Category: Home and Garden

Their scent may be as sweet as honey, but for many gardeners, honeysuckles have a bad name.

Plants grown in containers will need more frequent, light watering to get established.

If you’re looking for a plant that will make your garden stand out, consider the seven-son flower, an unusual shrub that makes a splash twice each year.

If this insect truly is a nuisance for you, then use mulch, plant groundcovers or install sod to cover bare soil areas.

The leaves of my tomato plant are being eaten by something. Some of the stems are completely bare of leaves. Is there anything I can do to protect my plants?  — Steve Goldman, Skokie I suspect you have a tomato hornworm or tobacco hornworm caterpillar that is eating your tomato. Small tomato hornworms are yellow […]

What is less lovely than a summer blossom? The sight of a Japanese beetle on that blossom, shiny as an oil slick. “We’re hearing quite a few reports about the beetles this year,” according to Sharon Yiesla, plant knowledge specialist in the Plant Clinic at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle. The iridescent bugs feed on […]

A big old tree speaks of history. Somehow, as cities rise, roads are paved and widened, buildings are torn down and replaced, as the very atmosphere of the earth is changing, a few majestic green giants survive. Kris Bachtell loves big old trees and he knows many of them. As vice president for collections and horticulture […]

When summer heat waves hit, most people can seek out air conditioning. Plants can’t. “They’re rooted in place, so they have to deal with whatever comes along,” said Sharon Yiesla, plant knowledge specialist in the Plant Clinic at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle. “Stretches of severe heat can be hard on them.” How well a plant handles hot weather depends largely on the climate in the place it originally came from. Many of the annual flowers we use in gardens and containers, such as petunias, zinnias and begonias, as well as vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, come from […]

It looks like an animal is eating my perennial plants this spring, and some plants seem to be completely gone. What could this be and how can I protect my plants?  — Beth Jackson, Evanston I understand the desire to protect your plants, but as with any pest problem in the garden, it is important […]