December Garden Tips

• Most houseplants are sensitive to cold drafts and cooler-than-normal winter growing conditions.  Not so, desert cactuses. They will tolerate both high and low temperatures, as long as they're kept in a bright, sunny location.  In fact, some will even bloom if you meet their winter requirements for cool nights and sunny days.  Be careful not to overdo the watering, though. Water them thoroughly, but allow the soil to become very dry before watering again.

• Move African violets to brighter locations so they'll bloom well.  They're fine in a north or east-facing window in summer, but in winter not even a south-facing window is too hot or too bright for them.  Lacking a bright exposure, place them a foot or less below fluorescent tubes, then run the lights about twelve hours daily—unless you prefer to use them simply to supplement natural daylight rather than replace it.

• Check on produce you've put in cold storage (squash, potatoes, onions, and "keeping" apples) as well as stored flower bulbs (canna lilies, tuberous begonias, gladiolus, dahlias and others).  Get rid of anything that has shriveled badly, developed soft portions, smells bad, or shows outright signs of rotting. If your potatoes are sprouting, it's not cool enough; if they're turning greenish, it's not dark enough.

• Gardeners are easy people to choose gifts for. In addition to the many nurseries and garden centers throughout the state, the Metro area boasts three special garden gift stores. One is at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, another at the Minnesota State Horticultural Society's Center for Northern Gardening, and the third is at Como Park Conservatory. Proceeds from sales at these three stores help to further the work of each institution.

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