Judy Wolfe

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Stories By Judy Wolfe

  • Red Bugs On The Tomato Plants

    Red Bugs on the Tomato Plants. The best that can be said about red bugs on tomato plants (*Lycopsersicon esculentum*) is that they don't clash too much with their surroundings. Two of the four tomato-infesting red bugs are barely visible to the naked eye, and the others outgrow their coloring in a few weeks. Without quick treatment, however, the damage they cause can have you seeing red with each visit to the tomato patch.

    By Judy Wolfe November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Flowers That Look Like Poppies

    Flowers That Look Like Poppies. True poppies, whether perennial or annual, are highly ornamental and surprisingly tough garden performers, says Kim Hilgers, an instructor of horticulture at South Dakota State University. In late spring and early summer, lacy-leaved poppies' nodding stems have bright, tissue-textured showy-centered flowers. Many other plants, however, have similar blooms. Use them to for an extended season of poppy-like flowers in your garden.

    By Judy Wolfe November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • White Powdery Spots On A Meyer Lemon Tree

    White Powdery Spots on a Meyer Lemon Tree. Looking more like oranges than lemons, Meyer lemons (Citrus x meyerii) offer a sweeter, less-acidic thinner-skinned alternative to their mouth-puckering, sunny-yellow relatives. Suitable for U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 9 through 11, Meyer lemons grow on compact trees with white blossoms and yellow-orange fruit glowing against their glossy, deep-green leaves. They paint a pretty picture, unless white powdery spots arrive to spoil it. Treating the disease or insects responsible is relatively easy.

    By Judy Wolfe November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Alberta Shade Loving Shrubs

    Alberta Shade Loving Shrubs. The grasslands of Canada's Alberta province, on the eastern side of the Canadian Rockies, constitute 30 percent of Canada's arable land and are home to dozens of native sun-loving shrubs. Some shade-loving native shrubs, however, are quite at home in Alberta's wetlands and Rocky Mountain forests. In addition to brightening your landscape's shady spots, these shade-loving shrubs provide the local birds and wildlife with food and shelter.

    By Judy Wolfe November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • What Causes Orange Leaves On Boxwoods?

    What Causes Orange Leaves on Boxwoods?. Boxwoods are commonly used as a hedge or screen in many landscape designs. According to NC State University, there are more than 160 registered boxwood cultivars. Boxwoods are susceptible to certain pests and conditions that cause leaves to turn orange or bronze.

    By Judy Wolfe November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Black Oozing Spots On The Trunk Of Our Maple Tree

    Black Oozing Spots on the Trunk of Our Maple Tree. Maple trees that exhibit large, oozing patches of black suffer from a condition known as bacterial wetwood, or slime flux. This chronic, unsightly and foul-smelling disease can disfigure maples for as long as a century without killing them. The disorder affects heartwood in some trees and sapwood in others, destroying vigor from the inside out. Its concealed nature prevents diagnosis of the disease before damage occurs.

    By Judy Wolfe November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Indoor Plants That Have Leaves Similar To An African Violet

    Indoor Plants That Have Leaves Similar to an African Violet. African violets are indoor plants beloved for their nearly nonstop, colorful blooms nestling above dense, furry foliage. Those downy leaves, however, aren't limited to African violets. Several attractive--and often overlooked--indoor plants share this trait. Like those of African violets, their leaves don't respond well to being wet. Clean them with a soft brush or pressure cleaner, advise Clemson Cooperative Extension's horticulture specialist Debbie Shaughnessy and floriculture specialist Al Pertuit.

    By Judy Wolfe November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Native Ohio Flowering Trees

    Native Ohio Flowering Trees. Ohio glories in its flowering trees: Springtime finds the state glowing with the golden yellow blooms of Cornelian cherry dogwood and fragrant with the scent of Sargent crabapples. While their blooming season may end too quickly, many of Ohio's flowering trees produce colorful and/or edible fruit and brilliant fall color. Some even add interest to winter gardens.

