Parsley problems
Q I brought in some parsley from the garden to grown on in the house during the winter. The problem is I am not getting very many parsley leaves because the plant is so leggy. Is there anything I can do to get more leaves?
A Firstly, if the plant is not next to the brightest window in the house you should move it there. The more light the better because of the sun being so low on the horizon during the winter months. You should also pinch the plant back by one-third right now. This will encourage the plant to fill out more. It will still try to send out the long shoots as it looks for the light but if you keep pinching those back and give it as much light as possible you should be able to start harvesting some parsley fairly soon. I would give it some fertilizer as well. Try one-quarter strength 20-20-20 every two weeks.
Q I have a hard time getting my Christmas cactus to rebloom. Do you have any tips?
A Every year I get loads of questions on Christmas cactus but this year seems to have broken all records. Encouraging the bud formation is critical to having the plant bloom again. Keeping the plant at 10-12 C for a period of six weeks (late September- October) will make it set buds. If you don’t have a cool spot you can also place the plant in total darkness for 13 hours each night for the same six-week period. Even distant street lights can interfere with the bud set. I have had people write to me saying, ‘I don’t do anything to my cactus and it still blooms. So what is this malarkey about darkness?’ This may well be true and the conditions of the room they are in are either cool or the room does not get any light for the required 13 hours. Let the soil get quite dry before watering during this time period as well. Do not rotate or move your plant during this time or it will drop its buds.
Every week, Growing Things Outdoors runs online at edmontonjour-nal.com or, if you prefer an epaper format, epaper.edmontonjournal. com. Learn more by emailing your questions to filipskigerald@gmail.com, reading past columns in the Life section at edmontonjournal.com or my book, Just Ask Jerry. You can also follow me on Twitter @justaskjerry01.