Ethan Brooks, Author at Complete Gardening

Gardening Tips

Your Potted Hydrangea Looks Limp and Worn Out — Here’s the Quick Move That Perks It Right Back Up

A drooping hydrangea in a pot can feel like a small emergency, especially when the leaves go limp…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 16

Gardening Tips

Why Your Peace Lily Leaves Are Turning Black at the Tips and Edges – and How to Diagnose the Problem

Few things are more alarming than watching the edges of your peace lily slowly turn black, especially when…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 16

Gardening Tips

Your Hydrangea Looks Tired and Droopy This Fall — Here’s the Simple Recovery Move It’s Been Waiting For

A drooping hydrangea can stop a gardener cold, especially when the plant looked fine just a few weeks…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 16

Gardening Tips

The Worst Time to Water Your Garden Is Wasting Half of Every Drop — Here’s When to Do It Right

Most gardeners in Florida and Texas have heard some version of the rule: never water in the middle…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 16

Gardening Tips

Your Fall Cauliflower Heads Turn Loose and Ricey Instead of Tight and White — Here’s the Heat Slip Behind It

Pulling back a cauliflower leaf to find a grainy, separated head instead of a smooth, dense curd is…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 16

Gardening Tips

Crabgrass Keeps Taking Over Your Lawn Because of One Condition Underneath — Here’s How to Stop It for Good

Every summer, the same patchy invader shows up in the same spots, and pulling it out barely slows…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 16

Gardening Tips

These 8 Easy Perennials Fill Your Beds With Color and Barely Ask for Any Work

If you love a colorful garden but hate the endless upkeep, perennials are your best friends. These plants…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 16

Gardening Tips

Your Hummingbirds Suddenly Stopped Visiting This Fall — Here’s the Feeder Change Driving Them Off

One day your feeder is buzzing with tiny wings, and the next it sits untouched for a week.…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 16

Gardening Tips

Your Christmas Cactus Isn’t Dying – Here’s the Recovery Routine That Loads It With Holiday Blooms

Few things are more disheartening than watching a holiday plant go limp right when you want it looking…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 16

Gardening Tips

Your Hummingbird Feeder Sugar Water Is Driving Birds Off — Here’s What to Fill It With Instead

Plenty of backyard gardeners in Florida and Texas hang a hummingbird feeder, fill it up, and then wait…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 16

Gardening Tips

Your Clematis Barely Bloomed This Year – Take These Semi-Ripe Cuttings Now and You May Have New Vines to Pot by Spring

A clematis that barely flowered this year is frustrating, but it can still give you something valuable before…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 16

Gardening Tips

Your Fig Tree Puts Out Leafy Branches but Barely Sets Fruit — Here’s the Fall Pruning Cut That Fixes It

A fig tree covered in lush leaves but producing almost no fruit is one of the more frustrating…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 16

Gardening Tips

If Weeds Keep Filling the Shady Ground Under Your Trees, This Flowering Cover Blankets It Beautifully

Bare, weedy dirt under a mature tree is one of the most stubborn spots in a Southern yard.…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 16

Gardening Tips

Your Fall Swiss Chard Leaves Get Chewed to Lace Overnight – Here’s the Slug Trail Behind It

Walking out to your fall garden and finding Swiss chard leaves riddled with holes can feel alarming, especially…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 15

Gardening Tips

Your Fall Kohlrabi Grows a Woody, Cracked Bulb Instead of a Crisp One — Here’s the Watering Swing Behind It

Pull a kohlrabi from your fall garden and find a cracked, fibrous mess instead of a crisp, tender…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 15

Gardening Tips

Your Kale Leaves Are Curling Under and Getting Sticky as Aphids Pile Up on the Undersides This Fall

Curling kale leaves and a sticky, tacky film on the foliage can stop a Southern gardener cold, especially…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 15

Gardening Tips

Your Fall Mums Fade Fast Because You Planted Them at the Wrong Time — Here’s the Window That Keeps Them Blooming

Fall mums are one of the easiest ways to add color to a Southern porch or garden bed,…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 15

Gardening Tips

Zinnias Are Blooming Now but a Powdery White Film Is Creeping Across the Leaves – Here’s What Stops It

If your zinnias look great from a distance but show a chalky white coating up close, you are…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 15

