Category Archives: Holidays

Bulbs, Forcing Plants, Holidays, Houseplants

Your Amaryllis is NOT Just for Christmas!!!

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by Carol Anderson, Master Gardener in Training

Amaryllis (Hippeastrum spp) is a beautiful flowering bulb that is native to South America. In Canada, we have traditionally considered it as “The flower of Christmas/Winter Bloom” and as such it is often given as a gift and sold during and for the holiday season.

Due to our harsh climate, the Amaryllis has been considered largely as an indoor plant that brings beautiful blooms (and great joy) into our homes during the cold and often grey days of winter. However, with some care, patience, and appreciation for the process, you can enjoy your prized Amaryllis for perhaps as long as 25 years (if you are lucky!!).

How to Enjoy Your Amaryllis Year Round

The trick to year-round enjoyment is ensuring that the Amaryllis bulb experiences a “cool period” (~50-55 degrees F) for 8 to10 weeks before attempting to bloom/rebloom. This “rest period” (not a true dormancy) is critical but can be accomplished through careful planning – enabling both a winter and summer blooming period to occur year after year. The Amaryllis can be enjoyed indoors during the winter months or in a spectacular garden display during the summer.

When to Grow Your Amaryllis

You can determine the best timing to plant, depending upon when you would like to enjoy the peak blooming period. The following timeline demonstrates the 3 critical periods and growth patterns for the Amaryllis. Understanding this timeline enables you to plan around when you would like to enjoy the spectacular blooms.

For example, a cool period from September through November, followed by a planting and a growth period from December through January will ensure winter blooms in January – March to bring life and enjoyment in the winter months inside your home.

Following the minimum “cool period”, you can consider when you would like to enjoy the blooms again, remembering that the bulbs require a warm moist growing period of ~ 8 weeks with bright indirect light before they will bloom again. Therefore, if planting outdoors to enjoy summer blooms, the bulbs may need to be started indoors where the temperature is warmer (70-75 degrees F) to stimulate the necessary growth of roots and shoots.

How to Grow Your Amaryllis

Here are some growing tips to ensure success:

  1. Upon purchase or when coming out of the “cool period”, soak the bulb roots for 1-2 hrs in room temperature water to rehydrate the roots before planting.
  2. Depth: Plant the bulb 2/3 under the soil with 1/3 above the soil line ensuring that the bulb is above the pot edge.
  3. Soil: use a good nutritious potting compost that has good drainage (avoid peat to prevent moisture retention that could cause rotting).
  4. Water sparingly until the stems appear, and then regularly
  5. Light: bright indirect light; keep warm with a temperature 70-75 degrees during the growing period (Note: a lower temperature ~ 65 degrees once blooming will prolong the blooming period)
  6. Staking: stems can grow >24 inches and blooms are “top-heavy”. Staking is recommended. Consider using a natural twig/dogwood staking mesh (see below) which can later be covered with evergreen/holy sprigs pinecones and cranberries for a beautiful table display.
  7. Enjoy!!!!

Replanting

The leaves of the Amaryllis are needed to continue photosynthesis and replenish and store the necessary food/sugars in the bulb for future blooming…so remember to keep them intact until they die back. Some tips for replanting…

  • Remove old flowers right away (so that plant energy is redirected)
  • Trim stem to the top of the bulb when it begins to sag
  • Cut back leaves (only when they turn brown) to 1-2” above the bulb tip
  • Remove the bulb from the soil (new nutritious soil will be needed for regrowth)
  • Clean bulb of excess soil and store in a 45-55 degree cool, dark area until ready to plant. (Note: a fridge crisper can be used…but not if apples are present due to ethylene gas that could affect blooming).

Summary

Enjoying your Amaryllis blooms both summer and winter is possible for any enthusiast. Although it requires some planning and work, the pay-off can be extraordinary.

