 October is the month of painted leaves.
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Moving Houseplants In doors
My houseplants really love the warm temperatures and higher light levels in a shady outdoor environment. By the end of summer they've put on a lot of new growth and are much bushier than if I had kept them indoors. However, they detest the cold nights of fall and will not tolerate a frost. So it's now time to prepare them for their indoor winter home. |  |
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Vermicomposting: Easy and Efficient Composting with Worms
Fall and winter is a great time to get started with worm composting. Never heard of it? Check out this article that describes in details the benefits of using worms to make compost, and it tells you exactly how to get started with this easy, fun and rewarding project. |  |
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How to Grow and Care for Agapanthus
With spherical clusters of flowers rising above stately arched foliage, agapanthus is an eye-catching addition to perennial borders and patio planters. The blooms, in shades of blue and violet, or white depending on the variety, are held aloft on strong, slender stems, making them as stunning in bouquets as they are outdoors swaying in the breeze. |  |
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Growing Citrus in Containers
For the most part, the areas where home gardeners plant the citrus trees are the same areas where citrus is grown commercially. But if space is limited or climate isn't suitable, it's still possible to enjoy these trees and their bounty year-round. How? By growing citrus trees in containers. |  |
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Renovating an Overgrown Houseplant
Branching, shrub-like houseplants, such as scented geranium, hibiscus, flowering maple, begonia, and schefflera, need regular pruning to keep them healthy and attractive. |  |
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Forcing Tulips Indoors
For those who can never get enough of tulips or can't wait until they spring up naturally in the garden, they can be forced indoors. To force a bulb means to create an environment where the bulb grows when it naturally wouldn't. By following these steps, you can buy tulip bulbs when they're available in fall and force them to bloom for the holidays or any time during the winter. |  |
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Provide Bird Shelter with a Brush Pile
One of the essentials for a welcoming environment for birds and other wildlife is shelter. They need shelter from the elements and predators. Selection and placement of plants throughout the landscape can provide both food and shelter. Another form of shelter to consider is a brush pile. |  |
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Putting the Garden to Bed
In most parts of the country the gardening season is winding down and preparations are underway to put the garden to bed. That said, in my Chicago garden many plants are active in winter. It is not yet time to pull the blanket of mulch over the garden. That comes next month when the ground begins to freeze. But the steps we take now will prepare it for the cold to come. |  |
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Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Isabelle Rose')
Hybridizer: Laprise
Year of Registration or Introduction: 2009
Foliage type: Dormant
Scape height: 59 inches
Bloom size: 7 inches
Bloom time: Early
Plant Traits: Diurnal
Bud Count: 41-45
Branching: 3-way
Fertility: Pod Fertile, Pollen Fertile
Bloom Traits: Diamond Dusted
Bloom Form: Unusual Form, Unusual Form - Cascade
Color description: pale yellow diamond dusted with little ruffled above extended green throat
AHS Awards: Stout Silver Medal, Award of Merit, Honorable Mention
Plant Habit: Herb/Forb
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Flowers: Showy, Fragrant
Ploidy: Diploid
Parentage: Starsearch x Heavenly Curls
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Globularia sarcophylla 'Blue Eyes'
Plant Habit: Herb/Forb
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun, Full Sun to Partial Shade
Water Preferences: Mesic
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 7a -17.8 °C (0 °F) to -15 °C (5 °F)
Plant Height: 25 to 30 inches
Plant Spread: 12 to 18 inches
Flowers: Showy
Flower Color: White
Bloom Size: Under 1"
Flower Time: Spring, Late spring or early summer, Summer, Late summer or early fall
Resistances: Drought tolerant
Containers: Needs excellent drainage in pots
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Roses (Rosa)
Plant Habit: Shrub
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun
Leaves: Deciduous
Flowers: Showy
Uses: Cut Flower
Wildlife Attractant: Bees
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Baby Rubber Plant (Peperomia obtusifolia 'Variegata')
Plant Habit: Herb/Forb, Cactus/Succulent
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Partial or Dappled Shade
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 9b -3.9 °C (25 °F) to -1.1 °C (30 °F)
Plant Height: 6-10 inches
Leaves: Evergreen
Flowers: Inconspicuous
Suitable Locations: Houseplant
Containers: Needs excellent drainage in pots
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Pony Tail Palm (Beaucarnea recurvata 'Gold Star')
Plant Habit: Tree, Cactus/Succulent
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun, Full Sun to Partial Shade
Water Preferences: Mesic, Dry Mesic, Dry
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 9b -3.9 °C (25 °F) to -1.1 °C (30 °F)
Leaves: Evergreen, Variegated
Flowers: Showy, Other
Flower Color: White
Bloom Size: Under 1"
Suitable Locations: Houseplant, Xeriscapic, Patio/Ornamental/Small Tree
Uses: Flowering Tree
Resistances: Drought tolerant
Containers: Suitable in 3 gallon or larger, Needs excellent drainage in pots
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 Photo by NMoasis
"Almost a true blue. Lovely."
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 Photo by BlueOddish
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 Photo by sugarcane
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 Photo by Calif_Sue
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 Photo by Jillz
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 Photo by GrammaChar
"Favorite of fall pollinators"
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 Photo by ARUBA1334
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 Photo by Ursula
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 Photo by Polymerous
"Image taken in part shade."
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 Photo by LoriMT
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Active threads from our forums:
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The numbers from this week:
297 members joined.
2,769 posts written in our forums.
937 photos posted to the plant database.
469 plants added to personal inventory lists.
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 To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring.
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