Setup a Hydroponic Garden for Year Round Growing

What's a garden without dirt? Hydroponics! While a whole lot of effort is put into tending to the soil in our gardens, soil itself is only the nutrient reservoir and otherwise totally inessential to growing plants. Provide the food source in water and your plants will grow just as hardily without a drop of dirt.

Whether you live in a New York high-rise, the desert of Arizona or Minnesota in the winter, hydroponics make it possible to grow fresh vegetables and herbs all year around.

Hydroponic kits are available in all shapes, sizes and price ranges. Some are even pretty enough to put on a kitchen counter to make clipping herbs into salads or soups quick and easy.  For do-it-yourselfer,  with a few supplies you can construct a system in an afternoon.  Which ever way you go, the basics of a home hydroponic system is simple.

Containers

• For DYI, fish tanks make the perfect hydroponic reservoir because they are solid, meant to hold water and have equal top/bottom dimensions. Any container with similar qualities will work just as well.
• Whether purchased or made, your container needs to block light or you will soon have algae growing along with your plants.   If using a fish tank or other clear container, spray it with black paint or cover with black plastic or fabric.

Lights

• Essential if your hydroponics garden will be indoors.
• If you have a full scale greenhouse operation, use lights as needed.

Support

• Lacking soil something needs to hold the plants upright.
• You can use Styrofoam or Rockwool.
• If you opt for Styrofoam you will need to cut it about one-quarter inch smaller than your container as well as cutting a hole for the air pump hose and holes for your net pots. Your Styrofoam will float in the water so made sure it is able to rise and lower easily - thus the benefit of an even dimensioned container.

QTY 10 375 Mesh Net Pot Cup Hydroponics Aeroponic    US $8.48

• Rockwool is a growing medium that can be purchased in sheets or blocks/cubes. They must either come with center holes for placing your plant or you must cut your own. Rockwool isn't wool at all but is made from molten rock. It's used in hydroponics as well as for rooting cuttings.

Net pots

• These individual plant pots look like doll size clothes baskets.
• You will place plants in your net pot then into the Styrofoam or Rockwool and finally into the container.

Air pump

• Plants will not live by nutrients alone.
• Without air circulating oxygen to the bottom of the container and the roots, your plants will soon be taking their last breath.
• Air pumps come from mini to industrial sizes.
• Just make sure it runs quietly if you share living space with your hydroponics system.

Nutrient Solution

• If there is anywhere you can go more wrong in hydroponics,  it's with your fertilizer.
• Too little will product weak, spindly plants and too much will burn your plant to death.
• Chose hydroponics nutrient solution only as your plants need a full spectrum of nutrients, trace minerals and anti-microbial agents to kill off fungus.
• Follow directions carefully but also use your eyes, instincts and a meter to increase or decrease feeding.

pH and Nutrient Monitoring

• Yes, there is a meter for that.
• Monitoring the pH and nutrient levels in your hydroponic garden will help your plants grow healthier and produce abundantly and let you sleep better at night knowing you did it right.

Best Indoor Plants for Bonsai

People in every culture have been decorating with potted plant for centuries. However, no container plant has had more attention than the Bonsai.  This potted miniature tree's popularity took seed around 1800 in Japan when it evolved from the Chinese Penzai into an art form and was renamed Bonsai. The oldest known living bonsai tree is in the Tokyo Imperial Palace. It is thought to be at least 500 years old; making its way in the world in 1610.

If you want to train a bonsai, understand that it is an art form not a specific plant.  Traditionally, bonsai are outdoor trees and do not adapt well to the warmth of the typical home. However, its popularity, especially in American, has prompted the cultivation of tropical and sub-tropical trees for indoor use.

While you can train any woody plant into a bonsai, the evergreen and other temperate trees will not fare well indoor without some skill and exquisite care.  Make life and the art of bonsai easy by investing in one of these beautiful indoor plants that will happily be sculpted to your artist heart's desire.

Best Indoor Plants for Bonsai

Click to Buy Baby Jade

Crassula ovata arborescens or the BABY JADE plant is a very popular succulent bonsai. Native to South Africa with round, pale green leaves. Jades store water in their fleshy leaves as well as their trunk and branches.  They require less care than the average bonsai.  Just make sure they are dry before you water again. They can also stand less than bright full light. Good choice for the beginner.