A mass planting with 10-12 bulbs (or more) outdoors in summer can be easily converted to beautiful indoor displays throughout your home during the holiday season – bringing joy and the anticipation for spring gardening into our hearts and minds during the deep winter months…

Holidays, Perennials, Shrubs & Trees, winter

Foraging for Winter Décor

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By Marilyn Homewood, Master Gardener

As we enter the holiday season, the time has come to start collecting some of nature’s bounty to create seasonal trimmings for your home.  Much of this bounty is right under our noses and can be gathered easily. Foraging should begin at home on your own property.  It is surprising at what you can find in your own garden not just in terms of evergreens but also dried material such as seed pods.  For those items not immediately on your doorstep, look elsewhere where you have the permission (I visit friends for a few snips of things from their gardens) or forage on public spaces such as roadsides.  Remember to harvest sustainably taking only what you will use and take minimum amounts from each plant.  When harvesting boughs, only use trees larger than 6 feet and cut your boughs 2-4 feet from the tip of a branch and above a node to encourage regeneration. Make it look like you were never there.

Swag on potting shed

Cedar, white pine, white spruce and scotch pine can be found in abundance locally but don’t overlook the junipers (I like to use wild junipers), yews and euonymus.  Fir is really nice but more difficult to source in my area but it is available for purchase.

Boughs can be used as garlands or in planters.  The soil in the planter acts as a source of moisture until freeze up and also stabilizes the display.  Conifer branches can also be cut down to be used in table arrangements or in wreaths.  For arrangements kept indoors, fill the container with a mixture of potting mix and vermiculite and keep damp to prevent needle drop. 

Winter wreath

Woodies: Two species that are used extensively in this area are white birch and red osier dogwood.  Both provide colour contrast and add a structural element.  I keep my birch from year to year so only had to source once. Birch is available for purchase at many stores.  Dogwood is available anywhere it is moist so remember to be mindful of your footwear when foraging.

This arrangement lasted 6 weeks before the needles began to drop

What says the holidays better than pinecones?  They come in many different sizes and shapes depending on their species.  Closed cones can be opened by placing on a cookie sheet and baking at 250 degrees for 1 hour.  Cones can be used as accents in planters/arrangements/wreaths or by filling bowls full of them.  I have dipped the edges of my pinecones in white craft paint so they appear to be snowtipped.

Other additions to my gatherings include seedpods from Siberian iris and oriental poppy, seedheads from coneflowers and penstemon and dried allium heads.  Some types of perennial foliage such as that from Heuchera “Palace Purple” and the Penstemon “Dark Towers” is long lasting and adds interesting contrast to an arrangement. I also used some of my dried hydrangea in the planters.

Coneflower in planter helps to provide winter interest

Berries add a nice pop of colour and it is hard to beat those from the winterberry bush (Ontario’s native holly, Ilex verticulata) but these are not commonly found wild in this area due to our higher soil pH. Some of the local nurseries and florists have it available for sale however.  I do purchase some for my planters, for my wreath, I use the berries from the choke cherry bush (Prunus virginiana).  The bright red berries retain their colour throughout the entire winter and are not eaten by the birds (unlike the berries from the grey dogwood that were eaten after the first cold night).

When you’re done, if you still crave more variety, local nurseries have greens and other decorations available for sale.  For ideas on how to use what you collected, go no further than YouTube and Instagram.  One of my personal favorites are the Instagram live sessions done by Claus Dalby (Denmark’s version of Monty Don). They are posted to his IG page (clausdalby) as “Master Classes in Nordic Christmas”. It is a great source of inspiration and puts one in the holiday mood.

Not into foraging? Visit your local nursery. The offerings are astonishing!

Winter planter after a snowstorm
Holidays, Information, Myths, Perennials

Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly

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By Mary-Jane Pilgrim, Master Gardener

Common European holly (Ilex aquifolium) has a long history of use as a Christmas symbol. It appears on Christmas cards, in holiday arrangements, in Christmas carols, and my personal favourite: in stained glass ornaments. This shiny, spikey evergreen plant is easy to use for decorating, plus it has a long history of cultural significance.

Holly is a shrub-like tree that can grow up to 10-15 feet in height. Its leaves are thick and leathery, with serrated edges and spiky points. The female versions of the tree produce the red berries we’re so used to seeing everywhere at Christmastime. It is sold as a perennial in our region, but very few of the over 400 species are actually hardy in zone 5 (Peterborough). One such variety is American holly (Ilex opaca). The plant requires four or more hours of direct, unfiltered sunshine per day, and requires acidic, rich, and well-drained soil.

