Plants Archives - ProGardenTips

Companion planting bed with orange French marigolds, basil, cosmos and zinnias in a raised garden bed

Plants

Companion Plants for Marigolds: What Works and Why

Marigolds have a reputation as the garden’s bodyguard, yet they have their own troubles: spider mites, slugs and powdery mildew. Companion planting means growing different plants

Clipped boxwood hedges and rounded boxwood shrubs along a front walk of an American suburban house

Plants

5 Pros And 5 Cons Of Boxwood Shrubs

Boxwood (Buxus) is a slow-growing broadleaf evergreen with small, glossy, oval leaves and young stems that are square in cross-section. The species most US gardeners meet

Cottontail rabbit on a dewy lawn beside a garden bed of catmint, lavender, lamb's ear and Russian sage

Plants

Rabbit Resistant Plants: 20 That Rabbits Usually Skip

Lavender, catmint, Russian sage, lamb’s ear and daffodils are the easiest rabbit resistant plants to start with, and astilbe, barrenwort, boxwood and yew cover shade and

Lettuce heads in a raised garden bed with sweet alyssum and flowering cilantro behind them

Plants

Companion Plants for Lettuce: What Works and Why

Slugs, aphids and summer heat do most of the damage in a lettuce bed, and companion plants can help with only two of those three. No

Suburban backyard border of native shrubs in red, orange and yellow fall color beside a lawn

Plants

Native Alternatives to Burning Bush: 10 Shrubs With Real Fall Color

The best native alternatives to burning bush are red chokeberry, dwarf fothergilla and Virginia sweetspire. Red chokeberry comes closest to the red, fothergilla fits small yards,

Blue and white hydrangea shrubs in bloom along a fence in an American suburban backyard

Plants

6 Pros And 5 Cons Of Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas range from a mountain hydrangea (Hydrangea serrata) of 2 to 4 feet (0.6 to 1.2 m) to a panicle hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata) that can reach

Rows of fir Christmas trees on a snowy Appalachian farm with a stack of cut trees at a farm stand

Plants

Christmas Trees That Smell Good: 8 Species Ranked by Scent

Balsam fir and Fraser fir give you the classic Christmas tree smell. The Farmers’ Almanac calls balsam fir the most fragrant, and extension sources describe a

Pink and red shrub roses in a mulched backyard bed with blue-violet catmint, white yarrow and purple-flowered chives

Plants

Companion Plants for Roses: What Works and Why

Rose aphids crowd the buds every spring, black spot spreads whenever leaves stay wet, and where Japanese beetles are established they chew the blooms. Companion planting

Tall eastern white pines at the edge of a large backyard lawn in warm late afternoon light

Plants

5 Pros And 5 Cons Of Pine Trees

Pines (genus Pinus) are needled evergreens that range from dwarf mugo pines of 2 to 5 feet (60 to 150 cm) to ponderosa pines of up

Raised bed with carrots, cilantro, green onions, radishes and chives in flower growing together, each with a plant label

Plants

Companion Plants for Carrots: What Works and Why

Carrot rust fly maggots tunnel through the root, leaving rusty channels that invite soft rot, and chemical control is generally unreliable. Companion planting offers a few