If you haven’t already done so, apply a thick mulch, ideally pine needles (for acidity) around blueberries.
Use wood chippers carefully and don’t apply wood chips or saw dust directly to the garden.
Cyclamen do best in cool bright locations indoors. Place in full sunlight and keep night temperature at 50-60ºF.
Start Paperwhite Narcissus now for fragrant blooms in 4 to 5 weeks.
When planning containers for next season, consider bromeliads for a more tropical feel. Their intriguing architectural forms blend well with cannas, bananas, elephant ears, coleuses and other beautiful foliage plants. A very versatile bromeliad used in containers, window boxes and outdoor planting displays is Neoregelia. Many bromeliads will thrive in part to full sun.
Apply mulch to beds of garlic, shallots and strawberries when the ground begins to freeze.
Consider adding spicebush (Lindera benzoin) to the landscape next season. Spicebush is an excellent early spring food source for small bees and pollinators due to its fuzzy, yellow flowers that emerge on its bare branches. A host for the swallowtail caterpillar, spicebush has dramatic, golden autumn foliage. Thriving in zones 4-9, spicebush prefers moist, well-drained soil and sun to shade.
Plant Something Massachusetts is a project of Massachusetts Nursery and Landscape Association, and was originally established in partnership with Massachusetts Flower Growers’ Association.