Category: Home & Garden

Germinating plant seeds, whether indoors or outdoors, can be hit or miss. Some species have a baked-in low percentage of seeds that germinate and some have a high percentage. For instance, you may have been disappointed that only half of your swiss chard seeds germinated while there’s no stopping the cherry tomato seeds. Some lack of germination is due to the thickness of the seed coat, but it can also be the result of the age of the seed, how it was stored, and how much water or oxygen it received after planting.

You might have read that nicking or sanding seeds with hard coats like spinach, peas and beans helps the germination rate – this is called mechanical scarification. In this article we’ll discuss chemical scarification in which you soak, rinse or mist seeds in a solution of water and hydrogen peroxide to increase their germination rate. Hydrogen peroxide has the added benefit of reducing bacteria, viruses and fungi that may have infected the seed.

Why soak seeds in water and hydrogen peroxide?

To germinate, seeds require:

• Vigor
• Light
• Water
• Temperature
• Oxygen

Vigor is simple – buy fresh seed.

Light is also simple: outdoor sunlight or indoor grow lights.

Watering is obvious but mistakes are easily made -indoors, never saturate the seeds or let them dry out. Outdoors, keep the soil damp but not soaked.

Temperature can be provided by heat mats when starting seeds indoors or warm soil temperatures outdoors.

But what’s harder to control is the seed’s need for oxygen. This is where chemical scarification can help by softening the seed coat and allowing oxygen (and water) to reach the dormant seed inside. The ability of the seed to access oxygen means the difference between germination or not.

Buy on Amazon: 3% Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide

Studies show that seeds soaked in solutions of various percentages of hydrogen peroxide and water improve germination rates by helping to break down the seed coating. This allows the seed to receive oxygen. Hydrogen Peroxide’s chemical structure (H2O2) is close to that of water (H2O), but contains an extra molecule of oxygen.

Seeds that have hard, thick seed coats that physically prevent water or oxygen movement into seeds are said to have physical dormancy. In order to start the germination process of physically dormant seed, the exterior seed coat must be penetrable by water. Temperature, scarification, or alternating freezing and thawing cycles can create conditions favorable to the germination of a dormant seed.

When dormancy is broken, the embryo inside the seed receives a signal to begin the germination process, enabling gardeners to have a head start or to germinate difficult seeds.

Dormant seeds can… be treated with hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ). The seeds are soaked in a 1-3% solution for 5 minutes to 48 hours, based on the hardness of the seed coating.

The Sleeping Seed: An Overview of Dormancy and Treatments for Optimal Seed Germination, University of the District Of Columbia (pdf download)

How gardeners can use H2O2 to help seeds germinate

There are a few ways you can use a solution of hydrogen peroxide to help germination. Please follow the recommendation here and don’t overdo it – too much hydrogen peroxide in the solution may damage the seeds.

The safest seed soak is to use 1 ounce of 3% food grade hydrogen peroxide in 1 pint of water and let the seeds soak for 2-24 hours, depending on the thickness of the seed coat. Food grade H2O2 doesn’t have the stabilizers and heavy metals found in the brown bottle varieties and is safe to use around food. Hydrogen peroxide can also reduce viruses, bacteria and fungi that may be lingering on your seeds. Some claim it’s a good way to prevent “damping off”, a common problem for gardeners who start seeds indoors.

As the seed soaks, you should see a noticeable swelling. This is a good thing – it’s taking on water. When the seed is swollen, remove it from the soak and wash it in fresh water. Plant immediately.

You can also arrange plant seeds on paper towels and dampen (not soak) the towels with the H2O2 + water solution. Then fold the towels to cover the seeds so that each seed is in total contact with the damp towels. Keep the towels at room temperature and mist the towels lightly each day to keep them damp. Soon, sprouts will emerge (germination). They should be planted immediately in pots or your garden. This is also a fun activity to introduce kids to gardening and plant science.

Will too much hydrogen peroxide harm seeds?

Yes. Studies show that high concentrations of H2O2 actually harms the seed after it penetrates the seed coat. Go easy and use the formula above for 3% hydrogen peroxide diluted with water.

Sources: The Sleeping Seed: An Overview of Dormancy and Treatments for Optimal Seed Germination, University of the District Of Columbia; Increased Oxygen Bioavailability Improved Vigor and Germination of Aged Vegetable Seeds, American Society for Horticultiral Science; What is a seed?, New York Botanical Garden.

While preparing for this article, I learned quite a few interesting things about these flowers.

They are a surprisingly far-flung flower that has traveled across the Atlantic on multiple occasions. One variety of the flower is even fed to chickens so that egg yolks have a more perfect yellow color.

They might be a familiar sight, but marigolds have a few tricks available to them that can surprise even the most educated gardener. Grab your coffee or your tea, because we’re headed to marigold town!

(That sounded a lot better in my head…)

History and Cultivation

I read a nice apocryphal tale about the origin of the flower’s name.

The version of the story I read indicated that Mother Mary of the Christian tradition was robbed by bandits, but when they cut open her purse all that fell out were yellow flowers, something that would one day by named “marigold” (Mary’s gold) in her honor.

But there’s a little hole in that story – and I’m not just talking about the one in the purse.

The varieties we’re discussing today are botanically known as Tagetes and are indigenous to the Americas. Discovered in the 1500s in Central and South America, these flowers had great religious and social importance to the native peoples of the Americas, and they eventually crossed the Atlantic to Europe.

Here, the story of Tagetes takes both directions at a fork in the road.

Tagetes erecta, commonly known as the African marigold, made its way to France and North Africa. After a considerable length of time, the flowers naturalized to the environment of North Africa so that when European settlers visited the region, they assumed the flowers were African in origin.

The French marigold, or Tagetes patula, had a similar journey. Their seeds crossed the ocean from the Americas with European explorers who were returning home. T. patula made its home in France and became a popular flower in the region, earning its common name.

Both species then made another journey across the Atlantic and returned home to the Americas before becoming a popular and standard choice for North American gardeners.

So what about that whole Mother Mary story? How could these flowers be something referenced in biblical tales if the Americas weren’t even discovered yet? Don’t worry, I did some digging on that, too.

It seems that the European-originated species Calendula was likely the flower referenced here. Some species, such as Calendula officinalis, share similarities with our friend Tagetes, and even have a common nickname of marigold. In this case it is the pot marigold more specifically, and they were likely the flowers referenced in this tale.

That was a fun line of questioning that led me down the marigold rabbit hole, but you’re probably ready to learn about generalized care for these classic flowers. Shall we?

Growing Tips

There’s a reason people have used these flowers as a garden staple for a very long time. Tolerant of heat, drought, and pests, the marigold is about as easy to care for as they come.

They take off easily from seed, either grown indoors during the winter months or sown directly into the soil when it’s warmer out.

You can plant them in almost any area that receives sufficient sun, and are an ideal choice when you’re planting with style. Marigolds are one of the best choices to use when you’re a free-spirited gardener who wants their plants to be happy.

Better yet, Tagetes offers a slew of benefits for the rest of your garden. From deterring pests to attracting pollinators and desirable insects, and improving the soil quality, marigolds should find their way into your garden every year.

Water Requirements

In my book, the sign of a good flower is one that doesn’t require attentive watering. Tagetes fits this requirement pretty darn well.

When first planting these guys, it’s best soak the soil thoroughly. This is standard practice with most plantings. Not only does it give the plant a nice drink to get started growing in its new home, it also helps to settle the freshly disturbed soil.

Established plants don’t need much in the way of watering. In fact, unless the weather is unusually dry and hot, they don’t need anything besides a good soaking once a week. Rainfall is often enough for these tough flowers.

Plants grown in containers are similarly tolerant of drought and only need to be watered when the top few inches of soil become dry to the touch. If the leaves start drooping, they’re in need of a drink sooner than later!

Be mindful not to water marigolds from the top. If their blooms get too wet, they will often turn into a mushy brown mess. Marigolds can be susceptible to root rot as well, if they are over watered.

Sun Requirements

Native to sunny and warm climates, Tagetes prefer brightly sunny areas with moderately-rich soil. They can withstand full sun exposure with impressive grace and only begin to show signs of stress when the weather is relentlessly hot, be it humid or dry.

This makes the marigold a perfect accompaniment to coreopsis, and pretty much every herb you can think of.

Although capable of growing in a part-sun environment, marigolds will never shine in these conditions. In addition to developing weaker and less prolific blooms, when grown in the shade, they become susceptible to powdery mildew and a host of rots that affect buds and stems.

If you’ve got marigolds in a container, consider moving the pots to provide a few hours of cover from the sun during the hottest periods of the summer. It isn’t necessary, but they’ll be happier for it.

Keep a diligent eye out for spider mites when the weather is hot and dry, and look for little weblike buildups on plants to indicate their presence.

Like many plants, marigolds are also susceptible to yellow aster. Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do if you find this nasty ailment in your garden except to dispose of infected plants.

In certain rare circumstances, your plants may fail to bloom. We have a troubleshooting guide for that.

Planting Tips

Planting marigolds is as easy as it gets.

If you purchase your Tagetes from a retail store you’ll find a few options in plant size, but the process is always the same.

Whether it’s a six-pack of marigolds, plants in four-inch containers, or a big bowl of half a dozen plants, you’ve got basically the same project on your hands.

Keep in mind that most flowers sold in retail stores have been produced and grown under perfect conditions, so they likely have extensive root systems that are beginning to girdle the plant.

Girdling is bad news! This is when a plant’s roots grow horizontally in a circle, and can result in dead plants. In both annual and perennial plants, girdled roots prevent the plant from ever grabbing a firm hold in the soil; they’re far more likely to die and “heave” out of the soil in this condition.

In trees, girdling roots can be a major problem years down the road, as the roots practically strangle the tree. We’ll cover dealing with this much larger issue (for much larger plants) in another article.

But for marigolds, what’s the solution?

Rip those root balls apart when you’re planting! Yes, it’s stressful for the plant, but it will respond by establishing new roots and grabbing a firm foothold in its new home. Watering becomes easier, and after a brief breaking-in period, you’ll find the plants happier and healthier.

This applies to marigolds, because they’re often grown in plastic containers that roots can’t break through. I find the best solution when planting almost any herbaceous plant, annual or perennial, is to simply rip of the bottom of the root ball.

If the remaining roots are densely matted, you can scrape this up as well.

Once the root ball is broken up a little bit, you can get to planting.

To avoid additional undue stress, you can try planting on an overcast day. But I’ve found that a quick potting up with some adjustment to the roots can usually be done quickly enough that it won’t cause too much in the way of transplant shock. Marigolds are fairly resilient.

After you’ve thinned the marigold seedlings you can transplant each soon-to-be flower into its own pot and keep them waiting inside until your last frost date!

If you’re sowing directly outdoors, bear in mind that you’ll likely see the marigolds choked out by other, faster growing weeds, and understand that your flowers will likely not reach their peak before the end of summer.

Lay Out Your Plants

I’m terrible with this aspect of planting, but it’s mighty important to the long-term appeal and composition of your flowers.

Plop individual plants where you want them to go,preferably while they’re still in their nursery pots, to avoid prolonged root exposure. Space them according to the information on their tags, and step back to look at the setup.

It’s a lot easier to make changes at this stage, instead of when the plants are already in the ground.

Consider the height the plants will reach at maturity, their spread, and their proximity to bedlines and other potential dangers, like a stray mower wheel or a string trimmer on weed patrol.

Dig the Holes

If your soil isn’t too dense, the planting hole only needs to be about 10% larger than the root ball, just enough to backfill some soil.

On the other hand, if your soil is dense and heavy (think clay), you’ll want to dig a hole that’s wider and deeper than the root ball by about 50%.

Plop ‘Em In

Break the soil up and backfill around the marigold, being careful not to damage too many leaves around the plant.

I’ve always planted with the root ball just sticking above the soil grade, maybe half an inch higher than the rest of the surrounding soil. This prevents wet feet, but it also accounts for the eventual settling of the soil that will occur.

Cover and Conceal

Settling and finishing the planting area is my favorite part of planting, except for the part when I finish the job and get to sit back and appreciate my work with a beer in hand.

Layer In Some Mulch and Water

A light dressing of mulch will help the marigolds conserve water and makes for a neater planting area. You will only need a light application of mulch “for color” for this, not the inches of mulch used in vacant planting beds.

When you’re finished planting, give your new transplants a nice drink of water, then check on them in the next day or two to see if they need more. It only takes 1-2 weeks for the marigolds to start setting roots and becoming established, eliminating the need for watering except during droughts.

Companion Planting

It’s difficult to find places where Tagetes is unwelcome.

The flower’s scent seems to deter nasty bugs and pests that would otherwise be ready to start munching down on your other tasty plants that are growing in the garden. Additionally, the roots have been shown to deter nematodes for up to a year.

I’ve seen other gardeners plant them when rotating their crops, to ensure healthier soil.

Ideal as a companion plant, the marigold often is planted as a border or buffer around a garden, since the pungent scent is so offensive to pests. From yours truly over here, I think marigolds smell like summer, but to each their own.

I’ve specifically planted marigolds with petunias, alyssum, dahlias, and another favorite of mine, chamomile.

Tomatoes get along especially well with them. Try combining marigolds, tomatoes, basil, and alyssum in a planting. It looks nice and the plants seem to enjoy teaming up together. There’s enough variety in these choices to make some pretty stunning and edible combinations.

Just make sure you refer to it as “Mad Man Matt’s Plantastic Arrangement” when your family and friends ask about it.

Read more about using marigolds to help with pest control.

Ready, Set, Grow!

They’re everywhere and are among the most recognizable flowers in the garden, but marigolds have to cheat to earn this reputation. They’re vigorous growers that require little care and are happy to deter pests and improve soil health, all while putting on a great show of color through the entire summer.

They’re also easily grown from seed! You can direct sow them into the ground, or start them indoors a few weeks before the end of winter. Planting these seeds is a great project for young and inexperienced gardeners, especially children, to get started on their green thumb early.

