Advice From The Ritchie's Experts

Opening Your Pond In Spring If a pond is well installed, it can be the most attractive part of your landscape, however, if not installed properly it can be one of the most difficult items to maintain. When you are...

Fertilizers and their uses. What are fertilizers? Fertilizers are basically food for plants. They contain various mixtures that help to ensure that the plant has everything it needs nutrient wise to fulfill its needs. What do all the numbers mean?...

Plants Toxic to Dogs Botanical name Symptoms Common name Abrus precatorius Severe vomiting and diarrhea (sometimes bloody), tremors, high heart rate, fever, shock, and death. Seeds are highly toxic. Buddhist Rosary Bead, Indian Bead, Indian Licorice, Love Bean, Lucky Bean,...

Why are soils important? Soils are the foundation of our growing cycle. The soil provides the basic nutrients and water source for plants. The type of soil and its quality will determine what type of plants can be grown as...

Winterizing your pond Having a pond is often associated with a lot of work, but there is really very little that needs to be done to keep a pond, and even less to maintain the pond over winter. In Ottawa,...

Controlling Algae in Your Pond There are two types of algae to be concerned about in your decorative pond. The first is suspended algae which is a free floating algae that causes your pond to turn the greenish colour often...

Plants toxic to horses Botanical name Symptoms Common name Abrus precatorius Severe vomiting and diarrhea (sometimes bloody), tremors, high heart rate, fever, shock, and death. Seeds are highly toxic. Buddhist Rosary Bead, Indian Bead, Indian Licorice, Love Bean, Lucky Bean,...

Having a lawn is the equivalent to having a large garden with only one plant. People often do not realize the amount of work and care required to keep a lawn as thick and as full as people usually want...

Pruning Hydrangeas FIRST, it's important to know that mophead hydrangeas do not have to be pruned back - ever - unless they are very old. Removing dead stems is the only pruning that must be done for the health of the...

  When and how to prune each shrub or bush can be difficult to navigate. Here are a number of lists of when it is best to prune.   Pruning Times for Flowering Shrubs   Prune in Early Spring or...

Can I plant a fruit tree in this zone? the answer is YES- there are many you can plant and we can show you how.

Good reasons for container planting The container themselves are decorative as well as the plant material. Perfect for small gardens. They provide a good medium for mixing and matching plant material. They can be used to camouflage bad views or...