All of a sudden, my flower garden, which is normally full of color all year, has turned green. Why aren’t my plants blooming? -Julie M.

It’s so frustrating to take good care of your plants and be rewarded with a lack of blooms! In order to diagnose exactly why a plant isn’t blooming, you really have to understand the individual plant itself. Many plants have particular needs that can affect their flowering. However, if your entire flower garden has stopped blooming, there might be something else going on.

Here are the main reasons why plants don’t bloom, and some things you can do about it.

Annuals

Annual plants typically bloom for most of the growing season. If they stop blooming, it may be caused by:

• Overfeeding: Nitrogen promotes leaf and stem growth, so too much nitrogen results in green plants with no blooms. Even a balanced fertilizer with equal amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium might have too much nitrogen for your flowering plants.

  What to do: Water your plants really well to wash away some of the nitrogen. Stop using your current fertilizer and give your plants a few weeks’ rest before switching to one with little or no nitrogen and extra phosphorus. Fertilizers labeled as “bloom-boosting” usually have better proportions for flowering plants.

• Heat: Some plants stop flowering when stressed by the heat, particularly if overnight temperatures rise too high.

  What to do: There’s not much you can do for heat-stressed plants other than keeping them alive and healthy until the weather changes.



• Cold: While cooler temperatures are often vital for the setting of flower buds, a dip too low can freeze the buds and cause a season without blooms.

  What to do: Choose plants that are hardy in your climate, and protect tender plants from cold temperatures.

• Light: The amount of sunlight is crucial to getting plants to bloom. Sun-loving plants won’t bloom in shade, and shade-loving plants have trouble in too much sun. Also, some plants are “photoperiodic,” which means they bloom in response to the change in the length of daylight as the seasons progress.

  What to do: While you can’t change the seasons, you can make sure your garden is getting the amount of sunlight required by your particular plants. Check to see if trees or other plants have grown tall enough to shade your garden, and move plants to a different location if there’s not enough (or too much) sunlight.



• Water: While all plants need water, some—particularly desert plants and highly drought-tolerant plants—slow or stop blooming when overwatered. On the other hand, water-loving plants can stop blooming during drought.

  What to do: Check each plant’s individual water needs to make sure you’re not over or under watering.

• Underfeeding: Container plants especially are vulnerable to nutrient depletion.

  What to do: Amend your soil with compost and organic matter, and feed with a fertilizer lower in nitrogen and higher in phosphorus.

Perennials, Shrubs, and Trees

In addition to the above factors, perennials, bulbs, shrubs, and trees might be affected by:

• Season: Most plants bloom during a particular season that can last days, weeks, or even months. For example, if your garden is full of spring-flowering plants, it will only be colorful in the spring.

  What to do: Plant a variety of plants in your yard for year-round color.

• Plant Age: Some plants don’t bloom until they’re mature enough, and many won’t bloom the first season after they’re moved or transplanted.

  What to do: Allow time for plants to mature when young or after transplanting.

• Pruning: Plants that bloom once per year can be affected by pruning that removes tiny flower buds. For example, camellias set buds for spring blooms several months earlier, so a late fall pruning can cut off next spring’s flowers.

  What to do: Make sure to prune plants at the correct time for each type.



• Alternate Flowering: Some flowering trees will spontaneously bloom very profusely one year, then take a year or two off.

  What to do: This can happen naturally in some varieties, but in the future you can choose plants less prone to alternate flowering.

• Complacency: Plants bloom in order to reproduce and survive, and older settled plants may be “too comfortable” to need to bloom. Sometimes you can encourage a shrub or tree to bloom by stressing it a little.

  What to do: Try root pruning to encourage your plant to bloom.

Further Information

• Why Plants Fail To Bloom (University of Vermont Extension Service)
• ‘New Dawn’ Rose Not Blooming
• Perennial Flower Garden Basics
• Deadheading Flowers (video)

Related posts:

• How To Encourage Cactus To Bloom
• How to Prune Leggy Flowers
• May Lawn & Garden To-Do List

When I read about organic gardening, I see a lot of references to neem oil. What is it, and how do I use it in my garden? -Sherry

Neem oil is made from the seeds of the neem tree (Azadirachta indica), which is native to India. Since ancient times, the neem tree has been prized as a sacred remedy and important ingredient in Ayurvedic medicine. In the garden, neem boasts a powerful insecticidal ingredient, azadirachtin, which makes it a great organic choice for controlling a variety of problems.

