To Choose a Living Christmas Tree, Think Outside the Box!

Purchasing a freshly cut Christmas tree, wreaths and greenery each year is not a profligate waste of resources, but specifically helps Christmas tree growers and the Ag industry in general. Just think of cut trees as longer-term cabbages specifically planted by tree farmers to be harvested in seven years or so.  After the holidays put discarded trees to good use as habitat for wildlife, or chipped, shredded and turned into compost, thus recycling their nutrients and minerals and enriching the earth. 

On the other hand, choosing a live Christmas tree is becoming increasingly popular. Growing up, it was rare to see a potted or container Christmas tree decorated yet still growing, except for my best friend’s family. Their increasingly crowded backyard had a succession of spruce trees in graduated sizes planted in each previous year.  

Lately, the popularity of live Christmas trees has been on the rise. The problem is that many of these trees don’t survive the holiday season or don’t fit the landscape plan if they do survive. Choose a tree appropriate for the climate, care for it correctly while it is decorated, and afterward, use it to good advantage and site it correctly when planting in the landscape.

When shopping for the tree, consider its mature height and width and plan ahead to decide where it will be planted in the landscape. Savvy gardeners and landscapers dig the hole before they ever go shopping for a tree.

When selecting a tree, choose only healthy stock and not stressed leftovers from last season. Consider good color, good branching structure and flexible limbs. Knock the plant out of the container and look for non-pot bound, non-circling root systems with fresh white feeder roots.  The potting mix should be moist, and there should be no disease or insect damage evident. 

Choose only from varieties that grow well in the area.  While fir, spruce and pine are traditionally used for cut trees, they are not suited for all climate zones. Garden Centers often market a wide variety of cone-shaped trees as holiday options, so choose the one that’s best for the area and the specific landscape, even though it may not be a traditional choice. This is the time to be thinking “outside the box”. What about a broad leaf holly, Christmas Jewel(R) Holly PP14477 (at right) or Teddy Bear(R) Magnolia PP13049 above right? 

Another possibility is a dogwood, redbud, flowering cherry, deciduous magnolia or double file viburnum to decorate? Ornaments would look terrific hanging from bare branches, and one of those might be just the accent plant the landscape needs. What about a cone-shaped rosemary or bay tree? Even a balled & burlapped selection is ok; merely place in a large tub and cover with mulch to keep evenly moist.  

Don’t fail to include the Tropicals section in your search for a living Christmas tree. The Norfolk Island Pine is “nearly traditional,” and one year I didn’t even shop but decorated our oversize Monstera deliciosa with a choice selection of my Mom’s vintage ornaments. It’s the season!

If a hardy tree is selected, don’t bring it inside right away, but keep it outside in a protected area until a few days before Christmas. Keep the soil moist but not wet and sheltered from winds and full sun. Acclimate the tree to warmer temperatures by moving it onto a covered porch or garage over a period of three to four days.

For needle-leaf or broad-leaf evergreens, decrease transpiration from the leaf surfaces and retain valuable moisture within the tree by spraying with an anti-desiccant/anti-wilt product.  A couple of brand names are Wilt Pruf or Cloud Cover.

A living tree that soon will be returned to winter temperatures outside cannot be brought indoors for weeks on end without consequences. Warm rooms with low humidity can cause drying out or dormant buds to break and grow in a “false spring,” only to die when moved back outside. Avoid bringing the tree indoors too early, since the less time spent in hot, dry indoor temperatures the better, and certainly no more than a week. Avoid placing near heat vents, forced air, radiators, stoves, but do consider a window where it will get some sunlight. Keep soil moist.

After Christmas move the tree back outdoors to that protected area so it can readjust for a week or so. When there’s a break in the weather, follow recommended planting procdures, with a wide, shallow planting hole about twice as wide as the root ball, but not deeper.  Plant slightly higher than the surrounding soil because it will soon settle, backfill with the native soil and mulch the tree to retain moisture. Newly planted trees need even moisture, so water throughout winter and spring. The new addition will contribute holiday memories as it adds beauty to the landscape.   

10 Garden Chores to Accomplish Before Winter is Really Here

As the cold temperatures of winter approach and the pressures of the holiday season mount up, it's tempting to overlook garden clean-up, but a little effort now can really pay off next spring. Grab those gardening gloves. 

