Why your fall-planted onion sets bolt and send up flower stalks before they ever bulb
You planted onion sets in fall, and now a few plants are pushing up a tall, round-topped flower stalk. That stalk is called a bolt,…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 31, 2026
In the Garden
Rake Smart Under Your California Oaks: Some Bumblebee Queens Overwinter in Leaf Litter
John Miller CA · Oct 31
Your potted aloe turns mushy and brown at the base indoors this winter because the pot never drains
Ethan Brooks · Oct 31
Fall peas flowering without pods? Check for frost, heat, water stress, and a row cover
Ethan Brooks · Oct 31
From the Garden
Is your potted lavender sitting in soggy mix this winter? Check the pot’s drainage first
Lavender can look healthy in the fall and still struggle later when the weather turns cool and wet. One reason may be hiding right under…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 31
These 12 Common Houseplants Hide Toxic Sap That Sickens Curious Cats, Dogs and Toddlers
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 31
How North Carolina Mums Get a Better Chance of Returning Next Fall
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 31
Turk’s Cap Can Give Passing Hummingbirds Another Place to Feed in Central Texas
By Ella Brown T · Oct 31
Potted peppers you bring indoors before frost may survive winter, and some might even fruit
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 31
In Bloom
What's thriving right now.
Plant These 7 Florida Natives Now and Your Yard Feeds Robins and Warblers All Winter
By Aria Moore F
Why Orchid Buds Drop Before Opening: Is Watering to Blame?
By Ethan Brooks
8 Florida Natives That Replace Your Boxwood Edging and Never Brown Out After a Cold Snap
By Aria Moore F
Why Your California Lime Tree Keeps Giving You a Handful of Fruit, and the One Change That Fixes It
Plant of the Week
Swap Your Florida Vinyl Fence Line for These 8 Native Shrubs That Never Warp in the Heat
A bright white fence can look tired fast under Florida’s sun, but a living border brings shade, movement, and birds to the same space. Native...
By Aria Moore F · Oct 30, 2026
Read MoreThe Potting Shed
Field Notes
Multiflora Rose in North Carolina: A Potential Host of Rose Rosette Disease
A thorny, arching shrub growing along fence lines and field edges in North Carolina may be more than a nuisance....
By Jasmine Hughes on Oct 30
Your Florida Hibiscus Needs This One Quick Step Before the First Chilly Night Hits
Your hibiscus can be full of flowers one afternoon and facing a sharp temperature drop that night. Florida’s warm fall...
By Aria Moore F on Oct 30
Rosemary Near a California Home: A Plant to Reconsider in Fire Country
Rosemary smells great, feeds the bees, and shrugs off dry summers, so it ends up planted right beside many California...
By John Miller CA on Oct 30
The Meaning Behind a Flock of Cedar Waxwings Dropping Into Your Central Texas Yard
One morning the yard is quiet, and an hour later dozens of sleek, crested birds are lined up in a...
By Ella Brown T on Oct 30
Selective harvesting and covering the planting can extend Swiss chard harvests in suitable winter conditions
Swiss chard often looks finished once the first cool nights arrive, but many plants still have leaves to give. A...
By Ethan Brooks on Oct 30
A quarter-turn may reduce splitting risk for a mature cabbage head that is still intact, but a cracked head needs harvesting
A heavy fall rain can leave cabbage heads cracked wide open, and it often happens just as they are ready...
By Ethan Brooks on Oct 30