    By Judy Wolfe November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Magnolia Trees Of Alabama

    Magnolia Trees of Alabama. Magnolias, moonlight and Spanish moss--some images capture the spirit not only of a region but of an entire way of life. Magnolia trees have become icons of the America's deep South. Alabama is home to several varieties of this stately tree. Each of them, small or large, perfumes the spring air with its fragrant, showy blooms. Many provide deep shade in the heat of Alabama's summers.

    By Judy Wolfe November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Cactus Plants That Grow In Florida

    Cactus Plants That Grow in Florida. Some of Florida's native cacti, including the semaphore and the key tree cacti of the Florida Keys, are verging on extinction because of land development and the invasion of cactus-eating caterpillars (Cactoblastis cactorum). The Sunshine State's gardeners, however, still have a wide choice of attractive cacti tolerant of Florida's highly humid summers. They range from low-growing plants suitable for small areas to rapid growers for quick garden interest in large landscapes.

    By Judy Wolfe November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • List Of Flowering Trees In Montana

    List of Flowering Trees in Montana. Montana's 2005 growing season in southwestern Silver Bow County was 76 days. The state's gardeners, depending on their locations, coped with a 2005 rainfall of between 9 and 25 inches. The West Yellowstone area makes regular appearances on the U.S. Lowest Daily Temperature list. A few hardy flowering trees, however, have managed to overcome the odds against survival in the Treasure State. Montana gardeners can depend on them for reliable performance.

    By Judy Wolfe November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Examples Of Insect Pollinated Flowers

    Examples of Insect Pollinated Flowers. Different insect-pollinated flowers have different adaptations to lure potential pollinators, according to San Francisco State University. Flowers dependent upon bee pollination are usually blue or yellow--bees don't see red--with narrow tubes containing sweetly scented nectar and markings to guide the bees to it. Some, like snapdragons, have petals that allow only bees of the correct weight access to the nectar. Some plants, however, welcome a variety of insects.

    By Judy Wolfe November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Cold Desert Biome Plants

    Cold Desert Biome Plants. Biomes, says Weber State University, are large areas containing several similar ecosystems. The United States' Great Basin is a cold desert biome covering most of Utah and extending into Nevada and northern Arizona. Cooler temperatures and non-subtropical plants distinguish the cold desert biome from hot deserts. Cold desert biome plants have adapted to life in high elevations and can withstand colder winters than those in warm desert biomes.

    By Judy Wolfe November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Flowering Trees In Alaska

    Flowering Trees in Alaska. Gardening in Alaska's United States Hardiness zones 2 to 4, where winter temperatures can plunge to a mind-numbing minus 50 F, presents a set of challenges not found in any other American state. With those challenges, however, comes a growing season during which plants will bask in sunlight for up to--in Fairbanks--21 hours a day. The results are flowering trees heavy with blooms and fruit that make splendid ornamental additions to Alaska gardens.

    By Judy Wolfe November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Spruce Trees And Fertilizer

    Spruce Trees and Fertilizer. Spruces are exceptionally tough conifers capable of surviving for up to two centuries in the face of brutal winter cold. Recognizable from their sharp, stiff square needles and suspended, bractless cones, most spruce species need full sun. Large spruce tree varieties--including Norway, Colorado, Black Hills white and Engelmann spruces--make excellent windbreaks. Smaller cultivars are attractive additions to less spacious yards. Like all evergreens, spruce trees have specific fertilizer requirements.

    By Judy Wolfe November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Native Idaho Shrubs With Berries

    Native Idaho Shrubs With Berries. Idaho, a leading potato-producing state, has four distinct growing regions, each with its own soil types, growing season and climate. The state covers USDA Hardiness Zones 2--with winter temperatures dropping as low as -45 degrees F--through 7, where they seldom fall below zero. Growing Idaho native shrubs with berries successfully depends on finding those hardy in your area of the state. They range from shrubs standing up to 30 feet high to those that work well as ornamental ground covers.

    By Judy Wolfe November 4th, 2022 Read More