Flowering landscape trees are the crown jewels of the yard. Perhaps no other plants, individually, can have as great an impact on how a yard looks in spring. Browse the articles to which I’ve linked below for information on particular varieties of flowering landscape trees. Pictures are included.
Crape Myrtles: Landscape Trees of the South
A popular choice in flowering landscape trees for Southerners, crape myrtles have a long blooming period (mid-summer to fall). The blooming clusters of these flowering landscape trees come in pink, white, red and lavender. The clusters appear on the tips of new wood. Northerners can sometimes get away with treating these flowering landscape trees as perennials that die back in winter but come back in spring.
Trees
Not all specimens with a weeping habit are flowering landscape trees, but this article looks at several weeping varieties that do bloom, headed by four types of cherry. Saucer Magnolias
The size and shape of the blooms are what suggested the common name for these flowering landscape trees. Want a specimen with a brilliant bloom as big as a saucer? Access information on these beauties here.
Rose of Sharon
Although some people think of it as a landscape “tree” (because it gets tall and can be pruned so as to have a single trunk), rose of sharon is, in fact, a flowering shrub. The fact that it blooms relatively late — and for a long time — makes it a valuable plant for those looking to distribute their yard’s color display throughout the growing season. Top 10 List of Flowering Landscape Trees and Shrubs for Spring |
This article features information on ten flowering landscape trees and shrubs that brighten our spring seasons. Included are redbud, callery pear and crabapple. Hawthorn: Late-Blooming Landscape Trees
This article offers information on Washington hawthorn trees, which are perhaps most valued for the time at which they bloom (late spring to early summer). Many of the popular flowering specimens bloom earlier in the spring, and while their blossoms are pleasant sights for eyes sore from winter’s barrenness, they desert us too quickly!

Sometimes a tree gets to the point where it is necessary to say goodbye to it. It can be a painful choice to make, but sometimes the tree gets too close to the house, gets too diseased, gets an incurable infestation of some pest, or grows too tall and gets close to a power line. If any of these things occur, its best to do the right thing and get rid of the tree. Although you might have spent hours and hours getting the tree to where it is today, it is almost dishonorable to the tree to allow it to suffer in bad conditions.
Once you have made the choice to remove the tree, you need to plan its removal. I can’t begin to count how many windows I’ve seen knocked out or cars I’ve seen crushed because of poor planning in the tree removal process. Decide what direction you want it to fall, and accurately measure to make sure it will fall completely clear of anything else that it could possibly cause damage to. Once you have the falling direction planned out, you should climb up the tree and tie two long ropes near the top. Anchor them on the opposite side of the one that you want it to fall towards. This will allow you to adjust the direction the tree is being lowered in, just in case it starts leaning towards anything it could destroy.
Now that you’ve taken all the necessary precautions, you are ready to begin chopping. If you plan on using a manually operated saw or axe, please step back and consider how insane that is. Chopping down a tree by hand will take you forever, and will not even begin to be as accurate as using a chainsaw. If you don’t have a chainsaw, you shouldn’t even consider doing it without one. Ask around with your neighbors and see if anyone has one that you could borrow. If that doesn’t work, rent or buy one from your local home improvement store.
Before you start chopping away at the tree, you should wear proper eye and face protection in case any wood chips fly towards your eyes. I had a friend who blinded his right eye while cutting down a tree, so I hope all of my readers do not make the same mistake as he did. Whenever you operate a power tool, always be sure to wear proper protection for any exposed parts of your body.
When making the cut, you do not want to just cut a straight line into the tree. It is best to cut a sideways “V” into the tree. This is because if you cut the straight line, the tree will end up rolling to one side or the other. If you cut in a “V”, the tree will be able to fall in the exact direction that you want it to fall. Occasionally it might be a few feet off due to human error during the cutting process, but if you have some strong friends pull on the ropes you tied, you can line it back up with the path you wanted it to take. The entire process shouldn’t take more than an hour.