For centuries this magical shrub-tree has been been used in winter solstice decorating in central and northern Europe, specifically among the Celts who wore crowns of holly for good luck. They would hang holly sprigs from their windows and doorways to keep evil spirits away. Holly gradually became a symbol of hospitality and welcome.

In pre-Victorian times Christmas trees were not pines, but holly bushes. Christian culture adopted the holly – along with ivy – in Christmas celebrations; holly symbolized Christ’s crown of thorns; the crimson berries represented His blood and the evergreen a metaphor for life after death.

Holly is a real showstopper in winter when little else is green. The same features that make it so attractive today are what made holly a mythical plant to ancient cultures.

Holly’s red berries, toxic to humans and most household pets, are only produced on female plants. Hollies are dioecious, which means male and female flowers occur on separate plants (female flowers must be pollinated by male flowers to produce berries). So if you would like to see those bright red holly berries in winter, you’ll have to plant one male for every 5-10 female plants. The berries are a food source for some of our native birds in the winter.

While most of us no longer believe in the magic of plants, holly is indeed a beautiful adornment for our winter homes (“deck the halls with boughs of holly”), and has a long history of significance throughout the world.

From the Peterborough Master Gardeners to each of our amazing subscribers, we’d like to wish you all a blessed Christmas & holiday season!

Resources

https://laidbackgardener.blog/2019/12/25/the-story-behind-christmas-holly/
Grow Your Own Christmas Holly
Advice, Birds, Compost, Holidays

Recycling Live Christmas Trees

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By Mary-Jane Pilgrim, Master Gardener

Don’t throw out the tree after the holidays — put it to work. Here are some ways to recycle a live Christmas tree.

  1. Mulch tender plants with recycled Christmas tree boughs.
    Gardeners know how important mulch, like straw, hay or crisp oak leaves, is for protecting plants through a harsh winter. But evergreen branches add a little extra punch to your plants’ protection. Just lay the branches in a crisscross pattern over tender perennial plants. Weave the stems together to keep them from blowing away on a windy day.

The branches will moderate the soil temperature, keeping everything nice and cold until it’s really time to warm up. Piled on top of other mulch such as leaves, they’ll prevent the bottom layer of mulch from blowing away. And branches catch and hold snow, which is a good insulator. Place evergreen branches over your garden anytime the ground is frozen, from late November to midwinter, after you’re done enjoying your Christmas tree indoors. Pick them up when it starts to warm up in spring.

  1. Repurpose your live Christmas tree in the garden by leaving it out for the birds.
    Your old Christmas tree is the perfect winter gift for your feathered friends. Anchor the tree securely in a deep bucket of sand. The branches are enough to provide cover from the winter weather, but if you want to add treats, strings of popcorn will be popular with birds. Hang the treats on the branches, but push them toward the middle of the tree so birds won’t be frightened by any swinging ornaments that move with the wind.
  2. Simmer some pine needle potpourri.
    You can keep enjoying that piney scent with a simmering potpourri. The idea is similar to mulling spices on the back burner during the holidays. Add water, lemon and orange rinds, a cinnamon stick, whole cloves and other spices. Cover them with water and simmer for hours to scent your home and drive away the January blues.
  3. Make coasters and trivets.
    This is a particularly nice project for young kids who are having a hard time saying goodbye to the tree and the Christmas season. Cut thin slabs off the trunk, sand them smooth and apply a thin coat of polyurethane to keep the sap off tables and glassware.
  4. Donate it to the zoo.
    If you live in an area with a zoo, see if they need discarded Christmas trees for the animals to play with and eat. Same goes for local nature centers, which often use the trees as shelter for birds or even fish. Note that our Peterborough Zoo has accepted leftover christmas trees from vendors in the past.
  5. Add needles to the compost.
    You can finally quit worrying about needles falling on the carpet and make use of your tree’s tendency to shed. Place the tree on a tarp until it’s done shedding and then pour the brown needles into the compost to enrich your soil for next year. As the needles are quite dry, layer them with wetter materials for faster decomposition.
Holidays, Houseplants

Last Minute Festive Plant Care Tips

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by Christine Freeburn, Master Gardener

Christmas is only a few days away and hopefully you have all your cookies baked, your shopping done, presents wrapped under the tree and your decorations up. Here are a few last minute tips to help you and your plants through the next week.

