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Fall/Winter 2009
The Minnesota Gardening Calendar helps you keep your home bright and healthy all year long, indoors and out. Here are a few simple ways to bring the indoors to life while Jack Frost nips outside:
Choose a long-lasting flowering plant to add color to your indoor landscape. Kalanchoes, begonias and chrysanthemums will bloom for weeks indoors, provided their buds are just opening and you're able to keep them in a bright, cool location. Moth orchids will bloom for about two months and African violets can bloom virtually year-round when given good care.
Make cleaning houseplant foliage part of sprucing up your home for the holidays. Clean leaves look best—and they capture more light for photosynthesis. Wash the surface and underside of each leaf with lukewarm water with a drop of mild dishwashing liquid added. Don't use leaf-shine products, even "natural" ones; they leave residue that attracts more dust.
Poinsettias are among the easiest holiday plants to grow. Choose a healthy plant and wrap it well, then bring it home in a heated vehicle. Cut the bottom of the decorative pot covering so excess water will drain out, and place the poinsettia in a bright, sunny location. Water thoroughly when the soil surface begins to dry, and fertilize monthly after four to six weeks.
For more inspiration, as well as information on gardening and landscaping in Minnesota, visit Extension's Garden Info website at www.extension.umn.edu/GardenInfo
The 2010 Minnesota
Gardening Calendar
The popular perennial calendar, Minnesota Gardening 2010, makes a great holiday gift for Minnesota gardening enthusiasts. This award-winning calendar has beautiful color photos and timely tips for lawn, garden and houseplant care. This year's special feature provides information on using vines in Minnesota home landscapes.
Purchase the calendar for $13.99, plus shipping and handling, online at www.shop.extension.umn.edu (search for item 08632). Proceeds are reinvested in teaching, research and outreach education focused on bringing horticulture to Minnesotans statewide. To view a web sampler of the 2010 Minnesota Gardening Calendar, visit www.extension.umn.edu/go/1018
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