Boardash: ArcaMax Gardening Daily Tips for Tuesday October 27, 2009

Monday, October 26, 2009

ArcaMax Gardening Daily Tips for Tuesday October 27, 2009

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Gardening Daily Tips
For You
Tuesday October 27, 2009

Beautyberry, American (Callicarpa americana)
Q&A: Garden Hygiene
Q&A: Caring for Peace Lily
Tip: Prune Climbing Roses
Free Books for Halloween
Reader Photos

Beautyberry, American (Callicarpa americana)

Today's Featured Plant
Beautyberry, American (Callicarpa americana)

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: Garden Hygiene

Question: A local gardening columnist here is very adamant about leaving 'natural refuse' from plants (fallen leaves and flowers) in the garden to enhance the soil. Is it a good idea? Should the 'refuse' be turned into the soil quickly or allowed to just sit for a length of time first?

Answer: I would make the call to "take it or leave it" based on the health of the plants and the type of plants you've grown. If you have diseased or pest-infested plants, plant debris can provide a winter haven for these unwelcome guests. If you deadhead mature flowers filled with seed, you can drop them in the garden if you want those same flowers to grow next year. Weed seedlings are fine to leave as a mulch, as long as you heap them up so they don't reroot. Mature weeds that have set seed should be removed from the garden so they don't add to the reservoir of weed seed in the soil. If you're concerned about spreading diseases and pests in the garden, manage your compost pile so that it heats up to at least 140F to kill most pests and plant disease organisms.

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Q&A: Caring for Peace Lily

Question: I recently received a peace lily as a gift; can you give me some guidelines for caring for this plant?

Answer: Peace lilies (Spathiphyllum) are relatively easy to care for under normal home conditions. They will tolerate a wide range of light levels but do best in moderate rather than very bright light. They should be watered regularly so that the soil stays slightly moist but not soggy. The frequency of watering will depend on the size of the plant relative to its pot and on the room temperature and humidity as well as air circulation. You might wish to use a dilute water-soluble houseplant fertilizer for foliage plants according to the label instructions. When the plant has grown enough so that it needs very frequent watering, then it should be moved to a slightly larger pot.

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Tip: Prune Climbing Roses

In warm winter areas, prune climbing roses. To stimulate more flowering canes (2 year old canes), prune back all the side branches to 2 or 3 buds. These buds will produce canes next spring, which will produce more roses.

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Free Books for Halloween

Looking for a spooky classic to read this week? Check out The War of the Worlds or The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, just two of the classic books you can read in their entirety online from the ArcaMax Book Club.

Sign up for one or more of your favorites and start reading by e-mail, a chapter a day. If you get ahead or miss a day, you can go to the Web site and reset your "virtual bookmark" so you can pick up where you left off tomorrow.

View the complete list of books.

Visit the ArcaMax Halloween feature for more free books, decorating tips, trick-or-treating safety, and more.

-- From the Arcamax editors

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Today's Reader Submitted Photos

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Sincerely,
ArcaMax Editors