House & Garden 2024, November

Bonsai need regular pruning to maintain shape and to be shaped to the desired style. There are two types of pruning: 1) maintenance pruning, which "maintains" the shape of the tree, encouraging the plant to grow more sprouts and preventing it from overgrowing;

Valerian is a full-bodied plant known for its medicinal properties and large flowers. While it can be difficult to take root, it is usually considered a hardy plant that grows well in certain areas. After a few years you will be able to harvest the roots to use them for relaxing purposes.

Hydrangeas are prized for their large, colorful flowers, and can be grown in many areas of the world. There are several species and varieties, which produce flowers characterized by very different colors and shapes. If you plant them correctly following the instructions in this article, they will be quite easy to grow.

Propagating azalea is an operation that is performed on many courtyard and garden plants to make large, showy flowers bloom. To propagate azalea, there are several methods, manageable by anyone with a pair of gardening gloves and shears. Follow the steps in this article to learn how to propagate azaleas.

Hydrangeas are a perfect decoration for our garden. Read this helpful tutorial and find out how you can manipulate its color with a simple addition of nutrients. Steps Step 1. If you want your flowers to take on a pleasant pink color, spread dolomite (or agricultural lime) around the hydrangeas About 200 grams per square meter should be enough.

Pansies bloom in spring and give your garden great color after winter. Pansies are typically one of the first plants to sprout in spring and continue to bloom until temperatures soar and the plant goes dormant. However, when temperatures drop in the fall, pansies can flourish again if you take the time to prepare them in the spring.

The euonymus, or euonymus alatus, is a deciduous shrub that grows vigorously to a large size. If it is planted in an area where it can grow freely, it will need to be pruned from time to time to keep it healthy. If it does not have to exceed a certain height, however, you need to shape it or resort to a more radical pruning method so that it regenerates.

The rose is the classic symbol of beauty and romance, and many gardeners jump for joy if they have the opportunity to beautify their gardens with rose bushes. Some roses are larger and, as a result, require more space to grow than others. However, almost any rose species can be grown in a container, which is especially good news for gardeners with limited garden space.

Kudzu is a native plant of Japan, which is also very present in the southern United States due to its import in the early 19th century as a ground cover plant. Kudzu is a climbing plant known for its incredible speed of growth; capable of growing around 30cm per day, the plant has a reputation for being one of the most invasive plants in the world.

Fence hedges are rows of shrubs or small trees that mark the boundary of a yard or garden, creating privacy, protection, and a decorative addition to an outdoor space. Many people prefer to grow a hedge rather than make a wooden or metal fence, because the hedges integrate better into the surrounding landscape.

Lilies (lilium) are a fabulous extra touch to give to the garden, as well as being easy to care for. Some strains are more fragrant than others, and Stargazer lilies probably top the list. It will take a while to learn how to care for and maintain them, but as soon as you learn how to properly grow Stargazer lilies, you will see them multiply and they will repay you with years of beautiful blooms.

Grafting is a technique that combines two plants or parts of a plant so that they grow together. This allows you to combine the qualities of one strong, disease-resistant plant with those of another, usually one that produces good fruit or beautiful flowers.

Cherry tree pruning is a necessary operation to create the right conditions for the tree to produce its delicious fruit year after year. Young cherry trees should be pruned to give them a vase-like shape to allow light and air to circulate between the foliage and branches.

The Astilbe plant is a perennial, with fern-like leaves and colorful, feather-like flowers. Astilbe plants range in height from six to five inches tall, so it's important to select a variety that meets your garden's needs. New plants are almost always obtained by root division rather than seed, and both new and well-rooted plants thrive in a humid climate.

Putting mulch around a tree makes your garden more beautiful, limits weed growth, and helps keep the soil moist. However, if applied incorrectly, it can stimulate fungal growth, attract insects and suffocate the roots. Fortunately, it's easy to mulch properly if you follow the right steps.

Grass makes the garden more cheerful, provides animals and children with a soft and comfortable surface to play on, as well as giving the house a more tidy and well-kept appearance. There are many methods for growing a new lawn, but planting seeds is among the most cost-effective.

The Chinese hibiscus (Rosa sinensis) has flowers that resemble those of the hibiscus that commonly grows in gardens. Chinese hibiscus is a beautifully flowering houseplant with multi-colored flowers measuring 10 to 12 cm in length. A healthy and happy hibiscus will reward you with a constant succession of blooms.

Verbena is an extremely versatile flower that performs best in hanging baskets, flower beds, rockeries and windowsill boxes. It is an annual plant in areas with variable climates and perennial in warmer areas, where blooms are frequent and colorful during the summer.

Has the "gothic gardener" in you always wanted roses in deep black? It's nearly impossible to get "absolute black", especially with live roses, but that doesn't mean you can't give it a try. With the correct method, whether it's growing dark roses or dyeing them to darken them, you can turn a flower into a night-black petaled rose.

Roses are considered to be one of the most beautiful flowers in the world. Rose plants are "perennial" and produce flowers every year. Today there are more than one hundred species and varieties of roses. The plant can be of different sizes, including miniature varieties, and can form a bush, a sapling or develop a climber.

