Houseplants for the Holidays

While Poinsettias are the most popular holiday choice, there are many other plants with vibrant flowers and colorful foliage that will add a festive mood to your holidays and beyond. Moreover, houseplants help clean the air we breathe and elevate our moods. Here are a just a few of our favorites. 

With its red flowers and dark green foliage, Anthurium delivers some of the best of holiday colors. Anthurium plants thrive when placed near a bright window. It will do okay in low light situations, but don't expect it to flower as well.  Allow the soil to dry slightly between each watering.  

Cyclamen and holiday cactus are very popular plants during the season.  

For outstanding foliage, Polka Dot and Mosaic are easy-to-grow houseplants and both offer outstanding color. Polka Dot plants prefer bright, indirect light, while Mosaic does well in lower light situations. 

If you’re looking for Christmas tree substitutes, Norfolk Island Pines are an excellent choice.  Originating from an island in the South Pacific, Norfolk Island Pines grow slowly and maintain their shape naturally. These pines like a location where they will receive bright light and high humidity. If your Norfolk Pine shows signs of stress, it’s most like a light or humidity problem. Creating a more humid environment can be accomplished by placing your plant on a tray that contains two to three inches of pebbles and about an inch of water. If you decide to use a pebble tray to increase the humidity, make sure the bottom of the pot your tree is planted in stays above the water line. Water your Norfolk pine when the top inch of soil feels dry. Water thoroughly, until water comes out the bottom of the pot. Feed Norfolk Island Pines with Super Thrive every two weeks.  When it comes to decorating, the branches of a Norfolk Island Pine are not as sturdy as those of a traditional pine tree, so use lightweight ornaments and garland.  

Dressing up a Lemon Cypress tree is another great plant choice for the holidays. Lemon Cypress have plume-like yellow-green foliage that maintains a conical growth pattern and releases a lemony fragrance to the touch. Lemon cypress trees prefer a location where they will receive at least six hours of sunlight and the temperature stays around sixty degrees.  Water whenever the soil is dry. 

To bring fragrance into your home during the holidays don’t forget herbs! Rosemary and lavender will add a delightful aroma to the home. As a rule, all these houseplants will do well when kept at normal room temperatures. You'll want to keep your houseplants healthy and growing by feeding them every two weeks with houseplant fertilizer. On the weeks you don’t fertilize, water with Super Thrive, a vitamin solution that includes Kelp. This supplement will help your plants thrive, especially during the winter months.  Houseplants make easy, beautiful gifts for teachers, co-workers and hostesses. They're a gift that will last long after the holidays are over. 

  

How to Care for Holiday Cactus

 

This time of year, you’ll find many holiday-specific plants, including Cyclamen, Poinsettia, Amaryllis and of course, holiday cactus. Each kind of holiday cactus typically flowers around the holiday it’s named for; Thanksgiving cactus is in bloom now, followed by the Christmas cactus later in the season. These plants belong to a group of mountain cactus which includes Easter cactus. Known collectively as holiday cactus, these plants are easy to grow and have similar care requirements. All three are native to Brazil, the Thanksgiving and Christmas cactus are tropical rain forest plants, while the Easter cactus grows in Brazil’s natural forests. An easy way to identify each cactus type is to look at the end of the stem. 

Thanksgiving cactus leaves have claw-like edges while the Christmas is rounder. Thanksgiving cactus flowers tend to bend upward, while Christmas cactus flowers tend to hang down. The recent introduction of hybrid cactus tends to blur the line between Thanksgiving and Christmas cactus, but if you have a plant that came from a cutting of your grandmother’s fifty-year-old cactus, it’s most like likely one or the other. 

Holiday cactuses need bright, indirect light and will do best in a cool, bright spot out of direct sun. An east-facing window is ideal. Holiday cactus bloom on their own in response to shorter days and cooler temperatures. Daytime temperatures in the 70°s and nighttime temperatures in the 60°s will help promote blooming.  Holiday cactus don’t like drafts, so place them away from heating vents, fireplaces or doors that open to the outdoors. 

During the bloom season, feed your cactus every two weeks with a water-soluble fertilizer such as 15-30-15. When it comes to watering, holiday cactus plants prefer to be on the dry side. An easy way to tell if your plant needs watering is to stick your finger into the soil. If the top inch or so is dry, then it’s time to water. Holiday 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.  If the plant begins to drop buds, it’s a sign of overwatering, insufficient light or low humidity. Don’t be in a rush to repot holiday 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. Holiday cactus will stay green year-round. Continue to feed your cactus plant every two weeks with a 10-15-10 fertilizer. With a little care, your holiday cactus will produce beautiful blooms for many years to come. 

Now’s the Time to Put the Roses to Bed

While the prolonged fall weather has given us a longer than usual bloom season, now’s the time to put your roses to bed. The process of preparing roses for winter includes pruning, a thorough clean-up, deep-root watering and mulching. Roses vary in hardiness, but all roses will benefit from some attention and preparation before winter arrives. This is because our winter temperatures can fluctuate widely and moisture levels will vary from month to month. Begin by cutting each cane back about to about 24" to 30". This is not an exact measurement, but it’s important to cut tall canes now to prevent damage from winter winds. Prune to the outward bud, so that future growth is toward the outside, away from the center of the bush. If you see any diseased branches and leaves, cut them off and dispose of them.

