Recently I accidentally broke a branch off one of my houseplants, but I considered this fortuitous because I could then start a new plant. Pieces severed from a plant and rooted to form new plants are called cuttings. Cuttings can be made from stems, leaves, roots, parts of leaves and canes. Stem cuttings are most commonly taken from herbaceous plants.

Spring and summer when plants are actively growing are the best times to take stem cuttings, but you can have success at other times too. Take stem cuttings only from healthy plants. (Read more…)

Gardening catalogs are already filling my mailbox. While I dislike having extra paper clutter amassing, I feel compelled to thumb through each catalog looking for new “must-have” plants or something that is just the color I need for my garden. Naturally, when we purchase a new plant variety, there is a certain amount of experimentation involved. Sometimes we have success and other times failure.

During the 2009 growing season, a testing area for annual flowers was established at the Midwest Golf House in Lemont as a collaborative venture between the University of Illinois Extension, Chicago District Golf Associa-tion, many seed companies and U of I Extension Master Gardeners. This effort was designed to evaluate annual flower cultivars that could be used in public spaces, such as golf courses, parks and municipal areas, as well as in the home landscape. (Read more…)

Winter is an excellent time to research garden problems you experienced during the last growing season, learn about new plant cultivars, or become acquainted with unfamiliar gardening techniques. Home, Lawn & Garden Day, sponsored by the University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners in McLean County, offers a full day of classes that can provide helpful advice on such topics.

The 2010 Home, Lawn & Garden Day is scheduled for March 6 at Central Catholic High School in Bloomington. The $40 registration fee includes classes, handouts and lunch. There is a nominal materials fee for a few hands-on classes. The keynote speaker this year will be Dianne Noland, a horticulture instructor at the University of Illinois and host of WILL-TV’s Illinois Gardener. (Read more…)

Baptisia australis (blue false indigo) has been named the 2010 perennial plant of the year. This herbaceous plant is prized for its purplish-blue flowers and seed pods that can be used in flower arrangements. Its shrub-like, grayish-blue green foliage also has interest. Blue false indigo is a native plant in the eastern and south central United States. Native Americans and early European settlers made a blue dye from the plant, and its seed pods were often used to create rattles for children.

It is a full-sun plant that prefers moist, well-drained, neutral to slightly acidic soil, although it adapts well to poor soils and drought conditions. Strongly consider where you plant Baptisia, as it has a long, strong taproot once established and does not like to be transplanted or divided. (Read more…)

Kalanchoes (Kalanchoe blossfeldiana) are popular houseplants for winter. Commonly called Christmas kalanchoe or Flaming Katy, they are often sold around Christmastime or Valentine’s Day. Although most kalanchoes sold have red flowers, some produce white, yellow, orange, pink or magenta blooms. Their star-like flowers form in clusters. Even after flowering, kalanchoes are attractive because of their glossy, dark green, fleshy, scalloped leaves.

These houseplants grow best in a sunny location. They will become spindly in low-light conditions. Kalanchoes are succulents and appreciate a well-drained potting medium. They can easily be damaged by over-watering. Their potting medium should be allowed to dry slightly between waterings. Do not allow the plant to sit in a saucer of water. (Read more…)

An exciting element of beginning a new year is learning about some of the plants selected as award winners for the year. Since 1933, the All-America Selections organization has designated plants to receive the coveted AAS Award. Four plants were selected for 2010.

The 2010 AAS Flower Award winner is Gaillardia ‘Mesa Yellow.’ It is the first hybrid gaillardia noted for its prolific flowering and controlled habit. This blanket flower also possesses good wind and rain resistance, mean-ing it recovers quickly from severe weather. Another advantage is that it blooms about two or three weeks earlier than most other blanket flower cultivars. ‘Mesa Yellow’ would be a good addition to a cutting or butterfly gar-den. It is a full sun plant reaching 20-22 inches tall with a mounding form that also works well in containers. (Read more…)

Although dreary January looms before us, we can have sweet-smelling flowers blooming in our homes to chase away winter’s blahs. An easy bulb to force is the paperwhite, Narcissus papyraceus, a form of daffodil. Paperwhites do not require a long, cold storage period to root — and you don’t even need to plant the bulbs in soil. It is an ancient Chinese tradition to plant paperwhites in a bowl of water and pebbles.

Select shallow containers, perhaps three to four inches deep, that have no drainage holes. Add two inches of washed pebbles or decorative stones in the bottom of the container. Place the bulbs pointed side up on top of the pebbles. The bulbs can be spaced close together, but should not touch. Add more pebbles to hold the bulbs in place. Put water in the container to just barely reach the base of the bulbs. Too much water will rot the bulbs. Keep the water at this level, replenishing it as needed. The bulbs do not need to be fertilized.

Put the container in a cool, dark place (about 50-55 degrees F) for a few weeks. Once the green shoots reach three inches, move the container to a room with bright light and temperature of around 60-65 degrees F. A win-dow area with a southern exposure is ideal. Paperwhites become leggy in low light. Blooms should appear about four to eight weeks after potting. Once flowers form, remove the plant from direct sunlight and put it in a cooler, less sunny location to prolong bloom time.

If you opt to plant your paperwhites in soil, select a container with drainage holes and use a well-draining potting mix. Position the bulbs, pointed end up, so the top half of each bulb is exposed. Water the bulbs in well and follow the instructions noted above for planting in soil-less containers.

