Don’t worry about the daffodils

It’s only January, and the daffodils in my yard are already coming up! How do I keep them from freezing? It may seem too early for this unmistakable sign of spring, but it’s not unusual for the shoots of early daffodils to begin pushing up through the ground. In some places, they started coming up [...]

No-fly zone

QUESTION: Some of the plants I brought in from outdoors seem to have tiny white flying bugs all around them, and are a nuisance. What are they? And what can I do about them?   These are likely whiteflies, and they often ride in on plants that spent summer outdoors. They’re more than a nuisance; [...]

Poinsettias in the spotlight

QUESTION: I like to decorate with poinsettias for Christmas. What’s the best way to keep them looking good from now until New Year’s? Poinsettias are a tropical plant, native to Mexico, so the first thing to remember is to keep them out of the extreme weather. If it’s a cold day when you bring them [...]

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 [...]

Come in out of the cold

QUESTION: I would  like to know how to “winter over” geraniums. By now, anything you want to save from frost should be indoors. So, now that they’re already inside, here are general guidelines for keeping geraniums happy. These tips are from garden author Barbara Pleasant’s book The Complete Houseplant Survival Manual: Ideally, you would have [...]

Keep Rosemary happy

I have a small  rosemary bush that is thriving, and hope it lives through the winter. What is the best way to care for it so it survives? More and more, I was hearing gardeners say their rosemary, which does not always make it through winter outdoors in this area, was getting through the cold [...]