If you skip supplemental indoor lighting for young seedlings and plant starts, you will usually be disappointed. Most windowsills simply are not bright enough. Provide your seedlings with good lighting to set them up for success from the get-go.

Use HO T5 Fluorescent or LED grow lamps, positioned a few inches above your seedlings, to get them off to a strong and sturdy start.

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Want to grow spinach indoors? If you have a cool garage or basement, you might have the perfect place to grow spinach indoors through the cool months. If you use a grow tent with a cooling system, you might be able to grow it indoors year-round. Stick with cooler running grow lamps, such as LEDs, CFLs, or HOT5 Fluorescents, instead of HID lamps.

Spinach grows best in cool temperatures between 40°F and 75°F (4–24°C). Warmer temperatures can hasten bolting. If your indoor temperatures are a bit warmer, keep the photoperiod (how long you light the plants) on the short side (10 hours).

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If you use organic potting soil for your cuttings, be sure not to let it stay soggy during the rooting process. Soil that is too wet can cause pathogens to flourish, along with rot on cuttings.

To avoid soil pathogen problems, use media such as coir, rockwool, Oasis cubes, or anything made with perlite and peat. These help balance the moisture- to-air ratio available to the cutting and reduce pathogens.

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With the unexpected extra rain we received here in Dallas, a few garden gems have popped back into flower. This Clematis 'Arabella' is back in bloom just as the garlic chives are pushing out their late-summer white flower buds!

I always plant clematis amidst other perennials and shrubs to as to shade the soil and keep their root system a little cooler - which they prefer. I love garlic chives because they are tough, heat- and drought-tolerant bulb that blooms during the hottest part of the summer, when many other plants are taking a break. The blue clematis flowers will be a beautiful mix with the white chive flowers.

The ideal temperature range for most citrus is between 70°F and 90°F (21–32°C). A temperature drop during the winter months typically triggers blooming.

Warm temperatures in summer help fruit develop a sweet flavor. Most citrus can be damaged at temperatures below 27°F (–3°C).

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Most types of strawberries produce runners, or elongated stems with small plantlets that can be individually rooted. You can snip these off the elongated vines and place shallowly in potting mix, where they will take root and grow into new plants.

Keep in mind: do not overwater strawberries, especially in cooler temperatures, as crowns can rot quickly.

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If you're growing orchids indoors, you might be wondering when they will bloom, or how to force them into bloom.

Most orchid plants naturally flower from about November through March, but given the right conditions flowers may appear at other times throughout the year. To keep your orchids healthy, and to encourage betting blooming and best performance, grow orchids under supplemental grow lighting with HO T5, CFL, full-spectrum LEDs.

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Donkey tail spurge, Euphorbia myrsinites, offers beautiful ice-blue foliage and yellow flowers.

If you're looking for a plant that offers striking foliage contrast, this is a beauty! Plants can be grown indoors with supplemental lighting from grow lamps, as they require bright sunny conditions to thrive.

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