in their homes.

Those heads are undeniably pretty, but do you know what else they are? Packed full of hundreds of seeds, just waiting to be carried away to the soil so they can start new plants.

I don’t know if I prefer the white or the pink version more. Maybe both?

White Plumed Pampas Grass

You can nab yourself a packet of white plumed grass seed at Eden Brothers and then pick up seeds to grow your own pink poms (C. selloana ‘Rosea’) at Nature Hills Nursery.

Pink Pampas Grass

Just imagine how gorgeous your Zone 7 to 9 garden is going to look.

24. Primrose

Lots of us grow primroses (Primula spp.) as annuals, but they’re short-lived perennials that will reseed themselves year after year.

The cheery flowers are highly fragrant, and the color is undeniably eye-catching. You can also eat them!

Just be sure to leave a few on the plant so they can develop seeds and spread away.

25. Rose Campion

Dusty miller, rose campion, bloody William, mullein-pink… whatever you call Silene coronaria (syn. Lychnis coronaria), it’s a classic garden choice for Zones 3 to 10.

Thanks to its tolerance for a wide range of soil types, sun exposure, and soil moisture, it has earned a place in many a mixed bed, border, or container.

‘Orange Gnome’ Rose Campion

‘Orange Gnome’ has bright orange blossoms and purple-bronze leaves. Bring the bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds your way by picking up a plant at Nature Hills Nursery.

26. Sedge

Sedges (Carex spp.) are one of those plants you see all over the place, but you rarely recognize what it is. Most people call it “grass,” and though they’re related, grasses are in a different family.

These beautiful plants are a bit more humble than the flowers we fill our gardens with, but they’re incomparable for adding texture. Plus, the seed heads are an attractive focal point before they take a leap into your garden bed.

The real challenge with growing these adaptable plants is choosing one. There are a lot of great ones out there, for Zones ranging from 3 to 10, depending on the species.

‘Ice Dance’ Sedge

‘Ice Dance,’ for instance, can fill a damp, shady spot with its dark green leaves edged in white. Nature Hills Nursery sells a live plant in a #1 container if that sounds good.

‘Orange New Zealand,’ (C. testacea) offers fall color, copper-shouldered oval (C. bicknellii) has bright yellow seed heads, and ‘Evergold’ (C. oshimensis) has creamy yellow and green foliage that resembles little fountains of gold and green.

Our guide to growing sedge has cultivation instructions.

27. Solomon’s Seal

Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum spp.) is a common name that covers a huge group of plants, from wild types that are foraged to eat and make beads out of, to ornamental types that have been cultivated for modern gardens. They grow all over the place in Zones 3 to 9.

The clusters of bell-shaped flowers and bird-attracting purple-black fruits are the frosting on top of the elegant, oval-shaped leaves. Some even have variegated foliage.

The challenge is to get the seeds into the ground in your garden before the birds nab them and drop them somewhere else. Your neighbors might appreciate the gift, but we want some of those seeds, too.

To ensure they take root where you want them to, pluck the seeds off when they’re plump and juicy and stick them in the soil about half an inch deep.

Solomon’s Seal ‘Variegatum’

For extra visual interest, pick up a variegated option. ‘Variegatum’ is available at Nature Hills Nursery.

28. Sweet Alyssum

Sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima) forms a fragrant carpet of color wherever you (or the plant) sprinkle the seeds in Zones 5 to 9.

Each fall before the first heavy frost, my grandma and I would grab her sweet alyssums by the base and pull them out of the ground.

Before we tossed them into the yard waste bin, we would give them a little shake to release all the seeds back into the garden so she could enjoy another year of their pretty blossoms.

‘Royal Carpet’ Sweet Alyssum

Many cultivars are white, but ‘Royal Carpet’ offers up rich purples fit for a queen. If you want to roll out the royal carpet, pick up 2,500 seeds at Burpee.

Learn more about sweet alyssum and how to grow it in our guide.

29. Viola

Cold-hardy, colorful, and edible, violas (Viola spp.) give you endless beauty from early spring until after the frost arrives.

They’re reliable reseeders that will return every year, slowly creeping throughout the garden in Zones 3 to 9.

‘Psychedelic Spring’ will send you on a trip through fields of pink, maroon, violet, and yellow, with white edges that outline the shape of the petals.

‘Psychedelic Spring’ Violas

Make 35 seeds yours by heading to Burpee.

Find our guide to growing violas here.

Plant Once and Watch the Show

Gardening is always rewarding, whether you’re cleaning out an overgrown bed or reveling in the glorious rose display that you nurtured.

But there’s something extra fulfilling about watching a big bed of flowers showing off in the summer that you didn’t have to plant or pay for that year.

It almost feels like you cheated the system a little, right?

Which of these marvels do you plan to add to your garden? Did we miss a favorite reseeding perennial of yours? Let us know in the comments.

To continue on your perennial growing journey, we have a few guides that might be of interest:

South comments:

Instead of buying that expenditures hand tool you go to Home Depot and rent a motorized tiller and do the job in a few hours and then go do your regular job haha this has to be a joke… I mean if you live somewhere where it would be ok to run a tiller in your yard say out in the country every second neighbor will own tiller or a tractor with a large tilling blade and for prob the price of fuel that you’ll have to make them take they would till your garden for you. This type of hand tool is not something that anyone living in 2023 in America should be using unless you just want to make a YouTube video are take pictures with it. Hell you might as well buy a wash board and wash your clothes by hand in a wooden tub. Haha

I replied:

A few things to consider:

1. This broadfork loosens soil to over 12″, whereas a motorized tiller only turns over the top 4-5″.

2. A standard tiller shreds the soil and inverts it, but a broadfork does not shred it, and does not have to invert it.

3. Do you really think our standard of living is going to continue as it is right now? There’s nothing wrong with buying and using a tiller, but where do the parts come from? What about the gas? Everything is more fragile than we think, and hand tools are very important to understand, keep and use as backups. And that’s no joke.

Now, full disclosure, I do own a tiller, and I do use it to make new beds.

But I have made many, many beds with a broadfork as well. And it makes a much higher quality bed, especially when combined with the addition of compost. If you throw your compost on a new bed location before broadforking, the tines open pockets into which the humus will fall as you fork, giving you a deeper addition of nutrients for plant roots to discover.

The reason we do things like this:

Is because we don’t trust in people like this:

And we don’t trust in an endless supply of this:

Or in the uninterrupted supply of goods coming from a place like this:

So we learn to use tools that work no matter what, and we stay fit.

In the West Indies we built and maintained a 1/4 acre garden with hand tools during the early days of the pandemic. Most of the work was done with grub hoes and a Meadow Creature broadfork.

Do you remember the pandemic, “South?” Do you remember all the issues with supply lines and lockdowns, etc. We do. And that was nothing, as pandemics go.

How high is your trust level in the stability of 2023 America?

Not only does the broadfork work well to make garden beds, it’s near indestructible. Use your tiller when you can, sure, but remember that a broadfork will not fail even when all else does. This is one of the main reasons we use and maintain hand tools.

And a washboard isn’t a bad idea either.

 

*Chinese factory image via AP/Chinatopix. 

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DATURA — Thorn Apple, Angel’s Trumpet

Annual and tender shrubby perennial flowering plants. They are natives of tropical America, Mexico and Europe, and belong to the Nightshade family, Solanaceae. Datura is the old Arabic name. The most familiar kind is Datura (Brugmansia) arborea, which bears large, white fragrant blooms in summer and is a favorite plant for tubs.

Tender Perennials

The shrubby kinds are cultivated in a greenhouse with a minimum winter temperature of 45 degrees and outdoors where little or no frost occurs. When wintered indoors in pots or tubs they may be placed out of doors during the summer. They grow up to 10 ft. in height, have woody stems, and large ovate leaves, and produce pink, yellow, red or white trumpet-shaped flowers in summer. The plants are either grown in large pots or tubs or planted in a prepared bed in the greenhouse.

The shoots are trained to wires attached to the wall. In the young stages, the plants are repotted frequently until they are large enough for tubs. Established plants are watered once a week with liquid fertilizer during the summer. Shade is not required except for newly potted plants. Pruning consists of shortening the side shoots by two-thirds after flowering. Very little water is required during the winter, sufficient only being given to prevent the stems from shriveling.

Propagation is by inserting cuttings of young shoots in a greenhouse in spring.

Shrubby kinds are

Datura arborea, Angel’s Trumpet, 10 ft., white

D. sanguinea, 9 ft., red

D. suaveolens, 12 ft., white

D. chlorantha, 10 ft., yellow

D. cornigera (syn. Knightii), white

The annual kinds are suitable for the mixed flower border during summer. They grow about 3 ft. in height, have large ovate leaves and trumpet-shaped flowers in white, red or pink. The seeds are sown in light soil in a warm greenhouse in March. The young plants are transplanted singly into small pots and are planted out of doors in rich soil and in full sun as soon as it is safe to plant tomatoes outdoors. In the South the seeds may be sown directly out of doors.

The chief annual kinds are D. Metel, 3 ft., blush white; D. Metel rubra, red. D. meteloides, grown as an annual although technically a perennial is 1-3 ft. high. Its fragrant white blooms are tinged with pink or lilac.

Economic Uses

One kind of Datura, D. Stramonium, the Jimson Weed or Thorn Apple, furnishes an important drug with narcotic, anodyne and antispasmodic properties, commonly known as Stramonium. It is a coarse-growing annual plant found naturalized as a weed in most parts of the United States. Its juice is poisonous and eating wilted plants is likely to prove fatal.

Growing in two or three months to a height of 2-3 ft. with a similar width, Jimson Weed has large, long-stalked, heart-shaped leaves with undulated or wavy margins, white, tubular flowers and large, egg-shaped, spiny fruits filled with black, kidney-shaped seeds

Accessing fresh fruit and vegetables is much harder and more expensive than it used to be. So how do we grow food within our immediate neighbourhood? There are many different ways that we can help to improve food security within our communities. Let’s talk about them!

Food security has been on my mind a lot lately. With the rising cost of living, going to the grocery store isn’t what it used to be. Suddenly, I’m looking at a grocery bill that is 15% or more than what it used to be.

When writing The Regenerative Garden, I included a chapter entirely on community. While we may think of gardening as an independent activity, it’s really far from it. Community is a core part of practicing gardening, from sharing ideas online to planning a garden that contributes to the local wildlife.

A garden can mean so much more than just a place to pull weeds and grow vegetables. It can be a place that’s part of a community that supports many different lives.

Like many, I have thoughts and ideas about improving food security for everyone. Food security is how accessible (affordable and within reach) fresh and nutritious food is.

I want to stress that these are ideas, not solutions. Many of these ideas for improving food security have their own challenges, which I will try to discuss. But I simply wanted to begin the discussion so that we can help everyone get better access to fresh food together.

Today, I’ll be talking about…

Indigenous Peoples have practiced food forests for hundreds of years. They’re a carefully curated selection of plants that mimic a natural forest system while producing the highest amount of food, medicine, and craft materials as possible.

Right in BC, food forests have been re-discovered that were planted and maintained more than 150 years ago by the Ts’msyen and Coast Salish Indigenous peoples. They took forests covered in cedar and hemlock and planted an orchard-like display of shrubs like wild cherry and crab apple.

Not only can we create food forests in our homes but also in public spaces. I have always loved the idea of planting food forests at schools.

Most schools have traditional raised vegetable gardens where the kids help and learn about growing food. But primary vegetable production occurs in the summer when the kids aren’t there. Food forests, however, perform in all seasons and have a natural succession: as it grows, it performs more.

There’s also less maintenance in the growing season, as most of the primary care, such as pruning, would take place in the spring or fall. The kids can participate and learn plenty about producing food and regenerative gardening practices. Then, the school can also use the food to provide healthy and fresh meals.

There may be local organizations within your community that are already helping to grow food forests in local spaces. In my area, the Vancouver Urban Food Forest Foundation is utilizing these indigenous practices to “spread the word about food justice as a tool for systematic change.”

Lori Synder, our Garden Therapy Herbalist Mentor, is one of the co-creators of the organization.

Edible Street Trees

So many trees are planted every year in cities to beautify their boulevards. Why couldn’t these street trees also produce food? This would create food for plenty of people and also wildlife.

