An annual or biennial herb (Coriandrun sativum), of the Parsley Family, grown for it’s aromatic seeds which are used for flavoring liquors and confections. This pungent herb is native of southern Europe and is commonly known as Coriander, Cilantro, or Chinese Parsley. Its name is said to be derived from koris, Greek for “bedbug” since the plant smelled strongly of the insect. The leaves are most commonly referred to as cilantro and have a much different taste from the seeds, one that is similar to parsley with a dash of citrus flavor.
Cilantro is the most difficult herb to grow because it is so short lived and it needs cool temperatures to grow well. Many people think that they kill Cilantro because it doesn’t last very long when they purchase plants at their local nursery. Cilantro will bolt (send up a flower stalk) as soon as the roots get above 75 degrees or so. Cilantro needs to be grown in early spring or fall when the weather is cool. It requires mostly sunshine but can be grown in morning sun and shade in the hot afternoon. Growing it in the ground with mulch on top of the roots helps keep the soil cooler longer (Add a bit of mulch or compost to your cilantro bed to provide nutrients for the soil and an extra layer of protection for the roots).
Cilantro grows best in full sun. Plant the seed 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep every 1 inch in rows 12 inches apart. Keep moist until seeds germinate, which should take about 7 to 10 days. No thinning is required. Some growers will seed cilantro thicker than this (30 – 40 seeds/foot). Deep, fertile, light or heavy, but well-draining. Water on a regular schedule, do not overwater. The denser plant population competes more effectively with weeds in the row. In addition, the thicker planting makes harvesting easier since plants are bunched in the field. Cilantro can be started in the greenhouse and transplanted into the field. Cilantro grows best under cool conditions while hot weather encourages it to flower. Cilantro will withstand temperatures as low as 10 degrees, which makes it an excellent fall crop.
Cilantro is ready to be harvested as soon as the plant is 4 – 6 inches tall, which can take 40 to 60 days after planting. If the older, outside leaves are harvested, the plant will continue to produce new foliage until it goes to seed. The plant can
regrow for a second cutting; however, it does not regrow as efficiently as parsley. For that reason many growers just harvest it once. Cilantro can also be harvested by pulling out the whole plant.

Echinacea, or purple coneflower, are great for perennial borders and bloom in early to late summer with large, showy flowers. This plant is a native of N. America growing from Virginia to Ohio, Michigan, south to Georgia and Louisiana. It is found growing in open fields, dry open woods and prairies. The daisy like flowers are pink or pink-purple or white with one species that is yellow in color. The prominent cone-shaped center of each daisy-like flower gave the plant its common name. Echinacea blooms all summer long and into the beginning of fall as well. There are 2 popular species in the US:
E. purpurea: Easy to grow. Can sow them directly or starts in pots indoors. When the seedlings form, these can be moved and planted 18inch apart so that they have space to grow.
E. angustifolia: More difficult to grow. Start these indoors so as not to waste seed. It is the more rare and expensive variety.

Echinacea is easy to grow from seed! Simply sow the seeds when the soil reaches 55-70 degrees Fahrenheit in the spring. Sow on the surface of the soil and after the seeds begin to germinate lightly cover the seeds with about 1/8 of an inch of soil. Thin the plants out so that they are 18 to 24 inches apart. Germination should occur within 10-20 days. After germination the plants will grow very quickly.
Echinacea prefers light, loamy, well-drained soil and a sunny position, but it will tolerate dappled shade. It does well in average or poor soil and Echinacea has a thick tap-root that grows deep to allow for water conservation once established. It is important to mix a good quantity of compost with the soil from the hole before planting and to keep the plant well watered until established. After that, an annual spring mulch is all they need.
The long lasting flowers with their slightly backward pointing flower petals when fully open, bloom from July through to end of September are good subjects for the flower border. Echinacea is very hardy and versatile growing well in zones 3-8. Some varieties specified below do well even in the humid summers of zones 9 and 10.
Most plants in the Echinacea family grow about 2-4′ tall and about 2′ wide. Echinacea is one of the top selling herbs in the US for its immune enhancing properties. Research has shown that taking Echinacea at the first sign of a cold or flu can decrease the duration and intensity of the symptoms.
Autumn is the best time to harvest Echinacea roots, - harvest after the first frost. Expect roots to range from 8 in. (20cm) to a possible 24 in. (30cm). The moisture content is normally lower than it is in spring. Plants are required to grow for three to four years before they are ready to be harvested. Once roots have been harvested they should be cleaned and dried. Two possible methods for drying the roots are, under low forced heat, or dried in open air in the sun.