Removal of the stump can be slightly more difficult. You have several choices; you can rent out a stump chipper that will completely destroy the visible section of the stump. Or you can spend countless hours digging it out. Digging out the stump is much more thorough, but takes forever. If you have kids this shouldn’t be a problem. Kids often find the thought of digging fun, and are excited to go outside and dig all day long with their friends. This was the method I used, and I had the entire stump out within a week. Keep in mind that my stump was about 1 foot in diameter, and digging probably won’t work for stumps much larger than that.
Information on tree diseases can be found at the Tree Facts site.

Consider Indoor Container Gardening
Some people stick a fake tree in a corner, dust the leaves off every week, and call it indoor gardening. But indoor gardening has grown into much more than that over the last few years.
There are many reasons for starting an indoor garden. For instance, plants don’t only remove carbon dioxide from the air, they also remove many poisonous toxins and pollutants as well. Indoor gardening will result not only in beautiful decoration in your house but, cleaner air as well.
When choosing your plants for indoor gardening, make sure the plants are adaptable and will be able to thrive in the conditions and setting in your house. Consider how much time you will be able to spend caring for the plants, how much light your house offers, and also how much money you want to spend on your indoor garden.
If you are on a low budget,you may want to start with seeds or cuttings.
If you want to spend a little more money you can buy a plant that is already grown.
Another thing to consider is if you want to display your plant(s) all year or just for a season.
Herb gardens are particularly popular for indoor gardening; they are both attractive and edible. They grow pretty quickly so you won’t have to waitlong to see results. Some popular herbs, especially for cooking, are chives, dill, sage, thyme, and oregano.
When choosing a plant for indoor gardening, consider the amount of experience you have. Some plants are stronger and easier to care for and therefore may be better for a novice gardener. Examples are Fatsia, Cyperus, Scandens, Popular Succulents, Coleus, and Bromeliads.
Some of the basic guidelines for maintaining plants are different in indoor gardening than in a regular outdoor setting. Since indoor plants won’t get the sunlight they do outdoors, lighting is essential. You should also consider how much light your plants will get.You may need to pick plants that only need medium to low light, such as ferns or Philodendrons, or, supply artificial lighting.
If you buy a plant already grown, wherever you get it probably has better lighting than your house so you will need to gradually reduce the light it receives so it can adapt. Once you get the plant inside, make sure and rotate the plant to encourage upright growth.
Just because you are indoor gardening your plants still need to be watered. How often you water, and how much water you give, once again, depends on the type of plant you have. Make sure the container can drain properly and try to make the water about room temperature. Also pay attention to temperature in your house in order to ensure healthy plants. A 10-15 degree range shouldn’t hurt your plants, but rapid changes could cause damage.
Indoor gardening doesn’t need to be difficult; in fact, it isn’t that much different than outdoor. There are even some advantages to indoor gardening. For example, you shouldn’t have problems with insects. You also don’t have to worry about the weather reeking havoc on your garden with wind, frost, etc.www.verticalgardeningsecrets.com/freereport.html

If you have just recently planted a new fruit tree, I think it is safe to assume you are not yet an expert on the subject. More fruit trees die in their beginning years due to poor care habits than any disease or pestilence. Therefore it is vital that you understand how to care for trees in a way that will ensure their immediate success as well as future good health.
During the first stages of the tree’s life, the roots, trunk, and branches have not yet fully developed to a self supporting strength. Therefore if your tree is growing fruits, occasionally the combined weight is enough to snap off an entire branch. If this is the case, you should provide external support for your branches – prop them up with boards, or tie them to something at a higher altitude. As long as you can provide your tree the support it needs in these early years, it should grow to be independent in no time at all.
Proper nutrition is not only necessary for the production of healthy fruits, but is also necessary for the tree to survive longer than one season. The exact specifications vary with the area, climate, and type of tree, but I’ve found that there is no better source than a nursery employee. Maybe they’re just eager to sell you the right type of fertilizer, but in my experience they are almost never wrong. Just inform them about the conditions your tree is living in and how healthy it is looking, and they should be able to help you find something to improve the state of your tree.
Lots of people think that the only way to ensure a tree’s healthiness is to provide it insane amounts of water. This is not the case at all. As a matter of fact, giving too much water to a tree can be more harmful than making it go thirsty. At the best it will have a negative effect on the taste of the fruit. But at worst, your entire tree could die and prevent you from ever growing fruit in the future. So do not ever try to solve your problems by giving it lots of water! Solve your tree’s health problems at the root, so to speak. Go to where the problem originates from, and fix that.