Uses for Neem Oil

Neem oil can be used to treat a number of garden ailments, including:

• Insects: Neem oil kills or repels many harmful insects and mites, including aphids, whiteflies, snails, nematodes, mealybugs, cabbage worms, gnats, moths, cockroaches, flies, termites, mosquitoes, and scale. It kills some bugs outright, attacks the larvae of others, and repels plant munchers with its bitter taste.
• Fungus: Neem oil is also effective in preventing fungal diseases such as black spot, anthracnose, rust, and mildew.
• Disease: As if that wasn’t enough, neem oil also battles viruses that can harm plants.

Advantages of Neem Oil

Neem oil is a popular choice in organic gardens because it is:

• Nontoxic: As long as it isn’t sprayed directly on them, neem oil is nontoxic to beneficial garden insects such as predatory wasps, honeybees, earthworms, ants, spiders, ladybugs, and adult butterflies. Neem oil is considered nontoxic to humans, birds, and other animals as well (see below) and can be used on fruits, vegetables, and flowering plants.
• Organic: Neem oil is plant based and easily available from organically grown neem trees.
• Biodegradable: Neem oil breaks down quickly and leaves no lasting residue.

How To Apply Neem Oil

Neem oil concentrate is usually mixed with water and sprayed on both sides of plant leaves. Because oil and water tend to separate, you’ll need to keep your solution well stirred. You can also mix it with insecticidal soap for a double whammy. Neem oil is bottled in different concentrations, so follow the instructions on the package to get the right proportions of oil to water.

Other Uses for Neem Oil

If you’re concerned about the safety of neem oil compared to other products in your garden, consider that neem is often used as an ingredient in:

• Cosmetics
• Shampoos (including pet shampoos for flea/tick control)
• Natural insect repellents
• Alternative medical remedies for antiseptic, antiviral, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory uses

The only health cautions for neem oil relate to actual consumption of the oil, and garden use does not appear to pose any known health hazards. As with any chemical—organic or synthetic—use neem oil only in moderation when needed, and wash all veggies and plants thoroughly before eating.

Further Information

• Material Fact Sheets: Neem (Cornell University)
• Azadirachta indica: One Tree’s Arsenal Against Pests (Colorado State)

Related posts:

• Organic Sources of Potassium for Your Lawn or Garden
• What Causes White Lines on Tomato Plants?
• Why Aren’t the Flowers in My Garden Blooming?

The most common questions I’m asked have to do with pruning – or, as we say around here, “Can I just whack it, or what?” No matter the season, everybody wants to know if (and how) they should cut back overgrown plants. And who can blame them? What’s more satisfying than physically taming a wasteland, stepping back from a perfectly-shaped behemoth, surveying a mountain of conquered brush and vines, and wiping a forehead laced with scratches?

I always feel like such a party pooper when I offer all of my standard cautions – “If you cut that now, you’ll cut off next spring’s flowers . . . you’ll invite disease . . . you’ll cause a flush of growth that will be killed by the cold . . . .” It seems like I’m always advising against cutting plants back.

Well, here we are in late winter, and for once in the year, when asked if it’s a good time to prune, the answer is “Yes!” For many shrubs and trees, late winter/early spring is a great time to do large-scale pruning and rejuvenating. The bare branches will be easier to see, wounds will heal with less risk of disease, and plants won’t respond with the same crazy flush of growth that they would have during the growing season. It isn’t perfect for every plant of course, but if you’re only going to prune once a year, now’s a good time.

Poor spindly thing!

Taking advantage of the season and a rare warm day, I headed outdoors with my pruning shears in the hopes of cutting back my Lady Banks’ rose. What I found were the startling consequences of not practicing what I preach! You see, my Lady Banks’ rose grows faster than kudzu, and all last summer and fall I was constantly (against my own better judgment) cutting back the large branches that threatened to overtake the side entrance of my house. I knew I shouldn’t be pruning so late in the season, but I did it anyway – my house has been on the market, and I was willing to take risks in order to keep things looking neat.