For the experienced gardener, a marigold offers an easy win and reliable performance that can be counted on year after year. Start seeds indoors about six to eight weeks before the last freeze and transplant those beauties right into the ground for fast satisfaction and a headstart on your neighbors.

Lately we’ve been seeing more powder-coated metal dining sets on the market. Powder coating, more durable than conventional paint, is a dry finishing process, whereby powder is fused to the surface of the metal, then baked in a curing oven for a tough, rust-resistant coating—a must for outdoor furniture. Below, we’ve rounded up ten stylish modern powder-coated dining sets, made with either lightweight aluminum or steel, which is heavier and thus, better for areas prone to strong winds.

In their native deciduous woodland home, pungently delicious ramps appear in extensive, green colonies in early to mid-spring. If that habitat is intact. But demand for these wild onions, spring ephemerals native to eastern North America, has outpaced their life-cycle. Their over-collection for market results in brown forest floors where only occasional islands of un-dug ramps persist in the rich leaf litter. Wild ramp populations are under threat because we are consuming them carelessly. Which is why ramps should be cultivated.

The good news is, growing ramps is not hard. They are a natural addition to a woodland garden, and a boon to forest farmers.

Photos by Marie Viljoen

For a ramp conservation refresher, please visit our previous story about a woodland where the wild ramps grow.

But to sum up the ramp life cycle: Seeds shed by the flowers of mature ramps take six to 18 months to germinate. Ramp seedlings take about four years to produce a leaf large enough for harvest; and it takes the plant about five to seven years to form a mature bulb that can produce its own flower.

Ramps grow slowly. Humans consume quickly.

Fortunately, more and more resources are available for would-be ramp growers. Many university extensions are publishing their relatively new research.

On a tiny (but inspiring) scale I have been growing city ramps since 2016. It began with with a gift of ramps from a friend who collects them on his land. After soaking their roots overnight in cool water they were planted in our then-backyard (whose soil pH was 5.4 – quite acidic) in a spot with spring sunshine and summer shade (which mimics their natural deciduous woodland habitat). Plenty of leaf litter covered them in fall and winter. The following spring healthy ramp leaves emerged.

When we moved to a terraced apartment, I tried again, this time with greenmarket ramps sold with roots, and soaked overnight. I planted them in a 14-inch terracotta pot, in potting soil. After one winter, one plant bloomed and set seed (no sign yet of the seedling – fingers crossed). I felt like throwing a party. This March there are five ramps emerging from the cold soil that they share with foamflower and holly fern, their native woodlands neighbors. The pot spends the spring in some morning sun, then I move it beneath the shading branches of a rhododendron for the hot, humid summer.

We’re visiting with Carla Z. Mudry in Malvern, Pennsylvania today:

Early spring seems to have arrived. This year she came to see us in late February. To me this is yet another example of climate change. We need to strive towards a better planet. Daffodils are popping up all over. Witch hazels are blooming. The galanthus have been prolific and so beautiful this year. The peonies and roses are budding. The bright bursts of color are so welcome!

This weekend I also planted my first plants for 2023!

Gardening season is here, ready or not!

A hellebore (Helelborus hybrid, Zone 4 – 9) emerging with foliage just as colorful as the blooms.

A beautiful clump of snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis, Zone 3 – 7), always one of the very first bulbs to bloom.

The first few daffodil (Narcissus hybrids, Zone 3 – 8) brought inside to enjoy in a vase with some snowdrops.

The fertile fronds of cinnamon fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum, Zone 3 – 9) stand tall all winter, providing interest along with evergreen Pachysandra terminalis (Zone 5 – 9) around a buddha statue.

Early snow crocuses (Crocus chrysanthus, Zone 3 – 8) greet the spring.

Daffodils beginning to open.

Looking up at the fuzzy flowers of pussy willows (Salix sp., Zone 3 – 8).

After their early fuzzy silver phase, the willow blooms (called catkins) put out their yellow pollen, which is a key early food source for pollinators coming out of their winter hibernation.

A beautiful hellebore in full bloom.

 

Have a garden you’d like to share?

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Sure, you can buy them at nearly any nursery and even many grocery stores in the spring and summer.

But there’s no reason not to propagate plants by sowing seed yourself. It’s cheap, easy, and you can often find hybrids available that you can’t track down as starts from the nursery.

Before we get our hands dirty, here’s the lowdown on what we’ll be discussing:

To understand how to propagate plants, it helps to know where petunias grow in the wild.

They’re from warm regions of South America and they can be cultivated as perennials in USDA Hardiness Zones 9 to 11.

Most gardeners grow them as annuals because the climate in their region isn’t right for petunias year-round.

With that in mind, let’s start our germinating adventures…

Determine When to Start

If you’re going to start petunias from seed, it’s best to start them indoors. They need a long time, over two months, to germinate and mature enough to transplant outside.

Look at the last predicted frost date in your area and count back 10 or 11 weeks. For most people in North America, that’s going to be in February or March. That’s when you need to sow your seeds.

You can also opt to start the plants outdoors if you live in a region with long, mild springs. So long as there is no chance of frost and the soil temperatures are above 60°F, you can sow in place.

Petunia seeds need about 12 hours of light per day to germinate and seedlings need at least six hours of sunlight per day to grow.

That means you’ll need to wait until about 12 hours of daylight are available before planting. In most areas, this happens well before the last frost date.

Pick the Right Pots

I like to reuse my containers because it reduces waste and it saves me money. If you do the same, just be sure to wash the containers with soap and water or a one-to-nine mix of bleach and water.

Cell trays are the perfect size. They should have several drainage holes so you don’t run the risk of drowning the roots.

Sow the Seeds

Whether you propagate indoors or out, you need a good medium to start the seeds in.

With pots, it’s much easier to control the soil than it is for anyone planting directly in the ground. Just fill the cell trays with a high-quality seed-starting mix and water it well to moisten the medium.

Outdoors, loosen up the soil to about six inches deep, and work in lots of well-rotted compost.

It doesn’t matter if your soil leans sandier or more clayey – well-rotted compost will help balance it.

And even if you have the perfect soil, compost will add nutrients. Also, if you have perfect soil, when can I move in?

Press them into the surface of the soil. You should sow one or two seeds per cell. Space them according to mature dimensions outdoors depending on the variety you are growing.

Watch the Temperature

Petunia seeds don’t like temperature fluctuations. There are things you can do to help regulate the temperature if you’re propagating indoors, but outside, you’re more subject to the whims of nature.

If you have a cold frame, you can use it to start seeds in pots and better regulate the temperature.

However you do it, try to keep it around 60 to 75°F. You can do this by placing the pots on a heat mat and placing plastic or glass over the containers.

Petunia seedlings don’t need high humidity, but the glass or plastic will help maintain consistent temperatures.

If you’re using a cold frame, open it on hot days and close it up tight on cold days.

Provide Light

Petunia seeds need light to germinate, and you probably won’t be able to give them enough just by placing the pots in a window.

They need about 12 hours of light per day to encourage germination. Most of us will have to put the seeds under a grow light.

Make sure the grow light isn’t more than four or five inches above the soil surface. The seeds won’t germinate without bright light.

If you’re propagating outside, make sure the seeds are in an area with full sun. Eight hours of sunlight is the minimum.

That means you might need to start your seeds indoors even if you have mild temperatures, simply because there isn’t enough light in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere during the early spring.

Water, Water, Water

Mature petunias need a lot of water and so do the seedlings. Keep the planting medium moist at all times, whether that’s inside or outside.

“Moist” is kind of a vague term, so let’s clarify a bit – if you imagine the moisture level of a kitchen sponge that you’ve soaked in water and then wrung out really well, that’s the level you’re aiming for.

Obviously, when you first water the medium will be a bit wetter, and as it starts to dry, the soil will feel drier than that. But your goal should be to try and maintain that level of moisture.

This can mean watering as often as once a day at times, and you should continue to keep the soil that moist until the seedlings are a few inches tall.

After that you can relax a little, but the soil should optimally stay that moist throughout the plants’ lives.

Transplant

If you sowed straight in the ground outdoors, go ahead and skip this section and proceed directly to enjoying your plants.

Otherwise, it’s time to harden off your seedlings once the last frost is past and the plants have at least three true leaves.

At that point, set them outside in a place that is protected from drying wind, but in full sun. Leave the seedlings there for an hour and then take them back inside.

The next day, leave the seedlings out for two hours. Add an hour per day until the seedlings can be exposed to outdoor conditions for a full eight hours.

While your plants are undergoing this process, you can prep the planting area. Loosen up the soil and mix in well-rotted compost as described above for direct-sown plantings.

After your seedlings have been hardened off, they’re ready to transplant. Make holes the size of your containers. Biodegradable containers can be placed directly in the holes, otherwise you will need to remove the seedling from their containers one by one.

Spacing depends entirely on the type of petunia you’re growing. The larger grandifloras or ground cover types should be about a foot apart. Smaller plants can be as close as six inches.

Firm up the soil around each plant and water well.

It’s important to fertilize such a gorgeous plant correctly.

Otherwise, it’ll put out bird-esque blooms that won’t look at all paradisiacal… and you’ll just be left with a bird of “a less-than-idyllic place.” Not as attractive, nor as catchy.

But a properly fertilized Strelitzia? *Chef’s kiss*… delectable.

This guide provides the necessary know-how to supply a bird of paradise with the nutrition it needs.

Plus, we’ll throw in some powerful reasons for feeding your plants, should a debilitating case of apathy strike while you’re completing your gardening chores.

Here’s everything we’ll cover up ahead:

Why Fertilize a Bird of Paradise?

Maintaining a beautiful garden requires a fair amount of hard work. And to feel fulfilled by that labor, it’s important to know the purpose behind everything we do.

Let’s take a look at the reasons for feeding these lush tropical plants.

Aesthetics

The attractive flowers and foliage of a Strelitzia come at a high metabolic cost.

Besides meeting their sunlight and water requirements, a plethora of macro- and micronutrients are needed to optimally produce and maintain all that growth.

Without the necessary nutrition, deficiency symptoms show up as splitting, curling, browning, and chlorotic leaves, as well as shoddy-looking blooms.

None of which make for an attractive garden specimen.

Vigor

Besides a diminished appearance, malnutrition can cause stunted development.

At the cellular level, plants need various essential components such as proteins, chlorophyll, and ribozymes to carry out the molecular processes of living.

Take these building blocks away, and cell function is impaired. And while we can’t actually see impaired cells, we do notice the big-picture result: slowed and reduced growth.

Health

Along with keeping up appearances and ensuring vigorous growth, proper nutrition enables a plant to protect itself from pests and pathogens.

Stressors such as malnutrition add up in a plant, and each additional unit of stress makes the organism less capable of coping with infestation or infection.

But a properly-fed plant? Now that’s an organism that can better handle health issues – or even avoid them altogether.

What You’ll Need

Feeling caught up in the fervor of fertilizing? Here are the essentials:

Humus

Humus is what remains after plants and animals decompose.

Also known as organic material, humus improves many aspects of soil: nutrition, water-holding capacity, structure, and cation exchange capacity.

Cation exchange capacity (CEC) may be a new or confusing concept for folks, even if they’ve been in the gardening game for awhile.

Since no one’s too smart for a CEC refresher, let’s rehash the concept real quick.

CEC describes the capability of a soil to provide nutrition to plants, rather than the amount of nutrition already present in said soil. Despite sounding alike, these are two totally different things.

Positively-charged plant nutrients such as calcium and magnesium – also known as cations – are attracted to negatively-charged particles in the soil with a high CEC, such as clay or compost.

As roots grow into the soil, they absorb nutrients that are stuck to soil particles.

In soil with high quantities of humus, there’s a higher amount of mobile nutrients to absorb than in soils void of organic matter.

CEC doesn’t address negatively charged ions – or anions – such as nitrates, since they aren’t cations.

Soil particles don’t readily attract anions, which are prone to washout via irrigation and rainfall.

In the realm of essential plant nutrients, this is less likely for phosphorus since it’s not readily soluble… but I digress.

Types of humus fit for adding to your soil include peat moss, compost, and well-rotted manure.

Fertilizer

For specific nutritional deficiencies that need resolving, fertilizers are quite useful. When selecting one, you have two avenues to choose from: organic or synthetic.

Organic fertilizers consist of naturally occurring materials such as kelp meal, bat guano, or bone meal.

A positive quality of organics is their tendency to provide secondary and/or trace nutrients that tend to be present in those ingredients, helping to deliver balanced nutrition overall.

Synthetic fertilizers utilize mined or manufactured compounds such as ammonium nitrate or potassium sulfate.

Such compounds offer readily bioavailable forms of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, the chief macronutrients essential to plant life, but are often void of secondary and trace nutrients like magnesium and sulfur.

And imbalanced nutrition can lead to deficiency or toxicity.

That, plus the tendency of synthetics to disrupt populations of helpful soil microorganisms, makes organic fertilizers the ones many home gardeners opt to go with, particularly when it’s convenient to choose them.

Diervilla and Lonicera spp.

With its honey-sweet fragrance, colorful blossoms, and graceful vining growth habit, it’s easy to fall in love with honeysuckle.

So many people have a cherished memory of sipping the sweet nectar from the flowers, or reveling in the perfumed summer air.

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But these days, you’re just as likely to hear about the not-so-sweet side of honeysuckles as you are about the memories that the scent of the flowers bring.

Certain species of honeysuckle, while lovely in their native habitat, have become invasive nuisances that are wreaking absolute havoc in some areas.

In this guide, we’ll help you pick varieties that won’t cause trouble down the road. We’ll also help you plant and care for your honeysuckles so you can enjoy all that they have to offer.

Up ahead, we’ll cover the following:

If you can’t wait to get your hands on some honeysuckle, then read on!

Cultivation and History

Honeysuckles are flowering shrubs and vines in the Caprifoliaceae family.

There are dozens of species, but only a handful that are grown in home gardens, and most of those come from the Lonicera genus, with some belonging to the Diervilla genus as well.

The plants are native to temperate zones across the northern hemisphere. You can find them throughout Eurasia and North America.

When it comes to vining types, trumpet or coral (Lonicera sempervirens), Japanese (L. japonica), sweet or Italian (L. caprifolium), Burmese (L. hildebrandiana), woodbine or European (L. periclymenum), Morrow’s (aka Amur) (L. morrowii), goldflame (L. heckrottii), and evergreen (L. henryi) are the most commonly found species at nurseries and in gardens.

Shrub types include winter (L. fragrantissima), northern bush (Diervilla lonicera), mountain bush (D. rivularis), and southern bush (D. sessilifolia).

Some, such as Himalayan honeysuckle (Leycesteria formosa), can be grown as a vine or a shrub. However, this particular variety is not grouped traditionally with other honeysuckles, thanks to its differences in habit and growing requirements. It is, however, a close relative to the species mentioned here.

You can learn more about Himalayan honeysuckle in our guide.

Bush honeysuckles spread via suckers and seeds, and can tolerate a good amount of drought and compacted soil. Vining types spread via seeds, and climb by wrapping themselves around other plants or support structures.

Interestingly, honeysuckle always climbs in a clockwise spiral.

These plants are rarely impacted by pests or diseases, and can grow in a wide range of light exposure and soil moisture levels.

There are plants that can handle full shade and others that thrive in full sun. Most are adaptable to anything from dry to moist soil, and clay to sand.

Their adaptability has contributed not only to their popularity in gardens, but to their invasive spread in many parts of the country as well.

Many are native to different parts of the US, while some species were imported to the US – usually from Asia via Europe – and are now considered invasive or noxious, such as Amur (L. maackii), Japanese (L. japonica), bella or Bell’s (L. x bella), and Tartarian (L. tatarica).

Some states even ban the import or planting of some of these, so be sure to check local regulations before you choose what to grow.

Collectively, these potentially invasive plants are sometimes referred to by the outdated terms “exotic” or “Asian” honeysuckle, but not all honeysuckles from Asia are invasive.

Many honeysuckles were brought to the US not only for their beautiful flowers, but because they have the ability to survive in a range of conditions and climates, and could help with erosion. What many people didn’t realize is that they could become invasive.

For instance, growers in Japan and Europe didn’t know how aggressive the Amur honeysuckle would become in the US, since it didn’t have the same problem in those areas. In fact, the Amur type is considered endangered in Japan.

But once Amur’s took hold in US soil, it rampantly started taking over, smothering native flora.

Even if these types aren’t banned outright in your area, you should really consider whether it’s worth planting them or not. They can have a seriously negative impact on local flora, and they can easily outcompete native plants for light, water, and nutrients.

They can also leaf out earlier than native plants, smothering seedlings or blocking seeds from accessing light and water before they can get a good start.

Fortunately, there are many excellent options available that don’t become invasive. 

Most of the native plants come from the eastern half of the US, but there are a few that are native to the west.

The climbing or orange honeysuckle (L. ciliosa) grows on the west coast and has incredibly showy trumpet-shaped orange flowers, and purple honeysuckle (L. hispidula) grows near the Pacific Ocean and features purple-pink flowers.

Coral honeysuckle is beautiful, adaptable, and native to the eastern US, so it doesn’t become invasive there. It is one of the most commonly available varieties to purchase from nurseries out there.

The native plants have been an important resource for indigenous people in North America.

Native Americans have historically used and continue to use honeysuckle for medicinal purposes, including treating sore throats, coughs, colds, and epilepsy, and to ease upset stomachs, among other uses.

For instance, the Navajo people use Arizona (L. arizonica) and twinberry honeysuckle (L. involucrata) as emetics in ceremonies. The Iroquois use American fly honeysuckle (L. canadensis) as a blood purifier, a sedative, and to cure homesickness.

Orange or climbing honeysuckle (L. ciliosa) is used by the Swinomish people for treating colds, while the Klallam use it as a topical bruise healer.

Regardless of where they originate, all honeysuckles share some similarities.

The leaves are often clasping, which means the leaf wraps around the stem rather than attaching to it with a petiole. They can also be perfoliate, which means the stem appears to pierce the leaf, or petiolate, which means they have a small stalk that attaches to the stem.

The leaves grow in pairs with each leaf opposite the other, and are ovate or oblong-ovate in shape.

Flower colors can be white, cream, yellow, orange, red, lavender, purple, or maroon. The flowers are tubular and usually appear in pairs or clusters. Many types have multicolored blossoms.

The flowers, which are usually strongly fragrant with a pungent honey-like scent, are followed by berries in the fall. These are typically red, orange, or yellow.

Depending on the species, honeysuckles are hardy in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 through 9. They come in evergreen, semi-evergreen, and deciduous varieties.

Don’t confuse Cape honeysuckle (Tecoma capensis) with the rest of the plants in this group. Though it also shares this common name, it’s not a close relative.

Propagation

Honeysuckle is easy to propagate, but if you find a plant growing in the wild, be sure you identify it before you take a cutting or try layering. You don’t want to spread an invasive species further.

As a first step to figuring out what variety it is, try snapping off a piece of hardwood. The most common invasive types have a hollow channel down the center of the stems, while species native to the US have a solid stem.

From Seed

Hybrids won’t grow true from seed, but many species and cultivars can. You can purchase seeds at most nurseries.

The seeds require cold stratification before they will germinate. There are two ways to make this happen.

The first is to put the seeds in the soil in the fall and let Mother Nature do her thing. Keep in mind, however, that if the seeds break early during a warm snap in February, they might be killed when colder temperatures return.

The other method is to trick the seeds into thinking they’ve been through a cold winter. This takes some extra work, but it’s more reliable. Two months before you intend to plant, start the process.

Fill a resealable bag or jar with sand and thoroughly wet it. The sand should be wet enough that if you squeeze it in your hands it stays together rather than crumbling apart, but you don’t want it to be muddy. Add the seeds and mix them into the sand.

Seal the container or bag and put it in the fridge, preferably in a back corner where it won’t be impacted by the changing temperatures that foods at the front of the fridge experience.

Check weekly to make sure the sand is staying moist. Add a little water if it’s drying out.

After two months, you can plant the seeds.

To plant seeds either in the fall or spring after you stratify them, first prepare the soil.

Honeysuckle can tolerate a range of soils, but you should work in some compost to make your soil as loamy and well-draining as possible.

Place the seeds in the soil 1/8 inch deep. Moisten the soil with a water bottle or a hose attachment set to mist. Maintain even moisture as the seeds germinate, which should take a few weeks.

Unlike veggies, which you might want to start indoors in order to get a jump on the growing season, you don’t need to start honeysuckle inside. Once it’s in the ground, it starts to take off, and will begin to flower by the time its other outdoor pals do.

All that said, if you want to start your seedlings indoors, you are certainly welcome to do so. If you go this route, about six weeks before the average last predicted frost date, start them 1/8 inch deep in three-inch peat pots or CowPots filled with a seed starting mix.

Never heard of CowPots? They’re awesome. They’re made out of cow poop, so they’re sustainable and they biodegrade right into the soil, so your plant gets less of a shock from the transition.

CowPots Biodegradable Pots

Arbico Organics carries them in packs of 12, 400, and 840 so you never have to be without.

Water the seeds well and keep the soil moist until the seedlings that sprout have one set of true leaves.

Harden the seedlings off by bringing them outside for an hour and putting them in a sheltered spot. Then, bring them back in. On day two, add an hour.

Keep adding an hour until a week goes by. Now the plants are ready to go into their permanent home.

From Cuttings

Cuttings can be taken from softwood growth in the spring before flowering.

Cut off a branch with at least two leaf pairs. Snip the branch just above the uppermost leaf pair and pull off the lower leaf pair. Place the cutting in a rooting medium with the leaves positioned upright, and water well.

To help the cutting stay warm and moist, place a plastic baggy over it. Use a chopstick to prop up the bag and to provide the cutting with a support structure to climb up if it’s a vining type.

Remove the bag every few days to check on things. Make sure the soil is staying moist and the air is humid. Mist the cutting if it feels dry inside the bag and add water if the soil feels dry at all.

After a few weeks, the cutting should have formed some roots. Give the cutting a little tug and see if it resists. If so, it’s ready to be transplanted.

However, before you go stick it in its permanent home, be sure to harden it off as described above.

Layering

Honeysuckles are a cinch to layer. It’s as simple as choosing a branch and placing it flat on the soil without detaching it from the parent plant.

Remove any leaves from the middle of the branch. Then, cover the middle with about an inch of soil, leaving a few inches of the tip exposed. You can use a rock to pin the branch down if it doesn’t want to stay in place.

Add water if the soil dries out. Otherwise, you don’t need to do anything but practice some patience.

After a month, you should see a stem and new leaves forming. When this happens, snip the branch free of the main plant and dig up the buried section. It should have roots and will be ready to be transplanted.

From Seedlings/Transplanting

Before you plant your seedlings, dig your hole. It should be slightly wider and deeper than the existing container.

Work some compost into the removed soil and put some back in the base of the hole so that the plant will sit at the same level as it is at in its container.

Be sure to put your trellis or other support in place if you’re growing a vining type.

Gently remove the plant from its container by gripping it around the base and wiggling it out. Check for any dead or dry roots and cut them off. Loosen the soil and gently straighten out any circling or tangled roots.

Place the plant in the hole, and fill in around it with your soil and compost mix. Water well to help settle the soil.

Once it’s in its new home, trim back the branches by about a third to encourage bushier growth, unless it’s a young seedling with just a few leaves – no need to trim that.

As the plant grows, help to wind it around the support structure, or you can affix a few of the tendrils by tying them loosely to the support with twine or rope.

How to Grow

Vining or climbing honeysuckles can grow in part sun to full sun, with the best flowering in full sun.

In a perfect world, the top of vines will be in full sun with their roots in the shade. Bush types can usually handle a bit more shade.

Before you plant, make sure you pick a spot that has enough space. Some honeysuckles grow to be extremely large and they can quickly outgrow their location if you don’t choose wisely.

Climbing types need something to support them, whether that’s a trellis, a fence, or an arbor. They don’t have tendrils or adhesive roots like some vines such as ivy do.

They attach themselves to structures by winding around them. They won’t attach themselves to walls; they need something that they can wrap around.

As a result, any support structure should be placed about an inch or more away from a wall so the vine can do its thing.

Some bush types can stay fairly compact. Vining types can reach as far as 30 feet or more. Know your plant and plan accordingly.

Also be aware that when the flowers are blooming, the plants can be absolutely covered in bees. While that’s a good thing, you might not want to have a million bees hovering right near you if you or someone you live with is allergic.

You should also keep in mind that hummingbirds love most honeysuckles. If you don’t want to disturb them while they’re feeding, don’t plant too close to walkways or patios.

When it comes to soil, these plants are astonishingly adaptable. Most can handle anything from moist to dry soil once they are established. They can also tolerate clay or sandy soil, though loamy, rich, well-draining soil is preferred.

Boggy soil will kill them off, however. They can’t handle standing water around their roots.

That said, I had a garden with clay soil, and I struggled to get plants to thrive, particularly in the low areas where water pooled. But my honeysuckle always grew fabulously well after it became established, even in the boggy areas. You never know how well these plants can adapt until you try.

While they prefer slightly acidic soil, a pH between 5.5 and 8.0 is sufficient.

After you’ve gotten them in the ground, vining types will need some training. For the first year, go out every few weeks and train the tendrils around their support structure in the direction you want them to grow.

When it comes to watering, most don’t need additional moisture once they’re established beyond what nature provides, but keep an eye on your plants. In the height of summer, provide additional water when the top few inches of soil dry out.

If they start to wilt or turn brown on the edges of the leaves, you’ll need to add supplemental water, at least during the warmer times of year.

Also note that since vining types are often grown near walls, they might not be receiving as much water as they should, since walls can block rain or irrigation.

Fertilize with a formula made for flowering plants once a year in the spring. You can apply fertilizer every other year instead, as long as your plant is blooming well.

Anything too high in nitrogen will result in leaf growth at the expense of flowering.

I use a side-dressing of Down to Earth’s Rose and Flower mix because it’s perfectly formulated to encourage flowering, and made with organic ingredients. The container is even compostable.

Down to Earth Rose and Flower Mix

Arbico Organics carries one- and five-pound containers of this tried-and-true fertilizer as well as bulk options.

Growing Tips

• Plant in full or part sun.
• Provide vining types with something to climb up.
• Provide water when the top few inches of soil dry out.

Pruning and Maintenance

Most vining honeysuckles don’t need a lot of pruning unless you need to contain an aggressive grower.

Otherwise, prune yearly to provide some shape in the fall after flowering. You can remove up to a third of the stems and foliage at a time.

If your plant is becoming leggy or rangy, prune it hard in the fall. Plants that become bare at the base or in the center should also be pruned back to the ground. Don’t worry, you can cut them back to the trunk and they will return in the spring, usually with bushier growth.

Shrub honeysuckles can be lightly pruned to maintain their shape in the early spring, before new growth appears. Prune out any dead branches.

Don’t prune in midspring to summer. Not only can this stress the plant or reduce blooming, since many honeysuckles bloom on the current season’s growth, but many types of birds like to make nests in the branches and you might disturb them.

Some honeysuckles bloom on last season’s growth, however, so check on your particular species to see what you have. Those types should be pruned in the fall.

Each year, you might want to go out just before flowering and train the vines in the direction that you want them to grow.

Removal

If you planted or have an invasive type in your yard already that you want to get rid of, be prepared. You have a challenge ahead of you, but it is possible.

These plants have become such a problem in some areas that there is actually a tool made just for digging them out called a honeysuckle popper.

It’s a tool that lets you wedge a piece of it below the root structure, helping you to create leverage to pop it out of the ground, root and all.

You can also use a garden fork and shovel to try and dig the whole thing out. Plan to dig out as much of the root structure as you can.

If you simply can’t dig up the entire root structure because the plant is too large, your best bet is to saw the stem off at the ground, then treat the exposed stem with a 20 percent solution of glyphosate.

Keep an eye out over the next few weeks (and months – sorry!) and rip out any shoots that pop out of the soil.

Species and Cultivars to Select

Before you pick a variety to grow at home, you’ll need to narrow things down a little.

First, do you want a shrub or a vining plant? Second, do you want something that is fragrant? Not all honeysuckles are. Next, make sure the plant that you pick grows well in your region and is the right size for your needs.

Finally, you should also be sure to check with your local ag agency to see if the plant is listed as invasive.

As much as we love the hardiness and beauty of Japanese honeysuckles, we don’t want them to strangle native flora. There might be better options out there that won’t threaten native plants.

Many plants found in nurseries today are hybrids of species that are native to the US, and there are new cultivars and hybrids popping up all the time.

D. Lonicera

This species is usually just called “bush,” which denotes its growth habit.

‘Dwarf Bush’ is a – yup, you guessed it – dwarf cultivar of D. lonicera. It may stay under four feet tall and wide, though a max height closer to eight feet is common.

D. Rivularis

Rivularis varieties are also called mountain bush or hairy bush honeysuckles.

‘Kodiak Black’ (D. rivularis ‘SMNDRSF’) is a shrub type that grows about five feet wide and four feet tall in Zones 5 to 7.

It’s highly fragrant, can handle just about any type of soil, and thrives in sun, part shade, or even full shade.

This honeysuckle cultivar is exceptional not just for the flowers, but its dark purple, nearly black foliage as well.

‘Kodiak Black’

In the early summer, bright yellow, trumpet-shaped flowers emerge and last through the fall. If you’re looking for a bush honeysuckle, it’s hard to go wrong with this one.

Purchase one for your garden at Nature Hills Nursery.

D. Sessilifolia

The sessilifolia species is a group collectively known as the southern bush honeysuckles.

‘Cool Splash’ (D. sessilifolia ‘LPDC Podaras’ PP19391) is a dwarf southern bush that stays under four feet tall and wide, with a mounding growth habit.

It isn’t invasive but it is still hardy, grows extremely fast, and can handle a range of conditions.

By the way, that “PP” followed by a bunch of numbers is what’s known as a plant patent ID.

These patents are granted to an individual or group who invent a new plant through asexual breeding. That means they own the rights to the plant for 20 years. But I digress…

‘Cool Splash’

When it isn’t covered in fragrant yellow flowers, the variegated green and cream foliage adds color to the garden. It grows in Zones 4 to 7 in partial shade to full sun.

Nature Hills Nursery carries this stand-out bush in #3 containers.

L. Flava

Yellow honeysuckle (L. flava) has extremely fragrant sweet-smelling flowers that are, unsurprisingly, yellow, though they can have a hint of orange.

L. flava ‘Yellow’ is a vining plant that reaches up to 20 feet tall and six feet wide, and is hardy in Zones 5 to 8.

L. Periclymenum

The periclymenum species was imported from Europe, and thank goodness it isn’t invasive. It’s also known as common honeysuckle or woodbine.

L. periclymenum ‘Fragrant Cloud’ is, as its name would suggest, highly fragrant.

Also referred to by the name ‘Chojnow’ PBR, denoting a cultivar registered with Plant Breeders’ Rights to be sold under a code name or with alternate names of a different language, this variety has white and magenta flowers.

‘Fragrant Cloud’

‘Fragrant Cloud’ is hardy in Zones 5 to 9, and reaches up to 10 feet tall and eight feet wide. It’s a vining type that can handle partial sun or full sun.

Home Depot carries this non-invasive beauty.

L. Sempervirens

Coral, trumpet, or scarlet honeysuckle (L. sempervirens) is an excellent choice if you want a non-invasive option to replace Japanese honeysuckle.

It’s vigorous, pest and disease resistant, flowers profusely, and is extremely low maintenance.

The large flowers are red or burgundy on the outside, and gold, yellow, or orange in the center, though there are a few cultivars with different blossom colors.

It can grow in a wide range of Zones from 4 to 9, and even in Zone 3 with some winter protection. It grows to 20 feet tall with support, and six feet wide.

This species grows incredibly quickly without being invasive, which is probably why it’s one of the most popular North American honeysuckles out there.

There are a few exceptional coral cultivars worth watching for:

‘Cedar Lane’ has two-inch-long flowers that are vermillion on the exterior and yellow on the interior. ‘Alabama Crimson’ features crimson red flowers with dark green-blue leaves. ‘John Clayton’ has bright yellow flowers, and it tends to rebloom a second time each year.

‘Major Wheeler’ is such a prolific bloomer that you can’t tell it even has foliage when it’s blooming. The bright red and orange tubular flowers emerge in late spring and stick around until autumn.

It grows quickly and is partially evergreen in Zones 6 to 8, though it can grow in gardens down to Zone 4. And it spreads about 10 feet wide and eight feet tall.

Hybrids

L. x brownii ‘Dropmore Scarlet’ is a vining type that is vigorous without being invasive. It has intensely scented two-inch-long blossoms in pink and orange.

This is a hybrid cross between L. sempervirens with L. hirsuta. It doesn’t get too large, staying right around five feet tall and wide, and is hardy in Zones 4 to 8.

‘Dropmore Scarlet’

Is she calling your name? Pick this fragrant lady up at Nature Hills Nursery in #3 containers.

Gorgeous ‘Goldflame’ (Lonicera × heckrottii) is a vining type with stand-out flowers that feature bright orange-yellow interiors and medium purple-pink exteriors.

It was created by crossing L. americana and L. sempervirens, and is hardy in Zones 4 to 9. In the right conditions, it quickly grows to 15 feet.

Want More Options?

Be sure to check out our follow-up guide, “Types of Honeysuckle Plants: 13 of the Best Species for Your Garden,” to find the best selections for your yard and garden.

Managing Pests and Disease

One of my favorite things about growing honeysuckle is that it is wonderfully untroubled by pests and diseases.

I’ve never had to deal with either in my garden, though I know a few people who have seen aphids and powdery mildew on their plants.

Herbivores, on the other hand… Let’s just say the deer seem to think honeysuckle is the equivalent of their own personal candy shop.

Herbivores

More than pests and diseases, herbivores have the potential to cause problems because they can’t resist the tender young leaves and flowers of honeysuckle.

Deer

It’s no wonder deer like honeysuckle. If you’ve ever popped the flowers out and sucked the sweet juice from the base, you know that they’re tasty.

If you have deer in your area, you’ll need to deter them or you risk losing your plants. We have a helpful guide with lots of different options to deter deer.

Rabbits

Wild bunnies love young honeysuckle leaves and flowers. They won’t bother the woodier parts of the plant, so your vine or bush is usually safe once it grows a bit older.

To protect your young plants, barriers are your best option. Our article on deterring rabbits can help.

Insects

One of the reasons honeysuckles are so popular is because they’re generally untroubled by insect pests. There’s only one type that you will commonly come across.

Aphids

Perhaps it would be easier to list the plants aphids don’t like to attack than the ones they do.

Honeysuckle is yet another plant that aphids – Hyadaphis foeniculi in particular, in this case – just can’t stay away from. And they’re the most problematic pest you’ll encounter when growing honeysuckle.

The good news is that controlling and getting rid of them isn’t too difficult. Unless you have young plants and a seriously large infestation, aphids don’t cause too much damage.

Chances are you’ll come across the fly honeysuckle aphid or coriander aphid, as it is commonly known, as well as other types of aphids, in your garden at some point.

Give our guide to controlling these common pests a read to learn how to prevent, spot, and stop them.

Disease

Just as you don’t often see pests on honeysuckle, you’ll rarely encounter diseases either.

Powdery mildew is more common, but you’ll sometimes see leaf blight, as well. Neither will typically kill your plant unless it is young or weak.

Leaf Blight

Leaf blight is caused by the fungus Insolibasidium deformans. If this fungus is present, new leaves in the spring will show light yellow or tan patches at first. Those spots eventually darken and become necrotic over the growing season.

The underside of affected leaves will have a silver, powdery coating, which is the fungus. The leaves will eventually curl and fall from the plant.

Prevention is best, and you can do that by keeping the plants pruned and well-spaced, and watering at the soil level rather than on the foliage. Clean up fallen leaves in the fall, since the fungi overwinters on plant material.

Bonide Copper Fungicide

If it’s too late for prevention, you’ll need to break out the antifungals. Copper sprays are effective against this disease.

I like Bonide’s Liquid Copper, which is available at Arbico Organics in 16- or 32-ounce ready-to-use containers, or a 16-ounce concentrate.

Spray plants every 10 days or so for as long as symptoms are present. Be sure to spray the undersides of the leaves.

Powdery Mildew

Powdery mildew is another fungal disease. It’s caused by the pathogen Erysiphe caprifoliacearum var. flexuosa. Again, it’s not extremely common, but it infects plants more frequently in areas with high humidity.

Symptoms include a powder-like coating on leaf surfaces, branches, and buds. Leaves may become yellow, and these will turn dry and fall off the plant.

Planting in a spot where the morning dew can dry off the leaves quickly, and keeping plants well-spaced and pruned, goes a long way to preventing this disease. Also be sure to remove any dead plant material from the ground in the fall.

If your plants do end up with powdery mildew, try an antifungal such as a copper fungicide as described above, or a sulfur fungicide.

Treat every 14 days until symptoms are resolved.

Bonide Sulfur Fungicide

Arbico Organics carries one- and four-pound bottles of Bonide Sulfur treatment.

Early treatment is best. Once this fungus has gotten its hooks into your honeysuckle, it’s hard to eliminate.

If treatment isn’t helping, stop treating and let the plant go dormant in the fall. Then, in the spring as the leaves emerge, start spraying again even if you can’t see any symptoms. It’s a lot easier to prevent the disease from taking hold than it is to get rid of it.

Learn more about how to treat powdery mildew in our guide.

Best Uses

Both bush and vine types are lovely in cottage gardens, and they add an intense fragrance to the air throughout the summer.

Bushes do well as hedges or they can be used to provide height in a garden. Vining types are perfect to cover fences, trail down rock walls, or cover trellises and arbors.

Plant anywhere you want to enjoy the fragrance, such as next to windows or patios. Just remember that the blossoms also attract bees.

To create a hummingbird garden, plant with firecracker plant, columbine, hummingbird plant, woodland pinkroot, bee balm, foxgloves, butterfly bush, or salvia.

Of course, lots of kids (and adults like myself) like to pinch the flowers and pull out the stamen, which has a few drops of sweet nectar on it.

Just be sure that if you eat from a plant that you don’t know, check to see if it has been sprayed with chemicals first. You should also always be certain that you have properly identified your plant if you’re foraging.

You can eat the flowers of some species as well. They’re lovely in salads or as a topper for desserts. Try sugaring them, with these instructions from our sister site, Foodal.

Honeysuckle flower tea is exceptional. It’s naturally sweet and floral tasting. But again, use caution.

While there are a few species that are not at all poisonous, most have some level of toxicity and can cause serious health issues in large enough doses.

Also, be aware that most honeysuckle species have berries that are poisonous, and these can be toxic particularly if you eat them in large enough quantities.

A few have edible berries (such as L. involucrata and L. utahensis, which are known as twinberry honeysuckles), but it’s probably smart to check with an expert before you start harvesting the berries.

If you can’t be sure, leave them to the birds; they’ll appreciate the snack. Leaves and stems may also be poisonous, though not always. Better safe than sorry.

The berries from some species may also be used to make a natural dye, giving hair and textiles an inky purple hue.

All parts of the plant are highly toxic to canines and felines.

Quick Reference Growing Guide

Plant Type:	Woody flowering shrub or vine	Flower / Foliage Color:	Cream, white, yellow, pink, orange, red, purple, magenta/green, cream
Native to:	Eurasia, North America	Tolerance:	Drought, some shade
Hardiness (USDA Zone):	3-9	Maintenance	Low
Bloom Time:	Spring-summer	Soil Type:	Clay, loamy, sandy
Exposure:	Full sun to part shade	Soil pH:	5.5-8.0
Time to Maturity:	5-10 years	Soil Drainage:	Well-draining
Spacing:	5-10 feet, depending on species	Attracts:	Bees, butterflies, hummingbirds
Planting Depth:	1/8 inch (seeds), depth of container (transplants)	Companion Planting:	Bee balm, butterfly bush, columbine, firecracker plant, foxgloves, salvia, woodland pinkroot
Height:	4-30 feet	Avoid Planting With:	Clematis
Spread:	4-10 feet	Uses:	Mass planting, hedge, wall or rock garden, dye, edible nectar
Growth Rate:	Moderate to fast	Family:	Caprifoliaceae
Water Needs:	Low to moderate	Genus:	Lonicera, Diervilla, Leycesteria
Common Pests and Disease:	Deer, rabbits; aphids; leaf blight, powdery mildew	Species:	Americana, arizonica, bella, caprifolium, ciliosa, fragrantissima, flava, heckrottii, henryi, hispidula, involucrata, japonica,, hildebrandiana, lonicera, morrowii, periclymenum, rivularis, sempervirens, sessilifolia, tatarica

Bring the Sweetness of Honeysuckle to Your Home

The experience of the pungent, sweet scent of honeysuckle on the air is something you’re not likely to ever forget.

Now you’re ready to go out and start creating your own honeysuckle memories, without the danger of planting something that’s all wrong for your area.

Be sure to come back and let us know which species you end up with and how it’s doing in your yard in the comments below.

Then, if you’re looking for more help on growing flowering vines in your garden, read these guides next:

When it comes to natural beauty, roses are one of the most beneficial tools to have. Yes, really! Rose is more than just a beauty, she’s a skincare powerhouse with a gentle touch. Whether you have oily, dry, or sensitive skin, this rose soap recipe will treat your skin just right.

