AMERICAN GARDENER

Ornamental trees can completely change the character of a garden. A carefully chosen tree may provide spring flowers, colorful foliage, attractive bark, autumn color, unusual shapes, berries for wildlife, or welcome shade. Unlike many short-lived flowering plants, a well-placed ornamental tree can become a permanent feature around which an entire landscape is designed. The term … Read more

Ornamental Kale Plants: Beautiful Varieties for Fall and Winter Gardens Ornamental kale is one of those garden plants that becomes more interesting as the weather gets colder. While many plants lose their leaves or stop flowering in autumn, ornamental kale develops intense shades of white, pink, purple, red, and green. Its tightly packed leaves form … Read more

Types of Plums: Popular Varieties, Origins, and What Makes Each Unique Plums are among the most diverse stone fruits grown in temperate and subtropical regions. Although many people picture a dark-purple fruit when they hear the word plum, plums can also be yellow, green, red, almost black, or even mottled. Their flesh may be yellow, … Read more

Tulips are among the most recognizable spring-flowering bulbs, but producing healthy flowers year after year requires more than simply planting the bulbs and waiting for spring. Tulips can be affected by fungal diseases, viruses, insects, mites, slugs, and unfavorable growing conditions. Some problems appear on the leaves, while others begin underground and remain hidden until … Read more

Pear trees can look remarkably healthy one season and then develop spotted leaves, blackened blossoms, distorted shoots, sticky foliage, or damaged fruit the next. Some problems begin so quietly that they are easy to overlook until they have already affected a significant part of the tree. What makes pear-tree problems particularly confusing is that different … Read more

Lettuce looks like a simple crop to grow, but its soft leaves make it attractive to a surprisingly wide range of insects and disease-causing organisms. A healthy lettuce plant can develop holes overnight, become covered with tiny insects, wilt despite having moist soil, or develop spots that spread across the leaves. What makes lettuce problems … Read more

Houseplants can look perfectly healthy one week and then suddenly develop yellow leaves, sticky stems, white patches, brown spots, or distorted new growth. Because most indoor plants live in a relatively controlled environment, it can be surprising to discover that they are still vulnerable to pests and diseases. The difference is that indoor growing conditions … Read more

Lemon trees are among the most rewarding citrus trees to grow. Their fragrant flowers, evergreen foliage, and bright yellow fruit make them useful in both home gardens and commercial orchards. Yet a lemon tree can also become a meeting point for aphids, scale insects, mites, leafminers, fungal diseases, bacterial diseases, and several other problems. The … Read more

Mulberry trees are generally vigorous plants once established, but they are not completely free from problems. Their leaves can be attacked by insects, while wet weather may encourage fungal leaf diseases. Stressed trees can also become more vulnerable to cankers, root diseases, and other disorders. The interesting thing about mulberries is that the problem is … Read more

Roses are among the most rewarding plants to grow, but they are also among the garden plants that tend to attract attention from pests and diseases. A rose can look vigorous one week and then develop spotted leaves, distorted shoots, damaged buds, or dying stems soon afterward. However, not every imperfect rose is suffering from … Read more