Dakota Gardener: Brightening up the winter days

Proper identification of your plants is the first step to knowing what type of lighting it requires to thrive. (NDSU graphic)

Proper identification of your plants is the first step to knowing what type of lighting it requires to thrive. (NDSU graphic)

Dakota Gardener: Brightening up the winter days

Dakota Gardener: Brightening up the winter days

A popular choice for hanging baskets and container arrangements, Calico Kitten Crassula is a small, easy-to-grow succulent with heartshaped leaves that are variegated with pink, cream and green. (NDSU photo)

A popular choice for hanging baskets and container arrangements, Calico Kitten Crassula is a small, easy-to-grow succulent with heartshaped leaves that are variegated with pink, cream and green. (NDSU photo)

Dakota Gardener: Brightening up the winter days

Dakota Gardener: Brightening up the winter days

It’s official…the winter blues have hit me hard this year. As a native Texan, I never fare well with the winter but usually manage ok until March. If you are in the same boat as me, then a houseplant, or two, or three, may be your new best friend. As I sit in my office writing this article, I am looking at seven different houseplants, not counting the 16 other plants collected in our front office.…