Now’s the time to buy seeds, but not to plant them
You might be eager to get back into growing, but it is still too early to start most seeds indoors.
In Western Washington you want to start seeds six to eight weeks before the last frost date, if you are planting seeds of warm season crops such as tomatoes, peppers and annual flowers like marigolds and zinnias. Our last frost is typically May 5, so wait and start frost-tender seedlings in mid March.
If you want to jump-start cool-season seedlings such as frost-tolerant pansies, kale, Swiss Chard and spinach, you can start the seeds indoors in mid February for setting outdoors four to six weeks later in mid March.
January is a good month to order your seeds or to buy them once you see them for sale at garden centers or nurseries. Then you have plenty of time to read the back of the seed pack and plan the planting dates of each variety, as well as collect the proper soil, containers and light source for the seedlings you want to start.
Spring is coming and the days are getting longer – hang in there everybody.
Q. How does one get a poinsettia to stay in bloom for next year? I was given a huge poinsettia plant and it still looks great. Can I move it outdoors this summer? — P.P., Sumner
A. Enjoy your poinsettia for as long as it is beautiful — then give it a death with dignity.
This heat-loving plant from Mexico will survive outdoors in the summer months but the blooms will fall and the plant will need to be cut back in mid summer, leaving a rather awkward beheaded look. Then to induce more Christmas blooms, your poinsettia needs to be brought indoors and given 10 weeks of total darkness for 15 hours each night. Cover the plant with a bucket or put it into a dark room every night. If you forget even once, or if a second of light hits the foliage during this time of short day bud initiation, the poinsettia will fail to make colorful leaf bracts, or blooms.
If you are up for a challenge, just grow for it. But it is more practical to support your local growers and buy a fresh poinsettia each December. Your old poinsettia can go into the compost pile once the flowers fade.
Q. How often should I water a Sanseveria or snake plant? I was told the only way to kill this houseplant was to overwater and I do tend to overwater my houseplants. — N.G., Renton
A. As a general rule of green thumb, indoor plants that are succulent (storing moisture in their leaves) need water about once every 10 days in the “long day” months of April to September when they are growing. Then water once a month or less as the days become shorter and the plants go dormant in the fall and winter. Poke your finger into the soil and water succulents and cacti when the soil is totally dry. Never let your houseplant sit in drainage water.
Sanseveria or snake plant is one of the best houseplants for cleaning the indoor air of pollutants and will also survive rooms with low light. Just don’t overwater.
Q. How does one water an african violet “from the bottom up”? Is this something every gardener knows but nobody explains? Help! — R.T., email
A. Time to explain: Bottom-up watering is used on plants that do not like to have their leaves wet. African violets with hairy leaves can spot or rot if you sprinkle them with water. Simply set a dry plant in a shallow bowl of water and the roots should absorb the moisture into the potting soil from the bottom of the pot, sucking it into the top layer of potting soil. This usually takes a few hours. When the pot feels heavy, remove it from the water. If you grow your plants in clay pots, they absorb the moisture from a bowl more quickly.
Just don’t let the plant sit in a bowl of water for longer than a day or the roots could rot from too much water. Tip: You can use bottom up watering with seedlings in flats or with small plants in peat pots as well.
Reach Marianne Binetti through her website at binettigarden.com or write to her at P.O. Box 872, Enumclaw WA 98022.