Here I am, back with yet another rose skincare recipe! Honestly, I’m amazed it has taken me this long to create a rose soap recipe. I have a long love affair with roses in my skincare routine (my garden, not so much), and this is just one more recipe that will become part of my daily ritual.

I will tell you why I love rose skincare so much, and how you can make this stunning, gentle rose petal soap for yourself.

This post will cover…

Rose Benefits

Long before roses were known as a beautiful garden flower and popular scent, rose was a skincare herb. During the medieval period, as well as in ancient Rome and Greece, people used rose all the time for their herbal properties.

Rose is an anti-inflammatory that is extremely helpful in diminishing puffiness and redness in your face and body. As a natural astringent, it also works well to treat acne, tighten the skin, and support overall skin tissue. You’ll also notice how well it treats scars and age spots!

This rose soap recipe takes lots of inspiration from the scent and beauty of roses, but you can also infuse the oil with rose petals to get even more benefits from the soap.

How to Make Rose Soap

Not only does this soap work wonders on your skin, but it must also be right up there as one of the most gorgeous soaps I have made. We have the madder root powder to thank for the rose-like colour. And the rose petals on top? Chefs kiss.

Equipment

Ingredients

See the exact measurements in the recipe card at the end of this post.

Jump to Recipe

Make It!

Safety first! Cover yourself in safety gear, including goggles, gloves, and a long sleeve shirt.

Next, use a scale to weigh all your ingredients (weight is more accurate for measuring).

Heat your lard, olive oil, and coconut oil over low heat. I do this over a stove, but you can also put it in a microwave. Heat until the soap reaches 115°F.

While the oils are heating, mix together your lye and water in your heat-resistant measuring cup. Mix in a well-ventilated area since the fumes from the chemical reaction are strong. Avoid breathing in the fumes.

Once mixed, place your lye water in an ice bath until it reaches 115°F.

Slowly pour your lye water into the oils in a large mixing bowl. Blend it with an immersion blender. Blend until it reaches a light trace (almost pudding-like).

Add in your essential oils and blend again.

Separate your soap batter into two bowls. Take your madder root powder and blend well into one of the bowls.

Pour the uncoloured soap batter into the soap mold first. Then, add the madder root powder-coloured batter on top. Next, use a chopstick to run through the soap several times to swirl the colours together in the mold.

Top with rose petals and dried rose buds.

Wrap the soap mould in a towel and let it sit in a warm place for 48 hours.

After 48 hours, cut your soap into equal sections. Let soap cure for six weeks before using.

Rose Aftercare Recipes

I love love love rose…and I swear it has nothing to do with the fact that Rose is my last name! The more I learned about the powerful properties of the beauty, the more I wanted to include it in my skincare routine.

This rose petal soap is just the first step in my rose skincare routine. I also love to make rose water. It’s one of the gentlest ways to treat your skin. Besides using it around the house and baking, it works to remove makeup and as a skin toner, and hydrates the skin.

I especially love it as a toner to balance out your skin’s pH and provide all those healing benefits to the skin.

After my rosewater, I apply my rose hydration cream. I swear, this stuff is just as good (if not better) as any expensive designer cream. And this one is all-natural! It’s rich and highly nourishing for my dry, sensitive skin but without being too greasy.

Make This Rose Soap Plant-Based

Just about every single one of my soap recipes is plant-based. You’ll notice that rose soap, however, contains lard. Traditionally, lard is pork fat, but it can be any animal fat. I wanted to experiment with a lard soap since it has such a low price point compared to some of the oils and butters I use.

With that being said, you can still make this rose soap without lard. To do so, I would use one of my unscented cold process soap recipes as the base. Then, follow the same instructions for the essential oils, madder root powder, and rose petals at the end.

Frequently Asked Questions About Rose Soap

I hope by the end of your rose soap-making journey, you become just as obsessed with roses in your skincare routine as me. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below!

More Soap Recipes to Try

Collaborative post

For many people living in the UK, apartments are the ideal option when it comes to finding a place to live. Apartments offer a number of benefits, including affordability, convenience, and the opportunity to live in prime locations. However, apartments can often be impersonal, leaving residents feeling like they are living in a cold, sterile environment.

If you’re living in a rented apartment and want to make it feel more like a cosy home, there are a number of things you can do to create a warm, inviting atmosphere.

Add warmth with soft furnishings

Let’s be honest, cities like London aren’t famous for their warm and sunny weather, so try to add some comfort into your home with textiles.

Soft furnishings are a great way to add warmth to any room. Invest in some plush cushions, once you have sourced your flat, then add throws and rugs to create a warm ambience. Using a property portal gives you the tools to find your rental easily, which will save time and allow you to focus on turning it into a home.

Consider using warm, natural materials in your rented apartment. Wool, cotton, and silk are all ideal for a luxurious feel.

Create a cosy reading nook

If you love to curl up with a good book, why not create a cute reading nook in your apartment?

This could be as simple as adding a comfortable armchair, a soft rug, and a small table for your books and reading lamp. Make sure to position your reading nook in a quiet corner of the room where you can relax and unwind.

Your kitchen should feel like home

To create a homely kitchen, start by adding warm lighting. Soft, warm lighting can create a welcoming atmosphere and help to make the space feel more comfortable. Consider adding pendant lights over the dining table or island, or under-cabinet lighting to create a warm glow. You can also add candles or fairy lights for an extra touch of warmth and ambience.

Additionally, adding some soft textures like a rug or cushioned chairs can make the space feel more inviting. Personal touches like artwork or photos can also help to set the mood in your kitchen.

Add some greenery

Plants are a great way to bring life and energy into any space. Adding some greenery to your rented apartment can make it feel more like a home – plus plants can have a positive impact on air quality.

Try adding a variety of indoor plants in different sizes and shapes to create a natural, organic look.

Invest in quality bedding

There’s nothing quite like climbing into a comfy bed at the end of a long day. Investing in high-quality bedding will help you create a cosy sleeping environment.

Choose soft, luxurious materials like silk or Egyptian cotton, and consider upgrading your duvet and pillows for ultimate comfort.

Create a welcoming entrance

The entrance to your apartment is the first thing you and your guests will see when you walk in the door, so make sure it is warm and welcoming.

Hang a decorative mirror or piece of artwork on the wall, add a small table for keys and mail, and use a rug or stylish doormat to give the entrance additional personality.

Use warm lighting

Lighting is an important aspect of the atmosphere in your apartment. Instead of using bright, harsh overhead lighting, you can use soft lighting in warm tones to create a cosy feel. Table lamps, floor lamps, and candles are all good options here.

Create a focal point

Creating a focal point in a room is a great way to draw the eye, and if you use the right piece it can also convey a sense of comfort.

A focal point could be a piece of artwork, a mirror, a plant, or a statement piece of furniture. Choose something that reflects your personal style for added impact.

Personalise your space

Personalising your space is key to making it feel like a home. Add some family photos, artwork, or decorative items that reflect your personality and interests. This will help to make your apartment feel unique and a true reflection of who you are.

Add some texture

Texture is key when trying to make your home feel inviting. Adding textured items like woven baskets, knitted throws, and textured cushions will create a sense of depth and dimension in your space.

Keep it clean and tidy

Finally, one of the best things you can do to make your home welcoming is to keep it clean and tidy. A cluttered, messy space can make it difficult to relax and feel at home. Make sure to keep your apartment clean and organised, and invest in some storage solutions to keep clutter at bay.

By following these tips you’ll be sure to create the cosiest of homes, no matter what the British weather throws at you.

In their native deciduous woodland home, pungently delicious ramps appear in extensive, green colonies in early to mid-spring—if that habitat is intact. But demand for these wild onions, spring ephemerals native to eastern North America, has outpaced their life cycle. Their over-collection for market results in brown forest floors where only occasional islands of un-dug ramps persist in the rich leaf litter. Wild ramp populations are under threat because we are consuming them carelessly. Which is why ramps should be cultivated.

The good news is, growing ramps is not hard. They are a natural addition to a woodland garden, and a boon to forest farmers.

Photography by Marie Viljoen.

For a ramp conservation refresher, please visit our previous story about a woodland where the wild ramps grow.

But to sum up the ramp life cycle: Seeds shed by the flowers of mature ramps take six to 18 months to germinate. Ramp seedlings take about four years to produce a leaf large enough for harvest—and it takes the plant about five to seven years to form a mature bulb that can produce its own flower.

Ramps grow slowly. Humans consume quickly.

Fortunately, more and more resources are available for would-be ramp growers. Many university extensions are publishing their relatively new research.

On a tiny (but inspiring) scale I have been growing city ramps since 2016. It began with with a gift of ramps from a friend who collects them on his land. After soaking their roots overnight in cool water they were planted in our then-backyard (whose soil pH was 5.4, so quite acidic) in a spot with spring sunshine and summer shade (which mimics their natural deciduous woodland habitat). Plenty of leaf litter covered them in fall and winter. The following spring healthy ramp leaves emerged.

When we moved to a terraced apartment, I tried again, this time with greenmarket ramps sold with roots, and soaked overnight. I planted them in a 14-inch terracotta pot, in potting soil. After one winter, one plant bloomed and set seed (no sign yet of the seedling—fingers crossed). I felt like throwing a party. This March there are five ramps emerging from the cold soil that they share with foamflower and holly fern, their native woodlands neighbors. The pot spends the spring in some morning sun, then I move it beneath the shading branches of a rhododendron for the hot, humid summer.

Today we’re visiting with MJ McCabe.

We purchased this property in Northford, Connecticut, about 40 years ago. It was a former apple orchard. Gradually, the ancient apple trees started to decline, and we were left with a fairly blank canvas that needed to be rethought. We pruned and cared for a few of the apple trees, as they provided some nice structure and shade. One of my first steps was to start thinking of creating garden rooms—individual areas that would work well together but allow for a more cohesive look to the overall landscape.

The new trees and shrubs have grown nicely over the years—many perennials and mass plantings of spring bulbs have made the garden a beautiful backdrop to our 1890 home.

Persicaria polymorpha (Zones 4–9) is in the background, with ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris, Zones 3–7), hakonechloa (Hakonechloa macra, Zones 5–9), ligularia (Ligularia dentata, Zones 4–8), and Pulmonaria (Zones 3–9) in front.

White aster (Symphyotrichum sp.) is against the fence, with hakonechloa and Kirengeshoma palmata (Zones 5–8) under a tree in the foreground.

Summer blooms: baby’s breath (Gypsophila panicuata, Zones 3–9) in the foreground, and shrub rose (Rosa hybrid, Zones 5–9), larkspur (Consolida ajacis, annual), and hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla, Zones 5–9) in the background.

Buddlea alternafolia ‘Argentea’ (Zones 5–9) is blooming purple inside the fence. And in the foreground, roses, bearded iris (Iris hybrid, Zones 3–8) are in bloom, while lavender (Lavandula, Zones 5–9) and poppies (Papaver orientale, Zones 3–8) are getting ready to flower.

A viburnum (Viburnum plicatum, Zones 5–8) is covered in white blooms in the distance. Up close, shade-loving plants grow at the base of an apple tree.

Aruncus (Aruncus dioicus, Zones 4–8), ferns (Athyrium filix-femina ‘Victoriae’, Zones 4–8), and Heuchera (Zones 4–8)

Platycodon (Platycodon grandiflorus, Zones 3–8), with peach-tone daylilies (Hemerocallis hybrid, Zones 3–8)

‘Helen Elizabeth’ poppies (Papaver orientale ‘Helen Elizabeth’, Zones 3–8) and ‘Arabella’ clematis (Clematis ‘Arabelle’, Zones 4–11)

Joe Pye weed (Eutrochium dubium, Zones 3–9), culver’s weed (Veronicastrum virginicum, Zones 3–8) with phlox (Phlox paniculata, Zones 4–8) providing late-August color.

‘Festiva Maxima’ peony (Paeonia ‘Festiva Maxima, Zones 3–8), bearded iris (Iris hybrid, Zones 3–8), foxglove (Digitalis purpurea, Zones 4–8), Allium christophii (Zones 5–8), and peach poppies (Papaver orientale, Zones 3–8)

The garden in autumn

 

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They feature narrow, linear leaves with a blue-green hue that appear opposite one another on narrow stems.

Flowers are typically made up of five petals, often with a frilled or zigzag edge, in hues of white or red tones that range from pale pink through to deep maroon. They are often two-toned.

With a long bloom period from late spring until early autumn, their attractive mounding growth and pretty flowers are complemented by a heady fragrance of spicy sweetness that is reminiscent of cinnamon and cloves.

With so much to love, you’re probably eager to learn how to grow these beauties in the garden. Here’s what’s to come:

Let’s dig in!

Cultivation and History

One of the earliest cultivated flowers, Dianthus species have been revered for centuries, and were common in Ancient Greek and Roman times. They were often featured in ornate friezes adorning buildings of importance, and were added to celebratory garlands.

The name of this genus is derived from a combination of the Greek words dios (god) and anthos (flower), or “flower of the gods.”

How they came to be so named is a bit murky, but there are a couple of viable tales to consider.

One myth holds that Diana, Greek goddess of the hunt, blamed a flute-playing shepherd for scaring away her prey. In a fit of pique, she plucked out his eyes, and where they fell, red carnations grew – symbolizing innocent blood.

In Christian mythology, it’s said that carnations first bloomed along the Via Dolorosa where Mary’s tears fell as Jesus carried the cross to Golgotha – another reference to the symbolism of innocent blood.

Some of the cultivated flowers within this popular genus include:

Pinks and carnations have long been a cottage garden favorite, and are highly popular for use in rockeries. Thanks to their outstanding longevity when cut, and their gorgeous fragrance, they also make an outstanding cut flower for floral arrangements – and carnations are still the flower of choice for boutonnieres.

