“Ice plants” refer to several types of plants, usually succulents with fleshy thick leaves in cool green-blue colors. However, after an introduction to Delosperma, you’ll know it as the real deal. As a group of tough groundcovers, these blooming succulents flourish in full sun in well draining soils with little water, once they are established. Plus, they’re amazingly colorful!

About Delosperma

Native to Africa, with fleshy, clustered green leaves, Delosperma species and varieties solve many common groundcover, erosion and container garden needs. From only ½” tall and a few inches wide to 4 inches tall and spreading to 2 feet wide, Delospermas begin blooming with daisy-like flowers in early spring and often continue blooming through the summer. Depending on the variety, these perennial succulents punch up the garden with bright fuchsia, red, bronze, yellow, white, lavender or orange flowers, and several variegated or two-toned blooms are available as well.

A more adventurous gardener can turn up the heat with Delosperma ‘Fire Spinner.’ It quickly grows to an attractive weed-thwarting 2 inches high and 15 inches wide mat in two seasons. The variety name perfectly describes the flowers. It’s a kaleidoscope of hot colors on unbelievable 1½” wide fiery flowers. Radiating from a clear white center, petals with deep magenta color in the middle transition to hot orange, finishing with bronze on the outer tips. These arresting flowers sit atop shiny, apple-green needle-like succulent leaves making an astonishing garden statement from late spring through fall. What an unexpected showstopper!

What Delosperma Demands

Most gardeners are all too used to the finicky habits of their favorite plants, from precise soil pH levels to a specified amount of sunlight to a unique cocktail of soil fertilization and amendments for the best growth. Not so with Delosperma – all these plants ask (it’s more of a demand, really) is good drainage. With that, they’re fairly self sufficient – easy to care for and requiring very little maintenance.

Birds, bees and butterflies love Delosperma just as much as gardeners, but deer don’t, making these plants ideal for areas where deer are a bit too friendly in the garden. They work well as borders or to soften the edges of buildings, walkways and driveways, and they’re right at home in well-drained terraces, rock gardens and xeriscaping.

Whether you live in a naturally drought-prone area or just want to conserve water without sacrificing color and beauty, give Delosperma a try and you won’t be disappointed!

Do you have a “black thumb”? Do you love houseplants but just can’t seem to keep them alive no matter what their species or condition? Are you worried about getting new plants because being in your home is a death sentence for anything green? Worry no more! This list of foolproof houseplants will help you select and grow houseplants with confidence. Although all plants look and grow better with optimum care, these plants are some of the toughest you can find and will tolerate more abuse and neglect than most others.

1. Radiator Plant / Pepperomia  (Peperomia caperata)
2. Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema hybrids)
3. Nerve Plant (Fittonia)
4. Dracaena (Dracaena spp.)
5. Jade Plant / Friendship Tree / Money Plant (Crassula ovate)
6. Mother-In-Law’s Tongue / Snake Plant (Sansevieria trifasciata)
7. Peace lily (Spathiphyllum cochlearispathum)
8. Philodendron (Philodendron spp.)
9. Pothos (Epipremnum aureum)
10. Spider Plant / Airplane Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)

Good Care Basics

While these tough plants can withstand some neglect, it isn’t as hard as you may think to provide them with proper care. No matter what type of houseplant you choose, some good rules of thumb that can help keep them happy include…

• Position plants in a brightly lit room, but out of direct sunlight that can cause burns on the foliage. If the plant is stretching toward the window – turning to face the light – it can use more sunlight.
• Use good quality potting soil appropriate to pot plants, and fertilize them regularly to provide adequate nourishment. Reduce fertilizing during the winter months when growth naturally slows.
• Water plants regularly, but allow the top 2-3 inches of soil to go dry between waterings. The pot should have drainage holes, and never let a houseplant sit in a saucer of water – that can lead to root rot.
• Group pots together to increase the humidity around the houseplants and reduce the yellow tips of leaves (a sign of dryness in the air). Use a wet pebble tray or mist plants to raise humidity as well.
• Dust plants 1-2 times per month to keep their leaves bright and pores clear for better gas exchange. Be gentle, however, and do not use waxing sprays or other dusting chemicals on houseplants.