Dracaena marginata or DRAGON PLANT is a palm style bonsai. Native to Madagascar, the Dragon  has a thin trunk and center focused mass of narrow pointed green leaves with gorgeous red to purple stripes. Dragons are easy to care for as long as you don't over water.  They can tolerate less than full light. The   Dragon is especially healthful for your home's air quality.

Click to Buy a Dragon

Click to Buy Weeping Fig

Ficus benjamina or WEEPING FIG train well in the classical, upright form. Native to India and Malaya it has bright shiny dark green leaves and develops a thick trunk at early age. Shown here is the Ginseng Weeping Fig, which  is especially durable for indoor living. Likes full direct sunshine for at least part of the day and dislikes drafts. You will find its care more inline with the average houseplant.

Ficus neriifolia or WILLOW LEAF FIG is also known as the Mexician Ficus. It has small enlongated, light green leaves and is a natural for the the traditional bonsai size and shape. Shown is the  Shohin (tiny thing) bonsai. Shohin should not exceed 10" in height.  It has all the beauty of a large tree in miniature.  Does well in low and moderate lighting. For the true miniature lover.

Click to Buy Willow Fig

Click to Buy Dwarf Jade

Portulacaria afra or DWARF JADE is one of the easiest indoor trees to care for.  It is not a true jade plant and is much hardier that its namesake. Will tolerate  low light and  short periods of dryness. Its  compact growth make it easy to train in many bonsai styles.  But take care with wire training as the leaf pads can easily break off. Great for beginners and bonsai artists.

Schefflera arboricola or HAWAIIAN UMBRELLA TREE is one of the most popular indoor bonsai.  It has tiny dense green umbrella shaped leaves that form a little canopy.  Tolerates low light but doesn't like to dry out.  Easier to train that the standard bonsai and can be done with just some pinching and pruning. It is not the best choice if you have children and pets because all parts are poisonous Recommend for the inexperienced or green thumb challenged.

Click to Buy Hawaiian Umbrella

Easy Grow Mushrooms for a Gourmet Bounty

To the average gardener, growing mushrooms can seem a little alien because they seem to fly in the face of all gardening logic.

Fungi are classified as a kingdom as opposed to the more earthly known plants and animals.   A mushroom garden can add a little gourmet to your harvest and you may just fall in love with growing this quirk of nature.

Good For You

Not only do they make a delicious addition to pizza and stir fry, mushroom are high in fiber, protein, B vitamins, selenium, potassium and phosphorus. You can easily grow most species of mushrooms including Shiitake, Reishi, Maitake, Oyster and the popular button.

Easy Grow How-To

Although you can grow your own spawn (fungi speak for seedlings) from spore (think seeds) and use mediums from mature to coffee grounds, the easiest way to produce a healthy, bountiful flush (harvest) is to purchase sterilized spawn and inoculate (fungi speak for plant) in a log.

• Just think of the last place you would grow anything. Mushroom need a dark, humid and cool environment so grow them in a garage, shed, basement, cellar or outbuilding. If your climate and yard allows (dark and dank), grow outdoors.

• Mushrooms are grown on hardwood. You will need a 3-4 foot log, cut 4-12 weeks prior to inoculating.

• Don't use a fresh cut log as it still has the tree's natural fungicide compounds and will kill your spawn. Likewise don't use an aged log as its nutrient and sugar content has depleted.

• Select oak, poplar, elm, maple or alder. Avoid cedar and pine as they are too aromatic.

• Purchase sterilized plug spawn.

• To inoculate your hardwood with the spawn, drill 2" deep holes at 4" intervals in your log.

• You should drill about 40 holes in a 3-4 foot log.

• Pound the spawn plugs into the holes with a hammer (one per hole).

• Seal the holes with a fine coat of melted paraffin wax to prevent insects from feasting on your spawn.

• Inoculate prior to the winter freeze as the spawn will need to go dormant in winter.

• Stand your log on end; just lean it up against something.

• Water every few weeks; never let the log dry out.

• Colonizing can take 9-12 months.

• Your logs have begun "fruiting" when you see dark mottling on the cut ends.

• You can force fruiting by submerging your log in cold water for 24 hours (or putting out in heavy rain) and then hitting it with a hammer or dropping it a rock (aliens!). This arouses the primal instinct of the fungi who apparently think the tree has fallen and it's time to produce.

