December 2007

Watch for insect in your home during the winter. It is not unusual to see boxelder bugs and multicolored Asian lady beetles crawling around. They will not reproduce. Just vacuum them up. Boxelder bug and Asian lady beetle fact sheets are available.

Gently remove snow from evergreen branches. Use a broom in an upward sweeping movement. Avoid shaking the branches because you may break them.

Think about these points when choosing plants from a garden catalog this winter.

  • Ask yourself if you really need the plant. Will it fit into the site you want to plant it in? Does the site have the sun or shade the plant needs for best growth?
  • Be sure you are getting the plant you think you are getting. Check Latin names, common names can vary.
  • Will it survive our Chicago winters? Is it hardy? With Lake Michigan, hardiness can vary from city to suburbs.
  • Will vegetables mature before being killed by frost? Vegetables that take over 100 days to mature may not be good choices for Chicagoland gardens.
  • What are the needs of the plant such as light, water, fertilizer etc? Is it prone to insect or disease problems? If possible always choose disease resistant varieties of flowers and vegetables.

Increase humidity around your houseplants during the winter when indoor humidity levels are low.

  • Grow houseplants over a layer of pebbles or gravel. Water up to the level of the rocky material. To avoid root rot, do not let your houseplants sit in water.
  • Place your houseplants in high humidity areas like your bathroom if light levels allow. Grouping your houseplants together will also increase humidity around them.
  • Double pot your houseplants. Place your houseplant inside a larger pot. Stuff the area between the pots with moistened peat moss. The water evaporating from the peat moss will raise the humidity level around your plant
  • Using a cool-vapor humidifier can increase humidity levels 25 to 30 percent.

After Christmas take your tree to the backyard and decorate it for the birds. Place the tree in a bucket of damp sand. Decorate with strings of popcorn, doughnuts, marshmallows and cranberries. Add apples, oranges, left over breads and pine cones covered with peanut butter dipped in bird seed.