● Remove dead annuals and annual vegetables and herbs

● Rake up debris and put them in the trash, keeping diseased leaves and insect eggs out of the compost.

● Shred leaves and use them to mulch woody ornamentals in the landscape (oak and beech are slow to break down), waiting until hard frost and taking care not to smother perennial crowns.  

● Mow one last time and add fallen leaves to the compost pile (maple and tulip poplars biodegrade quickly) along with the last grass clippings. 

● Use floating row covers to protect herbs or cold weather crops planted in October and prolong the harvest.

● Prune some perennials to the ground in fall, such as peony, clematis, daylily, crocosmia and blackberry lily. 

● Other perennials should be left to contribute winter interest to the landscape. Ornamental grasses and seed heads of Black-Eyed Susans, Purple Coneflowers and Tickseed are appreciated by seed-eaters and look appealing throughout the cold months, before they drop seeds in late winter. Sedum, yarrow, dianthus, artemesia, lamb’s ears and butterfly weed are fine until spring. 

● Refer to your garden journal and determine what new plants to add in early spring.  

● Evaluate deciduous ornamentals and eliminate crossing branches once the leaves have dropped to reveal the branching patterns with sharp bypass pruners

● Buy and plant remaindered spring bulbs at 75% off if the ground isn’t frozen, and plant them the same day to enjoy next spring.

And number 11

● Harvest Nandina and Holly berries to add color to Christmas Wreaths, for example, this Christmas Jewel(R) Holly by Garden Debut(R).  

How to Make a Boxwood & Holly Evergreen Kissing Ball

December 1st is considered the start of the Holiday decorating season, as well as being the beginning of Hanukka this year. A unique variation on ubiquitous Christmas decorations is an old-timey “Kissing Ball”. Holidays seem more charming when fresh botanicals are used for decorations, and there’s no excuse in our industry not to bring some evergreens indoors! Along with pine and mistletoe, it’s traditional to deck the halls with boughs of holly and boxwood, two evergreens that symbolize ‘constancy’ and ‘foresight’ in the Language of Flowers.


This year create a “Kissing Ball” out of Green Borders Boxwood and Christmas Jewel® Holly.


Easy to make and with staying power that lasts through the holidays and beyond, a shoebox of 4-5 inch clippings will make one kissing ball and will create the start of a beautiful holiday.

Green Borders Boxwood is the top choice for low, informal hedging and when dark green color is needed to provide structure and interest in the landscape all year long. This littleleaf boxwood displays a sturdy growth habit and dense, dark green foliage. Slow growing, Green Borders reaches a mature height of 2 – 3 feet tall and a slightly wider spread of 3 – 4 feet, making it excellent for garden edging and borders. Plants are profusely branched and the glossy, dark green foliage adds a distinctive rich color to the garden in winter. Green Borders Boxwood is also exceptional because it is tolerant of moist soils. Clip a shoebox- or stuff a plastic bag- full of evergreen twigs about 4-5 inches long.

Christmas Jewel® Holly is a beautiful Ilex pernyi hybrid with a dense, naturally pyramidal shape. The dark green, polished foliage of Christmas Jewel® is narrow a blunt spine that doesn’t prick. Plants are loaded with large berries that turn apple red by Christmas and last until early summer. Christmas Jewel® Holly is an adaptable plant; perfect as a specimen plant or grown as a narrow, dense hedge. Clip about a dozen 4-5 inch sprigs heavy with brilliant red berries for accent.

How to Make a Boxwood & Holly Kissing Ball
First, here is a video to show you how Acadia Wreath Company makes their Kissing Balls. It's pretty funny. (If you're not crafty, just buy one of theirs online.)

Supplies:

Half a block of floral foam, well-soaked in water

Tight plastic mesh from bulb, grapefruit or onion bags, dark color preferred

Spool of thin wire approximately 18 to 20 gauge

Clippers

About a shoebox full of 4-5 inch sprigs of Green Borders Boxwood

About a dozen 4-5 inch clippings of Christmas Jewel® Holly with berries

A few sprigs of mistletoe

Floral pick

Red Ribbon

Directions

1. Soak the floral foam (one brand name is Oasis) thoroughly, then pare off the corners to make a rounded or ball shape about 5 inches across.

2. Drain the floral foam and wrap the plastic mesh around it, enclosing the foam securely. Weave or stitch it together in a few places to hold it closed.