• Once established and given the right growing conditions, your fungi will fruit in flushes for years.

• Harvest your mushroom with a sharp knife.

• Should you want a steady supply of mushrooms for the whole family, inoculate 1-2 dozen logs.

• By re-soaking with a 6-8 week resting period you can rotate through the logs and be totally flushed in mushrooms year round.

• Start a new crop every year or two.

An even easier way to grow your own mushrooms and make a fun project for the kids is to buy mushroom kits. There are kits for most gourmet mushrooms prepared just right for their specific species and ready to fruit in just weeks. Mushrooms make a great new hobby and a meal too!

How to Grow Lavender Indoors

Lavender is an easy to grow herb and will adapt well to most indoor conditions. If it isn't growing in your home, you're missing out on the everything-lavender craze.

This herb has so many benefits it's hard to decide whether to use it in baking a sweet bread or to add elegance to a hot bath.  Indecision is perfectly ok because just by sitting in its pot, lavender will fill your home with fragrance and beauty.

• Never compromise on your potting soil for any plant or you will have a fish out of water quandary. Putting a plant in the wrong soil is a lot like exchanging money in a foreign country; you're bound to lose a few. To avoid losing your beautiful new lavender plant, add lime and sand to a high quality potting mix.

• This lovely herb loves to spread and most indoor growing ventures go wrong with this herb when it's put in a too small pot for it spreading root system. Check that the root ball has several inches of pot room but not so much more as lavender demands its soil be on the drier side.

• A clay pot will ensure that the soil dries out nicely for this arid herb. The pot must also be large enough to accommodate a 1-2 inch layer of gravel at the bottom or you will end up with root rot. Don't attempt to use a shallow pot.

• Lavender is a bit of a show off and likes the attention afforded by a sunny windowsill. Never put this herb in a corner, it simply will not tolerate anything but a day of bright sunlight.

• Lavender is neither a sipper nor a hardy drinker. It will not tolerate frequent watering nor a soggy environment. Let the soil become just dry to the touch then give it a good watering before leaving it to dry again.

• Never mist the foliage and avoid getting it wet when watering.

• Native of the Mediterranean, lavender can enjoy the warm temperatures in most homes. Just don't put it directly next to a heat source and check the soil more often if your home is very warm.

• Perhaps hypnotized by its own scent, lavender will quickly fail in a stuffy or smoke filled home. If not too cold for humans,  give it a bit of fresh outdoor air a time or two per week and especially if there is a light breeze.

• Despite it aromatic beauty, lavender is a hardy dessert plant and was born to wander. It can grow one to three feet tall and endless feet wide. Once your plant has reached the limits of its pot, put it out in the garden or prune it heavily (and cut back the root ball if necessary) rather than continue its confinement.

• Use a general purpose fertilizer sparingly just once or twice at the most in the growing season. Give your herb a nicely ground up eggshell a few times per year for an extra limey treat.

• Lavender is too fragrant for most pests but, while outdoors, an occasional caterpillar may dine on the leaves. Other than root rot, your herb is safe from all creatures except the over mothering or neglectful human.

French lavender is usually recommended for growing indoors. You will recognize this variety by its serrated leaves. However, it is the least aromatic of the three varieties; English and Spanish being the other two.

So if you're set on having the most fragrance possible, choose English first then Spanish. At some point, you will have to give them up the great outdoors but if you lack an outdoors planting area, with care you can at least enjoy a temporary relationship.

Should you want a more permanent relationship with your lavender, go with the French and summer it on a patio. Unless you live in Florida, this variety will not survive a winter outdoors so bring it back in with the first chill of fall.

How to Rid Your Houseplants of Pests

So you've done everything right and your dear houseplant still has pests. Don't give in to infestation so easy.  Get to know your the enemy and learn your best defenses.

Know Your Bugs

Aphids, also called plant lice, are the cruelest of pests as the suck the juice out of the newest plant growth. They really look like bugs but can be hard to detect as they are usually don't move and blend in with their little green bodies (some are yellow or black). Aphids are extremely destructive, multiple like wildfire and are hell-bent on devouring the plant that feeds them. Find them sucking the stems or on the underside of the leaves. They cause leaves to curl or distort and blooms to fail.

