Gardening Tips Archives - Page 3 of 24

Gardening Tips

What It Really Means When the Crickets Go Silent in Your North Carolina Yard at Night

Most North Carolina homeowners know the sound well: a warm evening chorus of crickets rising from the lawn,…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 20

Gardening Tips

Your Hydrangeas Suddenly Quit Blooming – Here’s the One Care Move Quietly Shutting Them Down

Few things are more puzzling than a hydrangea full of healthy green leaves that refuses to put out…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 20

Gardening Tips

The One Thing North Carolina Hydrangeas Need Before September or They Skip Next Spring’s Blooms

Hydrangeas are one of the most beloved flowering shrubs in North Carolina yards, but a common pruning mistake…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 20

Gardening Tips

If Your Cucumber Vines Grow Fast but the Fruit Turns Bitter Right at Harvest, Here’s the Watering Slip Behind It

You planted cucumbers, the vines took off like they owned the garden, and then you bit into the…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 19

Gardening Tips

Your Hydrangeas Wilt Worse After You Water Them — Here’s the One Timing Mistake Behind It

Watching your hydrangeas droop in the afternoon heat is genuinely alarming, especially right after you’ve watered them. Many…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 19

Gardening Tips

The One Thing North Carolina Fig Trees Need Now to Set a Full Second Flush of Fruit Before Fall

Fig trees in North Carolina can produce a generous late-season crop, but hot, dry August weather puts developing…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 19

Gardening Tips

Your Roses Wilt and Fade in the Summer Heat – Here’s the Watering Rhythm That Firms Them Back Up

Walking out on a July morning to find your roses drooping and pale is a gut-punch for any…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 19

Gardening Tips

If Your Petunias Fizzle Out by Late Summer, One of These 9 Small Slips Is Usually Behind It

Petunias start the season looking amazing, then somewhere around July or August they turn leggy, stop blooming, and…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 19

Gardening Tips

What North Carolina Homeowners Should Actually Do the Moment a Fox Starts Crossing the Yard

Spotting a fox trotting across your yard can stop you in your tracks, especially when kids or pets…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 19

Gardening Tips

Your Hydrangeas Grow Lush Leaves but Skip the Flowers – Here’s the Pruning Timing Slip Behind It

Plenty of Southern gardeners have stood in front of a hydrangea that looks perfectly healthy, full of deep…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 19

Gardening Tips

Why North Carolina Gardeners Should Leave the Healthy Eastern Box Turtle in Their Garden Beds Right Where It Is

Pull back a clump of daylilies or shift a bag of mulch in a North Carolina yard and…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 19

Gardening Tips

Your Geraniums Bloom Thin and Sparse – Here’s the One Adjustment That Fills Them With Color Again

Plenty of geraniums grow lush and leafy all season long but refuse to put out more than a…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 19

Gardening Tips

Your Hydrangeas Wilt and Flop in the Afternoon Heat – Here’s the Watering Rhythm That Firms Them Back Up

Watching your hydrangeas collapse into a limp heap on a hot summer afternoon is genuinely alarming, especially when…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 19

Gardening Tips

Your Christmas Cactus Fades Pale and Weak by Late Summer – Here’s the August Reset That Wakes It Back Up

By late summer, a holiday cactus that looked lush in spring can start looking washed out, limp, or…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 19

Gardening Tips

Your Christmas Cactus Segments Go Soft and Limp – Here’s the Root-Zone Problem Often Behind It When the Soil Stays Wet

Few things are more unsettling than watching your Christmas cactus slowly go limp when it looked perfectly fine…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 19

Gardening Tips

Your Zucchini Flowers but the Fruit Rots at the Tip in the Heat – Here’s the Watering Slip Behind It

Zucchini can go from blooming beautifully to showing dark, rotting tips almost overnight during a Southern summer. That…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 19

Gardening Tips

Your Hydrangeas Bloom Sparse and Small – Here’s the Feeding Change That Pushes Stronger Flowers

Hydrangeas are one of the most rewarding shrubs you can grow, right up until the summer they give…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 19

