Getting an early start on the veggie garden can begin as early as late January, barring that the ground isn’t frozen or covered with snow. Missouri can be blessed (or cursed) with mild January weather.  Lettuce seed can be sown late in this first month and will emerge when soil temperatures warm up sufficiently.  Moisture must be present […]

Winter in Missouri is unpredictable, and though we try to plant trees and shrubs that will withstand this potentially crazy weather, some things are just beyond our control. Here are 8 tasks that we can do to prevent or reduce winter damage: Preparation starts in August Prepare plants for the upcoming cold weather by NOT […]

Certain plants are only available during the holidays but can be grown any time and make good house plants. A classic is the Holiday Cactus (Zygocactus), also known as Thanksgiving cactus or lobster cactus. Generally blooming in October and November, with the right day length these plants can bloom until March.  These succulents come in […]

Assessing the Damage – Spring 2018 One thing consistent about Missouri winters is that they can be brutal in the strangest ways.  What seems like a mild winter yields what we call “winter damage”; burnt leaves, dead twigs, missing plants, reduced flowering, and shrubs that show no signs of life. The Holly ‘Centennial Girl’ in […]