Horticulture
Richmond Horticultural Association, 8
Overwintering Non-Hardy Tropicals Tips from Grace Chapman, Director of Horticulture At the Garden, we use many tropical plants to enhance our displays. We especially love canna lilies, non-hardy bananas, and elephant ears (Alocasia and Colocasia). Although these plants aren’t hardy in our area, they can easily be overwintered for use in garden beds next year. Just before first frost, dig the plants with a garden spade and shake any loose soil off the roots. Cut off all leaves at the base of the petiole (leaf stem). Place the plant in a cool, dry place on top of newspaper, either hanging upside down or tilted at an angle (roots at the highest point) to dry out for a few weeks. We use an empty bench in our hoop house, but a garage would work well. Then simply store them in a dry, dark, temperature-controlled location, such as a basement or cool closet. Watering isn’t necessary over the winter. In the spring, after the last frost, pot up the plants in containers with good potting soil and water sparingly. Once they start to sprout new leaves and their new roots have filled the pot, they can be transplanted to your garden beds or used as a dramatic centerpiece for mixed containers.
Lynn Kirk
Svoboda
Experience “A Natural Love Affair” while exploring autumnal wonders.
one of the Garden’s founders, meets at LGBG the first Monday of the month,
Oct.–Nov. and Feb.–Apr. Visitors welcome. Contact Norie Burnet, (804) 272-2663.
Recycle Tips Repurposing manmade and natural elements Plastics and garden props: With a little creativity, you can easily repurpose throwaways into inexpensive and unique holiday light decorations. For example, Garden staff and volunteers “bloomed” new life into plastic bottles and milk jugs by transforming them into lighted flower and insect forms for this year’s Dominion GardenFest of Lights. They also morphed tomato cages and baskets into “mushrooms” by turning them upside down, covering, and lighting them from within. Leaves: Save those leaves! Shredded oak leaves make terrific, no-cost winter mulch. When lightly applied to the base of plants and trees, the shredded mulch creates air pockets that act as insulation, helping protect plants against freezing and thawing cycles while also retaining moisture. After applying the mulch, use leaf blowers sparingly since the organic matter can be blown off the soil surface. The following spring, the retained mulch layer can be worked into the soil as an amendment. Notes: Leaves from red, silver, and sugar maples are less preferable because they tend to compact tightly and hold too much moisture around the crowns of perennials.