LITTLE ROCK — Q I actually spent a little time in my garden this week and I was shocked to see that my hydrangeas are trying to grow again.
I have them mulched at the base, but I don’t think I can get mulch high enough to cover them. Should I put sheets or blankets over them whenever it gets cold? I know that flower buds have set for next year and I don’t want to lose them.
A You aren’t alone. These mild periods we are having between cold snaps have many plants confused. Unfortunately, there isn’t a whole lot you can do. Mulching helps, but covering with sheets or blankets gives only about 2 to 3 degrees of protection, and if there is any precipitation, the sheets will get bogged down and the weight could break the branches. If you have large cardboard boxes with which you can cover the plants when it gets way below freezing, that could help some. But we have a long way to go until spring.
Keep your fingers crossed.
Q With the crazy weather we have had this year, we have a yard full of stickers. I don’t remember ever seeing them this time of the year.
Would it be OK to spray them now? If yes, what would you recommend?
A The sticker weeds are normally here this time of year, but this year they are growing faster than normal. It is called spurweed and it germinates in the fall, grows all winter and dies in late spring. If you already have stickers, then it is definitely ahead of schedule, since the stickers are the seeds that are produced after it blooms. Pick a mild day with little wind and spray with a broad leaf herbicide containing 2,4-D. Don’t spray the entire yard, just where the weeds are.
It is an annual weed, and if you can kill it before too many seeds have set, it will reduce the population for next year. If it is allowed to grow unchecked, you will have more stickers each year.
Q I took stems from an angel wing begonia and placed them in water and put them in sunlight on the windowsill. As I hoped, white threadlike roots have now developed. What do I do now? The obvious answer seems potting soil, but I am not sure. Please advise.
A Angel wing begonias root readily, and while many gardeners like to watch the roots develop in water, I always prefer to root them in soil. That being said, you need to plant yours in soil now.
If there are a lot of roots, don’t cram them down in the potting soil, but lightly spread them out and fill in with fresh soil. Water well but don’t keep the soil too wet. Angel wing begonias will grow tall and leggy if you don’t pinch out the centers occasionally to get bushiness. When you do pinch out the center, you have a new start for another plant.
Q I received a beautiful 3-foot tall schefflera plant in September as a gift upon my mother’s death. Since then it has lost more than half of its leaves, some brown and dry, others green and healthy looking, some with brown spots. It is in a bay window facing east but does get some direct morning sunlight from the most southerly of the eastern-facing windows. Some new growth has appeared, but even those leaves drop. I haven’t over watered and have fertilized once. I really don’t want to lose this plant.
A Make sure the pot has a drainage hole and that there is no standing water at the base.
Over-watering is usually the cause of houseplant woes, but occasionally under-watering also occurs.
When you do water, let the water pour through the container, making sure the entire root ball has moisture. Then throw away the excess water that has poured through. Typically in the winter, houseplants need watering only every two weeks or so. Morning sunlight is ideal, but make sure it is getting enough light, and turn the pot occasionally - you might find a brighter location for it now. Winter is often tough on indoor plants, since we have little humidity and even lower light. I would not fertilize during the winter, since there is little new growth. Once we start having longer days it should start to perk up.
Once spring is here, repot it and move it outside and see if it doesn’t thrive.
Janet Carson is a horticulture specialist for the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. Write to her at 2301 S. University Ave., Little Rock, Ark. 72204 or e-mail her at
HomeStyle, Pages 31 on 12/29/2012