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We all know the value of landscaping our yards to provide visual interest through Minnesota’s long winters. By choosing plants wisely, quiet winter landscapes can be brightened with evergreens, deciduous shrubs, and trees with interesting plant architecture and branching habit, textured bark, colorful stems, or persistent colorful fruit. The form and texture of seedheads and seedpods on many herbaceous and woody plants adds additional interest.

How about using those same plants to brighten the inside of our homes through the long winter? A keen-eyed person with a sharp pair of pruners can collect an enormous variety of plant materials through the growing season. When dried, the material can be used to create bouquets, wreaths, swags, and other arrangements that are full of color and texture.

There are bookshelves full of instructional materials on the collection, drying, and arranging of dried plant materials. But for a hands-on lesson, I visited the greenhouse at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum where arboretum staff and Auxillary volunteers Shirley Engh, Maureen Pollmann, and Jan Eggers are busy drying and arranging plant materials in preparation for the annual holiday decorating of the arboretum visitor center.

As I opened the door leading into the greenhouse, my first reaction was to take a deep breath of the beautifully scented air. I smelled lavender, Artemisia sp., rosemary, pine, and roses. Stepping into the greenhouse, I was overwhelmed by the color and texture in front of me. There were baskets filled with hydrangea blooms, pine cones, grasses, pussy willows, bark, seed pods, and pot-pourri made from the petals of roses, tulips, and peonies. Plants in shades of green, silver, brown and tan were spread over tables drying. Bundles of dried flowers in shades of red, blue, purple, pink, and gold hung above my head. Trays of dahlias and roses were so beautifully preserved that they looked freshly picked. There were Christmas ornaments and baskets full of dried flower combinations that reminded me of miniature cottage gardens. Swags of oak leaves and pine cones hung from the ceiling.

Plant collecting by the Auxillary members starts in April and ends in October or November. Material is collected from gardens, roadsides, fields, and wet areas. As you start collecting plant materials for drying, remember to ask property owners for permission to collect on privately owned property. Familiarize yourself with Minnesota’s endangered, threatened, and special concerns plant materials at http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ets/ to prevent collection of species at risk. Other than that, there are no hard and fast rules. Collect plants at the growth stage that highlights the appeal of the plant. Is the flower bud or the open bloom attractive? Or are you collecting in late summer and fall when the appeal of the plant is in its foliage, fruit, or seedhead? Cut your stems, strip the leaves (unless it’s the foliage you are interested in), and transport your material to your workspace.

Harriet Floyd, author of Plant It Now, Dry It Later characterizes plants as “lazy flowers” and “more effort flowers”. Lazy flowers are those plants that are simple to dry, usually because of low moisture content. These plants are air dried for several days on tabletops or while they are bundled and suspended upside down. “More effort flowers” are typically higher in moisture content and are dried for 2-4 days in covered containers surrounded by silica gel, a dry granular substance that looks like sugar. The silica gel absorbs water from the plant material, preserving the plant without altering size, shape, or color. An alternative drying agent to the more expensive silica gel is kitty litter.

With the help of floral wire and tape, a hot glue gun, and the container of your choice, you can use your dried plant materials to create the look you are after whether it is formal, informal, or whimsical. Just as you do in your garden design, combine the stature, color, and texture of your blooms, foliage, fruit, and seedheads to please your eye.

Some of the cultivated and non-cultivated plants available in Minnesota that can be dried are listed in the table below along with the recommended drying method. There are many other plants that are wonderful dried flower specimens so don’t be afraid to experiment in your collecting and drying. Although it is November, you can still find brightly colored leaves of maple, oak, and juneberry, contorted or brightly colored stems from willows, dogwoods and other woody plants, seedheads of many grasses, hydrangea blooms, rose hips, pine cones, and seedpods. Cut-flower bouquets from local florists often contain statice and baby’s breath that can be reused by adding them to your dried flower arrangements. Spend some time collecting and drying over the next few weeks. Then stop by the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in a month’s time to be inspired by the holiday decorations and to browse through one of Anderson Library’s many books on the collection, drying, and arranging of dried flowers.

Plants that grow in Minnesota that can be dried and the recommended drying method.