With their many shades ranging from white to pink to red, it’s easy to see why D. plumarius picked up the moniker “pinks.”

As a side note, the verb “to pink” was popularized in the fifteenth century, and means “to finish an edge with a scalloped, notched, or other ornamental pattern.” As if they were trimmed with pinking shears, D. plumaris exhibits delicately notched petals, in addition to a rosy hue.

How to Grow

Hardiness varies between the species, ranging from Zones 3-9, but all are easily grown in the home garden.

If you’re not sure yours will survive the winter in your area, be sure to take some cuttings or start seedlings to overwinter until the next spring. (See Propagation notes below.)

Carnations grow to a height of 24 inches, sweet williams have an upright habit of up to 18 inches, and old-fashioned pinks form mounds that can reach 6-10 inches. Alpine pinks are the smallest, forming mats only 4-6 inches high.

The short, mound-forming pinks make a striking accent at the front of borders, rockeries, and window boxes. Taller sweet williams and carnations can be placed further back in garden beds for an attractive second layer of color.

All like a full sun location where they receive at least 6 hours of sunlight each day, and need well-drained soil. Adequate air circulation is also important.

Before planting, provide them with a rich soil that has 2-4 inches of well-rotted compost worked in to a depth of 12 inches, and reapply a top dressing of compost in spring.

Water new plants weekly. They can be fertilized every 4-6 weeks with an all-purpose liquid fertilizer such as 20-10-20 during the growing season, or apply a slow-release pellet-form fertilizer in the spring.

Pinch or snip off dead flowers to prevent seed formation and encourage additional blooming. At the end of the growing season, cut flower stems back to the ground.

For winter protection, add a 4-inch layer of dry mulch after the first hard frost, and remove it in spring once new growth begins.

Propagation

Dianthus can be propagated from seeds started indoors, directly sown into the garden, or grown from stem cuttings.

To plant from seed, begin indoors 2-8 weeks prior to the last frost for your area. Plant in a light, loamy soil mix, sprinkling seeds over the top, and then covering with a light layer of soil.

Cover the container with a cloche or plastic bag to keep the soil moist and warm. Once seedlings have 2-3 true leaves, move into their own pots. Transplant outdoors once they’re 4-5 inches high.

To direct sow outdoors, plant seeds to a depth of 1/8 inch once all danger of frost has passed. Keep the soil moist, and once they have 2-3 leaves, thin to 8-12 inches apart.

To start from stem cuttings, cut away several non-flowering stems from the parent plant just below a leaf joint.

Trim away the lower leaves, leaving 4-5 sets of leaves at the top of the stem. Dip the base into hormone rooting powder, and pot up around the perimeter of a container filled with a light potting soil.

Water, then place in a plastic bag, securing the top with a twist tie. Set in a sheltered spot in the garden that receives morning sunlight, but out of hot afternoon sun.

Stem cuttings should root in about 4-5 weeks. Remove the soil ball and gently separate the cuttings, then pot up into individual containers.

Overwinter in a sheltered spot that is protected from frost and freezing temperatures. Plant out in spring once the soil warms up.

Managing Pests and Disease

New cultivars are bred for disease resistance, and are mostly problem-free.

They don’t like wet feet or damp, humid conditions. Cater to these needs, and they will be well prepared to combat attack.

Aphids sometimes feed on the stems and may be easily controlled with a sharp spray of water from a hose, or with ladybugs, which serve as a natural predator.

Carnation flies sometimes lay their eggs on the foliage of carnations, burrowing into the leaves and creating pale “tunnels.” Companion planting with garlic or spraying with a garlic tea will eliminate flies and their larvae.

Rust can be prevented by providing adequate ventilation. Remove and dispose of any leaves infected with rusty or brownish marks on the leaves, or treat with an application of copper oxychloride. Infected plant matter should be thrown in the garbage, not added to the compost pile.

Powdery mildew forms on leaves in warm, humid conditions. Provide proper ventilation and destroy any affected plants, or treat with a benomyl fungicide.

Quick Reference Growing Guide

Plant Type:	Herbaceous perennial; a few species are annual	Flower / Foliage Color:	White, lilac, red, and and pink
Native to:	Europe, Asia, northern Africa, North America	Tolerance:	Light frost
Hardiness (USDA Zone):	3-9	Soil Type:	Organically-rich
Season:	Late spring to early autumn	Soil pH:	6 to 7.5
Exposure:	Full sun	Soil Drainage:	Well-draining
Spacing:	6-12 inches depending on species	Attracts:	Bees, beneficial insects, birds, butterflies
Planting Depth:	Seeds: surface sow 1/8 inch deep; transplants: same depth as container	Companion Planting:	Varies depending on species, height, and use.
Height:	4-24 inches depending on species	Uses:	Beds, containers, cut flowers, and mass plantings
Spread:	4-18 inches depending on species	Order	Caryophyllales
Growth Rate:	Fast	Family:	Caryophyllaceae
Water Needs:	Moderate	Genus:	Dianthus
Maintenance:	Moderate	Species:	– D. alpinus – D. caryophyllus – D. gratianopolitanus – D. chinensis – D. armeria – D. plumarius – D. superbus – D. barbatus
Common Pests:	Aphids, carnation flies	Common Disease:	Rust, powdery mildew

21 of the Best Heirloom Tomato Varieties

At my house, we just planted a ‘Brandywine Red’ with an interesting background and local roots.

Named for a creek not far from here, this tasty variety was saved from extinction by an old gentleman who supplied the Seed Savers Exchange with seeds that he had gotten from a fellow gardener, whose family had been cultivating the variety for almost a century.

That’s heirloom vegetable gardening at its best – good people growing good crops.

1. Ace 55-VF

A vigorous determinate bush variety, this plant matures in about 80 to 85 days. First introduced in 1964 by the Asgrow Seed company, plants may not require staking, and have excellent disease resistance.

The VF means this cultivar is resistant to Verticillium and Fusarium wilt.

‘Ace 55-VF’ Seeds

‘Ace 55’ is a thick-walled red variety on the order of a beefsteak, with a sweet flavor and low acid content, making it great for eating fresh or preparing in cooked dishes.

Due to its low acid content, this variety is not suitable for canning.

Seeds are available from True Leaf Market.

2. Amish Paste

There’s no better plum variety for sauces and canning than this meaty red one, and we have the Amish of Wisconsin to thank for it.

‘Amish Paste’ Seeds

Dating from the late 1800s, this indeterminate variety matures in about 80 days, producing six- to eight-ounce juicy fruits.

Support with a trellis as needed, and enjoy its fruit all season long.

Packets of 25 seeds are available from Burpee.

3. Arkansas Traveler

Mild-tasting, this indeterminate type has a pinkish hue, crack-resistant skin, tolerance for heat and humidity, and overall disease resistance.

The six- to eight-ounce round fruits are delicious straight from the garden and sliced onto a plate. This variety originated in the Ozark mountains in the late 1800s.

‘Arkansas Traveler’ Seeds

Fruits mature in approximately 80 days, and support with a trellis or stakes may be required.

You’ll find seeds in a variety of packet sizes at True Leaf Market.

4. Black Cherry

For snacking on the go, ‘Black Cherry’ delivers. It offers the rich sweetness and depth of flavor you love in full-size black varieties, but this time, that deliciousness comes in a bite-sized package.

One- to one-and-one-half-inch fruits grow on rambling five-foot-long indeterminate vines that crave full sunshine.

‘Black Cherry’

Expect maturity in 65 to 75 days. Provide structural support as needed.

Find packets of 30 seeds available from Burpee.

5. Black Krim

If robust flavor and nutrition are what you’re looking for, this one’s for you. Also known as ‘Black Crimea,’ this variety was first introduced in 1990 by the Seed Savers Exchange.

‘Black Krim’

Of Russian origin, the color of this indeterminate beefsteak-style cultivar is a blend of purple, red, and brown hues. Fruits can weigh up to 12 ounces.

Supply climbing support for this hearty, disease-resistant variety, and enjoy a continuous supply of vegetables from its 80-day maturity until the first frost.

You can find live plants and packets of 30 or 100 seeds available from Burpee.

6. Black Russian

A bushy, indeterminate plant, ‘Black Russian’ may be grown as a container plant when maintained with careful pruning.

‘Black Russian’ Seeds

Four-ounce fruits have reddish-brown skin, meaty flesh, and a unique flavor often described as smoky. Not too acidic, nor too sweet, it strikes a tasty balance as a stand-alone or salad feature.

Allow 80 to 85 days for maturity, and eat fresh, as it doesn’t store well.

You’ll find seeds for this variety available at True Leaf Market.

7. Bonny Best

This meaty fruit is a canning favorite with a classic balance of sweet and tart. Bright red fruits grow to a mature size of between two and 10 ounces.

‘Bonny Best’ was listed in Vaughan’s Seed Store catalog in 1897, and by 1910 it had gained popularity among gardeners.

‘Bonny Best’ Seeds

An indeterminate grower, it matures in about 75 to 80 days. Provide structural support and enjoy a bountiful harvest.

Seeds are available from Harley Seeds via Amazon.

7. Brandywine

This is a great slicing variety.

Available in shades of pink, red, black, and yellow, this beefsteak type is creamy in texture, low in acidity, and high in flavor. Fruits can weigh up to two pounds.

‘Brandywine Yellow’ Seeds

It has a characteristic “potato” leaf that is smooth-edged, rather than the usual serrated foliage.

Maturity varies by type from 70 to 100 days.

You’ll find seeds for the red and yellow variety at Eden Brothers. If you prefer pink, Eden Brothers has got you covered as well.

Learn more about growing Brandywine here.

9. Cherokee Purple

We have the Cherokees to thank for cultivating this beauty over the course of the past century.

It’s a dynamic bush-style plant with indeterminate fruit production that matures in about 80 days.

‘Cherokee Purple’ Seeds

Resistant to disease, it may withstand a dry spell, and benefits from caging or staking.

Large, 12- to 16-ounce sweet fruit is an attractive pinkish-purple, and it makes a vivid addition to any meal.

You can find live plants and packets of 30 or 100 seeds available from Burpee and we have more information about growing them in our detailed guide.

10. Chocolate Stripes

A top-notch slicing tomato for salads and sandwiches, this indeterminate type has a complex, earthy flavor.

‘Chocolate Stripes’ Seeds

Reddish-brown fruits boast contrasting light and dark green stripes and reddish-brown flesh. They are a generous four to six inches in diameter, and can weigh up to one pound.

Plants mature in approximately 80 days.

Find seeds in a variety of packet sizes available at Eden Brothers.

11. Constoluto Genovese

Right out of Nonna’s 19th-century kitchen, this is an Italian classic. Sauced, preserved, and eaten out of hand for generations, it’s still a staple today among cooks who demand the best.

‘Constoluto Genovese’ Seeds

This is an indeterminate kind that produces hefty, six- to eight-ounce ribbed and flattened fruits with robust red flesh.

It loves summer heat and humidity, and matures in 70 to 90 days.

Find seeds now from Park Seed via Amazon.

12. German Johnson

Great fresh and suitable for canning, this is a versatile dark pink indeterminate variety, producing one- to two-pound fruit.

It has a classic sweet and tart flavor, minimal seeds, and a skin that’s resistant to cracking.

‘German Johnson’ Seeds

This variety is disease resistant, and thrives in heat and humidity. Maturity takes about 80 to 90 days.

You can find seeds online at True Leaf Market.

13. Great White

Here’s a high-yield indeterminate plant that produces sweet and juicy beefsteak-style slicers with a tropical fruit flavor.

‘Great White’ Seeds

Weighing about a pound apiece, they have a low acid content and few seeds. Maturity is in about 80 to 85 days.

Seeds are available from True Leaf Market.

14. Hillbilly

This plant is a beefsteak style, with sweet, low-acid fruits mottled in yellow and red that weigh up to two pounds each.

‘Hillbilly’ Seeds

It’s indeterminate, for a season full of produce. Maturity is in about 85 days.

Find packets of 30 seeds available at Burpee.

15. Kellogg’s Breakfast

For full-bodied beefsteak flavor with a colorful twist, here’s one to try.

This indeterminate variety has showy, thin orange skin and flesh with a subtle depression that gives it a heart-shaped appearance.

‘Kellogg’s Breakfast’ Seeds

The fruit is an impressive one to two pounds, and yields jumbo slices for your biggest and best barbecued hamburgers.

Harvest in 80 to 90 days.

Seeds are available in an assortment of packet sizes from Eden Brothers.

16. Mr. Stripey

‘Mr. Stripey’ is an indeterminate plant that bears the sweetest fruit you may ever taste.

‘Mr. Stripey’ Seeds

A beefsteak style that’s yellow with reddish stripes, these grow to weigh up to two pounds each.

Maturity is in 80 days. Stake or provide a trellis as needed.

You can find seeds and live plants available from Burpee.

17. Oxheart Pink

This lovely indeterminate variety has pink skin and a pointed bottom, giving it the appearance of an oversized strawberry.

‘Oxheart Pink’

Fruits weigh up to two pounds. Pink flesh is packed with sun-sweet tomato taste and lots of juice, for drip-down-your-chin out of hand eating.

Expect to harvest in about 80 days.

Find seeds in different packet sizes available from Eden Brothers.

18. Thessaloniki

Originating in Greece, this is an indeterminate variety with a classic acid-sugar balance. This variety was first introduced to the US in 1958 by Glecklers Seedmen.

‘Thessaloniki’ Seeds

It matures in about 60 to 80 days, and produces high yields of 6- to 12-ounce round red fruit that resist cracking and rotting. Provide support as needed.

True Leaf Market has seeds available in an assortment of packet sizes.

19. Tumbling Tom Red

This is a fun variety to grow, as it is just right for a hanging basket or large container near the door, where you can reach for a fresh snack anytime.

‘Tumbling Tom Red’ Seeds

This is a determinate variety with cascading stalks that grow from 20 to 24 inches in a bushy fashion.

