Living Christmas Tree

Each year many people choose to bring a living tree into the home for Christmas.  Smaller potted and even some balled and burlapped evergreens make great candidates for a living Christmas tree.  Living Christmas trees should only stay in the home for 2-3 weeks and prefer cool room temperatures.  Lighting the tree with cool LED lights instead of warmer incandescent bulbs is a big help.  Treating the tree with an anti-desiccant spray such as Wilt-Stop will also slow down moisture loss.  Water the tree every day as it can never be allowed to dry out.  Once the decorations are removed, plan on planting the tree immediately.  This means that you need to plan ahead and prepare a planting hole now to receive the tree in January.

Choose a proper location in your yard to be the final home for your Christmas tree.  Take into consideration the ultimate size of the tree as well as its soil and light requirements.  Dig the hole before the ground freezes.  The size of the hole should be as deep as the root ball and 2-3 times as wide.  Amend the soil with leaf compost and store the soil in a location where it will not freeze and will be easy to access in January.  Now fill the hole with straw to slow down the frost.  At planting time, remove the straw from the hole and install the tree using the saved, unfrozen soil.  Water the plant heavily and much around the tree using the same straw that once filled the hole.  Plan on watering the tree again in the early spring once the soil has thawed.  What a great holiday tradition to begin the next year and to remember for many years to come as the trees grow and flourish.

Leaf them alone

Right now we all have an abundance of leaves collecting on our lawns and in our landscapes.  In time we begin to see large piles of leaves collecting along our curbs but is this the best way to utilize the annual leaf drop?

There are alternatives besides raking to the curb.
- Instead of raking, considering leaving the fallen leaves on your lawn to be chopped up by the lawn mower.  A modest amount of leaves shredded by the mower can provide a natural, organic boost to the lawn.  Just make sure the layer of chopped leaves is not so thick as to bury the lawn or create a mat of leaves on top of the grass.
- Shredded leaves from your mower or shredder make a great organic winter mulch for your perennials.  A thin layer spread over the perennials once the ground has begun to freeze is a great way to protect sensitive plants or shallow rooted perennials such as coral bell and Shasta daisy.
- Consider working in a layer of shredded leaves to the vegetable garden or annual flower garden providing an organic boost in the spring.

The annual drop of leaves from our deciduous trees is nature's way of returning to the soil what it used during the summer.  We can help in the task by using this bounty of organic materials ourselves in our own yards or encouraging our cities to compost the leaves we rake to the curb.

Relax

Recently a starting quarterback for a local green and gold football team implored his fans to relax.  Well I want to implore you to relax when it comes to preparing your yard and landscape for winter.  We all want to make short work of our remaining outdoor chores but in many cases it’s still just too early.


Let’s discuss a few examples:
•    Your lawn:  No you cannot put the lawn mower away just because it’s October.  You need to keep mowing and it will benefit your lawn to do so until it stops growing.  In some years that’s the end of October but in others it could be the end of November.  Remember, relax and let Mother Nature dictate the pace.
•    Winter mulches:  These mulches which are designed to help your perennials or tender plants shouldn’t be applied until the ground has cooled or even begun to lightly freeze.  Applying too early may trick your plants into making the wrong assumption that the cold weather is still weeks away.  Remember, relax and let Mother Nature dictate the pace.
•    Cannas, dahlias and other summer flowering bulbs should not be dug until the foliage has died down and been hit by a hard freeze.  Digging too early will only make them harder to overwinter inside our homes.  Remember, relax and let Mother Nature dictate the pace.
•    Delay any pruning of woody plants from now until they are fully dormant.  Of course you could also just decide to hold off on any pruning until March or April.  Fall pruning can leave wounds that simply will not heal at this time and this increases the chance for disease or winter damage.  Remember, relax and let Mother Nature dictate the pace.

Think Spring!

Don’t be confused by the title.  This really is a new entry for October!  Now is the time to think of spring and the beautiful displays of hyacinth, tulip, and daffodil that will fill your yard.

Here are a few tips to remember as you plan:






- If planned properly, spring blooming bulbs can add color from April to June.
- All spring blooming bulbs require well-drained soils.  If this is not the case in your yard, now is the time to work in plenty of compost, peat moss, and pulverized topsoil before you plant.
- Bulbs look their best in masses.  I like to recommend no less than 25 tulips or daffodils be used and no less than 50 of the smaller bulbs like crocus be used for the biggest "Wow!"
- Spring blooming bulbs do best in full sun.  However, that doesn’t mean that bulbs cannot be planted under some trees.  Remember that the early bloomers would be at their best long before the tree leafs out.
- When planting bulbs the proper depth is 2.5 – 3 times the diameter of the bulb.

We’d love to see pictures of your bulb displays next spring.  Peak bloom time is only 6 months away so get your camera ready.