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Carden notes
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By BIRGITT THORNHILL
Extension Agent
• Overwatering indoor plants encourages fungal diseases. Water only when the soil is dry to the touch, or when the foliage of largeleaved plants is slightly drooping. Try to avoid splattering or splashing the leaves.
• Feeding houseplants, except where you’re deliberately forcing, shohld be kept to a rainiipum. Most plant growth Is noW'af its lowest, and food needs are correspondingly ^ minimal.
• House plants and holiday gift plants should not be placed on top of the television. It is too warm a location and in most homes too far from windows to provide adequate light.
• Thin leaved plants seem most sensitive to transplant shock. If a plant wilts after repotting, encase the entire plant in a plastic bag. Twist the bag shut and punch two or three holes in it. Allow the plant to recuperate in this protected environment for two or three days. Resist the urge to water a wilted plant if the soil is moist.
• If you potted bulbs of daffodils, crocus, tulips, or hyacinths in fall, bring them indoors now to force them into bloom. Place pots in a window that receives direct sunlight for at least a few hours each days. Allow soil to dry partially between each watering.
• For an interesting ornamental plant and a culinary addition, buy a plump unshriveled ginger root at the grocery store and plant in a light sandy soil just under the surface in a 6-inch to 8-inch pot. Place in a warm sunny window and keep damp until shoots appear. Increase water and fertilize monthly with high phosphorus. Harvest your crop in about 8 months, saving a piece to replant.
• Fluorescent tubes lose intensity with age. If you are using quite a few fluorescent lamps, change a few tubes at a time to avoid plant damage by the sudden increase in light intensity.
• If you are considering installing supplemental lighting for your indoor plants, the 48 inch, 40 watt fixture with two fluorescent tubes is the industry standard. Spare parts are readily available and high production assures lower costs for 48 inch than for other size tubes. Use one cool white and one warm white tube to obtain a light mix most beneficial to plants.
• Bring house plants which normally thrive on the north side of the house to east windows, while allowing the plants from the east more sun on the south. Also, give the plants that usually are set on tables away from direct light a short midwinter visit to one of the less exposed windowsills. When extremely cold nights prevail, draw the window shades at night or slip lengths of protective cardboard between plants and the glass. Move the tenderest plants away from the window panes on the coldest nights.
• Recycle your holiday decorations. Greenery used in ornaments can be used again in the garden. Wreaths and branches stripped from Christmas trees make excellent mulch for protecting newly planted ornamentals. Remove the material
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