Pacific Northwest
January, 2008
Regional Report
National News - From NGA Editors
New Lime Green Sunflower
Sunflowers are the quintessential summer flower. Over the past 20 years great strides have been made in breeding sunflowers to create shorter, multi-branching plants and more colorful flower...
Easier Way to Start Seeds
Trying to handle tiny seeds, such as carrot, pansy, and lettuce, and drop the right number into a cell pack can be tricky. With inexpensive seeds, there's no worry about using more than you need,...
Peppermint-Striped Hydrangea
The Forever & Ever line of big-leaf hydrangeas ( Hydrangea macrophylla ) features compact, mounding, 2- to 3-foot-tall shrubs that bloom on both old and new wood. The shrubs grow best in USDA...
Get to the Root of the Matter
Any gardener knows that plant roots are critical to growth, flowering, and fruiting. Strong roots enable plants to withstand pest attacks, adverse weather, and poor gardening practices. For the...
In the Garden
Perfect Plant Partners
In my garden I have a "no-bare-earth" policy; bare spots get filled with something as soon as possible. This approach results in on-the-spot design decisions, but since I prefer pastel flowers and silver and gray leaves, most plants that I add are...
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Resources
Web Finds
Anatomy of Grafting If you want to try your hand at making new fruit trees, late winter is the time to graft. You can...
Clever Gardening Technique
Homemade Rooting Hormone The twigs of willows (Salix) contain a natural hormone that stimulates root growth. To make an...
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Regional Reminders
- Discourage Winter Weeds
- Prune Grapevines
- Test Stored Seed
- Get Ready for Spring
- Collect Wood for Grafting
