Garden seeds: How old is too old?

QUESTION: How long do seeds last? If a seed packet says “purchase by 12/11,” would the seeds still be good for this year?  I’m looking at sunflowers, green beans, and other summer vegetables. It’s probably a common experience among gardeners to find packets of last year’s seeds – or seeds from two or more years [...]

Good luck with ‘bamboo’

QUESTION: I have a “lucky bamboo” plant in a pot of water with pebbles that looked great for awhile, but now it has grown big shoots out of each of the stalks. Can I cut off these shoots and re-pot them? The first thing you need to know about lucky bamboo that it’s not bamboo [...]

Sweet surprise: sweet potato vines

QUESTION: The ornamental sweet potato vines I grew in large pots last summer produced potatoes – to my surprise! Can they be replanted to produce vines next year? Sweet potato vine (Ipomoea batatas) ‘Blackie’ Yes! The sweet potatoes that are grown for their ornamental vines don’t have much taste, but U.T. Extension agent David Cook [...]

Hellebores: winter in bloom

When can hellebores be planted or divided? Hellebores can be a nice surprise in the garden in late winter, when everything else out there is still asleep. They are tough plants with evergreen foliage and flowers that bloom in winter and last well into spring. Even when they are blooming, they are not fazed by [...]

New plants from old rosemary

QUESTION: I’ve recently moved a large rosemary plant from a friend’s yard to mine. It has not liked the move. I’ve started rooting some cuttings in water, and they seem to be doing well. How long should I let the roots grow before moving them to dirt? Do you recommend potting them in soil in a clay pot during [...]