Gardening Tips

Before You Toss That Woody Sage Plant, One Fall Cut Brings It Back Full and Fragrant

That leggy, woody sage plant in the corner of your herb bed may look like a lost cause,…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 15

Gardening Tips

Your Amaryllis Bulb Sends Up Leaves but Never a Flower Stalk Indoors — Here’s the Rest It’s Missing

Watching your amaryllis push up a flush of green leaves while the flower stalk never appears can feel…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 15

Gardening Tips

Overseeding Your Fall Lawn but the Grass Seed Just Won’t Sprout — Here’s the Planting Slip Behind It

Spreading grass seed over your lawn in fall feels like a smart move, but watching bare patches stay…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 15

Gardening Tips

Green Slime Keeps Coming Back on Your Porch and Patio Every Season — Here’s the Cheap Fix That Clears It

That slick green coating creeping across your porch or patio is more than an eyesore. It can make…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 15

Gardening Tips

Your Houseplant Leaves Are Turning Purple This Fall – Here’s the One Cause Behind It and How to Reverse It

Noticing purple leaves on your houseplants this fall can feel alarming, especially when the color seems to appear…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 15

Gardening Tips

Digging Up Your Fall Radishes Only to Find Cracked, Split Roots Instead of Smooth Ones? Here’s Why

Pulling up a row of fall radishes only to find them split open is one of those frustrating…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 15

Gardening Tips

Warning Signs Snakes May Have Passed Through Your Yard – What to Look For Before You Ever See One

Most people never see a snake before it startles them, but the yard itself sometimes holds clues that…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 15

Gardening Tips

Yellow Jackets Are Swarming Your Grape Harvest and Feasting Before You Can Pick — Here’s How to Drive Them Off

If you grow grapes in your backyard, spotting a cloud of striped insects around your clusters during ripening…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 15

Gardening Tips

Your Fall Carrots Split Down the Middle Right as You Pull Them — Here’s the Watering Swing Behind It

Pulling a carrot out of the ground and watching it split apart is one of those frustrating harvest…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 14

Gardening Tips

Your Fall Carrots Come Up Forked and Twisted Instead of Long and Straight – Here’s the Soil Slip Behind It

Pulling your first fall carrots and finding a tangle of forked, twisted roots instead of smooth, straight ones…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 14

Gardening Tips

Your Fall Broccoli Forms Tiny Buttons Instead of One Big Head – Here’s the Cold-Shock Slip Behind It

Pulling back the leaves on your fall broccoli to find a cluster of tiny heads the size of…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 14

Gardening Tips

Your Fall Onion Sets Sprout Green Tops but Never Bulb Up Underneath — Here’s the Spacing Slip Behind It

Planting fall onion sets and watching those green tops shoot up feels like a win, but digging underneath…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 14

Gardening Tips

Feeding Your Fall Peppers the Wrong Thing Now Gives You Big Leaves and Almost No Fruit

Your pepper plant looks incredible, with thick stems and leaves the size of your hand, but the fruit…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 14

Gardening Tips

Your ZZ Plant Grows Tall and Leggy Instead of Full and Bushy — Here’s the One Change That Fixes It

If your ZZ plant has started sending up long, spindly fronds that lean toward the window or space…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 14

Gardening Tips

Your Fall Cabbage Heads Split Wide Open Right Before You Cut Them — Here’s the Watering Swing Behind It

You watched your fall cabbage all season, and just when the head finally felt solid and ready to…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 14

Gardening Tips

Store Your Fall Sweet Potato Harvest Wrong and It Rots in Weeks — Here’s the Curing Step Everyone Skips

You put real work into growing sweet potatoes all season, and harvest day feels like a win. But…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 14

Gardening Tips

Gravel Weeds Keep Pushing Through Your Path No Matter How Often You Pull Them — Here’s How to Stop Them at the Root

Gravel paths look clean and low-maintenance right up until the weeds start pushing through, and then it feels…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 14

Gardening Tips

Your Christmas Cactus Quietly Stalls Through Summer Because of One Care Habit — Here’s the Fix Before the Holidays

If your holiday cactus sits quietly all summer without a single flower, you might worry something has gone…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 14

Gardening Tips

Your Clematis Grew Tall but Barely Bloomed – Here Is the Fall Diagnostic Move That Can Help Next Season