If it is too late and you’re already starting to see unhealthy branches that look either diseased or damaged, you should always remove them. If the tree is wasting nutrients by sending them out to the branch that cannot be saved, it is practically throwing away all the nutrients that it could use on the other, healthier branches. As soon as you start to see a branch that is deteriorating or becoming unhealthy, chop it off right away. At the very least, trim down the unhealthy part but leave all the segments that still look like they could continue growing.
Once your tree has started to enter the picking stage, never leave any of the fruit on the ground that is bound to fall. Also, be careful to get every piece off of the tree. Even if it is an ugly looking fruit that you don’t want to keep, you should still pick it and throw it away. Once these fruits begin to rot, they provide a perfect home for unwanted insects or diseases that can transfer to the tree itself. So always remember to rake up these fallen fruits, and prevent yourself a lot of future grief.
Getting a fruit tree and caring for it throughout its life can be a daunting task. It may even seem impossible sometimes to keep track of all the factors that make a tree healthy. But if you just pay attention to the nutrients that your tree needs, you should be on a good path. In addition to nutrients, figure out the precise amount of watering that you should be doing to keep your tree’s thirst quenched without drowning it. Just do all these things, and you will have a great tree that produces delicious fruits.
Visit the Tree Facts website to learn about the red oak tree and the bradford pear tree.

If you live in an area that is slightly parched of water, you know better than anyone that one of the things that decides whether a tree survives or not is your ability to supply it with sufficient water. Unfortunately, many people don’t take this in to account when buying a tree. They will just go for the nicest looking tree, and then wish they could give it more water. If you do a little planning before you rush out and buy a tree, you should be able to find trees that can survive on lower amounts of water.
Usually the most adaptable plants are the ones that are indigenous anyways. If you live in a zone that is suffering a water crisis, usually the only plants that survive are the ones that have been there all along. This is because they are used to the conditions and know how to survive. Just take a drive through the undeveloped regions of your city, and look at what trees are green. Find out their names, and buy them. They might not be the most attractive trees, but you rarely have to make any modifications to your soil to get them to grow.
One of the trees that will grow almost anywhere without using much water is the “Scotch Pine”. Not only does it grow at a very fast rate of 20 or more inches per year, it is hardy and drought tolerant. It usually grows between 25 and 35 feet, and it extremely easy to get started. Most nurseries sell these trees, especially in areas with lower amounts of water. There are many varieties available. Many fade to a yellowish brown color during the colder months, and this is usually what causes some people to dislike them and others to love them. However, there are varieties available that do not do this.
The Rocky Mountain Juniper is an extremely hardy and easy to grow tree. Its bark also turns a browner color during the winter, and rejuvenates in late spring. They are frequently used as windbreaks because of how tough they are. These trees are also great if you are trying to attract different varieties of birds to your yard. They provide great branches to nest in. Unfortunately the Rocky Mountain Juniper doesn’t grow as fast as other hardy plants like it. The rate is less than 10 inches per year.
Another one of the most popular drought resistant trees is the Russian Olive. This tree is impressive and will definitely turn some heads once it is fully grown. It is more decorative than the trees mentioned above, and will reach 20 or 25 feet once it is fully grown. They are able to grow in almost any soil, and attract birds with the berries they produce.
As you can see, there are many options for you if your water is limited. There are many others that I have not mentioned, and depending on your area you may be able to find a preferable variety. Do a Google search for hardy plants that will survive in your area, and you should be presented with a large list. If you can’t find that list, just go outside and see what is currently flourishing. That is the best indication of what you should buy.
For tips on the royal empress tree and the river birch tree, visit the Tree Facts website.

If you are lucky enough to have a cherry tree in your yard, I am sure I don’t need to tell you how much enjoyment can come from them. Just eating the delicious cherries that spawned from your tree is a rewarding experience in itself. Looking out your back window and seeing a magnificent, glorious cherry tree is also rewarding. Most people are impressed just by the fact that you have a cherry tree, because they are usually thought of by non-gardeners as some sort of exotic plant.
