Gardening Tips Archives - Complete Gardening

Gardening Tips

Never Plant These Near Your Tomatoes or You’ll Watch the Harvest Quietly Shrink

Tomatoes are the star of most Southern summer gardens, but they can be surprisingly picky about who lives…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 17

Gardening Tips

Box Turtles in North Carolina Return to the Same Yard for Decades, So Moving One Can Cost It Everything

Eastern box turtles are a familiar sight in North Carolina yards, and most people who spot one want…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 17

Gardening Tips

Deer Are Stripping Your Fall Shrubs Bare as the Forage Runs Out – Here’s What Actually Keeps Them Off

Walk outside on a cool October morning and you might find your favorite azalea or viburnum chewed down…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 17

Gardening Tips

Your Fall Spinach Turns Pale and Leggy Instead of Dark and Leafy — Here’s the Light Slip Behind It

Fall spinach should come in thick, dark, and low to the ground, so pale leaves and spindly stems…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 17

Gardening Tips

A Fall Nest Box Can Give Eastern Screech-Owls a Possible Winter Shelter or Future Nesting Site in North Carolina

Eastern Screech-Owls are small, year-round North Carolina residents that hunt at night and nest inside tree cavities. Putting…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 17

Gardening Tips

Your Geraniums Are Slowing Down Before Frost – Here’s the Feeding Move That May Help

When your porch geraniums stop pushing out new blooms as fall approaches, it’s easy to assume something is…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 17

Gardening Tips

Your Hydrangeas Grew Full and Leafy but Refused to Bloom – Here’s the Pruning Cut Behind It

Few gardening frustrations match a hydrangea that pushes out a thick flush of leaves every spring but never…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 17

Gardening Tips

Copperheads May Be Found Around North Carolina Mulch, Wood Piles, and Yard Debris During Suitable Fall Conditions – Here’s How to Spot the Warning Signs

On a mild October afternoon in North Carolina, a copperhead might be the last thing on your mind…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 17

Gardening Tips

Your Hydrangeas Wilt by Afternoon Because of One Watering Mistake — Here’s How to Fix It

Watching your hydrangeas droop by midday is genuinely alarming, especially when you are sure you have been watering…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 17

Gardening Tips

What It Really Means When Coyotes Start Howling Near Your North Carolina Yard at Night This Fall

Hearing a coyote howl outside your window on a fall night can stop you cold, especially when it…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 17

Gardening Tips

Your Potted Spider Plant Gets Brown Tips Because of One Watering Habit — Here’s the Balance It Actually Wants

Brown leaf tips on a spider plant are frustrating, especially when you feel like you’re already trying your…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 17

Gardening Tips

Your Christmas Cactus Leaves Are Turning Red – Here’s the One Cause Behind It and Whether to Worry

Spotting red or purple tints creeping across your Christmas cactus can send you straight to Google looking for…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 17

Gardening Tips

Your Spider Plant’s Leaf Tips Turn Brown and Crispy — Here’s the Watering Slip Behind It

Spider plants are tough, cheerful houseplants, but those brown, crispy leaf tips can make even a healthy-looking plant…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 17

Gardening Tips

Your Fall Fig Tree Still Has Time to Ripen a Real Harvest — Here’s the Move That Gets It There

Staring at a tree full of hard green figs as the calendar flips toward fall is one of…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 17

Gardening Tips

Bringing Houseplants Inside for Fall? These Common Ones Sneak Pests and Trouble Indoors With Them

When the nights start cooling down here in the South, it’s tempting to scoop up your favorite potted…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 17

Gardening Tips

Compost Tea for Tomatoes: A Modest Homemade Supplement, Not a Size Guarantee

Every summer, Southern gardeners are on the hunt for that one trick that will turn their backyard vines…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 17

Gardening Tips

Your Hummingbird Feeder Draws Wasps Before the Birds Even Arrive — Here’s the Quick Fix That Sends Them Packing

Hanging a hummingbird feeder should be a reward, not a headache, but bees and wasps can show up…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 17

Gardening Tips

Scatter These Native Seeds Across a Bare North Carolina Slope This Fall for a Wildflower Wall by Spring

That bare slope in your yard, the one that washes out every time it rains, can turn into…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 17

Gardening Tips

Your Hummingbird Feeder Turns Cloudy and May Ferment Within Days – Here’s the Cause Behind It and How to Keep the Nectar Fresh

Hummingbird feeders are a rewarding addition to any Southern backyard, but cloudy nectar can show up faster than…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 17

Gardening Tips

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native That Blankets a Dry Slope Where Store-Bought Plants Just Fry and Die

A sunny, rocky slope in a North Carolina yard can be one of the hardest spots to plant.…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 17

Gardening Tips

Your Hummingbird Feeder Keeps Emptying but the Birds Won’t Come — Here’s the Hidden Thing Scaring Them Off

Refilling a hummingbird feeder every few days feels rewarding until the nectar keeps disappearing and you rarely spot…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 16

Gardening Tips

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

Fall cilantro is one of the most rewarding cool-season herbs a Southern gardener can grow, right up until…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 16

Gardening Tips

Bluebirds Stick Around North Carolina Yards All Winter When You Give Them This One Thing Now

Eastern Bluebirds are one of North Carolina’s most beloved backyard visitors, and many homeowners are surprised to learn…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 16

