Fw: ArcaMax Gardening Daily Tips for Friday February 22, 2008

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I wasn't going to send this one, until I saw the article on seedlings dying. Love, Joy

ArcaMax Gardening Daily Tips for Friday February 22, 2008

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Gardening Daily Tips

For JoyceFriday February 22, 2008 • Coral Bells (Heuchera sanguinea) • Q & A: Are Paperwhites Worth Saving? • Q & A: Herb Seedlings Dying • Tip: Control Damping Off Disease • Read "" and Other Cartoons Free • Reader Photos

Content provided byThe National Gardening Association.

Coral Bells (Heuchera sanguinea)Today's Featured Plant

Coral Bells (Heuchera sanguinea) Read the full profile of this plant at ArcaMax.com. Interested in reading about other plants? Search through hundreds of plant profiles and helpful articles by keyword. Comment on this Story | Printer Friendly | Send Story to a Friend | Top

Q & A: Are Paperwhites Worth Saving?

Question: I have read that there is no way to save paperwhites after you force them? Is this true? Say it's not so! Answer: If you forced your paperwhites in soil rather than on a bed of moist stone, you can TRY to keep them for another round. Success with keeping them year to year is mixed, but it would be an enjoyable experiment! After the blooms have faded, cut back the blossom stalk. Don't let it go to seed, or the plants will put energy there instead of into bulb formation. Water and feed them for a month after blooming to help them form bulbs, and after that reduce water and stop feeding. The tops will then fade. Lift the bulbs and allow them to dry. Store them in an onioin bag in a cool, dry, dark, airy place. When it comes time to plant them for forcing, plant them in a good potting soil that drains well. Comment on this Story | Printer Friendly | Send Story to a Friend | Top

Q & A: Herb Seedlings Dying

Question: My 91-year-old father is trying to grow herbs indoors. His seedlings grow to an inch or so, then wither and die. He claims he neither under- or over-waters his plants. He's using fluorescent lights, which he has hanging about 18" above the plants. His soil mix may be the problem--it's a combination of a commercial seedling starter and also soil he's taken from the woods (lots of compost he says). What can he do to get these plants growing? Answer: It sounds like your father's seedlings are suffering from "damping off," a disease caused by a number of different fungi. My guess is that the problem lies in the soil he is obtaining from the forest. While rich in nutrients, it is probably also rich in assorted fungal diseases. For optimum results, seed starting medium should be sterile. Suggest he use a commercial seed-starting mix. Also, before he tries again he should sterilize the pots or flats with a solution of 1 part bleach to 9 parts water, and rinse them well before using. Once the seedlings are up and going strong, he can tranplant them to an enriched soil if he likes. Also, he should try to keep the lights closer to the seedlings--just 1 or 2 inches from the tops of the plants. Give this a try... your family should enjoy an herb harvest soon! Comment on this Story | Printer Friendly | Send Story to a Friend | Top

Tip: Control Damping Off Disease

Damping off fungal disease thrives in wet soils high in nitrogen and can quickly destroy tender seedlings. To prevent the disease use potting soils high in perlite to increase water drainage and don't fertilize until seedlings are older.

-- From the ArcaMax editors

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