March 4, 2008

The Seasons are Changing

Finally, some of the snow is melting and we can actually believe that there will be a spring. That snow melt will bring some problems of course, in the form of flooding. Luckily for the plants, flooding during the dormant season does far less damage than flooding in summer. This means that we may not see a lot of damage from the floods resulting from snow melt. The damage level will depend on how long water stands, how healthy the plants were before the flooding and which plants get flooded. Some plants tolerate flooding better than other.

The changes in the weather have also awakened the boxelder bugs. I am noticing them walking through my house on a regular basis. They have come out of their hiding spots in reaction to that warm weather we had last Sunday. These insects are merely annoying so just sweep them up as you see them. Do not crush them as they will leave a stain.

If you like to grow caladiums from bulbs (actually tubers) get started now. They can be extremely slow to start. To encourage them, put them in small pots and them put the pots on a heat mat (made for seed starting, available at garden centers). These are tropical plants that like some heat, so the bottom heat provided by the mat will help them get going. Don't keep the tubers too wet or they will rot (rotting caladiums do not smell good).

Posted by Sharon Yiesla at 2:00 PM |