In a single acre of earth, you may find thousands of insect species and many millions of individual insects. Not surprising really; insects are by far the predominant group of animals on the planet. More than a million species have been identified, more than all other animal species combined. Insects rule terra firma but not the [...]
Indeed the bright cheery image of poinsettias has become an integral part of the holiday season for most Americans. Native to Mexico, Euphorbia pulcherrima, commonly called poinsettia, is a succulent and needs plenty of strong light to flourish. In production, 6000 foot-candles are needed to grow a strong plant. To help you select a quality poinsettia, [...]
It's that time of year again... when fungus gnat populations are on the rise. If you have a plant in an account with fungus gnats, put it on a water starvation diet. I can't stress enough how important this step is to eliminating gnats. Gnats breed in moist conditions. If you eliminate the ideal environment for [...]
No sooner is summer over, than we need to begin to think of the holidays. In our world of interiorscaping that's just how it goes. Our busy times begin before Thanksgiving and don't let up until after the last poinsettias are replaced and the decorations put away. We don't have time for a break until usually [...]
Africa, being the second largest continent is the home to many of our plant friends. It's land mass covers one-fifth of the world's land surface, with the equator bisecting the continent at almost exactly midpoint. Its geographical location and its enormity make it a vast wonderland for plants. With 22,469 miles of coastline, the world's largest [...]
From a tropical plant's point of view, winter is just an all-around bad thing. It is cold, far beyond what a tropical plant prefers. It is dark for too long within each twenty-four hour day. The heated indoor air is too dry, lacking needed humidity for proper growth. And, the air is stagnant, there are no [...]
Whoa, let's take it one holiday at a time, shall we? Enjoying each month and its special holiday season is very important to me. 1 particularly enjoy adding 'harvest' accents to the planters in November knowing that immediately after Thanksgiving, the look and ambience will drastically change. Our clients want to enjoy each holiday individually as [...]
An old myth that re-surfaces every year at this time is that poinsettias are poisonous. You will undoubtedly be asked, at least once, about this old wives tale. Here's the truth straight from the experts at Paul Ecke Ranch; "The widespread tradition that poinsettias are poisonous is a misconception." An extensive study was done by [...]
After detecting an infestation and correctly identifying the pest follow a pest control plan using I PM strategies that are the least harmful to the applicator, the target plant and the surrounding environment. The following 10-step approach is designed to implement pest control measures according to their relative toxicity levels. Cultural/Physical Controls Whenever possible, start with [...]
Chamaedorea Falcifera Plants that have weak, leggy growth or sparsely spaced leaves produce new vigorous growth if cut back hard to a healthy bud or leaf node. (This means that cut back that tall thin Chamaedorea and it will push up new growth from the base. This also means you should cut back those [...]
