One of the most spectacular winter blooming plants is the Florist's Cineraria (Pericallis x hybrida). What makes these plants so special is that the deep green, slightly lobed leaves of these colorful beauties are often completely covered by immense clusters of velvety daisy-like flowers for their entire growing season.

These bright and bushy plants have an amazing kick of contrasting colors. The blossoms may be white, pink, red, blue, purple or violet, with blue or white centers and rings of contrasting colors that create a rainbow of hues for any sunny windowsill.

These beautiful plants are native to the Canary Islands off the coast of Portugal. Annuals that can bloom indoors from as early as December to as late as May, they are usually discarded after their blooming season is over. But few plants can beat these beauties for color while they are doing their thing.

Cinerarias do best in a bright room or sunny windowsill. They are fairly thirsty plants, due to the large volume of flowers they produce, and like to be kept moist (but not wet) at all times. They need only occasional feeding while in bloom, with a water soluble plant food like Grow More Sea Grow All Purpose.

So, if you need a little help shaking off the doldrums of winter, consider purchasing some cinerarias to brighten up your home today!

Keeping your houseplants healthy during winter months may seem difficult. Light from windows is reduced, days are shorter and humidity may be lower due to heating. But by making a few changes, you can help keep your houseplants healthy.

Keeping things light

In winter, your plants receive sunlight for less time and in less intensity. Houseplants native to rainforests that are used to lower light will be fine with that, but most plants need more light. Try to move your plants near a brighter window (S/SW exposure) to get them more sunlight.

If you have no brighter windows (due to shade trees or apartment living), you might want to consider the purchase of plant lamps that are designed to provide the full spectrum light your plants need. They can be mounted under shelves, over plants or on specially-designed plant stands. Leave them on about eight hours a day, and they'll give your plants the light they need.

You can also use cool fluorescent bulbs as close as 6 inches from the top of plants.

Temperature

Most plants do not do well when subjected to rapid fluctuations in temperature. Keep them away from hot air sources and cold drafts alike. Run ceiling fans on low if the house is closed up. Fans break up stagnant air; that's healthier for both you and your plants.

Humidity

Some symptoms of low humidity are brown leaf tips and wilting. Low humidity makes your plants work harder to get moisture from the air and soil, as well as keep what they have inside.

One way to give your plants some extra humidity is to mist them two or three times a day. The water will evaporate off the leaves and provide a cloud of higher humidity around the plant. For a less labor-intensive method, put a layer of pebbles in the bottom of a tray and fill the tray with just enough water to cover the bottom of the tray (below the top of the pebbles). Place potted plants in the tray.

Other Tips

Fertilizing should be done less often for most plants in winter.

Give your plants a good washing. Dirt, dust, grease, and other particles can settle on leaves. Dirty leaves can't absorb as much sunlight as clean ones. Gently wipe clean the leaves with a soft sponge or cloth dipped in plain water. Sturdier plants can even be given a quick shower in the bathroom with tepid water.

Often considered queen of the indoor plants, the African violet was first discovered in Tanzania in 1892. Originally the flowers were limited to shades of blue, white and lavender, but thanks to years of hybridizing efforts many color variations are now available.

African violets also vary in size and form. There are miniature varieties that grow to less than 6” in diameter, standard varieties which average 8”-12” in diameter (but can exceed 18”-24” when grown for exhibition), and trailing varieties which can be grown as ground covers or as hanging plants.

Ideally, African violets prefer the natural light of a south facing window but they can grow well with artificial lighting, too. The key is to provide them with 8-12 hours of light per day. For more even growth, it is helpful to rotate the plants a quarter turn each day. They grow best in temperatures between 65ºF and 75ºF, which will help promote quick flowering cycles and better absorption of plant foods.

It is important to allow the soil for African violets to dry out completely between waterings. When watering, try to avoid watering the leaves, as this can leave behind unsightly stains. We recommend feeding them every two weeks, year-round, with a soluble plant food. This will keep the foliage a nice shade of dark green and help the flowers produce a more intense color.

African violets are one of the most popular houseplants and very easy to grow. With good bright light and regular feedings, they will bloom joyfully all year long! We invite you to stop by soon and bring a few home.

The venerable queen of Europe's historical gardens is unquestionably the rose. Her sovereignty holds sway over all others with an unforgettable aroma, color and elegance. Your garden will bring all others to their knees if you take a chance and plant these pulchritudinous perfumeries.

Begin by staking out--literally--where you plan to place these beauties. Using bamboo stakes will aid you in evenly spacing them. They will thrive in full sun and well-drained soil. Group them by color, maintaining a harmonious flow throughout your garden by combining them in a proportionate, orderly and congruous manner. And remember that a soil pH level of 5.5 to 6.6 is the ultimate medium for raising a rose garden.

We're discussing bare-root roses today, which are harvested in late fall and early winter after cool weather encourages dormancy. If you are wise, and purchase your roses at the most reliable of sources, a nursery, all of the soil around their roots will have been removed, and the roots surrounded with moist wood shavings, allowing for easy inspection.

