December Tips for the Garden 2009

The holidays are fast approaching and all of our thoughts turn to decorating! Beautiful flowering houseplants add color and holiday cheer to every room. Here are some of my favorites:

Poinsettias are a holiday tradition and come in a variety of rich colors. The true deep red is a favorite, but don’t overlook deep burgundy, rich pink, soft peach, or beautiful creamy white. You’re sure to find one that is perfect for every room. While blooming, poinsettias like bright but indirect light. Water it when the top inch of the soil has dried and let it drain well. Do not let it sit in water. Poinsettias love cooler temperatures and keeping them cooler will extend the life of their blooms. Keep it away from any drafts, hot or cold, and mist leaves frequently when blooming.

Decorating Tip: Poinsettias in foil, colorful cachepots, or baskets add festive color to any room. Place groupings of three near one or both sides of doorways, hearths, or stairs for a super holiday look.

Cyclamen is a beautiful holiday plant with spectacular color! The heart shaped leaves are deep green with silver markings. The flowers rise gracefully above the foliage on slender stems and will bloom non-stop for several months. Colors range from deep iridescent red to soft pastels and white. Cyclamen love bright indirect light, and cooler temperatures will extend the life of its colorful blooms. Do not let your cyclamen dry out. Keep the soil moist but not soggy. Let the soil drain after watering before returning it to its decorative container.

Decorating Tip: Cyclamen is a compact plant and perfect for coffee tables, desks or counter tops. Drop small containers of these plants into your favorite holiday mugs for a quick holiday decoration to brighten up areas in your home.

Amaryllis in bloom is breathtaking. Nothing matches its clusters of huge, trumpet shaped flowers atop long thick stalks for a show-stopping look. Easy to grow, amaryllis is available in many colors including red, pink, peach, white, and many beautiful bi-colors. It needs bright light and soil that is evenly moist. Since amaryllis is top heavy, we recommend putting it into a heavy pot to avoid tipping.

Decorating Tip: Create a festive centerpiece by surrounding a blooming amaryllis with holiday greenery and ornaments.

These are just a few of my favorite holiday plants! I invite you to visit your local independent garden center and enjoy their houseplant displays during the holidays. They will be happy to help you select the right plants for your needs. Since a brief time in temperatures below 40° Fahrenheit can damage houseplants, garden centers will wrap your plants for protection during harsh winter cold and wind. Remember to take your plants home in a warm car and do not leave them more than a short time in a cold car if you have to make other stops on your way home.

Remember to add more beauty and life to your holiday decorating with colorful houseplants. Visit an independent garden center for creative ideas!


Time to go….See you in the Garden....
Sandi Hillermann McDonald

November Tips for the Garden 2009

It is hard to believe we are ending another summer and fall season. This year’s fall season has been exceptionally wet and cool. That is not all bad for the plants, but it makes us lose interest in spending time outdoors. Below is a list of things you can do on warm fall days to prepare for winter. However, before we start those duties, I want to remind you all to turn back your clocks on the 1st weekend of November. The days are quickly getting shorter, so dig into these tasks listed below and enjoy the outdoors as much as you can!

• The most important step is to make sure all plants--perennials, shrubs and trees--are well watered throughout November to insure adequate winter food reserves. That final, thorough soaking before the last frost is essential, but not enough. Soak evergreens and new plantings again in midwinter during a warm spell if moisture is not abundant.
  Mulching is an important step but the purpose is not to keep plants warmer, rather to keep soil temperatures from fluctuating so much.


• Protect the trunks of newly transplanted or young thin barked trees to minimize frost cracks when temperatures fluctuate wildly. White plastic roll covers and paper wrap, rolled from the bottom up, are good choices.


• To achieve success with broad-leaved evergreens like holy and rhododendron, select reliably hardy cultivars. Plant them in sheltered sites, against walls or hedges, to protect them from drying winter winds and scorching sunshine. Anti-desiccants are fine if used every year, just be sure to reapply in January or February.


• Till up the vegetable garden to expose many insect pests to winter cold and reduce their numbers in next year’s garden.


• Keep leaves raked up and off the lawn to prevent injury to turf grasses.


• Continue mowing lawn grasses as long as they keep growing, a height of 2-3” is good.


• Apply Winterizer fertilizer to lawns to strengthen plant stems and roots for winter growth and early spring green up.


• Plant tulips and other spring bulbs now through December.


• Dig and store tender bulbs planted this spring such as Dahlias, caladiums, and elephant ears.


• Start paperwhite, narcissus, and amaryllis bulbs indoors now thru December.


• Roll up and store garden hoses on a warm, sunny day.


• Towards the end of the month, be sure to shut off and drain any outdoor water pipes or irrigation systems that may freeze during cold weather.


• Cover garden ponds with bird or pond netting to prevent leaves from fouling the water. Oxygen depletion from rotting organic matter can cause a winterkill of pond fish.


• Take steps to prevent garden ponds from freezing solid in winter. Using a floating garden heater in the pond will lessen the chance of ice damage and provide an area for gas exchange that is needed to sustain fish.


• After the first hard freeze, mulch rose bushes heavily to a depth of 12” to cover the plant graph area properly using bark, compost, or straw with rose collars. Prune back longer canes to 24-36” to prevent whipping from wind in the winter. Hold off on heavy pruning until April of next year. Mulch strawberries with straw for winter. The best time to do this is after several nights of 20° F, but before temperatures drop into the teens. Apply straw loosely, but thick enough to hide plants from view.


• Set up bird feeders. Birds also appreciate a source of unfrozen drinking water during the winter. Use one of the many styles of birdbath heaters or heated birdbaths available at garden centers.


• When feeding the birds, set up a variety of feeder types to get the best assortment of birds to come to your yard. Tube feeders are good for songbirds, platform feeders are good for cardinals and larger birds, and suet is a great source of fat and energy for woodpeckers and all bird types.


• Winter houseplant care: reduce or eliminate fertilizer until spring, shorter days mean slower growth, slower growth means less frequent watering. Plants in plastic pots need less water than those in clay pots. Plants in cooler rooms need less water and will have slower growth than those in warm rooms. Creating additional humidity is always beneficial. An easy way to increase humidity is to use trays filled with water and large pebbles. Place the plants on the pebbles so they will not sit in the water, but they can get the benefit of a higher humidity level as the water evaporates.
  
• Leave ornamental grasses standing tall for winter interest in the garden and for feeding the birds. Cut them down to 2-4” in early spring.

It is hard to believe how fast November has arrived. From November 1, there are only 26 more days until Thanksgiving, 51 days until the first day of winter, 55 more days until Christmas and 62 more days until January 1, 2010! In addition, you know how fast the next 62 days are going to fly by! So fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the outdoors as you prepare for winter….Enjoy your yard and garden in every season!

Time to go….See you in the Garden

Sandi Hillermann McDonald