The Flower Bin Holiday Open House

 

Christmas begins at The Flower Bin Holiday Open House, Friday, Saturday, Sunday November 28^th, 29^th and 30^th. Start a tradition by making the Christmas open house a “Must Do” to kick off your holiday season.

There will live entertainment featuring Harpist Jenilee Elsbend and

Jeffery Rogers on the Hammered Dulcimer.

Santa Claus will pay a special visit on Saturday, November 29^th, from 11 AM to 3 PM. 

Enjoy holiday cookies and apple cider while you shop the best in all your decorations including:

live and cut trees, wreaths and garlands, ornaments and

featuring Flower Bin grown Poinsettias.

Christmas cactus care

 

Christmas cactus are members of the Zygo-cactus family. They are native to the mountainous regions of Central and South America and they are more closely related to orchids then to cactus. Tropical cacti requirements are different than desert cacti. They like bright, indirect light, so no direct sun. An east facing window will work well. They don’t like drafts, so place them away from heating vents, fireplaces or doors that open to the outdoors.

Feed them with a 10-30-20 or 15-30-15 fertilizer. Water thoroughly and allow soil to dry out before watering again.  Test the soil with your finger. If the top inch or so is dry, then it’s time to water.

Christmas cactus like high humidity and an easy way to increase humidity is to place small rock in a saucer, add water and set the plant on the saucer.

Make sure the pot is sitting on the rock, not in the water. Daytime temperatures in the 70°’s and nighttime temperatures in the 50°s to 60°s will help promote blooming. If the plant begins to drop buds, it’s a sign of overwatering, insufficient light or low humidity.   Long term care for Christmas cactus, they prefer to be root-bound and can easily go three or four years without repotting. When you decide to repot, chose a pot one size larger and use a potting soil that drains well. Whether you’re choosing a Christmas cactus for yourself or as a gift, we have a variety of colors and sizes available now.

'Dark Marie'

'Nicole'

'Youp'

  

How to force Paperwhites

 

Narcissus is a family of hardy bulbs which includes daffodils and paperwhites. These are hardy bulbs which are planted in the late fall and will bloom in the spring. All narcissus can be forced to bloom indoors, but paperwhites are the easiest because they don’t require a long cooling period in order to bloom.

All you’ll need is a container and some rock, sand or marbles. Paperwhites can be grown in soil, sand, rocks or marbles. Because paperwhites are generally discarded after they bloom, the planting medium doesn’t have to supply nutrients. When you’re buying bulbs, remember that all paperwhites have a scent.

Zivas have the strongest scent, while Inbals are more lightly scented. Look for the labels so you’ll get the ones you want. Get enough bulbs to fill your container. The display will look better and it will help keep the flowers from falling over.

Place a couple of inches of rocks, sand, colorful marbles in the bottom of your  container. Place the bulbs with the wide bottom down and the pointed end up on top of the stones or marbles.

Use enough bulbs to fill the container. This will ensure a great display and help keep the flowers more upright. Next, fill in around the bulbs with more stones or marbles.

Forcing vases are also available.

Choose a vase, nest the bulb in the top of the vase and add enough water to touch the base of the bulb. Check your bulbs daily to ensure the water level is just touching the base of the bulb. Paperwhites will go bad if you submerge the bulb, so keep the water level right at the base of the bulb. Place your bowl or pot in a bright location. Plenty of light will keep the flower stems from growing too tall and becoming floppy.

Roots will develop in about two weeks, followed by top growth and then blooms. You can start paperwhites every few weeks for continuous blooms through the holidays and into late winter. Paperwhites can be planted after they have bloomed, but it may take several seasons in order for the bulbs to gain enough energy to re-bloom.

Time to apply tree wrap.

 

Why do we recommend wrapping trees at this time of year? It’s not unusual for winter temperatures to reach 60° Fahrenheit in the daytime and then fall below freezing after the sun goes down. When it gets this warm, the low winter sun heats up the tree bark, especially on the south and southwest sides of the tree. The sun’s warming action breaks the trees dormancy and the cells on that side of the tree wakeup and become active.  When the temperatures fall after sunset, the active cells and tissue die.

The damaged area will sometimes shrink and discolor. Later in the season, the bark may fall off, leaving a long scar.

Applying tree wrap now will help protect the tree from the winter sun.

Tree wrap is a corrugated paper product, sold in 50' and 150' rolls.

Apply tree wrap so the printed side is out. A good rule of thumb is to wrap your trees around Halloween and remove the wrap around Easter.

You want to leave the tree wrap off during the growth months of spring and summer.  You should wrap trees for the first six or seven years after you plant them. After that, the bark should be thick enough to reduce the risk of sunscald damage.