But along with the joys that a cherry tree can bring, there are many annoyances. They seem to attract more unwanted creatures than any other plant in the world. Almost every day it seems like there is a new type of pestilence swarming the tree, trying to get a nibble of its delicious fruits. I can’t say I blame them, but if they want to eat delicious fruits then they should grow their own trees.
One of the main and most constant problems that most people deal with is birds eating the fruit off the tree. It can seem almost impossible to get rid of this pest. After all, they can come in from any angle and make a quick getaway with the cherries. Or they can sit undetected in the branches and munch away all day. A bird certainly has its versatility on its side. Those little guys can be a real hassle to catch or repel. However, there are several different ways you can deter the birds from your house.
The most used way of repelling birds is to place a plastic owl within the vicinity of the house. If you find any animal that usually eats birds and purchase a plastic version, usually real birds will be instinctual enough to avoid it. These can include snakes, owls hawks, or scarecrows (OK, maybe they don’t eat birds normally. But they sure scare the birds for some reason). Most of the time you can purchase these at your local gardening store. If you want a different version or a more lifelike representation, if you look online then you’re sure to find something that will work.
If you get a plastic animal of some sort, usually it will cure the bird problem for a while. However, some birds are just really brave (or really stupid) and will continue to eat from your tree. Almost any reflective surface or noisy object will prevent the birds from coming too close. I personally like to use reflective tape designed for scaring birds. You can purchase this at any gardening store. I usually use this in combination with a large assortment of wind chimes for maximum scaring. Once you have a plastic animal along with reflective items and noisy items, almost all birds will be too terrified to even go close.
While airborne creatures might take a little more than their share of fruit, you should still consider leaving one tree exclusively for them. While they might seem like a pest sometimes, birds can be the one thing that livens up your garden. If you’re used to having birds and then all of a sudden you’ve scared them all away, you’ll feel like there is something missing from your yard. Something that, on the inside, you truly loved all along.
Find tips about the redbud tree and the weeping cherry tree at the Tree Facts website.

Having a steady supply of fresh fruit from your backyard is quite a nice thing. Many people strive to attain this dream. However, many people fail to realize how easy it is to obtain a fairly serious infestation of worms in their fruit. I can’t think of anything more unpleasant than biting into an apple off of the tree you’ve slaved over for so long, only to find that you have not been diligent enough with your pesticides.
Even though it seems like a hassle to always be spraying pesticides, it is something that you should never overlook. Spraying pesticides is a fairly quick and easy process, and you shouldn’t have to do it very often at all. Believe me; it is worth it to just get out there in the yard every couple of weeks and spray.
Spraying can seem like a time consuming process. After all, you have to go out and buy all the supplies, mix the chemicals, apply them, and clean up everything you used in the process. Sometimes you’ll even need a ladder to reach all segments of the trees. The entire process can take as long as four hours if you have several large trees. Doing this every 2 weeks can get very tiresome and irritating. However, you should always persevere. Usually being adamant in your regular spraying will help prevent infestations of such things as moths, but sometimes it’s just not enough.
Usually you can recognize of moths have laid eggs on your trees by the ends of the branches. If you notice something that looks like a cluster of moth eggs, you should immediately prune the branch you found it on and destroy it. Check the rest of the tree very thoroughly. If the eggs were to hatch, you would have a huge amount of moth larvae crawling around through your tree and into your fruits. I don’t know about you, but the very thought of this makes me wretch.
I once had a friend who was dealing with a very bad moth infestation. He couldn’t find a single fruit on his tree that didn’t have a worm inside of it. He ended up having to cut down the entire tree (the stump was a wriggling mass of white larvae. I threw up when I saw it. Damn my weak stomach!) and have the stump professionally removed to get rid of all traces. Having to start completely over on a tree you’ve worked on for so long is an absolute travesty.
I myself live in the same area as that friend I just mentioned, and I have never had a problem with moths. This is because every Saturday during springtime, I make it part of my schedule to go outside and spray down my entire tree. Preventing the infestation of unwanted guests is much better than having to cut down a tree and start completely over just because of a little laziness.