Unfortunately, this seemingly simple idea actually has tons of issues and isn’t quite as straightforward as replacing boulevard trees with edible ones.

Fruit trees can become extremely messy if there’s no one there to harvest the fruit. Who would be responsible for harvesting these trees and cleaning up the mess? New infrastructure would need to be put in place to take care of it, leading to more $$ being spent.

Some places have tackled this issue. For example, The Skookum Food Provisioners Cooperative in Powell River is a group that helps to save fruit in the community. People who have fruit and nut trees or shrubs on their property will reach out, and volunteers will come and pick the fruit. One-third of the picked fruit goes to the property owner, one-third goes to the picker themselves, and the other third is donated to charities to distribute the food to those in need.

Urban foraging has risen in popularity, partly due to climbing food prices and partly due to people like Alexis Nikole, the Black Forager. I see people gathering handfuls of chestnuts in the fall or eating ornamental plums. Sometimes, it isn’t until I see people foraging that I learn something is edible. It’s so interesting to see where food is growing!

Community gardens are amazing for urban gardeners with limited backyard gardening space or in rural and small towns where access to fresh produce may be limited. They’re a space that allows people to grow their own plots of food while also growing food for the community and helping one another with learning and maintenance.

In some cases, community gardens have waitlists, extra fees for joining, are difficult to reach, and are grown in non-ideal spaces.

For instance, in Vancouver, there is a waitlist of upwards of five years to get a plot at a community garden. It’s not as accessible as it sometimes is made out to be. But this demand for community gardening spaces shows that more and more people want to turn to the garden as a place of solace and to produce their own food.

Community sharing is something you see all the time. It can involve free seed libraries, urban farm stands, FB free groups, community fridges, donations to the food bank, and other neighbourhood share groups. Essentially, it’s any way you can share your excess with the community.

Community sharing is fairly easy to do, but the main concern is that there is limited monitoring of the food. All of the food in the grocery store goes through such rigorous standards. So when you do food sharing, just know there is an end-user risk that exists.

For community sharing, expired products can’t go to donation centres. But I’ve seen many people offer them online. I will happily take expired products. I’ve even gone and made expired coffee for soap making.

As you can see, the idea behind all of these initiatives is community. It’s about sharing spaces and food you may not use and allowing others to share in the bounty. I have always thought of gardening as a community, whether sharing knowledge with a neighbour or making your front yard an enjoyable stop for those on a walk. We’re all part of a greater community and ecosystem, and the more we contribute and accept that idea, the better for everyone.

More Posts to Read

Today we’re headed to chilly Fairbanks, Alaska, to visit with Susie Zimmerman.

Here are a few shots of my garden. I’ve been at it for about 40 years (with a good deal of help from my husband, lovingly referred to as “the Undergardener”), whose main job was to build the house.

Where it all started, circa 1983–1987

More early beginnings of the garden—just a bit of lawn and some flowers

This aerial view shows how the house and gardens look now. What a cool house, and it is clear that there is a LOT of gardening going on down there.

Alaskan summers may be short, but the cool temperatures and long days mean everything grows incredibly lush.

In the fall, beautiful leaves changing color dominate the garden.

Just a little snow in the winter—still beautiful, though!

But when all that snow melts, a beautiful garden emerges, filled with flowers.

Hot colors come from a canna (Canna hybrid, Zones 8–11 or as a tender bulb) and a black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta, Zones 3–7).

You think deer are bad. Susie has MOOSE! She has a love-hate relationship with the frequent moose visitors. They are entertaining but can be quite destructive as well.

Susie sent so many wonderful photos that we’ll be back tomorrow with more from this beautiful garden!

 

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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I first met chickweed under an evergreen hedge in Bloemfontein, South Africa. It must have been springtime in that cold, winter-dry city, because the chickweed was lush, abundant, and tender. It smelled fresh and felt cool as I collected it as a green treat for our bantam hen and guinea pigs at home. I was five years old, at loose while my mother played tennis on the court hemmed by the hedge. Fast forward a few decades, and across two hemispheres, and I am collecting chickweed again—this time, to feed humans. The diminutive plant is easily trampled underfoot, but it is a shame to squash or kill such good food (also relished by bees). It is a compelling green vegetable, and tastes effervescently of spring.

Photography by Marie Viljoen.

Dom Perignon probably never really said that he was drinking the stars when he took a sip of fortuitously fizzy Champagne. That was an early example of marketing spin. But that spin would benefit the lowly lawnweed, Stellaria media. The chickweed genus is named for stars (stella = star), and the tender edible is brilliant with constellations of them in early spring. It’s tiny, five-petaled flowers help identify the plant, whose leaves taste like the scent of freshly-shucked cornsilk, a flavor that is vital and versatile.

Where I live in Brooklyn, New York’s USDA Zone 7 (-ish, thanks to urban microclimates), chickweed can appear as early in the year as February. In milder, moist regions, it is a winter weed, most conspicuous in cool, wet seasons. The Eurasian native, now at home all over the world, shuns heat and humidity. Sometimes, in a cool, damp autumn, it will reappear briefly.

Early in the season chickweed’s habit is prostrate and dense.

In full sun chickweed tends to remain mat-like, but in shade the plants can grow up to 12 pliant inches tall if they have enough moisture. By mid-spring those stems are lankier, the leaves are smaller, paler, and more spaced out, and its habit is defined more by copious seed capsules (beloved by birds), rather than blooms.

I feel rich whenever I collect chickweed. It’s the rare leafy green with striking flavor, and it feels strange and lucky to be gathering for free what could sell for substantial amounts at green markets (and occasionally, it does, when it meets a farmer with foresight).

An early arrival in cool spring temperatures, rhubarb is popular in temperate regions where it grows vigorously from underground rhizomes, and it needs a cold spell for leaf buds to properly set.

This makes it ideal for northern gardens where these plants have long been a staple in backyard beds, farmyard gardens, and vegetable plots.

They do struggle in hot temperatures, but rhubarb can be grown in southern gardens as a winter annual.

The red-veined leaves make beautiful foliage plants and these are avoided by herbivores like deer and rabbits. And mature plants produce tall, frothy plumes of lacy white flowers, which attract pollinators such as bees and butterflies.

Beautiful and low maintenance with healthy, tasty stalks… Are you ready to add some rhubarb to your garden? Then let’s jump in to learn how to grow and care for these plants!

Here’s how the leaf unfurls:

What Is Rhubarb?

A hardy perennial, rhubarb belongs to the genus Rheum and is grown for its long, edible stalks (petioles) which have a bold, sharp taste.

Growing from rhizomes, the stalks range in color from light green to pink to deep scarlet and are topped by large, heart-shaped leaves with a crinkly texture and ruffled edges.

The leaves emerge as large buds in early spring and unfurl with a fascinating display – like pink-tinged, green plant brains!

Today’s culinary variety, R. x hybridum, is an open-pollination cross of the species previously used for their health or medicinal properties, R. rhabarbarum and R. rhaponticum.

Mature plants flower in early summer and feature beautiful, tall spires of frothy white flowers.

But don’t expect flowers until plants are a few years old, and note that heritage varieties are more likely to flower than newer hybrids.

Many gardeners remove the flower buds to concentrate energy into the leaves and stalks. But flowering doesn’t impact flavor or texture, and they add a lovely, astilbe-like charm to the garden beds.

Rhubarb crops well for several seasons and plants can live for up to 20 years, growing one to five feet tall and wide, depending on the variety and climate.

Hardy in USDA Zones 3 to 8, plants go dormant in fall and the rhizomes require a cold period of at least 500 hours in temperatures below 40°F for the proper formation of new buds.

Dormancy breaks when temperatures reach 40°F, and plants thrive in mild temperatures in the range of 60 to 75°F.

However, they do struggle once the mercury climbs over 80°F, and they won’t survive in consistent temperatures over 90°F. Provide shade in areas with hot afternoon sun.

Gardeners in warmer zones have luck growing rhubarb as a winter annual, discarding the rhizomes in spring as temperatures heat up.

Please note that the leaves are toxic and should not be eaten because they contain high levels of oxalic acid.

However, they are perfectly safe to go in the compost and do not have any detrimental impact on compost quality – oxalic acid is not readily absorbed by roots and degrades quickly when plant cells break down.

Cultivation and History

Native to the areas of southern Siberia and northwestern Mongolia, rhubarb has a long history in traditional Chinese medicine.

One of the earliest references to Rheum use can be traced back to 270 BCE in an ancient text known as “Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing,” or “Shen-Nong’s Herbal Classics,” a compilation of oral traditions about agriculture, herbs, and medicinal plants.

In the Greco-Roman cultures, it was used medicinally to combat many ailments – but importing it along Silk Road routes was expensive and it commanded a price similar to valuable spices like cinnamon, saffron, and pepper.

Planted as a medicinal in medieval European gardens, it wasn’t until the early 18th century that it was grown as a food plant.

And it didn’t become popular until the end of the century when European beet sugar became an affordable and available replacement for pricey, imported cane sugar.

Plants arrived in North America in the mid-1700s for their reputed healing properties but they weren’t used for culinary purposes here until the mid-1800s.

Botanically a vegetable, rhubarb is often referred to as a fruit because that’s how we use it culinarily.

Also known as pie plant, the stalks are most often cooked with sugar to counter the keen, biting flavor and made into savory dishes like chutney, ketchup, and salsa, or sweet ones like cakes, crumbles, ice cream, and naturally, pies.

Often combined with strawberries in baked goods, other flavorful blends include sliced apples, berries, currants, kiwi, and gooseberries.

The tangy stalks can also be eaten raw, but usually only by young children who don’t know better! (Shared memory, anyone?)

Seriously, the flavor of the raw stalks is highly acerbic and much enhanced with a touch of sugar or maple syrup.

Rhubarb also has a strong nutritional profile. It’s rich in antioxidants such as anthocyanins and vitamin K, and contains beneficial amounts of vitamin C, calcium, and fiber.

Propagation

Rhubarb can be propagated from seed, but crown division is the easiest, fastest, and most reliable method for new plants.

From Seed

In early spring about eight weeks before the final frost, fill individual four-inch pots with a good potting or seed-starting soil mix.

For southern gardens, sow seeds in late summer.

Place two seeds into each pot, sowing them one-half to one inch deep.

Water lightly to moisten the soil and keep at room temperature (60 to 75°F). After sprouting in five to 10 days, move to a bright window or place under a grow light.

When seedlings are three or four inches tall, move them outdoors to a slightly shady location to harden off for seven to 10 days, increasing the time spent outdoors by about an hour each day.

Keep the soil moist, but not soggy.

After hardening off, plant out into a sunny spot with fertile, well-draining soil.

Potted seedlings should be transplanted at the same depth at which they are growing in their pots.

Depending on the variety, space plants one to three feet apart to accommodate their spread.

To reduce the risk of transplant shock, plant out on a cool, cloudy day – hot sunshine on the large leaves can cause plants to droop.

For more seedling details, check out our guide on how to start rhubarb from seed.

From Divisions

Division is the best way to rejuvenate old plants and it’s the easiest, fastest, and most reliable way to propagate new ones.

In early spring before new shoots emerge, or in autumn as plants enter dormancy, dig out the entire root ball. Fully insert a spade all the way around the roots, about six inches out from the crown, and lift out.

Use a clean, sharp garden knife to divide the root ball into equal sections, ensuring each piece has one to three eyes (buds) and a healthy section of rhizome – the more buds each section has, the bigger the plant will ultimately grow to be.

Very old plants can develop hard, woody rhizomes and you might need a garden saw or hatchet to sever them.

For the healthiest divisions, replant promptly, following the steps outlined below.

Transplanting

Divisions and nursery crown stock can be planted in early spring as soon as the soil can be worked, or in autumn when plants are dormant.

Prepare the planting site by loosening the soil to a depth of 12 inches.

If your soil is clay-based or dense, create a four- to six-inch raised mound to improve drainage and prevent root rot.

Mix in some organic material such as compost or well-rotted manure.

To improve drainage, add some grit, such as landscape sand, pea gravel, perlite, or stone chips.

To help maintain moisture in the root zone, you can add moisture-retentive materials such as coconut coir, peat moss, or vermiculite.

Stir in one or two tablespoons of bone meal for strong, healthy roots.

