AMERICAN GARDENER

Fast-growing evergreen trees are valuable when you want to establish a landscape quickly. Unlike deciduous trees that lose their foliage during part of the year, evergreen trees can provide year-round color, screening, shade, wind protection, and structure. A rapidly growing evergreen can transform an open yard into a more established-looking landscape in considerably less time … Read more

Wet soil can be one of the more challenging conditions for gardeners. Areas that stay saturated after rain may have poor drainage, a high water table, or naturally heavy soil that holds moisture for long periods. Many popular landscape trees struggle in these conditions because their roots need access to oxygen as well as water. … Read more

Evergreen trees are some of the most useful plants for small gardens because they provide structure throughout the year. Unlike deciduous trees, which lose their leaves during autumn or winter, evergreens retain their foliage and continue to give the landscape color, texture, and privacy even when most other plants are dormant. The right evergreen can … Read more

Citrus fruits are some of the most widely grown and recognizable fruits in the world. They are valued for their refreshing flavors, aromatic oils, colorful peels, and high culinary versatility. Oranges, lemons, limes, mandarins, and grapefruits are the most familiar examples, but the citrus group is much larger than the fruits commonly found in supermarkets. … Read more

Bell peppers are among the most rewarding crops for gardeners who want a high volume of produce from a relatively small growing area. A healthy plant can continue setting flowers and developing fruit over an extended season, particularly when temperatures, nutrition, moisture, and pollination are favorable. However, the amount harvested depends heavily on the variety. … Read more

Sweet peppers are among the most versatile vegetables—or, botanically speaking, fruits—you can grow in a home garden. Unlike hot peppers, sweet pepper varieties contain little to no capsaicin, the compound responsible for the burning sensation associated with chili peppers. Instead, they offer a wide range of flavors, colors, shapes, and textures, from crisp bell peppers … Read more

Lemons are themselves a hybrid fruit, believed by geneticists to have originated somewhere in northeastern India, northern Myanmar, or southern China as a natural cross between the bitter orange and the citron, long before traders eventually carried the fruit west into the Mediterranean and Middle East. Argentina has grown into the world’s largest lemon producer … Read more

Persimmons are among the most distinctive fruits grown in temperate and subtropical regions. Their smooth skin, brilliant orange or reddish color, and unusual combination of sweetness and astringency make them easy to recognize. Depending on the variety, a persimmon may be round and flattened, acorn-shaped, elongated, or almost tomato-like. Some can be eaten while still … Read more

Persimmons are among the easiest fruits to recognize once you become familiar with their distinctive appearance. They typically have smooth, thin skin, a rounded or slightly elongated shape, and colors ranging from yellow-orange to deep reddish-orange. Many varieties also have a prominent leafy calyx at the top, which gives the fruit an especially recognizable appearance. … Read more

Oranges are believed to have originated in southern China several thousand years ago as a natural hybrid between the pomelo and the mandarin, making the common sweet orange, scientifically classified as Citrus sinensis, a hybrid fruit rather than a truly wild species in its own right. Brazil has grown into the largest orange producer in … Read more