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Last week we looked at using supplemental LED lights to improve the growth of your houseplants during winter. Two more factors playing a key role in winter plant success are humidity and fertilization. Humidity Many houseplants are native to tropical regions, being adapted to rainforest or riverside humidity levels. Knowing this makes it easier... Continue Reading →
A major challenge for good growth of houseplants indoors, particularly in winter, is poor light. Most homes are just too dark for plants to grow well in winter, especially those plants requiring high light. Signs your plants are not getting enough light are small leaves, long thin stems, failure of blooming plants to flower... Continue Reading →
I’ve always envied southern gardeners, and their ability to grow big, beautiful American holly trees. It would be so nice to simply walk to the backyard and snip a few branches with colorful berries for holiday wreaths or arrangements. During the holiday season, English holly (I. aquifolium) is popular in wreaths and greens, but unfortunately it also... Continue Reading →
Cherries have been a favored fruit for centuries, eaten by people since before recorded history. Sweet cherries, Prunus avium, are native throughout most of Europe, western Asia and parts of northern Africa. Naturally, they have been used extensively in holiday cooking through the years. But tart cherries, Prunus cerasus, are the most common and well-adapted cherry grown... Continue Reading →
Good tools make the work in my landscape much easier. I get the majority of my work done with just five tools, so if you have a gardener on your gift list consider one of these ideas. Hori-Hori - Garden or Soil Knife The tool that is absolutely indispensable to me is a Japanese... Continue Reading →
In the winter it is hard to find much that is interesting for plant life. I look out my window and most plants are bare and brown. However, there are many evergreens that can be utilized in your landscape for season-long interest. Description Common Boxwood, Buxus sempervirens, is a broadleaf evergreen shrub that grows up... Continue Reading →
Looking for a book to give the gardener in your family this holiday season? Here are some of my favorites. One of my favorite gardening books is “The Well-Tended Perennial Garden” by Tracy DiSabato-Aust, first published in 1998. The most recent 3rd edition was published in 2017. I like this book because it’s written by a professional gardener... Continue Reading →
Winter is a time many people prefer to stay indoors, enjoy a good book, a crackling fire in the fireplace and a hot cup of cocoa, giving little thought to the outdoors or their landscape. But gardeners know winter is a time to dream and plan for next summer’s gardens. For Nebraska Extension Master Gardener (EMG) volunteers, winter... Continue Reading →
Holiday cooking, and it's wonderful aromas, are one of the best parts of the holiday for me. Culinary herbs such as cinnamon, rosemary, oregano and sage, are major players in holiday cooking. Cinnamon comes from tropical or subtropical plants, which are not winter hard in Nebraska, but have been grown and harvested in east Asian... Continue Reading →
Yam or Sweet Potato? Sweet potato, botanically named Ipomoeas batatas, is a member of the morning glory family and native to Central and South America. In the United States, the terms yam and sweet potato are often used interchangeably but true yams are a completely different plant. True yams are in the Dioscorea genus and native to West Africa and Asia. Their... Continue Reading →
Now that trees have dropped their leaves, and fall leaf coloration is done, one of my favorite sights for late fall and winter is a crabapple tree loaded with fruit. Maybe it’s just that the leaves are gone and the fruits are easier to see, but it seems to me that some crabapples develop deeper, more... Continue Reading →
If part of the goal with your landscape is to offer better habitat for wildlife, it’s best to have regionally native species as the dominant elements. Besides their lengthy provision of food for all stages of wildlife sustenance—from dried seeds and berries throughout the entire winter; to abundant summer foliage, flowers and fruits; to early... Continue Reading →
