Q: My father recently passed away and I received a peace lily from his funeral. I do not have a green thumb and know nothing about these plants. I need to know when it will need to be transplanted, how often to water it, how much sunlight it should have, and other general care guidelines. This is very important to me and I really appreciate your help! (E-mail reference)

A: You can probably keep the plant in the same container for quite some time. They are very easy to care for, tolerating low light levels and typical household temperatures. Keep it constantly moist and as the flowers and leaves become spent, remove them with a sharp knife or scissors. When it becomes potbound, you can divide the clump and repot in separate containers.

Q: I purchased a hibiscus this spring and put it in a large planter on the deck. It was beautiful! Can I keep it in the house through the winter? I am hoping not so much to have a winter houseplant, but to have a healthy, strong hibiscus to return to the deck next spring. I have a cool basement with very little light and a garage that will get to freezing temps. I have rooms in the house with west-facing windows. Some rooms I keep at average temps and one I keep cooler. Can you give me any tips on how to over-winter this plant? Also, should I cut it back? If so, should I do it now or in the spring? Also, I planted two Russian cypress this spring. Through the dry summer I kept them well-watered and they seemed to do okay. The rains finally came in mid-August and all seemed fine. Near the end of October, they began to get a brownish look and now are completely brown with a very slight red tint. The plant is not brittle, just brown. There is a Blue Star Juniper a couple feet away that looks just fine. Is this normal for the cypress to turn brown or is there a problem? They are planted in well drained, fairly fertile soil and in full sun. My last question, do you have a Web site that has an accumulation of the questions you have been asked? I am an avid gardener, but am in the process of landscaping around a new house. I would appreciate all the information I can get. (Lesterville, S.D.)

A: Based on where you live, I would suggest wintering the hibiscus in the garage. The root system is what you need to be concerned with. If it appears that the temps will get below 0 in your garage, then you'd better bring it in for the night. Russian cypress is better known as microbiota decussata - Russian arborvitae. And yes, the brown and reddish coloration is normal going into the winter months. You have selected a little used beauty for your landscape and are to be congratulated for doing so. I'm sure you will be the envy of the neighborhood in years to come. Enjoy! Past questions and answers can be found at: http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extnews/hortiscope/contents.htm.

Q: I have been reading the questions about spider plants. One in particular was about spider plants flowering. Your response was that they rarely flower. I have a spider plant at the office and five of them at home and have had several others. All of them bloom for me year round. The plants that have white on them have also created seed pods. I have not tried planting the seeds but may try it someday. The one I have at work was brought there as soon as I transplanted it. For about two years it grew a little, but not much. Then I moved it close to a window and it has bloomed, created seed pods and plantlets like crazy since then, even though it has now been moved to a place with no windows. It is beautiful, almost like it woke up. On the other hand, I have had spider plants create plantlets within a few months. One thing about spider plants, they are not fussy. They are easy to work with and if a plant starts to look awful, take a couple of plantlets and start another. They have always been easy for me. There is one puzzle that I have not figured out. I started from a spider plant with white on a plantlet that was all green. I have many new plants from that one and none of them have one speck of white on them. They also seem healthier, their leaves are wider and grow bigger and faster. ( Ulen, M.N.)

A: I agree with everything you say, and as irony would have it, when my wife moved our spider plants in this fall and repotted them, one of them began blooming immediately. Nothing like proving me a liar! The white variegation is a chimera which means that the somatic tissue was just a "mask" that covered the green leaves. The greener the leaf, the more photosynthesis that is carried on and the faster it can grow.

Q: In response to your article on spider plants. I have both the varigated and plain plants. I did not know they were not supposed to have flowers. Whenever a new stalk or stem comes out, it has flowers before the little spider grows. The flowers are white and do not last very long. If you look at the nodules on the stem, that is where the flowers were. Maybe they come and go so fast that you really don't notice them. They make a mess on the floor when they dry and drop off. Mine drop behind furniture where I may not vacuum every week so they accumulate. (Jamestown, N.D.)

A: You could be right! I don't stand around watching the plants grow, just note that they have grown.

Q: I have a flowering crab that was girdled two years ago by rabbits. Last year it was just fine. This year the main trunk did very little--small leaves, small blossoms, small apples, even though I kept it watered well. I have lots of suckers growing from the trunk. They start at the ground level. Will they develop into the same type of flowering crab tree? Or should I just get rid of the whole tree? (Salem, S.D.)

A: Get rid of it. Once that happens, it is nothing but a downhill ride. The suckers are from the root system. The scion or budwood was the tree you coveted and produced the apples you like. The root system is likely a cold-hardy crabapple that doesn't necessarily have desirable ornamental characteristics.

Q: I have a plant here that, according to my book, is a Chinese evergreen. It was green to start with, but it turned a yellow color and won't open up. I'm beginning to think it's too wet, but was rather puzzled why it turned that color. (Carrington, N.D.)

A: Being too wet or having it in a non-draining pot could be the cause of the problem. Allow it to dry somewhat between waterings and if it is not in a freely-draining container, repot at your earliest convenience.

Q: This spring I received a package of red carrot seed which produced carrots that made seed the first season. Have you ever heard of it? I haven't in 55 years of gardening. Just curious as to why. (New England, N.D.)

A: Interesting enough, neither have I! My guess is that the seed was "treated" in some way (i.e. cold exposure, chemicals, etc.) to overcome the normal biennial character of the plant. Were the carrots any good?

Q: I have a perennial outside hibiscus plant that I've had for years. This year it has seed pods on it that are full of seeds. If I plant the seeds, will they bloom similar to the parent plant? (Colome, S.D.)

A: They certainly should, but I cannot tell you what treatment the seeds need, since most propagation is done asexually by cuttings, air layering, or mounding.

Q: We have an ash tree that we transplanted by hand. It was about 10 feet tall and straight, but has grown to 16 to 20 feet in 5 to 6 years. The trunk is about 4 inches. It's not bushing out like we'd like and it's growing more to the southwest. I’m wondering what would happen if we cut the top two feet or so off? Would it bush out more, or would it kill it? Also, if we can trim it, when's a good time? (Perham, Minn.)

A: It should bush out and not die. Just be careful to cut back to a lateral branch or bud. Do so next spring before new growth starts.

Q: I had a pear tree that grew beautifully for three years. It did not grow pears but had wonderful flowers. This year it had tight, smaller-than usual-flowers but no leaves. The tree died shortly after flowering. I might be the cause of its death. Last year we were infested with caterpillars so I put a band of vaseline about four inches high near the base of the tree because I discovered the caterpillars couldn't negotiate the vaseline. I placed vaseline around all my trees, but the pear tree was the only one that died. Did the vaseline kill the tree? (Thief River Falls, Minn.)

A: I doubt you caused the death of your pear tree, at least not directly so. Vaseline would not have killed the tree. Most likely it could have been girdled at the soil line by voles or other rodents or it could have been a root rot disease.