If you have not thought of spraying pesticides in the past, you should head to your local gardening supplies store today. Find out what pests are most prevalent in your area, and buy the appropriate pesticides to prevent them from ever visiting your trees. I urge you not to brush this off, as it will save you lots of trouble in the long run.
To learn about the oldest tree and the aspen tree, visit the Tree Facts website.

If you live in a hot, humid sub-tropical zone like Florida or California, you have many options for growing fruit trees. You are lucky enough to be able to support almost any type of plant as long as you prevent pests from taking over. You should consider growing an orange tree, as these are usually easy to maintain and produce some of the most delicious fruits. The orange is one of the most popular fruits worldwide due to its sweetness, juiciness, and distinctive flavor. The orange tree can reach up to 50 feet in height towards its later years, so you should definitely take that into account when planning. Even if you’re starting with a very small tree, plan ahead and place it in an open area so that it will have plenty of room to expand. If you make the same mistake I did, you will end up having to renovate your yard to some extreme measures, such as taking out an entire shed. Just take the necessary precautions beforehand and avoid all of this trouble.
The ideal soil for growing an orange tree would be fine sand with great drainage. The soil should be deep enough to allow for extensive root development, since the trees are known for reaching monstrous sizes and requiring lots of support from down below. If you have shallow, easily saturated soil then you should either do something to remedy it or move onto a different type of tree. It is most likely that attempting to grow an orange tree in these conditions would be disastrous.
One of the more popular types of orange is the “Washington Navel”. It probably came about as a mutation of other oranges. It originated in Brazil around 1820, and had moved on to Florida within fifteen years. It is characterized by being one of the largest of all available oranges. The peel or rind is easily removed. Usually it is not as juicy as other oranges, but has an intense flavor. These are the most popular orange trees for commercial growing. If you decide on one of these trees, you probably won’t have to water as much.
Another type of orange is the “Trovita”. It was invented sometime in the early 1900s at a lab in California devoted to experimenting with new types of citruses. It started being publicly marketed around 1940. It doesn’t have a very strong flavor, and has more seeds than a Washington Navel. However, it was designed to be more adaptable to harsher, hot and dry environments that would not be acceptable for other types of orange. Some of the more popular oranges in Florida right now are mutations of this type.
The ‘Valencia’ is one of the most juicy and flavorful oranges. It is most popular in South Africa and the southern USA states. Until about 20 years ago, Valencia oranges made up a strangely large portion of the orange market due to its popularity. It is thought to have been invented in China. It has almost no seeds. Another subgroup of Valencia oranges are the “Rhode Red Valencia” oranges. These were created around 1960, so they are slightly more recent than other types. Various mutations occurred and the trees that grew as a product of them were large and extremely hardy. The oranges themselves are more juicy and less acidic than the standard Valencia oranges.
Orange trees are a great thing to get planted, because with just a little effort in the planting process you will be able to enjoy hundreds of delicious fruits every year. Just pick whatever orange sounds the most delicious, and go with it! Before you purchase a tree, you should of course consult a local expert to make sure your desired type will flourish in your area. Usually this won’t be a problem, but it is always good to make sure before you spend the money and time.
Want to find out about the bean tree and the red maple tree? Get tips from the Tree Facts website.

When growing a fruit tree, choosing the right place to plant it is very important. One thing that you have to consider is its proximity to a building, electric line, side walk, or any other thing that might disrupt its growing. Once you have planted a fruit tree, the chances of unearthing it and changing its spot without killing it are very slim. Therefore you must always be sure you know which size fruit tree you have (dwarf, semi dwarf, or standard) and how big it will end up being once it is an adult. Dwarf trees need an area with an eight-foot diameter to grow. Semi-dwarf fruit trees can grow up to fifteen feet wide. Standard fruit trees can grow as wide as thirty feet. To keep the size of your fruit tree(s) at whatever level is best for you, be sure to prune them at least once a year.
Another thing that you have to consider when planting a fruit tree it whether or not it is getting all of the sunlight it needs to survive. You also have to be sure it doesn’t get too much sunlight. If your tree doesn’t get just the right amount of sun, it will die. Be sure that you do not plant it where the sunlight will be blocked by something. Also be sure that it isn’t being constantly hit be the sun at every moment of the day. Either of these can be fatal to the tree.
