If you want to grow limes at home but lack the warm climate necessary for outdoor growing, take a look at dwarf lime trees. These plants remain compact, allowing you to tuck them into planters and grow them indoors. Join farmer Briana Yablonski to learn how to plant and care for these petite citrus trees. During the dark days of winter, few things are as refreshing as savoring a piece of lime meringue pie or sipping on a tangy lime cocktail. While there’s nothing wrong with purchasing limes from the supermarket, growing your own limes at home brings a whole new level of appreciation for this tangy citrus fruit! The tricky part of growing lime trees is their cold sensitivity. If you try to grow them outdoors in places like Pennsylvania or Colorado, you’ll watch them quickly succumb to winter temperatures. However, before you write off growing one of these trees at home, consider growing them in a pot indoors! Dwarf lime trees remain less than ten feet tall, so they’re perfect for container growing and sunny indoor areas. Not only do they produce tasty fruit, but they also act as a conversation-starting houseplant! Stick with me to learn how to plant and care for these tiny citrus trees. What Is It? Unless you live in the warmest areas of the United States, you’ll have difficulty growing lime trees outdoors. However, if you live in zone 7 and colder, you can still grow these trees at home if you bring them indoors during the winter. Since smaller trees are easier to move and keep indoors, dwarf limes are a great option for northern growers. The dwarf lime tree isn’t a specific species or variety. Instead, it’s any type of lime grown onto a dwarfing rootstock. The rootstock keeps the tree small and provides some disease resistance, while the scion determines fruit flavor, size, and production. That means you can find dwarf key limes, dwarf makrut limes, and dwarf Persian limes. Characteristics As I mentioned above, not all dwarf lime trees share the same characteristics. However, they do have many commonalities! All max out between six and eight feet tall when grown in the ground. Container-grown trees remain smaller and typically grow four to six feet tall. Therefore, they’re a great option if you want to grow a lime tree indoors. They are evergreen, so they keep their leaves year-round and never enter true dormancy. The leaves are oblong and may have a pointed or rounded end. Most of these citrus trees produce the majority of their small, white flowers in the spring, but flowers continue to pop up throughout the year. The flowers eventually turn into small fruits that grow until they reach the size of a golf ball or a little larger. Most limes will mature and ripen sometime between early fall and winter. Native Area Lime trees are native to Southeast Asia. The exact native area depends on the type of dwarf lime tree scion. Regardless, all of these trees prefer warm tropical climates but tolerate indoor growing conditions. Planting Depending on where you live, you can either plant these trees outdoors in the ground or in a movable container. Planting these trees in pots allows you to keep them outside in the summer and move them indoors when colder weather arrives, but you can also keep them indoors year-round. Regardless of where you plant them, it’s best to start the planting process with a seedling.

Zinnias are a wonderful way to add quick and bold color to your summer garden. 'California Giants' do it in grand style. Join gardening expert Melissa Strauss to discuss growing and caring for your zinnias. Zinnias are vibrant, low-maintenance flowers that we love for their bold, long-lasting flowers and easy-going nature. These members of the daisy family love warm, summer weather. A wide range of forms and colors makes them perfect for any sunny space in the garden. From small single cultivars to double-petaled ‘California Giants’ zinnias, these cheerful flowers are always charming. Their long, continuous blooming season lasts from early summer until frost. Their high impact in the garden, paired with their strong appeal to pollinators, makes these zinnias a win in my book! What Is It? ‘California Giants’ zinnias are an impressive heirloom known for their large, dahlia-form blooms in vibrant colors. They make an excellent addition to the cutting garden, with long-lasting flowers on tall, strong stems. Their beauty, coupled with their ease of care, makes these a fantastic addition to cutting gardens, containers, and flowerbeds. Characteristics ‘California Giants’ is a large, flowering variety of zinnia characterized by its bold, vibrant flowers. They often reach five inches in diameter, making them one of the largest cultivars. The substantial blooms are usually semi-double to fully double, with a dahlia-like form. The blooms in shades of red, orange, pink, white, purple, and yellow are attractive to pollinators. Butterflies, in particular, love to drink nectar from zinnias. Their wide, often open flowers are easily accessible to pollinators. The plants are upright and branching, and they branch more when you cut and deadhead the flowers. They’re great for cutting gardens and the back of borders. These begin blooming in late spring to early summer, depending on your climate. With proper care, they will continue to produce flowers right up until your first frost. Native Area Zinnia elegans is native to Mexico and parts of Central and North America. They typically grow wild in warm, arid, and semi-arid regions. ‘California Giants’ zinnia is a cultivated strain that is well-suited to a wide range of climates. Planting The best time to plant your ‘California Giants’ zinnias is in the spring, as soon as the weather is warm enough. While you can start them indoors early, they are easiest to sow directly in the garden. These are a large type of zinnia, and they need some space to spread out. Keep this in mind when deciding on a location. Ideally, your plants will grow large and shrubby, producing an abundance of flowers.

