Plants

Pine trees have a reputation for toughness, and in many ways they’ve earned it, surviving drought, poor soil, and harsh winters that would kill more delicate ornamentals. That reputation, though, hides a less convenient truth: pines are host to one of the longer pest and disease lists of any common landscape or forest tree, and … Read more

A healthy cherry tree can produce fruit for 15 to 20 years, but very few cherry trees make it through a full growing season without encountering at least one pest or disease along the way. Extension services tracking backyard and orchard cherry trees consistently report that fungal diseases and fruit-feeding insects account for the large … Read more

Most people picture a cherry tree the same way: white or pink blossoms floating above bright green leaves in early spring. Cherry trees with dark red leaves flip that image on its head, holding onto deep maroon, plum, and near-black foliage from the moment the leaves unfurl until they drop in autumn. Ornamental purple-leaf cherries … Read more

Cherry trees are usually associated with cold climates, but some varieties require far fewer winter chill hours than traditional cherries. These low-chill types can be a better choice for gardeners living in regions with mild winters. Low-chill cherry trees can flower and produce fruit without experiencing the long periods of cold required by many standard … Read more

Shrubs with white berries are among the rarest sights in the garden, because most fruiting shrubs ripen to red, blue, or black. When white fruit does appear, it tends to show up late in the year and hang on through winter, which is exactly when a garden needs a little contrast. The shrubs below range … Read more

Shrubs with purple berries bring some of the most striking color of the late-season garden, with glossy, jewel-toned fruit that stands out against bare branches, evergreen leaves, or fading fall foliage. A single purple-berried shrub can become the focal point of a planting. The 21 shrubs below range from compact beautyberries to tall silk tassels, … Read more

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 grapes carry a genuinely surprising amount of recently confirmed scientific history behind them, since many of the parentage stories long assumed true in winemaking circles were only actually proven starting in the 1990s, when DNA fingerprinting technology finally let researchers test centuries of oral tradition against hard genetic evidence. The University of California … 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