Plant divisions or nursery stock about six inches deep with the crown one to two inches below the soil and space plants one to three feet apart.

Backfill and firm the soil gently but avoid tamping down the crown area.

How to Grow

Heavy feeders, rhubarb likes deeply cultivated, well-draining, and fertile, loamy soil that’s rich in organic matter. They also need full sun and do best in slightly acidic soil with a pH of 5.5 to 6.5.

Provide up to two inches of water per week, keeping the soil lightly moist but not wet.

Rhubarb can also be grown in containers, but you’ll need one that’s fairly large. And container plants need to be divided more frequently, usually every three years.

As a companion plant, rhubarb benefits brassicas such as cabbage, kale, and cauliflower with their ability to deter whiteflies.

They also protect beans by repelling aphids and in return, enjoy the extra nitrogen beans leave in the soil.

Growing Tips

Rhubarb is easily cultivated and the following tips ensure vibrant, healthy plants with plenty of tartly tasty stalks.

• Grow in full sun and provide protection from hot afternoon sun if needed.
• Rheum does not do well in waterlogged conditions. Ensure your soil is well draining or plant in mounds to keep the roots healthy.
• Provide one to two inches of water per week.

Maintenance

Apply a thick, four- to six-inch layer of compost over the root zone in spring.

In early summer, apply a four-inch layer of bark mulch, leaf mold, or straw to keep roots cool and help retain moisture, but keep it a few inches away from the crown.

Fertilize plants in early spring with an application of slow-release pellets scratched into the root zone and reapply in midsummer.

Keep the pellets away from the crown to avoid burning and use a balanced formula such as 10-10-10 NPK.

After the growing season ends, cut back foliage to the ground and clean beds of decaying vegetative matter and debris.

To protect the root stock from freeze/thaw cycles, in autumn remove old summer mulches and apply a six-inch protective mulch over the root zone and crown.

Use mulch materials such as compost, pine boughs, or straw. Remove winter mulches in early spring.

Dig up and divide the roots every five years or so when plants are dormant – the steps for doing this are outlined in the Propagation section above.

Phytophthora crown rot can occur if the plants’ subterranean parts sit in too much water for too long.

To avoid crown rot, be sure to plant in well-draining soil or plant in hills to improve drainage.

Harvesting

With divisions or newly planted nursery stock, wait until the second or third year of growth to harvest.

This is to develop strong, healthy roots for vibrant, large plants with plenty of juicy stems.

And to do that, the leaves are needed to convert the sun’s energy into food – no leaves, and the roots stay small. So it’s best to be patient… it does pay off!

Early varieties can be harvested starting in March and April with maincrop varieties ready in April and May – both types are harvested throughout the summer.

Choose stalks that are at least 10 inches long, picking a few stalks per plant. To avoid stressing plants, take care not to harvest all the stalks from a given plant at once.

For perennial clumps, let some leaves remain in place over summer to generate energy for next year’s growth.

For annuals, harvest all the stalks when temperatures rise and stay above 75°F. Dispose of crowns in the compost pile after your last harvest.

To harvest, grab a stalk at the base then pull down and twist sideways – it should break off easily. You can also cut the stalks with a clean, sharp knife.

Immediately cut off the leaves and put them in the compost bin – unless they are diseased. In that case, seal them in a bag and dispose of them.

Cut stalks can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Wrap them in plastic or stand them up in a container of water, much as you would fresh herbs, to keep them hydrated.

Preserving

Rhubarb’s fantastic flavor can be enjoyed in preserves as well.

To freeze, cut clean, dry stalks into one-inch pieces and place in a single layer on a baking tray.

Freeze pieces until firm, about two hours, then pack into resealable containers and freeze for up to one year.

To dry, cut the stems into quarter-inch slices and spread in a single layer on dehydrator trays.

Dehydrate on the lowest setting until the texture is crisp. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry cupboard.

Canning in a hot water bath is another way to preserve the sassy stalks in delectable compotes, conserves, jams, and stewed fruit.

Recipes and Cooking Ideas

When dreaming about this fruity veg in the kitchen, an absolute must is the classic strawberry rhubarb pie featured on our sister site, Foodal.

Sweet and sour, it has an old-fashioned flavor that deserves a place on the modern table.

Also from Foodal comes a mouthwatering rhubarb buttermilk sherbet, featuring its unmistakable tart taste.

For even more rhubarb recipes, check out all that is available over on Foodal.

And don’t forget the humble but beloved crumble that Mum or Gran used to make. With or without strawberries, it’s always scrumptious!

Don’t let anyone tell you that Lyme Disease is harmless. It definitely isn’t – it almost killed me.

I am a relatively healthy guy with no chronic disease. Three years ago in May, I was experiencing bouts of fatigue and low grade fevers off and on. At first I thought, its probably allergies, because that’s the one thing that gets me every spring. But the fatigue got worse and worse and sometimes I simply had to take a nap midday (which very unlike me). As this occurred in the throes of the Covid-19 pandemic, doctors kept testing me for Covid which always came back negative. My symptoms remained unexplained, even though I received multiple blood tests, including for the most common form of Lyme Disease (there are at least 16 strains of Lyme Disease bacterium, according to Penn State University). But nothing was our of normal range.

A sudden change in symptoms was alarming

After about 4 weeks of this, my symptoms suddenly changed. I started experiencing heart palpitations and my right ankle swelled up from edema. Plus, the skin on my hands and the bottom of my feet was peeling (like a moulting lizard!!). My knees were red but not swollen, as were my elbows and wrists. But I did not have that tell-tale sign of Lyme Disease – the bullseye rash.

I got worse fast that day, became unable to stand because I was so weak, and was in the ER that evening. There, I went into heart failure. At the time, I thought it might be the end of me.

An uncommon strain of Lyme Disease was the culprit

After 24 hours, and multiple blood tests and scans, there was still no diagnosis and my heart rhythm was dangerously out of whack. One blood test showed that my thyroid levels were very high, indicating some kind of infection. Yet everything tested for was negative.

The infectious disease doc had a hunch (as he described it) to test for a lesser known version of Lyme Disease. Bingo! My antibodies lit up. They dosed me with a heavy regimen of antibiotics and thyroid meds, and within 24 hours my heart rhythm improved and my blood chemistry started coming back in line. Fortunately, I have no heart damage or any other kind of lingering issues from my bout with Lyme Disease. Except for a panicky revulsion to ticks.

The question was and remains, how did I get Lyme Disease? It happened during the pandemic, when I was pretty much moving just between the house and garden. So the best guess is I picked one up in my garden. Or maybe one came in on the dog. Or maybe one was lingering in my garden shed, because mice like the shed too (ticks hitchhike on mice). Who knows? What I do know is that if I had taken precautions that spring I may have avoided a health crisis. For the record, I wasn’t in the woods when I was bitten – I live in a city with a small yard. Ticks are everywhere now.

How to protect yourself from tick bites and Lyme Disease

Not every tick carries Lyme Disease – I’ve been bitten by ticks before Lyme and after Lyme and was perfectly fine. But those are the only ones I spotted.

According to the CDC, the ticks that carry Lyme Disease are the blacklegged tick, aka the deer tick. Many of those that bite you are nymphs, which are the size of a poppy seed, so good luck spotting that on your body. You can be bitten anytime between spring and fall, but the tick typically has to be attached to your body for 36-48 hours before transmitting Lyme Disease. If you’re lucky enough to spot it and carefully remove it within 24 hours, you’re probably safe.

How to create a tick-safe yard and garden

Ticks hide everywhere, waiting for a mammal to pass. When you or an animal brushes up against them or gets close enough to them, they attach and stick their mouth parts under the skin and start harvesting blood. Nice, right? But ticks don’t like sunny or open areas. So here are a few ways to reduce your chances of ticks in the yard: (Source: CDC)

• If you have tall grasses or brush around your yard, mow it down. Short grass means fewer places for ticks to hide
• Ticks don’t migrate across open spaces on their own, so create a 3-foot wide barrier of wood chips or stones as borders between lawns and wooded areas and around patios or play areas.
• Keep the lawn mowed to about 3 inches. Ticks love tall grass.
• Create open, sunny areas with low mown grass for kids to play in.
• Keep shrubs trimmed near patios and walkways.
• Remove plant species from your garden that deer typically sample – ticks travel on deer.
• Move wood piles to areas that are dry and stack it. This will discourage rodents that ticks live on.
• If you have junk or trash in the yard, remove it, as ticks will definitely inhabit it.
• Do not rely on pesticides alone to clear your property of ticks – they are unreliable and by their nature, temporary. Use the cultural controls listed above first, pesticides second.

How to protect yourself from tick bites

• Never leave the house (just kidding).
• When gardening, wear white or light-colored clothing so you can see any ticks that attach to it.
• Wear a long-sleeved shirt and long pants no matter how hot it is.
• Tuck pant legs inside socks or boots.
• Place your clothes in a hot drier right after you come inside. The heat from the dryer will kill any ticks, washing alone will not.
• When you go inside, check your body for ticks – check everywhere, especially where you have hair (know what I mean?).
• If you’re okay with using a tick repellant, choose one with 20%-30% DEET, 10% for children. Apply according to the instructions on the label.
• If you discover a tick on your body, DO NOT use heat or alcohol or your fingers to remove it. Using a fine-tipped tweezers, (and preferably a magnifying glass because you know.. small), grasp the mouthparts as close to the skin as possible. Pull the tick straight out. The mouthparts must be removed from the skin, as the tick won’t die just because you separated the body from the head (isn’t that great?).

Do ticks have any natural predators?

I wish I could tell you that creating a backyard where birds were plentiful would reduce your tick population. It may, but it also may not. Naturally, having a balanced ecosystem in your yard, no matter the size, helps to keep all pests in check. But there is not a singular animal who devours ticks and keeps the local population down. Birds eat some, snakes eat some, salamanders, frogs and spiders even eat some. But the key word is some. But there is a line of thinking that if you reduce the rodent population – the mice, chipmunks and other small mammals that ticks travel on – can reduce the number of ticks in your immediate area. So police areas where mice might nest and discourage deer from your property (without harming them), and you may see fewer ticks in your yard and garden.

How does a tick attach itself to you?

This PBS video does a fine job of telling you more than you ever wanted to know about ticks.

Resources:

But there are some things you can do to make the job of weeding a lot less cumbersome and time-consuming.

Are you with me? Let’s take a look!

Weed Habits

Right off the bat, if you understand how weeds work, you’ll be better prepared to prevent them.

They are actually a specific type of plant with a certain pattern of behavior.

They also produce abundant seeds, which can stay dormant for a very long time. They spread rapidly. And they inhabit disturbed sites, like our gardens.

Ultimately, in nature, these pioneer species have a really important ecological role. They quickly cover disturbed soil and protect the area from erosion, and even sustain soil life.

Not so much in our gardens, however. But knowing that the opportunists favor the disturbed sites should give you some insight.

Seeds are just waiting to be brought to the surface where they can germinate. So minimizing soil disturbance is the first step to battling fewer weeds.

Wait Until the Time is Right

Have you ever tried to weed on a dry, hot summer day? It’s miserable. The ground, especially if you have clay soil, is all but cement.

If you have no choice but to take on this cumbersome task when it’s hot and dry, here are my suggestions:

Use a hoe to cut seedlings off at the base. If they are small, chances are, severing them will kill them.

For the big ones, do yourself a favor and cut them back to the ground.

Cutting them back is still really beneficial, especially if you aren’t going to have a chance to get out in the garden again soon. This way you’ll keep the plant from going to flower and seed, at least for a time, which is huge.

Ultimately, the best time to pull those unwanted plants is after a good soaking rain. They all but climb out of the ground on their own! (If only…)

Still, it’s much easier work when the soil is wet. Trust me.

Get in the Garden Often

If you make it a habit to weed as you walk, you’ll save yourself a lot of work overall.

Take a daily stroll through your garden. This is generally a good practice as you can keep an eye out for pests, water needs, and of course, weeds.

Pull what you see on your way to the car, and back again to the front door. You can even take a different route through your garden every time you leave or come back home, or make it a point to take morning strolls with your cup of coffee on nice days.

Staying on top of the state of your garden saves you from backbreaking labor later in the season.

What to Do With the Debris

Most of the pulled debris can be added to your compost pile. If plants have gone to seed, however, you’ll want to dump them at a site that won’t interfere with your garden.

