Why they appear and how to take care of them.

Yellowing leaves are a common sight on plants. They can be caused by a multitude of different problems which affect the production of chlorophyll, such as a pH imbalance in soil, hard tap water, toxic gas such as that from a stove, weed-killing chemicals, plant pests, an unhealthy amount of sunlight or water ("water stress"), or simply aging.

Some things to look for, outside of obvious things... like a broken limb:

• Where you are in the growing season: If the leaves are growing old and turn yellow, this is usually not a sign of a plant problem. This only means the leaves are done growing and new leaves will grow in soon.

• The pH level of your soil:  If the pH level is more than 7.0, the plant most likely cannot take in iron, which is necessary in the process of photosynthesis. If the pH level is too low, the plant may not be able to take in magnesium. A high lime level in your water can cause soil to become too high in pH. We carry an excellent line of potting soils with proper pH for your plant, as well as soil-balancing amendments.

• The placement of your plant:  If the plant receives too much or too little sunlight, the process of photosynthesis will malfunction and cause a loss in the green color of the leaves. Or if you have your plant near a stove with a gas range, this could be dangerous to the plant.

• Soil moisture: Most gardeners recommend that when you water a plant, the soil should feel cool and moist to the touch without dampening your finger. Over-watering can rob the soil of oxygen and leach out nutrients; under-watering can damage the plant by impairing the distribution of nutrients and causing cell damage.

• Nutrients:  Nutrient deficiency can cause yellowing. However, too much fertilizer can also cause leaf yellowing from salt damage. If you have been fertilizing heavily, cut back and see if that helps. If you haven't been fertilizing much at all, try fertilizing a bit more. Using the wrong fertilizer can also cause problems. Ask us which type of fertilizer is best for your plant.

• Pests: They're reasonably easy to spot and we have pest-control methods available to get rid of them. Ask us which will do the best job for your pest problem.

For most pool owners, the landscaping surrounding it can be the finishing touch to the backyard oasis. Plants provide beauty and privacy around a swimming pool.

They also can be used to hide swimming pool equipment and help swimming pools to blend more naturally with the surrounding environment.

Your goal should be to create a landscape that frames your pool and makes it the focal point of your yard. Make sure to incorporate some taller plants that will be able to form privacy screens around the pool area. And don't forget to select plants that will be low maintenance and use less water. This will give you more time to enjoy your pool.

Every pool owner should be aware of a number of considerations before selecting plants. Remember that your pool and the deck surrounding it reflect a tremendous amount of sun. Make sure to choose plants that can take it. Also, pick plants that either don't cause much litter or that drop all their leaves at one time so you only have to clean up once a year. Constant leaf drop will require constant cleaning.

Use low water-use plants that will not require heavy irrigation around the pool. Too much water can damage pool equipment and potentially lift your concrete decking. Plan for year-round color and select plants with showy flowers that don't attract bees.

Try to avoid planting lawns near swimming pools. This will help keep grass clippings out of the water. If planting trees, select varieties with non-invasive root systems to avoid damage to deck or pool.

It's hard to avoid splashing around a pool, so any nearby plants will probably be exposed to the effects of pool chemicals. How your plants are affected will depend upon the type of chemicals you use. As a general rule, plants with thick leaves are more likely to be resistant to chemicals and pool salts.

A poolside landscape will enhance the beauty and elegance of your pool. By softening the edges of your pool, you can make it blend in more naturally with the rest of the garden. We have a great selection of plants that are perfect for poolside planting. Stop by and our staff of nursery professionals will be happy to help get you started.

• Be careful of the heat. Wear a hat and sunscreen; drink plenty of water. Try to do outside work in the morning or evening, when it is cooler.
• Be sure to trim trees and vines growing near swimming pools.
• Choose crape myrtles.
• Clean off the stems from agapanthus and daylilies that have already bloomed.
• Control fireblight by removing disfigured branches and twigs.
• Control pests and diseases that cause dead brown patches on cool-season lawns.
• Control pests on fuchsias.
• Control rose pests and diseases.
• Control white grubs on cool-season lawns.
• Cut back your petunias in mid-August to keep them flowering.
• Cut off the suckers from deciduous fruit trees.
• Do not fertilize deciduous fruit trees.
• Feed fuchsias, tuberous begonias, water lilies, cymbidiums, ferns and tropicals.
• Feed warm-season lawns. Feed cool-season lawns only if they show signs of yellowing.
• If you started biennials from seed in July, fertilize them with fish emulsion at weekly intervals.
• Fertilize roses with Gardner & Bloome OMRI Listed Rose & Flower Fertilizer.
• Give fuchsias a light pruning.
• Control weeds by mulching, cultivating, and hand-pulling.
• Plant papayas, bananas, and palms.
• Plant tropicals in coastal zones.
• Prune and train wisteria.
• Prune and train your espaliers through the growing season.
• Pull out dead crabgrass if you have previously treated it with weed killer.
• Purchase and plant succulents, cacti, and euphorbias.
• Remove dead and dying foliage from date palms.
• Remove suckers from roses.
• Stop pinching chrysanthemums.
• Study your irrigation system; check for malfunctioning heads. On drip irrigation systems, flush filters and headers.
• Transplant palms.
• Water warm-season lawns deeply at least once a week in most zones. Water cool-season lawns more shallowly and frequently. Follow local water restrictions, of course.
• Water, water water! Be sure to keep container plants and garden beds watered well.

When the weather is hot and dry and there is no measurable rain, even rookie gardeners are aware that most plants will not survive without regular watering. Unfortunately, one reaction to this problem is to stand with hose in hand and squirt water on the plants or on the surface of the ground around them. This does nothing but dig up the soil. Wise gardeners give their plants the amount of water each one needs in ways that save time, effort and water.