If you are taking plants to family or friends, bundle them up before putting in a warm car so they won’t be shocked from the drastic temperatures. If you buy a poinsettia, be sure the clerk wraps it well as they are very susceptible to drafts. If you are taking the plant home before you give it away, remove the paper or plastic wrapper to let the plant breathe once you get it into the warmth of your home. Check the soil to be sure it is damp and water if necessary. The same applies to any arrangement you might be transporting. Keep warm and watered so the plants are happy.

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If you have leftover cut evergreen pieces, now is the time to use them up. BC cedar and Ontario white pine look the nicest. Make little arrangements for in your bathroom either in oasis or in water. Place stems in vases along with fresh flowers. Lay fresh greens on mantles, side tables or your dinner table. Add stems around your amaryllis bulb or with your paperwhites. You can purchase a WiltProof product which when sprayed sparingly on fresh greens, will prolong their life. Please be mindful of fire hazards when you are decorating with fresh greens.

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And have a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday Season!

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Holidays, Perennials, Shade Gardening, Websites

The Christmas Rose: Helleborus niger

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By Judy Bernard, Master Gardener

Nothing warms a home up as much as plants do. At this time of the year there are so many options to choose from: Poinsettias ranging in colour from white to deep reds, Cyclamen, Christmas Cactus, Amaryllis, Rosemary to name a few. There is one, however, that is usually found in garden centres in the spring but which one can occasionally find in a grocery store or florist in the fall, and that is the Christmas Rose. Its botanical name is Helleborus niger and its common name is Hellebore.

Helleborus niger is a hardy perennial in the Raniculaceae or buttercup family. It has dark green evergreen foliage and delicate white flowers resembling a wild rose. They are hardy to zones 3-4. Bloom times vary from November to February/March, depending on the location. They like semi-shade and grow well in sheltered areas in well-draining soils.

If you are fortunate enough to find one in your local store, not only will you have a conversation piece, you will be able to plant it outside in your garden and enjoy it for many years.

Links:

Photo credit: Sue Flinders Adams: After being purchased in a  grocery store in November/December, it was planted at Portage Lakehouse, Haliburton and bloomed under the ice and snow the following spring. Picture taken April, 2017.

Holidays, Houseplants, Light, Websites

‘Tis the Season … for Poinsettias!

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By Cheryl Harrison, Master Gardener

When I was growing up, my mother always had a big green and red poinsettia sitting in the centre of the dining table during the holiday season. By the middle of January, it had lost all of its leaves so out it went in the trash. Oh yes, we also called it a “pointsetta”.

In Mexico, where it grows wild as a leggy shrub or small tree, the native plant (Euphorbia pulcherrima) has been associated with the Christian Christmas holiday since the 16th century. Thanks to Joel Robert Poinsett, the first U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, poinsettias were introduced to the United States in 1825. They did not really take off, though, until the California based Ecke family grew plants using a grafting technique discovered by Paul Ecke Sr. in the 1960s.  They began aggressively marketing the holiday season blooming poinsettia as a holiday tradition. In the 1980s, John Dole identified the technique used by the Ecke family to produce their compact poinsettias. This led to many more growers entering the retail market.

Poinsettias are members of the Euphorbia family. The brightly coloured “flowers” are actually bracts (modified leaves). Their bright colour helps to attract pollinators in the wild.poinsettia1

When purchasing poinsettias, look for an erect plant that has dark green leaves down to the soil and fully coloured bracts. The actual flowers, located at the centre of the bract, should be immature and red-tipped or green, not yellow with pollen because these more mature blooms will not last as long as the immature blooms. Plants displayed in plastic sleeves or crowded together may be stressed and deteriorate quickly after purchase. When purchasing any plant, always check for disease or insects. Yellow leaves, wilt or the presence of insects (check the underside of leaves too) always indicate problems and a plant that you do not want.

Poinsettias are not poisonous to humans but may cause pets to experience vomiting and diarrhea if consumed. Like all Euphorbia, damaged poinsettia stems and flowers exude a white sap that may cause skin irritation to susceptible individuals and pets.