For example, there’s a ditch between my house and my neighbor’s house. I dump all of my unwanted plant debris there.

I weed-eat the area regularly, so plants never have an opportunity to flower. And it’s in such an inconspicuous area, no one would ever know I dump debris there.

Here’s a caveat: you certainly don’t want to dump anywhere that it’s illegal.

Use Stale Seedbed Cultivation

Instead of waiting for weeds to take over at the same time as your desired plants, try getting ahead of them.

One way to do this is with stale seedbed cultivation.

In short, you want to prepare your garden bed a month early. Amend it, till it (if you prefer), and get it completely ready – as if you were going to plant it that day.

Then, water it – and keep the soil surface moist. The idea is to get as many weed seeds to germinate as possible. In about two weeks, you should have a nice flush of green.

At this point, take a hoe and cultivate the soil, being careful not to disturb the soil more than an inch or two below the surface. Otherwise, you’ll invite more weed seeds up to the germination zone.

This will wipe out a large portion of weeds that would have posed a problem later in the season – all before the season officially starts.

We have a full guide on stale seedbed cultivation here.

A quick note, for the sake of clarity and avoiding numerical redundancy: I’m classifying “small,” “medium,” and “large” lawns as being up to a quarter-acre, a half-acre, and a full acre in size, respectively.

But these classifications are based on the land being relatively flat. Keep in mind that a hilly acre of lawn has more surface area than a flat acre, and it will obviously have more turf to mow.

Additionally, I’d like to emphasize that we’re covering gas mowers here, which are typically more powerful and easier to repair than both corded and battery-powered electric models.

1. Black & Decker 12A-A2SD736

Let’s begin with how this model starts: it’s got an auto-choke, folks.

Meaning that as soon as you’ve pulled it out of storage, filled it up with gas, and topped it off with four-stroke engine oil, you can give the starter cord a hearty rip. Presto, you’re off and running!

Fans of an orange and black color scheme are sure to appreciate this 78-pound, 140cc mower with a 21-inch mowing deck, which is perfect for small- to medium-sized lawns.

Black & Decker 12A-A2SD736

Treaded wheels make movement over uneven terrain efficient and effortless.

With an adjustment handle on each wheel, you can switch between six different cutting heights, which can enable a close shave, a light trim, or anything in between.

Grass clippings can be sent into the rear bag, mulched, or discharged out the side, and you can switch between these options relatively quickly. This model comes with a two-year manufacturer’s warranty.

Quick Reference Specs

• Engine Volume: 140cc
• Propulsion: Push
• Weight: 78 pounds
• Mowing Width: 21 inches

Ready to add the Black & Decker 12A-A2SD736 to your arsenal of lawn tools? Pull the trigger and make the purchase at Amazon.

2. Craftsman M105

Not flashy and free of unnecessary bells and whistles, yet a rock solid worker – just as a craftsman should be.

This bright red model has a mowing width of 21 inches, along with an auto-choke for easy starting.

At a weight of 72.8 pounds, this gas push mower with 140cc engine is light enough to easily muscle and maneuver around a small lawn.

Craftsman M105

The Craftsman M105 can discharge clippings out the side, collect them in a rear bag, or mulch them back into the turf. For the latter, a mulch kit is included.

With six different height positions, you can quickly and easily switch up how low or high you cut your grass – from 1.25 inches to 3.75 inches – via levers on the front wheels.

For added comfort, the handle height is adjustable and it can be folded down for easy storage.

This product comes fully assembled, and should it ever break on you, a two-year warranty has your back.

Quick Reference Specs

• Engine Volume: 140cc
• Propulsion: Push
• Weight: 72.8 pounds
• Mowing Width: 21 inches
• Cut Height: 1.25 to 3.75 inches

All in all, a pretty sweet product. Reliable, efficient, a modest aesthetic… What more could you want?

To score this bad boy for yourself, head on over to Amazon.

3. Honda HRX2176HYA

Admittedly, “Honda HRX2176HYA” doesn’t really roll off the tongue. But it’s not like anyone will be speaking as they gaze upon this beauty. Their jaws will be too busy touching the floor.

This 21-inch, 97-pound mower looks awesome, plain and simple. Its red, black, and gray chassis gives off aesthetic efficiency, which allows the user to shave a small- to medium-sized lawn in style.

The auto-choke, throttle-mediated self-propulsion, 201cc engine, and twin-blade MicroCut® system all make mowing as easy as pie.

Plus, hydrostatic cruise control allows the user to precisely control its speed. No longer can the mower yank you along if you over-throttle!

Honda HRX2176HYA

Need to change the bag, move a toy, or take a break? With a push of a button, the Roto-Stop® system stops the blades without stopping the engine, which saves a lot of time.

The fuel tank can hold about a quart of gas, the engine is started with an easy tug of the pull cord, and the rear collection bag has a capacity of over 23 gallons!

Speaking of, Honda’s Versamow System™ can bag, discharge, or mulch clippings, as well as shred leaves.

For mulching and bagging simultaneously in a custom proportion, the Clip Director® knob comes in handy, allowing you to send some clippings into the bag while others are mulched into the turf… at the same time!

Seven different cutting positions, adjustable via a lever on each wheel, provide a height range of 0.75 to four inches.

Once you’re done, the adjustable handle folds down for convenient storage.

A five-year residential warranty (three-year commercial) covers this product, and the deck – made of dent- and rust-free NeXiteⓇ polymer – is covered for life.

Quick Reference Specs

• Engine Volume: 201cc
• Propulsion: Self-propelled
• Weight: 97 pounds
• Mowing Width: 21 inches
• Cut Height: 0.75 to 4 inches

Is owning the gorgeous Honda HRX2176HYA gas mower a powerful dream? Then make it a reality by picking up one of your own via Home Depot.

4. Murray 152506

As someone with long legs and a lengthy stride, I can find myself kicking a mower’s rear collection bag if I’m not careful.

With its compact and bagless design, this 20-inch, 125cc model from Murray is the perfect grass-cutting tool for any gawky-legged user with a small lawn.

The Murray 152506 definitely rocks the minimalistic vibe. Petite in appearance yet powerful in performance, this jet-black mower is an economical option for the casual grass cutter with a small backyard.

Murray 152506

Weighing a tad under 44 pounds, it can turn on a dime and, compared to heavier manual push models, practically feels self-propelled.

Starting the engine is painless – simply prime thrice and yank the cord.

This mower’s gas tank has a capacity of a little more than a fifth of a gallon, and a four-point adjustment system allows for five different height positions, enabling grass cutting as low as 1.2 inches or as high as 3.75 inches.

As far as dispersal goes, you can either eject the clippings out the side for later raking or mulch them back into the lawn.

Quick Reference Specs

• Engine Volume: 125cc
• Propulsion: Push
• Weight: 43.92 pounds
• Mowing Width: 20 inches
• Cut Height: 1.2 to 3.75 inches

A two-year limited warranty is icing on the cake. Have yourself a metaphorical slice and pick this guy up at Home Depot.

5. PowerSmart DB8621PH

Are you intrigued by the dark aesthetic and design of the Murray mower described above, but you need a few more features – like a rear collection bag and a larger engine? Give this 21-inch gas mower from PowerSmart a go!

Right off the bat, you’ll notice its sleek, black design and robust appearance.

Arriving almost fully assembled, the 75-pound frame is amply sturdy, yet light enough for easy maneuverability through a small to medium lawn.

PowerSmart DB8621PH

After priming the carburetor and pulling the cord, the four-stroke 209cc engine roars to life, slicing through grass like Wesley Snipes’ Blade through vampires.

The clippings can either be mulched, fed into the 15.9-gallon rear bag, or discharged out the side.

A cutting height of 1.18 to three inches is made possible by five different blade settings, with each wheel sporting its own adjustment lever.

The gas tank holds about a quart of gas, and once the yard is cut, the handle folds over for convenient storage. And a three-year warranty is included with purchase.

Quick Reference Specs

• Engine Volume: 209cc
• Propulsion: Push
• Weight: 75 pounds
• Mowing Width: 21 inches
• Cut Height: 1.18 to 3 inches

You can find this mower available via Amazon.

6. Toro Recycler 21462

A bright red, 83-pound mower with a 22-inch steel deck and a quart-sized fuel tank, the Toro 21462 Recycler® is ideal for those who want the convenience of cutting their small- to medium-sized lawns with a mower that features an intuitive propulsion system.

What does that mean? Straddling the line between push and self-propelled models, the Personal Pace Auto-Drive™ system adjusts the mower’s speed based on the user’s push.

The harder the user pushes, the faster the mower moves, adjusting quickly as the moment demands it.

Toro Recycler 21462

You can move slowly on turns and around edges, then up the speed for straight shots through the lawn, never having to fiddle with a speed adjustment switch.

This model’s 163cc engine consistently starts with a single pull of the start cord – no priming required – and cuts grass in a height range of one to four inches, thanks to nine different cutting positions via a four-point adjustment lever system.

The cuttings can either be side-discharged, mulched to an ultra-fine consistency, or bagged, with a lever that allows for easy switching between the latter two while the bag remains attached.

This mower comes with a two-year warranty and a three-year “guaranteed-to-start” engine warranty.

Quick Reference Specs

• Engine Volume: 163cc
• Propulsion: Self-propelled
• Weight: 83 pounds
• Mowing Width: 22 inches
• Cut Height: 1 to 4 inches

Check current prices now at Home Depot.

7. Toro Timemaster 21200

The Toro 21200 Timemaster definitely helps you save time, thanks to its large 30-inch mowing width.

It actually has two rotors, rather than one – twin blades spin rapidly side-by-side to cut grass efficiently. Personally, these remind me of the tandem rotors of a Boeing CH-47 Chinook.

And just like that particular helicopter, the Timemaster is a big boy: it has a 223cc engine, weighs 145 pounds, holds 1.2 quarts of fuel for an hour of runtime in one go, and has a rear collection bag volume of about 26 gallons!

It’s the perfect workhorse for those who have a medium to large lawn, but don’t quite need a huge walk-behind or riding model.

For those with smaller lawns, the Toro 21200 Timemaster may be overkill – I’d recommend going with a smaller model.

Toro Timemaster 21200

Equipped with the same Personal Pace® system as the Toro Recycler® described above, this black and red beast also has a traction-assist handle, which allows for additional control over rough terrain.

Starting with the push of a button, rather than a pull cord, this model can side-discharge, mulch, or bag clippings, and the Spin-Stop™ system allows users to halt the blades without cutting the engine.

The Toro 21200 Timemaster has a cutting height range of 1.25 to 4.25 inches, which is adjustable at two points on the left wheels.

Once you’re finished cutting grass, you can attach a hose to the deck’s washout port to clean the underside of grassy gunk, and two storage positions allow for easy storage.

The first folds the handle up vertically, while the second folds the handle all the way down, allowing you to nestle the mower upright in a tight spot in the shed.

With a three-year limited warranty and a three-year guaranteed-to-start engine warranty, you’ll have some peace of mind for a hot minute.

Quick Reference Specs

• Engine Volume: 223cc
• Propulsion: Self-propelled
• Weight: 145 pounds
• Mowing Width: 30 inches
• Cut Height: 1.25 to 4.25 inches

Grab yourself a Toro 21200 Timemaster now from Tractor Supply Company.

8. Troy-Bilt TB110

I’ve used mowers with sub-par traction on hilly lawns, and it’s quite a tough endeavor, trust me.

You fight tooth and nail for every uphill inch, but when you turn to go back down? You better have grippy shoes on, or you’ll be downhill sprinting real quick.

Thanks to its large, 11-inch rear wheels and S-wave tread pattern, the 66-pound Troy-Bilt TB110 can be safely used to cut turf on slopes throughout a small- to medium-sized lawn.

With its primeless and chokeless ReadyStart™ 140cc engine with a 0.8-quart fuel capacity, this red and black push model starts with a single pull of the cord.

Troy-Bilt TB110

It cuts grass in 21-inch-wide strips at a height range of 1.25 to 3.75 inches, thanks to six different blade positions at four points of adjustment.

Catch clippings in the 17.7-gallon rear collection bag, side discharge, or mulch them to spread back onto the lawn – a mulch kit is included for the latter.

