 Don't think that the garden loses its ecstasy in the winter
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Winter Care for your Houseplants
Everyone needs a little R and R, and for houseplants winter is the time to get it. Daylight is dramatically reduced, the air is dry, and temperatures are cool — not the perfect growing conditions. Follow these tips to keep your houseplants in shape through the winter. |
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Prolific and Terrific: Ranunculus
These are brilliantly colored flowers with multiple layers of delicate, crepe paper-thin petals. They look more like an origami masterwork than a flower. |
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Corn Growing: Getting Started
Corn is a warm-weather vegetable that grows best during the long, sunny days of summer. The standard rule of thumb for seeding corn is to plant it two weeks before the last expected frost date. To extend your harvest a few weeks, stagger your corn plantings. This also prevents accidental cross-pollination of certain varieties.
Time your plantings by checking the days to maturity and counting back from the date you want to begin harvesting. One thing to remember is that the harvest time may vary slightly if the weather is very cool or very warm during the growing season. Timing your corn plantings is especially helpful if you're planning a midsummer vacation away from home. You needn't miss a single, delicious ear if you plan it right. |
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Forcing Tulips Indoors
For those who can never get enough of tulips or can't wait until they spring up naturally in the garden, they can be forced indoors. To force a bulb means to create an environment where the bulb grows when it naturally wouldn't. By following these steps, you can buy tulip bulbs when they're available in fall and force them to bloom for the holidays or any time during the winter. |
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Planning Your Corn Crop
If you've never grown corn before, check with a local farm or garden store, a neighbor who raises corn or your Cooperative Extension Service agent before you buy seeds. They can tell you what varieties do particularly well in your area, as well as some of the disease, pest or weather problems you may encounter. |
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Spanish Needles (Bidens pilosa)
Plant Habit: Herb/Forb
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun, Full Sun to Partial Shade
Water Preferences: Mesic
Plant Height: 1-4 feet
Plant Spread: usually 8-12 inches, but tall plants can be 2-3 feet
Leaves: Evergreen, Deciduous, Other, Semi-evergreen
Flowers: Showy
Flower Color: White
Flower Time: Spring, Late spring or early summer, Summer, Late summer or early fall, Late fall or early winter, Fall
Suitable Locations: Xeriscapic
Uses: Will Naturalize, Suitable as Annual
Wildlife Attractant: Butterflies, Bees
Propagation: Seeds: Sow in situ
Propagation: Other methods: Cuttings: Tip, Layering
Pollinators: Bees, Hoverflies
Containers: Suitable in 1 gallon, Suitable in 3 gallon or larger, Needs excellent drainage in pots
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Job's Tears (Coix lacryma-jobi)
Plant Habit: Grass/Grass-like
Life cycle: Annual
Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade, Partial or Dappled Shade
Water Preferences: Mesic
Plant Height: up to 3 meters
Fruit: Other
Flowers: Inconspicuous, Other
Flower Color: Other, Green
Bloom Size: Under 1"
Flower Time: Summer
Uses: Culinary Herb, Medicinal Herb
Edible Parts: Seeds or Nuts
Eating Methods: Tea, Culinary Herb/Spice, Cooked, Fermented
Propagation: Seeds: Depth to plant seed
Pollinators: Wind
Containers: Suitable in 3 gallon or larger
Miscellaneous: Monoecious
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Hardy Gloxinia (Seemannia sylvatica)
Plant Habit: Herb/Forb
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade, Partial or Dappled Shade
Water Preferences: Mesic
Plant Height: 12 to 36 inches
Plant Spread: 12 to 24 inches
Leaves: Other
Flowers: Showy
Flower Color: Orange, Red
Bloom Size: Under 1"
Flower Time: Spring, Late spring or early summer, Summer, Late summer or early fall, Late winter or early spring, Late fall or early winter, Fall
Underground structures: Rhizome
Uses: Groundcover, Suitable as Annual
Wildlife Attractant: Hummingbirds, Bees
Resistances: Humidity tolerant
Propagation: Other methods: Cuttings: Stem, Cuttings: Leaf, Other
Containers: Needs excellent drainage in pots
Miscellaneous: Goes Dormant
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Soldier Orchid (Zeuxine strateumatica)
Plant Habit: Herb/Forb
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Plant Height: 6 inches
Leaves: Deciduous
Fruit: Edible to birds
Flowers: Showy
Flower Color: White, Other
Flower Time: Late fall or early winter, Fall, Winter
Uses: Will Naturalize
Conservation status: Least Concern (LC)
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Variegated Devil's Backbone (Euphorbia tithymaloides 'Variegata')
Plant Habit: Cactus/Succulent
Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Leaves: Variegated, Evergreen
Flowers: Other
Suitable Locations: Xeriscapic, Houseplant
Dynamic Accumulator: B (Boron)
Resistances: Humidity tolerant, Drought tolerant
Toxicity: Other
Propagation: Other methods: Cuttings: Stem
Containers: Needs excellent drainage in pots
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 Photo by Calif_Sue
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 Photo by sedumzz
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 Photo by HamiltonSquare
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 Photo by dirtdorphins
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 Photo by GigiPlumeria
"Not mine…yet…thinking about it. Seen at local big box store."
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 Photo by twixanddud
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 Photo by dirtdorphins
"x verlotti"
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 Photo by GreenIris
"TB Iris Rare Blend"
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 Photo by Plantmom2020
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 Photo by Iraygus
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Active threads from our forums:
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The numbers from this week:
450 members joined.
3,048 posts written in our forums.
666 photos posted to the plant database.
541 plants added to personal inventory lists.
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 While I relish our warm months, winter forms our character, and brings out our best
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