Wednesday, December 28, 2022

Caring for Indoors Plants

With central heating, our homes dry out in winter so be certain your house plants aren’t suffering. Misting sometimes results in water spots on furniture. Instead of misting, use two sets of saucers for plants. Place one directly underneath the plant pot to capture any overflow from watering. That saucer, in turn, should be placed atop a larger one holding water (replenished weekly) to assure the air around the plant does not dry out. By adding water as needed you are creating an environment in which houseplants can survive our indoor heating – and so can your furniture.


Wednesday, December 21, 2022

Time to Seed Cold-Hardy Annuals

Time to scatter seeds for cold-hardy annuals that need to be exposed to sub-freezing temperatures in order to germinate in the spring. These include cleome, bachelor buttons, snapdragons, snow on the mountain and, for next year’s monarchs, milkweed.


 

Wednesday, December 14, 2022

Not Tonight, Deer

Start regular sprayings of shrubs and small trees with vile smelling solutions such as Bobbex and Deer Off to prevent browsing of tender tips by hungry deer. These commercial products contain putrefied eggs, garlic, and mint oil – all taste terrible to ruminants and ‘train’ them to stay away from your plants.