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Hollies are among the most traditional
greens used for holiday decor.
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Seasonal Notes: Preparing Christmas greens and other winter
house & garden ideas
by Ginny Stibolt
Wait! Before you bring in boughs of holly, magnolia, and
other greens for your mantle or a cut Christmas tree,
prepare for a longer lasting display.
Decking the halls of your home with greens for the holidays is a centuries-old tradition pre-dating Christianity. (See my
holiday traditions columns.) In the old days, those greens dried out pretty fast. One of the reasons that holly and magnolia have long been traditional for decorations is that the natural waxy coating on their leaves provides shine and protection, but after a week or so they'll still get brittle—especially in a hot, dry house.
Two methods for prolonging freshness:
1) Soak in a glycerin/water solution. Mix three parts warm
water with one part glycerin. Make a new cut in the branch under the
surface of this
solution so no air gets in the wood (xylem) and let it soak for at least two hours. Glycerin is an oily
liquid that replaces the water in the stem and does not evaporate. You
can buy it where arts & crafts supplies are sold. Pure glycerin
will irritate your skin, so handle with care.
2) Use an anti-desiccant spray. After a thorough soak in water
(or water & glycerin),
take the greens outside and
spray the leaves, especially the undersides. This protects the leaves
with a waxy coating, so the water doesn't evaporate or transpire from the
pores (more properly called stomata). Anti-desiccants are available at nurseries
and garden shops.
Christmas tree options
For cut Christmas trees make a fresh cut, so liquid can seep into the wood, and place in a solution of water and
ammonium sulfate for its fire retarding properties. Use an anti-desiccant spray on the branches to reduce the drying.
Both of these actions will minimize needle drop and keep your tree looking good throughout the holidays.
You could spend just a little extra money to purchase a live tree to plant it in your yard after the holidays. Place the
root ball in a plastic tub and keep it moist, but not flooded. (You will not use ammonium sulfate or anti-desiccants
on a live tree.) Make sure you have a landscaping plan so your Christmas conifers are grouped attractively and have room
to grow. After a few years you’ll have a wonderful grove.
Birds love the shelter of evergreens and a small stand of evergreens on your property provides good screening for
privacy, too. Leave the cranberry and popcorn chains in place, so the birds will have shelter and a snack, even for just a
month or two. Even if you purchase a cut tree, you can set it upright out in a corner of your yard. In the spring, the needles will
be nice layer of mulch on the ground. Cut up the branches and add them to your mulched areas, and you'll have only the
trunk left for the yard waste.
Here's a website with Christmas tree details:
www.ext.nodak.edu/extpubs/plantsci/trees/h1048w.htm.
Suggestions for greening your home for the season
While magnolia, holly, and pine garland are traditional for decoration,
there are plenty of other evergreen alternatives to consider. How
about a fragrant bouquet of Southern Bayberry (Myrica
cerifera), Rosemary (Rosemarinus
officinalis), or Basil (Ocimum
basilicum)? Pick a bunch of bright green, new-growth branches,
tie them with a nice ribbon, and put them in a vase or holiday glass.
When you want some fresh scent in the house, run your hand along
the leaves.
Other evergreens that you might find in your yard and would add some
different textures include Live Oak (Quercus
virginiana), Japanese
Holly (Ilex crenata), Gardenia (Gardenia
augusta), or
other evergreen plants that might need pruning. Yes, this is a pruning
opportunity while the plants are mostly dormant, so cut the branches flush
with larger branches. Cut the best sprigs to bring in the house and
place the remaining branches in your compost pile.
Wintertime in northern Florida
Well, here it is December in northern Florida and we've yet to experience
a hard frost. My Hibiscus (Hibiscus
rosa-sinensis) shrubs next to the house are still lovely,
but it's time to bring in your tender plants or at least move them
onto the porch where the warmth from your house can protect them
for our short winter.
For your tender shrubs that are too heavy to move or are
planted in the ground, cover them with a porous material
upon hard frost warnings. If the material lets in
light, it can be left in place; if not, remove it during the
day. Another method is to cut tender tropicals back to the ground
and provide extra mulch—this is what I'll do with my
Hibiscus.
Last year my neighbors killed a potted palm next to their
pool by covering it with a black plastic bag and leaving the
bag in place for several weeks. The poor palm was
protected from the frost, but then it was baked in the black
plastic. Our weather gets too hot in-between those
frosts. These see-saw temperature ranges are hard on
our non-native plants and prevent tulips and other bulbs
from setting in the ground.
The wild ranges in temperatures are hard on us, too.
When it's 80 degrees one day and 40 the next, it just feels
so much colder. My friends in Maryland have no sympathy
when I whine about the cold down here.
One good part about our winter weather is that you can accomplish
your heavy-duty yard work without sweating so much that it
drips off the end of your nose. I have more areas on our lot
where I'll be removing even more of our lawn this winter.
And speaking of lawns, in the winter here, you probably don't need
to mow at all until the temperatures start rising again in March.
The cooler weather has stopped the grass growth. Some of my
neighbors still have their lawn-service guys come every week or
so, but it's a waste of money because those lawn mowers are only
clipping the few taller plants and chopping up the stray leaves
from the trees. (Read my lawn
article.)
Have a wonderful holiday season and remember your friends
and family with gifts of native plants, wildflower seeds for a meadow,
gift certificates from your local nursery, or for your
elderly neighbors who might have a hard time getting out in
their gardens, give the gift of gardening time.
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