One- to two-inch cherry tomatoes are bright red and as sweet as can be.

And best of all, they mature early, for enjoyment in about 65 days.

Find seeds now from Hometown Seeds via Amazon.

20. VR Moscow

This bushy determinate plant matures in 80 to 90 days.

It’s got the classic sweet and tart taste of the best tomato you’ve ever had, and is crack and disease resistant. The VR denotes that it is resistant to Verticillium wilt.

‘VR Moscow’ Seeds

Equally good fresh or canned, this is a great all-purpose choice. Stake or cage as required.

You can find seeds available at True Leaf Market.

21. Yellow Pear

This is an indeterminate, disease-resistant variety that’s very easy to grow and matures in about 75 to 80 days.

Throughout the growing season, it produces a great quantity of pungent, snack-sized fruit shaped like small yellow pears.

‘Yellow Pear’ Seeds

Eat these by the handful, or make them into fresh preserves. Stake or trellis as needed.

Seeds are available from True Leaf Market.

You can find tips about growing ‘yellow pear’ tomatoes here.

Exceptional and Sustainable

Whether you grow tomatoes from seed or purchase nursery starts, heirlooms are a smart investment because they are not only nutritious and tasty, but sustainable.

What does this mean? If you harvest seeds at the end of the growing season, you can grow the same plants next year.

Conversely, with hybrids, harvested seeds may be infertile or produce plants that differ substantially from the parent plant.

By conserving seed in our own yards, we can do our part to ensure that future generations enjoy nutritious food crops.

And if you really want to play an active role, consider joining a non-profit organization called the Seed Savers Exchange.

This seedbank is dedicated to promoting biodiversity and preserving the heritage of heirloom seeds in America.

The best way to start your own heirloom plant tradition is to save seeds from the ones that grow best in your garden, and plant them next year.

I’m a big fan of heirlooms, particularly those that originated in my area.

Are you ready to pass the horticultural baton to the next generation by cultivating heirloom varieties in your garden this year? Share your stories with us in the comments below!

And to learn more about growing tomatoes in your garden, you’ll need these guides next:

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The UK has seen a drastic rise in energy costs over the past few years, and this trend is likely to continue. Fortunately, there are many ways that you can reduce your energy usage and save money on your utility bills. The first thing you should do is look into switching energy suppliers or implementing sustainable energy solutions.

There are simple changes you can make that will make a big difference in your energy consumption. Solar garden lights are an excellent example of an easy way to reduce your carbon footprint while also saving money on electricity bills.

In this guide, we’ll look at the few changes you can make around your home to reduce your energy consumption and energy bills.

1. Solar Garden Lights

If your garden needs some illumination, solar garden lights are a great option. They work by using solar energy to charge up the battery inside of the lights. The energy-efficient design means you can save money on your utility bills while still providing ample light at night. You can also use the lights to make the most of the outdoor space by using them to illuminate some outdoor artwork.

The lights will last for many years and will give your garden a beautiful glow. Solar garden lights are also a great way to help the environment. Not only will you be saving energy, but you will also be helping to save the planet.

2. Recycle Rainwater for Irrigation

Another way you can save energy is by using rainwater to irrigate your garden. Rainwater is a natural resource that’s free and clean, so it makes sense to use it instead of paying for water from the tap.

You can store rainwater in rain barrels, which are simple to install and easy to use! Just place the barrel under an overhang or a gutter on your house, then connect it through PVC pipe leading down into your garden. You can also fill up buckets and water jugs from your rain barrels.

3. Don’t Leave Appliances on Standby

Turning off your computer and TV when not in use is a simple, yet effective way to reduce energy consumption. But did you know that standby power alone can account for 10% of your home’s total energy usage? 

By simply unplugging appliances when not in use, you can save money and reduce your carbon footprint. Implementing this simple habit can add up to significant energy savings over time. Make it a part of your daily routine to turn off and unplug appliances when not in use for maximum energy efficiency.

4. Switch to Modern Appliances

Modern appliances are often a great option for anyone who cares about their impact on the environment. The latest models are more efficient, easy to use, and durable. They can also make your life easier by being less expensive to operate and more reliable than older models. 

New models are often more energy efficient than older ones. Today’s appliances use up to 70 percent less energy than those made in the 1970s or earlier. That means you spend less money on electricity bills every month when you upgrade your appliances!

Newer appliances come with better features too! You’ll enjoy features like:

• Self-cleaning ovens (no scrubbing required)
• Steam cleaners that sanitize dishes without chemicals

5. Be Smart With Your Washing

Doing the laundry can use a lot of energy, especially if you’re running a washing machine and a tumble dryer. There are ways to reduce the amount of energy you use when doing your laundry.

• Fill your washing machine up as much as possible. The more water in the drum, the more efficient it is.
• Use cold water instead of hot water to do your laundry. Most detergents these days will work just as well to clean your clothes with cold water as they would with hot water.
• Air drying your clothes can reduce energy use by 35 percent. Think about hanging up any items that are less than 50 percent dry before putting them back in the tumble dryer.

6. Replace Your Doors or Windows

Glazing your windows or buying doors and windows made from certain materials can also reduce your energy usage. Energy-efficient doors and windows offer more insulation. 

Ideally, this means that you won’t have to use as much energy to heat or cool your house to your desired temperature. The windows and doors will reduce heat loss. Learn more about the advantages of getting energy-efficient windows and doors in your home.

Final Thoughts

Reducing energy consumption in your home can lead to significant savings on your energy bills. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is by being conscious of your energy usage habits and making conscious efforts to reduce them. 

This can include simple changes such as turning off lights when not in use or making more substantial investments, such as upgrading to energy-efficient appliances. 

To maximize your efforts, consider conducting an energy audit, which can provide a comprehensive analysis of your home’s energy usage and highlight areas for improvement. 

Learn more about maximizing energy efficiency in your home, browse through our blog for additional tips and tricks!

A plethora of possible placement options exist. It can lounge by the patio, chill on the porch, sit at the table as a centerpiece… Aside from logistics and growing conditions, the only limit to a calla lily’s range is your imagination, really.

But just like riding a quad bike, it’s probably best to know what you’re doing before you jump in.

There’s a lot of overlap with in-ground Zantedeschia cultivation, but containerized calla lilies still warrant their own set of instructions.

Here’s everything we’ll cover in this guide:

Why Choose Container Growing?

This was touched on a bit above, but it’s worth rehashing.

Accessibility

A calla lily in a pot is typically positioned higher off the ground than in-ground plantings, which makes the plant a lot easier to work with for gardeners with back pain and/or tight hamstrings.

If you’re prone to bending-and-reaching injuries in the garden, don’t wait for a flare-up to make an ergonomic change!

Flexibility

In-ground plantings take way more effort to move from place to place than containerized plantings.

The former must be dug out of the ground, moved to a new hole that you also had to dig, established in its new home… it’s a whole thing.

But for a container that you want to put elsewhere, it’s as simple as picking it up, walking it over to a new place, and setting it down. Easy-peasy.

Style

From an aesthetic standpoint, there’s not much you can do with soil.

Sure, you can always dress it up with some fresh mulch or amend it with some compost, but as far as decorating goes, dirt isn’t a great medium.

Stylistically, containers leave you with a lot more options – shape, size, color, and material are all customizable!

Choosing a Calla Lily, Container, and Growing Medium

With flowers that come in various shades of red, orange, yellow, pink, and purple, as well as plain ol’ black and white, a Zantedeschia leaves a gardener with quite the color palette to work with.

Eight different species, various hybrids, an assortment of cultivars… options abound for container plantings.

For help in figuring out which you want to use, check out our writeup on some of the best Zantedeschia specimens.

Zantedeschia typically reach a height and width of two to three feet and one to two feet, respectively.

Therefore, you’ll need a 12- to 16-inch container or possibly something larger to start.

Make sure it has holes at the bottom to allow for ample drainage. You wouldn’t want to have rotted roots on your hands!

There are many different container materials to choose from. Each has its advantages and disadvantages in terms of cost, appearance, weight, durability, and other factors.

To help in your decision-making, here’s a thorough breakdown on the pros and cons of various container materials.

Just a heads-up, though: you definitely want to avoid a material that dries out quickly, such as unglazed ceramic.

To optimally care for your calla lilies, then you should provide a well-draining, fertile, and slightly acidic growing medium.

To make the medium yourself, use two parts peat moss, one part perlite, and one part coarse sand.

Peat moss will aid in moisture retention, while the perlite and coarse sand will help to provide aeration and prevent water-logging.

Planting, Placement, and Container Care

The best time for planting is in spring, after the last frost. If you’re growing indoor Zantedeschia, timing doesn’t matter quite as much.

Plants don’t use calendars to tell what time of year it is, only the ambient conditions.

Take your calla lily – whether as a potted transplant in soil, division, or dormant rhizome – and bury the rhizomes three to four inches deep in the center of the media, with the leafy growth points or nodes facing up.

Backfill and deeply water in your Zantedeschia. Boom, planted!

For outdoor growing, leave the container in full to partial sun – less light in hot climates, more sun in temperate ones.

For a specimen grown indoors, place it in a spot where it can soak up as much bright, direct light as possible, and make sure the ambient temperatures are at least 65°F.

Irrigation-wise, a calla lily loves to sit in constantly moist soil. Stick a finger an inch deep into the media to check for moisture.

If you feel moisture, you can hold off on watering. Feel dryness, and you should water the medium deeply and thoroughly until it’s saturated and water starts to trickle out the bottom of the container.

Be careful to avoid damaging the roots, and be extra diligent about keeping the soil moist.

Come early fall, calla lilies will start to enter dormancy.

For outdoor specimens in Zones 8 to 11, cease watering and fertilizing them during this time, and move them to a dark, shaded area until after the final frost date the following spring.

Zantedeschia in more northern climates will perish if left outdoors for the winter.

These plants – along with specimens in Zones 8 to 11 that you’d rather not go dormant – can be brought inside for the winter until spring.

See our guide to calla lily winter care for more information.

Lemongrass may be difficult to find in the produce aisle but it is simple to grow in your garden. Lemongrass is a heat-loving herb that grows year-round in tropical climates, and is hardy in USDA zones 10 and 11. 

Learn how to grow, harvest, divide, and use lemongrass with these 6 tips.

Not every herb on this list thrives in shade. Some plants will simply tolerate it. But all of them will produce so you can enjoy the fruits of your labor without the sunburn.

1. Agrimony

Some species in the Agrimonia genus need full or partial sun, but there are a few species that thrive in partial or full shade.

A. gryposepala, also known as tall hairy agrimony, and A. striata, or roadside agrimony, both thrive in partial or full shade in USDA Hardiness Zones 6 to 9.

All of the herbs in this genus are entirely edible from root to tip, with varying taste appeal.

Some are best used solely for tea and others are downright delicious. For more palatable species, baking the stems, flowers, and leaves creates a tasty meal.

Agrimony

Otherwise, use agrimony sparingly in soups and salads or for medicinal purposes.

You can find packets of 10 seeds available at Earthbeat Seeds.

2. Angelica

Generally, experts recommend growing angelica – Angelica species, primarily A. archangelica – in partial sun, but it will thrive in partial or even full shade so long as you don’t overwater.

Those dramatic flower heads will be smaller or non-existent in full shade, meaning fewer seeds, which are the most commonly used parts of the plant.

But if you’re open to using the stems, leaves, and roots rather than the seeds and flowers, you can grow these herbs in shady spots where most herbs falter.

Angelica is fairly tolerant of a range of conditions, and not just when it comes to light. It’s hardy in Zones 4 to 9 and can handle a range of soils.

Angelica

If you’re stumped about how to use up your harvest, read our guide to harvesting and using angelica.

You can snag a live plant at Burpee or a packet of 50 seeds from Earthbeat Seeds.

3. Black Cohosh

Black cohosh (Actaea racemosa), also known as black baneberry, is valued as a medicinal plant.

It’s one of those species that grows in the forest understory, so it’s fine with lower light. It can also grow well in soggy soil or drier ground, making it a versatile option.

Hardy in Zones 3 to 8, this beautiful plant has elegant spires of flowers followed by striking berries.

Black Cohosh

Not just an ornamental, it’s a popular medicinal plant as well. Don’t eat it, though – it’s toxic in large doses.

You can pick up packets of 50 seeds from Earthbeat Seeds.

4. Boneset

If you’re growing boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) for the flowers, you’ll need partial sun.

But if you’re happy with the foliage, whether as an ornamental or for herbal use, boneset is perfectly happy in partial or full shade.

The cheerful flowers attract pollinators and the seeds that follow are a valuable source of food for wildlife. It’s also a source of food for humans, since the entire thing, from root to tip, is edible.

Ever tried the flowers in tea? Make it a priority if you haven’t.

Bonset

Most varieties are hardy in Zones 4 to 8, with a few cultivars growing outside of this range.

Pick up a packet of 100 seeds from Earthbeat Seeds.

5. Chives

Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) flower best in full or partial sun, but the leaves will perform equally well in partial or even full shade.

This is one versatile herb and it grows in Zones 3 to 9.

The bad news is, the blossoms will be reduced to non-existent in low light.

If you can’t imagine your summer egg scramble without a topping of chive blossoms, keep these herbs in a brighter spot.

Chives

If it’s just the look of the flowers that you love, plant some ornamental alliums to make up the difference.

We all need chives in our lives, right? Burpee will fulfill your wishes. They have live plants, packages of 1,000 conventional seeds, or packets of 675 organic seeds for sale.

6. Cilantro

Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum) is one of those herbs that throws people off. They plant it and a few weeks later, it’s tossing out seeds and dying.

That’s not a sign of failure, it’s just the nature of cilantro. It’s not difficult to grow, it just has a very short lifespan.

In full sun in warm regions, it might bolt early. In these areas, these herbs do better in some shade, to keep them cool.

In a perfect world, cilantro would always be grown in full sun in a temperate climate, but you can totally grow it in the shade in hot areas.

