Question: After some years a big bronze dahlia I have has begun to produce only single flowers. The plants are healthy and the flowers still big but I am heartbroken. Is there something I can do about this? JS, Miss. Answer: It is not unusual for dahlia varieties which have been propagated from the same […]

Question: We’ve just moved from the city to a place with 2 acres of land. Several kinds of flowers have come up but I don’t even know their names. I’ve been told they are iris, tulips, daffodils and peonies all scattered through weeds and grass. I’d like to get them together in a neat flower […]

Question: I have an apartment with north windows only. Can I grow an orchid? I also have an aquarium, 12 by 12 by 24 inches with heater, light and glass cover. Could I make a terrarium with it? RB, Va. Answer: Cypripediums and similar forms of lady-slipper orchid would very likely succeed in a north […]

Question: The buds dry up and fall off my gardenia. What can I do to make it bloom? SM, Mich. Answer: It is difficult to provide suitable conditions in the home for the gardenia to bloom. It needs plenty of sunshine, a moist atmosphere, enough water to keep the soil moist but not soggy and […]

Question: I want to grow hybrid amaryllis from seed and have a number of seed pods coming. When should they be picked and how do I go about raising seedling? TW, Neb. Answer: When amaryllis seed pods begin to split the seeds are mature and ready to be sown. They may be sown in a […]

Question: Two years ago I rooted cuttings of Hoya carnosa and put them in a pot. They’ve sat in an east window for two years without making any growth. What can I do to make them grow? RB, Mass. Answer: I have waited two years for leaf cuttings of Hoya carnosa to grow after rooting […]

Question: Where can I get information on growing the Wonder Plant of India? WJ, Calif. Answer: In frost-free areas, the Wonder Plant of India may be left in the open ground in rich soil. It could also be grown in a pot in which case a liberal feeding when growth is active is in order. […]

Question: Last year you advised me to leave an Easter lily in the ground and not move it. It is growing well and getting so big that I wonder if it doesn’t need dividing. If you advise that, when and how shall I divide it? JF, NJ Answer: It is interesting to learn your Easter […]

Question: I only have two plants but plan on getting more daylilies if I can expect them to bloom every year. Why didn’t the two I have bloom this year? MG, NY. Answer: Daylilies are usually sure bloomers. Possible reasons for not flowering would be weak divisions not well established or overcrowded clumps in poor […]