South Carolina ETV

Making It Grow! Blog

The Emmy Award-winning "Making It Grow!" is a live, interactive call-in program produced by ETV and Clemson University, serving viewers with current research-based horticultural information. Host Rowland Alston, Jr., and featured guests focus on gardening topics, while highlighting interesting places and products from around the state.

March, Tuesday, 2008 - 06:50 PM

These warm spells lately could spell TROUBLE later on for plants. I was walking around outside today and there was something blooming white. It was a lantana plant. Not cold enough to have sent it South for the winter. Also blooming was my hot lips salvia. I cut samples of both to bring to the show. Certain plants need temperatures to drop to low degrees (chilling) during the winter. Others need a certain number of cold days. Certain insects can multiply during warmer weather. Weeds are flourishing; because the ground is warm enough for germinating their seed. There has been an unseasonably warm trend this year. Only time will tell what problems may be ahead. For me, I will take the bad with the good, as most gardeners do. Debbie Hayes