What I found, here in late winter, was that my rose was covered in tender, shriveled dead growth. In response to pruning last fall, the plant had sent out a flush of very soft tendrils, and the freezing winter weather zapped them dead. To make things worse, the damage wasn’t just to the new growth – the entire plant was stressed. In fact, as I was working on the plant, almost every leaf fell off, leaving a very naked, cold-looking vine against my porch column. I very sadly did a much larger pruning than I had intended, to try to encourage the plant to start afresh in spring, then I swept up all those fallen leaves and entertained both the chagrin of disobeying my own advice and the satisfaction that my advice had indeed been correct!

If I had to learn this lesson, I’m glad I learned it with Lady Banks, because I think she has a good chance of a spring recovery. I have, however, filed this away in my brain under the category of “Lessons Learned From Mistakes,” because those are the lessons that stick the best. This year I’ll keep my pruning shears under control!

Further Information

• When To Trim Trees and Shrubs
• Basic Shrub Pruning Techniques

Related posts:

• Lady Banks Rose Update
• Growing a Lady Banks Rose
• When to Trim Trees and Shrubs

Is it safe to use pre-emergent herbicides (such as crabgrass preventer) around my established bulb beds? -Helen

The short answer is “sometimes,” because in gardening a simple question doesn’t always have a simple answer! Products that are labeled as “weed preventers” are usually pre-emergent herbicides, which work by stopping seeds from germinating, so it stands to reason that they shouldn’t affect established bulbs (especially dormant bulbs underground). However, that’s not always the case, as a product labeled “weed preventer” may have any number of active ingredients that affect weeds, seeds, and garden plants in different ways. Every product should be evaluated separately to make sure it’s safe.

Corn Gluten: The Organic Choice

Corn gluten meal is a popular organic choice for preventing weeds. Corn naturally produces a substance that suppresses the germination of competing seeds. In addition to its weed preventing properties, corn gluten is high in nitrogen and adds some organic matter to the soil – nature’s own “weed and feed!”

Sold under brand names such as Preen Organic Weed Preventer, corn gluten meal is considered safe for use around bulbs, shrubs, trees, and ornamental plants. In addition, it’s far less toxic than chemical herbicides.

Chemical Herbicides: Check the Label

As for commercial chemical weed preventers, you really need to read the label. Some are safe around all bulbs, some are safe only if you apply before the bulbs sprout, and others aren’t safe at all. Before applying, read the label (and do a little research) to make sure the product is safe.

Examples of common products include:

• Surflan AS is safe around bulbs according to the product label.
• Scotts Turfbuilder with Halts Crabgrass Preventer is considered safe as long as it is applied before bulbs sprout.
• Trifluralin, the active ingredient in Preen Garden Weed Preventer, is also listed as safe around bulbs.
• On the other hand, Preen Lawn Crabgrass Preventer, isn’t recommended for use around bulbs. In this case, the product label wasn’t clear, but the website had more info. Lawn weed products are designed for grasses only and aren’t always safe around ornamental plants, so be careful if you’ve got naturalized crocuses in your yard.

In general, I would use corn gluten meal (or just pull the weeds by hand), simply because I don’t want those other chemicals in my yard. Many chemical herbicides are known to be directly toxic to our health, not to mention deadly to the environment. I’d also focus on enriching the soil and strengthening the desirable plants, because unhealthy gardens are prime targets for pesky weeds.

Further Information

• How to Control Weeds in Your Lawn
• How to Control Crabgrass
• Applying ‘Weed and Feed’ Products to St. Augustine Grass
• How to Target Weeds in Your Yard (video)

Related posts:

• Applying ‘Weed and Feed’ Products to St. Augustine Grass
• How to Kill Weeds in a Gravel Driveway
• Advantages of Weed Barriers for Your Garden

Once the holidays come to an end, many of us find ourselves with a lovely assortment of poinsettias that we guiltily throw in the trash during the great post-holiday cleanup. This year, why not practice a little year-round cheer and keep your poinsettias as houseplants? They are beautiful, lush plants, and you’ve never received a holiday gift quite as special as coaxing a poinsettia into bloom.