A delightfully airy plant with beautiful heart-shaped flowers, the Pacific bleeding heart is a must-have perennial in the shade garden. Learn where this native plant will thrive and how to give it the best care with native plant gardener Jerad Bryant. Some plants wow growers with their hardiness, and others with their ornamental attributes. Very rarely does a plant come along that exemplifies both. Pacific bleeding heart does, and it is as hardy as it is beautiful. Scientifically Dicentra formosa, this shade-loving perennial spreads through rhizomes and seeds to slowly blanket an area. Plant one this year, and you’ll have bunches of pendulous heart-shaped flowers each spring. This plant grows foliage that is as ornamental as the flowers, and they delicately divide into fern-like fronds. This native thrives in the Pacific Northwest but grows successfully throughout the U.S. with the proper care and maintenance. Follow this simple care guide and learn all you need to know to grow Pacific bleeding heart. What Is Pacific Bleeding Heart? As its name suggests, this plant is native to the Pacific Coast and the wet forests near the coastline. It creeps and crawls along airy soil to form strands of fern-like foliage and pink-white heart-shaped flowers. In the forest, it stands out among other plants, and in the garden, it creeps as a ground cover for shady areas. This bleeding heart is different than the common one Dicentra spectabilis in that it is smaller, and it is native to North America. The common bleeding heart is native to Japan and does not have as finely divided foliage. Although it is an old garden favorite, native species of Dicentra are quickly surpassing its popularity. Other than its ornamental beauty, plant this native for its beneficial offerings to the local ecosystem. This plant has a unique appendage on its seeds that is rich in oil called an elaiosome. Ants love eating this oil, and they carry the seeds to new places when they discard them after feasting. Besides ants, bees, native birds, and beetles enjoy the seeds, foliage, and flowers. A true perennial, this plant prefers a long dormancy during cold winter months. Then, in the early spring, bunches of fern-like foliage grow out of the ground before clusters of heart-shaped flowers. The flowers give way to the foliage, which stays green until fruits form from the flowers. After an entire year, the plant dies back to its rhizomes beneath the soil, and it conserves its energy so that it can sprout again. History Unlike most native plants cultivated widely, the Pacific bleeding heart was famous for garden use in the U.K. before the United States. Scottish botanist Archibald Menzies encountered it on his travels along the Pacific Coast. He collected its seeds and sent samples back to Kew Gardens. From there, Kew propagated the plant and spread it throughout the U.K. After its wide use in the U.K., American gardens caught up and started featuring the Pacific variety instead of the common one from Japan. Nowadays naturalists use this plant widely in renaturalization projects, and gardeners highly favor it the world over. Native Americans use it as a remedy for skin issues and back pain. The scientific name Dicentra means “two-spurred” in Latin and references the two points that come off of the heart-shaped part of the flower. Formosa means “beautiful and well-formed.” Any onlooker of this stately plant can see the name fits well! Native Area Pacific bleeding heart is native to the Pacific Northwest, and it grows naturally from British Columbia down to central California along the coast in forests and woodlands. It prefers light, airy soil with good drainage and lots of water during the growing season. Because it grows naturally in forests, this U.S. native thrives in dappled shade with protection from direct sunlight. It benefits from pockets of intermittent light throughout the day. In the forest, light passes through the trees sporadically, and this plant benefits from the occasional sunray. This perennial commonly grows alongside other shade-loving forest floor dwellers like evergreen violets, Western fairy slippers, and fawn lilies. Ferns like the Western sword-fern, mosses, and lichens also grow profusely where this wildflower resides. In my garden, this plant slowly spreads each year under the shade of a tall Douglas fir tree, and it thrives without much intervention. Characteristics