Growing Rhubarb

In reply to Mrs. Helpful: I'm sure that you could probably grow rhubarb from seeds if you really, really wanted to, but most gardeners purchase the plants. You can find them in seed catalogs that also sell plants, and usually at your local garden shops in the spring. Or if you know someone who has rhubarb, just ask if you could have a couple of pieces of the roots, which you would dig out of the edge of the plant either when it is coming up in the spring, or in the fall after the tops have died back. They get very overgrown anyway, so probably anyone you know who has some wouldn't mind giving you a start. Plant it in a sunny, well-drained location, and expect it to get huge. When you harvest your rhubarb, pull the stalks off one at a time by holding one at the base, as far in as you can reach, and jerk it out. Cut the tops off and put in the garbage because they are toxic to animals. Rhubarb is a member of the dock family. Good luck! DK

April Snows

We had about a foot of snow on Monday, April 16. The weather forecast was for high winds and ice as well, but none of that materialized in our area. I worked at home, which I don't mind at all. I have fewer interruptions there.
The daffodils and tulips seem to have survived the storm pretty well. Even though the snow was heavy, it is melting quickly and the plants seem to be ok. The sun is shining today, too. Spring has been a long time coming to Upstate NY. Sorry to make this into a weather report, but right now, that's the only outdoor news there is.
I did spend some time looking at a Smith & Hawkins catalog this morning and daydreaming about window boxes, which I don't have. One of my spring projects is going to be to build a hummingbird bath. I found the directions online. It's made out of a large plastic flower pot and the saucer that goes with it, plus a submersible pump and some tubing. Not difficult.

We are having a new kitchen put in our house, so the disruption of that part of my life has altered my perspective on things lately. I just daydream to escape reality. DK

Rhododendrons 2

I started the rhododendrons in plastic water jugs that I had cut the tops off of and filled with a mixture of peat moss, perlite, and potting soil. The potting soil was a substitute for sand, which I couldn't find in January. They were lightly moistened and then sealed in plastic bags and kept under a grow light 18 hours/day. It didn't take long for them to germinate, and pretty soon I had hundreds of little seedlings. After a few weeks I transplanted 10 into individual pots. The rest of the seedlings are still in their beginner pots, but I'm going to take a few out tonight to repot and then discard the rest, because they are getting a green mold on them and not growing anymore. The ones in the pots are doing fine. I take the plastic off during the day and just keep them by a window. I cover them at night after spritzing them with a little warm water. It's hard to tell if they need water or not.
This has all been a great winter gardening project. At least for me it has, because I love rhodies and could never have enough. I have no idea how many years it will take for one of these to bloom, but if they even live it will be a miracle to me!

Rhododendron Seedlings Inside

Around the first of the year I started some rhododendrons from seed, following directions that I found online. They are doing very well, and I have 10 in individual pots now that are getting their third sets of leaves. DK

Still Winter Here

29 degrees F here in central NY this morning with wind and snow showers. This is our second week like this, still wearing winter clothes and wishing we could see the crocuses again. Two weeks ago the crocuses were opening, the hellebores were lifting up out of the leaves, and the daffodils were budding. Now they're all covered with snow. Haven't seen a single trout lily yet. More later - Dusty Knees