The Garden Gate

Garden tips for every month of the year!

December

"The Holly and the Ivy" is a favorite traditional song during December and the holidays. One may see these words:

The holly and the Ivy, when they are both full grown, the holly bears the crown; O, the rising of the sun, and the running of the deer. The playing of the merry organ, sweet singing in the choir for our collective soul and our landscapes.

Generally, 3-4 weeks after the first good frost, most plants have gone fully dormant. As long as we don’t have extended warm spells, plants will stay in this resting period maintaining their greatest cold hardiness levels. It is the best time of the year to do some of the more stressful things to plants, such as transplanting or major pruning.

When pruning plants, it has been shown that healing is improved if cuts are made just outside the swollen area of the branch/stem union (called the branch collar). Cutting off a plant flush with the main stem removes a lot of the hormones that will aid in the healing process and causes injury to "stem wood" which extends out onto the branch. Such injuries lead to interior rots in the main stem itself as time goes on. Cutting outside the swollen area avoids such unnecessary injury.

With leaves off trees, this is the time to also evaluate the growth habit of young trees. Correcting problems now, will keep them from growing worse. One activity for instance is to make sure that none of your young trees have sharp forks. If they do, and this goes uncorrected, as the tree gets older, these branches will grow apart and then we see what happens when we got high winds-trees that split right down the middle. To avoid this, while the tree is young, choose one side of the fork to sacrifice and cut its top back so it extends lower then the side you want to be the main truck. Also reduce the side branches coming out from that unwanted leg of the fork. When you do this, you dwarf that competing trunk and the one you want saved will spend the next growing season getting larger. Repeat this again next winter and by the following spring you can cut off this now dwarfed fork and the chosen, much stronger and larger fork will take over as the new trunk. This a better way to train the tree than simply cutting off the unwanted side branch if it is about the same size as the other fork. The tree would be unbalanced if one were to do that. In all cases, this needs to be done early in the training period for the new tree. Treatment like this is much more drastic for the plant if one were to try it on trees that are larger than 6 inches in diameter.

A second important early training practice for young trees is to make sure that there is a truly dominant center trunk. Often side branches will become vigorous and start to overpower/supersede the real central leader. This is not good because it weakens the trees and encourages lots of sharp angled branches and weak attachments if left to continue. Ideally the terminal of any branch should not be higher in the air than a branch that comes off the trunk above it . If this is not the case - make it so!

There is a trend by some to go with a live Christmas tree that is potted or balled and burlap (B&B) so they can later be planted in the landscape after Christmas is over. The Red Cedar is the tree of choice for this, although there are some that use Leyland Cypress and Norfolk Island pine (not cold hardy in our area so it can not be planted outdoors following the holidays). If this is your year to use a potted or B&B Red Cedar as an inside Christmas tree, the key to keeping it healthy is to not leave it in the home longer than need be. Ideally the tree should be watered well, placed in a decorative container (if it is B&B), and then brought into the home no earlier than 7-10 days before Christmas and left in place until only a few days after Christmas. To minimize stress, do not keep the tree inside for more than two weeks before moving it out. It can be planted directly in the landscape after that. A few other tips for reducing stress on a living Christmas tree are:

• Don’t water the tree while it is inside. Water it before bringing it in place, but let it stay unwatered during its inside stay. Plants under low light levels use less water and it is too easy to over water them. The Red Cedar is a drought tolerant plant and can tolerate 14 days without further watering.
• Place the tree well away from drafts ( air exchange/heater vents) or hot spots (fireplaces/portable heaters).
• Use low watt Christmas lights (or none at all) to reduce needle drying. Using ribbons and light ornaments are a better way to go than using any lights at all.
• If practical, place the tree near a window from which light can enter during the daylight hours to compensate for the lower light levels while in the home.

Are you getting a holiday Poinsettia? Step one is to make sure that if it comes in one of those fancy foil wrappings that you be sure to poke holes in the bottom to allow for drainage. The pot can then be placed in a saucer to keep from staining the table top. Most Holiday Poinsettias are potted in a very "peaty-type" mix. It is important that in such mixes you keep a close watch on the plant to make sure it does not dry out. This sort of potting mix can go from damp to super dry in just a day or two. When it does, your Poinsettia will look wilted, and you’ve got problems. Unless you were to re-wet it immediately (by soaking it until the ball re-swells) the lower leaves are likely to fall and you’ll end up with a plant with nothing but the flower bracts and no green leaves - not a very attractive situation. Another reason for leaf drop is too little light while in the home. To keep your Poinsettia looking lush throughout the holiday (for 6 weeks or more) place the Poinsettia under a table lamp and allow that light to stay on 12-14 hours a day. Not only will this highlight the Poinsettia and set it off, but it should keep the leaves deep green - and on the plant!

At this time of year, we often see people using hollies and junipers for decorative purposes. To insure the longest life for such clippings, consider these tips:

• Sharpen the pruners to insure clean cuts which will lessen unnecessary desiccation of injured tissue.
• Take cuttings from bushes that are not under moisture stress - well watered a day or two before the cuttings are taken.
• Soak clippings in room temperature water overnight, before using in the decorations.
• When using hollies with berries on them, be aware that these berries are mildly toxic if ingested. It would be best not to use berried hollies if small children are in the home or will visit.

Special warning: for those that use mistletoe as a decoration, this also is considered a toxic plant (if ingested) and if you use female mistletoe (in fruit) be aware that mistletoe berries are also dangerous to have around when small children are in the home.

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