Identify this plant easily by looking for its flowers, leaves, and structure. It typically grows to heights of one-and-a-half feet and widths of three feet or wider. From the ground in early spring, shoots of blue-green foliage sprout up. Then, stems with no leaves and clusters of pendant pink-white flowers bloom profusely. The flowers look like cut-open hearts with blood dripping down, which is where the plant’s interesting name comes from. In the wild, this plant blankets woodland areas with conducive conditions for its growth. It spreads readily underground through fleshy and tubular root structures called rhizomes. This native also uses seeds to spread itself, and it employs ants to disperse these seeds by growing the oil-rich coating they eat. In the fall, as temperatures dip below freezing, this plant dies back to its rhizomes and disappears above ground. Even in areas where winters are mild, this perennial dies back and rests for a season before sprouting to flourish in the other three. Uses Plant this Pacific Northwest native for its ornamental attributes and the wealth of natural resources it offers local wildlife. This plant is toxic for humans, and so I recommend not planting it in the vegetable garden. Situate it in an area you’d like nature to reclaim, as the shade it provides in the spring and summer creates a habitat for all sorts of bugs and critters on the soil. In reforesting and naturalizing initiatives in the Pacific Northwest, this plant settles into new areas with ease. It is helpful as a deciduous ground cover in woodlands, forests, and shaded meadows. Plant one alongside shade-loving shrubs like snowberry and serviceberry, and trees like bigleaf maple and Douglas fir. Where To Buy Buy seeds or plants to try growing this perennial at home. Live plants are easier to transplant into the garden than starting from seed. However, seed starting is a rewarding process for the adventurous gardener. Try the species plant for gorgeous pink blooms, or try a fun cultivar like ‘Zestful’ with a longer bloom period and darker flowers. Planting Three options exist for the home gardener to establish this plant in the landscape–seed germination, live plant transplanting, or rhizome division. Rhizome division and live-plant transplanting are easier, however, growing plants from seeds is a fun experiment, and seed-grown plants often exhibit unique characteristics because of their genetic variability. To grow this plant from seed, first stratify the seeds for 60-90 days in the refrigerator, or plant them directly into the garden in the fall. If using the fridge method, put seeds in an airtight container with sand that is moist but not soggy. Take the container out of the fridge once the 90 days are up, and plant seeds in a shady area after your last frost date. Cover them with a thin layer of soil no thicker than a quarter-inch. Keep seeds and their soil moist until they germinate. Seedlings quickly mature, although they may not flower their first year. After a summer aboveground and a winter belowground, your plants should sprout their famous heart-shaped flowers next spring. If you’re opting for transplanting or dividing, the process is a bit simpler. When dividing, first locate a mature clump. Then, in the fall, once the plant goes dormant, dig up part of the plant and sever the rhizomes. Plant the severed rhizomes a few inches deep in shady areas, and they’ll sprout and flower in the spring! Transplant potted live plants in the fall or spring when the weather is mild and temperatures are cool. This ensures your transplants have time to establish themselves before the summer heat arrives in full force. Water your plants well while they establish themselves, and continue irrigating throughout the growing season if rainfall is low. How to Grow Pacific bleeding hearts stand out as stately specimens in the shade garden. With dappled shade, ample water, and airy soil, your plants will thrive each year. Once established, these perennials are no-fuss ground covers with little maintenance. Maintenance This North American native plant requires little, if any, maintenance. Each year it dies back, and its foliage yellows and browns before falling to the floor. There, it decays and adds key nutrients back into the soil. When given space to freely roam, this perennial spreads and thrives with little intervention on the gardener’s part.