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Recently updated guides

The 50 most recently updated articles on the site. We revise pages when new Extension publications drop, frost dates shift, or readers point out gaps.

Every guide here was updated within the last few months. We revise articles when new Extension publications drop, when seasonal timing shifts, or when a reader points out a gap. No publish-and-forget.

50 most recent updates · Browse the full catalog at /inventory/ · Subscribe to the changelog feed for a running log.

June 2026


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">How to grow yarrow (Achillea millefolium) in zones 3–9. Full sun, drought tolerance, dividing, and managing invasive spread. Extension-sourced advice.</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">How to grow viburnum shrubs in zones 2–9 depending on species. Pruning, pest management, and choosing the right species for your site. Extension-sourced.</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">I've planted tulips twice on Long Island. Both times, the deer ate them before they opened — not the bulbs, the flowers. Tulips come up, and if you have deer p…</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">How to grow switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) in zones 5–9. Cultivar selection, fall interest, cutting back, and managing self-seeding. First-person zone 7a guide.</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">I have grown 'Autumn Joy' sedum — now correctly named Hylotelephium 'Herbstfreude' — in a full-sun corner of my Long Island yard for nine years. It has requ…</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">I don't grow roses at home. My Long Island yard has moderate-to-high deer pressure, and after watching deer strip a neighbor's hybrid tea down to stubs twice in…</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">I don't grow rhododendrons. My Long Island yard is sandy loam in full sun for most of the day, and rhododendrons require dappled shade, consistent moisture, and…</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">How to grow perennial salvia (Salvia nemorosa) in zones 4–8. Planting, pruning, deadheading, and solving common problems. Sourced from Extension labs.</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">A peony planted correctly will outlive you. There are documented herbaceous peonies in old Pennsylvania farmhouse yards that have been blooming continuously for…</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">How to grow ornamental alliums in zones 3–9. Planting depth, species selection, deer resistance, and managing the foliage gap. First-person zone 7a guide.</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">How to grow Miscanthus sinensis in zones 5–9. Invasive risk, cultivar selection, cutting back, and managing the large clumps. Extension-sourced guide.</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">How to grow lupines (Lupinus polyphyllus) in zones 4–8. Planting from seed, soil prep, preventing crown rot, and extending bloom. Extension-sourced.</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">How to grow common lilac (Syringa vulgaris) in zones 3–7. Pruning for best bloom, powdery mildew prevention, and choosing cultivars. Extension-sourced guide.…</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">I have killed lavender twice and kept it alive once. The two dead plants were Lavandula angustifolia 'Munstead' planted in amended beds with compost and mulch…</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">A Japanese maple is one of the few small trees that does almost everything you want — it gives you spring color, summer texture, fall color that rivals New Engl…</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">Hydrangeas are one of the most-planted flowering shrubs in the eastern United States, and one of the most botched. The first hydrangea I bought died with a sing…</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">Hostas are the default shade-garden plant in the eastern U.S. and most of the Midwest, and most of the hostas you see have been planted in the wrong place — in…</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">How to grow holly (Ilex spp.) in zones 3–11 depending on species. Male/female planting for berries, pruning, and species selection guide. Extension-sourced.</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">How to grow heuchera (coral bells) in zones 4–9. Heaving in winter, vine weevil, division, and choosing cultivars for shade or sun. Extension-sourced guide.</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">How to grow Lenten rose (Helleborus orientalis) in zones 4–9. Shade tolerance, winter bloom, division, and managing black death disease. Extension-sourced.</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">How to grow hardy hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos) in zones 4–9. Late emergence, pruning, fertilizing, and Japanese beetle control. Extension-sourced guide.…</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">Gardenias are among the most fragrant flowering shrubs in cultivation, and among the most exacting. The combination of acidic soil requirements, sensitivity to…</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">How to grow garden phlox (Phlox paniculata) in zones 4–8. Prevent powdery mildew, divide correctly, and choose resistant cultivars. Extension-sourced.…</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">How to grow foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) as a biennial and short-lived perennial in zones 4–9. Toxicity, self-seeding, and companion planting guide.