There are over 100 varieties of poinsettias. They come in many colours from the traditional red to white, pink, cream and marbled or speckled.

Poinsettias prefer 6 hours of indirect light each day away from heat registers and cold drafts. Water the plant when it is dry but do not overwater because it may wilt and drop its bracts. (I think that is likely what happened with my mother’s poinsettias!) Allow the water to drain into a saucer after watering then discard this water. Do not let your plant sit in water. If you would like to keep your plant past the holiday season, fertilize it once a month with a houseplant fertilizer once the plant has stopped blooming.

Poinsettias may be put outside in the summer after all danger of frost has passed. But if you would like it to rebloom during the following holiday season, bring the plant back indoors before frost. Then, beginning in October, keep it in total darkness for 14 hours each night. The combination of total darkness and warm, bright days should cause the bracts to colour. This might be fun to try but to guarantee that you have a blooming poinsettia during the following holidays, purchase a new one and compost your old plant.

Poinsettias have long been associated with the holiday season. They come in several colours which will help to add holiday cheer to any home decor. Enjoy them while they last!

For more information on poinsettia care and reblooming, please see the links below.

Holidays, Houseplants, Tools

10 Great Christmas Gifts for Gardeners!

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By Mary-Jane Pilgrim, Master Gardener

It’s not too early to think of Christmas gifts for the special gardeners in your life. Every mini-cactus-755542_640gardener has a long list of things they wish they had because many of these items will make their gardening hobby just a little bit easier.  Also, most of them will rarely treat themselves.

Christmas gifts for gardeners can be purchased at nurseries that remain open in the fall, at local home & garden stores, online at Lee Valley Tools or via any other local or online suppliers.  Hopefully, the following suggestions will help you to surprise the green-fingered folk in your life.

  1. Plants! A small succulent planter, a unique and weird looking cactus, a fancy orchid, an amaryllis bulb or an african violet for indoors can spruce up a cold winter.
  2. Basic Garden Tools.  Who among us doesn’t need another/new garden tool?
    1. Lee Valley Root Knife (my go-to weapon)
    2. A new pair of secateurs (pruners).  My choice is the Felco #6, great for smaller hands.
    3. A padded garden kneeler or good quality set of knee pads
  3. Salves and Soap, Especially for Working Hands. There are many items like garden salves and soaps with hydrating formulas & great scents that will always be appreciated by anyone unwrapping them on Christmas Day.
  4. For our Feathered Friends. A  good squirrel-proof bird feeder or a birdhouse, and some good quality birdseed will go miles to attracting useful, pleasant-sounding visitors to your yard all winter.bird-feeder-4032907_960_720
  5. Magazines. A subscription to a Canadian gardening magazine about growing perennials or native plants or about water gardens is always appreciated and will delight the recipient monthly or bi-monthly.
  6. GLOVES!  My favourites are the nitrile Gardena brand — stretchy but grippy.  I go through several pairs of these each season.
  7. A transplant shovel, a new garden hoe or a step-on weeder. These items are not “must have” but “would be nice” so gardeners will rarely purchase them for themselves.  Believe it or not, there have been advances in these tools in the last 20 years!  For example, my favourite new shovel has a super-sharp cutting edge, and an enlarged “step on” bracket so the middle of my foot doesn’t get sore with heavy digging.  Very nice.
  8. Stocking Stuffers. Stocking stuffers of heirloom seeds, plant markers, a mini nail brush, some twine or plant ties are welcome unique gifts.
  9. A Year Round Gift. An inexpensive membership to local Horticultural Society like the Peterborough Horticultural Society offers you discounts at many local nurseries, plant exchanges, plant shows, socializing, and the opportunity to hear good speakers throughout the year. A great stocking stuffer for $20.
  10. PGS-logo-tinyA Garden Show! Treat someone to a trip to Canada Blooms or the awesome Peterborough Garden Show — $10 each for “enjoy all weekend” admission on April 24, 25 and 26, 2020; our 20th fabulous show!

So, why don’t you surprise your favourite gardener with a garden-related gift this Christmas season?  Hoping that this list helps with your decisions.  Happy shopping!

