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Hi, guys!
Happy New Year — I hope you all had a lovely holiday season!
Now that we’re getting back into the swing of things, it’s time for my annual ode to Lila, who reminds us of the important things in life.
It’s January, a time when colleagues, neighbors and friends seem to utter the same words at the very sight of me: “Slow season, eh?”
Actually, no. There is no slow season as a gardener.
January is when the gardening catalogs start filling up the mailbox — and when I give the ink in my Sharpie a good workout, circling heirloom tomatoes (and some especially good hybrids, like my favorite Big Boys), newly bred perennials and some plants that have been on my wish list forever but never quite made it into the garden (will this be the year Harry Lauder’s walking stick finally calls my front yard home?)
This is also the month when I dust off my seed supplies. It’s too early to put them to work, of course, but I want to be sure they’re ready when I am. I need to order a replacement fluorescent bulb for my grow lights, and maybe I’ll spend one of my newly acquired gift cards on a proper heating mat to help coax seeds into seedlings.
As I look out my kitchen window, I see evidence of my slacking. Those tomato plants I meant to pull up in October somehow escaped eviction, now a mere horizontal shadow of their former selves. I’m thinking I’ll yank up the plants but leave the stray, partially decomposed tomatoes on the ground, where their seeds just might survive winter and sprout at precisely the right time next spring. It’s not exactly following the rule book, but plants don’t read books — or The Weekly Dirt — and sometimes they just do their own thing. In fact, the best tomatoes I ever grew were born of a happy accident in a compost pile.
Speaking of compost, the contents of the tumbler will need to be tumbled. And I really should carry out the compiled kitchen scraps to join them. That will require putting on a coat and trudging across the backyard.
Near a sunny window in the upstairs bathroom sits Lila, a behemoth spider plant given to my daughter by her advisers as she began her freshman year in college years ago. There was an obvious lesson to be learned: As Lila grew from a mere cutting into a mature houseplant, my daughter was to become introspective and notice she, too, was growing, — broadening her proverbial horizons and blossoming, if you will, in her knowledge and maturity.
But Lila never made it back to campus after vacationing at my house that first winter break, and so the lesson-learning fell to me. I haven’t, thank goodness, had hundreds of babies, as Lila has, but I have learned some important things over the years:
Sometimes you outgrow your comfort zone and need a change of scenery (or circumstance or routine) in order to grow. I’ve had to replant Lila four times so far, each time into a bigger pot to accommodate her ever-growing root system. It’s always a little scary (will the move stress her out too much?), but in time she always settles in nicely and grows larger and stronger because of that difficult experience.
Beauty will only get you so far. I’m a sucker for color, and in the past, my choices in houseplants have been Amaryllis, paperwhites and the occasional African violet. The first two are fleeting, sticking around for a couple of months while you pour all your blood, sweat and tears into them and then leaving you like a kid off to college. The paperwhites get tossed, and I save the Amaryllis for the next year, but invariably forget where I stashed them. As far as the violets are concerned, they don’t like me very much and, after several betrayals, the feeling has become mutual. Simple Lila, however, with her spiky, striped and steadfast green foliage, isn’t as much of a looker, but, boy, is she loyal.
If you want to be successful, in life and in the garden, you need to plan ahead. And this is why I spend January thumbing through catalogs, assessing seed-starting supplies and cooking compost.
📬 Ask Jessica
DEAR JESSICA: In response to reader Bob Lenaghan, whose browning Leyland cypress was addressed in the Dec. 3 issue of The Weekly Dirt:
I also had a browning cypress issue. I replaced it two times and found it took some time to figure out the cause.
Even though I made a fairly large hole and added good soil to help the tree, the soil beyond (the area) was not very porous. This allowed water to pool near the roots, which cypress trees do not like.
This might not be Mr. Lenaghan's issue with his browning cypress. It is just one cause I found. —Jelenko Skakavac
DEAR JELENKO: You’re absolutely right in that Leyland cypresses do not perform well in soggy soil or areas where water collects and stands. Those conditions are ripe for root rot and other sometimes fatal diseases, and I’m glad you were able to identify the problem in your garden.
Compost is the single best amendment you can add to your soil. It improves the drainage of heavy, clay soil, increases the water-holding capacity of sand, and adds an incredible amount of nutrients. That’s why we gardeners call it “black gold.”
As a matter of routine, I mix a healthy amount of compost into the backfill whenever introducing a new plant to my garden, and sometimes top dress existing plants with it, as well.
I don’t believe poor drainage was the culprit in Mr. Lenaghan’s garden, however, as he had an entire row of cypresses, and only one or two were affected.
Still, improving drainage is a good reminder for everyone. Thanks for writing!
Send your questions to jessica@jessicadamiano.com (include photos, if possible).
💡 If you do one thing this week…
Place your plant and seed orders as soon as you decide what you want because (and I’m speaking from experience) the best selections will likely sell out fast. Most catalogs will ship at the proper planting time for your region.
👏 Sunday shoutout
Bill Alberigo of Garden City Park writes, “I purchased this coffee plant about 15 years ago. It was 6 inches tall at the time and now stands around 4 feet tall. Last year, I finally got a coffee bean…only one. This year I counted 22 on the plant. I wonder how many I will need to roast and make a cup of coffee when ripe. 😊”
You’re about halfway to a cup of coffee, Bill. You’ll need roughly two tablespoons of ground coffee to brew a cup. That equates to 35-40 beans. Here’s what you need to know.
Send in your photo, and you could be featured next (bonus points if you’re in the picture!)
📰This week in my Associated Press gardening column
I write a weekly gardening column for the AP, so you might have seen my byline in your local paper (or news website) — wherever in the world you happen to be. In case you miss it, I’ll post the most recent here every week.
THIS WEEK: With the holidays behind us, there’s no better time to start planning our 2024 gardens. My winter garden tips.
LAST WEEK: Save your poinsettias for next year. Here’s how to get them to bloom again in time for the holidays.
BEFORE THAT: The bathroom is an ideal place for many houseplants. Some are even happy in the shower.
ONE MORE: Camellias, the queens of the winter flowers, don’t deserve their reputation as garden divas. They‘re easy to grow, and not just in the south.
You can read all my AP gardening columns here.
📚📺🎵 Random things I enjoyed this week
🤞 I counted more than 100 blossoms on my indoor Mandarin orange tree, then painstakingly pollinated each with a cotton swab to maximize the odds that they’ll grow into oranges and not drop.
🎆 I spent a quiet New Year’s Eve with cousins and friends and was all tucked into bed by midnight — just the way I like it.
📺 I’m watching Loudermilk on Netflix. It’s smart and funny, and the characters are well-developed and likable.
🎥 I went out to the movies to see Poor Things, and it was brilliant! Admittedly, it’s not for everyone, but I do predict it will garner several Oscar nominations, especially for Best Actress (Emma Stone) and Best Production Design.
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📧 How’m I doing?
I welcome your comments and suggestions, so please send them along — as well as any topics you’d like to see covered and questions you’d like answered in the Ask Jessica section.