</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">The name 'dianthus' covers a large and genuinely confusing group of plants. The flat-faced pink with the fringed petals in a spring bedding display, the fragran…</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">How to grow daylilies (Hemerocallis) in zones 3–9. Deer pressure, division, avoiding scapes being eaten, and cultivar selection for Long Island zone 7a.</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">I don't grow dahlias. My Long Island yard runs sandy loam with moderate-to-high deer pressure, and the time investment required to lift and store tubers every f…</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">How to grow daffodils (Narcissus) in zones 3–8. Planting depth, naturalizing, foliage management, and the one bulb deer won't touch. First-person zone 7a guide.</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">I grow Echinacea purpurea in two locations on my Long Island property — a mass planting along a sunny fence line and a smaller group in a mixed border. Both…</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">How to grow columbine (Aquilegia) in zones 3–9. Shade tolerance, leaf miner control, encouraging self-seeding, and choosing the right species. Sourced from Exte…</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">Clematis is one of those plants where everyone has a horror story. They pruned it in March, it didn't bloom. They pruned it in August, it never recovered. They…</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">Before we get into how to grow butterfly bush, we need to talk about where you.</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">How to grow boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) in zones 5–9. Boxwood blight, bronze winter color, pruning, and resistant alternatives. Extension-sourced guide.</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">I planted my first Rudbeckia fulgida 'Goldsturm' about seven years ago in a sunny border along the south side of my Long Island yard, and it has rewarded me e…</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">Complete guide to growing bee balm (Monarda didyma) in zones 3–9. Prevent powdery mildew, divide correctly, and maximize bloom. Extension-sourced.…</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">How to grow bearded iris (Iris germanica) in zones 3–10. Shallow rhizome planting, iris borer control, dividing, and diagnosing soft rot. Extension-sourced.</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">Compare the 10 best hydrangea cultivars across mophead, paniculata, and oakleaf types — with real zone ranges, mature sizes, and honest performance notes.</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">Sweet corn variety comparison for home gardens — sugary (su), sugar-enhanced (se), and supersweet (sh2) types explained with top cultivars by flavor, days to ma…</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">Slicing, pickling, and Japanese cucumber varieties compared by flavor, disease resistance, and growing habit — with the best cultivars for each use and climate.</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">Strawberry type comparison — June-bearing, everbearing, and day-neutral — with the best varieties for each type, planting systems, and realistic yield expectati…</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">English, French, and Spanish lavender compared honestly by zone hardiness, fragrance, and longevity — with the best cultivars for cold climates, the South, and…</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">Bush and vining zucchini varieties compared — with the best cultivars for small gardens, disease resistance, and the one harvest timing error that costs most ga…</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">Sourced guide to the best weigela cultivars for foliage color, bloom, and compact size, with zone ranges, pruning timing, and hummingbird value.</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">A sourced guide to the best viburnum cultivars organized by season of interest, with zone ranges, mature sizes, and honest assessments of fragrance and deer res…</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">Upright and creeping sedum cultivars compared for sun gardens — Hylotelephium (tall sedums) and low creeping types for borders, slopes, and containers in zones…</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">Tulip cultivars that reliably perennialize — species tulips, Darwinhybrids, and fosteriana types compared for multi-year return in zones 3–7 gardens.</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">Compare the best home garden tomato varieties by type — determinate vs indeterminate, slicers, cherry, and paste — with days to maturity and disease resistance…</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">A sourced guide to the best spirea cultivars for spring bloom, summer foliage, and compact hedging, with zone ranges and honest notes on invasive risk.</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">Sourced guide to the best smoke bush (Cotinus) cultivars for purple foliage, smoke-like plumes, and fall color, with zone ranges and pruning options.</span>


<span style="color:var(—text-soft); font-size:14px;">Sourced guide to the best serviceberry (Amelanchier) cultivars for fruit production, ornamental value, and wildlife habitat, with zone ranges and species compar…</span>

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