Every fall I bring in several plants from the patio to overwinter as houseplants and most fare well indoors. Except for my terracotta teacup full of succulents. I love the way the burros tail spills over the edge and the senecio stretches like steam. All goes well for those first few weeks in my south-facing window. Until one day, fuzzy critters (aka mealybugs) arrive and I'm forced to deal some death. All. Winter. Long. Protected by a soft, fuzzy exoskeleton, mealybugs camp out in clusters along the undersides of leaves and reproduce rapidly. A single female lays anywhere from 400-500 eggs in her short life. She dies after egg laying. Piercing-sucking mouthparts enable them to extract nutrients from their host and diminish its vigor. They tend to favor fresh new growth. A ...
How to Divide Amaryllis and Why You Should
I'm not a resolution kinda gal. Perhaps a vow to initiate the dormant cycle on my growing collection of amaryllises in September instead of December is a good starting point. After all, they're supposed to be holiday flowers. But I find I'm most in need of flower power in February when holiday magic seems a distant memory and Spring is Winter's indefinite captive. That's what I love about amaryllis. I decide when I want them to flower. I hold the magic wand. But all the abracadabra I can summon won't change the fact that my pot-grown amaryllises are in need of a little attention. Something's Up I rescued a forgotten red lion amaryllis bulb from the top of my work bench a few years ago and potted it up in a cobalt blue pot. Unsure how it would perform, I placed it on the patio with ...
How to Prevent Christmas Cactus Buds From Falling Off
It was a very "Rocky" sort of moment. If ever a plant could bring out my inner Russian boxer, it is most certainly this Christmas cactus. Last December I brought it home from my local grocery store. At just $2.99, it was no big investment. How hard could it be, right? Covered in fuchsia flowers and dozens of buds, I figured this would make an excellent addition to my growing collection of houseplants. Its "cactus" status screamed low maintenance. VERY misleading. Bathed in ignorance and weakened by my longing for flowers, I envisioned it fitting right in with my other thrive-on-neglect comrades. How could I go wrong? Who knows how long the thing sat in the grocery store before it sucked me in. No doubt it was already suffering from the trauma of shipping and exposure to low light and dry ...
So You Got a Poinsettia. Now What?
When I was a teenager, the holiday season left me traumatized and slightly on edge. I blame it on poinsettias. I worked, often alone, in an all-glass greenhouse. It was a huge, isolated place. A beacon for kids with rocks. Attached to the greenhouse was a small barn that held feed for farm animals. The greenhouse was separated into three areas. The front house, the smaller of the two, housed a collection of African violets, jade and other common house plants. A cash register, planting supplies and an assortment of high-end dog foods filled the middle room. The back greenhouse was magical. Fragrant stephanotis scrambled up and over supports. Trays of flowers and veggies swallowed the tables. Everything changed in early August when the poinsettia plugs arrived. The Dark ...
8 Christmas Gifts for Gardeners
All opinions are my own. I was not compensated to promote any of the following products. So you have a gardener on your shopping list and no clue what to get them. I have some ideas. All have been tested in my garden for at least a few seasons. You'll see from the pictures that some have a few dings and scratches. I'm not gentle with my stuff. Things have to be tough to make the cut. And all eight of my suggestions certainly do. Steer clear of the butterfly houses (they don't work) and invest in things that show you did your homework. What girl couldn't use another pair of shoes? I discovered the Muckster 2 from the Muck Boot Company at the Independent Garden Center show in August. The purple caught my eye. But I was most intrigued by the boot's lining. I've owned several garden boots ...
How A Change In Perspective Made Me Thankful For Fallen Leaves
Fifteen years ago, leaves weren't as plentiful in my garden as they are today. Two maples planted in the parkway and a Bradford pear smack dab in the middle of the front yard were the only vertical elements, aside from the house, on our property. All three were chosen and planted (in their cages) by the builder. The trees are bigger now and I've since added to the collection, which means I have more to rake every fall. And I'm glad. Sure, leaf raking is another task on a laundry list of fall chores. But when you understand their value to a gardener, you'll see why I went to great lengths to acquire them in the early days of my horticultural odyssey. Gypped on Soil, Low on Cash Our neighborhood sits on a former farm. I should have top-notch soil, right? Nope. The builder dug out the good ...
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