Fungus Gnats are tiny black flies that circle your plants like mini-vultures. Unlike other pests, gnats are easy to spot as they are frequently airborne. They are easy to eliminate because they are attracted to water lovers. If you have been over watering your plants,  they will likely have gnats. If you find they have infiltrated the soil, repot your plant with fresh soil and ease off the water.

Mealybugs look like little bits of cotton and prefer the stem of the plant.  The female can lay 600 eggs and totally infest your plant overnight. Mealybugs excreted a sticky waste that are a breeding ground for mold. Can it get worse? Yes, mealybug saliva is toxic so while it sucks the life out of your plant, it is poisoning it too. Mealybugs cause leaf yellowing and curling prior to final destruction.

Scale aren't commonly found on houseplants because they prefer trees and shrubs. Should you find little scabs on your plant or see bits of sawdust by the stems, you have found scale.

Spider mites are aptly named. They look like tiny spiders complete with tiny webs but you'll need your magnifying glass to see them. Without, they just look like dots. Mites love the warm conditions found in most homes.  You'll find them on the backside of the leaf. Mites pierce the plant leaves and dine on its contents.  They make tiny holes in your plant's leaves and cause the leaf  to become dry and brittle before it falls off.

Getting Rid of Pests

You can buy all sorts of insecticides, some more harmless than other, to kill off the pests. But there are a couple of ways to keep pests out of your plant's life and more healthy conditions in yours.

• Give your plants a sink dish soap bath or for large plants use a soft cloth or paper towel with some soapy water. A very small amount of mild dish soap will destroy the toughest bug. Avoid soaping the soil but if you do, not a big concern. Dish soap will not harm your plants and they will enjoy a refreshing bath to rid both bugs and accumulated dust. Give a gentle rinsing and repeat in a couple of days if necessary.

• Neem oil, a medicinal vegetable oil native to India, is the safest anti-pest product that any plant will love. Neem oil is an insecticide, a miticide and a fungicide so you'll only need this one product. Mix a little oil in water and spray or wipe over stems and leaves. A cue tip works great for little areas and a little neem oil goes a long ways.

Enjoy Your Mint Harvest

If you added mint your garden you need ideas on how to enjoy your harvest. Mint is not a stingy herb; it gives and keep on giving.

If your mint garden has gotten out of control, you can learn how to establish boundaries for this hardy perennial here but if you just want to enjoy, try these 10 tips for using your mint.

And don't forget to check all the mint recipes below. Your favorite recipes awaits!

Ten Great Ways to Use Mint:

1. Garnish your dinner plate with a sprig of mint. Looks lovely and freshens yours and your guest breath. Chew like gum.
2. Crush a few leave and put a hot bath to simmer like tea. When the water is comfortably warm, soak away to energize and refresh.
3. Toss in the pot, a minute or so at the end of cooking, with those vegetables the kids (or you) won't eat like peas and broccoli. Try mint with Brussels sprouts; the contrast between the bitter and the minty is to die for.
4. Skip the Pepto. Mint tea or milk is super for tummy aches. Crush the leaves and steep in hot water or milk for several minutes. Remove the leaves and feel better.
5. Cut in very thin strips and add to a tossed salad of lettuce, red onions, mandarin orange sections and walnuts.
6. To zip blackhead or acne naturally, put a two-to-one ratio of water and mint leaves in a blender, strain and save the pulp for number >>. Mix with a two-to-one ratio of mild facial cleanser and refresh and destroy zits and pimples.
7. Take the pulp you saved in number << and mix it with half a container of plain yogurt, which you have previously drained for several hours; just so it isn't runny. Spread it over face and relax for 10-15 minutes. Try not to lick it off.
8. Place a smaller leaf in each cube of an ice tray, add water and freeze. Toss a few in a glass of water or your favorite cocktail.
9. For a sore throat put a two-to-one ratio of water and mint leaves in a blender, strain, add sea or table salt and gargle.
10. Make a mint spread with feta cheese, parsley, scallions, garlic, lemon zest and extra-virgin olive oil. Serve with warm Greek breads. Makes you hungry just thinking about it doesn't it.

All Mint Recipes at allrecipes.com
Mint Recipes at epicurean.com
Indian Mint Recipes at indobase.com

How to Grow Hardy Mint

If you're new to gardening, give yourself a boost of self confidence by growing mint.  Indoors or out, mint is a hardy and prolific perennial and doesn't give up easily even on the brownest thumbed gardener.

