Hydrangea Not Blooming

/Hydrangea Not Blooming/

Hydrangea Not Blooming

Before we discuss getting your shrub to bloom, we notice that some of the branches are not variegated. You need to remove those or they will eventually outnumber the variegated branches and you will no longer have a variegated hydrangea.

Do you know the exact cultivar name of this hydrangea? The variegated hydrangea most commonly sold is Hydrangea macrophylla 'Variegata'. However, 'Variegata' doesn't have white puffy flowers, but has blue or pink small center flowers and larger white florets around the outside of the flower cluster. This type of hydrangea is not reliably bud hardy in your climate. After a milder winter you may have flowers; after a cold winter you won't.

After all the leaves on your shrub have dropped, put about a foot of some kind of mulch around the base of the shrub. Shredded leaves are ideal. This mulch will hopefully protect the lowest flower buds. We suggest you read Hydrangeas in the North by Tim Boebel for further tips to maximize your chances of getting bloom.

By | 2016-03-05T09:29:06-08:00 March 5th, 2016|Shrubs|0 Comments
Read More

Dracena Species

Not sure if you are remembering right about how your mother came to have this plant. This looks like one of the many species of Dracena but this wouldn't have been something she would have eaten. Although Dracena are not poisonous, they would cause stomach irritation. Once the foliage comes out more we can identify it better for you, or you can look on this website to match up what you remember the foliage to be like from before it snapped off: http://www.houseplant411.com/houseplant?hpl=D If it looks like one of the Dracenas pictured on that site you'll know that we're on the right track. Otherwise, once the foliage is open and much larger send us another photo and we'll give you another ID.

It might be that she started other plants from a seed or pit that she ate and somehow the story about something else got transferred to this plant?

Give it bright light, let top of potting mix dry before watering again, and feed with houseplant food according to package directions.

By | 2016-03-05T04:05:41-08:00 March 5th, 2016|House Plants|0 Comments
Read More

Lettuce Issue

A variety of worms attack tender lettuce (Lactuca sativa), ruining the beauty and quality of the leaves. As a result of worm invasions, your salad fixings can be unappetizing or even inedible if the infestation is severe. The cabbage looper worm, beet armyworm and corn earworm are three common pests that plague lettuce crops. Whatever worm culprit is to blame, the solution is the same.
The best plan of attack against lettuce-damaging worms is to catch them early and use a floating row cover over the new seedlings called "Reemay", this prevents the adult moth from laying eggs.
Larvae can be handpicked from the lettuce and destroyed. If your infestation is severe, the insecticide Bacillus thuringiensis can be used in liquid or powder form to kill worms as they ingest the product. These ready-to-use sprays and powders should cover lettuce leaves thoroughly, and are safe up to the day of harvest. Note that insecticides that kill harmful moth larvae will also kill the caterpillars of butterflies and harmless moths.

By | 2016-03-05T03:08:15-08:00 March 5th, 2016|Vegetable Plants|0 Comments
Read More

Cucumber Beetle

The chewing damage done to your Zucchini leaves looks alot like Cucumber Beetle, which can be very distructive and difficult to control. These chewing insects can also spread plant disease, so we recommend looking at this website to help you identify these small spotted or striped green/yellow beetles. Examine your plants regularly for their presence; they usually feed on the top surface of leaves. You should also consult a garden center, or other expert in your area for control options. While you're at it, keep an eye out for caterpillars that could also be contributing to the damage on the leaves. If you find caterpillars, remove them by hand and dispose of them or use a biological pesticide called Bt (Bacillus thirengiensis). If you don't find either of these pests right away, we recommend you continue to examine the leaves on a regular basis, especially if you continue to see new damage.
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/GARDEN/VEGES/squash.html

By | 2016-03-05T02:23:21-08:00 March 5th, 2016|Plant Pests|0 Comments
Read More

Passion Flower Vine

The genus Passiflora contains over 400 species, so the common name Passion Flower can be a bit confusing. To muddle matters further, most are vines, but some are shrubs, annuls, perennials and even trees. What they all share are exotic flowers that only remain open for about 1 day. They have a wide, flat petal base with several rings of filaments in the center which surround a stalk of sorts, that holds up the ovary and stamens. Although passion flowers are native in many regions of the southern U.S., they can become a nuisance, to the point of being invasive. Check with your local Cooperative Extension or DEC to see if you should avoid passion flowers altogether or if certain species are preferable. A lot of gardeners prefer to grow their passion flowers in containers. Passion flower grows quite happily in a pot and you have the convenience of being able to move it to a sunnier site or even bring it indoors for the winter. Plus, it limits the spreading by rhizomes.

