Boardash: ArcaMax Gardening Daily Tips for Friday October 23, 2009

Thursday, October 22, 2009

ArcaMax Gardening Daily Tips for Friday October 23, 2009

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Gardening Daily Tips
For You
Friday October 23, 2009

Cotoneaster, Creeping (Cotoneaster adpressus)
Q&A: Fluorescent Lights for Houseplants
Q&A: Difference Between Gypsum and Lime
Tip: Decorate Halloween Pumpkins
Carve the Perfect Jack-O-Lantern
Reader Photos

Cotoneaster, Creeping (Cotoneaster adpressus)

Today's Featured Plant
Cotoneaster, Creeping (Cotoneaster adpressus)

Read the full profile of this plant at ArcaMax.com.

Interested in reading about other plants? Search through hundreds of plant profiles and helpful articles by keyword.

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Q&A: Fluorescent Lights for Houseplants

Question: Is fluorescent lighting as good for plants as sunlight, and how much would average houseplants need?

Answer: Nothing beats sunlight! However, during the dark days of winter, or if you aren't lucky enough to have a sunny room, artificial lights will help your houseplants thrive. The important things when choosing a light source are that the bulb doesn't give off excessive heat, and that the quality of the light is as close as possible to sunlight -- that is, it covers the full spectrum. Regular fluorescent lights are reasonably close to full spectrum, and are a good choice, especially if you are growing only foliage plants. Full spectrum grow lights provide a better quality light, and might be a better choice if you are growing flowering plants such as African violets. Avoid incandescent light bulbs -- they give off too much heat. Because indoor lights aren't nearly as bright as sunlight, you need to be able to keep the lights 4-6 inches from the top of the plants, so you'll need to be able to raise and lower the lights as needed. Lights should be on 16 hours a day and turned off at night; putting them on a timer is helpful. There's really no such thing as an "average" houseplant -- just like with outdoor plants, different houseplants have different needs. Some will tolerate very low light levels, while others need at least some direct sun.

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Q&A: Difference Between Gypsum and Lime

Question: What is the difference between gypsum and lime?

Answer: Gypsum is calcium sulfate, and lime is calcium carbonate. Adding lime increases the pH of the soil. Gypsum is often used as a source of calcium on soils that wouldn't benefit from increasing the pH.

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Tip: Decorate Halloween Pumpkins

Instead of a carving a Halloween pumpkin, paint one. Use magic markers and bright colors such as white or red for the scariest effect. For more fun, glue plants such as dried berries and corn kernels and on the pumpkin.

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Carve the Perfect Jack-O-Lantern

Decorate your doorstep with a traditional Halloween Jack-O-Lantern -- get tips on making it look perfect!

More decorating tips, as well as delicious fall recipes, trick-or-treating safety information, and last-minute costume ideas, are all available from the ArcaMax Halloween feature. Visit now and be ready for next week!

-- From the ArcaMax editors

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Sincerely,
ArcaMax Editors