In depth gardening advice from an expert gardener
Winter will be here in the Northeast in a few days. The Garden Lady wants you to have a safe Holiday season and New Year.
Our plants are indoors for safe keeping and are making the house decorative as well as pretty. But some of these plants we have are poisonous, such as this Jerusalem Cherry (Solanum pseudocapsicum) seen in this picture. Â 
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A plant considered “poisonous” has properties that cause harm, such as allergic reactions, skin irritations or internal poisoning.
I received the following questions from Jen:
Are there any plant related reasons to worry or any precautions to take about the unseasonably warm November and December we’ve had on the East Coast so far this year? Is the weather going to mess up the natural cycles of native trees and plants? I’m mainly concerned because I see buds on some trees already.
Here’s my answer.
Here is a question from Micah and his wife about growing plants in general.
Whether it’s about the lawn or potted plants, my wife thinks it is good to use chemicals like Miracle Grow and anti-weed fertilizer. What are your thoughts? I’m a “natural” guy while my wife is an artificial supplement girl. Who is right? Or is there some middle ground?
This is really more than one question. Tomes have been written on these subjects. I can only answer superficially.
In response to a November 7th post about growing plants in the dorm, the Garden Lady received the following question from a Marklen about how to care for your dorm plant when you are away for a month or so.
What about if you are away for the summer break? What can you do if you are away for a month or so?
There are a few easy options to care for your dorm plant when you are away for a month or so. One is to ask a friend to care for the plant over the vacation break. The second option is to take the plant home to Mom and/or Dad to take care of the plant. The last option is to find a safe outdoors location that is bright but shaded and only gets a few hours of sun a day and, if the plant is the hardy kind like Aspidistra or Sansevieria, to leave the plant or plants outdoors when you are on vacation for a month or more. The safe time to take plants outdoors is when the leaves are on the trees, approximately the end of May. Do not put plants that have been in the room all year into direct sun or the leaves can bleach. Put the plants under the trees. I take most of my plants outdoors and leave them outdoors all summer. I only water them if there is a drought. The plants are in pots that have good drainage holes in case it is too rainy a summer. I don’t want the plants to sit in too much water. I bring the plants indoors in the early fall when the leaves start falling off the trees. I don’t do a thing to the plants all summer. But when I bring the plants indoors, I have to remove any tree leaves that have fallen into the pots and give the plant a good shower to be sure that insects haven’t made the plant into their home.
One of my faithful readers, Stephanie, and her husband are getting excited about Christmas. Here are three questions she had about Christmas flowers and plants.
1. Are there any pretty Christmas/winter plants for the outside?
2. Besides the Christmas tree and the poinsettia, are there any other nice indoor Christmas plants?
3. Do you happen to know which types of Christmas trees tend to have the longest lives?
Here are my answers.
I received two more questions from Joe, one about mowing leaves and the other about chrysanthemums.
Here are the two questions and my answers.
Continue reading “Gardening in the Fall: Two questions from Joe”
The Garden Lady has received some more questions from different people. Below are the questions and my replies. Â
The following question was sent to me by David:
Are there any plants that are especially healthy to eat? The reason I ask is that I am coping with a lifelong manageable disease and have been told that one of the keys to managing the disease is my diet. I’m supposed to avoid processed foods and stick with natural foods. I eat a lot of garlic and also honey, but I was wondering if there are any other plants that are known to be especially healthy?
Here is my reply.
Today TheGardenLady.org received this question from Stephanie:
I was wondering what the latest time of year in the Mid-Atlantic region that you should plant shrubs and bushes.Â
Before I answer Stephanie’s specific question, I want to tell both Stephanie and all my readers about one of the best, if not the best, gardening resource to go to or to call with any and all questions related to gardening. This is the organization called the Master Gardeners.Â
Continue reading “The latest time of year to plant shrubs and bushes in the Mid-Atlantic”
A person by the name of Ryan emailed me today and asked the following question: “I want to grow plants in my dorm room at college and was wondering whether you recommend any type of plant and whether I need to take any special precautions.”
Below are some of my thoughts on the topic –