Knowledge Vault - 17/38

What is Bud?

Bud – The portion of a plant from which a shoot, cluster of leaves or a flower develops.

Question: Is it true that cutting off the foliage of my daffodils while still green will prevent their blooming next spring? Answer: Yes. If your bulbs are big and husky, a few may bloom despite this tough treatment; but if they are only average, you will get hardly any bloom if the foliage is removed […]

Bright Light

Bright light – The intensity within three feet of a south, west or east-facing window. Bright light should be filtered or indirect, though. Don’t confuse it with full sunshine, which can burn leaves of most houseplants.

Climbing Roses

Question: I plan to air layer several climbing roses this month. When should I remove the rooted branches? Answer: Any time after a good root system has formed you can remove the layered branches. If you use a transparent plastic for wrapping, you will be able to see the roots and will know when a […]

Artificial Light

Artificial light – Certain wavelengths from fluorescent tubes and incandescent bulbs can supplement or entirely substitute for natural sunlight. Check grow-lights, natural light.

Blooming Water Lilies

Question: My neighbor’s water-lilies bloom throughout the summer, but mine bloom for only a short time in early summer. Why? Answer: Your neighbor’s plants are very probably tropical varieties that have a long blooming season, while yours are hardy and have a very, very short season of bloom. The tropicals, which are killed by winter […]

Air-Layering

Air-layering – A propagation technique which lets you reduce the height of a plant that’s grown too tall. Basically, you partially sever the trunk, wrap with damp sphagnum moss until roots form, then remove the upper segment and put it in a new pot. New growth should eventually sprout from the lower or remaining plant […]

Rotted Wood Humus

Question: I now use leafmold in my mixture and would like to know what proportion of rotted wood humus to use in the potting mixture of African violets. MN, Kan Answer: Rotted wood humus would take the place of leafmold in the potting mixture for African violets or you could use half leafmold and half […]

Aerial Root

Aerial root – A root that grows out from the stem and extracts moisture from the air as differentiated from those that grow in water or soil. Ivies and other vining plants typically have aerial roots, in addition to those roots growing in Living Stones.

Garden Composting

Question: Can you tell me how the method of organic gardening which eliminates the compost pile and applies the material directly to the soil works? DH, Neb Answer: The method is to dig a trench 6 to 8 inches deep, kitchen waste in it in a continuous layer and cover it immediately with soil. lt […]