Perennial crocosmias range from the bright canary yellows to the flashy tomato reds. Plant them bursting out of a group of quieter colours or in a subtropical border packed with hothouse colours. Although Crocosmia are half hardy bulbs they are usually grown as annuals by gardeners. they have leaves that look like swords, these carry inflorescences that have red or orange funnel like flowers. Crocosmia comes into bloom in the summer months. Common names for Crocosmia include Montbretia and copper top. They make ideal border plants.
The name ‘Crocosmia’ originats from a combination - crocosmia from the Greek krokos, meaning saffron, and osme meaning smell, alluding to the saffron scent given off by the dried flowers when placed in water. The alternate name ‘Montbretia’ got its name from Antoine François Ernest Conquebert de Monbret who was the botanist that accompanied Napoleon on his Egypt campaign in 1798.
The foliage reaches about 3 feet in height. The flowers, borne on stems up to 2 feet long, bloom for a long time. Typically, the flower stems branch and curve slightly, bearing two rows of buds. You can tell they are related to the gladiola.
It is perhaps easiest to grow Crocosmia from corms; If you go with corms, set them in the ground 2 to 3 inches deep and 8 to 10 inches apart. The corms are best planted in the fall for blooms the following spring.
If growing from seeds then they should be sown in the spring, just cover the seeds with topsoil. Plants seeds in seed trays, about 1/4″ deep, in seed starting soil.
They grow best in full sun. Plant in in rich, loose garden soil. If the soil is heavy or doesn’t drain well, mix in a generous amount of sand. Plant corms four to five inches deep, and four inches apart. Water if the soil is dry; and avoid keeping the soil wet, keeping it moist is a better bet. Once established, crocosmias require only the minimum of care, but in cold areas it’s worth covering plants with a deep mulch of well-rotted compost or straw in winter. If the plants are being planted into containers, put them in big pots with big drainage holes, and keep them well-watered. However, if the soil is water-logged, the roots will rot.
Plants that aren’t flowering freely can be divided in the spring. Split them into small clusters and replant in soil enriched with compost, and give a sprinkling of general fertiliser.

Coreopsis is a member of the Aster family. This plant is also called “Tickseed” or “Calliopsis”. Most varieties are perennials, with some annual varieties. They are natives of plains in the U.S. Coreopsis are sunny flower border work horses. They are great additions to any garden design, blooming most of the summer. Coreopsis make great garden edging as well as nice cut flowers. Coreopsis produces daisy like flowers. Flowers grow on sturdy stalks that grow from 1 1/2′ to 4′ tall. Brilliant colors include yellow, gold, red, maroon, or a combination of these colors.
The annual Coreopsis is C. tinctoria and in a full sun garden it can reach three to four feet in height. Easily grown as a hardy annual (you can sow it outside) this showy yellow and dark red daisy puts on quite a flower display. The drought-tolerant nature of the Coreopsis makes it a great plant for container gardens, xeriscaping or near the road or mailbox where it won’t get watered everyday. Give it a prime spot in the cut flower garden as well.

Zone: Tickseed, or Coreopsis, is hardy in zones 3-8.

Exposure: Full sun Bloom Period/Days to Harvest

Bloom Period/Days to Harvest: Early summer through Fall

Growing from transplantation: Shop for coreopsis plants in the spring in cold regions or year-round in mild climates. Choose healthy-looking plants with signs of new growth in leaf or flower bud. (In early spring you may need to look closely in the pot for the dark stems emerging from the soil.)

Grow Coreopsis from seed: Directly seed them into your flower garden in early spring. Sow seeds early in the season, covering lightly with coarse or sandy soil.

