8 Tips to Keep Your Cut Christmas Tree Fresh

There’s an easy way and a hard way to locate the perfect Christmas tree. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation showed us the hard way. It’s a how-to of what not to do. The easy way is to head to your local home and garden center and choose a tree —...

Growing Juniper from Cuttings for an Evergreen Landscape

What’s a Juniper, exactly? It’s the evergreen plant that comes after Mayiper and just before Julyiper. Dad jokes aside, this popular and versatile ornamental takes many forms — ground covers, shrubs, and trees. The foliage can be shades of green,...

A Gardener’s Guide to Growing Cherimoya in SoCal

Mark Twain called it “the most delicious fruit known to men.” He was referring to the cherimoya, a living fossil from the highland valleys of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Ripe cherimoya spoils quickly and is hard to ship, so it’s considered a luxury...

Do Trees Talk to Each Other? The Secret Life of Woody Plants

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? What about when a tree “talks” to another tree? Have you ever heard whisperings in the forest? Trees are abuzz with conversation beneath the soil. They share life-sustaining...

17 Best Shade Trees for August in LA  

Did you know that shade can extend the life of your driveway? It’s true — shade can lower surface temperatures by 20°F to 45°F compared to areas exposed to direct sunlight. Air temperatures can drop by 5°F to 15°F under the canopy of a mature tree. Shade shields...