It’s the last month of the year! Mother Nature is being very kind to us as we enter December. ‘Tis the season for so many gardening chores and tasks. How about this weather? I wrote a blog on “Where’s the cold weather?” a month ago. Well, it finally arrived over Thanksgiving weekend. We also had … Read more
Is it Christmas or January? One of my favorite holiday flowers is the Amaryllis. This beauty has flowers that range in size from six to ten inches—and all this from a bulb that ranges in size from three to five inches. Now, some people grow amaryllis as an annual—that is, they enjoy the blooms and … Read more
FINDING ITEMS FOR YOUR HOLIDAY GREENERY CAN BE FOUND IN YOUR YARD Here we are in the last week of November. Many of us are concentrating on decorating our homes or offices for the holiday season, which is upon us. Finding fresh greenery to use in decorating is as easy as strolling through your gardens. … Read more
You see them everywhere this time of year, don’t you? Christmas cactus. So here is some “need-to-know” info about these beautiful bloomers. Where They Come From Christmas cacti are native to the tropical rainforest in Brazil, and, believe it or not, they are epiphytes. Epiphytes are plants that live on other plants. Now, they are … Read more
WE ALL LOVE OUR BUTTERFLIES, BEES, AND OTHER BENEFICIAL INSECTS Most gardeners understand our role in improving our environment for all our native pollinators. We have seen an enormous surge in sales of our native plants and doubled the size of the area we designate for native plants. This trend of planting native plants warms … Read more
Okay, so you’ve pulled all your houseplants back in for the winter. Now what? Well, I’m happy to say not much. What to Remember We must remember that winter means one thing to plants—less sun! Plants rely on chlorophyll, which is activated by sunlight. In the winter, when days are short and the sunlight is … Read more
HERE WE ARE IN NOVEMBER, WITH THE HOLIDAYS JUST AROUND THE CORNER, AND WE STILL HAVE GREAT WEATHER But the only downside to this early November warming trend is that we are drier than normal. KEEP ALL THESE NEWLY PLANTED PLANTS WATERED! We need to continue watering new trees and shrubs until the ground freezes. … Read more
Last week, I discussed what to do with citrus over the winter. This week, I’ll discuss what to do with orchids over the winter. How Many Species? Really? First, a little background: there are over 30,000 naturally occurring species of orchids, with well over 100,000 manmade hybrids. 30.000??? That’s right! Orchids are the single most … Read more
WHERE’S THE COLD WEATHER? Here we are in early November and experiencing a nice warming trend. Yes, we have had some cold nights with temperatures down into the low 40s and upper 30s. And, yes, some of you have experienced a frost. But most of us in the Richmond area and surrounding suburbs have yet … Read more
Last week, I brought all my citrus back inside for the winter, so I thought I’d talk about them this week. I have a Meyer lemon, a Key lime, and two kumquats. Citrus is fairly easy to grow if you’ve got the right spot. How Citrus Trees Found Their Way to The Americas Citrus trees … Read more
