Holiday cacti are short-day plants, meaning they will begin blooming as nights get longer and days get shorter. To initiate blooming, plants need to have at least 12 hours of continuous darkness for 5-6 weeks. Flower buds will not be set if the darkness is interrupted for too long (2+ hours). Once the flower buds […]

Home gardeners have a vast variety of seeds to choose from when planning next year’s garden. Understanding seed terminology is important when deciding what to buy. It is easy to get confused with terms like heirloom, hybrid, non-GMO, and open-pollinated. Select the below link for a great explanation of types of seeds, from the University

The cool days of autumn are a great time to get outside and do some garden cleanup. By getting rid of leftover plant debris in flower beds and the vegetable garden, you can reduce the risk of some common problems next year. Several disease-causing bacteria and fungi over winter on plant debris and can cause

Although the outdoor garden may be getting ready for its long winter nap, you can continue to harvest the fresh flavor of herbs by growing a windowsill garden. Many herbs, including dill, parsley, thyme, chives, oregano, and mint, are adaptable to growing indoors in a sunny window. While some of these herbs may grow to

Every autumn, gardeners gaze at some of their beautiful annuals and wish there was some way to save them. Then, every spring, they wish they didn’t have to spend money on the same plants they just discarded the previous fall. Some annuals can be over-wintered to make a Phoenix-like recovery the next season.          Some caveats