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The first thing to look for is the plant’s grade.

Nearly all bare root roses sold today are grown in the field and are approximetly two years old. They are sold in three main grades.

Grade 1 is the best and most expensive grade. In order to obtain this grade the plants are required to have at least three strong cains, two of which must be at least 18 inches in length for hybrid teas anf grandifloras. The canes should be at least 1/8 inch in diameter.

Grade 1 1/2 is the most popular grade due to it’s lesser price. In order to obtain this grade the plants are required to have at least two strong canes which must be at least 15 inches long for hybrid teas and grandifloras. The canes should be at least 1/8 inch in diameter.

Grade 2 is the least expensive grade. These plants are only required to have two canes 12 inches or longer. These plants can be a gamble as they may be stunted.

Note: Measurements are for plants when dug from the fields. Sometimes the plant sellers will shorten the length of the canes for easier handling. The number of canes remain the same and usually the thicker the diameter the better the plant.

Proper pruning of your backyard grapevines is essential to maintain vine size, shape, and yield of the grapes. If you don’t prune your vines, they will become unruly, tangled messes. Fruit ripeness will suffer. Overproduction of the vine may lead to premature death. It is also one of the harder things to visualize but one of the easier things to accomplish for the home gardener.

Pruning is performed in the early spring while the vine is still dormant. This is done in February, March, or early April depending upon when the grapevines generally come out of dormancy and bud out.

Pruning the grapevine and training the vine go hand-in-hand. You must decide the way you want to train the vine in order to prune it correctly. Vines that “droop” should be trained to a top wire of about 6 feet. Canes are then pruned and trained outward from the middle on each side of the trunk. As the new shoots grow, they droop on each side of this high pruned wire, naturally, taking in account of their habit of growth. Concord, and other native American varieties are typical of those varieties that droop downward naturally.

Solar lights are very popular for lighting yards and gardens. They are virtually maintenance free, easy to install, and cost almost nothing to run. Once you have bought solar lights, the only future maintenance costs are for replacement batteries.

The only drawback for solar lighting is that they must be placed in an area which receives a lot of sunlight during the day. If your garden or a pathway is shaded, solar lighting is not going to work very well.

If you are intent on having solar lighting for a shaded area, you can install a solar panel on your roof or other spot which receives a lot of sunlight. This is a bit more expensive than regular solar path lights or solar spotlights and you need to run a wire from the solar panel to the lights.

Depending on the amount of sunlight received during the day, solar garden lights can provide six to 12 hours of lighting in the evening. They have a built in photosensor which turns the lights on when it becomes dark. They remain lit until the battery is depleted or the sun rises — whichever comes first.

Fresh flowers should feel crisp or firm. Before you buy, run your hand under the flower heads from stem to petal tip. Proceed gently under the petals so as not to bruise them.

If the flower vendor objects, give them a withering look and enquire in a loud voice, “Are these flowers fresh?”

If the flowers feel soft, cool or damp, don’t buy them.

Keep testing the other bunches until you find a good one. Often there are only one or two bunches older than the others. Look and listen. Really fresh flowers will make a soft rustling sound as you stroke them.

As flowers age:

- the foliage will start to yellow from the bottom upwards

- the stems will discolor from the bottom up as bacteria spreads from the cut

- seeds or pollen on the flower head will open and shed spores

- the petals will fade in colour, lose moisture, dehydrate and eventually collapse

Remember: It’s your money and you want the best value for it. As a consumer you have a right to examine an item before you buy, and this is especially important for anything perishable.

Imagine it’s a special occasion and you’ve just received a glorious bunch of roses. You put them in your best vase and you stand back to admire them. You’d love to make them last as long as you possibly can, but other than keeping them out of direct sunlight, you’re not sure what to do.

Here are some tips on how to extend the shelf life of your roses:

1. Remove the roses from the vase and put them in a temporary container.

2. Clean the vase by washing it thoroughly in water with household bleach.

3. Fill the vase with fresh water and add a half teaspoon of household bleach for each litre (16 fluid ounces) of water.

4. Remove your roses from their temporary container and lay them flat on a counter top.

5. Remove any leaves which will show below the waterline in the vase.

6. Cut about 20 mm (3/4 inch) from the base of each stem immediately before placing it in the vase. This removes any air bubbles.

