by Connie Oswald Stofko We’ve told you before that, although they look delicate, orchids are actually easy to grow. There is one tricky part, though: potting. “The hardest part is to get people to understand that you’re not putting them in dirt,” said Joseph A. DiDomenico Jr., president of the Niagara Frontier Orchid Society. You can learn more about how to pot orchids– and even have members of the orchid society repot your orchid plant!– during a new, expanded Orchid…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Here are some great last-minute gift ideas for gardeners from Lockwood’s Greenhouses, 4484 Clark St., Hamburg. They’re all plants that gardeners can enjoy in the house now for their flowers or berries, then plant outside in the spring and enjoy as perennials for years to come. Of course, you can buy them for yourself, too. The first choice is a wintergreen called Gaultheria procumbens. As she showed it to me, Teresa Buchanan, garden center manager, crushed…...
I got this question from reader Trudy Stern: “I have a daffodil question: Should I keep them in the deep freeze for awhile before I force them indoors in January or February? Tulips? Any special tips? I am looking forward to having some bulb beauty in my house throughout the winter.” I thought this was a question many readers might be interested in, so I contacted Jeff Thompson, director of horticulture at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens. Each…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko You can enjoy your poinsettia plant for weeks or even months if you care for it properly. “The main thing is don’t overwater them,” said Mark Yadon, vice president of Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses, 118 South Forest Rd., Williamsville. “They don’t need to be watered nearly as much as people water them.” If the plant is in foil, take the foil off, water the plant at the sink, let the excess water drain out of the…...
This is the time of year when we are all beginning to miss the flowers in our gardens. Happily, you can get a beautiful ‘Snowball’ hydrangea with large round flowers to enjoy indoors right now. It will probably last a couple of months. You can get these striking ‘Snowball’ hydrangeas at Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses, 118 South Forest Rd., Williamsville. The snowball hydrangea looks lovely in your own home, or you can give it as a hostess gift during the holidays…....
Make a miniature garden with a holiday theme during hands-on workshops at Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses, 118 South Forest Rd., Williamsville. These tabletop gardens make great gifts. They can serve as a centerpiece at a holiday party, brighten up a desk or reception area in an office or add cheer to a nursing home. The workshops will be held at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8 at Mischler’s. Each workshop will last about two hours. The first half of…...
It’s just a matter of weeks (or perhaps days) before we get frost in Western New York. Although he doesn’t know of any parts of Western New York that have gotten frost yet, there was a frost advisory Sunday night for the Town of Andover in Allegany County, said Mark Holt, Agriculture-Horticulture community educator for Cornell University Cooperative Extension of Allegany and Cattaraugus Counties. That frost advisory prompted him to send along some tips on protecting tender plants from frost…....
by Connie Oswald Stofko Morty, the corpse flower at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, finally bloomed! It opened in the wee hours of the morning Friday, Aug. 8. I went over around 10 a.m. and shot the video below. People were lined up Friday to see Morty and lines got longer on Saturday. The lines snaked through the various buildings at the Botanical Gardens, so there was plenty to look at along the way, plus volunteers were on…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko A lot of beautiful potted flowers were sold this past week for Easter by Lockwood’s Greenhouses, 4484 Clark St., Hamburg. But when the flower falls off, what do you do with the plant? “People don’t know what to do with flowers they get at Easter,” said Teresa Buchanan, garden center manager. “A lot of those flowers will come back.” Here are tips from Buchanan on how to handle those wonderful potted flowers so that you can…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko A cat is curled up in one of the Adirondack chairs at the koi pond. On the table rests a goblet filled with Merlot, and the glass dome has been removed from a plate of cheese. “It’s a miniature fantasy,” said Dan Meyer, greenhouse associate at Mischler’sFlorist and Greenhouses, 118 South Forest Rd., Williamsville. “It’s a comfortable setting that makes you feel good. And you’re telling a story with plants.” The miniature garden above has many…...
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