Month: April 2009

Posted on

Caring for Indoor Daffodils

Indoor Daffodils by Lisa 65 (on flickr)
Indoor Daffodils by Lisa 65 (on flickr)

TheGardenLady received this question about daffodils:

I have also recently received a small pot of daffodils for indoors [probably from the local grocery store. It has the colored foil around it]. They doubled in length in one day, look healthy, and have smaller buds about to come out. I keep them in my room which is fairly cool and can get sunny. I’m wondering if I need to move the bulbs to a bigger pot at any point as well as if I can share the bulbs with friends once they stop flowering.

Daffodils like coolish indoor temperatures, 50-75°F, 10-24°C, the cooler the temperature, the longer the blooms last: medium humidity- too wet and you might get bulb rot: and bright indirect sunlight coming from the South/East/West

Do not waste your time repotting the daffodil bulbs for this season’s indoor flowering. Repotting causes stress on the plant which may cause the flowers to die.

The daffodils in the pot may have been forced (see here) to bloom at a specific time. Forcing is done by using special lighting techniques, fertilizing techniques and temperature control (see here). Enjoy the flowers by putting the little pot in a cache pot (see here) and bringing the entire thing to the room where you are entertaining for all to enjoy.

Continue reading “Caring for Indoor Daffodils”

Posted on

The Western Painted Lady Butterfly

b1

A reader of TheGardenLady blog wrote this column about an exciting happening in California on Sat., March 28, 2009.

If we were questioning the calendar, residents in the Bay Area of California knew for certain that Spring had arrived on Saturday, March 28. By late morning, it was well into the 70s and supposedly some thermometers hit low-80s mid-day. The balmy weather, blue skies, and gentle breeze sparked our mass exodus from behind TVs to local parks where all were eager to hit the hiking trails on the East Bay hills. But aside from the hoards of people on the trails, it was for the most part a typical day; while unseasonably warm it was the kind of day that we Northern Californians expect for the next 8 months.

Continue reading “The Western Painted Lady Butterfly”

Posted on

Leguminous Plants

Black Locust - Robinia pseudoacacia by maxi millipede (flickr)
Black Locust - Robinia pseudoacacia by maxi millipede (flickr)

TheGardenLady received this question from arv:

I want to know what leguminous trees / shrubs I can plant in Jerusalem for nitrogen fixing . I want something longer lasting than lentils, beans, chickpeas etc.

This writer, from Israel, wants to know of leguminous trees or shrubs that he can plant in Jerusalem. For those readers who want to know what leguminous means, it is a Botany or Plant Biology term that refers to plants related to legumes like pinto beans, great northern beans, lentils, etc. that help fix nitrogen in the soil. Nitrogen (N)  is essential for plant growth. N is the mineral element most demanded by plants.

The locust tree is my favorite leguminous tree.  See here.

It is the black locust, Robinia pseudoacacia, that is nitrogen fixing not the honey locust.  See here.  An article about the black locust is this.

But the locust tree can become invasive because the plant typically reproduces vegetatively by root suckering and stump sprouting. Root suckers arise spontaneously from established root systems, sprouting
new shoots and interconnecting fibrous roots to form extensive, dense groves of clones.

One tree that is short lived but is in the leguminous plant family is the Acacia tree. A scholarly article about the amount of N each type of Acacia tree fixes is this.

A complete list of leguminous plants is on this website.

Because this sounds like a scholarly endeavor that this questioner is asking to do, TheGardenLady has included some scholarly articles on nitrogen fixing that has been done on leguminous plants. I hope you can open these sites here, here, and here.

Posted on

12 Things To Do In Your Garden In April

Butchart Gardens in April by mmmee (on flickr)
Butchart Gardens in April by mmmee (on flickr)

Eager to get out to work in your garden? There are many things one can do in April. This list is especially for those who live in the mid Atlantic states where the temperature range is from the 50’s to the mid 60 degrees Fahrenheit (approximately between 10 and 20 degree Celsius). If your area is still too cold or already too hot, some of these suggestions may be too early or too late .

1. Have your soil tested – best to go to your local Master
Gardener/Agriculture extension service for the test kit – see here.

2. Improve your soil with organic matter- use your compost if it is
ready – see here.

3. If you are using it, incorporate pre-plant fertilizer now – see here.

4. Plant roses – see here.

5. Prune roses as soon as buds begin to push – see here.

6. Plant perennials and cold tolerant annuals – see here.

7. Divide late blooming perennials – see here.

8. Plant trees and shrubs

9. Fertilize trees and shrubs if needed – see here.

10. Prune trees and shrubs but not the spring blooming trees and
shrubs- correct all winter damage by pruning – see here.

11. Start seeds indoors – read the seed packet (don’t start tomato
seeds too early- see here.)

12. Plant cool-season vegetables – see here.

Posted on

The Good Ant

Ant, Head-On 2 by The Bald Eagle1 (on flickr)
Ant, Head-On 2 by The Bald Eagle1 (on flickr)

TheGardenLady received an excellent comment from someone named the GartenGrl.  On this post about Terro Liquid Ant Baits she pointed out the following:

Just remember your peonies need ants to bloom…so don’t put it near your peony bushes or you won’t get any flowers this year!

Ants do have value in the greater scheme of things. And as you point
out, peonies have a need of ants for the plant to flower.  As this quote suggests, ants are extremely important for our environment.

In many ways ants are our friends and allies, and we need them. In China, ants have been used for thousands of years to help control pests in orchards, making them the first insects known to be used for biological control. Ants actually help control pests that we haven’t always been very successful controlling on our own. Both indoors and out, they eat the eggs and larvae of fleas, flies, spiders, bed bugs, and probably silverfish and clothes moths. They also go after cockroaches and other bugs. In addition, ants patrol the perimeters of our houses and keep termites, their mortal enemies, from establishing colonies in our homes. If we let them do their job, that is. Ants are also scavengers that clean out lots of debris. The earth would be a
dirtier place if we didn’t have ants.

TheGardenLady should have suggested using ant traps only where a person doesn’t want them in the house. She appreciates GartenGrl’s comment.

Keep reading the blog and keep comments like this coming.