It can be a great joy to have houseplants thriving in your home. No matter how many plants you may have killed in the past, you’ll soon be a successful houseplant gardener when you choose plants that don’t mind kind-hearted abuse!

There is an excellent assortment of bulbs available for planting this time of year that promise a bounty of summer blooms. The thing is, many of these bulbs are not winter hardy. This can create a predicament for gardeners anxious for easy summer flowers but short on time and space to dig and store tender bulbs. Crocosmia can be the answer.

Introducing Crocosmia

Native to South Africa, Crocosmia – also known as montbretia, coppertips or falling stars – sizzles all summer long in colors of yellow, orange and red. The numerous small florets are tubular in shape and borne along a long, gracefully arching stem rising above sword-like foliage. Together, this formidable combination creates exotic elegance sure to be a showstopper in the garden or landscape. Hummingbirds and butterflies also find it irresistible when in bloom, and the fall seedpods are delectable for many seed-loving finches and sparrows.

Planting Crocosmia

Plant Crocosmia corms now, while they are available. Plant them in well-drained soil in full sun, 2-3 inches deep and 8-10 inches apart. A south-facing location is best, or in colder regions, add Crocosmia next to a wall that will help warm the soil. The pointy side of the bulb should be facing up. Place a handful of bone meal in the planting hole and water the soil well when done planting. These are drought-tolerant flowers, but supplemental water will still be welcome in extremely dry conditions.

Crocosmia look best when planted en masse. A grouping on either side of a sunny entrance way can be stunning, and they look equally fetching when tucked into the perennial border. This plant performs well in containers and makes an excellent cut flower – in fact, cutting the flowers will encourage even more beautiful blooms to form.

Blooms will first appear in May or June and will continue blooming throughout the summer. Flower spikes can stretch 2-3 feet tall, adding a bold burst of color to the landscape. Even without the flowers, the blade-like foliage is attractive, and some cultivars show pleats or rippling for more textural interest.

After flowers have finished blooming, simply snip off the faded flower stalks. Leave the foliage to fade naturally as you would with any other bulb. These leaves continue to produce food to provide nourishment for next year’s flowers. Leaves may be cut back to the ground once they are completely yellow, and a thick layer of mulch should be added for winter protection. Once established, these bulbs are winter-hardy and will return year after year to heat up the spring and summer with their gorgeous colors and forms.

Citrus trees grown in fancy terra cotta pots, light-weight decorative containers or wooden planters can be used to adorn your garden, no matter how small it is. Use a potted citrus as a centerpiece for an herb garden, place several in a series on your steps or decorate your deck with these grand-looking accent plants. Dark, glossy green leaves look beautiful all season long while colorful, healthy fruit dangles enticingly from the branches. Although citrus plants are not winter hardy in the north, they may be moved indoors during this time. For added pleasure, citrus offers weeks of fragrant flowers in the spring.

Top Citrus Picks

There are several varieties of exotic citrus trees that can be stunning in the landscape. The most popular options include…

• Calamondin Orange – This cross between a mandarin and kumquat produces miniature oranges that are somewhat tart but make excellent marmalade.
• Ponderosa Lemons – Producing fruits that weigh up to a whopping 5 pounds each, Ponderosa Lemons have a thick ring with very little juice.
• Variegated Pink Lemons – This lemon has variegated foliage and produces a yellowish-pink fruit.
• Meyer Lemon – Although not a true lemon (it is said to be a cross between a lemon and either an orange or mandarin), the Meyer Lemon is one of the sweetest lemons.
• Key Lime – Also known as Mexican Lime, this selection is highly prized for making Key Lime Pie. The plant is very thorny and produces small aromatic fruits.
• Goliath Pummels – The largest of all citrus fruits, pummels taste similar to grapefruit.
• Blood Orange – Having an unusual red flesh, these oranges are prized by gourmet cooks for their slight berry-like flavor.
• Flame Red Seedless Grapefruit – This grapefruit variety produces medium-sized pinkish-colored fruits.
• Cocktail Trees – These are a grafted tree that usually contains 4 to 5 different types of citrus on the same plant, great for your own fruit salad in minimal space.