A two-year limited warranty is included with this product.

Quick Reference Specs

• Engine Volume: 140cc
• Propulsion: Push
• Weight: 66 pounds
• Mowing Width: 21 inches
• Cut Height: 1.25 to 3.75 inches

Check current prices now at Home Depot.

9. Troy-Bilt TBWC28

Do you have a medium to large lawn that demands a wider cut and more overall “oomph” than the Troy-Bilt TB110?

Then you should seriously consider the Troy-Bilt TBWC28, equipped with a 28-inch mowing deck, 195cc engine, and quart-sized fuel tank.

With the same high traction, large rear wheels as its smaller relative, the Troy Bilt TBWC28 mower will handle the rolling grassy hills of your property with ease.

Troy-Bilt TBWC28

It comes with self-propulsion via rear-wheel drive, which makes it easy to move this 160-pound unit around.

Additionally, the lever-mediated InStep™ variable speed adjusts based on your walking pace for improved control on rough terrain.

Cutting height ranges from 1.25 to 3.75 inches via six different settings with a single-lever adjustment system.

Starting the engine is always a cinch, thanks to an automatic choke and easy-pull cord.

The clippings can be discharged out the side or into the rear 18.6-gallon bag. They can also be mulched, via the included mulch kit.

A three-year warranty is included with purchase.

Quick Reference Specs

• Engine Volume: 195cc
• Propulsion: Self-propelled
• Weight: 160 pounds
• Mowing Width: 28 inches
• Cut Height: 1.25 to 3.75 inches

To grab yourself a Troy-Bilt TBWC28, visit Home Depot.

Factors to Consider Before Buying

Before making such a purchase, it’s important to have a general idea of your constraints and what your needs are.

Let’s consider all of the variables to optimize your grass cutting endeavors, and save you from the dreaded buyer’s remorse.

Lawn

The lawn you cut is just as important as what you cut it with. Go outside, take a look at your turf, and consider the following:

“How big is my lawn?” The larger the lawn, the more you’ll benefit from a powerful engine and a larger mowing width, i.e. how wide each “stripe” of cut grass is, like that of the Toro 21200 Timemaster.

On the other hand, a huge beast of a mower would be overkill if you just have a small strip of turf to maintain in the backyard.

That’s the gardener’s privilege, right there.

Establishing a healthy tree demands some forethought and proper planning that may be intimidating to the casual gardener.

But fear not! We’ve put together an excellent guide for how to start growing cherry trees. Check out our list of suggested cultivars, too, for our recommended picks.

What Type Is for You?

Fruiting cherries are derived from two different species within the Prunus genus.

Sweet cherries (Prunus avium) tend to grow in USDA Hardiness Zones 5 to 7. These fruits are perfect for fresh eating and will produce plenty of fruit each year.

The sweet cultivars are self-sterile, so you’ll need to plant at least two or three for fruit production.

Sweets also require ample spacing to grow without becoming crowded. Your sweets need to be planted 35 to 40 feet apart, although dwarf varieties need a mere five to 10 feet of breathing room.

Sour cherries (Prunus cerasus) will grow in Zones 4 to 6, and are more cold-hardy.

Use these fruits when baking and cooking, but less often for fresh eating (they’re called “sour” for a reason!). Most sour cultivars are also self-sterile, so you’ll need at least two or three to produce any fruit.

Fortunately, these trees need only 35 to 40 feet of space between one another, while dwarf varieties require about eight to 10 feet.

So, to recap: sweet cherries are for fresh eating and baking, while sour cherries are usually used in baking and are not typically eaten fresh.

Patience Is a Necessity

Most fruiting trees take a few years to begin producing something that’s edible and tasty, and cherries are no different.

Expect a period of three to five years of waiting before your trees start producing fruit. The trees need to establish themselves in their new home and gain a solid foothold before they can begin to produce fruit.

A timeline of several years is all the more reason to get started with planting now!

What’s that? “But I love the taste of sour cherries…”

Me too! Chances are you’ve found them frozen at the grocery store and labeled as ‘Bing’ cherries. If you’re lucky, you’ve also been able to find them fresh in the middle of summer at the farmers market, often towards the end of July.

Grow your own and have the freshest crop available for the beautiful window when they’re ripe. With the size of the crop you’ll get, you’ll be able to share them with friends and neighbors too!

Planting Best Practices

Whether you’re planting sweet or sour, both types want similar conditions.

Proper soil is critical to the health of your trees. For some species, you can dig a hole and plop the root ball into it, and let the plant do the rest of the work.

Cherries, on the other hand, need deep and well-drained soil; this can make planting in rocky areas or soils with a high clay content problematic.

I’d recommend digging the hole deeper and wider than it needs to be for the root ball to fit inside. Really break that soil up and replace about one-quarter of the native soil with compost to give the plant a chance to set roots and spread into its new home.

Full sun is important for any fruit tree, so place your plant where it will be sure to get at least eight hours of sun a day. A bit of protection from the hottest afternoon sun can be helpful on the more southern edges of the growing zones.

Sour varieties are at their best in soil with a pH of 6 to 7, while sweet cultivars prefer a pH of 6.3 to 7.2.

They’ll grow in other acidic or basic conditions beyond these recommendations, but prefer this narrow range. Get your soil tested so you’ll have a good starting point before selecting varieties.

Water and Nutrient Requirements

For all of the fruit these trees produce, they don’t require much in the way of fertilizers and water. About an inch of rain per week is ample. Use a rain gauge that sacrifices style in exchange for an easy-to-read and practical setup.

If you’re in a dry spell and aren’t reaching that rain requirement, you can water once a week. However, don’t over saturate the roots and soil; dry roots are healthier than waterlogged ones. A good soaking once a week during periods of dry weather is plenty.

Fertilization is even easier. Because cherries are low feeders, you can get away with any of the following fertilization methods:

• Use a low nitrogen fertilizer, or a general-purpose fertilizer at half the recommended rate, once a year before flowers bloom.
• Add twice-yearly application of compost. A light dressing will do the trick.

Easy enough, right? If you like to feed your plants, you can get away with one more application of a granular fertilizer after the plants stop producing fruit.

Pruning and Thinning

Fortunately, you don’t need to thin the fruit, since this is a plant that does that on its own. And that takes a load of effort off your back!

Pruning should be done twice a year, once in early spring (before buds break but after threat of a cold snap), and once in later summer.

The early spring pruning is when you make more aggressive cuts and remove limbs and large branches. This is intended to provide the tree with a few strong limbs for bearing fruit, instead of many weak limbs that cannot support the weight of fruit.

Late summer pruning, aka “thinning,” is intended to clean up the canopy and to increase air circulation as a preventative measure to protect against fungal infections.

We aren’t shaping the tree during this time and are only opening things up; make only a few cuts when pruning in late summer.

Again, your goals during late winter or early spring pruning are to shape and to make aggressive cuts, and in late summer you want to focus on opening up the canopy for airflow.

Pests

Unfortunately, plenty of critters enjoy cherries as much as we do, so you’ll have to keep your eyes peeled for their presence on your trees.

You’ll have a chance to find aphids, various caterpillars, Japanese beetles, thrips, mites, leafhoppers, borers, and the cherry fruit fly.

You can use a product like a general fruit and nut orchard spray to control all of these buggies.

Select one that contains sulfur to control fungal diseases, and pyrethrins to control insects – but understand you’ll potentially be damaging beneficial insects as well if you resort to this option.

Neem oil is another solution that targets insects. It is organic, but keep in mind that organic doesn’t necessarily mean non-toxic. And it will also harm beneficial insects just like the manmade pyrethrins will.

Gummosis

Another condition common in fruit trees and especially cherries is called “gummosis.”

Cherry trees release a resin-like sap when they’ve been injured. Sometimes a yard tool damages the trunk and the tree will react by expelling this thick sap to plug and heal the wound.

Most of the time these injuries are minor, and the tree can fix itself right up.

However, other times the sap expulsion can be caused by borers or cankers.

If you discover sawdust around the base of the trunk and beneath the site of the sap, you likely have borers; spray your tree for borers with an appropriate fruit and nut orchard spray.

If there is no presence of sawdust, pull away the sap and check the bark. If it’s dead and brittle, you’ve got some cankers to contend with. Cut them out and remove them, or call a professional to do it for you in the event that you’re hesitant to start cutting into the wood.

Other causes for gummosis can be fungal in nature, specifically Cytosporina and Phytophthora types of fungus.

These are more serious issues to contend with and require careful removal of infected tissue and an application of a fungicide to control. Get a head start on these issues by removing dead limbs and branches in the winter and disposing of them.

Read more about gummosis in fruit trees here.

Harvesting

It can take three to five years before your tree will begin to produce fruit, but full-size varieties can produce up to 50 quarts of fruit a year!

Dwarf specimens can produce up to about 20 quarts, so that investment in time and patience will certainly pay off in time.

Harvest time is between May and August, depending on your locality and the cultivars you are growing.

Determining when they are ripe is a tasty and fun method of experimentation.

Research the varieties you’ve planted to find a good, clear image of what they look like when ripe. As your crop is beginning to ripen, take a walk around the tree, find a specimen that looks ripe, then pluck it and eat it!

Ripe fruits are firm but tender, and juicy. If the cherry you plucked tastes good, use it as your key to decide if others are also ripe.

Try to maintain a bit of patience when harvesting. The sugar content in the fruit rises significantly in the few days before they fully ripen, and this sugar content does not increase after the fruit is plucked.

That makes the best cherry a few days away from being subpar if you’re impatient.

Storage and Preservation

The fruit can be stored for up to a week in dry conditions in the refrigerator, but it declines in quality to a tremendous extent very quickly in room temperature conditions.

A few hours at room temperature results in greater loses than an entire day spent in refrigerated conditions! If you aren’t going to eat your harvest right away, stick it in the fridge.

Leave the stems on to maintain their freshness even longer. Pitting the fruit is up to you; I personally enjoy spitting out the seeds, but not everybody does. You can increase the firmness of the fruit after harvest by layering it between paper towels.

You can freeze your harvest as well, so long as the fruit has been rinsed and patted dry first.

Quick Reference Growing Chart

Plant Type:	Stone fruit (drupe) tree	Tolerance:	Modern cultivars have better disease resistance, heat and humidity tolerance
Native to:	Northern hemisphere from North America to Asia	Maintenance:	Low
Hardiness (USDA Zone):	4-7, depending on species and cultivar	Soil Type:	Sandy, loamy
Season:	Spring and summer	Soil pH:	Neutral, 6.6-7.3
Exposure:	Full sun	Soil Drainage:	Well-draining
Time to Maturity:	As little as 2 years to fruiting for dwarf varieties, 4-6 years for standard selections	Companion Planting:	Cover crops like clover, lupine, alfalfa; nasturtiums, marigolds, hyssop, and other pest-discouraging plants
Spacing:	Standard: 35-40 feet Dwarf: 8-10 feet	Attracts:	Birds
Planting Depth:	Same as nursery pot, or set crown of bare root stock just below the soil surface	Family:	Rosaceae
Height:	16-25 feet	Genus:	Prunus
Water Needs:	Moderate	Subgenus:	Cerasus
Common Pests:	Aphids, tent caterpillars, Japanese beetles, thrips, mites, leafhoppers, borers, cherry fruit fly, powdery mildew, galls, cankers, root rot, fungi, buckskin	Species:	P. avium, P. cerasus

Their order, Division 1 versus Division 3, for example, might be an unbalanced mashup in the world of college rugby, but this isn’t an indicator of quality or worth when we’re talking about tulips.

Instead, the name of each division is what’s important here. Tulips are categorized in these divisions based on common characteristics that they share, including similarities in blossom shape and origin.

More like college clubs, you’ve got the French club over there, with their frou-frou feathered petals, and the art history geeks gathered in the courtyard with their striped blossoms.

Or something like that.

There are over 150 different species in the Tulipa genus, with over 3,000 different varieties registered to date, and more to come as plant breeders continue creating new hybrids.

That’s a lot of tulips to sort through! How will you ever make your selections?

Well, though there are occasionally some outliers, most divisions have an average height range that’s common among all the members.

Some also have an average expected bloom time – in early or late spring. But there are types that bloom in mid-spring as well, of course, and divisions that have plenty of other things in common except for when they deign to show their true colors.