3. Cut a 10-12 inch length of wire to make a hanger. Thread it through the center of the foam, creating a bend or U- shape to catch on the bottom side of the foam. Make a loop at the top for hanging.

4. Clip enough 4-5 inch sprigs of Green Borders Boxwood and stick in the floral foam to cover the ball evenly and completely, making a uniform sphere of boxwood about 10 inches in diameter.

5. Add berried stems of Holiday Jewel® Holly as an accent, again spacing evenly around the sphere. Your lush, full Kissing Ball of greenery is now ready for decorating.

6. Wire a bit of mistletoe to a pick and insert at the bottom of the sphere.

7. Add a red bow at the top and a tuft of short streamers to the bottom of the ball.

8. Throughout the Holidays, re-soak the entire Kissing Ball once in awhile to keep the green stems fresh, submerging it in a large basin of warm water, then allowing it to drain well before re-hanging.

Let's hear how you make your Kissing Ball and what greenery and decorations you choose to use! That's what the Comments Box is for, so Post a Comment. Do you use coniferous evergreens like arborvitae or spruce, or do you add pine cones?

Here's wishing you willl meet the one you love beneath the Kissing Ball this Holiday Season.







Photo Credit Kissing Ball, Acadia Wreath Company.

Thanksgiving Nature Walk

This year our traditional American Thanksgiving dinner is scheduled for 6 pm Friday, so on this beautiful, sunny 72-degree Thanksgiving Day we were able to enjoy a walk in the nature preserve connecting our neighborhood with the next one over. The leaves are still brilliant with fall color. 

We spotted wild ginger, and an old summertime squirrel's nest. 

The American Beech leaves are mostly their lovely brown hue but some are still changing.

We walked along South Peachtree Creek and noticed how the sky is reflected in the water. Today the sky is a dark blue. 

We found an old rock cairn; it wasn't a chimney. 

These photos were just taken by gardengeri and David Laufer. 

Tree, Bush & Shrub

The word ‘tree’ brings to mind a tall, woody, permanent (perennial) plant with a main trunk and heavy branches forming a distinct elevated crown of twigs and leaves. Both gymnosperms (cone-bearing) and angiosperms (flowering plants) can grow in a tree form. Fire Dragon® Shantung Maple is a typical example with a single trunk and a rounded crown.  

Teddy Bear® Magnolia is a tree that offers evergreen color and fragrant flowers in spring.

Contrast this with a bush or a shrub.  Scratch that; the term 

‘bush’ is strictly non-scientific and colloquial, and although in conversation people use the words interchangeably, it is shrubs we wish to discuss. The gestalt or overall concept of a ‘shrub’ is a low, woody, perennial plant with several woody stems, and is very different from a tree. 

An extreme example of a small shrub form is Micron® Holly with a characteristic mounding or pillowing habit, making this compact, multi-branching shrub distinctive in the landscape. 

Perhaps a more typical example of an upright, multi-branched shrub is Green Borders Boxwood. 

But as gardeners know, Nature does not like black and white, but prefers Countless  shades of gray. And so there are multi-trunk trees like Birch and Willow, and also low-growing trees that branch near ground level such as dissected-leaf Japanese maples. As well, there are shrubs that tend to have only one trunk like some Crape Myrtles and very tall shrubs like lily-flowered Magnolias (or maybe these are multi-trunk trees?). There’s a mind-blowing discussion at the Native Tree Society.  

Trees are permanent fixtures that define the landscape and offer shade, windbreak, ornament and even fruit. Shrubs anchor the landscape with their multitude of sizes, forms, leaf- and twig-colors and flowering habits. Evergreens in either category provide stability and winter color. Both are easy to care for and will increase in beauty over time with minimal effort. 

What shrubs and trees are growing in your landscape? 

Diagram Credit Susan Grace 

Photo Credit, Landscape photo Don Vandervort

What’s in a name? Naturalized Plants or Invasive Exotics

Somewhat like fashion, horticultural perspectives change over the years, going in and out of vogue.  In my Wyman’s Gardening Encyclopedia, first published in 1971 as a “bible for American and Canadian gardeners by the dean of American horticulture” and its second edition of 1986, I had occasion to look up ‘naturalized.’  A brief paragraph informs that it is ‘a horticultural term for an exotic plant that has escaped from formal garden planting and become established and is increasing “on its own” in the new country. Many European plants, especially “weeds” have become “naturalized” since first being brought to America by the early settlers.’