They grow well in average soils. Soil should be well draining. Mix in plenty of compost prior to the first planting. Keep the soil moist until they germinate, about one of two weeks. This versatile plant grows in dry or wet climates. Water only during extended droughts. Plant coreopsis in full sun in well-drained soil. Add a little organic fertilizer to the planting hole. Water weekly throughout the first summer.
Coreopsis will bloom longer if deadheaded. However the profusion of delicate blooms can make deadheading a nightmare. An easier solution is to simply wait until the first flush of bloom wanes and sheer the entire plant back. It will recover quickly. Add a light application of organic fertilizer in spring. Water infrequently once the plant is established - just two or three times during the summer. Dig up your Coreopsis clumps every three years or so to divide in the fall after blooming or in the early spring. The taller varieties will benefit from staking.

Planting: Strawberry plants (crowns with roots) should be planted only half way up the crowns. Any deeper and they rot and die. Any shallower and they dry and die. The plants need to be about 10-12 inches apart and, planted either in rows about the same width or a little wider. Because they do well in weedless area, they need to have some sort of protection against weeds.

Types: If they are June bearing types, they produce only a single crop per year, and love very rich soil. If they are everbearing types, they will produce throughout the summer, but usually are smaller and less berries.

Propagation: Most plants will send out runners. These look like long stems and will start to form new leaves and roots at their tips. Usually they should have all the runners picked off and removed in the first season, so the plants can put more energy into the berries. After about two years, the crowns tend to get longer and ‘leggy’. Usually after the third year, these older leggy plants need to be replaced. Because a single plant can send out several runners in all directions, you can have small pots positioned under each small plant runner, so the roots will take in the small pots. The same fall, these small plants can be cut off from the mother plant and transplanted the following spring. You will eventually have an endless supply of plants if you allow them to root the runners. If they grow unchecked, they will soon over take the patch nearby the runners and if planted too closely, these tend to produce smaller berries if crowded.

Pests: Birds like these as do chipmunks, and they can both carry away a whole berry. One way is to paint some small rocks with bright red paint and set these around the plants to act as decoys. Also rat traps baited with grapes can get rid of many of the other pests. You wil be on your knees a lot, so get used to crawling and weeding, picking and thinning.. Spider mites are an enemy of these plants.

Winter care: Usually they need no covering in winter, but do benefit if there is a heavy weight white platic fabric put down over the plants for the winter months. Covering them over in winter with plant mulch or leaves tend to cause rotting, so should be avoided.

The sweet gum is a large, native, aromatic tree becoming 60 to 120 feet in height, with a trunk from 2 to 4 feet in diameter. In the open it develops a very symmetric pyramidal crown, with spreading and almost horizontal branches persisting rather low on the tapering, continuous trunk. When growing in the forests, the trunks are straight and clean, with a rather small lofty crown. It has an upright pyramidal growth habit in its youth and then becomes spreading, irregular and open as it ages.
American sweetgum trees are deciduous trees, indigenous to the southeastern U.S. American sweetgum trees bear leaves shaped like stars. The leaves provide excellent fall foliage color: in some cases, at the peak of the fall foliage season, some leaves may be red, others purple, others yellow, others orange — all on the same sweetgum tree! American sweetgum trees stand up well to urban pollution and are fast-growing trees. It is in flower in May, and the seeds ripen from October to November.
American Sweetgum Trees are best grown in planting zones 5-9. The trees prefer full sun. The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid and neutral soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil. Young plants are susceptible to damage from late frosts.

Growing a tree from a gumball (capsule):

Gumballs turn brown with age. As they turn color on the tree, the heads pop open to disperse the seed. The gumballs can be taken from the tree safely for a few weeks before they turn color without hurting the seed. If the gumballs you collected are green, you can continue to let them dry and pop open, or try to gently pry them open yourself to access the seeds. Inside each prickly point are 1 or 2 winged seeds (usually dispersed by the wind). The entire gumball can contain as many as 50 seeds in a good year, and as few as 5 in a bad year (it runs in 3-year cycles). The amount of seeds found in the gumballs tends to correlate with how viable they are. The more seeds the ball has, the more likely it is that those seeds are of good quality.
Place the capsules on a sheet of paper in a warm place. As they open, shake the seeds out and sow them in a mixture of 1/3 of horticultural sand (coarse, washed river sand) 1/3 of a good compost and 1/3 of peat moss. Mix well and place it in a 8 inch deep tray. Spread the seeds evenly and not to crowded. Cover them with a 1/6 of an inch of the same mix and place it in a cold frame. Seeds could take up to two years to germinate. As soon as the seedlings reach around 4 inches high they should be transplanted to a pot where they should be kept until ready to be planted. Young plants should be kept in a cold frame for their first winter. As you plant them in their final place, try not to disturb the roots as you remove them from the pots. Sweet gum doesn’t like to be transplanted.