Petal colors, that is.

You’ll find miniature types that are perfect for rock gardens or borders, as well as towering tall ones, many with sturdy stems that are excellent for use in cut arrangements.

Some are better suited to naturalizing than others, for a more wild, scattered look that spreads throughout your landscape with repeat bursts of blooms year after year. Some feature a sweet and alluring aroma, while others aren’t known for their scent.

And how about bloom shape and appearance? That’s key to division membership! Most of the time.

Some types have petals that open wide in the sunshine while others have fringed eyelash edges, or gnarled petals that twist and turn.

Cups, bowls, stars, or elongated single blossoms, full double blooms with an abundance of petals, ones that resemble tulips, lilies, peonies, or water lilies, and even varieties that look just like the ones from the 17th century in the Netherlands, when Tulip Mania reigned, are available today.

As it turns out, this visually appealing deformity was also the result of a virus, but I’ll go into that in a little more detail in the Division 9 section below.

Many types of tulips produce a single stem and flower per bulb, while those in some divisions are multi-flowered, with multiple buds developing on branching stems.

You can find just about every shade that you could desire – except blue – across these divisions, in single, bicolor, and even tricolor varieties.

I’ll admit that before I wrote this article, I was nowhere near being able to make the claim that I was an expert on tulips. I remember fondly the red and yellow bicolor tulips of one of the gardens where I played as a child, and a few lipstick red ones with mysteriously alluring black interiors.

I don’t know which cultivars these were, but I’m sure my heart will beat a little faster when I find them.

Learning about the 15 (or 16, depending on who you ask – more on that later) different divisions that these beautiful flowers are grouped into, I gained a greater appreciation for the incredible amount of diversity that plant breeders have managed to coax out of the amazing members of this genus over the years. There’s really something for everyone.

Well, unless blue flowers are more your thing. If that’s the case, let me point you in the direction of bachelor’s buttons, azure monkshood, and our favorite blue wildflowers instead. Sorry to disappoint!

Instead of featuring blue shades in their own petals, I think they look lovely contrasted against the beautiful blue of the sky on a sparkling spring day, no matter the color.

Though I haven’t figured out a way to grow tulips successfully outdoors since I moved to the hot and dry climate of southern California, a potted plant would be a welcome addition to brighten up my living room in the springtime.

I encourage others growing in zones not suited to bulbs to give this a try as well if you’re really in love with these flowers, instead of missing out.

Sure, you probably won’t be able to grow them as perennials, but take heart – I didn’t realize myself until I dug into the research that many types of tulips are not particularly long-lived, and you’re lucky if you get blooms in consecutive years for a good stretch of time. I think that makes them all the more special.

Let’s dig into the divisions, shall we? Here’s what’s ahead:

Let the games begin!

Division 1 – Single Early

Medium-sized single blooms are the key feature of tulips in this group, and as their name suggests, these are also some of the earliest to bloom, in late March to early April.

If you’re looking for that classic tulip shape like we all learned (roughly) how to draw in elementary school, this is your guy.

Heights range from six to 16 inches (25 to 60 centimeters) so this is considered a short variety, and blooms are often pleasantly fragrant.

Add these to rockeries or the fronts of flower beds where they won’t be overshadowed by taller springtime plants, or choose Single Earlies for wintertime forcing indoors.

With heights ranging from 12 to 16 inches (25 to 40 centimeters), most are closer to the foot-high end of the scale, qualifying as short varieties.

Blossoms can measure up to four inches in diameter and their stems are strong, so you won’t have to worry about wind protection.

Over 200 different types are currently available from this group, though it’s important to note that the available color selection is more limited than what you’ll find in other divisions.

Yellow, red, orange, white, light pink (helloooo, ‘Foxtrot’!), dark pink, don’t forget regular pink, dark red, purple, lilac, light yellow, yellow, cream, and bicolor varieties are available.

Triumph is the goal, and this feeling epitomizes the unbeatable spirit of any good D-3 team, one that strives for perfection and struggles in regional competition against better funded teams, often at (ahem) less academic schools.

I did volunteer my services briefly as manager of Swarthmore’s D-3 men’s rugby team (Go Evil Buzzards!) and though I basically had no idea what the rules of the game were to start, I always loved watching the matches, running up and down the sidelines at tournaments to throw the flag down to mark where the ball went out, and filling up red Solo cups from the keg afterwards.

How does this relate back to tulips?

Other than the fact that I attended school in an arboretum (no tulips in sight that I can remember, but there were plenty of roses, hydrangeas, stunning Japanese maples, a little triangle-shaped island of tufted ornamental grasses up near the Science Center that I called “my planet,” and one of my favorite plants of all time – a gorgeous purple smoke bush that lived outside the western end of the main building on campus – among countless other carefully-tended and unique specimens), maybe… it doesn’t?

I kid, I kid! Triumph is Division 3. And if you ask me, this particular grouping just might be the best of the bunch, in terms of sheer numbers as well as height and the available color options to choose from.

That’s a winner. It’s striving. It’s gonna keep thriving.

Sure, numerical rankings “don’t matter” here… but maybe we should start a petition to get Triumph bumped up the list to number one?

Let’s return to the topic at hand – Triumphs are hybrids of single-blossomed early and later-blooming cultivars, midseason varieties that bloom in April, with average heights ranging from 15 to 20 inches (40 to 60 centimeters is the norm, sometimes stretching up to 70 centimeters tall), meaning they’re in the medium range.

There are a couple shorties in the bunch, like the 30 to 40-centimeter ‘Madurodam,’ but hey – it’s a large group and it’s not like we’re picking favorites for a pickup basketball game here.

(Thank goodness, because I am 5’3” and do not make up for this height deficiency in skill – though I have advocated for many years for “short league basketball,” something that comes up far too often for someone who can’t remember the last time she held a basketball, unless clutching that controller until my thumbs develop blisters while playing NBA 2K counts.)

Triumph blossoms are cup shaped, stems are strong, and there are nearly 1,400 registered varieties in this group for you to choose from, with cultivar names ranging from A to Z!

If Triumph is your shining glory in terms of tulip divisions, maybe it will be less disappointing than it might be otherwise for you to find out that most of these varieties are considered “short-term perennials” that only bloom for a few years – after all, you can clear out the aged bulbs and replace them with a new cultivar, say, three or four times each decade!

If you have enough space, maybe you would work through all of these in a lifetime… You can try, at least. Please let me know if you do.

Colors include purple, red, cream, yellow, salmon, pink, white, violet, lilac, orange, brown (look for ‘Zeelandia’ if chocolate-hued flowers are your jam), maroon, dark purple, dark red, and even black, with single-hued and bicolor options.

And oh, those bicolor options. There are of course too many to list here, I’m afraid, but let’s hit a few of the highlights:

The red and violet ‘Attila’s Elita’ is sure to make a regal addition to the garden, maroon and cream ‘Nashville’ is sweetly sophisticated, and don’t miss ‘Alex Torres,’ a red and orange combo.

If you’ve always dreamed of getting married in the fall but your mother-in-law insists on springtime, maybe you can reach a stylistic compromise with a bouquet of brown and orange bicolor ‘Cairo’ tulips.

I’m more partial to the red and violet mashup myself – or perhaps the stunningly unexpected ‘Blackout’ – bet you can guess what color that one is. It reminds me of a few nights ago here in Los Angeles, during the latest heatwave when we lost power for a few hours.

Typically ranging in height from 45 to 70 centimeters tall (17 to 30 inches), flowers in this division are midseason bloomers that make an appearance in May.

Large flowers grow on strong stems. These are some of the best picks if you’re looking for perennials, and Darwins will often return for at least a few years in a row.

Well, okay, there are a few outliers who might not make the team. But we’re not really talking about basketball here, and there’s nothing wrong with a 30 to 40-centimeter-tall tulip, now is there?

I didn’t think so.

With over 450 different varieties of large, egg-shaped flowers to choose from, these might be a little late for Easter but they’re sure to make a gorgeous addition to your garden.

Sometimes called “Cottage” tulips, Single Late blooms appear in May, just in time for that Senioritis to kick in.

Long-lasting and heat tolerant (as they would have to be in May!), a wide range of color options is available, including violet, white, pink, yellow, white, purple, red, orange, lilac, black, cream, and bicolor combinations of these.

Single long and narrow flowers are cinched in tight at the waist, with little pointy petals that flare out around the rim. Ooh la la, these are great.

No, they’re not some kind of hybrid cross with daylilies, they just look a bit like them.

Averaging about 18 to 24 inches tall (50 to 65 centimeters) with some shorter varieties that may stop lengthening in the vertical direction around 12 inches, and a few tall guys that may Stretch Armstrong it up and go for 30 inches, these late bloomers bust open their buds in May and they’re excellent for cut arrangements.

With about 130 different options to choose from, white, cream, pink, red, orange, yellow, lilac, violet, and purple varieties are available, and some bicolor cultivars even have petals that are edged or feathered in contrasting colors.

I’m personally more of the celebratory-gardening-white-nude persuasion (maybe once a year, and in my dreams – college is over after all, and I mostly masquerade as an upstanding citizen during the daylight hours these days).

But oh, that fringe!

The whiskered top edge of these beautiful petals often exhibits a contrasting color or paler shade than the remainder of the tepals, and the single blooms grow on stems that can range from 20 inches (40 to 80 centimeters) in height, depending on the cultivar.

Of course, then there’s ‘Pincode,’ a much shorter specimen than most in this division, at 25 to 35 centimeters tall.

With over 150 different varieties available in this division of mid- to late bloomers, flower colors include red, yellow, cream, pink, red, purple, white, dark pink, violet, orange, and lilac.

And yeah, I’m at it again. I just can’t resist these tricolor tulips!

If you need another one to add to your garden dream journal, don’t forget ‘Agape,’ a purple, red, and white beauty that will surely have you letting the flies in while you drool with pleasure, or perhaps leading to your eventual conversion to join the believers at the Agape church, er, “International Spiritual Center.”

Imagine with me a selection of at least 50 different registered varieties, all exhibiting varying amounts of green in their blossoms, in beautiful streaks and splotches.

So gorgeous, so unique.

These generally reach somewhere around 18 inches tall (23 to 60 centimeters), and most bloom in mid- to late spring.

Long-lasting as cut flowers, they’ll look stunning in bouquets and arrangements, and in your flower beds as well.

Combinations of green plus pink, salmon, white, red, yellow, lilac (check out ‘Doll’s Minuet’), and orange are available, as well as tricolors.

I recommend the green, pinkish-red, and white ‘Green Village’ if the village you’re repping is somewhere in oh, say, Italy, or maybe Mexico.

Haven’t heard of this particular period in history, when some bulbs sold for more than houses? Read our full guide to growing tulips to get the scoop.

With excitingly unusual striped patterns, these “broken” blooms were once made more beautiful in the eye of many a beholder as the result of a virus.

Sadly, today you won’t be able to find an exact match for those tulips of old that you’ve seen featured in museums (sorry!) but some modern-day cultivars are available.

And these are virus-free, so you won’t have to worry about the other tulips in the neighborhood if you plant these.

I’ve seen the petals on these described as ruffled, feathered, curled, twisted, puckered, and fringed.

However you want to describe them, these tulips are vibrantly hued and downright birdlike if you squint just right, but you don’t have to worry about them flying away if you want to give them a pat when no one is looking.

Will you be able to teach them to talk? I don’t know that anyone has attempted this yet, but attempting to engage your tulips in conversation is most definitely encouraged.

And, just like a pet, they’ll need a little extra protection. Plant these in a location where they won’t be exposed to harsh weather conditions.

These late bloomers make excellent cut flowers, and they range in height from 14 to 22 inches (40 to 65 centimeters).

Nearly 120 different single-blossomed varieties are available in this division, and you can read more about them here.

Particularly long-lasting in the garden or as cut flowers, many varieties are fragrant, adding to their appeal.

Plus, since ants don’t “help” to open these, hopefully you won’t have to worry about de-bugging your precious cuttings before you arrange them in a vase.

Most of the nearly 200 registered varieties grow 15 to 22 inches in height (30 to 60 centimeters) and flower late in the season, with large flowers on long stems. Be sure to plant these in a protected location, since they can suffer damage in heavy rain or strong winds.