 Remove any spent flowers or rose hips at this time. Clean up fallen leaves and petals from around the rose bush, to prevent black spot and other diseases from wintering over. While you're at it, rake up any leaves on the ground around your roses.   Next, water your roses thoroughly.  Roses with dry roots will suffer more damage in cold temperatures than roses with well-hydrated roots.  All roses will benefit from applying a natural mulch to the bed.  This serves to keep the ground cold and stable and help prevent damage to the rose bush as the ground freezes and thaws, only to freeze again during the course of the winter. Adding mulch will also help retain moisture. Soil Pep, Cedar Mulch and Gorilla Hair are good choices for mulching your roses. Soil Pep offers the additional benefit of being a soil improvement. 

A three-to-four-inch layer of mulch should be applied to the entire area under the rose canopy, with an additional six-to-seven inches added to the central part of the bush. This will protect the bud graft as well as the roots.  Once the mulch is in place, dust the area with sulfur. Sulfur will help control disease and insects trying to winter over. If you have climbing roses in the garden, wait until spring to prune them. Instead, secure the canes to the trellis and wrap them in burlap to prevent winter winds from drying out and damaging the canes, then apply mulch. Water your roses (and other shrubs, trees, perennials) during the course of the winter. Pick a day when the temperature is above 40°. Water around mid-day and confine your watering to the base of the rose. You want to get water to the roots, not the top of the rose. As always, you are welcome to bring your rose and gardening questions or concerns to the Diagnostic Center in the Hardgoods section of the store.     

 

How to grow Amaryllis Bulbs

Among the flowers that help us celebrate the season, amaryllis stand out for the living accent their long-lasting, colorful blooms lend to our holiday decorations. Amaryllis take six to eight weeks to bloom, so now’s the time to start them. Amaryllis are available in many beautiful varieties, including various shades of red, white, pink and salmon.  

Amaryllis bulbs are sized from small to X-large. Generally, the larger the bulb size, the more blooms it will produce. Once you've chosen the bulbs you want to start, it's time to pick out a container. Amaryllis can be planted in soil or forced in water. If you’re growing in soil, select a container that has good drainage and is the right size for the bulb you're planting.  

Amaryllis like to be snug in their pot, so  choose a container that's about an inch or so larger than the bulb and is deep enough for the roots to grow. Next, add damp potting soil to the bottom third of the pot. Place the bulb in the center of the pot and spread the roots out so they fan out from the center of the bulb. Do the best you can with the roots. You're mainly trying to keep them from bunching up under the bulb. Fill in around the bulb with more damp potting soil. Leave the top third of the bulb uncovered. Water thoroughly and place the bulb in a warm, well-lit location. 

Once the flower stalk begins to appear, you can start feeding your bulb with a 15-30-15 fertilizer. After that, fertilize every two weeks and water frequently enough to keep the soil moist. Amaryllis can also be grown in water. Select a container that doesn’t drain, add stones or gravel to the bottom of the pot and place your amaryllis bulb in the center of the container.  Add water to the container until it just touches the base of the bulb. Choose a warm, bright location for your bulb and maintain the water level throughout the growing and blooming cycle. It should be noted that amaryllis grown in water are very difficult to get to rebloom the following season. 

In addition to water and soil, waxed amaryllis bulbs are available. These waxed bulbs contain all the water and nutrients required for them to bloom. Simply place them in a bright, warm spot in your house and enjoy the holiday color. These are single-use bulbs. When the bloom cycle is over, discard the spent bulb. If you plan to keep your amaryllis bulbs season-after-season, grow them in soil. Once the flowers fade, cut off the spent flowers and leave the foliage in place. Keep fertilizing every two weeks the 15-30-15 fertilizer. For colorful blooms throughout the holidays and into the new year, plant an amaryllis bulb every two to three weeks, starting now.  

 

 

 

How to Put Fall Leaves to Good Use

 

 

Good things happen when you add organic material to your vegetable garden on a regular basis. Clay soils become more workable, earth worm populations go up, microbial activity increases and the health and balance of your soil improves. All this activity leads to bigger, healthier harvests. Fall is an excellent time to work on improving your vegetable garden. The soil is warm, it’s easy to add organic amendments and this year we have the added benefit of an abundance of fall leaves. Fall leaves are packed with organic matter and nutrients and can be utilized as an amendment, a mulch or in the compost pile.  

An easy way to put fall leaves to work is to rake them up and scatter them across the surface of your garden, then cover them with three to four inches of Earth Essentials Sheep, Peat and Compost.  Through the course of the winter, the leaves will break down. Come spring, use your garden fork to work the resultant rich compost into your garden's soil.  

Another option would be to incorporate the leaf material into the garden now. Spread the leaves out over the garden bed, cover with three to four inches of Earth Essentials Sheep, Peat and Compost and dig the mixture in six to eight inches.  To speed up the process, mow the lawn with the catcher in place or use your leaf blower with bag attachment to shred and catch the leaves, as opposed to raking. The resulting smaller pieces will breakdown faster in your garden or compost pile, plus shredding helps prevent the leaves from packing together into layers that water and air can’t penetrate. 

Once the ground is cold – usually around Thanksgiving, apply a layer of shredded leaves and compost around each perennial. Mulching will help retain moisture and protect plants from winter’s temperature fluctuations.  

Fall leaves are a great source of carbon when added to your compost pile. Leaves count as "browns" in making compost. A good ratio of browns and greens is about 4:1 brown (carbon) to greens (nitrogen). Adding leaves in thin (2" to 3") layers will help the compost pile stay warm and working during the winter. 

 
 

 At the end of a beautiful autumn, it seems only fitting we put those fallen leaves to work in the garden. You'll have a healthier, more productive garden next season.