Do you love your roses, but hate seeing the diseases that can hurt them? I love making flower arrangements for myself and my friends throughout the summer and fall. I love all the different colors and varieties. But I hate diseases that threaten my lovely rose bushes! I hope the following information about Idaho’s 3 most common fungal rose diseases will help you to better understand how to keep your roses healthy.  Rust The symptoms of this fungal disease are small orange blisters on the underside of leaves. A small amount will not cause a lot of damage to the rose, but the spores can ..read more

The very mention of the name sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) summons romance and the memories made in your grandmother’s flower garden. Vintage in appearance and highly scented in smell, sweet peas are one of the easiest and most productive annual flowers to grow. Preferring and conducive to cooler temperatures, this nostalgic favorite can be directly sown into soil as soon as ground can be worked. They prefer a deep, rich, preferably loamy sand soil (with ample amounts of compost), and good drainage. It will speed up germination if you soak your seeds in warm water for a few hours before pl ..read more

Houseplants make wonderful outdoor plants in pots, planters, and any other container. They are interestingly eye-catching and are a great addition to shaded areas. Houseplants have quite a variety of foliage with many different shapes and sizes. Some are spiky, some are mounding, and some are trailing. Some have leaf color and flowers which gives contrast to container arrangements. Propagation Many houseplants are easy to propagate by cuttings. Take a cutting and put it in a mix of perlite and peat moss. Supply bottom heat if possible and never let it dry out. You will know it is rooted when i ..read more

Have you given up some of your gardening time due to arthritis, injury or mobility issues? There are adaptive tools that will allow you to continue your hobby with less pain and difficulty with grip strength and movement. Tools can be purchased or created that have longer handles, larger grips and supportive cuffs. Long handles allow gardeners to reach further from a seated position or into a flower bed. Using a child-size rake in this case may be the better option due to lighter weight of the tool. Hand trowels can also be adapted to have long handles. Shovels can be adapted to have large ..read more

Signs of spring are all around and the patch of dirt you put to bed last fall is ready to plant! Many people assume that planting seeds are the most important part of gardening, but proper watering is a crucial element. Keeping your plants hydrated may not seem like a big hurdle in May, but without a good plan in place, you’ll be very frustrated by mid-July. It turns out, there are a few different ways you can effectively keep your garden watered. Let’s summarize 3 basic methods for watering and analyze the pros and cons for each. Overhead Sprinkler Probably the simplest ..read more

I have a very long strip of landscaping area between my lawn and the cul-de-sac, with six different types of plants growing (see photos below). I want to propagate those plants to make many more and fill in the area. In this article I will give the basic principles of propagation used for ground cover plants grown in this area. Crown Division, or Division Division is form of plant propagation where new plants are not grown from seeds or bulbs but are separated from the parent plant. The crown of a plant is where its stem meets the roots. Carefully lift plant clumps along with some soil ..read more

Many creatures (seen and unseen) call Southern Idaho backyards home. For many of us, our introduction to flying yellow and black insects was an unwelcome and painful sting. Through experience and education, we know that some of these flying creatures are more friendly and less aggressive than others.  Identifying the subtle differences between each species is not always intuitive–but important. It’s not as simple as identifying good vs. bad or friend vs. foe. Understanding each species can help us manage a safe and healthy backyard ecosystem.  Bees – While there are 25,000 different ..read more

Raised garden beds are a great choice for anyone who has a small space or wants to control the soil quality. Another good reason for raised garden beds, it is great for all ages, health conditions, and mobility types. We all love healthy grown foods, so with raised gardening beds it is easier to manage and control the quality of the soil to get better yields. Evaluate what your needs are, how much room you have, and how much time you want to commit to your gardening space.     Consider the different designs available and see what appeals to you. You will want to know your bud ..read more

Billbugs are small, snouted beetles that belong to the family Curculionidae and are considered to be major pests to lawns in the Treasure Valley. These pests are known for causing significant damage to turf grass and lawns, leading to unsightly brown patches and reduced aesthetic appeal. In this blog, we will discuss what billbugs are, their impact on turf grass, and how to control them using integrated pest management (IPM) methods. What Are Billbugs?Billbugs are cylindrical beetles that range in size from 3 to 10 millimeters in length, depending upon life stage. As adults, they have a har ..read more

Spring is here! The days are getting warmer and longer. We look out at our lawn coming out of a long winter that has not been fed for a while. Its color is off and we think: if I hit it with lots of water, dump some fertilizer on it that will fix it. But wait… there are a few things to consider about feeding and watering your lawn before you start. When to Fertilize A program that applies fertilizer four times a year, using the holidays of Easter, Memorial Day, Halloween and Thanksgiving as a guide is desirable. An application of a quick release formula, where the nitrogen is quickly availab ..read more