Early bloomers, the flowers have a tall, narrow cup and pointed petals. But the stems are short, and most plants max out at just six to 10 inches in height (10 to 25 centimeters).

Like I’ve said before, varieties with a short stature are perfect for rock gardens or the fronts of borders.

A unique feature of the Kaufmannianas is that the blossoms open wide in the sun, stretching their petals until they are just about flat.

Early bloomers, these have a medium stature and will generally reach about 18 inches in height (20 to 50 centimeters). They’ll often come back to bloom and bloom again as perennials.

Flowers are available in a range of colors including pink, red, yellow, light yellow cream, white, and orange.

Greigiis have mottled or purple-striped leaves that will usually spread out on the ground. But their multiflowered habit may be the key feature of these hybrids.

Some produce four or five flowers per stem, and flower shape varies depending on the cultivar.

Brightly colored flowers may be white, vermilion, purple, salmon, red, cream, pink, orange, yellow, or bicolored.

And these perennialize well, so you will hopefully see them bloom and then reemerge to bloom again for at least a few springs to come.

Tulips in this division are short to medium varieties, typically reaching heights of eight to 12 inches (15 to 50 centimeters), and you know what that means! Stick ‘em in your rock garden, or give them a special spot to shine at the fronts of borders.

Most of these plants are short, about four to 10 inches tall (10 to 20 centimeters), with small flowers on thin, dainty stems.

They’re great for naturalized plantings, they grow reliably as perennials, and there are over 200 different types to choose from that fit into this group.

With that many flowers all doing their thing to try to get your (and the pollinators’) attention at the same time, imagine the visual impact!

Well, if you plant enough of them together, at least. As I understand it, just because a single plant can produce multiple buds doesn’t mean they’ll all necessarily bloom at the same time. But as a result, this also extends their bloom time – a win in either case.

Instead of growing straight and solo, the main stem of these varieties branches into multiple secondary stems, and each of these produces a bud. You’ll find that the central bloom is typically slightly larger than those that flower on the secondary branches.

These generally reach 14 to 20 inches (35 to 50 centimeters) in height, and whether they’re early, mid-season, or late-blooming depends on the type you choose, so be sure to read those plant labels carefully.

The catch here, and what makes this a “bonus” division that isn’t officially recognized in all cases, is the fact that all of the flowers included in this group are also members of one of the other 15 divisions.

You will see, however, that many nurseries and other bulb purveyors list multiflowering varieties in their own category.

Whether or not this actually warrants the official creation of a new division is for the botanists and plant geneticists to decide – but as we’ve seen over the years and across the globe, these experts in their fields quite often disagree, and debates ensue surrounding the appropriate category to put a certain plant species in, sometimes for years.

Something I find interesting is that I didn’t come across this sort of controversy in my quest to learn more about tulips, but who knows – perhaps I just didn’t look hard enough.

I’ll keep you posted.

Sounds good, right? It is! But first, let’s take a look at all of the steps that will help your pots and containers to put on a peacock-worthy display throughout the season this year.

A planter that’s too small will crowd roots, resulting in a scarcity of water, oxygen, and nutrients that are vital for healthy, vigorous growth.

Containers that are too big can result in overly moist soil, cutting off oxygen and drowning the roots. And the cool, moist soil often found in planters with too much room is also a welcome mat for plant problems. Fungal growth such as powdery mildew and leaf spot are common visitors, as are damping off and root or stem rot.

Bedding plants, seasonal kitchen herbs, annuals, and bulbs can all be arranged a little closer and tighter than plants in the ground, to make an impressive and healthy visual display.

So, if the recommended spacing is, say, 10-12 inches, item that thrive in containers can be planted about 6-8 inches apart.

And as a general rule, if their normal growth is 10-12 inches tall, you’ll want a pot that’s a bit more than half that size, or around 6-8 inches in diameter. For plants that grow from 24-36 inches in height, a larger container around 24 inches in diameter would be appropriate.

Your pot will need drainage holes with adequate drainage material on the bottom, to allow excess water to flow away easily.

Inverting a smaller plastic pot over the drainage holes will work if adding more weight is an issue, as will using packing chips or peanuts – although there is some controversy about styrene from styrofoam leeching into edibles.

This controversy arose after the 2011 publication of the National Toxicology Program’s Report on Carcinogens, reporting that “Styrene is reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen…” It also reported finding low levels of styrene in packaged food was primarily due to leaching from the polystyrene containers they were packed in.

But the report also concluded that these low levels from leaching are still considered to be within acceptable standards for human health. The greatest risk comes from long term occupational exposure in industries that use a lot of this material.

Gravel, pebbles, pieces of broken pottery, nut shells, pinecones, sticks, and coffee filters can all been used for drainage.

As a rule of (green) thumb, container plants don’t like to have wet feet – that is, having their roots sitting in water makes them unhappy.

A soggy root environment will cause most bedding plants to sulk and underperform. Or the roots may simply rot, which is not conducive for pretty planters!

Drainage is also needed to provide aeration for potted roots, as it’s harder for them to “breathe” and access oxygen in a container than it is for plants in the ground.

Are you a succulent gardener? Check out our guide to the best containers for these plants.

2. Plant with a Plan

For many of us, the garden center has the same effect as a candy shop does on kids. “I want some of these, and six of those, and oh, I need a whole flat of the pretty pink ones…” And as we all know, impulse buying does not always mean we’ve made the best choices!

So, a little discernment (and self-discipline!) will help in selecting plants that will produce the best results for your location.

Choose plants that will thrive in your particular climate and light conditions. And if you like to mix plants together in one pot, select ones that have similar requirements for water and light.

Container soil is best when it has some moisture-retaining materials in the mix, such as perlite, vermiculite, sphagnum moss, or peat, at about 20% of the volume. It also needs nutrient-rich materials such as compost or manure.

Amending your soil with about 20-25% finished compost or well-rotted manure improves the soil in a few different ways. It develops the soil’s tilth, or body structure, which helps with the retention of moisture and nutrients, and reduces soil compaction. Plus, it can act as an equalizer for soils that have lost their pH neutrality.

Use a large bin, wheelbarrow, or a layer of plastic on the ground to mix up all of your ingredients in batches large enough to accommodate several pots. And if you purchase a growing mix, ensure that the texture is light and loose enough to provide ample drainage while still retaining some moisture.

If you like to recycle last year’s container soil, replace at least half to two-thirds with fresh soil, recycling any depleted dirt into your compost bin.

Of course, you should never recycle or compost any soil that has had diseased or failing plants grown in it. Spores, fungus, mites, and other unfriendlies can live on in the soil long after the plants have been removed – and they can be nestled in the dirt even with plants that look healthy. A safer option is to use fresh soil for each pot.

Strong, healthy plants need strong, healthy root systems, which are developed by deep, slow watering. Light watering will develop small, shallow roots just under the surface. This leaves the larger roots at the bottom deprived of moisture, which causes plants to become dehydrated and fail.

Water slowly to ensure the entire root ball, including the deepest roots, gets a good drink, or just until water starts to emerge from the drainage holes.

To keep remaining plants free of infestation, any diseased specimens need to be removed pronto.

A few of the most common problems to be on the alert for are:

Rust

Plant rust looks like spots of rust on leaves and stems. Fond of hot, humid, and damp conditions, rust will cause plants to wilt and decline.

Rust spores are spread by wind and water, so prompt removal from containers is needed. Avoid overhead watering late in the day, and overwatering in general.

Every time a container is watered correctly, to the point of water coming from the drainage holes, it flushes nutrients out of the pot and away from the roots. This is problematic…

The reason is simple. Every time a container is watered correctly, to the point of water coming from the drainage holes, it flushes nutrients out of the pot and away from the roots. This is problematic, because unlike plants grown in the ground that can expand to find food, the roots are limited to an area within the container walls, with no access to fresh dirt and nutrition.

The answer is to supplement with a diluted solution of an all-purpose, water-soluble fertilizer on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. A general purpose fertilizer of 24-8-16 (24% nitrogen, 8% phosphorous, and 16% potassium) will maintain and feed your plants in pretty much any environment, but specific formulas (such as for tomatoes or annuals) may be selected to cater specifically to your chosen plantings.

Take care to heed the word dilute. Too much fertilizer is just as bad (if not worse) than too little, and will cause plants to grow and display fast and bright – but they’ll also burn out and fail quickly, too.

Over-fertilizing can cause plant leaves to turn yellow or brown, and damages roots. “Burning” is caused by the naturally occurring salts in fertilizers, which draw moisture out of the plant. Too much, and the most susceptible areas of the thin tips and edges will brown first, followed by the entire leaf.

To find the Goldilocks zone for fertilizing containers, take the recommended dosage for the product you’re using, and divide it by how frequently you’ll be fertilizing. For example, if the recommended amount is one “scoop” per month, divide the amount by 2 for bi-weekly feedings, and by 4 for weekly fertilizing. Mix into a full watering can and apply to moist soil.

Quick and easy, just as tips and tricks should be!

As a side note, while the majority of nutrients are supplied by the roots, some absorption can occur through the leaves with water soluble foliar fertilizers. Nurseries will often use a nitrogen-rich mix to promote leaf growth of seedlings, while a high phosphorous solution will encourage blooming.

If leaves are showing signs of distress, a foliar spray can quickly supply nutrients. However, they can be a bit tricky to use in mixed containers as different species have different requirements.

And, if the formula is too strong, leaf burn or scorch can easily occur. Plus, only a small amount of nutrients can be applied in one application, limiting its efficacy.

Wilting

The most common causes of wilting are either too little or too much water.

If your plants are drooping due to dry soil, water slowly until it’s been absorbed by the dirt and starts to drain from the pot.

If it’s from too much water, cut back on watering until the soil is dry to the touch before watering again.

Leggy Plants

By the time mid-summer rolls around, many annuals can be all stem with only a few flowers at the ends of branches. Both leggy annuals and perennials can be renewed by cutting back, which forces new growth.

Cut stems back by two-thirds on only half of the plant at a time, so as to retain some color. New growth will appear in a couple of weeks, at which time the remaining half of the plant can be cut back. And regular deadheading will help to reduce the appearance of scrawny, chicken-leg plants.

Yellow or Brown Leaves

This can have a few different causes. Inadequate nutrition due to leeching as well as over-fertilizing are often culprits, as are inadequate moisture levels.

Check your water and fertilizer routines and adjust as needed.

Do this for your containers from mid-May through the end of August and you’ll be richly rewarded with robust, full plantings of lush foliage and delightful color for the entire growing season.

Because xeriscaping isn’t just about growing plants where there isn’t much water.

And it’s not “zeroscaping,” a derisive reference to some landscapes where the concept was unsuccessfully implemented, or areas where zero landscaping has been implemented.

Instead, it’s about growing the right plants in the right places, and grouping plants with similar moisture requirements, to minimize maintenance and conserve water.

What Do We Mean by the Right Plants?

Natives and drought-tolerant non-natives are the best plants for xeriscapes.

Planting native plants is a great way to decrease water consumption, save money, reduce maintenance, and save time.

Because they are suited to a particular environment, you can give them a healthy start with watering and feeding, and then virtually forget them.

Another benefit of natives is that they attract local pollinating insects, birds, and other animals that are genetically wired to seek them out for food and shelter.

I recently wrote about native blue wildflowers. Two of my favorites are bluehead gilia (Gilia capitata) and mealy cup sage (Salvia farinacea) They both grow in full sun and require very little moisture.

The sage is especially nice at the back of a bed, as it is a bright violet blue, and over two feet tall. The gilia is a lighter shade, and about a foot tall. If you’re looking for a pop of color, blue is a striking choice.

If you’re planting non-native varieties, begin by selecting those that have been cultivated to thrive in your climate zone, then fine-tune your choices to those that can withstand water deprivation.

Once established, these plants will rarely require watering.

Lily turf (Liriope muscari) is a non-native, drought-tolerant clumping ground cover that is used extensively in my area as a border plant.

Even in lush areas, where the loam is dark, and rich with moisture, we can practice landscaping with an eye to water conservation and low maintenance.

Take, for example, woodland gardening with perennials.

Do you have an area on your property that’s very shady, where the soil seems to stay damp?

I have a stretch of mature trees that shelter several layers of flora below them, including rhododendron, ferns, hostas, and creeping vinca.