When I looked up “exotic” all it had to say is ‘Foreign, not native.’  And “invasive” was not even listed.  

As an example, in Wyman’s Gardening Encyclopedia Honeysuckle is extolled as ‘easily grown’ and it notes that ‘their chief ornamental value is their [fragrant] flowers, their colorful fruits and their ability to grow under various conditions. Fruits of the honeysuckles range in color from bright red and yellow to dark blue and black, and some are whitish and translucent. They are most attractive to the birds.’ Its vigorous growth is not even mentioned.  

Yet today’s more sophisticated media emphasizes the harmful effects on native flora and ecosystems resulting from planting the Japanese honeysuckle vine. Search by name on the internet and more attention is paid to the invasive nature of this exotic species than to its ornamental qualities. 

For example, in the Wikipedia article there are more lines about the invasive qualities of Lonicera japonica than there are about its description and uses combined. The U.S.D.A. site  calls it a noxious weed, the Floridata page has a warning symbol and text, while the Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health lists dozens of  states and organizations naming it a ‘severe threat.’  

When I checked the Martha Stewart website under Gardening, the entry was all about features.  Features included ‘attractive flowers, attractive foliage, attracts butterflies, attracts hummingbirds, and fragrant. Garden uses included ‘climbing, containers and ground covers.’ Guess something got overlooked this time. 

To learn more, join your local Native Plant Society. They focus on beautiful ornamental natives and on combating invasive exotics. Are you a member? 

photo credit: Emilycompost website for Japanese Honeysuckle picture

Brilliant Tree Leaf Color

In autumn, people are revved up by the fall color phenomenon and “leaf peepers” make trips to view fall foliage and changing forest colors. Strongbad1982's Autumn Leaf map (right) is released to the public domain. Albert Camus noted Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower. "  

Autumn color occurs at the end of summer as the days get shorter because green chlorophyll levels in the leaves begin to decrease, revealing the yellow and orange pigments that have been hidden since spring. Carotenoid pigments are present in the leaves year-round, but are masked by chlorophyll, so leaves look green in summer. In fall as the supply of chlorophyll dwindles, the other pigments are able to show through. Carotenoids are the dominant pigment in the autumn coloration of 25% of the hardwood tree species producing brilliant yellows and oranges (for example, ash, aspen, birch, hickory, maple and sassafras).

Sometimes carotenoids are present in such abundance that the plant has an orange or yellow color all year long. Take carrots for instance. Or take the leaves of  The Rising Sun™ Redbud from Garden Debut®. New growth (left) remains apricot-tangerine all year (at right), while mature leaves are bright yellow until late spring, turning green in summer, then changing to golden yellow for fall.

The bright reds and purple combinations that enliven tree species in autumn in temperate regions result from another pigment, called anthocyanin.  Anthocyanins develop in late summer as the glucose in leaf sap breaks down in the presence of bright sunlight and decreasing levels of phosphate. The most brilliant colors occur during a period of cool-but-not-freezing nights and days filled with bright, plentiful sunlight, which increases production of anthocyanins and results in the most eye-catching color displays.  In New England, forests appear vivid with reds, purples and brilliant maroons because up to 75% of tree species produce these colorful anthocyanins (such as Cherry, Dogwood, Maple, Oak, Parrotia, Persimmon, Sourwood/Tupelo and Sweetgum).  

In spring, anthocyanins temporarily color the edges of some young leaves as they unfurl from buds. One example is Garden Debut®'s Fire Dragon™ Shatung Maple PP 17367. Acer truncatum is also known as ‘Purple Blow’ Maple, due to this light reddish-purple spring color on new growth. After a green summer, fall color is strong, pure, bright red reported from Oregon to New York and Virginia to Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and all the way to Houston. 

Another example of a pigment overcoming chlorophyll in summer is the dark wine red leaf color of Burgundy Hearts® Redbud PP19654.  An abundance of anthocyanins suppress the chlorophyll, yielding the dark red heart-shaped leaves.  

The combination of all of these pigments produce the beautiful fall foliage colors ranging from the palest buttercream yellow to deep orange, fiery reds, purples and bronzes, while brown colors like leathery Oaks) are made from the cell walls and metabolic wastes left in the leaves.

What's your favorite? Will you post favorite fall leaf photos?