Here’s what you need to know to grow and care for your holiday poinsettia throughout the year.

Poinsettia Facts

• Poinsettias are named for Joel Robert Poinsett (1779-1851), a noted statesman and dedicated amateur botanist who first brought poinsettias to the United States from Mexico in 1825 while serving as ambassador.
• Poinsettias are tropical plants. In the wild, they grow as perennials reaching almost 10 feet tall.
• Contrary to popular myth, poinsettias aren’t poisonous. Like other plants in the Euphorbia family, they have a milky sap that can give you (or your pets) a stomach ache or irritate your skin when exposed to large quantities, but otherwise they’re nontoxic.
• Poinsettias come in a wide range of colors, from red to yellow to multicolored.
• The bright colors on poinsettias are actually leaf bracts, not flowers. The flowers are small and found in the yellow center of the stalk.

Look for bushy plants with fully opened bracts.

Buying Poinsettias

• Choosing Plants: Look for bushy plants with lots of colorful bracts that are fully opened yet not covered with pollen (dropping pollen means it’s near the end of blooming). The ideal plant size is about 2½ times the diameter of the pot.
• Keep Warm: Cover your new poinsettia when taking it to and from your car as they are very susceptible to cold.
• Allow to Drain: Poinsettias don’t like to sit in water. If your plant has a foil gift wrapping, either remove it or poke holes to allow water to drain.

Growing Poinsettias

Remember that poinsettias are tropical plants that require maximum light, warmth, and humidity to survive. While blooming, your plant will do best under these conditions:

• Light: Poinsettias need at least six hours of bright, indirect sunlight a day. Choose the brightest window you can, but don’t allow the plant to touch cold glass.
• Temperature: The ideal temperature for poinsettias is between 65°- 75° F. They are susceptible to leaf drop and will become scraggly looking if exposed to cold drafts or extreme temperature changes.
• Watering: Thoroughly water the plant when the soil feels dry, then empty the drainage tray so your poinsettia doesn’t sit in water. Mist regularly, or add a pebble tray or humidifier to increase humidity.
• Nutrients: Don’t feed your poinsettia while it’s blooming. Food comes later – see below for instructions.

Poinsettia Care Calendar

The challenge of growing poinsettias lies in getting them to bloom again. Follow this care schedule to encourage years of growth and flowering.

• Winter: (January – March) Continue watering and enjoying your poinsettia in a sunny window for as long as it’s blooming.
• Spring: (March – May) After the blooms fade, the plant enters a resting season until summer. Prune your plant back to 6”-8” tall. Reduce watering and allow the plant to get completely dry between waterings.
• Summer: (May – September) Repot if needed in very light potting mix, moving to a slightly larger pot if it appears root-bound. When you see new growth, begin feeding every two weeks with a balanced organic fertilizer. Pinch back the stems as they grow, to encourage branching. You can put your poinsettia outdoors for the summer, but be sure to bring it back inside before temperatures drop into the 50s F.



• Fall: (October) Poinsettias bloom in response to shorter days. For about 8-10 weeks prior to the desired bloom time, put your poinsettia in complete darkness for 12-15 hours per day. You can cover it with a thick cardboard box or black plastic bag, or move the plant to a closet, but it needs TOTAL darkness for at least 12 hours per day – even indoor lighting will disrupt the process. During the day, remove the covering and make sure the plant gets at least 6 hours of sunlight. Water and feed as usual.
• Holiday Blooms: (November – December) After 8-10 weeks of darkness treatment, you should see flower buds on your poinsettia. Once you do, you can discontinue the darkness treatment and bring it back out to your window after Thanksgiving to enjoy. Continue watering, but stop feeding until spring.

