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I thought that this week might be a good time to catch up on a few odds and ends. As summer ends, there are a few things we should be looking after.
First of all, you still have time to put in a few bulbs for spring color. Prices are down, and you will get a lot of show for your dollar. And, remember, get more than tulips. Today there are so many things out there that will stretch your bloom season from early March right through late May. Remember, too, to plant bulbs where you will personally enjoy them. It is nice to plant all around the front of the house to make it look good. Personally, I plant mine where I can see them from the breakfast or dinner table. They do give me a lift every morning, and again as I end my day.
If you can find any hyacinths, here is an idea for you. Look for three or four six-inch flower pots. Fill three-fourths with potting soil and then plant about five bulbs and cover. Water them thoroughly and set them in an open space in the backyard — someplace where you can get to them in February. Now pile them high with leaves. They need a cold treatment to set bud. I remember one year that I decided to not put them out, and to let them get their cold treatment in our refrigerator. It worked, but Anne Marie was not very happy. I do not recommend this. Dig them in February and they’ll bloom in a couple of weeks, filling the room with a beautiful fragrance and bright colors.
Your house plants should be getting some attention now. About once a year I take them out of doors or toss them into the shower and let a lot of water, a gentle spray, run through them. This will take off all the dust and any insect eggs that might have accumulated. But most of all, if you have fertilized them during the year, doing this will wash out any residual fertilizer that might have accumulated in the soil. Once done, you will need to add some fertilizer. For house plants, I recommend half-strength watering. I say take a liquid fertilizer, such as Miracle Gro, and mix at half the recommended amount with a gallon of water. Put it aside. Now, at every other watering, shake the gallon and water with it. That way the plant will not experience great ups and downs in its nutrition. If the plant shows sights of over-fertilization, just cut out the food for a month or so.
As the heat comes on, remember to keep plants away from heaters or radiators. Yes, we want to give them as much light as possible during the dark winter days, but on a windowsill is not a good place. Windows generally are above radiators. It is too warm there. Remember to keep your hanging baskets at eye-level. It is much too warm near the ceiling.
If you are lucky enough to get your hands on a cyclamen — and they are magnificent this year — keep it in the coolest room in the house. They will thrive at 62 to 66 degrees. Give them 75 degrees, and they will go limp in a very short time. This is one plant, like the African violet, that likes to be watered from the bottom. When dry, just set it in a pie plate filled with water for a half hour or so. I do the same with mine. Cyclamen like to dry out a bit between waterings.
And, as you rake your leaves — for sure they are from the neighbor’s trees — instead of putting them out on the curb, make an enormous pile in a back corner of the yard and you will be rewarded next summer or fall with a few precious baskets full of a wonderful humus; it’s called leaf mold. When you see how plants grow in it, you’ll never toss another leaf.
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