Indoors

• Keep houseplants close to bright windows. Check soil for dryness before watering.
• Examine produce, tender flower bulbs and roots stored for the winter for rot, shriveling or excess moisture. Remove and discard damaged material.
• Sketch garden plans, including what to grow, spacing, arrangement and number of plants needed.

  read more»

Holidays

• When shopping for a Christmas tree, check for green, flexible, firmly held needles and a sticky trunk base — both indicators of freshness. Make a fresh cut and keep the cut end under water at all times.
• Evergreens can be trimmed gently for indoor holiday decorations.

  read more»

Indoors

• Houseplant growth will slow so apply less fertilizer and water.
• Move plants closer to windows or to sunnier exposures if plants are dropping leaves.
• 

  Potted hyacinth.

  Pot up spring-flowering bulbs with tips exposed to force blooms indoors. Moisten soil and refrigerate 10 to 13 weeks. Transfer to a cool sunny location and allow an additional three to four weeks for blooming. For more information about forcing bulbs, visit the Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center.

  read more»

Indoors

• Keep poinsettia in dark for 15 hours a day for eight to 10 weeks until red bracts begin to show.
• 

  (C) Fotolia

  Houseplants may drop leaves, especially if they spent the summer outdoors. This a natural reaction to reduced light.

• Water indoor plants less frequently and discontinue fertilizing as growth slows or stops.

  read more»

Indoors

• 

  (C) iStockphoto

  Dig and repot herbs growing outdoors, or take cuttings to pot up and grow indoors.

• Bring houseplants that spent the summer outdoors back indoors before night temperatures fall below 55 degrees. Gradually decrease light to acclimate plants and help reduce leaf drop. Check for insects and disease before putting them with other plants.

  read more»

Indoors

• 

  (C) Photo Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp

  Take cuttings from plants such as impatiens, coleus, geraniums and wax begonias to winter over indoors. These are called herbaceous cuttings. Root the cuttings in media such as vermiculite, perlite, peat moss or planting soil instead of water. Keep them moist.

• Begin stocking up gardening supplies before they are removed for the season from retailers’ shelves. Pots, potting mixes, fertilizers and other products may be harder to find later in the season.

  read more»

Indoors

• 

  For best selection, order spring-flowering bulbs for fall planting. Many bulb merchants will wait to ship the bulbs until closer to planting time, which usually is late fall and early winter. Photo courtesy Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center

  Keep an eye on houseplants that have been set outdoors to make sure they are watered properly. Hot summer breezes can quickly dry them out.

  read more»

Indoors

• 

  (C) Stockxpert.com

  Houseplants will need more water and fertilizer during summer growing period.

  read more»

Indoors

• Move houseplants to a shady location outdoors when danger of frost has past, usually mid-May. The soil in the pots will dry out faster outdoors, so check it frequently.

  read more»

Indoors

• Prune, repot and clean houseplants as needed.
• Fertilize houseplants as new growth appears. Follow label directions.
• If not done already, sketch garden plans, including what to grow, spacing, arrangement and number of plants needed.
• Order seeds and plants as early as soon as possible.

  read more»