Many owners of houseplants look forward to the summer time to move their plants outdoors. They enjoy the fact of plants getting better air circulation outside, increased light, more humidity all followed by some good growth and believe it is much better than keeping plants inside all year.

Let me state right off - I am NOT a fan of moving house plants back and forth when the seasons change. The plant goes under lots of stresses. However, some people will move their plants despite my objections.

If you’re going to do it… follow a few guidelines!

• DO NOT move the plants outside too early. Houseplants acclimated to the 72 degree indoor temperatures can get some damage when night temperatures fall into the high 40’s and low 50 degree range.
• DO NOT put the plants in full sun right away. The plants need to move slowly into more light. Find a shady place for the plants to get filtered sun for a few days and SLOWLY give them more filtered light.
• NOT all plants can take full sun, but if the plant can handle or tolerate full sun slowly move the plant into move light over a 10 day to 2 week period of filtered sunlight.
• Once the plant is in high light or full sun, watch the leaves. If the leaves start fading, burn or bleach out, reduce the light by moving the plant back into filtered sun. Give the plant another week in filtered light, then try moving it into more light.

The same process works in reverse when moving houseplants back inside for winter. Move them SLOWLY into reduced light. Good Luck!

Recently a subscriber at plant-care.com asked the question about Ficus tree care and send along a picture of a condition called “gall.” In our eBook on Ficus Tree Care we cover top to bottom on caring for your Ficus - however, Ficus gall is seen by so few it is not covered in much detail.

Check out our Ficus Care Guide

Here’s want they wanted to know about this Ficus condition:

• What causes gall on Ficus Trees?
• Is it detrimental to the tree?

Their first thought… the gall would not harm the plant for quite a number of years! Were they correct? What are your thoughts?

Before we answer the Ficus Gall question - what exactly does it look like?

You can see the “tannish-brown mass” stuck to the trunk of the Ficus tree. That is what we call a “Gall”

What causes gall on Ficus Trees?

For my experience Gall comes from a fungal or bacterial infection. More than anything
the gall looks “ugly.”

Here’s another picture of Ficus gall.

Now to the question - Is is detrimental to the Ficus tree?

For my experience, I have not noticed any “ill effects” from gall.

In the first image I’m not sure if there is much you can do. However, if you do
decide to “cut it out” Make sure you disinfect the clippers before and after surgery!

On small plants I would just cut the Gall out.

The bottom 2 images are from the Fess Parker Double Tree in Santa Barbara where I attended a conference a few years ago. They had a large Ficus with a gall the size of a softball in the lobby. It made for great conversation over a 45 minutes time span.

When I went back the following year the Ficus trees were still doing very well in spite of the gall as big as a softball on one of the trees.

Need help with your Ficus Care? Check out the Check out the Care Guide.

People get nervous when the daily news hammers about a shaky financial environment. Do not be fooled. People are still buying homes, investing money into their property to improve the property value.

With things warming up the buzz of lawn mowers, weed eaters and fertilizer spreaders have become a more common weekend happening. Recently on a trip to the local garden center the bags of fertilizers were stacked up waiting for the local garden and landscape hero to load up the car or SUV with their next home improvement project – the lawn!

Let’s give you a hand with lawn fertilizer for your lawn along with some other links to resources.

The 3 numbers you find on the fertilizer bag are the major elements - Nitrogen, Potassium and Phosphorus. There are of course also minor elements like iron, magnesium, etc. but for our today we’ll look at the big three.

The first number is Nitrogen – that is the element which will give your lawn a deep green color, build a sturdy, dense carpet with deep strong roots. Nitrogen when applied in too heavy a dose can toast a lawn from fertilizer burn. A healthy lawn can fight of disease, pests and handle drought conditions much easier than a lawn fighting for survival.

The second number on the fertilizer bag is Potassium. Potassium is nitrogen’s buddy as they work side by side to strengthen roots and toughen up foliage. Just like a healthy lawn strong grass leaves can handle traffic, disease, cold nights and drought much easier.

Last but not least is Phosphorus, which does more under the surface work to help produce a strong root system.

So the time has come to buy that bag of fertilizer!

When you walk into your garden center you’ll see a variety of fertilizers with a range of numbers. That 3 number blend makes the fertilizer suited for a special need. For example in the spring you want to promote growth so a higher nitrogen number for growth is a good selection. Going into the fall a fertilizer with a higher number in potassium is better suited for preparing grass for the long winter.

Before you look at any pricing, numbers or whatever make sure you know the type of grass you want to fertilize to get the right fertilizer to meet the growth needs. The time of year plays a part, the overall health of the lawn and yard maturity. The more information you have at your disposal the better position you’ll be in to make a buying decision.

You’ll find fertilizer in usually few different forms and Types.

Forms

Granular (slow and fast-release) – My personal favorite. It provides good long-term feeding for months and months.
Liquid – Good for quick greening but short term

Types

Synthetic – These are water-soluble and can be used by the plant almost immediately. Applying too much synthetic type fertilizer can “burn” foliage and damage your plants.
Organic – usually bulky and smelly – ok in the garden where it gets buried!

Here’s few links to other lawn articles:

• Lawn Fertilizing
• Lawn Fertilizer Burn
• Cutting Grass
• Lawn Care

For many “Spring” arrives in different ways. For some it’s the time change, others it’s the Azaleas starting to bloom… for me I’m just weird, I know it’s “Spring” from TV commercials.


In the just the past week I’ve seen or heard the audio rumbling through our home commercials for Lowe’s and Home Depot. But the one that always gets my attention is the Miracle Gro commercials. The reason why that piques my interest comes from some obscure fact that sticks in my brain.

A few years ago it was report that “Miracle Gro” spent 1 million per week during the season to promote their products. That season starts during the “Spring.” Do they make the best potting soil, media or dirt? You’ll have to decide, but there must be money in it. The Miracle Gro fertilizer commercial has not come across the radar yet but will soon I’m sure.

Spring is also in the air because of the weeds starting to grow. That means the “Round-Up” commercials with homeowners spraying have started. You’ll soon see them. The problem I have with the commercial is not the use of “round-up” it’s been a great product I use. However, you should always play it safe with some safety eyewear and gloves. Kill the weeds but keep the chemicals off and away from your body. That goes for the Spectrcide commercials and products also. But having someone applying these products in a Hazmat suit would not sell them as well.

It’s safe to say you probably won’t see many commercials on landscape rocks, outdoor landscape lighting for safety purposes or outdoor wireless speakers for your backyard landscape on TV. So next time you’re at the local garden center looking at the flowers, dirt and chemicals give them a look also - since Spring is here - cuz the TV told us so!