A clematis that shoots up six feet of lush green growth and then produces almost no flowers can…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 14

Gardening Tips

Your Fall Lettuce Turns Bitter and Shoots Up a Tall Stalk Before You Can Harvest – Here’s the Heat Slip Behind It

Fall lettuce is supposed to be one of the easier wins in a Southern garden, but many gardeners…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 14

Gardening Tips

Take Late-Season Cuttings From Bedding Geraniums for More Plants Next Season

If you have a bedding geranium with flower color or leaf markings you love, you can use one…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 14

Gardening Tips

Your Hydrangea Blooms Are Browning at the Edges This Fall – Here’s the Cause and How to Stop It

Hydrangea flowers turning brown at the edges this fall can send a gardener straight into panic mode, but…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 14

Gardening Tips

Your Hostas Turn Yellow and Fade as Fall Sets In — Here’s the One Cause Behind It and How to Reverse It

When your hostas start turning yellow as the weather cools, it can feel like something has gone seriously…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 14

Gardening Tips

These 8 Houseplants Quietly Cause Problems Indoors – Here’s Why to Keep Them Outside

Some plants look great on a windowsill but slowly turn into trouble once they settle into your living…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 14

Gardening Tips

Woody Lavender Doesn’t Mean the Plant Is Dead — Here’s the Cut That Brings It Back

Lavender can look pretty rough after a few seasons, with sprawling bare stems and a base that seems…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 13

Gardening Tips

That Woody, Sprawling Rosemary Bush Still Bounces Back if You Cut It This One Way

Rosemary has a reputation for being tough, and most of the time it earns that reputation. But when…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 13

Gardening Tips

Overwintering Rosemary Indoors Kills It Fast Unless You Move It Before the First Frost

Every fall, gardeners across the South face the same question: does rosemary need to come inside before cold…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 13

Gardening Tips

Your Geraniums Are Quietly Telling You It’s Time to Deadhead — Here’s the Sign That Wakes Up More Fall Blooms

Most gardeners walk right past a spent geranium bloom without realizing it is signaling a simple task that…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 13

Gardening Tips

Coneflowers Never Reach Full Size Because of Where You Planted Them – Here’s the Spot They Actually Thrive In

Purple coneflower is one of the most cheerful plants you can grow in a Southern yard, but plenty…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 13

Gardening Tips

Your Fall Raised Beds Grow Weak Crops Because the Soil Is Missing These Three Ingredients

Fall is supposed to bring relief to Southern gardeners, but sometimes the cooler weather arrives and the crops…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 13

Gardening Tips

Your Potted Lavender Turns Woody and Stops Blooming – Here’s a Common Fall Care Slip Behind It

Potted lavender is one of those plants that looks effortless in a garden center but can turn stubborn…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 13

Ethan Brooks

Your Fall Cilantro Bolts to Seed and Turns Bitter Almost Overnight — Here’s the Warmth Slip Behind It

Your Potted Hydrangea Looks Limp and Worn Out — Here’s the Quick Move That Perks It Right Back Up

Why Your Peace Lily Leaves Are Turning Black at the Tips and Edges – and How to Diagnose the Problem

Your Hydrangea Looks Tired and Droopy This Fall — Here’s the Simple Recovery Move It’s Been Waiting For

The Worst Time to Water Your Garden Is Wasting Half of Every Drop — Here’s When to Do It Right

Your Fall Cauliflower Heads Turn Loose and Ricey Instead of Tight and White — Here’s the Heat Slip Behind It

Crabgrass Keeps Taking Over Your Lawn Because of One Condition Underneath — Here’s How to Stop It for Good

These 8 Easy Perennials Fill Your Beds With Color and Barely Ask for Any Work

Your Hummingbirds Suddenly Stopped Visiting This Fall — Here’s the Feeder Change Driving Them Off

Your Christmas Cactus Isn’t Dying – Here’s the Recovery Routine That Loads It With Holiday Blooms

Your Hummingbird Feeder Sugar Water Is Driving Birds Off — Here’s What to Fill It With Instead

Your Clematis Barely Bloomed This Year – Take These Semi-Ripe Cuttings Now and You May Have New Vines to Pot by Spring

Your Fig Tree Puts Out Leafy Branches but Barely Sets Fruit — Here’s the Fall Pruning Cut That Fixes It