An important thing to keep in mind when choosing a spot for your tree is whether your spot will be convenient for watering, harvesting, and pruning. A place that would not be good to plant a fruit tree is close to your house or your fence. Any of these things could get in the way of you harvesting and pruning. If your tree grows over your fence the fruit could drop into your neighbor’s yard, which might seem like a nice thing but would probably offend some people. You should also be sure to plant your tree where it will be easy to water; if you already have a sprinkler system in your yard you could put your tree where the sprinkler could reach it. If you do not have a sprinkler system installed, you should put the tree within reach of your hose.
One of the most important things of all to keep in mind when planting a fruit tree is whether or not your soil in your yard is suitable for your tree. You have to make sure that is has enough nutrients, it has enough moisture, there is proper water drainage so your tree doesn’t drown, and it is the right texture. If your soil doesn’t have these traits then your tree won’t grow very well or produce good fruit. You can always alter your soil to be more suitable for your tree. One way that you can find out what kind of soil you have is by taking a sample of it and taking it to a lab. It may be expensive, but they can test it for what nutrients it has the most of. You’ll have the results back in a couple of days. If your soil is low in nutrients, you can go to your local nursery, or any other store with gardening supplies, and get fertilizer according to what your soil is most lacking in.
After you have checked on all of these things, you are finally ready to go choose what kind of fruit tree you want and get ready to plant it. When you are choosing your tree keep in mind the spot you picked, and buy the tree that would do best in that spot. The worst thing that can possibly happen is devoting time and money to growing a tree, only to end up having to remove it because of poor planning.
Learn about the redbud tree and the weeping cherry tree at the Tree Facts site.

If you have a problem with birds, you have probably tried many solutions. Some of the most popular include plastic animals, scarecrows, wind chimes, or highly reflective tape. All of these things can do a great job of reducing bird problems. I have quite a few cherry trees in my backyard, and I used to struggle a lot with birds. After I applied all of these solutions, my problem went almost completely away. Unfortunately, the solution only lasted a few months.
Apparently, birds have a natural tendency to get bolder as time goes by. While at first my scarecrow scared them senseless, now I look outside and see them sitting on his shoulder. And munching on cherries from my tree. Those insolent little fiends! I’m not saying I mind birds. I love having them around my yard. But you see, I’ve already designated one tree specifically for allowing birds to eat off of. But it seems that birds can’t be content with what they’re given. They always feel the need to go over to my own trees when there is a tree just for them that doesn’t have any scary things around it.
I saw many gardening stores marketing a type of bird netting. I decided to use it. Bird netting is basically a giant net that you throw over the entire tree. The holes are about one half of an inch wide. I purchased enough of this to cover one whole tree. It was quite a hassle to install, but it definitely worked after that. I didn’t have any more problems with birds taking cherries from that tree. But one day I woke up and made my daily rounds. On that day, I found 2 birds caught in the netting that had been choked to death. I felt absolutely terrible. I buried the birds and immediately took down that netting. I didn’t want to protect my tree at the cost of the birds’ lives! Sure, I’ll kill off a few bugs, but birds are a little too nice for me.
For a while I felt too guilty to prevent the birds from eating any more. I thought that I would make it up to them by letting them feast on my cherries. I even took down my scarecrow. But a few months later I saw something in a fabric store that made me rethink my generosity. Almost every fabric store sells a material called “tulle”. It is very fine netting with holes too small for any bird to fit its beak or head into. While it is easy to find, it is also extremely cheap. Buying enough to cover one tree ended up costing less than half of what it cost for the lethal bird netting.
I installed the tulle onto my tree (I’ll admit it was a lot harder to install than the bird netting was. I had to attach several large pieces together at the seams) and watched it for a day. I wanted to keep an eye on it every second, so that if a bird got caught I could quickly help it out. Fortunately, no bird ever got caught. Tulle is a much safer and cheaper alternative to bird netting, and I suggest it if you have any problems with birds. Just remember to let them have at least one tree for themselves! Sharing with birds is an essential part of being a good gardener.
To learn about the oldest tree and the aspen tree, visit the Tree Facts website.