Do hostas need winter protection?
Most hostas do not need winter protection if they have been in the ground for at least one full growing season. However, a winter mulch is often beneficial to hostas planted in late summer or early fall. Repeated freezing and thawing of the soil in the winter months may heave recently planted hostas out of the ground, causing serious damage. Applying several inches of clean, weed-free straw, pine needles, or other mulch in mid to late November should provide adequate winter protection. My saucer magnolia has produced several fruit. How do I germinate the seeds? The bright reddish orange seeds of the saucer magnolia need to be exposed to cool, moist conditions before they will germinate. This can be accomplished by planting the seeds outdoors in fall. Plant the seeds 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep. The cool, moist conditions in the soil during the winter months will eventually break the magnolia seed’s dormancy, allowing the seeds to germinate in spring. The cool, moist requirement can also be at
