Growing Tips & Plant Stories RSS

Kill Your Lawn! Turf grass is an ecological wasteland, a drain on your water bill, a maintenance nightmare, and not as attractive as everyone seems to think. Sustainable lawn alternatives are cheaper, better for the environment, require less labor and attract more pollinators and wildlife. And they're prettier than a boring sea of green! I highly recommend following this guy's YouTube Channel! It's entertaining and educational and completely unique! "A Low-Brow, Crass Approach to Plant Ecology & Evolution as muttered by a Misanthropic Chicago Italian." See what he has to say about it in the video embedded below.  Crime Pays...

This is a PSA in defense of my favorite friends: wasps. While standing in the garden section at Home Depot, I observed two shoppers filling their carts with Ortho Wasp Spray, and heard the dreaded commentary: "I'm gonna kill them ALL. Every last one of those SOB's." This is a very sad way to think about such a complex, intelligent group of insects who happen to be one of the best workers at my nursery. I am not a scientist but what I offer is daily experience observing the intricacies of insects and their relationship with my nursery and my...

For all you Florida folks that keep killing a certain succulent and you don't know why... Here's the thing ... No matter how good you are, some succulents just hate it here. Period. And that's not going to stop the big box stores from selling them to you, either! Not to get too long winded, but certain succulents need very hot, dry days and a MAJOR contrast at night, where it's almost chilly and dry. Florida is hot, steamy, sticky most of the time. Why do they need this contrast? They've adapted to keep their photosynthesis to a minimum during...

This week's Most Unappreciated Plant!

Monadeniums are now being classified as Euphorbia...but they'll always be their own genus to me. Monadenium stoloniferum has all the things people love....