Gardening Tips

Your Hollyhocks Grow Tall and Leafy but the Blooms Never Come – Here’s the Basic You’re Missing

Staring at a row of towering hollyhocks that refuse to flower is one of gardening’s most frustrating puzzles.…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 19

Gardening Tips

Your Petunias Fry in the Hottest Spots – Here Are 9 Heat-Loving Flowers That Thrive There Instead

If your petunias turn crispy and sad every time the summer sun blasts your yard, you are not…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 19

Gardening Tips

Your Hydrangeas Keep Disappointing You — Here Are 9 Easier Flowering Shrubs to Plant Instead

Hydrangeas look amazing on garden magazine covers, but they can be fussy about heat, water, and soil, especially…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 19

Gardening Tips

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native Vine That Buries an Ugly Retaining Wall While Feeding Fall Butterflies

Retaining walls are practical, but most homeowners would rather not stare at a bare concrete or block face…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 19

Gardening Tips

Those White Mushrooms Popping Up in Your Lawn Are Telling You Something About the Soil Below

Stepping outside after a summer rain in Florida or Texas and finding a cluster of white mushrooms dotting…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 19

Gardening Tips

The One Thing North Carolina Crape Myrtles Need Now or You Lose Half of Next Summer’s Blooms

Crape myrtles are one of the most reliable bloomers in North Carolina yards, but August can bring confusing…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 19

Gardening Tips

26 Perennials Deer and Rabbits Refuse to Touch — Line Your Beds With These Where They Keep Grazing

If deer and rabbits keep treating your flower beds like an all-you-can-eat buffet, you are not alone. The…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 18

Gardening Tips

If Your Fall Tomato Plants Grow Tall and Leafy but Refuse To Flower in the Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Something feels off when your tomato plants look lush, green, and full of energy but refuse to produce…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 18

Gardening Tips

Sourwood: The Overlooked North Carolina Native Tree That Delivers Valuable Midsummer Nectar for Pollinators

Most North Carolina homeowners drive past sourwood trees every summer without giving them a second look, but bees…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 18

Gardening Tips

If Your Fall Tomatoes Split Right at the Shoulder After a Late-Summer Watering, Here Is Why

Picking a ripe tomato and finding a deep ring cracked around the stem end is one of the…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 18

Gardening Tips

If Your Fall Squash Plants Wilt Suddenly Overnight Even With Wet Soil in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Few things are more alarming than walking out to your garden on a hot August morning and finding…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 18

Gardening Tips

If Your Fall Cucumber Vines Flower Heavily but Set No Fruit in the Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

You step outside on a sweltering August morning, and your cucumber vines are absolutely loaded with yellow blossoms…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 18

Gardening Tips

What North Carolina Gardeners Do To Fix Blueberry Bushes That Barely Fruit In Backyard Beds

Blueberry bushes that flower every spring but barely produce fruit are one of the most frustrating problems in…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 18

Gardening Tips

If Your Fall Cucumber Seedlings Yellow and Stall Right After Sprouting in Warm Late-Summer Soil, Here Is Why

Planting a second cucumber crop in late summer is one of the smartest moves a Southern gardener can…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 18

Gardening Tips

If Your Pepper Plants Grow Lush and Leafy but Set No Fruit in the Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

A pepper plant covered in glossy leaves and dotted with open flowers looks like it should be loaded…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 18

Gardening Tips

What North Carolina Gardeners Do To Get Panicle Hydrangeas That Put On A Real Show Well Into Fall

Panicle hydrangeas are one of the most reliable flowering shrubs in North Carolina yards, putting on a show…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 18

Gardening Tips

If Your Fall Carrot Roots Come Up Forked and Stunted in the Warm Late-Summer Soil, Here Is Why

Pulling up a carrot and finding a twisted, forked, or stubby root instead of a smooth, straight one…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 18

Gardening Tips

If Your Fall Broccoli Plants Button Into Tiny Heads Before They Size Up in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Planting fall broccoli in the South means racing against the calendar, and nothing is more discouraging than watching…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 18