7. Don’t place roses in drafts or direct sunlight, or near fruit, heaters, TVs or refrigerators.

Bamboo Orchid Plant

When you think of bamboo you really think of bamboo sticks, don’t you? There is an orchid that grows wild in some of the warmer climates like Hawaii and Southeast Asia called the Bamboo Orchid Plant. This is a very pretty orchid plant that easily grows on the hillsides. Imagine having a bamboo orchid plants in your backyard that are growing behind your home. What a pretty site that would be.

These orchids usually grow to 5-6 feet. The stems are actually the pseudobulbs. A new pseudobulb grows each year.

One of the variety, Sobralia, can grow well in light shade as well. This genus doesn’t grow as tall either. It usually tops out at about 4 feet. Temperature range is quite wide, from a low of 40 degrees to a high of 80+. You don’t see the bamboo orchid plant very much in the cooler climates of the Northeast or North Central states. If any they are usually indoor plants or out in the summer only.

My wife has one of these that is still quite small, but this summer she is putting it outside just to see what it will do.

Orchid Care Part 4 Diseases of the Roots

Our final part in orchid care part 4 is about the roots of the plant. This is the heart and soul of the plant. If these are not healthy then the whole plant will show the effects.

Loss Of Roots

Orchid care part 4 now turns our attention to the roots. Roots disease is difficult to diagnose. The roots actually loss their function and do not supply the plant with the nutrients it needs.

some of the causes include:

over watering, probably the most common. I know I am at fault for this one with one of my phals.

The next most common cause is old potting material. You will see this occur with orchids bought from grocery stores or home goods stores. They are usually packed in soil which is not a good medium for orchids.

Slugs or snails can cause root disease. This orchid care part 4 says you need to treat with metaldehyde.

Sometime excessive salt or minerals in your water can cause this as well. If so you need to use distilled water.

Orchid Care Leaves Tell Us About Orchid Health

Over the past 20 years the orchid supply has become almost limitless. All in all orchid care leaves is becoming more important to all the orchid lovers. The leaves can also give very important information about the orchid plant.

Orchid care leaves can help you to diagnose what is wrong with your plant. I imagine this as one of the best ways to see the early signs of potentially fatal diseases.

Leaves can be yellow, blackened or brown or they may become shriveled. Let’s learn more about orchid care and what to do.

Blackened leaves show their effects on the body or the tip of the leaf. If it is on the body of the plant it is usually due to the hot sun causing a leave to burn. Orchid care would tell us that if this may to the case put the plant away from direct sunlight.

If sun burn is not the cause and the size of the spots continue to grow then it may be a bacterial or fungal disease. orchid care leaves suggest to cut off the affected part of the leave and treat it will a fungicide like natriphene.

In Orchid Care The Flower Will Tell You About Some Diseases

Tale for orchid care the flower. The orchid flower is usually a thing of beauty. When diseases strike it can be tell - tale. Like the leaves, the flower can tell you a great deal. Let’s take a look at what we will learn…

Spotting of Flowers

A sign of fungal infection or mold is pink or light brown spots on the flower. When you see either, orchid care will suggest to be careful with your other plants as the infection can spread to other plants. Remove the orchid flowers that are affected. The remedy is to get more circulation.

Flowers With Punctures

Yes, those aphids can get at orchids, too. Also, some insects including Thrips. Orchid care the flower suggests that the remedy is spray the orchid with malathion, but be careful and use a face mask.

Flowers With Mottled Colors

Here caring for orchids will strongly suggest a second opinion is necessary. The cause could be a color losing virus. Even if this is suspected then isolate the plant. If it is a virus then you need to destroy the plant.

Part Two in a Series

Once you have your landscape design on paper, now it’s time to transfer it to the actual location where you will be planting your plants. You will need a couple of tools in order to accomplish this. First it’s handy to have a long tape measure. For example a 50 foot or 100 foot tape measure is a lot easier to use an 8 foot or 16 foot one. You will be able to easier layout your landscape with a longer tape measure. You might also need some wooden stakes, some string, an old garden hose, and some marker paint.

If your landscape design calls for a regularly repeating pattern, or a very rigid formal grid structure, you’ll want to use stakes and string. Start by finding a fixed point on your design and take all your measurements from that one point. Check your measurements frequently as you start laying out your stakes in your yard. Run string or twine from one stake to another to help lay out your design.