I help to keep the area moist by providing a generous layer of organic matter made of mulched leaves, and never have to water this area of my property.

These will provide canopy and mid-level layers of drought-tolerant plants that will thrive with minimal intervention.

Also at mid-level are ornamental grasses like sedge, pampas, fountain, and needle, which will add texture and movement to a garden array.

At the lower level, perennials such as false indigo, butterfly weed, pinks, and dead nettle are classic low-moisture varieties.

And annuals like dusty miller, moss rose (Portulaca grandiflora), cosmos, zinnias, marigolds, petunias, and sunflowers have been favorites of mine over the years.

Minimal Maintenance and Water Consumption

Not all xeriscape plants are completely self-sufficient when it comes to maintenance and watering. Remember, we said that plants need to be nurtured with watering and feeding when first planted.

As for maintenance, some flowering plants may be improved by pruning leggy stems to retain shape or deadheading to promote blossoming.

Be sure to read plant literature to determine the extent of care to expect with the plants you choose. Low-maintenance varieties will save you time in the garden.

Regarding watering, there will be times when there is a drought so severe that you will want to give your plants a much-appreciated drink. But when you do, don’t drag out the hose.

Instead, use a watering can and aim the spout at the soil level where the roots are, and not at the plant itself.

Watering leaves and flowers is inefficient, and in direct sunlight with extreme heat, may burn the plants.

If you select plants that require occasional watering, consider installing a drip irrigation system to water efficiently at the soil level. This is more economical than a sprinkler or handheld garden hose.

I recently visited a unique garden that features native species and has an intricate rain watering system. It’s the High Line, a public park in Manhattan that provides a refreshing escape from the bustling city below.

On the surface, Tanacetum coccineum is an absolutely gorgeous perennial.

With its extremely striking hues, this daisy truly does look painted, as if Georgia O’Keeffe herself took some red, pink, and/or purple pastels directly to the petals.

But contained within the flowers are pyrethrins: a group of naturally-occurring compounds which, when consumed, wreak havoc on a bug’s nervous system.

As a result, bugs tend to steer clear of these bad boys, making the painted daisy a fine choice for organic pest management.

Growing and caring for these flowers is pretty simple, but a primer will definitely give you a leg up on T. coccineum cultivation. Hence, this guide.

Here’s what you’ll be getting into:

What Are Painted Daisies?

Hardy in USDA Zones 3 through 7 and native to southwestern Asia, painted daisies are a spectacular species of herbaceous perennial flower, belonging to the Asteraceae family alongside cosmos, dahlias, and marigolds.

The painted daisy goes by other common names, such as the pyrethrum, pyrethrum daisy, and Persian insect flower.

In binomial nomenclature, former names include Chrysanthemum coccineum, C. roseum, and Pyrethrum roseum.

Tanacetum coccineum has a fun meaning. From the Greek athanasia – meaning “immortality” – comes the genus name, which references the everlasting nature of Asteraceae blooms.

The species name coccineum means “scarlet” or “crimson,” a nod to the sometimes red petals.

Since many plants bear the name “daisy,” it’s important to distinguish T. coccineum from the rest.

With an upright, bushy, and clumping habit, these plants reach two to three feet tall and one to one and a half feet wide at maturity. Flaunting a pleasantly earthy aroma, T. coccineum produces showy, three-inch-wide flowers from June to July atop thin, wiry stems.

Unsurprisingly, these blooms have that pluckable daisy-like aesthetic, with long and slender ray petals – perfect for discerning whether that special someone loves you or not.

The typically single, occasionally double flowers have yellow centers and pretty petals that come in white, red, pink, or purple hues.

Soft, fern-like leaves are produced in an alternate arrangement below the blooms, increasing in size and petiole length as you move down the stem.

Thankfully, T. coccineum doesn’t grow invasively or aggressively… although the same can’t be said for its close relative T. vulgare.

Fun fact: T. coccineum contains pyrethrins in its flowers, which are organic compounds with bug-killing properties.

With a high toxicity to insects and a low toxicity to birds and mammals, these pyrethrins over-excite a bug’s nervous system when ingested, which quickly leads to the insect’s paralysis and death.

If you’re allergic to members of the Asteraceae family – you probably are if you have a ragweed allergy – then contact with the sap or leaves of a painted daisy could cause a bit of skin irritation.

It never hurts to break out your handy gardening gloves!

Cultivation and History

The cultivation of pyrethrum daisy for its insecticidal properties spans centuries, with records of its usage going all the way back to ancient China’s Chou dynasty in the first century CE.

The Dalmatian pyrethrum, aka T. cinerariifolium, is cultivated for its pyrethrins more commonly in commercial production than T. coccineum.

A solvent is used to extract these from the dead flower heads.

While both species contain significant amounts of pyrethrins, T. cinerariifolium has far higher concentrations, making it more effective in yielding insecticide.

In the case of painted daisies, the insecticide derived from this species has a long history of use in the Caucasus Mountain region, and the daisy was once commonly known as “Caucasian insect-powder plant.”

The locals knew the power of their insect powder, and sold it to outsiders at high prices while keeping its true botanical origins a secret… until the early 1800s, at least.

At that time, an Armenian merchant known as Mr. Jumtikoff learned where the insect powder came from and how it was made. In 1828, his son began large-scale production.

By the mid-1800s, Caucasian insect powder had reached central Europe, with another merchant taking credit for the majority of its success in the market: the German-born Johann Zacherl.

He sourced the flower from rural Caucasian communities, ground it up in what’s now the modern-day nation of Georgia, then procured the processed powder in the Austrian city of Vienna, selling it as “Zacherl’s Insect Killing Tincture,” or “Zacherlin.”

By 1880, Zacherl’s son had taken over the firm, and replaced painted daisies with the more pyrethrin-dense T. cinerariifolium.

Its higher concentration of insect-killing compounds makes the Dalmatian pyrethrum the more lucrative choice for pesticide production.

In the modern-day, pyrethrum is commonly used as an organic pest management tool among both commercial farmers and amateur gardeners.

And after studying its modes of action, scientists have actually been able to synthesize pyrethroids, a manmade counterpart to au naturel pyrethrins.

All of this we owe, in part, to the humble painted daisy.

Propagation

Want some painted daisies of your very own? Then you’ll have to grow them from seed, procure divisions, or acquire T. coccineum transplants.

From Seed

Seeds can be sown directly outdoors after your area’s last frost date. Alternatively, you can actually sow them indoors four to six weeks before the final frost, if you’d like a head start.

For indoor sowing, fill a cell tray with a 50:50 mix of sphagnum peat moss and perlite.

Sow one seed per cell, and gently cover each with about an eighth of an inch of media. Moisten the soil, set the tray near a sunny window, and maintain ambient temperatures of 60 to 70°F.

Maintain moist media all the while, and germination should occur in about two to four weeks.

After the final frost date passes two to four weeks later, harden off the seedlings outdoors by leaving the tray outside for 30 to 60 minutes before bringing it back indoors.

Add an additional half to full hour of exposure each following day until your seedlings can survive a full day outside.

At this point, you can transplant the seedlings directly into the ground or into their own three-inch pots, keeping the media moist until they become established.

If you wanted to sow directly outdoors from the get-go, then plant groups of four seeds into well-draining garden soil after the final frost date in spring.

Space these seed groups about 18 to 24 inches apart, cover them with an eighth of an inch of soil, and moisten in the soil. Keep it moist as the seedlings grow and develop.

For freshly-sown, in-ground groups of four seeds, germination should occur in two to four weeks.

As they emerge from the ground, thin out the seedlings until you’re eventually left with the strongest one in each group.

Keep the media moist around the winning seedlings until they become established.

Via Division

After the final frost date in spring, carefully dig up a mature T. coccineum.

Working over a tarp or spread-out newspaper, use your hands or a sharp blade to carefully divide the specimen into two or four daughter plants, with foliage and roots intact.

You can now transplant them into new spots in the garden!

Via Transplanting

Whether it’s with a divided daughter plant, a hardened-off seeding, or a purchased specimen, transplanting a painted daisy is pretty easy.

Prepare well-draining planting sites with a pH of 6.0 to 7.0. Space these sites 18 to 24 inches apart, and ensure that they get full sun or partial shade.

Come transplanting time in post-frost spring, dig holes about as deep and a bit wider than the transplants’ root systems.

Set the transplants in the holes, backfill, and water them in. Keep the transplant sites moist until established.

How to Grow

Now that your painted daisies are growing in their new homes, it’s time to keep them happy with proper cultivation!

Climate and Exposure Needs

To survive the extremes of winter and summer, these plants should be grown in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 7.

Full sun is best for flowering, but specimens in more southern climates could do with a bit of afternoon shade.

In windy climates, staking T. coccineum may come in handy to keep the slender stems from flopping over.

Soil Needs

As long there’s decent drainage, a painted daisy isn’t too particular about its soil. When it comes to qualities such as texture and fertility, shoot for “moderate” or “average” over any extremes.

Same thing goes for pH – a slightly acidic to neutral range of 6.0 to 7.0 works well.

After the first bloom, promptly deadhead spent flowers to encourage a second flush of blooming.

Adding a couple inches of mulch to the root zone around your plants is also a smart move – it’ll conserve soil moisture, insulate the roots, and protect said roots from physical damage.

Cultivars to Select

The cool thing about cultivars is that they offer multiple different aesthetics within a single species. Here’s a few (with fun people’s names!) that I’m sure you’ll love:

Managing Pests and Disease

In spite of its dainty beauty, a painted daisy is tough. But there are a few potential threats that could cause some problems, especially in the plant’s youth. Let’s touch on them a bit.

Herbivores

Not too much to worry about in the plant-munching mammals department. As a matter of fact, T. coccineum is resistant to deer!

Insects

Because T. coccineum flowers have insecticidal properties, mature plants aren’t typically bothered by insects, and can actually be added to the landscape to keep bugs away from nearby plantings.

Young plants, however, might be pestered a bit by aphids, chrysanthemum nematodes, or leaf miners.

Aphids

Feeding on the sap within plant tissues, these soft-bodied insects can leave afflicted plants with stunted growth, wilting, and structural damage associated with feeding.

Often spread via infested yet asymptomatic specimens, chrysanthemum nematodes cause yellow, brown, and/or black patches on leaves.

Since the nematodes can’t move through leaf veins, these patches will often have clearly-defined borders.

Subsequent symptoms include leaf distortion, desiccation, browning, and drooping. Fed-upon buds may produce deformed leaves or fail to flower.

To prevent chrysanthemum nematode infestation, only introduce healthy specimens into your garden and keep adjacent areas clear of leaf detritus, as nematodes can survive for up to three years in dead foliage.

Mulch to restrict nematode movement up and out of the soil. If infestation occurs, remove and destroy infested specimens.

Leaf Miners

Living and feeding within leaves as they mature, “leaf miners” are a group of pests that may include an assortment of beetles, wasps, and sawflies in the larval stage.

As a result of their munching, leaf miners leave ugly, whitish feeding trails in their wake, which can merge into larger, even uglier blotches. In addition to reducing aesthetics, this damage also impacts photosynthesis – no bueno.

Root Rot

If excess water and/or inadequate soil drainage deprives a plant’s roots of oxygen, the roots will begin to turn necrotic. As you can imagine, that doesn’t leave the aboveground shoots too well off.

Without a support system of healthy roots, shoots will begin to exhibit symptoms such as stunted growth, chlorosis, or necrosis. Yup, that last one is death.

Prevention is key here – don’t overwater, and be sure to provide ample soil drainage.

If root rot ever occurs, you can wait to see if the specimen recovers with proper irrigation and drainage. You might opt to lift the plant and remove any rotted roots before replanting.

If the majority of the roots are rotted, the plant’s odds of survival are slim. If its end is nigh, pitch the plant and take this as a lesson learned for next time.

Best Uses

Whether grown in a cottage garden, a mass or grouping, as a border, or even in a butterfly garden, painted daisy makes a powerfully colorful statement, exclaiming “I look absolutely fine.” And truly, it does.

Cut T. coccineum flowers look stunning in arrangements – their tall and slender forms make them the perfect fit for tall and slender vases.

For some easy pest management that couldn’t be more organic, try planting these guys wherever you don’t want bugs to hang out.