Genus	Common name	Plant part to use	Silica or Air dry
Acer	maple	foliage, seed	A
Achillea	yarrow	bloom	A
Allium	chives, onions	bloom	A
Anaphalis	pearly everlasting	bloom	A
Artemisia	Artemisia	bloom	A
Asclepia	milkweed	seedpod	A
Astilbe	astilbe	bloom	A
Baptisia	false indigo	bloom	S
Baptisia	false indigo	seedpod	A
Brisa	quaking grass	seedhead	A
Calendula	pot marigold	bloom	S
Celastrus	bittersweet	seedpod	A
Celosia	cockscomb	bloom	A
Centaurea	bachelor's buttons	bloom	A
Cirsium	thistle	flower	A
Cornus	redosier dogwood	stems	A
Cotinus	smokebush	flower	A
Dahlia	dahlia	flower	S
Daucus	Queen Anne's lace	flower	A
Delphinium	larkspur	flower	S
Dictamnus	gas plant	seedpod	A
Echinops	globe thistle	flower	A
Eupatorium	Joe-pye weed	flower	A
Gomphrena	globe amaranth	flower	A
Gypsophila	baby's breath	flower	A
Helchrysum	strawflower	flower	A
Hemerocallis	daylily	seedpod	A
Hydrangea	hydrangea	flower	A
Iris	Siberian iris	seed pod	A
Lavandula	lavender	flower	A
Liatris	gayfeather	flower	A
Lillium	blackberry lily	seedpod	A
Limonium	sea lavender, statice	flower	A
Lunaria	money plant	seedpod	A
Miscanthus	miscanthus	seedhead	A
Moluccella	bells of Ireland	bracts	A
Paeonia	peony	flower	S
Papaver	poppy	seedpod	A
Pennisetum	pennisetum	seedhead	A
Phragmites	reed	seedhead	A
Pinus	pine	cones	A
Platanus	sycamore	leaf	A
Quercus	oak	foliage	A
Rhus	sumac	seedhead	A
Rosa	rose	flower	S
Rosa	rose	fruit	A
Rudbeckia	black-eyed Susan	flower	S
Rumex	dock	seedhead	A
Salix	corkscrew willow	branches	A
Salix	pussy willow	flowering branch	A
Salvia	Salvia	flower	A
Sedum	house leek	flower	A
Sium	Cow parsley	flower, seedhead	A
Solidago	goldenrod	flower	A
Sorghum	sorghum	seedhead	A
Stachys	lamb's ear	flower	A
Tanacetum	tansy	flower	A
Triticum	wheat	seedhead	A
Typha	cattail	seedhead	A
Yucca	yucca	seedpod	A
Zinnia	zinnia	flower	S

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All my hurts my garden spade can heal. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

How many times has this happened to you? You’re outside working in your garden and someone stops by saying how beautiful your flowers are, or some such thing, followed by, “Wow, but it must be so much work.” How can you explain to someone who hasn’t experienced it themselves that gardening “work” doesn’t really feel like work at all. In fact, it’s peaceful, calming and fun, something centering to look forward to at the end of a long week doing everything else but.

Whether you dig in the soil or not, there’s no denying the therapeutic value of gardens. There’s just something about the beauty and wonder of plants that makes people stop and take notice, allowing them to get outside themselves and away from their troubles if only for a moment. Horticultural therapists know this and they use plants to help people in a wide variety of therapeutic settings.

Jeannie Larson, program manager for the Center for Therapeutic Horticulture and Recreation Services at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, has been with the program since its inception in 1992. In her multi-faceted role, Larson teaches therapeutic horticulture at the University’s Center for Spirituality and Healing and does community outreach through lectures and conferences. She also works as a horticultural therapist with about eight different organizations that contract with the center annually.

“When I say I’m a horticultural therapist people think I sit down and do therapy on a plant,” Larson says. “But it’s more like the plant is my co-therapist and we work together toward a measurable health outcome.” For example, when Larson works with girls in Minneapolis-based Methodist Hospital’s eating disorders program, she uses plants in playful ways that divert everyone’s attention away from the issue of food.

Because mealtimes can be very anxiety provoking, programs are held right after the plates are cleared so the girls have something to look forward to. Activities vary, but one they recently liked involved using fresh herbs, natural fibers, and clay faces to make kitchen goddesses (a twist on the fabled kitchen witch). “The idea was that they would have a good spirit in the kitchen and they could attach whatever meaning they wanted onto it,” Larson explains.

On weekends, Larson often hosts Culture and Cuisine for people who have developmental and other cognitive disabilities. Held at the arboretum, the class focuses around a specific crop, which the group plans a meal around. Last February, the plant of the day was the cocoa plant and after learning about how the chocolate industry had evolved over the years and where it comes from, they made a chocolate molé and other chocolate treats.

