A wonderful, easy indoor gardening project this winter is to start a dish (pot) of paperwhite narcissus (Narcissus tazetta). Paperwhites make a lovely white centerpiece on your dining table. Paperwhite bulbs are outdoor hardy in USDA hardiness zones 8 – 10. Store the bulbs in a warm dry location such as on top of a refrigerator until you’re […]
Archive for the ‘Tropical Plants (non-hardy)’ Category
Get Past The Winter Blahs With Paperwhite Narcissus
Posted by Hugh on January 4th, 2012
Posted in Autumn flowering, Failure to Bloom, Interior (house) Plants, Paperwhite narcissus, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering bulbs, Staking, Tropical Plants (non-hardy), Uncategorized, watering tips, Winter flowering 
Comments Off on Get Past The Winter Blahs With Paperwhite NarcissusGrow And Re-bloom Christmas Cactus
Posted by Hugh on December 28th, 2011
Holiday cacti, aka Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata) and Christmas cactus (S. x buckleyi ), are popular houseplants which grow (and re-bloom)for many years with good care. Christmas cactus has rounded (scalloped) stem segments while Thanksgiving cactus has 2-4 pointed teeth paired along each segment edge. The latter blooms 3-4 weeks earlier than Christmas cactus and […]
Posted in Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera), Interior (house) Plants, plant nutrition, Pruning, Tropical Plants (non-hardy), Uncategorized, watering tips Comments Off on Grow And Re-bloom Christmas CactusNew Poinsettia Varieties Make Your Holidays Bright
Posted by Hugh on December 23rd, 2011
Poinsettia is a gift which keeps on giving. Many gardeners save and nurture their plant to re-bloom again over the next winter holiday season. By early February the plant has likely dropped most of its bottom leaves and flower bracts. Cut back the bare stems by two-thirds […]
Posted in Interior (house) Plants, plant nutrition, Poinsettia, Pruning, Southern Appalachian Region, Tropical Plants (non-hardy), watering tips Comments Off on New Poinsettia Varieties Make Your Holidays BrightWinter Storage of Non-Hardy Tropicals*
Posted by Hugh on October 16th, 2011
There is frost on your pumpkin. By late October, northern U.S. gardeners (USDA zones 3 thru 6) must protect non-hardy tropicals such as cannas (Canna spp.), bananas (Musa spp. and Ensete spp.), elephant ears (Colocasia spp. and Alocasia spp.) and angel trumpets (Brugmansia spp.). Most gardeners living in zone 7-b and further south have little […]
Posted in Alocasia, Banana (Ensete spp.), Banana (Musa spp.), Canna lily, Colocasia, Southern Appalachian Region, Tropical Plants (non-hardy), Winter Protection Comments Off on Winter Storage of Non-Hardy Tropicals*
