Boardash: ArcaMax Gardening Daily Tips for Sunday December 27, 2009

Sunday, December 27, 2009

ArcaMax Gardening Daily Tips for Sunday December 27, 2009

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Get Healthy in 2010

Gardening Daily Tips
For You
Sunday December 27, 2009

Rhododendron (Rhododendron (subgenus Rhododendron))
Q&A: Soil Too Heavy for Hanging Baskets
Q&A: Propagating a Jade Plant
Tip: Test Old Seed
Get Healthy in 2010
Reader Photos

Rhododendron (Rhododendron (subgenus Rhododendron))

Today's Featured Plant
Rhododendron (Rhododendron (subgenus Rhododendron))

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Q&A: Soil Too Heavy for Hanging Baskets

Question: My hanging baskets get too heavy after filling with soil and plants. What can I do to make them lighter?

Answer: You can use a soilless mix, which tends to be lighter than potting soil, or a 50:50 mix of the two. Be sure the planters arenOt adding too much weight D for example, plastic planters will be much lighter than ceramic ones. Note, however, that all planters will be relatively heavy after watering. If the baskets are larger than the usual-sized ones, you might switch to smaller ones. Or, alternately, you can place some Styrofoam packing peanuts in the bottom of the container, cover with a water permeable material such as landscape fabric, and fill the rest with soil. Remember that youOll be restricting the available space for the roots, however.

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Q&A: Propagating a Jade Plant

Question: How can I start a jade plant part and get it to root?

Answer: Jade plants are really very easy to propagate. You can start a new plant with a single leaf, or with a short piece of stem. Pull or break the leaf or stem from a healthy plant and allow it to callous over for a few hours. Then stick the end of the leaf or stem into moistened sand. After a few weeks roots will develop and you'll see new growth. You can repot the new little start once it has developed a good-sized root mass.

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Tip: Test Old Seed

If you've old seed do a germination test before ordering new seed. Roll 20 seeds into a moist paper towel and place in a glass jar. After 10 days, check the germination percentage. If less than 70%, order fresh seed.

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Sincerely,
ArcaMax Editors