At the Struthers Parkinson’s Center in Golden Valley, Larson’s therapy work is more physical. There, she gardens alongside the center’s mostly male patients, planting, deadheading and weeding. “Hort therapy is such that even though I might be doing something very physically oriented, there is still going to be a psychological benefit because we’re caring for plants and sharing that with somebody else,” Larson explains, adding that depression often accompanies Parkinson’s. “So getting these guys motivated enough to engage in an activity like gardening is a really big plus.”

Hands-On Healing

At Minneapolis’ Abbott Northwestern Hospital, certified recreation specialist Cindy Berlovitz, sees the health benefits of gardening every day in her work with patients in the locked psychiatric unit.

In 1998, Berlovitz converted one of the unit’s group rooms into a mini solarium where plants bask in the light of two walls of windows while others thrive under grow lights. Patients, who return often to the unit due to chronic mental illness, sow seeds in the spring and care for their seedlings. They learn how to propagate plants and fertilize and water them properly. And, like Larson, Berlovitz uses plants for other therapeutic activities, such as working with patients to turn fresh lavender into bath oils or scented sachets.

On weekends, when staff is minimal and patients do more on their own, Berlovitz asks a couple of people to be in charge of looking out for the garden. “It’s amazing how proud they are of their accomplishments when Monday comes and the plants are all alive and well. It’s a big job. There are a lot of plants in there.”

Inspired by the success of the indoor gardening program, Berlovitz converted a former outdoor smoking shelter in 2005 into a garden shed and healing garden. Designed and tended by the patients, the garden is a place where people throughout the hospital can go to relax. Journals are kept there for people who want to write about their own health experience or what they may be going through with a loved one in the hospital.

Whenever someone transplants something in the garden, Berlovitz asks them to make a marker for the plant signifying their own personal goal, such as reconnecting with family or regaining sobriety. “That way,” she says, “when they’re out watering or weeding they’re reminded of the ways the garden helps them cope with their mental illness.”

While she works with patients in the garden, Berlovitz often talks with them about how being surrounded by nature can affect the ways our minds and bodies work. “I think it just taps into this primal connection we all have with nature,” she explains. “Gardening just activates something in people and gets us interested and curious. You may be having a crappy day, but you can walk into our plant room and see the hibiscus blooming and it’s so big and red and that’s what you focus on. That’s what pulls you out of your place of illness.”

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Thanksgiving cactus, Christmas cactus, Easter cactus...what about Halloween cactus, Valentine’s Day cactus or Mother’s Day cactus?  Three different holiday cacti are probably enough for now!  With Thanksgiving approaching and Christmas not far off the horizon, it seems like an appropriate time to learn about the differences and similarities of the flowering cacti named after these holidays.

There are two types of Holiday cacti: the Thanksgiving and Christmas cacti.  Both plants are classified in the genus Schlumbergera, which is named for the French cactus collector and nurseryman Fréderic M Schlumberger. Thanksgiving cactus is the species Schlumbergera truncata, while the Christmas cacti are Schlumbergera x buckleyi, a hybrid between S. truncata and S. russelliana.

The plants in this genus are native to Brazil, specifically, the Organ Mountain range north of Rio de Janeiro.  They are epiphytes in their native environment, growing on trees like orchids, bromeliads and some ferns between elevations of approximately 3,200-5,500 feet.

History

In order to distinguish the difference between the two holiday cacti, we’ll first go over some of the basic features of a holiday cactus plant.  The stems of the plants are composed of a series of connected phylloclades, which are the structures that look similar to leaves and carry out photosynthesis. This is the first place to look for the differences.  Thanksgiving cacti have margins that have pointed lobes, while the Christmas cacti have rounded margin lobes. 

Other ways to distinguish between the two plants utilize flowering time and floral morphology.  As you could probably deduce from the common names of these plants, Christmas cacti flower around the Christmas season in the northern hemisphere.  Consequently, Thanksgiving cacti flower six weeks earlier, approximately around the Thanksgiving holiday.  What causes the difference in the flowering time of these two species if they are so closely related?  Flower induction in both cacti is a photoperiodic response.  These plants initiate flowers in response to the shortening days of summer and fall and are termed short-day plants.  The critical photoperiod for a short day plants is the length of day (hours of light) that when day length is equal to or shorter than this length flowering of the plant occurs.  For example a short day plant with a critical photoperiod of twelve hours will flower when the days are twelve hours or shorter.  Thanksgiving cacti have a longer critical photoperiod for flower induction (more hours of light), with flowers initiating under the typical daylengths experienced in late summer and early fall, while Christmas cacti have a shorter critical photoperiod that does not occur until later into fall. 

