Your All Things Plants weekly news

for November 21, 2015

This Week's Gardening Ideas:

Drying Seeds with Silica Gel

By RickCorey
November 21, 2015
Drying Seeds with Silica Gel

It can be slow to dry seeds thoroughly in humid weather and prevent mold. Seal partly dried seeds in a tightly sealed jar with a desiccant like silica gel to get them down to 15% eRH, which will give them the longest possible viable lifetime in storage. (598 words - Read the full article)

Mosquito Net as a Shadecloth

By Sunlover
November 20, 2015
Mosquito Net as a Shadecloth

Mosquito nets aren't useless when they get holes in them. I use mine as a light shadecloth. (224 words - Read the full article)

I Have a (Garden) Dream

By rositoes
November 19, 2015
I Have a (Garden) Dream

For years I have wanted to cover a trellis with morning to midnight blooms. I would plant an assortment of Morning Glories for early-in-the-day blooms in shades of red, blue, and violet. As they close, The flowers of the Alamo Vine would open at noon, showing their pink centers within the white bloom. In the early evening, the saucer-like MoonVine flowers would slowly begin to unfurl in all of their fragrant glory, some white and maybe some of the pinks. I might even add some Cypress Vines for their feathery foliage and little bursts of color! (197 words - Read the full article)

Creating an Indoor Herb Garden During the Winter Season

By jonathanleger
November 17, 2015
Creating an Indoor Herb Garden During the Winter Season

Fall has arrived and winter is not far behind. If you're already starting to miss those fresh garden herbs that you like to season your food with, fear not. You can seriously prolong your growing season by having an indoor herb garden this winter. (1,332 words - Read the full article)

Hardwood Cuttings: Tips and Tricks

By midnight21
November 16, 2015
Hardwood Cuttings: Tips and Tricks

Make more trees, shrubs, and woody perennials by learning to do successful hardwood cuttings. (321 words - Read the full article)

More Ideas About Trees

By TBGDN
November 15, 2015
More Ideas About Trees

Do you give much thought to adding trees and shrubs to your property? In my experience it has almost been an obsession that influenced my life early on, even though I really didn't "need" another tree at any time. When I look back over the years it seems my thoughts sometimes turned to questions of "What if," "What kind," and "How many." Now I find myself asking, "Are we done yet"? (901 words - Read the full article)

The most popular images last week from our plant database:

By bootandall:
Image from plant ID 144329
By kousa:
Image from plant ID 30543
By UndertheSun:
Image from plant ID 553949
By UndertheSun:
Image from plant ID 94432
By UndertheSun:
Image from plant ID 566231
By UndertheSun:
Image from plant ID 587985
By Henhouse:
Image from plant ID 96112
By bootandall:
Image from plant ID 1284
By Ahead:
Image from plant ID 51179

The most popular Multi-Plant Photos from last week:

Photo by cliftoncat:
Image by cliftoncat
Photo by treehugger:
Image by treehugger
Photo by Paul2032:
Image by Paul2032
Photo by Paul2032:
Image by Paul2032
Photo by Paul2032:
Image by Paul2032
Photo by Paul2032:
Image by Paul2032
Photo by anupam1975:
Image by anupam1975
Photo by Paul2032:
Image by Paul2032
Photo by 4susiesjoy:
Image by 4susiesjoy

Noteworthy acorn tips given this week:

12 people gave for post #990397 in "Banner for November 17, 2015 by TBGDN" by TBGDN

7 people gave for the idea "Hardwood Cuttings: Tips and Tricks" by midnight21

7 people gave for the idea "More Ideas About Trees" by TBGDN

7 people gave for the idea "Creating an Indoor Herb Garden During the Winter Season" by jonathanleger

6 people gave for post #992752 in "Banner for November 21, 2015 by Dinu" by Dinu

5 people gave for the idea "Drying Seeds with Silica Gel" by RickCorey

4 people gave for post #991932 in "Blue Shimmer?" by Muddymitts

3 people gave for post #990562 in "It's about to begin! Lily season 2015. The South." by dellac

2 people gave for post #991281 in "Daylily of the Day: South Seas" by blue23rose

2 people gave for the idea "Mosquito Net as a Shadecloth" by Sunlover

The most active threads this week:

Subject OP Area Replies
This is it! Get ready to bid tonight!daveGroup Seed Swaps forum185
Mystery PlantporkpalPlant ID forum63
Tempo two orders to be sent to Mid America!BoxergirlIrises forum34
Another new feature: you can view recent eventsdaveGroup Seed Swaps forum31
One of Ken'sAnnaZOrchids forum29
Retracting dibsgardengusGroup Seed Swaps forum29
Seedling fertilizergargoyl52Daylilies forum27
Wanna go postal on the people who bought my house.XeramtheumSandbox forum26
New Seeds AddedHorntoadGroup Seed Swaps forum24

Some new reviews from the ATP Green Pages:

DavidLMO recommended Santa Rosa Gardens and wrote:

I highly recommend Santa Rosa. I have placed 4 orders with them in the past year and they have a great selection, reasonable prices (fall blow-out sale prices are great), superb packaging, and customer service that simply cannot be beaten. I bought Blue Yonder Agapanthus (hardy in my zone) a short time ago, and one came through shipping so bad, I did not think it would make it. Received on Friday. Called Monday and they said replacement would go out shortly. On Friday I had not one, but two plants! I have never seen comparable service anywhere else, and I do a lot of business on the Net. Last year when I placed my first order with them, one plant bit the dust in less than 3 days. Called and they gave me a refund. No further questions asked, no send back plant, no copies of receipts etc, etc, etc. I WILL buy from them again and suggest that you give them a look see. 5 Stars

Totally_Amazing recommended Tempo Two and wrote:

I have been purchasing irises from Tempo Two for the last few years. All of my communication with them is via email and Barry is always helpful and welcoming. The irises are always very healthy with lots of roots, and each except one (which was possibly not receiving enough sun) has flowered in its first season in my garden. I often receive quality freebies with my orders, which match the irises in my order. For example, one year I ordered 2 blue irises and received Merchant Marine (an award winner) as a freebie. The pricing is more expensive than other iris stores, but I am happy to pay for quality and I hate having to wait more than one season to see my iris bloom.

We keep growing, because ATP is where all the excitement is these days! Check out these numbers from last week: