ArcaMax

Q: I bought several beautiful tropical hibiscus plants in the spring. They are thriving. However, they were outside all summer, and they are now too tall for my kitchen garden window. I don't have room for plants that large, so I wonder if and how I can cut them back -- and will they still live and bloom?

A: Congratulations on growing your ...Read more

SACRAMENTO — Eight-foot sunflower stalks tower over tracts overrun with weeds. A wooden post marks a habitat for ground-nesting native bees. Near one garden entrance, a tree’s branches droop to the ground, laden with ripe yellow peaches.

Here, in the River District, at the confluence of the Sacramento and American rivers, large green ...Read more

Last year was exciting for The Garden Guy as I became introduced to a plant called Estrellita Little Star. The name is neat to me as Estrellita actually means Little Star. While that might sound redundant it also sounds like a profound introduction: This beautiful flower is Estrellita…. Little Star. It is like Spanish and English celebrating ...Read more

Q: How and when do I trim my butterfly bush?

A: There are several species of plants commonly called butterfly bush. The most common ones are in the Buddleia genus. The most common one is Buddleia davidii, and it is also sometimes called summer lilac.

It flowers on the ends of the new growth from midsummer until frost. In the northern states, ...Read more

Over the years The Garden Guy has written about the various Pantone Colors of the Year. I really love applying trendy colors to the garden. A new coleus making its debut has made me really start to think about this color that is so thrilling. It is a color that you simply can’t use wrong. It makes you happy when you see it in mixed containers...Read more

Q: I saw an article online where you mentioned applying a thin layer of compost to the lawn each spring. I have used compost to mix with soil when planting perennials, and it has a very wet and almost claylike consistency. Perhaps this is because the compost is stored in bags that are piled on top of one another in a pallet.

I am wondering if ...Read more

NEW YORK — High octane celebrities Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro and Patti Smith waded into a fight to keep the Elizabeth Street Garden, a whimsical greenspace near Little Italy, from being turned into affordable housing on Thursday, penning letters to Mayor Eric Adams and the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development....Read more

There will be a lot of temptation for gardeners in 2025; so many new plants are showing up at the garden center. Being the astute gardener you are, you probably can guess I am yanking your chain a little as I introduce you to the Totally Tempted cuphea series.

If you are a hummingbird lover you already know some cupheas. The Totally Tempted ...Read more

Q: I hope you can give me some advice on my privet hedge. The hedge is about 25 years old and runs about 250 feet around my yard. It was very healthy last year but did not come back very well this spring. I had them cut back to 2 feet. I have always covered the base with leaves each fall. I have been watering them with Miracle-Gro each week, and...Read more

Early in the summer, I was sent a press release that caused one of those "holy wow!" moments. The headline said it all: "Proven Winners ColorChoice Expands Catalog with the Addition of Hollywood Hibiscus." I had already become familiar with the Hollywood Hibiscus series and was thrilled that Proven Winners was adding this to their lineup.

Even ...Read more

Q: I just finished reading your article on strawberry pots, and I have a few questions. This is my first year growing strawberries. I started with four plants in a 14-inch pot, pinched off all blossoms as they grew and grew more plants off the runners. I have a total of 18 plants. I built three of my own type of container box and transplanted ...Read more

There is no doubt that the new Supertunia Tiara petunias have triggered the excitement meter for the new plants of 2025. A few weeks ago, I wrote about Supertunia Tiara Pink that is truly a "holy wow" new introduction. But there is a partner named Supertunia Tiara Blue that will take your breath away.

Tiara Blue will reach about 12 inches tall ...Read more

Q: My red maple has lost a lot of leaves and seems to be growing pine cones. What could be the cause?

A: The "pine cones" are probably bagworms. They can be a serious pest. Bagworm caterpillars create protective bags from bits of leaves from the plant they are living on, so a maple, elm or linden bag will look different than a spruce, ...Read more

The Garden Guy was a scaevola guru when scaevola wasn’t cool. Well, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration; let me explain. The year was 1997 and your humble columnist was the coordinator of the Mississippi Medallion Award program, whereby we selected outstanding plants for promotion, based on how they performed in trials. That year we chose ...Read more

Q: We planted grapevines a couple of years ago, and they are growing some clusters of grapes. Unfortunately, birds are eating them. We tried a big net over the whole area, but the birds seem to find a way to get in anyway. Any suggestions on how to keep the birds out?

A: You are lucky to only have birds eating your grapes; raccoons, possums and...Read more

The Garden Guy fell in love with the pineapple lily during the years as director of the Coastal Georgia Botanical Garden in Savannah. Every year they returned and did their beautiful display without any extra attention from any of the horticulturists. They also enlarged their clumps giving multiple blooms. All I could think was how in the world ...Read more

Q: My pumpkin and squash vines started to wilt. I investigated the plants and found a white grub inside the vine. Do you know what it is and how to prevent it next year? I think some of the vines are going to survive, so that is good news.

A: Good work on finding the larvae of the squash vine borer. There are four life cycle stages to the ...Read more

Water-hungry lawns are symbols of Los Angeles' past. In this series, we spotlight yards with alternative, low-water landscaping built for the future.

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LOS ANGELES -- The temperature was in the 90s in West Hills, but that didn't deter an astonishing number of monarch butterflies, hummingbirds and bees from feeding on the California-...Read more

One of the plants that literally took your breath away at the plant trials this year was the new Supertunia Tiara Pink. Shoot, I am not even a pink flower guy in the least but this one had me mesmerized. Subsequently the ones made available to me in testing have been the same, a "Holy wow!"

I’ve recently posted a photo on my Facebook page and...Read more

Q: We are living in an area that is having a drought. We were talking to a neighbor, and he said that he was thinking about upgrading his irrigation system to a smart system. I am not sure what a smart irrigation system does that our current system doesn't do. We watch the weather and the rainfall and adjust accordingly. We have many plants that...Read more