By | 2016-03-05T01:23:11-08:00 March 5th, 2016|Vine Plants|0 Comments
Read More

Hyacinth Bean

This appears to be a Lablab purpureus (Hyacinth Bean) vine grown almost entirely for its attractive flowers and purple seed pods. It's an annual that grows best in full sun with regular moisture. Lablab seeds produce a quick screen on a trellis or fence. Its flowers are beautiful and fragrant which and attract butterflies and hummingbirds, and it even produces edible leaves, flowers, pods, seeds and roots. Dry Lablab seeds are poisonous due to high concentrations of cyanogenic glucosides, and can only be eaten after prolonged boiling. We would not recommend eating it. How To Grow Hyacinth Bean Vine: Many gardeners recommend nicking the Hyacinth Bean seeds with a knife and then soaking the flower seed in water for 24 hours before sowing. Planting Hyacinth Bean seeds can be done directly outside once danger of frost has passed. Lablab typically blooms from mid summer to fall. The Hyacinth Bean herb can be a perennial in frost-free climate zones; however, in other zones it grows as an annual climbing vine.

By | 2016-03-05T01:09:43-08:00 March 5th, 2016|Vine Plants|0 Comments
Read More

Italian Cypress

It looks like they"re dead and possibly due to a number of reasons. First, it could be because of too much rain, but it looks like you have well drained soil so that is probably not the reason. Two, soil amendments. You don't need them. Decades of field and university research shows that plants planted in only native soil versus those planted with amendments end up the same size and as healthy. Had it lived, your plant's roots would have grown out of the amended root zone in six months months.anyway. Don't waste your money. Three: fertilizers, same as #2. They are a waste of money. In fact after reading all the things you fed it you may have been too kind to your plants and killed them. I recommend you start over, plant them in different locations (it's going to take while for the nutrients you added to the soil to wash out of the soil), plant them only in native soil and don't add any soil fertilizers. Water them twice week now that it is cooler for about six weeks and taper off as it gets cooler.

By | 2016-03-04T20:09:26-08:00 March 4th, 2016|Shrubs|0 Comments
Read More

Tomato Leaf Death

This is probably not an infectious disease, but rather, as you say, caused by weather conditions in the recent past. You will want to pay close attention to your plants and maybe provide fertilizer at flowering and fruit set. Keep up with watering, but you may consider watering more deeply at one time and less frequently because tomatoes need water deep in the soil but don't like to have "wet feet" (too much water closer to the surface, which can happen if you water too often). If the water doesn't soak into your soil quickly, you will want to water until just before runoff starts, stop the water, let it soak in, and then apply water again in the same way; you should do this repeatedly until enough water has been applied. This will also help leach salts that can accumulate in the soil with frequent but not deep watering. HIgh salt content in the soil or water can also cause leaf damage or death. Keep the soil moist to dilute the salts, but don't overwater.

By | 2016-03-04T19:58:35-08:00 March 4th, 2016|Plant Diseases|0 Comments
Read More

Olive Tree

This could be caused by more than one issue but the most likely cause (or aggravating factor) could be too much water. We recommend you inspect the soil around the roots closest to the tree and at the feeder roots (at the dripline). If this tree is getting "indirect water" as you decribe it, on a regular basis then the soil is probably too wet for this tree. Mediterranean plants (like Olive trees) don't do well with regular water and become much more susceptible to root rot and crown rot diseases. If this damage is occurring on just one side of the trees, that could be a clue especially if the irrigation is watering that same side regularly; could this be the cause of the "random" damage you see. We've included a link from the UC Davis website that has info about how to look for/test for some of the common disease of these treess
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/GARDEN/PLANTS/olive.html

By | 2016-03-04T17:36:23-08:00 March 4th, 2016|Plant Diseases|0 Comments
Read More

Poor Care

There are many things wrong with this picture. First of all, the pot is very small. The small amount of soil doesn't offer much root protection from the cold so there may have been winter damage. However, the pot also looks too small for the plant. Additionally, blueberries grow best in acid soil. We see lots of bark pieces on top of your soil, but we don't knwo anything about the soil it's growing in. Is it growing in a peat-based mix? Have you fed it with acid-loving plant food? And finally, we think it must get very hot, in a small pot, growing against a brick wall on a concrete floor. Is it in full sun? Blueberries grow best in part sun and appreciate a little coolness. We suggest you prune off the dead branches and move the pot to a less harsh environment. If it's potted in garden soil, transplant to a peat-based potting mix and feed with a plant food for acid-loving plants.

By | 2016-03-04T16:03:02-08:00 March 4th, 2016|Shrubs|0 Comments
Read More