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Hort in the Home Landscape 2014

Home Hydroponic Systems

This summer I've been trying out some various hydroponic setups that one could utilize in their own home or in the classroom. I initially started the project to show teachers in the hopes that they could implement a system in their classrooms. I showed these setups at the local Summer Ag Institute...
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POTW: Bearded Iris

Plant of the Week The irises are blooming beautifully in my garden and it seems in everyone else's gardens right now! The Bearded Iris (Iris x hybrida) is looking particularly great. According to the American Iris Society, iris can be classified into...
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Forcing Amaryllis for the Holidays

I'm a big fan of flowering bulbs of all kinds, especially when I'm able to force those bulbs indoors. Forcing is a technique that imitates the environmental conditions that bulbs encounter outdoors, thereby tricking them into flowering earlier. So essentially, you can bring the...
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Fall Master Gardener Training Offered in Ogle County!

University of Illinois Extension is pleased to announce that Master Gardener Training will be held in Ogle County on Fridays beginning September 5 to November 21. This will be the first time that training will be offered in the fall instead of the spring! The trainings will be held from 9:00 am to...
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Going Beyond Impatiens for the Shade

Have you noticed less Garden Impatiens (Impatiens walleriana), being sold in local garden centers this year? If so, this is due to a recent disease outbreak on impatiens called Downy Mildew of Impatiens (Plasmopara obducens). In 2011, the U of I Plant Clinic began receiving...
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POTW: Elderberry

Plant of the Week! This week you can see Elderberry blooming along roadsides and in gardens everywhere. The most familiar of the Elderberry's is American Elder or Elderberry, Sambucus canadensis. This particular elderberry looked beautiful along the water...
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Decorating Windowboxes for the Winter

During the spring, summer, and fall my windowboxes are filled with beautiful blooming and foliage plants, but once frost hits, I pull all those plants out and my windowboxes are left bare. Very dull and boring. To make these windowboxes usable year-round, I add some winter interest to the boxes...
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Aster Yellow on Purple Coneflowers

If you're a lover of coneflowers (Echinacea sp.), then this is your time of year. The coneflowers are blooming beautifully in many gardens across Northern Illinois. Some gardeners have made note though, that their purple coneflowers in particular are looking a little peculiar this season...
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POTW: Perennial Hibiscus

Plant of the Week! This week I'm featuring the Perennial or Hardy Hibiscus (Hibiscus mosheutos). Many gardeners are familiar with the tropical hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) that many of us grow as houseplants in the winter and set outside for...
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Fireblight on Pears Common This Year

We've gotten many calls and samples concerning fire blight this season, and the same goes for our plant clinic on campus in Champaign-Urbana according to their recent report. The majority of the samples submitted to the plant clinic identified fire blight on pear trees and ornamental pear trees....
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Are Ants Really Required to Help Open Peony Buds?

As gardeners I'm sure many have heard the folk tale that ants are needed to help open up the buds on your peonies. I've always heard this as well, but logically, never believed that to be true. In my head I just always pictured muscled up ants prying open the peony buds. Not very likely. Well...
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POTW: Bridalwreath Spirea

Plant of the week is back! This week I'm featuring the Bridalwreath Spirea (Spiraea prunifolia or Spiraea vanhouttei). You may have noticed it's lovely white flowers blooming now. Bridalwreath spirea has clusters of white, double flowers in mid to late...
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POTW: Swiss Chard

Plant of the Week! This week's plant is not only an ornamental, but it's also edible. Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla) will produce fresh white, orange, yellow, pink, or red leaf stalks making it a colorful addition to the vegetable garden, as...
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Getting Your Home Greenhouse Ready For Winter

Winter can be a tough time for greenhouses. Even if you're not growing anything in your greenhouse for the winter, there is still care to be take to protect your structure from heavy snow loads this time of year. In a recent article in the...
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POTW: Cardoon

Plant of the Week! This week's plant is an unusual one that you don't see planted too often. The Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) is a perennial, hardy to zone 7, which is closely related to globe artichoke. I've seen this unique vegetable growing in various...
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Inspect Those Bargain Plants

Buying bargain plants at the garden center can be very tempting, but before buying that marked down plant, it's important to give it a good inspection. Usually when a plant is marked down it's either because it is towards the end of the season for that plant, or it's because there is a problem...
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POTW: Trumpet Honeysuckle

Plant of the week! This week's featured plant is Trumpet Honeysuckle(Lonicera sempervirens).This vine is blooming beautifully in my garden right now. Honeysuckles get a bad rap because of their very invasive cousins the Exotic Honeysuckles (...
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Herbal Gifts from Your Garden

Were you able to dry some of the herbs or flowers you grew in your garden this summer? If so, there are a multitude of easy gifts you can make for the holiday season using those herbs. And if you're not an herb grower, don't worry, they're just as easy to purchase at the grocery store! We made the...
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POTW: Bottlebrush Buckeye

Plant of the Week! On a tour of the Illinois Executive Mansion in Springfield this week, it was hard not to notice the beautiful Bottlebrush Buckeyes (Aesculus parviflora) blooming! The bottlebrush buckeye is a multi-stemmed, suckering shrub that suckers...
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