It's time to prune back those houseplants

If you think our cloudy, cold winter drove you crazy, think how your houseplants felt! After a winter like this one, even low-light plants tend to drop lower leaves and become bare at the base. Grab your pruners because it's time to take remedial action. Almost any type of woody-stemmed houseplants such as weeping figs, rubber trees, dracaena, pothos and many others, can be cut back buy two-thirds or more this time of year. Unless something serious is wrong with the plant, the stem will branch out with new growth from the spot where the cut was made. In addition, cuttings taken from the removed stem can be rooted in water to make new plants. Palms are the exception. If your prize Rhapis (lady palm) is getting too tall for your house, you'll have to cut a hole in your living room ceiling because all palms grow only from the top, which means that the stems can never be cut back without murdering your plant.

Promote lush new growth on sparse-looking Nandina (heavenly bamboo).

An attractive member of the barberry family, Nandina has lacy, delicate-looking leaves that belie a tough constitution. These bamboo look-alikes put on the best show in winter, when the foliage takes on fiery reds and purples. The brightly colored berries also are attractive, but they're usually devoured by hungry birds grateful for a winter food source. Unfortunately, if you don't prune Nandina, it often becomes leggy and gawky, with leaves only on the top of heavily bowed stems. Nandina is a cane grower, so the best way to prune it is to remove up to half of the leggiest ones by cutting them to the ground. This will initiate new canes to grow from the base. If all of the canes are so leggy that they fall over, cut them all to the base. Fertilize with an organic lawn food and keep the soil moist until the new growth is well under way.

Get your Canna off to a fast start.

Few plants can match the exotic look of Canna decked out in colorful tropical foliage and spectacular fiery flowers. Most varieties of Canna are hardy enough to be left in the ground, and given full sun, plenty of fertilizer and average moisture, they'll eventually grow to their full potential and flower magnificently in the Puget Sound region. The only problem with growing these tropical beauties is that they need heat to grow, and as we all know, warm sunny spring days aren't very plentiful in our area. If we suffer a cold rainy spring, it can take until late July or early August before the plants get big enough to play a key role in the landscape. Speed up the process by potting up a few clumps and grow them adjacent to a sunny south wall. The reflected heat will make your Cannas grow much faster, and by late June they should be big enough to transplant where needed to add a tropical flair to your garden.