Gardening Tips

If Your Fall Cauliflower Plants Sit Stunted and Turn Purple Before Heading Up in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Fall cauliflower is one of the trickier crops to time well in the South, and watching a transplant…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 18

Gardening Tips

The Invasive Tree Quietly Spreading Spotted Lanternfly Through North Carolina Yards Right Now

A fast-growing invasive tree called tree-of-heaven is already rooted in many North Carolina yards, and right now it…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 18

Gardening Tips

If Your Fall Cabbage Heads Refuse To Form Tight Cores in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

You transplanted your fall cabbage in late August, watered it faithfully, and watched it push out leaf after…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 18

Gardening Tips

What It Really Means When You Keep Finding Box Turtles Near Your North Carolina Garden Beds

Spotting a box turtle near your garden beds once might feel like a lucky surprise, but finding one…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 18

Gardening Tips

If Your Fall Pepper Plants Drop Their Blossoms Before Any Fruit Sets in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Watching flower after flower fall from your pepper plants without a single fruit forming is one of the…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 18

Gardening Tips

If Your Fall Radish Roots Split and Turn Woody Before You Can Pull Them in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Pulling a radish from the garden only to find it cracked open or tough as a stick is…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 18

Gardening Tips

What It Really Means When Carpenter Bees Start Drilling Into Your North Carolina Porch This Summer

Walk out to your porch on a warm North Carolina morning and you might spot a fat, shiny…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 18

Gardening Tips

If Your Cucumber Leaves Turn Silvery and Speckled in the Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Walking out to your cucumber vines on a scorching August afternoon and finding the leaves looking washed-out, speckled,…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 18

Gardening Tips

If Your Fall Bush Beans Drop Their Blossoms Before Any Pods Set in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Walking out to your bean patch and finding shriveled flowers on the ground instead of tiny pods forming…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 17

Gardening Tips

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native Shrub That Fills the Wooded Edge When Everything Else Fades in Fall

Most North Carolina property lines and fence rows look pretty forgettable by October, once summer color has faded…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 17

Gardening Tips

If Your Zucchini Sets Tiny Fruit That Rots at the Tip in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Watching a baby zucchini shrivel and brown at the tip before it ever gets going is one of…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 17

Gardening Tips

If Your Fall Beet Seeds Come Up Thin and Leggy in the Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

You sowed beet seeds in late summer, watered faithfully, and waited – only to find a row of…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 17

Gardening Tips

If Your Fall Spinach Seeds Refuse To Sprout in the Warm Late-Summer Soil, Here Is Why

Planting spinach for a fall harvest sounds straightforward until the seeds simply sit in the ground and nothing…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 17

Gardening Tips

If Your Potted Tomatoes Stay Small and Weak in the Fading Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Your potted tomato has been sitting in the same container all summer, and something just feels off –…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 17

Gardening Tips

Your Nectar Feeder Empties Fast but the Hummingbirds Skip It – Here Are 12 Better Mixes and 6 to Never Pour In

What It Really Means When the Crickets Go Silent in Your North Carolina Yard at Night

Your Hydrangeas Suddenly Quit Blooming – Here’s the One Care Move Quietly Shutting Them Down

The One Thing North Carolina Hydrangeas Need Before September or They Skip Next Spring’s Blooms

If Your Cucumber Vines Grow Fast but the Fruit Turns Bitter Right at Harvest, Here’s the Watering Slip Behind It

Your Hydrangeas Wilt Worse After You Water Them — Here’s the One Timing Mistake Behind It

The One Thing North Carolina Fig Trees Need Now to Set a Full Second Flush of Fruit Before Fall

Your Roses Wilt and Fade in the Summer Heat – Here’s the Watering Rhythm That Firms Them Back Up

If Your Petunias Fizzle Out by Late Summer, One of These 9 Small Slips Is Usually Behind It

What North Carolina Homeowners Should Actually Do the Moment a Fox Starts Crossing the Yard