In fact, mint may very well take over your entire garden.  If you don't tend to it, mint will spread like wild fire. If left to its own, mint will make a super ground cover so plant with that design in mind.

Mint can get overly friendly with other plants so you may want to restrict it with a container or hanging basket. Should you want to plant directly in the ground, you can control it by planting in bottomless containers or by digging out the full area you want it to roam and laying out a plastic liner about 18 inches deep.  Remember to poke some drain holes in the liner then fill with soil and show your mint you know how to establish boundaries.

Mint is one plant that doesn't start well from seeds so buy starter plants. Then plant as soon as you can first dig in the soil in early spring so that you can enjoy continuous harvests all summer long.  Despite their size, set the plants 12-18 inches apart or you'll be pruning all summer long.

Lucky for you, mint is not a sun worshiper so, where other plants fail, mint is going to make that partially shady spot in your garden look fabulous.  It's only upkeep besides pruning is to keep the soil nutrient-rich and moist but never soggy.

Growing mint in poor soil and full sun or all shade will keep its growth in check but that's just being cruel to this beautiful herb.

Don't hesitate to pinch off sprigs frequently. This will keep keep the plants bushy and reward you with one of the most tasty and versatile herbs.  Mint doesn't just make a great tea, it has healing benefits that have been relied upon for centuries.

Now fast forward two or three months after planting and you'll more mint than you can think how to use. Fear not; here are ten ways to enjoy your bounty.  There are hundreds of  more ways to use mint. When you find your favorite way, come back and share it.

A DIY Craft and Great Gift Idea Too!

Try this Do It Yourself project for an indoor herb garden or flower  sanctuary  to bring joy to your home or give as a gift.

This is a great project for the kids or grand kids with adult supervision.  The pride and responsibility of taking care of a living things will last them a lifetime.

This is also a great gift for a housebound loved ones that misses the garden.  And of course it is a beautiful addition to any home decor.

Here’s what you need:

• Pre-made wooden window box
• 2 plastic containers that fit comfortably in the window box
• Optional: wood water sealant for inside the wooden box
• Sandpaper
• Electric drill, bracket and screws for attaching to wall
• Acrylic paints: white and colors of your choice
• Stencils or an artist ability
• Gloss overcoat
• 2" paint brush and sponges for the stencils
• Potting pebbles
• Nursery quality soil
• Herbs and/or flowers

Method:

1. Smooth the outside window box with sandpaper use gain-directinon strokes until all rough edges are smooth
2. Optional: apply water sealant inside the wooden box per manufacturer's directions
3. Apply two coats of white base to the outside of the wooden box per manufacturer's directions
4. Decorate with colored paint using stencils of  hearts, leaves, lattice, animals etc.
5. Dry over night and apply two coats of gloss to the outside of the wooden box per manufacturer's directions
6. Attach bracket to the wall just under the window
7. Place 1 of the plastic container boxes in the wooden box
8. Remove the drain covers from the 2nd plastic container and place it in the 1 container
9. Line the 2nd container with a dense layer of pebbles end to end
10. Fill with soil mix, flowers and/or herbs
11. Water without over saturating
12. Fertilize often with a slow release variety
13. Check the 1 plastic container monthly or as needed for excess water disposal

Best Herbs for your Box Garden:

• Lavender
• Geranium
• Chives
• Mint Sage
• Oregano

Best Plants for your Box Garden

• African Daisy
• Begonia
• Ground Ivy
• Black-eyed Susan
• Marigold

How to Prevent Houseplant Pests

What's worse than pests on your plants? Pests in your home. Aphids, spider mites and mealybugs especially love houseplants and thrive indoors.

Once your plant is infested with the crawling creatures, it may not be worth saving. It can also subject its healthy indoor neighbors to the same buggy fate. So a vigilant eye and prompt attention to ridding your plants of pests is critical.

Keeping Pests Away

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Never was there a more appropriate saying than when it comes to the beloved houseplant.

Heed these tips and you'll be enjoying your plants instead of fighting their bugs:

• Never bring a less than perfect plant home. Don't think you can cure its woes. A sickly plant is probably already a goner. Give a potential purchase the once over before buying.

• Even if your newest green friend looks in top shape, keep it away from your other plants for a week or so.  Then give it another careful exam using a magnifying glass.

• Keep your plants healthy and they will be less likely to attract pests to begin with. You can learn more about the care and feeding of plants here.

