Rosie Lerner
November Garden Calendar
HOME (Indoor plants and activities) As houseplant growth slows, apply less fertilizer and water. If plants are dropping many leaves, move them closer to sunny exposures, such as west- and south-facing windows. Artificial lights may be needed to supplement particularly dark rooms. Pot spring-flowering bulbs with tips exposed to force into bloom indoors. Moisten soil and refrigerate 10 to 13 weeks. Transfer to a cool, sunny location, and allow an additional three to four weeks […]
Shining a light on why potatoes turn green
Potato tubers turn green when exposed to light. Whether store-bought or homegrown, potatoes will turn green when they are exposed to light. Most folks know that they shouldn’t eat potatoes that have turned green, or should at least cut away the affected portion. But it’s not actually the green color that is the problem. The green color comes from the pigment chlorophyll, produced as a response to light. The potato tuber that we eat is […]
Bees, butterflies like turtlehead flowers
Q: I have a question about a perennial in our garden. Can you identify the plant in the attached photos, taken just a few weeks ago? – R.S., Indianapolis Photo provided by R.S., Indianapolis Photo provided by R.S., Indianapolis A: The plant in your photos is the native perennial called turtlehead, known botanically as Chelone. There are a few different species in commerce, including C. lyonii and C. obliqua, both with pink to purplish pink […]
Storing Leftover Garden Seed
Carrot seed, photo provided by Rosie Lerner If you didn’t use up all the garden seed you bought this year, much of it can be stored for use in next year’s garden – depending on the plant species. Seeds of some plants ,such as corn, parsley, onion, viola (pansies), verbena, phlox, and salvia, are not very long lived, lasting only 1 or 2 years at best. Other seeds, including beans, carrots, lettuce, peas, radishes, snapdragon, […]
October Garden Calendar
HOME (Indoor plants and activities) Keep poinsettia in complete darkness for 15 hours each day — for example, between 5 p.m. and 8 a.m. — for eight to 10 weeks until red bracts begin to show. Pot spring-flowering bulbs to force into bloom indoors. Moisten soil and refrigerate 10 to 13 weeks. Transfer to a cool, sunny location, and allow an additional three to four weeks for blooming. Houseplants, especially those grown outdoors during the […]
Mugwort, wormwood – by either name, a real problem
Q. I am curious if you have an idea about a weed that grows in our yard every year. It spreads very rapidly, seems invasive and grows to a pretty high level as summer goes along. We have asked many people, and they are quite stumped. My wife does not like it, and we pull it and spray it, but it just keeps coming back, spreading and invading. Also, it seems to transplant to other […]
Blossom-End Rot Frustrates Tomato Growers
Eager tomato growers, having lovingly nurtured their plants, anxiously await their ripe gems. But alas, a black, leathery spot appears at the base of the fruit. Blossom end-rot is thankfully not an infectious disease, but rather a frustrating disorder of the fruit. The black scar tissue is thought to be caused by a deficiency of calcium in the developing fruit. In most cases, blossom end-rot is brought on by extreme fluctuations in soil moisture. And […]
Tree care from freeze to slime
Q: Our Japanese red maple tree was full of new leaves when the hard freeze hit. It is just now getting a few leaves again. Should I trim the tree back, or just wait and see what happens? I do not know how much is dead or how much will produce new growth. – A.K., Harrison County A: It’s easy to check the twigs for live tissue. If twigs appear to be dead, scrape away […]
Cucumbers Bitter During Hot, Dry Weather
If you’ve noticed that your cucumbers are a little (or a lot) bitter lately, don’t give up hope. A little water, mulch and patience will provide relief. Most cucumber plants contain a bitter compound called cucurbitacin, which can be present in the fruit as well as the foliage. Bitterness in cucumbers tends to be more prominent when plants are under stress from low moisture, high temperatures or poor nutrition. Although most areas of the state […]
Mock orange stumps knowledgeable pair
Q: My mother taught me everything there is to know about plants and trees and how to take care of them properly. She is a walking encyclopedia of the outdoors. While visiting her yesterday I saw a flowering bush in her yard. Normally, if one of us doesn’t know what a flower is, the other one will. We are stumped. The bush in question has a very lilac look to it. Multiple, thick, sturdy […]