Low Humidity in House Plants by Carol King

Plants on Pebble Tray. Photo the-news.co

This time of year, Colorado gardeners turn to indoor plants to soothe our gardening souls.  However the indoor environment in our homes can be very harsh for many plants. Many house plants are native to humid, tropical rain forests and require special consideration when they reside in Colorado homes. While lighting and temperatures need to be monitored for successful indoor gardening, humidity is the big issue during colder months.  Heating systems common in Colorado circulate dry, warm air throughout the house. Our indoor environment often has less than 10 percent humidity. This is a drastic reduction from the 70 to 90 percent relative humidity levels found in the native climates of most tropical plants.

Why does this matter? Humidity is the level of moisture in the air and can affect a plant's need for water.  Plants grown indoors with low humidity lose more water through transpiration, so their root systems require more water. In addition, plants located near heating or cooling vents may develop leaf spots or brown tips.

Here are a few tips to help alleviate low humidity problems:

• Misting plants may help alleviate this condition, however, it must be done frequently to be effective, and it may promote some foliar diseases. 
• Place several plants together on a tray filled with gravel. Filling the tray with water provides the humidity many plants need. Make sure the bottom of the container does not stand in water; the soil will become water-logged and cause root damage. 
• Use a humidifier around your plants. 
• For house plants with moderate humidity needs, group them together during the heating season. Each plant gives off humidity through transpiration. Clusters of plants will create very good humidity in the surrounding air.

For more information see this:  http://planttalk.colostate.edu/topics/houseplants/1317-houseplants-temperature-humidity/

Keeping Roses Healthy During Winter

Rose canes greening up in Lakewood - January 22, 2018

Have you taken a look at your roses lately? This warm winter has created conditions for the canes to green up very early. It’s way too early to prune them! Instead, check to make sure your mulch layer is still intact, and add more if you’ve lost some to wind or critters.

The following information from the Denver Rose Society gives tips on rose care during these late winter months.

February Words of the Month: Monoecious and Dioecious by Carol King

Image media1.britannica.com

In honor of St. Valentine’s Day and an homage to love in the garden, the February horticulture word of the month is actually two words: ”dioecious” and “monoecious"; terms that refer to plant reproduction. The pronunciation for the two words is “dahy-EE-shuhs” and “muh-Nee-shuhs”.

A monoecious plant is one that can reproduce (that is, bloom and set seed) all on its own. Monoecious is translated as “single house,” meaning that male and female flowers are found on a single individual plant. It does not need a partner: a single plant bears both male and female flowers. Examples of monoecious plants are birch, hazelnut, oak, pine, spruce, corn, and squashes.

The 2018 Great Backyard Bird Count By Joyce D’Agostino

Photo by Joyce D'Agostino

During the fall and winter when most of us are not outside working in a garden, birdwatching is often an enjoyable pastime. If you love watching the native birds come to your yard and feeder, then you might want to participate in this important and fun project from the Audubon Society.

Squirrel Damage in the Landscape

Photo courtesy Plantalk Colorado

Today I counted 6 squirrels frolicking and playing in my elm trees, and spotted another three in my neighbor's yard. Squirrels can cause a lot of damage in the garden, especially in years when untimely spring frosts (like we had in 2017) cause poor crops of crab apples and other fruits. Plantalk Colorado offers the following information about squirrel damage to trees and landscape plants.

Crocus already? Too early?

Crocus leaves in Lakewood, 1/17/18

It’s early February and some crocus are already emerging. In fact, crocus leaves appeared in my yard in mid-January. What’s going on?

An early bloom certainly isn’t unprecedented in Denver and Jefferson County. The National Phenology Network (NPN) collects reports on the status of plants around the country and combines them with weather data to create models of where spring has sprung. Just last year, data from the NPN indicated that Denver’s plants were blooming up to three weeks ahead of the average for 1981-2010.

The Myth of Paper-based Sheet Mulch

Photo courtesy doityourself.com

Note: This information is excerpted from Horticultural Myths, Linda Chalker-Scott, Washington State University Extension. See link at bottom of article.