Holidays, Houseplants, Light

Holiday Cactus Conundrum

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by Emma Murphy, Master Gardener

Definition of conundrum
A confusing and difficult problem or question

Despite the shortening days and dark and dreary November weather, every year around this time I am delighted to see members in my various gardening groups posting photos of their “Christmas cactus” in bloom. The colours are many and varied – from red to pink to white to some lovely peach selections. People post amazing stories of plants being handed down from generation to generation and being over 100 years old.

The conundrum? They are generally not “Christmas cactus”. Since education is a big part of the role of Master Gardeners, I thought I would offer some explanation of the various types of indoor cacti we see here in Ontario (and Canada) and how to figure out what type of cacti you have!

There are actually three types of holiday cacti – all theoretically named for the time of bloom (although that gets messed up depending on whether you are north or south of the American/Canadian border!). The three types are:

  • Thanksgiving Cactus (Schlumbergera truncata)
  • Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera bridgesii [also S. buckleyi])
  • Easter cactus (Rhipsalidopsis gaetneri [also Hatiora gaertneri])

National Garden Clubs Inc.
Source: National Garden Clubs Inc.

They are all called “leaf cacti” because the plant bodies are flattened and the leaves are actually stems. These type of cacti are epiphytes from the tropical treetops of the rain forest and natural forests of Brazil and require similar care, even though they bloom at different times of the year. In their natural habitat, they grow on trees or rocks in habitats that are generally shady with high humidity, as opposed to their desert-dwelling cousins. So they don’t need bright sunlight and they don’t have nasty spines!

Most people have the Thanksgiving cacti, which bloom between November and January. Christmas cacti bloom in December, and Easter cacti in April/May.

thanksgiving cactus
Thanksgiving cactus

The leaf stems (and to some extent the flowers) tell you which type you have, rather than the bloom time. Thanksgiving cactus is often known as “lobster cactus” because the edges of the leaves are hooked, giving them a claw-like appearance. The Christmas cactus has leaf projections which are more scalloped or tear drop shaped. The Easter cactus has very rounded edges which are centralized on the leaf.

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Christmas Cactus

EasterCactus
Easter Cactus

All three cacti are short day plants, so in order to induce the plant into bloom it must have 12 to 24 hours of darkness and cool temperatures. If you have put your plant outdoors over the summer or purchased it recently it should be kept in a cool, dark location until it sets buds. A seldom used bedroom or lower level is the ideal place. The Christmas and Thanksgiving cacti require approximately 6 weeks of short days in order to bloom (the Easter cactus requires 8 to 12 weeks to bloom). When the buds appear it can be brought into a warmer area. If it starts dropping buds it could be due to drafts, too-warm temperatures, too much water or direct sunlight.

FUN FACT! Unlike Christmas poinsettias, Christmas cacti are not toxic to dogs and cats, making this cat mum very happy.

Growing Tips

Since they are from the rainforest, they like acidic well drained soils. Use a cactus mix and add perlite, vermiculite and orchid bark. Do not overwater – why most of them die! Neglect is better than over watering. Water when the top 2 inches of soil is dry. Mist them frequently to increase humidity and fertilize them with a all purpose fertilizer. Those who hate repotting plants can take comfort in knowing that holiday cacti bloom best when they are slightly pot-bound and only need repotting every 3 or 4 years.

Common Problems

The most common issue you might face is dropping buds, which can occur when there is any type of change in the temperature, lighting, humidity, or the amount of water the plant is receiving. Try to keep the soil moist, the temperature a steady 15 to 20 degrees Celsius, no fertilizer in the late summer to fall months, and 14 hours of darkness each day. Other issues that could affect your cactus include stem rot (this fungal issue occurs when the soil is too damp – start a new plant before the infection spreads too far), root rot (happens if roots get soggy, so remove that root so it doesn’t go further up the stem, which might kill the plant), and Botrytis blight (which is grey mold and can be removed if discovered early).

When they have finished blooming, these cacti need at least two months rest. Give almost no water or fertilizer during this time. The Thanksgiving and Christmas cacti may bloom again in the spring, but probably with less (and smaller) blooms.

While holiday cacti appear to be a bit finicky, if you understand where they come from, and what they need to be happy, you may be able to successfully keep your holiday cactus for 100 years!