Problem: The spiny fruit pods are fairly objectionable, especially on lawns and sidewalks. The limbs drop fairly easily. This tree has a tendency to spread quickly on fertile moist sites and could become a pest if not controlled.

Composting is an easy, economical way to keep nutrient-rich plant food at the ready. Not only is it good for your plants, if you pay by the can for waste removal, it can also be good for your garbage bill! Here is an inexpensive way to get started.
Materials needed:

* A 55-gallon garbage can with a tight fitting lid ( use plastic or galvanized metal).
* Hammer & large nail (or drill)
* 2 Cinder blocks (or bricks, or lumber scraps) to elevate the finished bin off the ground.
* Pie tin to catch compost tea
* Work gloves & protective eyewear
* Watering can or garden hose
* Bungee strap to secure lid (optional)
* 100 Red Wiggler worms (optional)

Directions for Assembly

Organic materials need oxygen to decompose, so using a hammer and nail (or drill), punch air holes into the garbage can at 4-6 inch intervals until you have covered the surface of the can (don’t forget your gloves and eyewear). Flip the can over and punch 4 equidistant holes near the center of the bottom for drainage. Elevate the can using blocks and place the pie tin underneath it to catch any liquid compost tea that drains out (this is great for feeding houseplants).

Layering the Compost
Layer 1: Start by spreading a layer of garden soil (or saw dust) 3 inches deep on the bottom of the can. For faster composting, you can add Red Wiggler worms on top of this layer. Unlike earthworms (don’t use them, they won’t work), Red Wigglers are champion composters. They are inexpensive and easily available online. They multiply rapidly, so 100 will be plenty to start with. If you don’t want to use worms,
don’t worry. You don’t need them.

Layer 2: Next add some chopped leaves, junk mail, shredded cardboard, or a few sheets of newspaper. These materials are rich in carbon and referred to as browns. Other examples of browns include straw, woodchips or saw dust.

Layer 3: Your next layer should contain nitrogen-rich materials, also called greens. Greens include grass clippings, pet hair, dust bunnies, vegetable and fruit peelings, coffee grounds, and other non-fatty kitchen scraps including eggshells. If you are composting with worms, avoid onions and keep citrus peelings to a minimum (worms don’t care for them). Avoid meat scraps and fatty foods like salad dressings and dairy products. They emit a strong odor when decomposing which attracts animals. Finish with another couple of handfuls of garden dirt and a few sprinkles from a watering can. Close the lid and you are all set! If you don’t have enough materials to create all three layers right away, don’t worry. Just keep adding waste as you generate it. Each time you add a layer of green, cover it with some browns and
a few more handfuls of garden dirt.

Moisture
Along with oxygen, moisture must be present for the organic materials to break down. Ideally, try to maintain moisture levels in the can similar to that of a wrung out sponge.

Mixing
At least once a week, roll the can on the ground to mix its contents. If the can becomes to heavy to handle, mix it using a pitchfork or shovel.

Adding Compost to the Garden
Depending on conditions, you can expect finished compost in as soon as 4 to 6 weeks. If composting with worms, leave the cover off for a few days before emptying the compost into the garden. The worms don’t like light and will move to the bottom of the can where they’ll be easy to separate out and use again once the can is empty.

Sometimes referred to as the cotton rose, the Confederate rose is a unique Chinese shrub that is found throughout the southeastern United States. The unique popular name for the Confederate rose is based on the fact that the general area where this beautiful shrub is grown roughly corresponds to the section of the USA that once seceded from the Union and was known as the Confederate States of America.
The confederate rose is a large shrub or small multistemmed tree that grows to 15 ft (4.6 m) high with about a 10 ft (3 m) spread. Dropping its leaves in winter the shrub’s slender stems seem to disappear among neighboring plants until midsummer, when it leafs out into a big bushy mass. Hibiscus mutabilis is downright conspicuous when in full bloom starting in late summer and on into fall. The flowers open pure white and change color over a three-day period until they are deep pink and then as they die assume a dark “blue-pink” hue.
Bloom season usually lasts from summer through fall. Propagation by cuttings root easiest in early spring, but cuttings can be taken at almost any time. When it does not freeze, the Confederate rose can reach heights of 12 to 15 feet with a woody trunk; however, a multi-trunk bush 6 to 8 feet tall is more typical. It is killed back to the ground with the first hard freeze, only to re-grow the following spring, sending up even more stems than the previous season.
The plant tends to grow best in sections of the landscape that receive direct sunlight or no more than partial shade. The soil should be rich in nutrients and minerals. This shrub thrives on regular watering but this is optional as it is very drought tolerant. This shrub truly takes care of itself and is adaptable to most locations and soil conditions. The tree is at its best when it has been allowed to grow with minimal pruning into a natural, oval shape.

