Month: January 2008

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Is There A Plant To Honor A Boy Named George?

 

                             (Aster Amellus) 

TheGardenLady received this question from Helen:

I have a friend who has recently lost a little boy named George, and I was wondering if there is any flower or plant that represents this name.

I think your question is a beautiful one – to honor a little boy named George.

When plant breeders create a new cultivar, they often name it after someone.   See here or here.   Sometimes the name they give is for a person who is from royalty or someone famous; many roses are named after actors.

TheGardenLady presents a short list of plant cultivars with the name George in it.

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Outdoor Gardening Things To Do In The Winter

 

It is January and though it is winter for many of us there are still a few outdoor gardening things we can do.

If your ground is not frozen, you can still take soil tests  – take separate tests for lawns, vegetable and flower gardens or shrub borders. You can get your soil test from your local extension office.

And if you soil is not frozen you can apply lime as needed – your soil test results will tell you if you need lime (do not apply lime if your ground is frozen).

You should still be adding organics (your garbage) to your compost pile or bin see TheGardenLady10/24.

Whatever time of year, all year round, you can always prune Dead Wood on trees, shrubs and vines. Be sure the wood is dead when you are pruning in the winter and not just dormant.

But if the ground is frozen or there is lots of snow, this is the best time to be snuggled indoors reading all those gardening books you received this holiday season or borrowed from your local library. And now instead of fattening sugar plums dancing in your head, you can plan and have dreams of your garden in 2008.

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Taking Care of Ferns

 

TheGardenLady received this question from Johnathan:

My girlfriend just bought me a fern plant.  I never grew or even had
plants, but I just got my  own apartment. I need to know how to take
care of them and how to get them to grow up to 10ft.

TheGardenLady wrote the Dec.3rd post How You Can Better Help TheGardenLady so She Can Better Help you because letters like this do not give enough details.

There are so many ferns that grow to 10ft tall, how can anyone give you the perfect care for the one you were given unless you give the name of the plant or at the very least, a good, clear photo of the plant? What might be good care for one type of fern may not be the best way to care for a different type of fern.

Two websites that have photos of ferns are here and here:

Google places relevant and excellent ads on TheGardenLady blog. TheGardenLady does not choose any of the ads, she just writes the columns. But one ad on TheGardenLady blog that might have a photo of your fern is the company Paradise Palms.  On TheGardenLady site it is listed as Lady Palm Ferns and when it is clicked the company has photos of numerous different ferns.

Each of the fern nurseries has a phone number where you can call to ask your question about your particular fern. But remember, you have to give the nursery people more information than you gave TheGardenLady. At the least they will want to know the name of the fern you were given.

Or if you do not have a name of the plant, but do have a good photo, resend your question to TheGardenLady with the added information.  Or if your apartment is in the States, take the entire plant to your local extension office.

Good luck. I really do wish I could help. Even if you get the information you want from someone else, TheGardenLady would like to know what kind of fern you were given.