The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

Many of us started indoor gardening as a child. We had our own plant or some seeds to plant and grow inside. We grew the orange or lemon seeds or an avocado seed. We were probably encouraged by our mothers. Now we have the joy to share this interest with our children and grandchildren. One of the many joys of growing houseplants is sharing with others.

Take an evening to relax and make an inventory of your gardening summer and its pleasures, problems and hopes. Set realistic goals to make your coming garden as usable, productive and beautiful as possible. We all would like to have our yards especially attractive to support our city makeover to beautify our town. Try to arrange plants to get the most you can from the space you have, the time you can spare and, if the years are creeping up on you, the strength you have. Put your plans on paper so you can use this as a checklist. The county extension office has suggestions for hardy plants for this area and also landscaping guides. There are also books at the library for helps in garden plans. A number of garden magazines I have helps also.

Poinsettias can be kept to bloom another season

A Poinsettia will not die because the holidays are over. It can actually grow several feet during the year and retain its bright foliage for months. To bring a poinsettia to bloom for another holiday requires pruning, fertilizing and proper lighting.

All about Carnations

Carnations are easy to start from seed and they should be started soon if you want blossoms this summer. They like to be grown cool. Start with a good soilless mix – several are available in the gardening section of stores. Read directions on packet to determine depth to plant seeds and follow directions. Carnations are slow growing to begin with but they must be kept moist. When seedlings are large enough, transplant to individual pots and keep growing. They need bright light once the seeds germinate. When weather is suitable transplant into beds or garden.

Keep weeds pulled – mulch – keep evenly moist. Carnations are easy keepers so they don’t need extra fertilizer if the garden soil is average. They will bloom continuously until fall. If you have a particularly choice plant, remove nonflowering shoots from the base of the plant in late summer and root them in clean sand using a rooting hormone. Keep in a cool greenhouse or cool bright room until spring – plant into flowerbed.

Magnetite Carnations have smaller blossoms but plants are generally more hardy. The giants need to be grown in the greenhouse.