Your All Things Plants weekly news: January 18, 2014

There were 7 new gardening ideas posted last week:

By dave January 18, 2014 The Top 25 Annuals, Selected by ATP Members Ever wonder what the most popular annuals appear to be? We have run a report of the most photographed and discussed annuals in our database! (2,616 words - Read the full article) (6 comments)

By dave January 17, 2014 ATP Podcast #42: Seed Starting of Tomatoes and Peppers For today's episode, in addition to our usual segments, Dave and Trish will share all their favorite tips and tricks for starting tomatoes and peppers from seed. (8 comments)

By Sharon January 16, 2014 The Bean If you could grow only one vegetable, one that would provide the most nutrition for you and your family, what would it be? (455 words - Read the full article) (149 comments)

By 4susiesjoy January 15, 2014 Renewing a Favorite African Violet If you have a favorite African Violet and it has grown too large, looks scruffy, or has a turkey neck (it has lost its lower leaves and the stem looks long and lanky), but you hate to throw it away because it has sentimental value, or because it's a favorite, you can renew it. Without the lengthy process of starting a new plant from leaves, you can have a rejuvenated blooming plant. (243 words - Read the full article) (2 comments)

By RickCorey January 14, 2014 Bottom-Watering Seedling Trays with Cotton Flannel Prevents Water-Logging You can bottom-water seedlings right in their tray if you put a fuzzy capillary mat between the pots and the water-holding tray under them. Add only a little water at a time, and the mat will carry that water in equal amounts to every pot or cell. (975 words - Read the full article) (26 comments)

By drdawg January 13, 2014 Light Spectrums' Effects on Plants Light requirements vary from species to species and they even vary within the species themselves. Lumens measure light intensity whereas light spectrum measures wavelength. (292 words - Read the full article) (one comment)

By bitbit January 12, 2014 Winter Is the Time of Slow Growth One important thing to remember about winter gardening is that plants don't grow very fast when the days are short and the weather's cold. (84 words - Read the full article) (2 comments)

The most popular images last week from our plant database: Photo of Chinese Lantern (Abutilon 'Tiger Eye') by Paul2032: Photo of Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Truth About Love') by Char: Photo of Hen and Chicks (Sempervivum 'Zulu') by growitall: Photo of Lily (Lilium 'X-Phi') by gwhizz: Photo of Iris (Iris 'Cinnamon Sentiment') by diggit: Photo of Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Vatican City') by bittersweetfarm:

The most popular Multi-Plant Photos from last week: Multi-plant photo by 4susiesjoy: Multi-plant photo by ge1836: Multi-plant photo by Paul2032: Multi-plant photo by Paul2032: Multi-plant photo by Paul2032: Multi-plant photo by pixie62560:

Noteworthy acorn tips given this week:

9 people gave for a post in "Banner for January 12, 2014 by Shawwannda" by Shawwannda 9 people gave for the idea "The Bean" by Sharon 8 people gave for a post in "Banner for January 14, 2014 by dirtdorphins" by dirtdorphins 4 people gave for the idea "Renewing a Favorite African Violet" by 4susiesjoy 4 people gave for a post in "Banner for January 18, 2014 by mcash70" by mcash70 3 people gave for a post in "Companion success stories" by RavenCroft 3 people gave for a post in "Banner for January 15, 2014 by Newyorkrita" by Newyorkrita 3 people gave for the idea "Bottom-Watering Seedling Trays with Cotton Flannel Prevents Water-Logging" by RickCorey 3 people gave for the idea "Winter Is the Time of Slow Growth" by bitbit 2 people gave for a post in "Banner for January 16, 2014 by SongofJoy" by SongofJoy

The most active threads this week:

Subject	OP	Area	Replies
Growing beans is easy!	Newyorkrita	The Bean	70
Curly Spider Plant lost its curls. :(	Leda	Ask a Question forum	65
Claremont show 2014	dellac	Lilies forum	62
Dear To My Heart!	TBGDN	The Bean	54
And the winners are........!	dave	The January Not-A-Raffle Raffle!	51
Question for everyone about personal preference	Skiekitty	Roses forum	41
Favorite red eyed and edged daylilies	shive1	Daylilies forum	35
Banner for January 14, 2014 by dirtdorphins	dirtdorphins	Site Banners forum	29
Microbadges	jamyers59	Site Talk forum	27

Some new recommendations from our members:

SongofJoy recommended Logees Greenhouses and wrote: This is becoming one of my new favorites. Great selection and many unusual varieties.

kqcrna recommended Harris Seeds and wrote: I agree. I've always been happy with my seeds from Harris. Prices are competitive and germination rates high. The only negative I can think of is that sometimes quantities are much larger than I want or need. That's good if you're a professional grower, but sometimes a little too much for a home gardener.

Dollybelle recommended Earlybird Daylilies and wrote: Robin's daylilies were the best. Sadly, she is no longer selling daylilies due to the extreme drought over several years in her area. I will cherish the daylilies I bought from her and will remember her fabulous smile.

Some numbers from last week:

• 66 new members.
• 142 new threads.
• 3,638 new posts.
• 674 new images to the plant database.
• 82 new comments in the plant database.
• 18 new Multi-Plant photos.