Citrus Care

Place citrus plants in a sunny location where they will receive a minimum of 6 hours of sun to ensure the best possible fruit. Water regularly and feed with a fertilizer listed specifically for citrus plants every two weeks. During the summer months, citrus plants will produce a lot of new growth. In the early fall, before bringing plants indoors, prune citrus plants back about 1/8 of their existing size. This will help to minimize the shock that plants often experience when being moved. Use a humidity tray indoors or mist daily. Avoid placing your plant in a drafty area or by a heating vent. Provide a minimum of 6-8 hours of daily sun or very bright light in the winter months. It may be necessary to supplement with an artificial light source at this time of the year to keep the plant at its best.

It may seem unusual to have strange citrus trees in your yard or even right inside your home, but with a little care, you’ll be amazed at how much fun these plants can be to grow, and their sweet fruit is a wonderful reward for your efforts.

Tomatoes and peppers are two crops you can never have too much of. They freeze well without the difficulty of blanching, and although the texture of tomatoes disintegrates, the flavor remains good. Both tomatoes and peppers offer brilliantly colored fruit that can be particularly attractive in the garden or in containers. Both have the same requirements – a sunny, nutrient-rich site that is well-drained. To prevent disease problems, neither should be planted in a location where tomatoes, peppers or eggplants were grown the previous year. If you’re not growing both tomatoes and peppers, you’re missing out!

Tomatoes

Tomatoes come in two different types: determinate and indeterminate. Determinate, or bush varieties, grow 1-3’ tall. When flowers form at the vine tips, the plant stops growing. This means fruit sets all at once – which makes them excellent for canning. Indeterminate types, on the other hand, have sprawling vines that grow 6-20’ long, and keep producing and growing until frost. Indeterminate vines should be pruned to ensure that they do not put too much energy into vine production. Pinch out sideshoots (“suckers”) as they develop to prevent excess growth and encourage more fruit.

Tomato plants should be set deep in the soil with the first leaf just above ground level. Leggy plants can even be planted horizontally as roots will develop from the planted stem.

Blossom-end rot can be a common problem with tomatoes. It is a leathery scar that develops on the bottom of the fruit. This is caused from a deficiency of calcium and/or irregular watering. To ensure a supply of calcium, work BumperCrop soil amendment into the soil before planting and maintain regular watering. Feed tomatoes once a month with BumperCrop Vegetable food. Apply mulch around all vegetable plants to help keep the soil moist and cool.

Another disease, early blight, makes dark, depressed areas on the leaves just as first fruit appears. Late blight appears as black, irregular, water-soaked blotches on leaves and dark-colored spots on fruits. Both diseases usually occur during cool, rainy weather. Destroy plants to keep from infecting other plants and select resistant varieties to minimize future outbreaks.

Spread by aphids, tobacco mosaic virus will appear as yellow, mottled foliage with fruit possibly being stunted. Severely affected plants should be destroyed. Aphids should be controlled to prevent infection.

Peppers

Ranging in selections from crispy sweet to fiery hot and from big and blocky to long and skinny, peppers should be cut from the plant rather than pulled off. Most sweet peppers become even sweeter when they mature as they turn from green to bright red, yellow, orange or even brown or purple. As hot peppers mature and turn red, they get hotter.

Peppers are also susceptible to blossom end rot and tobacco mosaic virus the same as tomatoes. The same measures should be taken to prevent infection.

Although we’ve touched on the most common problems with tomatoes and peppers – if you’re not sure, bring in a sample to let one of our experts correctly diagnose the problem and help you find a solution.

Types of Tomatoes & Peppers -below are a few we may carry visit our product page for a an updated list. 