In their quest to create more sustainable landscapes – those that require fewer inputs of fertilizers, pesticides, and other resources – gardeners, landscapers, and restoration ecologists have focused on mulches. The use of mulches to suppress weeds and conserve soil water has a substantial agricultural history. Newspaper mulch, either as intact sheets or chopped and shredded, has been successful in reducing weeds and increasing yield in some row crops. Cardboard sheet mulch, often used in tree plantations, has been less reliable. These paper mulches are increasingly common in urban landscapes, especially restoration sites. Are they effective in suppressing weeds, maintaining soil water, and aiding plant establishment in this context?

Houseplant Choices

Maximum Yield Magazine offers eight of their favorite indoor winter houseplants.

Indoor Winter plants: Our 8 Best Houseplants To Grow Now #gardening https://t.co/YKB6X0FGol … via @urbgardenersrep pic.twitter.com/22Ckc2lkQj

— Maximum Yield (@Max_Yield) January 26, 2018

Gardening Power to the People: Pruning Shrubs (Video)

When is the best time to prune shrubs? It depends! If it's a spring-blooming shrub, wait until the shrub has finished its spring bloom. Late winter is a good time to prune your summer blooming shrubs. Watch Master Gardener Gail's pruning tips.

Rosemary “for Remembrance” By Olivia Tracy

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis); photo courtesy of PlantTalk Colorado

During Shakespeare’s time, rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) was often associated with memory or remembering; it was given as a sign of friendship, and the early Herballs believed that the scent could “quicken the senses and memorie” (John Gerard, The Herball, Or Generall Historie of Plantes, 1597). These herbals may have been on to something-- recently, scientists have found possible relationships between the scent of rosemary and improved cognition.⁴

Today, rosemary is a welcome presence (and scent) in an indoor winter herb-garden. A Mediterranean plant, rosemary doesn’t tolerate low temperatures well; however, when planted in a container, you can keep it indoors during the winter, and move it outdoors during the warm summer months.² You can buy rosemary plants from a store, or you can start them from seed. (You can also propagate rosemary through cuttings; however, it is best to take cuttings from rosemary in the spring or summer.)³ 

• Plant your rosemary plant in soilless mix (potting soil),² and be sure to allow the soil to dry between watering (rosemary is a fairly drought-tolerant herb).¹ 
• Apply water-soluble fertilizer every few weeks to help the plant thrive in the indoor space.² 
• Like most herbs, rosemary loves sunlight, so be sure to place your rosemary plant in an area that will receive the largest amount of possible sunlight (in a south- or west-facing window).² 

If you’d like more information about rosemary, other herbs, and herb gardening, the following webpages were sources for this post, and are excellent sources to explore: 

¹CMG GardenNotes #731, Herb Gardening http://www.ext.colostate.edu/mg/Gardennotes/731.pdf , 

² PlantTalk 1056- Indoor Herb Garden http://planttalk.colostate.edu/topics/annuals-perennials/1056-indoor-herb-garden/

³If you hope to propagate rosemary or other herbs by cuttings, you may find useful advice in this article by the Missouri State Extension: https://extension2.missouri.edu/g6470 

⁴Recent study exploring the relationship between the scent of rosemary and cognition in schoolchildren: http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?paperID=79934 

Martin Luther King Jr World Peace Rose Garden

Photo courtesy National Park Service

The International World Peace Rose Gardens program is a worldwide effort to help youth recognize the importance and value of peace. In March 1992, the Martin Luther King, Jr. "I Have a Dream" World Peace Rose Garden was planted at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site. The garden is an artistic interpretation of Dr. King’s life and ideals of peace through nonviolence. The garden’s starburst design brings attention to the brilliance of Dr. King’s ideals using the Official Flower of the United States, the rose.

Easy Houseplants for Your Indoor Garden

January in Colorado is a tough time to be a gardener in Colorado. Having a collection of indoor plants is one way to assuage our desire to be in the garden. Dry furnace air and lack of sunshine makes indoor gardening a challenge along the Front Range. Organic Life Magazine suggests eight very simple to grow house plants.

Forgetful plant parents should have no problem with these tough varieties. https://t.co/ddh2cYU3oT

— Organic Life (@OrganicLifeMag) January 1, 2018