In addition to flowering time, the morphology of flowers can help distinguish between the two types of plants.  The anthers, the pollen-bearing parts of flowers, are purplish-brown for the Christmas cactus while the Thanksgiving cactus anthers are yellow.  Also, the ovaries in the flower of Christmas cacti are ribbed while Thanksgiving cacti have a smoother appearance. 

Culture

Holiday cacti are easy plants for home gardeners to grow.  For starters, propagation of these plants is easy.  The first step is to find a suitable container for growing a plant.  A four inch pot is a good size for a starter plant.  Next, fill it with a loosely drained medium such as the general soilless (peat-based) houseplant mix that is readily available at garden centers and home improvement stores.  For starting plant material remove three or four individual mature segments (phylloclades) at least one inch in length from a larger plant (if you have a friend with a really great flowering holiday cacti, now is the time to butter them up!).  One can also use cuttings involving not only a single phyloclade, but also a couple of them piggybacked as a cutting. These phylloclades may be stuck directly into the moistened medium no deeper than half of the length of the segment.  To increase the success and to speed up rooting, place the pot inside a large, clear plastic bag such as a one gallon Ziplock® bag and seal almost completely shut.  This will increase the humidity of the rooting environment for the phylloclades and allow for a little gas exchange.  Place this on a sunny windowsill and water to maintain a moist, but not soggy, medium.  The rooting process may take a while, but don’t worry- these succulents are resilient.

Once the phylloclades have rooted into the medium and new growth starts to appear, fertilization of the plants may begin.  Using a general houseplant fertilizer such as a 20-10-20 mix a teaspoon per gallon of water during the later spring into the early fall, and decrease to one-half teaspoon per gallon during the winter months.  Holiday cacti may be fertilized at every watering, with at least one watering a month with clear water to leach out any salt buildup.

The optimal growing environment for holiday cacti is easy to achieve in most homes.  Temperatures from about 65 to 74 °F and light levels of 2,000-3,000 footcandles are best for growth.  These temperatures and light levels are easily achieved by placing plants next to an east or west window.

To induce flowers, there are a few simple tricks that may be used to ensure a spectacular holiday show that these plants are known for.  Flowering may be induced by exposure to either low temperatures or short days.  Exposure to temperatures below 57 °F will induce flowering in holiday cacti, regardless of the photoperiod.  This means that the length of the day could be eight or sixteen hours long, but as long as the temperature is below 57 °F, flowering will commence.  To do this in the home, place your plant outdoors or in a three season porch until early fall when the temperatures get below 50 °F.  Alternatively, you may place plants next to a drafty window during late fall and throughout the winter where temperatures will be lower than that in other parts of the room.

As mentioned earlier, these two holiday cacti are short day plants, meaning they flower in response to shorter days.  When temperatures are between 60-75 °F, plants will flower when exposed to short days.  For both Thanksgiving and Christmas cacti, daylengths between 8-11 hours are considered best for flower induction.  To achieve this in the home from mid-September to mid-April, place plants in a room that does not have any lights turned on before sunrise or after sunset, maintaining naturally short days.  If you are disciplined, plants may be forced to flower any time of the year by placing them in darkness for 13-16 hours each night.  You would want to place plants in a closet when you get home in the evening and pull them out in the morning when you get up for just under four weeks.

Conclusion

Holiday cacti are houseplants that are easy to grow and re-flower every year if attention is paid to their requirements.  With both Thanksgiving and Christmas approaching, wouldn’t it be fitting to have some beautiful, flowering plants that compliment the festivities and also serve as great houseplants?

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American wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) is an attractive evergreen groundcover.  Its glossy dark green foliage and large red berries that appear in late summer and fall are two of its most ornamental features.   American wintergreen is native to Eastern Canada and most of the United States East of the Mississippi.  In Minnesota it is most abundant in the northeast.  It is a member of the Ericaceae (Heath) family and, like other members of this family (e.g. azaleas, blueberries, and cranberries), prefers acidic, moist, well draining soil high in organic matter.  It performs well in part shade to shade and is typically found on the forest floor.