Cilantro

Its short lifespan means there isn’t a ton of time for the plant to suffer in less-than-ideal conditions.

The seeds are shockingly easy to start. You can find seeds in a variety of packet sizes and in bulk available from Eden Brothers.

7. Dandelion

You’ve probably noticed that dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) grow all over the place, including in darker spots in your garden (and lawn, and walkways…). Yep, this is one versatile herb.

But it isn’t just the fact that it can grow just about anywhere that makes it such a good option for dimly lit areas.

If you’re using it as an herb, the leaves actually taste better in shadier spots – reduced sun exposure helps limit the bitterness.

Dandelion

Grow dandelion as an annual or perennial in Zones 3 to 9.

Head to Earthbeat Seeds to pick up packets of 100.

8. False Solomon’s Seal

False Solomon’s seal, or false lily of the valley (Maianthemum racemosum), is a beautiful plant in the lily family (Liliaceae) that grows in Zones 3 to 9.

It’s a perennial that dies back in the fall and emerges in the spring with attractive foliage.

Where I live, it grows wild in the shady understory of the forests, thriving in the darker exposure next to hiking trails under the towering Douglas fir trees.

False Solomon’s Seal

The berries and young shoots are edible and the entire plant may be used medicinally.

The plants grow readily from seed, so don’t hesitate to pick up some seeds from Seedville at Amazon if you want to give it a try.

9. Ginger

I can’t imagine trying to cook without that marvelous spice, ginger (Zingiber officinale).

And fortunately, even when I don’t have a sunny spot available in my yard, I can still grow this glorious plant.

Ginger is one of those plants that does better in partial shade, but it will grow in full shade.

The rhizomes will tend to be a bit smaller than those grown in sunnier spots, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, right?

Ginger

Grow it in Zones 9 to 12 outdoors, or you can even grow ginger indoors if you’re like me and you can’t imagine life without it!

You can always snag a rhizome at your local grocery, or pick some up at Amazon.

10. Ginseng

Not only does ginseng (Panax ginseng and P. quinquefolius) survive in the shade, it needs it. Sun will kill these plants.

Happy in Zones 3 to 7, ginseng grows in the wild in the US in the shady understory of forests.

Since most states restrict people from pulling wild plants, you’ve gotta grow it in your own garden if you want to enjoy this herb.

Ginseng

When gardeners grow it in the garden, they either choose a spot under long-living tree species like sugar maples or tulip poplars, or they use shade cloth.

However you opt to raise yours, you can pick up 100 seeds from Earthbeat Seeds.

11. Golden Oregano

Golden oregano (Origanum vulgare ‘Aureum’) is a cultivar of the more familiar species, but its yellow leaves prefer to be tucked away in a shady spot rather than in the full exposure traditional oregano prefers.

Golden Oregano

Otherwise, it needs the same conditions, grows in Zones 4 to 9, and can be used in the same way.

Burpee has live plants that you can bring home to your herb garden.

12. Goldenseal

Growing in forest understories across North America, goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) is a victim of its own success.

It’s such a popular medicinal herb that it’s on the brink of extinction in its native habitat. Help the poor species out and plant some in your own space.

Hardy in Zones 3 to 8, the foliage alone is lovely, but the pretty red berries add a pop of color to those darker areas.

13. Lemon Balm

Every time I brush up against the foliage of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) in my garden, it’s like an injection of summertime straight into my brain.

But even though the scent is what I imagine sunshine smells like, the herb itself doesn’t want that much exposure.

Lemon Balm

You can grow this mint relative in Zones 3 to 12, so pretty much anyone in North America can enjoy the summer scent.

Burpee has both live plants and packets of 700 seeds available.

14. Miner’s Lettuce

Miner’s lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata) is often dismissed as a weed and ignored as an herb garden option, and that’s such a shame, because it rocks.

Some “weeds” have a merely tolerable flavor – certainly not something that you’d cultivate and build recipes around. But not miner’s lettuce.

It’s worth intentionally growing like you would basil or spinach.

The leaves have a thick, crisp texture that crunches pleasantly between the teeth. The leaves and flowers taste like bean sprouts and spinach had a marvelous baby.

Beyond the flavor, it’s also an easy herb to grow. It’s super cold hardy and you’ll find it growing up through snow and ice. In fact, you can grow it all winter long in Zones 6 to 10.

Miner’s Lettuce

While it isn’t the showiest plant on the market, it will make a pretty ground cover addition to the shadier spots of your yard.

It will even self-seed and politely spread around without becoming invasive.

Amazon carries packages of 5,000 or 10,000 seeds from Outsidepride, which should be just enough to get you through a few weeks if you eat as much winter purslane as I do.

15. Mint

Look at any roundup of shade-loving herbs, and mint (Mentha spp.) will undoubtedly top the list.

But it’s actually not “made in the shade.” Mint prefers full sun without any intense heat, but it will grow perfectly well in dark areas.

Mint

In the shade, it will be leggy and it might not flower regularly. But if you’re just after the leaves, it’s a workable option for Zones 3 to 9.

A 25-milligram packet of heirloom seeds from Botanical Interests can get you started.

16. Mitsuba

Mitsuba (Cryptotaenia japonica) is the ultimate versatile herb. It will grow equally well in sun or shade.

It can also handle a range of soils and can be used as an ornamental, herb, and a veggie. Plus, it’s resistant to pests and diseases and grows quickly.

I genuinely don’t understand why you can’t find it in every single garden in Zones 4 to 9. It should be as ubiquitous as spinach!

17. Mizuna

If you like herbs with a peppery bite, snag some mizuna seeds.

While mizuna (Brassica rapa var. nipposinica) grows best with about four hours of light a day, particularly morning light, it won’t hate a spot in darker areas in Zones 3 to 10.

Mizuna

Mizuna isn’t fazed by cold weather either, and it reliably pops up even when there’s still snow on the ground.

Run to High Mowing Seeds to buy seeds in a variety of packet sizes.

Or better yet, grab several packs. You’ll find yourself adding these greens to just about anything you can think of.

18. Ramps

Ramps (Allium tricoccum) are kind of weird when it comes to sunlight. Well, not weird. But they’re spring ephemerals, which means they grow in the spring and die back in the summer.

Most people assume they need shade, but they actually do better in an area where they receive full sun during the early spring when most deciduous trees are bare.

Then, as the trees fill out and ramps mature, they need shade.

Ramps

I know, it seems confusing. If you want more detailed information about how to grow ramps, check out our article, which covers all the ins-and-outs of growing this fantastic allium.

Pick up seeds from Earthbeat Seeds in packets of 25, 100, 500, or 1,000.

19. Stinging Nettle

Full shade makes stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) grow a bit leggy, but it can still grow in a darker area.

I can’t count the number of times when I was hiking or camping in some remote region and I brushed up against some stinging nettle alongside a trail completely covered by trees.

It might grow better in partial sun, but especially in hotter areas, it’s not going to say “no” to something shadier.

Stinging Nettle

It grows in Zones 4 to 10 and it can be cultivated as an annual in Zone 3.

If you don’t already have the stuff growing all over the place near you, pick up packages of 500 seeds from Earthbeat Seeds.

20. Solomon’s Seal

Plants in the Polygonatum genus make a striking architectural statement in the garden, but they can also be eaten.

Drought-tolerant, deer resistant, and happy in the dark, these herbs are an underappreciated garden option. In Zones 3 to 9, they make an interesting addition.

21. Sweet Cicely

Don’t even think of sticking sweet cicely (Myrrhis odorata) where the sun shines.

Fern-leaf chervil, as it’s also known, looks a lot like chervil with lacy foliage and white umbels of blossoms. But unlike chervil, it likes to hang out in dappled light with moist soil.

Sweet Cicely

It self-seeds readily in Zones 3 to 8 but it doesn’t become invasive, rewarding you with lots of licorice-scented leaves.

You can find packets of 20 seeds available from Earthbeat Seeds.

22. Sweet Woodruff

Wonderful sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum), also known as sweet-scented bedstraw, creates a carpet of delicate white flowers even in shady areas.

It’s a self-seeding perennial that makes a marvelous tea.

Sweet Woodruff

Grow it in Zones 3 to 8 as a potted herb, ground cover, or in a cluster with other low-growing plants. Run to Amazon to nab seeds.

23. Trillium

Trilliums (Trillium spp.) grow wild across the US in the understory of forests in Zones 4 to 9.

Most people use trilliums to create a colorful ground cover in challenging garden areas, but you can also eat them.

They’re a marvelous spring ephemeral and a native option that attracts beneficial critters.

24. Violets and Pansies

Violets are a mainstay in cool, moist, shady areas. However, not all violets are equally happy out of the spotlight.

Dog violets (Viola riviniana), common blue violets (V. sororia), stream violets (V. glabella), evergreen violets (V. sempervirens), and sweet violets (V. odorata) all enjoy partial to full shade.

These cool-weather mainstays are happy in Zones 3 to 9.

Johnny jump-ups (V. tricolor) and mountain pansies (V. lutea) need full sun.

You can find seeds for a wide range of different cultivars available from Eden Brothers.

25. Wasabi

Wasabi (Eutrema japonicum) has a reputation as one of the most difficult plants to grow, but don’t let that daunt you.

If you live somewhere cool in Zones 8 to 10, try growing it and see what you can achieve.

Gardening is a fun, rewarding hobby that gets you out into the fresh air as you move your body and connect with nature. These factors alone make it a great activity for your physical and mental health, but did you know that gardening can be a great workout too? Gardening can help you lose weight, build strength, and improve flexibility and balance.

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In this article, we’ll go over some of the best ways to make your favorite pastime an effective form of exercise, the health benefits of gardening, and how you can turn it into a killer workout.

How Gardening Can Help You Lose Weight

Gardening offers similar benefits to other moderate low-impact exercises such as cycling or walking. While higher-intensity activities such as mowing the lawn, hauling mulch bags, or carrying heavy wheelbarrows are more obvious forms of exercise, there are plenty of other ways that gardening can help you lose weight.

 

On a warm, sunny day, most homeowners spend several hours outside tending to their gardens. That time might be spent weeding, pruning, mulching, digging, and planting. Believe it or not, moderate gardening activities burn an average of 300 calories per hour, while more intensive tasks such as hedge trimming can burn up to 400 calories per hour! That means you could be getting similar benefits that you’d be getting working out in a gym by doing things such as:

 

• Planting trees
• Raking the yard
• Digging
• Laying mulch
• Planting seeds or small plants
• Clearing out brush

 

With so much work to be done during the spring, summer, and fall seasons, there are plenty of opportunities to get out into the garden to work up a sweat and get a great workout. However, it’s important to remember that as with any other physical activity doing it correctly is essential for safety and efficacy. 

 

Gardening incorrectly can lead to muscle pain, soreness, and back or joint pain. The best way to reap all of the physical benefits that gardening has to offer and reduce your risk of injury is to use proper posture and techniques for each activity. Be sure to stay hydrated, use the correct body mechanics when lifting heavy objects to protect your back, use knee pads when kneeling, and stretch and take breaks often.

Turn Gardening Into a Workout

If you’re looking for an extra boost, there are plenty of ways to make your gardening more vigorous to help you get a better workout.

Focus on the Range of Motion

While it’s all too easy to go about your gardening tasks mindlessly, being more intentional with your movements will help you get more out of each activity. For example, when raking leaves or weeding, try to increase the range of motion you use to use more muscle groups and enhance the stretch. This will help build more flexibility while keeping your muscles and joints loose and strong.

Target Large Muscle Groups

Gardening is usually a full-body activity, which means it’s easy to use muscles throughout your body for a well-rounded workout. It’s best to engage large muscle groups, such as your quads, trapezius, and core, to help you burn more calories and prevent injuries or soreness the following day.

Keep Things Balanced

When you work out at the gym, you do the same amount of reps on each side to make sure everything is even. To really see results, try to keep the same mindset while you’re gardening. For example, dig the same amount of holes in the ground with your left hand as you did with your right hand. Think of each task in terms of reps and sets to make sure each side of your body is getting the same amount of exercise. This will help you achieve your fitness goals more effectively than if you always favor one side.

Health Benefits of Gardening

In addition to burning calories to aid in weight loss or building strength, there are plenty of other health benefits that come along with gardening.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D deficiency is running rampant in the United States, so most of us would benefit from any excuse to get more sun exposure. Gardening is an excellent way to get outside and soak in all of that vitamin D while simultaneously getting in a great workout. Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium and phosphorus which help strengthen your bones and improves your immune system.

Lower Blood Pressure

Regular exercise helps to lower and maintain a healthy blood pressure level, which can decrease your risk of serious health issues such as heart attack and stroke. This exercise paired with the relaxing and sometimes meditative nature of gardening can further assist by reducing your stress levels and improving your overall sense of well-being.

Aerobic Exercise

Many people have a hard time getting motivated to do aerobic workouts. The best way to get in some cardio is to make exercise fun! Gardening is an enjoyable way to work up a sweat without even realizing that you’re exercising. You’ll improve your cardiovascular health, build strength, and even improve your balance and flexibility.

Better Mental Health

It’s no secret that connecting with nature can do wonders for your mental health. Along with the vitamin D boost, spending time outdoors immersing yourself in nature by tending to plants and digging in the soil can have a positive impact on your mood. It helps you unplug from the digital world and focus on simple tasks, breathe in the fresh air, and take some much-needed “me time”.

 

Gardening is beneficial in so many ways. It improves your health, boosts your mood, teaches you invaluable skills, and can help you get a great workout several times a week. To achieve your fitness goals, it’s important to make exercise a habit that sticks. The best way to do that is to choose an activity that you genuinely enjoy, and use the right strategies and techniques to reap all of the benefits it has to offer. By shifting your mindset and adding more vigor to your gardening activities, you’ll find that you’re getting just as much out of your favorite hobby as you’d be getting by spending hours in the gym!