Tomatoes

• Beefsteak – Large slicer
• Better Boy (VFN) – Medium
• Big Beef – Large slicer
• Big Girl (VF) – Medium
• Celebrity (VFNTA) – Medium
• Champion (VFNT) – Large
• Early Girl (VF)- Medium, early
• Husky Gold (VF) – Medium yellow
• Husky Red (VF) – Medium
• Lemon Boy (VFN) – Yellow
• Patio – Self-supporting, medium
• Roma (VF) – Medium
• Sunray – Yellow
• Supersonic – Medium to large
• Supersteak – Large slicer
• Sweet 100 – Cherry

Notations after the tomato variety designate their resistance to the following diseases: V-Verticillium, F-Fusarium, N-Nematodes, T-Tobacco Mosaic, A-Alternaria

Peppers

• Biscayne Italian Fryer – Sweet
• California Wonder – Sweet
• Cherry Hot – Hot
• Cubanelle – Sweet
• Golden Bell – Sweet
• Habanaro – Hot
• Hungarian Wax – Hot
• Italian Gourmet Fryer – Sweet
• Ivory Bell – Sweet
• Jalapeno – Hot
• Jupiter Green – Sweet
• Lady Bell – Sweet
• Lilac Bell – Sweet
• Long Hot Cayenne – Hot
• Mandarin (Orange Bell) – Sweet
• Sweet Banana – Sweet

In The Kitchen

There are hundreds of delicious recipes to try with either tomatoes, peppers or both at once, whether they are fresh or canned. Try this favorite tomato recipe, and use your strong crops of both of these fruits to experiment with different flavors and tastes all year long!

Scalloped Fresh Tomatoes

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 Tbsp butter or margarine
• 4 medium, ripe tomatoes, sliced
• 1 cup grated sharp cheese
• 1 cup fine, soft bread crumbs
• 1 cup dairy sour cream
• 2 eggs, well-beaten
• ½ tsp salt

Cook onions in butter until tender. Place half the tomatoes in a 10 x 6 x 11 ½” baking dish. Top with half each onions, cheese and crumbs; repeat. Mix remaining ingredients. Pour over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Serves 4-5.

It is an awesome sight to capture a glimpse of a ruby-throated hummingbird hovering over the flower garden on a sunny summer morning. One or two a year may be seen seeking food in the landscape, sampling everything in their path. Unfortunately, they leave as rapidly as they arrive. This season, attract more of these miniature avian anomalies and keep them returning year after year.

What Hummingbirds Want

You can charm hummingbirds to your yard with a selection of their favorite nectar-producing flowers. Hummingbirds are not attracted by scent but by color. Red happens to be their favorite, however, pink, purple, blue, orange and yellow will also catch their eye. Tubular flowers accommodate these birds’ long, narrow bills. Select a wide variety of plants that bloom at different times to keep hummers well fed all season long. Refrain from using insecticides when attracting hummingbirds, as they rely on insects for protein in their diets – especially during the summer nesting season when young hummers need extra protein for healthy growth.

Hanging a feeder is another way to encourage these visitors. Choose one with red parts to resemble the flowers that they prefer. Fill the feeder with a mixture of one part sugar to four parts hot water to help the sugar dissolve. Fill the feeders after the mixture has cooled. Easier yet, fill with instant nectar purchased at our store. Clean feeders every 2-3 days early and late in the season, and daily in hot weather.

Plants That Attract Hummingbirds

The easiest way to keep hummingbirds fed without the hassle of refilling and cleaning feeders is to provide a lush landscape filled with their favorite flowers. Fortunately, that’s easy to do because these birds will sample nectar from a wide variety of blooms. No matter what your yard size, soil type, sun exposure or moisture levels, there are plants you can add to the landscape to entice hungry hummers to stop for a snack.