Your Hydrangeas Grow Lush Leaves but Skip the Flowers – Here’s the Pruning Timing Slip Behind It

Why North Carolina Gardeners Should Leave the Healthy Eastern Box Turtle in Their Garden Beds Right Where It Is

Your Geraniums Bloom Thin and Sparse – Here’s the One Adjustment That Fills Them With Color Again

Your Hydrangeas Wilt and Flop in the Afternoon Heat – Here’s the Watering Rhythm That Firms Them Back Up

Your Christmas Cactus Fades Pale and Weak by Late Summer – Here’s the August Reset That Wakes It Back Up

Your Christmas Cactus Segments Go Soft and Limp – Here’s the Root-Zone Problem Often Behind It When the Soil Stays Wet

Your Zucchini Flowers but the Fruit Rots at the Tip in the Heat – Here’s the Watering Slip Behind It

Your Hydrangeas Bloom Sparse and Small – Here’s the Feeding Change That Pushes Stronger Flowers

Your Hollyhocks Grow Tall and Leafy but the Blooms Never Come – Here’s the Basic You’re Missing

Your Petunias Fry in the Hottest Spots – Here Are 9 Heat-Loving Flowers That Thrive There Instead

Your Hydrangeas Keep Disappointing You — Here Are 9 Easier Flowering Shrubs to Plant Instead

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native Vine That Buries an Ugly Retaining Wall While Feeding Fall Butterflies

Those White Mushrooms Popping Up in Your Lawn Are Telling You Something About the Soil Below

The One Thing North Carolina Crape Myrtles Need Now or You Lose Half of Next Summer’s Blooms

26 Perennials Deer and Rabbits Refuse to Touch — Line Your Beds With These Where They Keep Grazing

If Your Fall Tomato Plants Grow Tall and Leafy but Refuse To Flower in the Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Sourwood: The Overlooked North Carolina Native Tree That Delivers Valuable Midsummer Nectar for Pollinators

If Your Fall Tomatoes Split Right at the Shoulder After a Late-Summer Watering, Here Is Why

If Your Fall Squash Plants Wilt Suddenly Overnight Even With Wet Soil in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Fall Cucumber Vines Flower Heavily but Set No Fruit in the Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

What North Carolina Gardeners Do To Fix Blueberry Bushes That Barely Fruit In Backyard Beds

If Your Fall Cucumber Seedlings Yellow and Stall Right After Sprouting in Warm Late-Summer Soil, Here Is Why

If Your Pepper Plants Grow Lush and Leafy but Set No Fruit in the Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

What North Carolina Gardeners Do To Get Panicle Hydrangeas That Put On A Real Show Well Into Fall

If Your Fall Carrot Roots Come Up Forked and Stunted in the Warm Late-Summer Soil, Here Is Why

If Your Fall Broccoli Plants Button Into Tiny Heads Before They Size Up in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Fall Cauliflower Plants Sit Stunted and Turn Purple Before Heading Up in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

The Invasive Tree Quietly Spreading Spotted Lanternfly Through North Carolina Yards Right Now

If Your Fall Cabbage Heads Refuse To Form Tight Cores in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

What It Really Means When You Keep Finding Box Turtles Near Your North Carolina Garden Beds

If Your Fall Pepper Plants Drop Their Blossoms Before Any Fruit Sets in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Fall Radish Roots Split and Turn Woody Before You Can Pull Them in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

What It Really Means When Carpenter Bees Start Drilling Into Your North Carolina Porch This Summer

If Your Cucumber Leaves Turn Silvery and Speckled in the Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Fall Bush Beans Drop Their Blossoms Before Any Pods Set in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native Shrub That Fills the Wooded Edge When Everything Else Fades in Fall

If Your Zucchini Sets Tiny Fruit That Rots at the Tip in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Fall Beet Seeds Come Up Thin and Leggy in the Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Fall Spinach Seeds Refuse To Sprout in the Warm Late-Summer Soil, Here Is Why

If Your Potted Tomatoes Stay Small and Weak in the Fading Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why