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

Beautyberry Feeds North Carolina Songbirds Into Winter While Everyone Else Rips It Out as a Weed

A shrub covered in bright purple berries might be the most underappreciated plant in a North Carolina yard.…

By Jasmine Hughes · 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

Green Anoles Are Crowding North Carolina Porch Containers This Fall, and Here’s the Hidden Buffet Drawing Them In

If you have noticed small lizards perching on your potted plants or darting along porch railings lately, you…

By Jasmine Hughes · 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

Box Turtles Lay Their Eggs in North Carolina Garden Beds This Fall, and Here’s Where to Watch Your Shovel

Fall is a great time to divide perennials and renovate garden beds, but it comes with a small…

By Jasmine Hughes · 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

Spotted Lanternfly Nymphs Cluster on This Named North Carolina Tree Before Anything Else in the Yard

A weedy tree growing along your fence line or the edge of your driveway might be the first…

By Jasmine Hughes · 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

Spotted Lanternfly Egg Masses Are Sticking to North Carolina Tree Bark Now, and Scraping Them Off This Fall Stops Next Year’s Swarm

Spotted lanternfly egg masses are showing up on tree bark, fences, and outdoor gear across parts of North…

By Jasmine Hughes · 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

Spotted Lanternfly Adults Are on North Carolina Grapevines This September – How to Reduce Local Pressure Now

Something colorful and unwelcome may be clinging to your backyard grapevines right now, and it is not a…

By Jasmine Hughes · 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

Skip Leyland Cypress Along Your North Carolina Property Line and Plant This Native Screen That Won’t Blight and Die

Rows of Leyland cypress once promised fast, thick privacy along North Carolina property lines, but many of those…

By Jasmine Hughes · 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 Hydrangea Blooms Faded to Dull Green Instead of Staying Vivid – Here’s the One Cause Behind It

Never Plant These Near Your Tomatoes or You’ll Watch the Harvest Quietly Shrink

Box Turtles in North Carolina Return to the Same Yard for Decades, So Moving One Can Cost It Everything

Deer Are Stripping Your Fall Shrubs Bare as the Forage Runs Out – Here’s What Actually Keeps Them Off

Your Fall Spinach Turns Pale and Leggy Instead of Dark and Leafy — Here’s the Light Slip Behind It

A Fall Nest Box Can Give Eastern Screech-Owls a Possible Winter Shelter or Future Nesting Site in North Carolina

Your Geraniums Are Slowing Down Before Frost – Here’s the Feeding Move That May Help

Your Hydrangeas Grew Full and Leafy but Refused to Bloom – Here’s the Pruning Cut Behind It

Copperheads May Be Found Around North Carolina Mulch, Wood Piles, and Yard Debris During Suitable Fall Conditions – Here’s How to Spot the Warning Signs

Your Hydrangeas Wilt by Afternoon Because of One Watering Mistake — Here’s How to Fix It

What It Really Means When Coyotes Start Howling Near Your North Carolina Yard at Night This Fall

Your Potted Spider Plant Gets Brown Tips Because of One Watering Habit — Here’s the Balance It Actually Wants

Your Christmas Cactus Leaves Are Turning Red – Here’s the One Cause Behind It and Whether to Worry

Your Spider Plant’s Leaf Tips Turn Brown and Crispy — Here’s the Watering Slip Behind It

Your Fall Fig Tree Still Has Time to Ripen a Real Harvest — Here’s the Move That Gets It There

Bringing Houseplants Inside for Fall? These Common Ones Sneak Pests and Trouble Indoors With Them

Compost Tea for Tomatoes: A Modest Homemade Supplement, Not a Size Guarantee

Your Hummingbird Feeder Draws Wasps Before the Birds Even Arrive — Here’s the Quick Fix That Sends Them Packing

Scatter These Native Seeds Across a Bare North Carolina Slope This Fall for a Wildflower Wall by Spring

Your Hummingbird Feeder Turns Cloudy and May Ferment Within Days – Here’s the Cause Behind It and How to Keep the Nectar Fresh

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native That Blankets a Dry Slope Where Store-Bought Plants Just Fry and Die

Your Hummingbird Feeder Keeps Emptying but the Birds Won’t Come — Here’s the Hidden Thing Scaring Them Off

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

Bluebirds Stick Around North Carolina Yards All Winter When You Give Them This One Thing Now

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

Beautyberry Feeds North Carolina Songbirds Into Winter While Everyone Else Rips It Out as a Weed

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

Green Anoles Are Crowding North Carolina Porch Containers This Fall, and Here’s the Hidden Buffet Drawing Them In

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

Box Turtles Lay Their Eggs in North Carolina Garden Beds This Fall, and Here’s Where to Watch Your Shovel

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

Spotted Lanternfly Nymphs Cluster on This Named North Carolina Tree Before Anything Else in the Yard

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

Spotted Lanternfly Egg Masses Are Sticking to North Carolina Tree Bark Now, and Scraping Them Off This Fall Stops Next Year’s Swarm

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

Spotted Lanternfly Adults Are on North Carolina Grapevines This September – How to Reduce Local Pressure Now

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

Skip Leyland Cypress Along Your North Carolina Property Line and Plant This Native Screen That Won’t Blight and Die

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