Apricot trees are versatile, graceful and beautiful. The foliage is attractive, and they make nice shade trees throughout the summer months. And, in the fall, as the tree prepares for the winter months, they have nice color. Apricot trees can be a lovely centerpiece in a yard: their blossoms are white or pink; their foliage is bronze in the spring, deep green in the summer, and yellow in the fall. In addition to complementing the landscape, most people grow apricot trees for their fruit, which is also versatile. It can be eaten fresh, dried for storage, made into wonderful preserves or thrown at unsuspecting targets.
Young apricot trees are likely to make excessive growth, especially trees from 2 to 5years of age. Trees making excessive growth do not mature early in the fall and are, therefore, more subject to injury from low temperatures in November and early winter. Mature apricot trees are hardier than young trees. Apricots are vigorous, fully winter-hardy trees that will eventually reach 2.5-3m (8-10ft). It is recommended that trees are grown as open bushes, as this method requires little pruning. Plant bare-root trees from autumn through to early spring, ideally in a free-draining soil. Apricots enjoy chalk but will not tolerate wet clay soils. It is best not to grow them in containers as they like a good root run.
Apricot trees are sensitive to climatic conditions and require the best possible growing sites to remain healthy and regularly productive. Apricots bloom earlier in the spring than other fruit trees and have only a limited tolerance of high summer heat. While the tree is fairly hardy (some varieties withstand winter lows down to -20° F), it can bloom too early–if you get a warm spell in late February or early March. In areas that have late frosts, you can choose some of the newer varieties developed in the North that bloom later and produce well in harsh climates. Thus, when choosing a variety, select one recommended for your zone and climate that will flower after the last spring frost in your area and that will live through your winter.
The soil must be well drained and preferably of a sandy type. Poor subsoils of any kind will result in the death or poor growth of many trees. Avoid heavy soils for apricots as such soils are likely to be poorly drained. Select a well grown one or two year old tree from the nursery. Two year old trees should have at least four of five well-spaced branches, with a good root system. The usual practice is to plant early in the spring, but planting can be completed in the fall when weather conditions are good and the soil is moist.
To plant your apricot tree dig a hole they same size as the container or a little bigger than the root spread. Ad some compost to the shoveled soil. Remove the apricot tree from the container and prune any long roots. Prune the apricot branches back so you have just two 7-inch long side branches spaced about 7 inches apart and one central stem. Place the apricot tree in the hole and spread out the apricot roots. Fill in the hole with the soil, compost mixture and add water.
Apricot trees prefer a well-drained soil with a pH of 6.0 to 7.0. If fertilizer is needed, as indicated by yellow-green leaves, then 1/4 pound of 10-10-10 fertilizer should be applied in the second year. Granular fertilizer should be scattered beneath the branches of the tree. An additional 1/4 pound should be applied for every year of age of the tree in early spring, before growth starts.

Winter protection:
If the temperature falls to below freezing, then will need to do additional protection. The southwest side of the trunk can become very warm on sunny days in late fall and winter. Night temperature frequently drops to well below freezing. This alternative freezing and thawing often injures the bark and wood. This permits wood-destroying fungi to gain entrance, and a large canker is likely to develop. Paint the trunk with a latex-based, white paint.
Fill any holes that develop in the soil at the base of the trunk. Make certain that the soil level adjacent to the trunk is slightly higher so that water will drain away from the tree. Water collecting in depressions near the trunk will form ice in late fall or winter. This ice may girdle the tree, causing death or serious injury.