Paperwhites often flop. The Flowerbulb Research Program at Cornell University has found a simple solution to this problem. After shoots reach one or two inches, drain the water from the pebble container. Replace the water with a solution of one part 70 percent rubbing alcohol to 10 or 11 parts water. Continue using this mixture there-after. Research indicates the alcohol solution results in a plant that is one-third shorter, but with normal size flowers and fragrance.

Unfortunately, our climate is too harsh to plant paperwhites outside. Discard the bulbs after flowering.

Smith is a University of Illinois Extension Master Gardener in McLean County. For horticulture questions or information about the Master Gardener program, call (309) 663-8306 or visit www.mcleanextension.org.

A crackling fire in the fireplace is very inviting on a cold winter day. Combine that with a brightly lit Christmas tree and glittering holiday decorations, and you have the makings of picture-perfect family memories.

Safety precautions are always necessary when we use our fireplaces, but since the emerald ash borer (EAB) was detected in some Bloomington and Chenoa ash trees in 2008, we also need to be aware of restrictions placed on the transport of firewood. Entomologists believe the transportation of firewood has helped spread emerald ash borers. Luckily, only one additional EAB infestation site was documented in Normal in 2009. However, the EAB is responsible for the death or decline of over 25 million ash trees since it was found in the United States. (Read more…)

Decorating the Christmas tree is a holiday tradition in most households. The history of decorated Christmas trees is an interesting one, originating in 1510 in Latvia, where they were adorned with flowers and food items. For a while, tabletop trees for each family member were the norm for English families. In the early 1880s, electric Christmas tree lights were invented and full-size trees became popular.

In 1845, artificial Christmas trees were invented in Germany because of declining fir tree availability. They were known as feather trees and were made of goose, turkey, ostrich or swan feathers that had been dyed green. The Addis Brush Company, which made toilet brushes, designed the first American artificial tree. It was adver-tised in the 1913 Sears catalog. During the late 1950s, aluminum trees were the rage. These trees were often sold with a revolving color wheel that bathed the trees in various colors. Tall, slender pencil trees were later devel-oped for homeowners lacking floor space. In 2005, upside-down Christmas trees featuring stand-alone, ceiling or wall versions appeared on the market. Their advantages included the use of less floor space, more room for decorations at eye level, and limited access for curious pets. (Read more…)

This is the time of year when amaryllis bulbs start appearing in stores and garden centers. These bulbs make excellent hostess or holiday gifts. They are quite easy to grow, and the flowers they produce are enormous and exquisite. And, even better, you can keep the bulb and have it rebloom for years. In fact, the older and larger the bulb, the more blooms it should produce. Extremely large bulbs sometimes produce two or three flower stalks.

Many amaryllis bulbs are sold in a kit with instructions included; follow those carefully. If you purchase a bare bulb, here are some planting tips: (Read more…)

Cacti make excellent houseplants because they have so few demands. They are one of the few plants that will thrive indoors when the relative humidity is low. These are the traditional, arid cacti species, and not the holiday cacti (Thanksgiving or Christmas) so popular this time of year. There are many cacti sizes, shapes and flowering habits. Some popular varieties are star, golden barrel, hedgehog, pincushion, ball, rat tail, bunny ears and bishop’s cap.

The main requirement of arid cacti is abundant light. Placing them in a bright, sunny window with a southern or western exposure is ideal. Insufficient light can be supplemented with artificial lighting. (Read more…)

During fall clean up of garden storage and work areas, gardeners often find partially used packets of seeds. Can or should these seeds be saved? The answer to this question depends on how and where the seeds have been stored. Seeds have specific storage requirements, and unless these were met the seeds probably should be discarded.

To have viable seeds next year, they must have remained dormant, which means they must have been kept in a consistently dark, cool and dry location. Warm temperatures and moisture break a seed’s dormancy. High humidity can also trigger germination. Most horticulturists recommend keeping seed at a constant temperature, somewhere between 40 and 50 degrees F. High temperatures will seriously affect a seed’s longevity and can kill it.

Airtight plastic tubs or glass jars with screw-top lids work well as storage containers. Inserting a packet of silica gel in the storage containers will help dry seeds and reduce moisture problems. Carefully label the containers with the seed’s name and storage date. (Read more…)

Carpenter ants are often mistaken for termites. The reproductive forms of both insects are winged. However, there are three major differences between them.

Carpenter ants have a narrow waist (like a wasp) and three distinct body parts–head, abdomen and thorax. Termites have a straight body without a waist.

Termites and carpenter ants both have four wings. The back wings of a carpenter ant are shorter than the front pair, but termite wings are all the same size. Carpenter ant wings have few veins and are typically clear; termite wings are somewhat milky with many veins. (Read more…)

Walking recently through softly falling leaves, I started thinking about what a phenomenal process leaf drop is. Like most happenings in nature, there is an important reason why leaves fall. It’s not just so we can complain about raking them.

Plants need a coping mechanism for winter or they perish. Trees, like perennial plants, have to survive the freezing temperatures and harsh winds of winter. Some parts of trees, such as stems, twigs, and buds, are able to survive extreme cold. The tender leaf tissues of broad-leafed trees would freeze in winter, so these trees must shed their leaves. Evergreen trees, however, have needles that are covered with a protective, wax-like coating, and fluids inside their cells contain substances that resist freezing. (Read more…)

There’s something special about fall decorations in the Midwest. The pumpkins, corn stalks, Indian corn and other decorative materials seem to blend so naturally and wonderfully into the fall landscape and its colorful palette of changing foliage.

Another plant frequently used in fall decorations is bittersweet. The orange and scarlet berries of this vine are excellent for fall displays and wreaths. In addition to its colorful berries, bittersweet also produces nice yellow foliage in the fall. (Read more…)