November Garden Checklist by Region: What to Finish Before the Ground Freezes
A practical November garden checklist for cold, mild and warm climates, covering what to harvest, plant, protect and put away before the ground freezes.
How to Read a Soil Test Report, Line by Line
A soil report looks like a wall of numbers, but only a few lines drive your decisions. Here is what each one means and how to act on it.
Why Is My Boxwood Turning Brown? How to Tell the Causes Apart
Most brown boxwood is winter damage that grows out, but boxwood blight looks similar early on. Here's how to separate the look-alikes and when to get help.
Pests & Diseases
All Pests & Diseases
How to Get Rid of Aphids on Plants, Least Toxic First
Most aphid outbreaks can be handled with a hose and a little patience. Here's the order that works, and why the ants matter as much as the aphids.
How to Tell If You Have Grubs in Your Lawn, and When Treating Is Worth It
Spongy turf and digging animals are clues, not proof. A square-foot count tells you whether to treat, and the calendar tells you whether it is too late.
Moles vs Voles: How to Tell Them Apart and What Works on Each
They rhyme, but they are very different pests. Check for ridges or open runways first, because the fix for one does nothing for the other.
Vegetables
All Vegetables
Why Does My Tomato Plant Have Flowers but No Fruit? A Diagnosis Checklist
Flowers that fall off without setting fruit are usually reacting to the weather. Run through this checklist to find the cause and what you can still control.
Why Are My Seedlings Leggy? How to Fix Tall, Floppy Stems
Tall, thin seedlings are stretching for light. Stretched stems won't shrink, but the right light, cooler air and a deeper pot can still save most of them.
Why Are My Tomato Leaves Turning Yellow? Read the Pattern, Then Fix It
A yellow tomato leaf is a symptom, not a diagnosis. Where it starts on the plant narrows the cause quickly and tells you whether to feed, prune, wait or pull the plant.
Soil & Compost
All Soil & Compost
How to Mulch Around Trees and Fix a Mulch Volcano
Mulch helps trees until it's piled against the trunk. Here's how wide and deep to go, and how to safely undo a volcano that's already there.
Iron Chlorosis: Why Leaves Turn Yellow With Green Veins
The soil often has plenty of iron, but the plant can't take it up. That's why a soil test comes before any product, and why some fixes barely last a season.
Why Does My Compost Smell Bad? What Each Smell Means and How to Fix It
Healthy compost smells like a forest floor. If yours doesn't, the type of smell tells you exactly what went wrong and what to add.
Lawn Care
All Lawn Care
Brown Patches in Your Lawn: Find the Cause, Then Fix It
A brown patch is a symptom, not a diagnosis. Three quick checks at the edge of the patch tell you whether to water, wait, treat or reseed.
How to Fix Bare Spots in Your Lawn, Step by Step
Seed only sticks if you fix the reason the grass died. Here is the short diagnosis, the repair, and when to do it for your grass type.
Snow Mold on Your Lawn: Gray vs Pink and How to Fix It
Those straw-colored circles look alarming when the snow goes, but most lawns recover with light raking and a little patience.
Flowers & Shrubs
All Flowers & Shrubs
How to Winterize Roses: A Checklist by USDA Zone
How much winter care a rose needs depends on the rose and your zone. Hardy shrub roses need little, while grafted hybrid teas in cold zones need a real mound.
Why Are My Peonies Not Blooming? Causes and Fixes
Healthy leaves and no flowers usually come down to depth, sun or age. Most of these problems are fixed once, in early fall, and then left alone for years.
Freeze-Damaged Shrubs: When to Prune and How to Check for Life
Brown leaves after a hard freeze look like the end, but they often aren't. Here is how to tell what survived and why patience pays off.
Houseplants
All Houseplants
Why Are the Tips of My Plant Leaves Turning Brown? Causes and Fixes
Brown tips rarely threaten the plant, but they do point to something in its care. Here is how to find the cause, and how far trimming really helps.
Why Is My Poinsettia Dropping Leaves? Causes and Holiday Care
Poinsettias are tropical plants living through a cold season in a foil wrapper. A few simple changes can keep the leaves on well past New Year's.
Why Are My Monstera Leaves Turning Yellow? Causes and Fixes
A monstera sheds its oldest leaves now and then. When several yellow together, the soil, the light and the leaf undersides will tell you why.