Audrey Stallsmith

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Stories By Audrey Stallsmith

  • Produce
    Produce By Audrey Stallsmith November 4th, 2022

    How To Plant Garlic In Zone Five

    How to Plant Garlic in Zone Five. Usually started from their cloves rather than seeds, garlic plants (*Allium sativum*) include the varieties soft-necked (*Allium sativum subsp. sativum*), hard-necked (*Allium sativum subsp. ophioscorodon*) and elephant or great-headed (*Allium ampeloprasum*). Most garlic plants grow only 1 to 2 feet tall, but elephant types can reach 5 feet in height. Garlics vary in hardiness from U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 2 through 10 and **should be planted just after the first autumn frost**, allowing them four to six weeks to grow before a deeper freeze. In USDA zone 5, therefore, the best time to set garlic cloves in the ground is **between mid-October and mid-November**.

    By Audrey Stallsmith November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • colorful chrysanthemum
    Flowers
    Flowers By Audrey Stallsmith November 4th, 2022

    How To Propagate Mums The Easy Way

    How to Propagate Mums the Easy Way. Garden chrysanthemums or garden mums (Chrysanthemum x morifolium or Dendranthema x grandiflora), the perennial varieties most widely available in autumn, vary from less than 1 foot to 6 feet in height. With fleshy, lobed leaves and single or double flowers from 1 to 6 inches wide, they range in hardiness from U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 10. Most are hybrids and don’t produce plants like them from their seeds. Cuttings taken from them, however, root easily in either water or soil.

    By Audrey Stallsmith November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Trees
    Trees By Audrey Stallsmith November 4th, 2022

    How To Care For A Dying Italian Stone Pine

    How to Care for a Dying Italian Stone Pine. Italian stone pine (Pinus pinea), true to its roots, is "molto contento," that is very contented, in Mediterranean-like climates, and it is cold-hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 7 to 11. Also known as umbrella pine for the rounded shape it eventually achieves, it can reach 100 feet outdoors. However, Italian stone pine is often sold as a miniature Christmas tree in far-from-fitting climates. Although it tolerates dry air better than most pines, it still isn’t likely to be a happy houseplant for longer than 6 weeks. After that, if not given extra attention, your Italian stone pine may end up stone dead.

    By Audrey Stallsmith November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Flowers
    Flowers By Audrey Stallsmith November 4th, 2022

    Herbs That Are Perennials

    Herbs That Are Perennials. For a low-maintenance herb garden, choose perennials, so you won’t need to replace them every spring. You can give the herbs a bed of their own or intersperse them among plants with showier blooms. Although large on scent, herbs often have diminutive flowers. Having both medicinal and culinary uses, they can be grown for their practicality as well as their prettiness. Consider the ultimate height of the plants when deciding where in the bed to place them.

    By Audrey Stallsmith November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Working bees
    Trees
    Trees By Audrey Stallsmith November 4th, 2022

    Facts About The Sourwood Tree

    Facts About the Sourwood Tree. Native to the southeastern United States, the sourwood tree (Oxydendrum arboreum) derives its name from the flavor of its acidic foliage rather than that of the wood itself. It has a sweet side too, being the pollen source of a honey named after it. Sourwood blooms after most other trees, in late June and July, and is indigenous from lower Pennsylvania to upper Florida. With panicles of midsummer flowers and flaming fall foliage, it can also decorate home landscapes in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 5 to 9.

    By Audrey Stallsmith November 4th, 2022 Read More
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    Flowers
    Flowers By Audrey Stallsmith September 24th, 2022

    Homemade Fungus Spray

    Homemade Fungus Spray. Ugly fungus spots on leaves can mar the beauty of ornamental plants or affect vegetable crops. To help prevent fungal diseases returning, rake up and dispose of the dead leaves of affected plants in late fall and replace mulch around perennials and shrubs with new mulch. Always allow plenty of space and air movement between your plants, and treat their foliage with an antifungal spray as soon as possible when you see a problem. If you can't afford ready-to-use sprays -- or consider them too dangerous -- you can make your own from household products.

    By Audrey Stallsmith September 24th, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Audrey Stallsmith September 6th, 2022

    How To Grow Dinner Plate Dahlias

    How to Grow Dinner Plate Dahlias. Dinner plate dahlias (Dahlia spp.) produce showy 8- to 12-inch diameter flowers that attain the size of dinner plates. Their plants grow about 3 to 4 feet tall and will need wider spacing and heavier staking than smaller varieties. Dahlias can be hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 8 through 10 -- and USDA zone 7, if heavily mulched. Wait until after the last spring frost date to plant their tubers, and never spray herbicides near the plants or you will kill them.

    By Audrey Stallsmith September 6th, 2022 Read More
  • Flowers
    Flowers By Audrey Stallsmith September 6th, 2022

    How To Care For Mums In Winter

    How to Care For Mums in Winter. Mums add color to any landscape, and with proper care can survive dormant through the winter to re-bloom the following year. Many gardeners like to include these perennials in their gardens as they are hardy and low-maintenance once established. Some varieties, the less hardy ones, do better in pots indoors but are harder to bring back in subsequent seasons. Here's how to care for mums in the winter.

    By Audrey Stallsmith September 6th, 2022 Read More