Further Information

• Poinsettia Care in the Home (Paul Ecke Ranch)
• Poinsettia (Royal Horticultural Society)

Related posts:

• How to Prune Leggy Flowers
• How To Encourage Cactus To Bloom
• How to Grow Tomatoes

In most cases, snow is nothing to fear in the garden – it’s a great insulator, and it melts to provide much needed water to dry plants in the winter. However, heavy snow and ice buildup can cause devastating damage in the garden if limbs and trunks bend or break. Here’s what you need to know about dealing with snow and ice in the yard and garden.

The bent limbs on these Leyland cypress may recover in spring.

Should You Remove Snow and Ice?

• Natural Snow Cover: Even if it’s deep, a blanket or windblown drift of snow is nothing to worry about – in fact, it acts as an extra layer of insulating mulch!


Snowplows can damage plants.

• Manmade Snow Cover: Most snow damage is caused by humans using snowplows, shovels, and snowblowers. Pushed or mechanically blown snow is dense and slow to melt, and it can break a strong shrub right in two. Be careful not to pile snow on your plants by mechanical means as it will then need to be removed and might do damage you can’t prevent.
• Bent Branches: Tender branches (particularly conifers) may become broken or weighed down with heavy snow and can a hard time springing back into shape. The fallen snow can also melt and refreeze to form devastating ice.
• Snow from Roofs: Remove snow from roofs (if you can safely), and remove the piles of snow that may cascade down onto your shrubs from the roof above. If your shrubs are right in the danger zone under a steep roof, you may want to protect them with a temporary wooden frame.

Sweep gently upwards to dislodge snow from shrubs and other plants.

How to Remove Snow from Shrubs and Plants

• Sweep Gently: Using a broom or your hands, GENTLY sweep in an upward motion, loosening the snow and allowing it to fall. Don’t sweep downward, as you might break an already bent branch, and don’t shake the plant. The branches will be very brittle and already stressed, so disturb them as little as possible.
• Avoid Accumulation: You’ll have much less damage to your plants if you remove snow after every couple of inches of accumulation, rather than waiting until it’s deep.
• Leave Ice Alone: Don’t try to remove ice, as the branch will likely break. Once ice has formed, you really should just wait it out.

• Be Safe: Never try to remove snow or ice from overhead branches! There’s a high risk of breakage, and you don’t want heavy limbs falling on you, your house, or your car!

Don’t try to remove ice from plants as it can cause more damage.

How to Prevent Damage to Plants

• Tie Up Plants: Before the snow, use plant netting to tie up the branches of your conifers and soft shrubs, to prevent them from being misshapen or broken by snow. Tie them in a cone shape, to deflect snow off to the sides.
• Move Containers: Put planters and containers under a shed or porch during snow and ice storms to keep freezing water from expanding and breaking containers.
• Keep Off Grass: Snow covered grass is fragile, easily uprooted, and susceptible to fungal diseases under the snow. Reducing foot traffic will help the snow stay light and melt faster, and it will keep your grass blades firmly rooted.


Frozen container plant.

• Avoid Salt: Salt can damage lawns and plants when it runs off your driveway. If your plants have been exposed to salt, water and rinse them well as soon as temperatures are above freezing. Next time, use sand or clay-based kitty litter instead of salt.
• Prune Damaged Limbs: Head outdoors as soon as the ice melts to assess damage. Cracked branches can sometimes heal if they’re firmly tied back in place. Broken branches should be pruned away immediately to prevent injury and disease. Ragged tears are very susceptible to infection, so remove damaged wood using clean cuts.
• Wait for Spring: The extent of the damage often won’t be clear until spring, when you find out if your plant will be able to spring back into shape. Wait for spring to do any staking or reshaping of bent plants, since winter branches are extremely brittle. In the spring they’ll be much more supple.

Further Information

• How to Protect Your Garden from Frost and Freeze
• When to Water Plants Before a Freeze

Related posts:

• Fall Yard and Garden Maintenance
• January Lawn & Garden To-Do List
• How to Protect Your Garden from Frost and Freeze

My summer flowers – like vinca and petunias – tend to get leggy. If I prune them back, will they bloom again? -Meredith

Absolutely! Summer annuals will keep blooming until frost. However, if you prune them back severely, it may take a few weeks for them to grow back out and bloom again.