Growing apricot from seed:
Apricot stones need to be stratified before they will germinate. This means taking the apricot stone directly from a ripe apricot, soaking it for 24 hours, then wrapping in damp paper towel then plastic (or in a bag of damp, sterilized sand, as is done in the nursery industry), and placing this into the refrigerator at about 4 deg. C for a period of four weeks (this cold storage would be four months for peaches and plums). This replicates what would occur in nature: The damp seed from the fruit would fall onto the wet ground and go through a cold, damp winter, which act to break the dormancy the stone retains when taken from the fruit. When conditions warm up again (when you take the stone from the refrigerator) and sow it into potting mix at about 20-25 deg. C, it will then be ready to germinate. Germination, however, could take some time as the hard seed coat makes the process of germination rather slow.

Pruning:
Because apricot trees tend to form too dense a canopy, open-center training is usually recommended. On mature trees, prune out dead, diseased, and broken branches, as well as any that cross through the tree’s center or crowd major limbs. Remove older, unproductive branches, cutting back to new branches. Because of the threat of silver leaf, pruning should be avoided during winter months when this fungus produces most of its spores. Pruning should therefore be carried out in summer, but not during wet weather, as this is the time bacterial canker will attack fresh wounds, and in severe cases plants can die.

Catalpa, also spelled Catawba, is a genus of mostly deciduous trees in the flowering plant family Bignoniaceae, native to warm temperate regions of North America, the West Indies, and eastern Asia. Catalpa is a true tree of the people, surviving in all kinds of conditions from polluted cities to windswept prairies. Native Americans utilized the Catawba long before settlers arrived in the New World. But the settlers soon recognized the value of the catalpa and carried it with them across the country. With catalpa’s ability to survive most conditions and grow rapidly, and it’s bonus of beautiful, fragrant flowers, it was the pioneers choice of trees to plant on a new homestead.
There are two recognized species of catalpa or Catawba tree in North America, Southern Catalpa, C. bignonioides, and Northern Catalpa, C. speciosa. There are only subtle differences in the two and they have both been planted far outside their natural ranges. The tree is the food plant of the Catalpa Sphinx moth, the leaves being eaten by the caterpillars. The caterpillars are an excellent live bait for fishing, particularly in the south U.S. where some dedicated anglers plant catalpa mini-orchards for their own private source of “catawba-worms”.
For fast shade in rough conditions, catalpa is a good choice. Farmers plant catalpa for the wood, which makes strong, lightweight, rot-resistant fence posts. It makes a nice specimen tree with showy flowers at a time few other trees are blooming. Fisherpersons plant Catawba because it attracts caterpillars used for bait.
Catalpas grow to 10-25 m tall and 3 ft in diameter, and can be recognized by their large heart-shaped to three-lobed leaves, showy white or yellow flowers in broad panicles, and in the autumn by their 20-50 cm long fruits which resemble a slender bean pod, containing numerous small flat seeds, each seed having two thin wings to aid wind dispersal. Because of the leaves, they are sometimes confused for Tung trees in the south U.S. The leaves grow in pairs of threes which are whorled and opposite at a node. They are 6-12″ long and 4-8″ wide. They are characterized by a dull green above, and a paler green and fuzzy underside.
The Catalpa grows best in sun and partial shade. It is very tolerant of different soil types but it prefers deep, moist, fertile soil. It can withstand wet or dry alkaline coinditions and extremely hot, dry environments. They grow quite rapidly when young. A catalpa tree in a good spot may add 2 foot of growth a year, and trees bloom young, as early as six years of age.
Growing from seed: The seeds do not need any special treatment, such as freezing. Use a shallow container that has drainage and fill it with coarse sand or seed-starting mix. The sand, or mix, should be kept evenly moist and the container should be in a place where it gets some bottom heat or at least, where it is not exposed to chilly drafts. The bottom heat can come from sitting on top of the refrigerator or similar light-heat generating appliance. The seeds may well take 4 to 8 weeks to germinate. Plant them twice the depth of their thickness. After sprouting, the seedling will grow rapidly and after it’s gotten two sets of true leaves, it can be transplanted to a four-inch pot filled with container soil mix and kept in a sunny, warm spot, or under artificial light. If you plant the seeds now, by the time they sprout and are ready to transplant, the days will be getting longer.