Roses come in three grades; grade 1 is the best and therefore the most expensive. The requirement for this grade is that the plants must have at least three strong canes, two of which must be at least 18 inches in length for hybrid teas and grandifloras. The canes should be at least 1/8 inch in diameter. Grade 1½ requires at least two strong canes, 15 inches long for hybrid teas and grandifloras, and at least 1/8 inch in diameter. Grade 2 is the least expensive grade, and also the least reliable; they could end up an unwanted gamble. The thicker the diameter, the better the plant, no matter from which of the hundreds of varieties you choose.

Soak the bare-root rose plants overnight in a bucket of tepid water prior to planting, for rehydration. Then dig a hole, 2 feet by 2 feet and at least 14 to 18 inches deep. Amend your existing soil with a good rose soil mix.

In the center of the hole, firmly pat the earth into a cone. Spread out the rose's roots over this cone, placing the bud union (between the roots and limbs) at the correct level. The bud union is the most susceptible part of the plant, so placement either above or below the soil line is of utmost importance.

If you live in areas with extremely cold winters, bury the bud union about 2 to 6 inches below the surface of the ground for protection. But in milder zones, plant the rose with the bud union about 1 to 1 ½ inches above ground level. Back-fill the hole with additional soil mixture, remembering to gently tamp the soil around the roots. Water well, and why not add a solution of fish emulsion for that little boost?

Prior to the first bloom, add two inches of mulch over the entire bed; this will keep the roots cool and moist, conserve moisture in hot weather, and help to prevent weeds from gaining a foothold. As soon as your plant blooms, it is developed enough for feeding with a rose plant food. Liquid is always preferable to granular as it is immediately available to the roots. Feed after the initial bloom cycle and once a month thereafter; cease feeding two months before the first frost.

Now take a break from your labors, and imagine what this bundle of sticks you've just planted will soon look like. Beauteous blooms will abound, and all because you cared enough to make the effort. Congratulations!

Gardeners who have learned the glories of picking fresh fruit from their own orchards eagerly await the bare root season to take their list of desired trees to the local nursery. Your first look at the bare root fruit tree that you envision bearing baskets of fresh sweet fruit may be a bit of a disappointment; it won't win a beauty contest. But there is a bonus to buying bareroot. As those smart gardeners know, you get great fruit trees at a price considerably less than a containerized tree.

Unlike evergreen fruits such as citrus, deciduous trees go through a dormant phase during which they lose all their leaves. Whether you're choosing plum, nectarine, pear, peach, pomegranate, persimmon, cherry or quince trees, the safest time to dig these young ones from the field for transportation to the nursery sans soil on their roots, is when they are in a state of dormancy, hence the term "bare root." Planting your trees without soil from a foreign area means that the roots will grow into the native soil, the same soil they will remain in during their life span, thus ensuring a healthier, stronger tree.

True gardeners have learned patience. They will choose the smaller specimens, as the larger the tree the more out of balance will be the root to stem ratio. And while it may be momentarily painful, top that first year bare root off at 2 to 3 feet in height, with no side branches remaining. Doing this means that the scaffold, which is the lower side supporting structural branches, will be lower to the ground, making harvesting and pruning less of a chore. And while we're on pruning, peaches and nectarines will need to be heavily pruned each dormant season; apples, pears, almonds, plums, persimmon and apricots, once they are established, will only require moderate pruning.

It's wisest to ready the planting holes for your trees prior to going to the nursery, so that you can get them into the ground the same day. As with most plants and trees, they like loose soil with good drainage, and sunny locations. If your soil conditions are less than perfect, but the location you've chosen is, why not plant your new additions in a raised bed? This allows you to completely control the soil into which you are placing the trees.

Group trees that have similar spraying needs, and those varieties of fruit trees that require pollinators. Bees and the wind will assist you with this, so how lucky if your neighbors have cultivars that are needed for pollination of your trees!

Your planting hole should be wide rather than deep. A depth the length of the rootstock, or approximately 1.5 feet, should suffice. Put your hands into the earth and form a slight mound. Place your tree on the mound, gently spreading out the roots so that they aren't encircling the tree. Use the native soil to fill in the hole, and don't fertilize until you see growth on the tree. For the first two years, dilute the fertilizer by half so that young roots do not get burned.

It will take a couple of years before your bare root fruit tree actually bears fruit, but what a relatively short wait for the satisfaction of knowing that you were a part of the growth process nearly from the beginning. And imagine how sweet that first bite of fruit will taste!

Soil pH indicates how acid or alkaline a soil is. In technical terms, it is a logarithmic function of the hydrogen ion concentration [H+]: pH = -log [H+]. Got all that?

In simpler terms, a pH of 7.0 is neutral. Below that number is acidic, above that number is alkaline. The scale is progressive, too. A pH of 6.0 is ten times more acid than a pH of 7.0; a pH of 5.0 is 100 times more acid than a pH of 7.0, and so on.

You can test your soil pH with a simple pH test kit.

• To modify or correct acidic soils you need to apply lime.
• To modify or correct alkaline soils you need to apply soil sulfur or aluminum sulfate.

Most plants prefer soil slightly on the acidic side of 6. Use a lower pH for acid-loving plants like blueberries, azaleas, and ferns.