So, instead of waiting until they’re leggy, try pinching them back as you deadhead the old blossoms. You don’t have to remove a lot of the stem – simply pinching off the growing tip will stimulate the plant to branch out from the base. This way, you can keep your plants in shape and blooming all summer!

You can also lightly trim or pinch back perennials (like coreopsis and mums) after they bloom if they get leggy. They might (or might not) bloom again, but the green plants will bush out and be more attractive for the remainder of the season.

Related posts:

• Why Aren’t the Flowers in My Garden Blooming?
• When to Trim Trees and Shrubs
• How To Encourage Cactus To Bloom

As you clean up your garden this fall, don’t forget the birds! Leave some seed heads to dry on your perennial flowers, to provide winter food for finches, cardinals, and other year-round birds. Not only will you be providing much-needed nourishment and shelter for birds, but your winter garden will be graced with the striking shapes of dried stems adorned with colorful plumage.

You can also harvest the seeds for later spreading or using in feeders. If you’re adventurous, try scattering and watering a handful of birdseed mix, and see what sprouts!

The most popular flowering plants for feeding birds are:

• Most native plants
• Black-Eyed Susans and other plants with daisy-like blooms
• Coneflowers
• Ornamental grasses (all varieties)
• Safflowers
• Sunflowers
• Zinnias

Birds are also attracted to:

Pink Muhly Grass is good for birds.

• Asters
• Bergamot
• Calendula
• Columbine
• Coreopsis
• Corn
• Cosmos
• Dill
• Evening Primrose
• Goldenrod
• Lavender
• Millet
• Poppies
• Rose of Sharon (Althea)
• Salvia
• St. John’s Wort
• Teasel
• Thistles

Further Information

• Landscaping Tips for a Bird-Friendly Yard
• Wild Bird Feeding Basics
• How to Make a Suet Bird Feeder
• Hummingbirds in the Garden
• How to Clean and Maintain a Birdbath in Your Yard (video)

Related posts:

• Landscaping Tips for a Bird-Friendly Yard
• How to Spruce Up a Summer Garden with Tropical Plants
• How to Make an Easy Fall Window Box

If you live in an area with foraging deer, you’ve likely watched with dismay as some of your favorite plants disappeared overnight. But before you give up on gardening altogether, try making your yard less appealing to deer by choosing plants that deer find less appealing.

The Deer-Proof Garden

It’s important to remember that unless you build a very tall fence, there is no such thing as a deer-proof garden. Deer will eat anything if they are hungry enough, and they can adapt and eat plants that are considered “resistant.” However, they do have their favorites, and they’re more attracted to places where their favorite food is easily available.

The idea behind deer-resistant gardening is to fill your yard with plants they don’t prefer, in hopes the deer will simply give up and go someplace more appetizing.

Add herbs, such as lavender, to discourage deer.

In general, deer prefer:

• Plants with lush foliage and high water content, such as hostas
• Early spring plants like tulips, crocuses, and forsythia
• Fruiting and berry-producing plants, including vegetable gardens
• Native plants

Deer are less likely to be attracted to:

• Herbs and strongly flavored plants
• Heavily scented foliage
• Plants with fuzzy or hairy leaves
• Prickly plants
• Ferns
• Grasses

If you’re planting a new border or garden, start with heavily scented and deer-resistant plants on the outside perimeter. Once you’ve established an area and encouraged the deer to browse elsewhere, you can add other plants inside the perimeter.

List of Deer-Resistant Plants

Always check with local gardeners and your cooperative extension service to find out what has (and hasn’t) worked for gardeners in your area. The following is a list of plants that research has indicated are less appealing to deer:

Rosemary is an evergreen herb that works well in flower gardens, too.

Herbs and Scented Plants

Most herbs are great choices for deer-resistant gardens, such as:

• Chives, ornamental (Allium sp.)
• Garlic, ornamental (Allium sp.)
• Ginger (Asarum sp.)
• Lavender (Lavandula sp.)
• Onion, ornamental (Allium sp.)
• Mint (Mentha sp.)
• Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
• Sage, ornamental and culinary (Salvia sp.)
• Thyme (Thymus sp.)