It is important to use the right equipment. Much water can be saved in the summer by watering each part of the garden by a method appropriately suited for it. Briefly, hand sprinkling is fine for sprouting seeds, but all other watering should be done with conventional irrigation systems or drip systems. In general, conventional irrigation systems work best for most of the basic landscape, including lawns. Drip systems work best for plants in containers and vegetable gardens. Reserve watering by hose for filling furrows and basins around trees and bushes, when these are not equipped with bubblers. (When you water this way, put the hose right down on the ground, and let the water sink in slowly.)

For the month of August, it is best to irrigate deeply once a week or every ten days, even less for many plants, depending on your climate zone and soil. Lawns (with the exception of Bermuda and zoysia) and vegetables, certain annual flowers, and some perennial shade flowers are the thirstiest plants in the garden. Water these as frequently as necessary to prevent wilting. Some plants, such as fuchsias and impatiens, need watering daily when grown in containers. Some drought-resistant native and exotic plants need little summer water if any at all. A good rule of thumb is, native plants that are summer deciduous should never be watered during the hot summer months or they'll die from root rot. Some native plants that don't drop their leaves in summer should be watered only if they show severe wilting and, even then, watered sparingly if in clay soils.

Other plants recommended for their resistance to drought will look better if watered deeply at least once during August. Water all pine trees deeply as needed--usually once every three weeks--to prevent stress in hot weather, which invites attack from bark beetles. Subtropical trees--including coral trees and floss silk trees--should be watered deeply, early in the month. Allowing chorisia to go on the dry side in late August often contributes to more spectacular fall bloom.

Remember to keep your eye out for signs of stress and think of each plant as an individual; water accordingly. With deep, infrequent waterings teach them to send their roots far into the ground so that when there's a drought they will survive.

Be sure to give special care to plants in containers. Plants in containers often suffer at this time of the year. Water them frequently. In interior zones containers often dry out as soon as they're watered. It's not only the heat; the dry air literally pulls the moisture out of the soil right through the sides of terra-cotta pots.

Terra-cotta containers add charm to gardens and patios, but unfortunately for aesthetics, most plants actually grow much better in plastic. The idea that plants are helped by a pot that "breathes" is mistaken. The soil mix itself should breathe. It should be light and airy; use a good planting mix-- never use garden soil in a pot. In containers that breathe, roots follow the water as it escapes through the sides of the pot. They form a soil mat that clings to the inside of the pot, drying out daily and causing the plant to wilt. When plants are grown in plastic, the roots tend to form more evenly throughout the mix. (Eventually they congregate at the bottom and wind around the sides, but then it's time to pot them on to the next size up.) Before planting in porous containers seal the insides with a double coat of black waterproofing tar, to help prevent escape of moisture. Take good care of your container plants and garden beds in the month of August, and you will be well rewarded throughout the rest of the year.

This Phantastic Phasmatid made the Top 10 Strange Species found and described in 2008 by the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University by being the world's longest insect, with a body length of 14 inches and an overall length of 22.3 inches. Found in Borneo by amateur Malaysian naturalist Datuk Chan Chew Lun, the Phobaeticus chani, also known as Chan's megastick, beats out both the previous record holder for the longest body in the insect world (another stick insect from Borneo named P. kirbyi), and the longest stick insect with its legs fully stretched (P. serratipes, which was also found in Malaysia).

Little is known about the P. chani's biology, but there is speculation that it lives in the canopy of the rainforest of Borneo, and its eggs have tiny wings so they can glide from one tree to another. And the upside? Its life expectancy is believed to be 100 years.

A specimen, one of only six specimens known, all of which originate from the State of Sabah in Borneo, will go on display in the Creepy Crawlies gallery at the Natural History Museum in London. The museum's curator of stick insects, George Beccaloni, said: "We've known about both the previous record holders for over 100 years, so it's extraordinary an even bigger species has only just been discovered. It's a sad thought that many other spectacular insect species are disappearing as their habitats are destroyed, before we have been able to find and name them. It's amazing that such big things are still out there and makes you wonder what else there might be."

Hopefully these finds, and the subsequent attention they are receiving will lead to a monetary boost to scientific funding. We frequently forget how little we truly know about our own world and the marvels that are still to be discovered.

Click here to view more Strange Species!

Can I save my plants that have shriveled up from the heat?

Answer:
That depends how long your plants have been suffering. Plants don't die from heat exposure, but rather from a lack of water to combat the drying effects of the heat.

(Think walking in the desert without water.)

Plants need moisture to keep the cells in their leaf tissues healthy. If there is no moisture for the plant to take up, the cells will burst and the foliage will start to shrivel and burn in the areas farthest from the root ball (source of water) and work its way towards the center of the plant.

When plants are first stressed, they will show you by wilting. When watered within a few hours of wilting, most plants will perk up and look just fine again. They may be saying a few choice words under their breath at you, but all will be forgiven. But if your plant is shriveled and burned, it means your plant was neglected and you could be facing five to ten for plant homicide.

If the plant is in the ground, water the root ball with your hose. Turn the water so that the hose is only slowly dripping. Water for 1-2 hours or until the root ball looks fully saturated.

If it's in a container, try to soak the entire container in a bucket of water until it has fully absorbed enough water and the container is heavy again. Then continue on a regular watering schedule. Do not fertilize your stressed plant to "help" it recover.

If the plant is still alive, it should show some new growth within 7-14 days. At that point, prune off any dead foliage above where the new growth is appearing. Once you have at least 3 inches of new growth, you may give it a light feeding.

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