Boardash: ArcaMax Gardening Daily Tips for Wednesday January 13, 2010

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

ArcaMax Gardening Daily Tips for Wednesday January 13, 2010

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Get Healthy in 2010

Gardening Daily Tips
For You
Wednesday January 13, 2010

Astilbe (Astilbe x arendsii)
Q&A: Starting Petunias Early
Q&A: Germinating Seeds from Cold Storage
Tip: Order Bare-Root Fruit Trees
Free Parenting Humor from the New Yorker
Reader Photos

Astilbe (Astilbe x arendsii)

Today's Featured Plant
Astilbe (Astilbe x arendsii)

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: Starting Petunias Early

Question: When should I start my petunias from seed indoors? (I live in Connecticut.) If I start them indoors, will I get flowers sooner?

Answer: Petunias are wonderful for their range of flower color and long season of bloom. In generaly, you should start your petunia seeds about 8 to 10 weeks before the last frost date. Since the last frost is around the end of April in your area, start seeds in mid to late February. You could probably sow them as early as late January, as long as you have an excellent growing environment for the seedlings -- a cool place with bright light. Otherwise, the plants will likely falter before you can get them in the ground. Petunias can take up to 3 weeks to germinate, so patience is required. Sow the seeds on the surface of the growing medium and keep the seed flats in the light and in a warm location (70-80F) until germination, then place them under bright lights in a cool (60-70F) room. Transplant the seedlings when they have the second set of true leaves and pinch back the young plants to make them bushier.

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Q&A: Germinating Seeds from Cold Storage

Question: I have several different types of vegetable and flower seeds that I inherited when my grandmother passed away. She kept them in her refrigerator or freezer and I have kept them that way since last summer. What is the best way to germinate them?

Answer: What a wonderful inheritance! Seeds that have been stored in a freezer ideally have a very low moisture content, and should be exposed to air for a few days before planting. This allows them to absorb moisture from the relatively humid air before being placed in a moist soil medium. After these few days of acclimation, if you want to test seed viability before planting, place a few seeds of each type between moistened paper towels, place the towels in a plastic bag with the end left open, and leave them in a warm spot (not in direct sunlight). You can then transfer the germinated seeds to soil, if you wish, or just use this method as a way to determine that seeds will still sprout.

Were these seeds she had saved from her own garden plants? If you've been bitten by the seed-saving bug, you'll be glad to know there is a lot of information on the Web and in books to help you in this new hobby. Enjoy!

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Tip: Order Bare-Root Fruit Trees

Order bare-root fruit trees now. If possible, purchase dwarf trees, making sure the variety is hardy in your area. Some fruits such as plums need two different varieties of that type of fruit for cross pollination and fruit production.

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Free Parenting Humor from the New Yorker

With the new school year starting, parents can use a good laugh to start the day. The New Yorker Parenting Cartoons ezine has just what you need!

Subscribers to this free ezine will receive a New Yorker cartoon every morning by e-mail -- a service available only from ArcaMax! New subscribers will also receive a New Yorker-style cartoon with their name in the caption, perfect for sharing with family and friends!

For more cartoons every morning, sign up for the Dogs and Cats, Food Humor, Love & Relationships, and Office Humor ezines.

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-- From the ArcaMax editors

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Today's Reader Submitted Photos

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Sincerely,
ArcaMax Editors

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