SHIFTING ROOTS

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Why Won’t My Christmas Cactus Bloom? (And What to Do About it)

December 6, 2019

The ground is covered with snow and winter is officially here.  But wait!  A glimmer of hope and sunshine are sure to appear amongst your houseplants.  It’s time for your Christmas cactus to bloom!

But what happens when it doesn’t?  How do you get a Christmas cactus to bloom?  And how do you care for your Christmas Cactus afterwards?

Here are 5 common solutions you can try before you give up on your poor Christmas cactus.

A fushia Christmas cactus bloom upclose.

P.S. the “Christmas Cactus” in the pictures is actually a Thanksgiving Cactus.  I’ll explain more about that in point number five.

P.P.S: If you prefer videos to reading, here’s the post in video form:

[Read more…]
Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

44 Comments
Filed Under: Houseplants, Succulents Tagged: blooming, Christmas Cactus, Easter Cactus, houseplants, succulents, Thanksgiving Cactus

20+ Gift Ideas for the Gardener in Your Life this Christmas

November 2, 2019

What do you get the gardener who has everything?  Sure, tools or gardening gloves are the obvious choice, but they will probably only be appreciated by the most serious of gardeners. I’ve come up with a list of pretty and practical Christmas gifts for beginners and advanced gardeners alike, as well as a few options for kids who love tagging along in the garden.

Bonus—Most of these gifts are $30 or less!!

A selection of the best gardening gifts for the gardener in your life this Christmas.

So start making your 2019 Christmas gift list and checking it twice with these finds for the plant lover in your life. I’ve linked to Amazon for all of these gifts, but I’m sure you can also find some beautiful local options as well.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you if you purchase something.  You can learn more about it in my Privacy Policy.  Thanks for supporting Shifting Roots!

[Read more…]
Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

2 Comments
Filed Under: Gardening, Uncategorised Tagged: Christmas, Garden, garden tools, Gardening, gift ideas, Herbs, Mother's Day, seeding square, succulents

12 Indoor Winter Blooming Plants to Keep Your Green Thumb Happy this Winter

December 10, 2018

If you live in the colder parts of the Northern Hemisphere, you’re all too familiar with the awkward season between the last hard frost and when it’s time to start your seeds for the Spring.  Sure, you’re secretly relieved to not have to do so much work in the garden, but your green thumb is getting itchy and you’re sick of all the snow and cold.

These winter blooming houseplants provide some much needed colour when all you see is white snow and Spring seems oh-so-far away.

[Read more…]

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Flowers, Houseplants, Indoor Gardening Tagged: houseplants, succulents, winter, winter blooming

Stop Killing Your Succulents and Do This Instead

October 31, 2018

We’ve all picked up a cute little succulent from the garden centre or grocery store, only to have it die a horrible death a few months later.  How could this happen?  Succulents are supposed to be easy!!

While succulents don’t require as much maintenance as other plants, they’re not fool-proof.  Here’s what you need to know to keep yours alive and thriving over the winter months.

Are your succulents constantly dying indoors in containers or terrariums?  Here's how to care for them instead, plus some tips for propagating tired looking succulents into beautiful decor. #succulents #indoorgardening

Disclaimer: I garden in zone 3b on the Canadian Prairies.  While I make every effort to make my advice as applicable to as many people as possible, growing conditions in your area might be vastly different.  However, I love to hear from readers in other areas, so let us know in the comments if there’s a different way to keep succulents alive where you live!

[Read more…]

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

3 Comments
Filed Under: Gardening, Succulents Tagged: propagate, propagating succulents, south window, spring, succulent, succulents, winter, winter gardening

How to Divide and Propagate Succulents

February 22, 2017

Two years ago one of my students gave me a pot of succulents as a thank you gift.  My love affair with succulents began.  They did well that first summer, then over the winter one of the varieties died and the other two looked not far behind.  I kept them alive until the summer, added a few more to my collection, and got much better at keeping my plant babies happy.

Do your succulents look like they are at death’s door?

[Read more…]

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

3 Comments
Filed Under: Backyard Florist, Fun, Gardening, Outdoor Life Tagged: dividing, Gardening, plant care, plants, propagate, succulents

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Welcome!

Hi, I'm Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

P.S. First time gardener? You'll want to download the quick start gardening guide below!

Recent Posts

  • How to Grow Eucalyptus for Cut Flowers (Even in a Short Growing Season!)
  • 26 Best Flowers to Grow for Dried Flower Arrangements
  • 17 Perennial Flowers That Love Shade
  • How to Design a Cut Flower Garden in Raised Beds
  • How to Start a Cut Flower Garden

Welcome!

