Wisconsin Horticulture

Here’s some timely tips when caring for your baby plants. For example, if you are growing seedlings under grow-lights, the tops of the seedlings should be about 1” from the fluorescent tubes. Don’t allow the seedlings to grow into the lights as the leaves may burn. Seedlings don’t need to be as close to the lights if you are using LED lights. Lights should be on for about 16 hours a day for most crops.

Overhead watering wets leaves creating what plant pathologists call a “leaf wetness period,” a time when a thin layer of water coats the leaf. This layer of water is exactly what most plant diseases-causing fungi require for their spores to germinate and infect.

The window for dormant pruning of trees and shrubs is almost closed for the season in much of Wisconsin. Find out what you can still prune, late March / early April.