American wintergreen shares similarities with blueberries and cranberries.  In late spring into early summer it produces white bell shaped flowers borne singly or in small clusters that look much like the flowers of blueberries.  Its growth habit, however, is very similar to cranberries.  It only grows to about 6” in height.  Its stems are of two types:  solons that grow parallel to the ground typically among leaf litter and humus and short side stems that grow upright and produce foliage, flowers, and fruit.

American wintergreen used to be one of the main commercial sources of methyl salicylate (aka oil of wintergreen), the compound that gives it its wintergreen flavor and scent.  Besides being used in small quantities for flavor, methyl salicylate is an active ingredient in topical skin creams used to warm the skin, increase blood flow, and reduce pain.

Other common names for American wintergreen include Eastern teaberry, mountain tea, teaberry, deerberry, partridge berry, and boxberry.  Many of these names refer to the pleasant tea can be made from the leaves or that many mammals (including humans) and birds like to eat the berries.  Fresh leaves can be used to make tea, but the flavor is often mild.  In order to get a richer wintergreen flavor, leaves can be fermented for a few to several days.

American wintergreen can make a great ornamental groundcover or accent to a shady or wooded landscape, provided one has the acidic, moist soil conditions that it needs.  It can most readily be propagated through division.  Although a little trickier, cuttings or seed can also be used.  Next time you’re out enjoying a hike in the Northwoods, you might just come across this native treasure!

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Is that pumpkin dressed as a Dalmatian for Halloween? Looking at the velvety black spots scattered across its surface, you might think so. Unfortunately this poor pumpkin is not in costume but is suffering from a disease. The velvety look to the soft sunken spots is the result of a thin layer of fungal hair-like structures called setae. Under moist conditions fluffy white fungal mycelia may be seen and a thin layer of sticky salmon colored spores may cover the spots. These salmon covered spores are a dead give away that the pumpkin is infected with Anthracnose.

Anthracnose is a fungal disease caused by Colletotrichum orbiculare (aka C. lagenarium), and several cases have been reported in Minnesota this year. Although anthracnose can attack most members of the squash family, it is more commonly seen on cucumbers and melons. This year the disease is showing up on pumpkins intended to be Jack o’ Lanterns.

The anthracnose fungus can come into a pumpkin patch on infected seed and is easily spread by splashing rain or irrigation. The fungus loves warm (75F) wet weather. Typically the disease occurs about mid season and can be especially problematic when frequent rain or heavy dew is present. Many weeds crowding the pumpkin plant can also increase disease pressure due to increased humidity in an overcrowded pumpkin patch.

Because the anthracnose fungi can survive in old plant debris, it is important to completely bury any infected plant parts in large pumpkin patches, or to completely remove them from a small garden. Any area that currently has anthracnose infected plants should not be planted with pumpkins, squash, cucumber or melons for 3-4 years. A few resistant varieties are available, so read through seed catalogues carefully when choosing next year’s seed. Purchase seed only from a reputable source to avoid bringing infected seed into the garden. Unfortunately there is not much that can be done for this year’s infected pumpkins; except perhaps adding some construction paper ears and a tail to complete the Dalmatian look.

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A number of people have discovered large grubs associated with old, rotting wood recently.  This insect is a type of scarab beetle known as Osmoderma.  When examining this insect, you can see an obvious reddish brown head along with six legs.  Its has a dirty whitish colored body that is permanently curled into the shape of a ‘C’.  It reaches up to two inches in length.  There are three species of Osmoderma present in North America of which two are found in Minnesota.  Of these two, by far the most common is O. eremicola, commonly called the hermit flower beetle.

Osmoderma spp. are associated with rotten wood from dead or dying trees, especially oak, maple, elm, apple, cottonwood, cherry, and hickory, and are particularly found in tree cavities filled with debris.  Adults, dark brown beetles measuring one inch in length,  are typically present from July to September, while the grubs are found from August through the following spring.

This timeframe mirrors what Minnesotans have noticed.  One resident described cutting up some oak trees that were blown down during August in Ramsey County (St. Paul).  One of the oaks was rotten in the center.  Upon closer examination he found several dozen Osmoderma larvae, most between 1 1/2 and 2 inches in length. 

In another case, a gentleman in Wabasha County (southeastern Minnesota) found these larvae during October in wood (oak or maple) that was being cut for firewood.  Also in October, a resident in Rock County (southwestern Minnesota) found 2 inch long Osmderma grubs in a maple tree he was cutting down.  The larvae were found in an site where the wood had rotted.