Deer generally leave ornamental grasses alone.

Ornamental Grasses

Most ornamental grasses are deer-resistant, including:

• Fescue (Festuca sp.)
• Flame grass (Miscanthus sp.)
• Fountain Grass (Pennisetum sp.)
• Giant Reed (Arundo donax)
• Pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana)
• Purple Moor grass (Molinia caerulea)
• Sedge (Carex sp.)
• Silver grass (Miscanthus sp.)
• Zebra grass (Miscanthus sp.)

Most species of ferns are also considered deer-resistant.

Ferns

Most species of ferns, including:

• Christmas fern (Polystichum arcostichoides)
• Hayscented fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula)
• Holly fern (Cyrtomium falcatum)
• New York fern (Thelyptens noveboracensis)
• Ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris)
• Osmanthus (Osmanthus sp.)
• Sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis)
• Wood fern (Dryopteris marginalis)

Annual vinca is less appealing, although annuals are often devoured.

Annuals

• Ageratum (Ageratum sp.)
• Annual Vinca (Catharanthus roseus)
• Dusty Miller (Centaurea cineraria)
• Flowering Tobacco (Nicotiana sp.)
• Poppy (Papaver sp.)
• Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus)
• Strawflower (Helichrysum)

Lamb’s ear has fuzzy leaves that discourage deer.

Perennials and Groundcovers

• Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)
• Artemisia (Artemesia sp.)
• Bleeding Heart (Dicentra sp.)
• Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans)
• Catmint (Nepeta sp.)
• Coneflower (Echinacea sp. & Rudbeckia sp.)
• Coreopsis (Coreopsis sp.)
• Daffodil (Narcissus sp.)
• Epimedium (Epimedium sp.)
• Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis sp.)
• Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)
• Germander (Teucrium chamaedrys)
• Iris (Iris sp.)
• Lamb’s Ear (Stachys byzantina)
• Lenten rose (Helleborus sp.)
• Ligularia (Ligularia sp.)
• Lungwort (Pulmonaria sp.)
• Monkshood (Aconitum sp.)
• Pachysandra (Pachysandra sp.)
• Potentilla, Cinquefoil (Potentilla sp.)
• Rock-Cress (Arabis caucasica)
• Rose Campion (Lychnis coronaria)
• Russian sage (Perovskia sp.)
• Spurge (Euphorbia sp.)
• Spotted Deadnettle (Lamium sp.)
• Tarragon (Artemesia sp.)
• Thistle (Echinops sp.)
• Yarrow (Achillea sp.)
• Yucca (Yucca sp.)

Creeping juniper is a popular groundcover shrub.

Shrubs and Trees

• Barberry (Berberis sp.)
• Birch (Betula sp.)
• Blue mist shrub (Caryopteris clandonensis)
• Boxwood (Buxus sp.)
• Butterfly bush (Buddleia sp.)
• Elderberry (Sambucus sp.)
• Holly (Ilex sp.)
• Juniper (Juniperus sp.)
• Lilac (Syringa sp.)
• Mahonia (Mahonia sp.)
• Maple (Acer sp.)
• Peashrub (Caragana sp.)
• Russian Olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia)
• Spruces (Picea sp.)
• Sumac (Rhus sp.)

Further Information

• Camouflage Gardening (Native Plant Society of Texas)
• Deer-Resistant Plants (Deer-Resistant Landscape Nursery)
• Landscape Plants Rated by Deer Resistance (Rutgers)

Related posts:

• How To Use Deer Repellents to Prevent Damage to Your Yard or Garden
• How to Spruce Up a Summer Garden with Tropical Plants
• Plants in Your Garden that Produce Seed for Birds

Geraniums are one of the most popular container and garden plants. You just can’t beat their bright colors and sturdy, well-shaped foliage. At the garden center, geraniums tend to come in larger sizes, which make them more expensive than other summer annuals.

Unlike many of their peers, geraniums can easily be stored over the winter and enjoyed again next year. So if you hate to see your lovely geraniums killed by frost this fall, here’s how to go about overwintering them indoors.