Hi, I’m Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

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Growing a luffa sponge was possibly the most chall Growing a luffa sponge was possibly the most challenging and finicky thing I've taken on so far as a gardener in zone 3.  And all I got to show for it was 3 baby loofah sponges, which are so precious to me that I can't bare to actually use them. (Kind of defeats the point, doesn't it?)⁠⠀
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I'll be starting mine soon, so I though I would share some of the improvements to the growing process from last year.⁠⠀
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1. Plant in larger containers!! I thought I used large enough ones, but I sorely underestimated how big these plants would get indoors.  Once of my readers suggested buckets, and I think this is an excellent idea.⁠⠀
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2. Plant only 1 plant per container.  I thought loofah's would be like a cucumber or pumpkin or other vining squash where you plant in a hill.  The containers with two plants in them did not do as well as the single seed containers.⁠⠀
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3. Have a string for the vine to climb.  Cutting the vine off of my window screen was not fun.⁠⠀
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Will you try luffas this year?⁠⠀
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#luffasponge #loofahsponge #luffachallenge2012 #seedstarting #wintergardening #indoorgardening⁠⠀
Got the seed starting itch? There's some things y Got the seed starting itch?  There's some things you can actually seed start now and you won't end up with crazy leggy seedlings and endless problems.  In fact, these plants require that you start now, and need to be started in zone 3 by the end of February at the absolute latest.⁠
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I've already started some lisianthus and eucalyptus, and am waiting on my seed orders to start some more.⁠
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If you're starting a luffa sponge, make sure you have some sort of eventual plan for the vine.  last year mine went over my fall windows before I was able to take them outdoors.⁠
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P.S. I've actually never started onions from seed, so if anyone wants to chin in about their experience, feel free!
Growing eucalyptus for the first time this year? Growing eucalyptus for the first time this year?  A new post is on the blog to walk you through it.  While in theory eucalyptus is easy to grow, it's challenging in my zone 3 garden for three reasons: ⁠
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➡️It needs a long time to mature⁠
➡️I have a short growing season⁠
➡️I live in a cool climate, and eucalyptus grows better when its warm.⁠
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That said, you can see by this picture that it can be done!!⁠
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Are you growing eucalyptus this year?
Oh friends, if any of my nice, curated photos sums Oh friends, if any of my nice, curated photos sums up how this last week went, I think it's this one.  Babies crying, trying to stay calm, outwardly looking like it's all under control, but feeling very overwhelmed.⁠
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This post isn't gardening related, so feel free to scroll by if you're here only for the gardening content.⁠
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Thankfully it's January, and I keep reminding myself that the Internet will not break if I don't keep to my self-imposed posting schedule.  But it doesn't make a week full of teething-and-not-sleeping baby any easier. ⁠
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Felicity slept through the night for the first time ever last Monday, then proceeded to punish us with frequent wakings and terrible sleep until Saturday.  And as tough as this is in regular times, in Covid times its extra frustrating because I don't have my village.⁠
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I can't just call up another Mama friend and go for coffee at her house.  I can't take my son out for a Mommy-and-Dominic date because everything he'd want to do isn't really much of an option.  There's no playgroup or play place to just drop in on.  And forget just taking everybody out to get groceries just for a change of scenery.⁠
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I know people have way more serious problems than this, and I hope I don't sound whiny and entitled, it's not my intention.  Please know that I'm very grateful for my family and job and that so far we've been healthy. ⁠
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A lot of you who follow me do so in part because you are also juggling life with very little people through this strange time.  I hope that in occasionally sharing my struggles, it makes you feel better about your struggles. (You're struggling too sometimes. . . right?)
Do you tend to plan out your garden to the nth deg Do you tend to plan out your garden to the nth degree, do you just wing it, or are you somewhere in-between?⁠
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I tend to plan it all out, and then when I actually get out in the field, so to speak, the plan changes a little bit. ⁠
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If you need a garden planner that's both pretty & practical, my garden planner is available in the ebooks section.  It's only $9 and has lots of upgrades from the previous planner.  Use code CANADA if you're Canadian to account for the exchange.⁠
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P.S. You can see exactly what you're getting in the video--no surprises. ⁠
P.P.S  I get my planner bound and printed at a printing place.  Lots of people just print their own and put the sheets in a binder.
Are you gardening in containers this year? When y Are you gardening in containers this year?  When you're shopping for vegetable seeds, look for varieties that have names with words like patio, tiny, small, etc.  While lots of vegetable varieties will do fine in a container, you'll have an easier time with ones that are specifically bred for that situation.⁠
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📸 by @blushbrandphotography
I'm living the pepper dream in this photo. While I'm living the pepper dream in this photo.  While these ones are a bit on the small side, who doesn't want ripe peppers in July in zone 3?!?! ⁠
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Over the years I've gotten better at growing peppers, and I promise I'll spill my secrets in February when it's actually time to start them.  Until then, get yourself all or one of my four favourite varieties: ⁠
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🌶️Carmen⁠
🌶️Escamillo⁠
🌶️Candy Stripe⁠
🌶️Hungarian Hot Wax⁠
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Do you have a favourite pepper variety?⁠
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