If Weeds Keep Filling the Shady Ground Under Your Trees, This Flowering Cover Blankets It Beautifully

Your Fall Swiss Chard Leaves Get Chewed to Lace Overnight – Here’s the Slug Trail Behind It

Your Fall Kohlrabi Grows a Woody, Cracked Bulb Instead of a Crisp One — Here’s the Watering Swing Behind It

Your Kale Leaves Are Curling Under and Getting Sticky as Aphids Pile Up on the Undersides This Fall

Your Fall Mums Fade Fast Because You Planted Them at the Wrong Time — Here’s the Window That Keeps Them Blooming

Zinnias Are Blooming Now but a Powdery White Film Is Creeping Across the Leaves – Here’s What Stops It

Before You Toss That Woody Sage Plant, One Fall Cut Brings It Back Full and Fragrant

Your Amaryllis Bulb Sends Up Leaves but Never a Flower Stalk Indoors — Here’s the Rest It’s Missing

Overseeding Your Fall Lawn but the Grass Seed Just Won’t Sprout — Here’s the Planting Slip Behind It

Green Slime Keeps Coming Back on Your Porch and Patio Every Season — Here’s the Cheap Fix That Clears It

Your Houseplant Leaves Are Turning Purple This Fall – Here’s the One Cause Behind It and How to Reverse It

Digging Up Your Fall Radishes Only to Find Cracked, Split Roots Instead of Smooth Ones? Here’s Why

Warning Signs Snakes May Have Passed Through Your Yard – What to Look For Before You Ever See One

Yellow Jackets Are Swarming Your Grape Harvest and Feasting Before You Can Pick — Here’s How to Drive Them Off

Your Fall Carrots Split Down the Middle Right as You Pull Them — Here’s the Watering Swing Behind It

Your Fall Carrots Come Up Forked and Twisted Instead of Long and Straight – Here’s the Soil Slip Behind It

Your Fall Broccoli Forms Tiny Buttons Instead of One Big Head – Here’s the Cold-Shock Slip Behind It

Your Fall Onion Sets Sprout Green Tops but Never Bulb Up Underneath — Here’s the Spacing Slip Behind It

Feeding Your Fall Peppers the Wrong Thing Now Gives You Big Leaves and Almost No Fruit

Your ZZ Plant Grows Tall and Leggy Instead of Full and Bushy — Here’s the One Change That Fixes It

Your Fall Cabbage Heads Split Wide Open Right Before You Cut Them — Here’s the Watering Swing Behind It

Store Your Fall Sweet Potato Harvest Wrong and It Rots in Weeks — Here’s the Curing Step Everyone Skips

Gravel Weeds Keep Pushing Through Your Path No Matter How Often You Pull Them — Here’s How to Stop Them at the Root

Your Christmas Cactus Quietly Stalls Through Summer Because of One Care Habit — Here’s the Fix Before the Holidays

Your Clematis Grew Tall but Barely Bloomed – Here Is the Fall Diagnostic Move That Can Help Next Season

Your Fall Lettuce Turns Bitter and Shoots Up a Tall Stalk Before You Can Harvest – Here’s the Heat Slip Behind It

Take Late-Season Cuttings From Bedding Geraniums for More Plants Next Season

Your Hydrangea Blooms Are Browning at the Edges This Fall – Here’s the Cause and How to Stop It

Your Hostas Turn Yellow and Fade as Fall Sets In — Here’s the One Cause Behind It and How to Reverse It

These 8 Houseplants Quietly Cause Problems Indoors – Here’s Why to Keep Them Outside

Woody Lavender Doesn’t Mean the Plant Is Dead — Here’s the Cut That Brings It Back

That Woody, Sprawling Rosemary Bush Still Bounces Back if You Cut It This One Way

Overwintering Rosemary Indoors Kills It Fast Unless You Move It Before the First Frost

Your Geraniums Are Quietly Telling You It’s Time to Deadhead — Here’s the Sign That Wakes Up More Fall Blooms

Coneflowers Never Reach Full Size Because of Where You Planted Them – Here’s the Spot They Actually Thrive In

Your Fall Raised Beds Grow Weak Crops Because the Soil Is Missing These Three Ingredients

Your Potted Lavender Turns Woody and Stops Blooming – Here’s a Common Fall Care Slip Behind It