If you've been subjecting a potted poinsettia to fourteen hours of darkness nightly since October, it should be in full bloom now. Stop fertilizing it for now, and display it where you can enjoy it.

Buy more potted poinsettias early this month, if you want to give them as gifts or use them to decorate your home or entryway. The best plants are usually sold early. Wherever you purchase your plant, be selective. Choose a plant that hasn't been abused. Exposure to extremes of temperature and over- or underwatering can occur before you take your plant home, and these things can make the green leaves fall off prematurely, a common problem with poinsettias. The colorful bracts should look healthy, not wilted, and the leaves should be green and firmly attached to the stalk. If several have fallen off, that's a bad sign. Also inspect the flowers, the tiny little buttons in the center of the colorful bracts. Make sure they're fresh looking and not brown or mildewy.

When you get your poinsettia home, give it the location, light, and other conditions that will help it last. Place your poinsettias out of drafts and in bright light, such as 18 inches to 2 feet below an electric light source, but away from direct sunlight. This should provide the required temperatures: 70 degrees F in the daytime, and 60-65 degrees F at night are ideal. One of the worst places to keep a poinsettia is on top of the TV. If you leave the foil on the plant don't allow it to collect water at the bottom; tear holes in the foil so water doesn't collect in it. The best way to water is to put your plant in the kitchen sink, water it thoroughly, and let it drain before putting it back on display.

Choosing a Tree:

Living trees are becoming more popular each year. Many people don't like the idea of either a cut tree or an artificial tree. A living tree that can be planted after the holidays is a great choice for many people.

When choosing a living tree, be sure to choose one that will grow well for you. Keep in mind your own soil conditions and the area where you will be planting the tree. Ask us and we'll help you find one that will thrive for you!

Caring for a Live Tree:

Move the tree inside gradually to acclimate it to the warmer indoor air. While it is acclimating, spray it with an anti-dessicant spray to help slow water loss.

Water it often enough (indoors or out) to keep the roots moist but not soggy — root-rot will harm a tree as much as letting it get dried out. Try using ice cubes when your tree needs water; they melt slowly and you will reduce the chance of having a carpet soiled because of water overflow, as well as helping to keep the roots cool.

Before putting the tree inside, brush it off to get rid of any dead needles and dirt.

Place the tree, if potted, on a saucer or put it in a galvanized bucket or other container to keep water from getting on the floor.

Try to display the tree in a cooler part of a room, away from heat and dryness sources such as direct sunlight or vents.

A living tree should not be kept inside much longer than a week, so try to watch your timing. While it is inside it will probably need a bit more water, so check it regularly.

When you move it back outside, re-acclimate it to the outdoors by repeating the entry acclimation in reverse.

Decorating the house with fresh greenery is one of the oldest winter holiday traditions. People have been decorating with greenery since the 1800s, with some homes elaborately decorated with garlands of holly, ivy, mountain laurel and mistletoe hung from the roof. Other homes went a simpler route, with greenery and boughs in the window frames and holly sprigs stuck to the glass with wax.

Today, decorating for the holidays with fresh greenery is more prevalent than ever. Greens such as cedar, ivy, pine, and holly add a fresh look and natural scent to our homes, and are good to use since they dry out slowly and hold their needles well. Hemlock, spruce, and most broadleaf evergreens can also be used, but will last longer if used outdoors.

In addition to using greenery in traditional methods such as wreaths, garlands and table centerpieces, you can also create beautiful arrangements in window boxes, pottery or vases. The key is to either immerse the cut ends in water before arranging or place them in an oasis inside the container, which you can keep moist.

Besides the more commonly used evergreens, consider using other plant parts such as acorns, berries, dried flowers, cones, seed pods and branches of dormant plants such as pussy willow or forsythia to give added color and texture interest. You can even incorporate fruits such as lemons, limes, apples, pears, kumquats and pineapple.

It’s important to decorate safely during the holidays. Dried evergreens can become flammable when in contact with a heat source such as a candle flame, space heaters, heater vents or sunny windows. If you use lights near your green arrangements, make sure that they stay cool, and if outside, that they are rated for exterior use.

Nothing can beat the look of real leafy greens scattered around the house and in arrangements. It’s hard to beat the aroma of real needle evergreens decorating your house in the winter months. You can find all kinds of fresh greenery here, so come on in and join us in celebrating the holidays.

They look great wrapped in battery-operated mini lights and trimmed with red, gold, or silver bows. Bring them inside as the centerpiece for a special event, or give as gifts!

Here are a couple of ideas that will bring instant results:

3-Tier Topiary

• Use cypress leylandi, podocarpus gracilior, or eugenia myrtifolia in the 5 gallon size to create a beautiful 3-tier topiary.

• Choose a nice, bushy specimen.

• Then use bright ribbon or plastic tape & divide the shrub into 3 sections top to bottom.

• Next use the tape to mark the space between the sections that will form the balls.

• Using sharp clippers, form the space between balls by trimming the branches off all the way to the main trunk.

• Next trim the branches of each section to form the globes or balls.

• Plant in a 16" diameter pot, then plant variegated ivy and/or other trailing perennials around the edges of the pot.

