January
9, 2002
It's January
9, Do You Know Where Your Sprinkler Is?
Mother Nature surprised us with a couple of warm days Tuesday
and Wednesday so I took advantage of the weather and piddled
around outside. I pulled the sprinkler out and really gave
the lawn a good soaking along with the other flower beds.
Since we have not received much precipitation this winter make
sure that you are watering also. Our bulbs, perennials, and
evergreens will need some water if they are going to survive this
cold, drought-like winter we're having. Boy does the warmer
weather make me want to get out there and plant! It takes
one nice day to catch the gardening bug, and to receive two days
in a row, well need I say anymore?
I am headed out of town this weekend to see my new nephew
Nicholas. My sister and her family live in Phoenix so
perhaps I will get to enjoy a few more warm days. While in
Phoenix I will be attending their Home and Garden Show so it will
be fun to see all of the different and unique plants they will be
showing. I attended last year and it was fun. Always
up for a good gardening expo and ideas on how to landscape
plants. I will share my notes with you next week.
I know it's hard this time of year to keep that gardening spirit
but hang in there, Spring hopefully is right around the corner.
A garden symposium is always a good way to get in the spirit so
register for "The
Art of Gardening", a symposium co-sponsored by Friends
of Powell Gardens and The Garden Center Association. Call
Powell Gardens at 816-697-2600 ext. 225. Kevin and I will
be there along with several other Savvygardeners. Hope to
see you there!
~
Shelly
Catalog
Confusion...
Many Savvygardeners have been wondering where their favorite
catalogs are. To make a long story short during last year's "dot
com shake-out" a certain company called Foster &
Gallagher went under. Unfortunately for many of us Foster
& Gallagher owned a number of mail-order gardening
companies. Here's a list of those companies and their status
(as near as we can tell) as of publication of this newsletter:
- Breck's
Bulbs - Website inactive. Website claims,
"We're Returning Soon."
- Gurney's
- Online. Bought at bankruptcy by "A group of lifelong mail order
gardeners."
- Henry
Field's - Online. Bought at bankruptcy by "A group of
lifelong mail order gardeners."
- Michigan
Bulb Company - No longer online.
- New
Holland Bulb Company - No longer online.
- Springhill
Nursery - Website inactive. Website claims,
"We're Returning Soon."
- Stark
Brothers - No longer online.
Caution is
in order when dealing with any of these companies as they are
brought back to life. They will no doubt have very
different management. Service and quality may be
suspect. Our recommendation is to limit your purchases
until your faith is fully restored.
Need a list
of on-line gardening catalogs? Click
here...
Out Of
Africa, Into Your Home...
You can encourage African violets to bloom by giving them
plenty of light. A south window during dark, winter months
is always a plus. No indoor access to sun? They also
bloom beautifully under fluorescent lights. In fact,
sometimes they seem to grow better under them.
Fertilize them at every watering, using a one-fourth strength
solution. Water from the top, to prevent salt build-up in
the soil, but avoid wetting the leaves.
Careful
What You Cut...
Do you have any pruning to do? January is a great month
to prune most deciduous trees and shrubs. While most trees
can be pruned at this time, don't prune spring flowering plants,
like quince, forsythia, spirea, etc... as you would be removing
their spring flowers.
Low
Light Lovers...
If you're like us finding sufficient light for houseplants is
a real challenge. When you run out of sunny windows it's
time to think about some houseplants that do well in low-light
conditions. Here's a few:
- Variegated
Peperomia (Peperomia obtusifolia) (photo)
- Chinese
evergreen (Aglaonema spp.) (photo)
- Cast-iron
plant (Aspidistra elatior) (photo)
- Parlor
palm (Chamaedorea elegans)
- Spider
plant (Chlorophytum comosum) (photo)
- Grape ivy
(Cissus rhombifolia) (photo)
- Dumbcane
(Dieffenbachia spp.) (photo)
- False
aralia (Dizygotheca elegantissima) (photo)
Source
Winter
Wisdom...
"If you don’t like today’s weather, just stick
around." It’s an old saw, but it certainly rings
true this year. A rather long dry period has been
complicated by unusual warmth and temperature fluctuations, from
6° F. to 60° in the span of two days or less! Find out
the problems and benefits to our wacky weather in this
week's Winter
Wisdom...
Savvygardeners,
Sappy Trees...
If you have ever pruned trees in late winter to early spring,
you may have noticed that some weep sap from fresh pruning
wounds. Different species of trees vary in how easily and
how much they "bleed." Those that are most
susceptible to bleeding include maples (silver, sugar, amur,
Norway and hedge), black walnut, pecan, birch, mulberry, Osage
orange (hedge tree) and grape. Though bleeding may look as
if it would cause considerable damage to the tree, that's not the
case. Even if large amounts of sap are lost, there is no
apparent long-term damage. However, many people find the
appearance of this bleeding objectionable. Pruning during
the winter when temperatures remain below freezing will help
minimize sap flow. So if you have any of the
"bleeders" that need pruned, you might want to do it
while the weather is really cold.
Source
Turf
Tips by Chris Karcher...
I'll bet you thought the lawn wasn't a concern until
spring! Guess again. Like all gardening activities
there's plenty to think about all year round. Thank
goodness for our lawn expert Chris Karcher. This month he
wrote "Winter Woes! What is Wrong With My Lawn?" Read
it...
Finally... "One
leaf left on a branch
and not a sound of sadness
or despair. One leaf left
on a branch and no unhappiness.
One leaf left all by itself
in the air and it does not speak
of loneliness or death.
One leaf and it spends itself
in swaying mildly in the breeze." ~
David Ignatow, Poet |