Plant Care & Maintenance

Canna Rust: Orange Pustules on the Leaves

The first time I met canna rust, I thought my canna had brushed up against a construction site. The leaves looked like someone had dabbed them with paprika, and when I rubbed a spot, my fingertip came away orange. My ferns got a full lecture about “not bringing home plant drama,” but the real...

How to Propagate Clematis by Layering

The first time I layered a clematis, I felt like I was getting away with something. No fancy equipment, no greenhouse, no fuss. Just a living vine, a little patience, and a gentle pin to the soil. Layering works because the stem stays connected to the mother plant while it grows roots, which means...

Coleus Stem Rot at the Soil Line

The saddest coleus failure is also one of the fastest. You walk by a pot that looked fine yesterday, and today the whole plant is leaning like it got elbowed in a crowd. When you touch the stem right at the soil line, it is soft, dark, and a little too willing to fold. That is coleus stem rot at...

Hosta Sun Scorch: Pale, Papery Patches on Leaves

The first time I saw sun scorch on a hosta, I blamed myself in about eight different ways before breakfast. Then I did what I always do when a plant looks “mysteriously offended.” I crouched down, ran my fingers over the damage, and looked at the light patterns like a detective with a trowel. If...

Bearded Iris Leaf Spot: Brown Ovals on the Fans

Those neat little brown ovals marching up your bearded iris fans can feel like a personal insult. I have stood over an iris clump with my hands on my hips, squinting like a detective, trying to decide whether I am looking at a simple leaf fungus or a much bigger rhizome problem. The good news is...

Honey Fungus at the Base of a Tree

The first time I met honey fungus up close, it was wearing its most charming disguise. A little skirt of honey colored mushrooms around the base of an old ornamental cherry, all clustered like something from a storybook. But when I eased back a loose flap of bark, I found the giveaway: dark,...

Rose of Sharon in Containers

Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) is one of my favorite “summer-to-fall” shrubs because it keeps blooming when so many gardens are taking a nap. And yes, it can absolutely live in a container. The trick is accepting one key truth: in a pot, you are the weather, the soil ecosystem, and the root...

Cyclamen Mites on African Violets

The first time I dealt with cyclamen mites on an African violet, I thought I had somehow offended the plant. The outer leaves looked mostly fine, but the center turned into a tight little rosette of cramped, fuzzy, misshapen growth that refused to unfold. I watered less, then more. I blamed the...

Why Panicle Hydrangea Blooms Fade to Green

The first time my panicle hydrangea went green, I panicked a little. I had that familiar gardener thought spiral: Did I overfeed it? Underwater it? Did the soil do something dramatic overnight? Then I remembered what panicle hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata) are famous for: their blooms are not...

How to Propagate Mandevilla from Cuttings

The first time I propagated mandevilla, I fussed over it like it was a tiny newborn vine. I misted. I hovered. I may have offered a pep talk or two. The good news is that mandevilla is very willing to root from stem-tip cuttings when you give it two things it craves: steady warmth and evenly moist,...

How to Prune a Tree Peony

The first time I grew a tree peony, I made the classic mistake of treating it like my herbaceous peonies . I was in fall-cleanup mode, snips in hand, ready to tidy everything down to stubs. Luckily, I paused long enough to actually look at the plant and notice something my herbaceous peonies never...

Why Bromeliad Leaf Tips Turn Brown

The first bromeliad I ever brought home lived on my tiniest apartment windowsill, right beside the kitchen sink. I loved its tidy rosette and how it looked like it belonged in a rainforest, not a sixth floor studio. Then the leaf tips started turning crispy brown, and I took it personally. I had...

Rose Slugs on Roses

The first time I met “rose slugs,” I blamed myself. I had just finished fussing over my roses like a proud parent, only to notice leaves that looked scrubbed thin, almost like someone had taken sandpaper to the green surface. No obvious beetles. No black spots. Just that eerie, see-through...

Siberian Iris Care and Dividing Clumps

The first time I divided Siberian iris, I approached it like bearded iris and immediately realized I was holding the wrong mental map. Siberians do not have that thick, surfacing rhizome. What you get instead is a dense, fibrous crown that behaves more like a very well-mannered ornamental grass...

African Violet Neck: When the Stem Gets Too Long

The first time I saw an African violet with a long bare stem, I genuinely thought it was “trying to stand up” and failing. The leaves were all perched at the top like a little green umbrella, and beneath them was this pale, woody-looking stretch of stem. It has a name: an African violet neck . And...

Why Canna Lilies Are Not Blooming

I have a soft spot for cannas. They are the loud, tropical friends of the summer garden, the ones that make even a plain fence line look like a resort. So when a canna clump gives you gorgeous leaves but zero blooms, it feels personal. The good news is that “all foliage, no flowers” is usually a...

How to Propagate Rose of Sharon From Cuttings

The first time I propagated Rose of Sharon, I treated it like a fussy houseplant cutting and then spent two weeks hovering over it like an anxious mother hen. Turns out, this shrub is tougher than it looks. Give it the right kind of cutting at the right time, keep it gently humid, and it will...

Hydrangeas in Pots: Watering and Winter Storage

Hydrangeas in pots are a little like toddlers in fancy shoes. Gorgeous, dramatic, and surprisingly fast to fall apart if you ignore them for a day in hot weather. I love growing them in containers for patios and balconies, but the care is different from an in-ground shrub, especially when it comes...

Bearded Iris Soft Rot: Mushy Rhizomes and the Sour Smell

The first time I met bearded iris soft rot, I thought a raccoon had played a prank on me. The rhizome looked fine one day, and the next it was slumped, oozing, and smelling like something you definitely do not want on your gloves. That sour, rotten odor is the biggest clue that you are dealing with...

Hosta Virus X: Mottled Leaves and Why You Should Not Divide

I have a soft spot for hostas. They are the calm, dependable friends of the shade garden. So when a hosta starts showing strange mottling, it is tempting to assume it is stress, a little sun, maybe a slug party you missed. But there is one possibility I want you to take seriously right away: Hosta...