Osmoderma larvae are not pests, they do not cause trees to become rotted and die.  Rather, some other circumstance has caused the tree to decline and die and this insect takes advantage of it.  They are actually beneficial by helping to decompose wood.  If you find Osmoderma, they are just a curiosity and should just be ignored.

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Whether taking this course to be a Master Gardener volunteer or for personal or professional advancement (called ProHort), HORT 1003 provides individuals with fundamental and advanced information from University faculty in soils, botany, entomology, plant pathology, indoor plants, herbaceous and woody ornamental plants as well as lawn care, fruits/vegetables, integrated pest management, and gardening with wildlife. Classes are taught in the traditional classroom or online and provide emphasis on information in Extension publications/resources that are helpful in answering the public's horticulture questions. Here are the locations and times for the classes. Check the Master Gardener website for registration information: http://www.mg.umn.edu.

2009 Master Gardener Core Course

Minnesota Landscape Arboretum
January 15 – January 31, 2009
9:00 am – 4:00 pm Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays
Macmillian Auditorium
3675 Arboretum Drive
Chaska, MN 55318-9613
Registration Deadline: January 1, 2009 (No refunds after January 8, 2009)

Online Class
January 12* – May 4, 2009
* Master Gardener volunteers start January 12th; non-volunteers start January 20th.
Class topics and instructors change weekly
Registration Deadline: December 29, 2008. No refunds after January 5, 2009)

St. Cloud, MN - Location TBA
January 30 – February 27, 2009
9:00 am – 4:00 pm Fridays & Saturdays
University of Minnesota Extension - Stearns County Office
Midtown Office Complex - 3400 1st St N – Suite 103
St. Cloud, MN 56303
Registration Deadline: January 16, 2009. No refunds after January 23, 2009)

Perham, MN – Location TBA
February 21 – March 20, 2009
9:00 am – 4:00 pm Fridays & Saturdays
Mulligan’s-Perham Lakeside Golf Club
2727 450th Street
Perham, MN 56573
Registration Deadline: February 7, 2009. No refunds after February 14, 2009)

Moorhead, MN
January 31 – February 26, 2009
9:00 am – 4:00 pm Thursdays & Saturdays
University of Minnesota Extension – Clay County Office
715 11 St N Ste 107B
Moorhead, MN 56561
Registration Deadline: January 17, 2009. No refunds after January 24, 2009)

Thief River Falls, MN
March 21 – April 16, 2009
 9:00 am – 4:00 pm Thursdays & Saturdays
U of M Extension Office - Pennington County Courthouse
Thief River Falls, MN 56701

Registration ends March 7, 2009. No refunds after March 14, 2009

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If you still have some spring blooming bulbs that you haven’t gotten around to planting, consider forcing them.  Pot up bulbs in pots, water them in, and allow them to remain at room temperature for a couple weeks.  During this time the bulbs will root in and allow them to grow and flower better later.  Next, place the pots in a cool spot (just above freezing to about 45F) so they get the cold requirement they need.  This can be done in the refrigerator or a root cellar.  Different kinds of bulbs have a different minimum number of weeks of chilling (typically ranging from 8 to 12 weeks).  Stagger bringing them out of cold storage and forcing them into flower to enjoy them over an extended period of time.

Provide additional mulch to insulate marginal perennials after the ground begins to freeze.  The goal is not to keep frost out, but to prevent freezing and thawing and to keep the temperature from falling too much below freezing.  Putting a lot of mulch on too early can promote a lot of warmth and humidity around the crowns of plants and encourage rot.  Keep bags of leaves or other sources of mulch handy, so when the weather is right you will have easy access to it. Consider wire or other barriers to prevent rabbits and other rodents from having access to young woody plants and chewing off bark.

Take notes of some of your best and poorest performing varieties of annual vegetables and flowers.  Documenting your successes and gardening challenges of all kinds can be very helpful to reflect upon and consider when planning for next year’s garden.  Consider getting together with gardening friends this winter to share these experiences and learn from each other.

Frequently scout plants that have been brought in to overwinter for pest problems.  Without their natural enemies, many insect plants that may have inadvertently been brought in can proliferate in the house.  By intervening early the task of pest control can be make much easier. 

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Happy gardening!

David C. Zlesak, Ph.D.
Editor
Extension Educator