Now that you find outdoor gardening cool and uncomfortable, you can doubly appreciate your own backyard greenhouse.
It’s a good place to take refuge on windy days, and even rain does not put an end to your gardening pleasure.
For A Cool Winter Greenhouse’s Spring Bloom
For the cool (45° to 50° degrees Fahrenheit night) winter greenhouse, sow some seeds for spring bloom. Asters are particularly successful under cover and will grow well in temperatures under 60° degrees Fahrenheit.
Give them a little artificial light to make them flower earlier.
Cinerarias are also fast-growing. Keep transplanting them to larger pots. Plants become stunted if they become rootbound too early. Once matured, they bloom better if their roots are crowded.
Try a flat of Wedgwood iris for cut-flower material in February. The key to success is regular watering. If the flat dries out, there may be no bloom.
You can sow many seeds this month to bloom early in the year. Some of them are:
- Salpiglossis
- Calceolarias
- Snapdragons
- Morning glories
- Clarkias
- Blue lace flowers
- Evening-scented stocks
- Nasturtiums
- Petunias
For A Moderate Winter Greenhouse’s Spring Bloom
For the moderate (50° to 60° degrees Fahrenheit night) winter greenhouse, sow seeds of wax begonias for your summer garden.
Try a few named varieties like:
- Bronze-leaved
- Rose-pink Carmen
Christmas Cheer has large, dark crimson-scarlet blossoms, often 2” inches across, and dark green foliage.
Prima Donna is a rich coral-pink-tinged carmine with bronze leaves.
Vernon has deep red flowers with bronze-purple foliage.
For A Warm Winter Greenhouse’s Spring Bloom
For the warm (60° to 70° degrees Fahrenheit night) winter greenhouse, pot up some of the tender bulbs.
You can start caladiums in pots and grow them in a shaded corner of your bench.
Also, start some hardy Dutch bulbs in your cold frame and bring them into the greenhouse for bloom in January and February.
Examples of bulbs include:
- Tulips
- Daffodils
- Hyacinths
Some of the smaller bulbs like:
- Crocus
- Scilla
- Chionodoxa
- Grape hyacinths
- Snowdrops
- Eranthis
These are all more enjoyable when you can see them close at hand on a greenhouse bench long before they flower outdoors.
44659 by R.M.P.