West February

Start Geranium

Start cuttings of geraniums now, so that young, well rooted plants will be available for spring bedding. Cuttings can be rooted in sand, vermiculite, or any other commonly used rooting medium. Transplant the rooted cuttings to pots as soon as young roots are formed. Do not transplant the geranium plants into too rich a soil, or you may have trouble with basal rot.

A small greenhouse is a wonderful asset for growing bedding plants. However, many gardeners get by, by starting their seeds and cuttings in a bright window in the home and later transferring them to an electric cable-heated frame. The use of polyethylene film in place of glass for greenhouses and frames will undoubtedly renew interest among amateurs in growing their own bedding plants.

A greenhouse can be covered with polyethylene at a fraction of the cost of glass. Except for the need of replacing the polyethylene at least every other year, it has a number of advantages over glass. Polyethylene permits the entry of ultra-violet light much better than glass, and thus ensures stronger plant growth. It is apt to stand up better in a hail storm than glass, and is much cheaper to replace. A double thickness of polyethylene inflated is recommended.

Check winter mulches and see that they are not blown away by strong winds. Mulches will stay intact if chicken wire is laid over them. The wire can be held down with small boulders as weights, or hooked into the ground or snow with wire or wooden fasteners.

It is not always the extreme cold that causes winter injury in plants, but a few early warm spells in late winter that cause plants to break dormancy including the ones produced from a plant propagation job. The exposed plants succumb to later periods of cold weather.

Plants tucked away for the winter in suitable mulch covers are not so subject to extreme fluctuations in temperatures during the winter months, and early spring, and thus survive better.

West February

Start Geranium

Start cuttings of geraniums now, so that young, well rooted plants will be available for spring bedding. Cuttings can be rooted in sand, vermiculite, or any other commonly used rooting medium. Transplant the rooted cuttings to pots as soon as young roots are formed. Do not transplant the geranium plants into too rich a soil, or you may have trouble with basal rot.

A small greenhouse is a wonderful asset for growing bedding plants. However, many gardeners get by, by starting their seeds and cuttings in a bright window in the home and later transferring them to an electric cable-heated frame. The use of polyethylene film in place of glass for greenhouses and frames will undoubtedly renew interest among amateurs in growing their own bedding plants.

A greenhouse can be covered with polyethylene at a fraction of the cost of glass. Except for the need of replacing the polyethylene at least every other year, it has a number of advantages over glass. Polyethylene permits the entry of ultra-violet light much better than glass, and thus ensures stronger plant growth. It is apt to stand up better in a hail storm than glass, and is much cheaper to replace. A double thickness of polyethylene inflated is recommended.

Check winter mulches and see that they are not blown away by strong winds. Mulches will stay intact if chicken wire is laid over them. The wire can be held down with small boulders as weights, or hooked into the ground or snow with wire or wooden fasteners.

It is not always the extreme cold that causes winter injury in plants, but a few early warm spells in late winter that cause plants to break dormancy including the ones produced from a plant propagation job. The exposed plants succumb to later periods of cold weather.

Plants tucked away for the winter in suitable mulch covers are not so subject to extreme fluctuations in temperatures during the winter months, and early spring, and thus survive better.