Methods of Overwintering Geraniums

There are three ways to make geraniums last through the winter:

1. Overwinter inside as potted plants.
2. Store the dormant, bare roots.
3. Propagate cuttings to make new plants.

Geraniums as Indoor Potted Plants

The easiest way to keep your geraniums over the winter is simply to bring them inside. Here’s how to go about it:

Fall:

• Before the first frost, carefully dig up your geraniums and pot them in 6”- 8” diameter containers, with lightweight potting soil. If yours are already in containers, you get to save a step! Don’t bother keeping any that look unhealthy or diseased.
• Cut the plants back by a third to a half. Save the cuttings and root them to make more geraniums!
• Water the pots thoroughly.
• Place the pots in a bright, cool spot. Geraniums overwinter best in a sunny window with temperatures around 60° F. They don’t do well in dark or overheated rooms.

Winter:

• Over the winter, pinch back the tips of new shoots to help them branch out.
• Water the cuttings whenever the soil becomes dry.

Spring:

• Fertilize your geraniums in mid-spring.
• Move them back outdoors after all danger of frost has passed. You can keep them in their containers, or plant them back in your flower beds.

Geraniums are perfect for window boxes, but can’t survive freezing weather.

Overwintering Bare-Root Geraniums

Geraniums have nice thick roots and stems that allow them to survive winter dormancy if kept above freezing. You can also allow geraniums to go dormant and store them as bare roots. Follow these steps:

Fall:

• Before the first frost, carefully dig up your geraniums, and shake all the dirt off the roots.
• Put them in unsealed paper bags, or hang them upside down, and store in a cool, dry place around 50° F (a garage is perfect).

Winter:

• Every month or so, pull your geraniums out and soak the roots in water for a couple of hours.
• Allow them to dry before storing again.
• The leaves will eventually all fall off, but the stems should stay firm. If the stems shrivel up too, the plant is likely a goner!

Spring:

• Inspect your geraniums early in the spring.
• Remove any shriveled sections.
• prune them lightly, cutting off any dead tips.
• Soak the roots for a few hours in water mixed with a little plant food.
• Plant the roots in potting soil and water thoroughly.
• Place your potted geraniums in a sunny window, or under a grow light. They might take a few weeks to wake up and start growing!
• After all danger of frost has passed, you can move them outdoors.

Geraniums can also be rooted from cutting using rooting hormone.

Propagating Geraniums From Cuttings

The last option is to say goodbye to your original geraniums and nurture new ones grown from cuttings. Here’s how:

Fall:

• Using a sharp knife or shears, cut pieces about 3”- 4” long from the ends of the branches. The best cuttings come from the terminal end (the very tip end of the stem), rather than a side branch.
• Pinch off the leaves from the bottom third of the cutting, and remove any flower buds.
• Dip the bottom of each cutting in rooting hormone, making sure to dust the wounds where you removed the leaves.
• Plant the bottom third of each cutting in peat moss, sand, or perlite. You can use individual pots or plant them together in a tray (plastic planting trays are available with a clear cover to hold in moisture).
• Place the pots on a drainage tray and water thoroughly, ideally from the bottom up (fill the tray with water and allow it to soak to keep from washing away the rooting hormone).
• Cover your pots with clear plastic, or use the cover that came with the tray.
• Place in a bright window out of direct sun. Your cuttings need light, but they can’t handle the direct sunshine.

Winter:

• Keep the planting medium moist by soaking in the drainage tray, or removing the plastic cover and lightly misting the plants and soil.

Spring:

• Your cuttings should root in 6 to 8 weeks. By early next spring, you can to move them to their own pots with regular potting soil.
• Fertilize your new plants, and pinch back the new stems in order to make them branch out.
• Move the pots to a sunny window until time to plant them outdoors.

Further Information

• Outdoor-Indoor Geranium Culture (University of Minnesota Extension)
• Geranium Culture for Home Gardeners (North Carolina State Extension)
• International Geranium Society

Related posts:

• Can I Plant Trees and Shrubs in Late Fall or Winter?
• How to Help Houseplants Cope With Winter
• Tips on Bringing Houseplants Indoors for the Winter