• If you bring outdoor plants in, use the same precautions as a newly purchased plant. Outdoor plants are hardier and may have the pests without the symptoms.

• Inspect your plants once a month. Use the magnifying glass and check stems and the backs of leaves. Houseplant pests are tiny, don't always look like bugs and aren't always mobile so look both for pests and the signs of pest damage.

• If you find pests on any plant, isolate it from the other plants and place  in favorable conditions to give it a fighting chance.

Never use a feather duster to clean your plants. Not only will it transfer insects from one plant to the plant, it may very well contain the critters you are trying to prevent.

• Replace the potting soil, which is likely infested.  Thoroughly wash the plant's container; remember pests are almost invisible to the eye. Use only packaged soil for indoor plants, which has been sterilized.

• Pests thrive in certain conditions:  warm temperatures, excess moisture,  highly fertilized soils, low lighting. Keeping conditions ideal in your home will be a big ounce of prevention. Eliminate and cause you you will likely eliminate the pest.

Read all about common houseplant pests and how to get rid of them safely and naturally.

Gardenias Growing Tips

Surely the Gods must have created the gardenia. This perfumed porcelain-faced lady of your garden is in a class by herself. Once she lures in you in with her hypnotic scent, your very soul will be under her spell.

And just like any enchanting lady, the gardenia must be well cared for. Treat her any less than superb and she will be a distance memory. Depending on your climate, gardenias will thrive indoors or out if all her conditions are met.

Gardenias are tropical shrubs, native to China. Buy your plants from a nursery where it has thrived in an ideal environment. To keep the blooms compact and glossy, give your plant plenty of light but do not subject it to direct sunlight, especially in the summer. This sensitive plant is a picker drinker so give it fresh, clean water that is room temperature. If you wouldn't drink it yourself, do not give it to your gardenia.

If your tap water contains too much lime (most do), add more peat-moss
and use only distilled water. You'll know if your gardenia is suffering lime dis-ease
if the leaves turn yellow.  Of course, overwatering can turn any leaf yellow so
make sure that isn't the problem first.

To keep the leaves shiny, your gardenia will enjoy an occasional light showering either from Mother Nature or a mister but don't ever spray with a garden hose or over mist as you will end up with black leaves and fungus. Gardenia are susceptible to molds; if you see darken leaves wash them in a dish soap bath, rinse and decrease your watering and make sure the soil is airy.

The soil, which should be an azalea or peat-based mix, should be lightly moist while the plant is in bloom and on the slightly dryer side otherwise. Being tropical, gardenias like warm, humid days between 70º and 80º F and cooler nights between 55º and 60ºF.  If you live in a cooler climate, you'll need to bring your gardenia in at night and, certainly for the winter. Just make sure it doesn't suffer from dry, stale indoor air. Use humidity trays but never allow the plant to sit in water.

Like all blooming plants, gardenias love the fertilizer. Feed two to three times per month during the growing season, which, depending on where you live, can be between April and November, with an acid fertilizer. Gardenias are acid loving plants so don't let the soil become alkaline. Test the soil with pH strips; it should be between 5 and 6.

Gardenias have surface roots, so don't try to cover them with more dirt and be careful not to pull them or step on them. Beauty bark is the perfect dressing around your gardenias just make sure it isn't hiding signs of overwatering.

Don't over fertilize thinking you can force more blooms. If your plant lacks flowers, it is more likely humidity or temperature issues. Gardenias bloom best in at a temperature around 70º.  Keep the soil continuously moist during the growing period.

Gardenias are shrubs so if you are taking good care of them, pruning will be necessary. But, again, gardenias are special so take care to only prune while the plant is dormant or your will kiss any further blooms and maybe your plant goodbye. The leaves feed the plant so don't all remove all of them - not that you would ever want to! Gardenias make excellent grow cover so keep that design in mind when pruning.

Pests love gardenias too so keep a watchful eye for spider mites, aphids, whiteflies and mealybugs. Be sure to check under the leaves where these little devils hang out. Use good organic, non-toxic horticultural oil (also called dormant oil). These are ecologically and gardenia friendly. If you can't find horticultural oil, you can use cottonseed or soybean oil that you've mixed with a little water so it can be sprayed on.

Yes, gardenias are high maintenance ladies but her beautiful, fragrant flower is so worth the effort. If you treat her right, she will give years of delight.

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