Dogwood does not usually need much pruning. Even without manually shaping the tree, Dogwood tends to keep a nice shape. However, it can be modeled manually if desired. Do the main pruning - the removal of the branches - during the dormant season, and the secondary pruning - to stimulate new development - during the active growing season.

The wild apple is a tree that blooms and gives pleasant colors to any type of natural landscape; moreover, after the summer, it produces edible fruits and sports an autumn foliage that makes it a decorative element in every season. You can grow it starting from seeds or buying a young plant at a nursery;

Venus flytrap (dionaea muscipula, sometimes also simply called dionea) is a carnivorous plant native to the wetlands of North and South Carolina. This mysterious plant thrives on spiders and insects that it traps between a pair of rosy leaves.

Common ivy is a sturdy climbing plant that grows rapidly in warm climates. Although considered a weed species, it is widely used to cover soils, walls, trellises or other structures. You can grow it in the garden or in pots, both outdoors and indoors, and it adapts to conditions in full sun, shade and partial shade.

When you want to create a flower bed around the tree, first you have to think about protecting the latter by following the simple instructions described in this article regarding the addition of topsoil and to prevent the roots from rotting.

Fallen leaves on the ground, if not raked or chopped up with a lawn mower, can suffocate the lawn depriving it of light and air. By shredding them with a lawn mower you will get a protective and nutritious mulch for the grass, while cleaning the lawn at the same time.

Orchids are beautiful tropical flowers that add an exotic touch to any room in your home. However, due to the conditions in which wild orchids grow, additional measures may be needed to ensure that the plant not only survives, but thrives. In the home, your orchid needs to receive a lot of indirect light, and the air around it needs to be kept sufficiently warm and humid at all times.

Yellow wasps (of the genus Vespula) are the ones that most often come into conflict with humans. Unlike bees and hornets, these insects are socially active, aggressive food gatherers that can become quite pugnacious when disturbed. They are considered beneficial insects, but sometimes it is necessary to face them permanently and destroy their nests.

Earwigs, or dermacteria, can be a pretty big deal to deal with, but it's not impossible to get rid of them. They are harmless, but they feed on decaying leaves and wood, causing damage. They live in humid environments, so they thrive in the garden or in moldy corners of the house.

Once you've put your pet on flea treatment, you can safely and cost-effectively get rid of any pests left in the house with a simple one-time home remedy. Steps Step 1. After treating your pet for fleas, you can get rid of the remaining fleas easily, economically and safely Step 2.

Flies are an inevitable nuisance in most homes, especially during the hottest months of the year; however, there are some things you can do to minimize their presence. You can get rid of them by using traps and fly swatters, insecticides, natural deterrents to spread in the air, such as essential oils and herbs, and by taking some steps to clean the areas where flies like to eat and reproduce, preventing them from returning to infest the house.

Flies can be a problem, regardless of whether they are in the house, on the porch or in the garden. Although there are many commercial traps and spray products, these remedies often contain foul-smelling chemicals that are dangerous to health.

Bed bugs may be "hard bones" but they can't handle the hot steam from a vaporizer. These are great tools for eliminating these and other hosts without using potentially harmful chemicals. Reaching temperatures up to 120 ° C, the vaporizers will kill any bedbugs and their eggs, thoroughly cleaning the infested area.

Do you have a flea infestation in your home? It happens to all people who have pets. If you can't stand the idea of using a pesticide product or spray, you will be glad to know that natural methods are actually very effective. The vacuum cleaner is the most powerful tool against fleas and also the safest, while the most used natural substances, such as baking soda and lemon zest, rank in second place.

Turmeric is an essential ingredient of Indian cuisine. It is a spicy spice extracted from the root of a plant called curcuma longa, belonging to the zingiberaceae family. Unfortunately, it is also the cause of some of the most stubborn stains there is.

Walls can be damaged in many ways, from small holes left by a nail and small cracks to large cracks. Each problem has its specific solution, and the degree of difficulty of the repair largely depends on the size of the damage. This tutorial will give you instructions for remedying a wide variety of imperfections or holes in the walls.

Striped squirrels are cute fur balls - until they start chewing on your yard and lawn. Fortunately, you can get rid of them by using many traps, or you can keep them away with natural methods. This article will help you solve your striped squirrel problem once and for all.

Steam cleaning has been the most popular method for removing dirt and stains from carpets and even furniture for some time. It is also an excellent solution for cleaning wooden floors and tiles, as it leaves less residue than other washing methods sometimes used.

Spider mites (Tetranychus urticae) are tiny sap-sucking mites from plants and can be very difficult to get rid of. They are a little larger and tending to orange in autumn, so this can be an ideal time, but whatever time of year you choose to hunt them, here is an organic method to get rid of them.

Clover mites are tiny insects that usually appear during the spring and fall. They are red-green in color, with the particularity of having the front legs that are twice the size of the others. These mites feed on plants and their infestations generally begin outdoors.