Annuals

• Flowering Tobacco
• Four-O-Clocks
• Fuchsia
• Geraniums
• Impatiens
• Mealy Blue Sage
• Mexican Bush Sage
• Nasturtium
• Petunia
• Pineapple Sage
• Red Salvia
• Zinnia

Bulbs

• Canna
• Gladiolus

Perennials & Biennials

• Bugleweed
• Bee Balm
• Beard Tongue
• Cardinal Flower
• Columbine
• Coral Bells
• Daylily
• Delphinium
• Gaura
• Hollyhocks
• Hosta
• Phlox
• Spiked Gayfeather
• Lily
• Rose Mallow
• Russell Hybrid Lupine

Vines

• Cypress Vine
• Honeysuckle
• Morning Glory
• Scarlet Runner Bean
• Trumpet Vine

Shrubs

• Azalea
• Butterfly Bush
• Glossy Abelia
• Lilac
• Weigela

Trees

• Bottlebrush Buckeye
• Catalpa

Fun Hummingbird Facts

Why not learn a little more about these fascinating birds? The more you know about their amazing abilities and unique characteristics, the more you’ll appreciate having them visit your yard!

•  Hummingbirds are the smallest birds in the world.
• There are over 340 species of hummingbirds and they are found only in the western hemisphere. Most species are found in the tropics.
• Hummers can hover as well as fly straight up and down, sideways, backwards and even upside down.
• Hummingbirds beat their wings about 75 times per second.
• They can drink eight times their body weight and consume about 500 insects daily.

Root crops are among the easiest vegetables to grow, and often the first and last vegetables in the garden to mature. Your garden may produce enough vegetables to take you through the entire year and, if kept correctly, root crops will last a long time in storage. These vegetables are great to grow, even in a small space. Many root crops are frost tolerant and with most, the tops, or greens, are also edible.

What Root Crops Need

To get the best harvest of root crops, no matter which types you opt to add to your garden, you need to meet their cultivation needs.

• Soil
  Root crops grow best in deep, loose, rock-free soil that will allow the roots to form and grow easily. To nourish the plants, supplement the soil with plenty of organic matter.

• Fertilization
  Root crops require a high phosphorus fertilizer for optimum growth, but check the needs of individual crop types to choose the best mixture. Always apply fertilizer according to the proper directions to prevent burning.

• Temperature
  Most root crops are considered cool season vegetables and are planted both early and late in the growing season. Warm days and cool nights are most beneficial for root expansion.

• Light
  Full sun is best.

• Planting
  Seeds should be sown 2-3 weeks before the last expected frost date and subsequent plantings made every three weeks thereafter as weather permits (some exceptions apply). Planting depth varies depending on the type of plant; follow the directions on the seed packet. After seedlings emerge, thin to desired spacing as determined by the diameter of the root at harvest time. Beet and turnip tops that are thinned are edible raw as salad greens or they may be cooked. Root crops are generally not transplantable because they have a tap root.

• Mulch
  Mulch plants that have already been thinned with salt marsh hay to retain soil moisture and minimize weed growth.

• Pest Control
  Maintaining appropriate cultivation requirements will reduce or eliminate the need for pest control. As with all vegetables, it is important to rotate crops each year. Rotating root crops will discourage root weevils.

• Basic Storage
  All root crops may be stored for a time before being eaten. In general, store at 32 degrees Fahrenheit and 95 percent humidity. Leave the crops in the garden as long as weather permits, then dig. Store the harvest in a root cellar or refrigerator.

Tips for Favorite Root Vegetables

• Carrots – Plant in sandy soil if you want the classic, long, narrow type.
• Beets – You may harvest 1/3 of the tops without affecting the root.
• Garlic – grows best in well drained, but moisture-retentive soil.
• Horseradish – Use caution when planting this aggressive perennial.
• Kohlrabi – Has a mild, sweet cabbage flavor.
• Leeks – Flavor is best if harvested after a light frost.
• Onions & Shallots – Plant from seed or sets.
• Potatoes – Best planted from ‘seed potatoes’ to match variety.
• Radishes – Mature in as little as three weeks.
• Sweet Potatoes – Warm weather root crop, will not withstand a frost.
• Turnips – For a fall crop, sow seeds in midsummer.