Q: I inherited a Christmas cactus when my mother passed away. I do not know how much light it needs or the amount of water. Also, what about fertilizer?

-- Nancy McCall, Bennettsville, S.C.

A: I was delighted recently to find flower buds on the Christmas cactus I've kept outdoors all summer. If your mother did likewise, yours may have swollen buds on it too. Keep it in a cool sunny room until the flowers have opened for your enjoyment. If your mother kept it inside, however, it may not have stored enough energy to bloom this season.

The best care for a Christmas cactus is to keep it outdoors in a bright but shady spot during the summer and fall. Water if the soil becomes dry. Fertilize sparingly each month. Bring it into a cool, bright room of your house when night temperatures fall below 60 degrees. Flower buds form in early November and should begin opening in mid-December.

If your flower buds fall off, warm temperatures are the likely cause. After flowering, give the plant a three-week rest by watering only enough to keep the soil slightly moist. After the rest period, begin watering and fertilizing normally. Bring it outside in late April.

Ginger roots

Q: After reading a suggestion in your column last winter, I planted a piece of ginger root from the grocery store. It grew outside in a pot all summer. Recently I dug up a few roots and found that they were sweet and delicious. There are, however, even bigger roots growing from the base of the plant. Are all ginger plant roots edible?

-- Issy Moskowitz, Atlanta

A: The thick roots growing horizontally from the base of the ginger plant are called rhizomes. They are specialized, starch-filled structures. The slender roots that extend downward from a rhizome extract water and nutrients from the soil. A byproduct of the energy-storing work of the rhizome is a chemical that gives the nice gingery taste you enjoy.

The newly grown rhizomes are delightfully edible, but the old one you originally planted is too tough and woody to consume. Ginger is not always winter-hardy outdoors in Atlanta. You can bring the plant indoors for the winter or experiment by planting it outdoors in a protected location. If you don't care for those two options, you can always plant grocery store ginger root next spring.

Chipmunks' holes

Q: I recently poured 150 gallons of water down a chipmunk's hole, and it didn't fill it, nor did any come out anywhere else. I even checked under the house in case it was leaking there. How deep do chipmunk holes go, and where do they put the dirt when they dig?

-- John Luff, Acworth

A: A chipmunk burrow can be pretty extensive. The tunnel is 2-3 inches in diameter and can be 20-30 feet long. As you noticed, the entrance is not easy to see: Chipmunks carry soil they excavate in their cheek pockets to be scattered elsewhere. My bet is that there was enough soil leakage along the length of the hole to absorb the water you introduced. The chipmunk population peaks in May but declines drastically by winter. Dogs, cats, owls and autos take their toll. Knowing this, I rarely encourage control measures. Only a couple of chipmunks may be left in your landscape from the dozen that started the summer. Overfilled bird feeders are the biggest contributors to backyard chipmunk population explosions.

Care of blue fescue

Q: I have an area where I have planted blue fescue. There is dead and brown grass on the underside of the plant. Is there a proper time to trim back the plant, or do you trim the grass at all?

-- Tom Murphy, e-mail

A: Blue fescue is an interesting focal point for a garden. It grows only 12 inches tall, but the foliage is a striking blue-green color. 'Elijah Blue' is a common cultivar. It was not named after Elijah Blue Allman, the son of Gregg Allman and Cher but for the street (Elijah Lane) on which the cultivar's breeder lived. You can remove brown leaves anytime. If the whole plant looks ratty after a hard winter, cut it back to 3 inches tall. Don't forget, blue fescue cannot stand poorly drained clay-filled soil. If your plants die, try again, but plant in an area containing native soil, gritty sand and soil conditioner in a 1:1:1 ratio.