Looking to add some berry bushes to your edible garden? ‘Fall Gold’ raspberry bushes have small, golden fruits that are sweet and just a little bit tart. You could plant one shrub, start an entire berry patch, or even use these perennials as a fruit-filled privacy fence. Plant biologist Emily Estep has rounded up all the information you need to keep these shrubs healthy, happy, and covered in berries. There’s just something special about raspberries. They’re sweet and tart at the same time, and they’re healthy, too, packed with antioxidants and fiber. The only problem is that they’re small and expensive, lasting only a few days in the fridge. Thankfully, it’s easy to grow your own. ‘Fall Gold’ raspberry bushes are just like regular raspberries, except the fruits are a beautiful shade of golden yellow. Their sweet flavor is somewhat reminiscent of honey, or perhaps that’s just the placebo effect of their color. Either way, they add unexpected color and flavor to the garden. This everbearing cultivar fruits twice per year, leading to multiple harvests. With a little bit of strategic pruning, these perennial shrubs will provide delicious fruit for years, spreading into berry patches with suckers. These perennials thrive in much of the United States. If you’ve seen wild raspberries on nearby hikes, chances are this cultivar will flourish in your backyard. Here’s everything you need to know about how to plant, grow, and care for ‘Fall Gold’ raspberry bushes. What Is It? ‘Fall Gold’ raspberry bushes standout among other cultivars of the popular fruit-bearing bramble bush for two reasons. One, their “berries” ripen to a dark yellow or gold instead of red. Two, these shrubs are everbearing, which means that each cane will produce two crops, one in fall followed by a second in the upcoming early summer. While many raspberry varieties only offer fruit once, usually in late summer or early fall, ‘Fall Gold’ gives you the chance to harvest at multiple times during the year. The fall fruits will emerge from the top third of the canes, and then in the following year around June, more fruits will emerge from the bottom two thirds of the canes. It’s crucial that you do not remove these canes entirely after their fall fruiting. They will produce more fruit in the next growing season on the bottom of the canes. Characteristics ‘Fall Gold’ raspberry bushes are perennial shrubs, though the thorny canes are biennial, surviving for two years before dying off. This cultivar is known for its delicious fruits, which are not actually berries. Botanically speaking, they are aggregate fruits made of many small drupes. In addition to fruit, this Rubus species has a lot to offer to local wildlife. The flowers attract all sorts of pollinators, including bees and butterflies, while the fruit and habitat benefit both small mammals and birds. These medium-sized shrubs also make a great barrier or privacy fence. This cultivar is self-fruiting, meaning you do not need a second plant to assist the first in pollination. That said, you will probably want to plant multiple shrubs to maximize your harvests. Native Area R. idaeus raspberries fall into two categories: those that are native to Eurasia and those that are native to North America. Over time, growers have cultivated and hybridized various subspecies of raspberries to make many types of berries, including ‘Fall Gold,’ making its “native area” blurry at best. Broadly, raspberries are native to mild, temperate areas with four distinct seasons, moderate rainfall, and average humidity levels. This makes ‘Fall Gold’ among other subspecies and cultivars perennial in USDA hardiness zones 5 through 8. They can survive winters that dip down to temperatures around -20°F (-29°C). They can survive hot summers, too, but temperatures consistently above 95°F (35°C) will seriously stunt growth. The summer weather in zone 9 and in even hotter regions is usually too much for raspberries. Planting ‘Fall Gold’ shrubs will perform best directly in the ground since they get fairly large. If you want a lot of fruit, you’ll need to plant a lot of shrubs. One mature shrub may produce a few pounds of fruit, but the “berries” are very small. If you want a lot of them, you’ll need to plant at least a few individuals. You can also try growing a few plants in a large container, or you can try starting a young shrub in a container and ultimately transplanting it into the ground. In areas with particularly heavy clay soil, you can also grow these raspberries in raised beds. Just consider that they mature to about 2 feet in width and 5 feet in height when planning. The best time to transplant is in late winter or in early spring, once the soil is workable and when the plant is just coming out of dormancy and starting to grow. Note that you may not get a June crop the first year, but a successful transplant should fruit in fall.

A rare true-blue flower, tweedia brightens up gardens and works well as a cut flower. Join farmer Briana Yablonski to learn how to grow this tender perennial at home. It’s tough to find true blue flowers. While you can often spot this color on plant tags and cultivar names, these supposedly blue blooms often turn out to be shades of purple. That’s one reason why I love tweedia. This perennial produces star-shaped flowers that are true baby blue. The first time I spotted them, I couldn’t believe their color! When you add their fuzzy stems and elongated heart-shaped leaves, they stand out from the crowd. Although tweedia isn’t commonly grown in gardens, it’s not difficult to grow and can thrive in various climates. Not only are the leaves and blooms beautiful in the garden, but the flowers also hold up well when cut. So, if you’re looking for a new, unique flower, try growing tweedia. What Is It? Tweedia is a tender annual that’s known for its light blue flowers. It’s also known as blue milkweed. Since the blooms hold up well after they’re cut, people often grow them for flower arrangements. In fact, I first saw tweedia when working at a Georgia flower farm. As I started my first spring on the farm, I tried to become familiar with all the plants dotting the neatly formed beds. I could recognize the dark green lanceolate coneflower leaves and the tall delphinium flower stalks. But the slightly woody stems covered with heart-shaped leaves? I had no idea. When I asked the farm owner what it was, she told me it was tweedia. But that didn’t help—I had never heard of this plant. Later that day, I looked up a photo of the flowers and was amazed! Since then, tweedia has been one of my favorite flowers to introduce to other gardeners. Characteristics The plant often grows as a small shrub with slightly woody, branching stems. It produces dark green, small, heart-shaped leaves that become elongated as they age. Both the leaves and the stems are covered in fine, fuzzy hairs, and the stems produce a sticky, milky sap when broken. Tweedia blooms in the spring and summer and attracts pollinators including bees and butterflies. Individual flowers appear on inch-long pedicles that grow from the main stem. The and start out in shades of light blue. As they age, they turn light pink. Elongated, green seed pods follow the flowers and are filled with brown seeds attached to silky, white hairs. In most areas of the United States, you should grow tweedia as an annual or dig up the plants and bring them indoors during the winter. That’s because cold air will squash the tender foliage and stems. Although many sources say tweedia is hardy to zones 10 and 11, I’ve seen it successfully overwintered outdoors in zone 8! So if you live in zone 8 or 9, it’s worth covering the plants with a layer of frost cloth and watching what happens. Native Area This perennial is native to parts of South America, including Brazil and Uruguay. In its native environment, it grows as a small, messy shrub or slightly trailing plant. It’s often found in dry, open areas rather than wet, tropical forests. Planting You can grow tweedia outdoors in a garden bed or container. Since it maxes out at a few feet tall and has a branching shape, it works well in front of taller shrubs and perennials. You can also mix it with other flowers in a cutting garden. How to Grow These perennials are easy to grow as long as you know how to provide the proper environment. Keep these ideal growing conditions in mind if you want to end up with stems covered in beautiful blue flowers. Maintenance These low-maintenance plants don’t require much care besides regular weeding and watering. However, young seedlings develop from pinching to encourage a highly branching form. This involves removing the top tip so the side shoots start growing longer. This will eventually lead to an increased number of long stems that are suitable for harvest as cut flowers. If you live in zones 8 or 9 and want to keep the plants alive through the winter, you can take protective steps. Mulch the soil around the plants with wood chips or straw to protect the roots. Then, cover the plants with a layer or two of protective row cover. This will help keep the plants warm and give them a better chance of surviving the cold temperatures. When the weather remains above freezing, remove the row cover.

Agertum’s easy-going nature and unique blooms make it an excellent addition to cut flower gardens, flower boxes, and planters. If you want to grow it at home, join flower farmer Briana Yablonski to learn planting and care tips. If you’re looking for a flower that serves a supporting role in the garden and floral studio, ageratum is one of your best choices. These easy-to-care-for annuals produce clusters of blooms topped with tufts of silk-like ray flowers that give a unique and soft look. While they won’t steal the spotlight in the garden, they add a soft texture and subtle pop of color. Most of the flowers are blue, but you can also find varieties in shades of pink, purple, and white. The plants continue to pump out new blooms for multiple months, providing long-lasting color. Plus, the blooms hold up well when cut and attract pollinators of all kinds. What Is It? Ageratum goes by several names, including floss flower, blue mist flower, and bluemink. It’s an annual plant that’s native to Central America but widely grown throughout the world as an ornamental. In some locations, it’s escaped cultivation and become a nuisance plant. You can find multiple varieties of Ageratum houstonianum that vary in height and flower color. Some of these cultivars work well as short bedding plants, and others produce long stems that make them suitable options for filler flowers in arrangements. Characteristics Ageratum is a flowering annual that grows best in summer. It has a mounding growth habit with densely packed, branching stems covered with slightly fuzzy, ovate leaves. Some varieties rarely grow more than six inches tall, while others send out two-foot-long stems. Clusters of small, round flowers appear on the top of the stems. Blue is the most common flower color, but you can also find varieties with white, purple, or pink blooms. All of the flowers have elongated ray florets that look like tufts of silky floss. Some people confuse ageratum with blue mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum). While both of these plants produce similar flowers, the latter is a cold-tolerant perennial that’s native to the eastern half of the United States. Native Range Ageratum is native to portions of Central America and Mexico. Although it can complete its life cycle in a few months, it often remains living for multiple years in these frost-free areas. Planting Whether you want to tuck a few ageratum plants into a planter or front yard garden bed, or add taller varieties to your cutting garden, starting with healthy plants is key. Since ageratum is an annual, you’ll need to replant these flowers each year. Starting with seeds or transplants are both viable options, so choose the one that works best for you.