Cone-Shaped Topiary

• You'll need a nice bushy 5-gallon eugenia compacta, Japanese boxwood, Texas privet or rosemary upright.(Now remember those 3 ft. or 5 ft. cone-shaped tomato cages you used during the summer? They make a great form for cone-shaped topiaries.)

• Just bind the spikes together at the top with strong wire. You can also use cone shaped chicken wire forms or 4 ft. bamboo stakes lashed at one end and formed into a teepee shape.

• Plant the shrub into a decorative container

• Place the form around the shrub and use sharp clippers to trim branches into the cone shape.

• Plant the edges with trailing perennials.

Use a good potting soil and fertilize to keep your topiaries in the best of shape.

Both topiaries can be done in an afternoon at a much lower cost than buying them ready made. Get started now so they're in top form for the Holidays.

If you are looking for a way to add some color to your garden in the winter, consider planting sasanqua camellias. They produce an attractive show of flowers from early autumn into late winter, blooming long before their better known (japonica) cousins.

Add to that, bright glossy green leaves and interesting growth habits and you have a "must" for your winter garden.

Sasanqua camellias can be planted in containers and in shrub and tree beds with equal success. This allows you to place them on patios and decks, or near walkways for greater enjoyment. They can also be used for bonsai specimens, espaliers, informal hedges, screens or graceful focal points in the garden.

Their natural growth is either upright or a graceful willow-like form. Some have single, semi-double, or fully double flowers that can be small, medium or rather large, and they come in shades of pink, rose, red, white, and combinations.

One of the outstanding characteristics of sasanqua camellias is that they will tolerate more sun exposure than spring-flowering types of camellias. Most varieties don't grow nearly as large as their cousins, enabling them to make perfect understory plants. Like all camellias, they need to be planted in locations with good drainage in a hole amended with an acid planting mix.

When the word 'xeriscape' is mentioned, many people think of cactus and sand (as in the picture above) - or rock gardens with a few lonely plants scattered about. Mind you, both cactus gardens and rock gardens can be be quite attractive. But many people think that those are what xeriscaping involves. That is a false impression. You can have a landscape that is fully planted, colorful--and water-conserving. Nor do you necessarily have to have only drought-tolerant plants. The idea is to reduce overall water use by grouping plants with similar needs together--so you can have one area that uses more water than the environment naturally provides and another area where you need no extra water at all.

Advantages of Xeriscape

• Water saving: Using native and other drought-tolerant plants can significantly reduce water use.
• Money saving: Reducing water use can lower your water bill. Xeriscaping can also reduce maintenance costs--while adding to the beauty and value of your property.
• Time saving: Xeriscape landscaping can significantly reduce the time you spend watering, fertilizing and mowing. (Buy a hammock--you'll have more time to use it.)
• No worries: It's nice to be able to go on vacation for a few weeks and know your plants will still be alive when you return.

A Bit of History:

Early in 1981, the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado (ALCC) and Denver Water formed a cooperative task force on water conservation. Nancy Leavitt, an Environmental Planner for Denver Water, created the word Xeriscape during a group brainstorming session. The task force came up with the original definition of Xeriscape as "Water Conservation Through Creative Landscaping" and the seven simple principles by early 1982.

The seven principles are:

• Plan and Design for water conservation and beauty from the start.
• Create Practical Turf Areas of manageable size and shape, and appropriate grasses.
• Select Low Water Requiring Plants and group plants of similar water needs together. Then experiment to determine how much and how often to water the plants.
• Use Soil Amendments as needed by the site and the type of plants used.
• Use Mulches to reduce evaporation and to keep the soil cool.
• Irrigate Efficiently with properly designed systems--and by applying the right amount of water at the right time.
• Maintain the Landscape Properly by mowing, weeding, pruning and fertilizing properly.

If you've just moved in to a new place and want a whole new landscape, consider xeriscape. We'd advise you, in that situation, to hire a professional landscaper to help you design the landscape - and to do the hard work for you. Doing a whole landscape at once is too much for most individuals. But you can use the 'bit by bit' approach or a simple substitution approach, and move your landscape gradually to xeriscape.

Maybe you have a problem area where it's difficult to keep your plants growing well, or an area that is difficult to irrigate. Perhaps you have an area of lawn that is difficult to mow or keep green. These are the types of areas to look at as candidates for starting a xeriscape landscape.

One of the major things to look at when xeriscaping is, "Can I get rid of some of that lawn?" Out of all the things we grow in our yards, turf is probably the biggest overall water-user. If you live in an area with a homeowner's association that requires you to have a certain percentage of lawn, at least make your long-term plans to get the lawn down to the minimal acceptable percentage (or try to get the rule changed).

When planning a xeriscaped area, keep in mind that curves are more natural (and easier to mow around) than sharp angles. Also look at the soil type, the amount of sun or shade, the elevation and ease of access.

Do you have some plants that do well in that area, even if neglected? Those may be good candidates for xeriscaping in that particular micro-climate in your yard. Remove, or move, plants that are not doing well and amend the soil before planting any new plants. Then mulch, and mulch, and mulch some more.

Keep in mind that even native and 'adapted' plants for our area will need extra water when first planted, until established. Once established, however, they will need much less maintenance than other areas.

We predict that, once you start, you may well continue until your whole yard (or as much as possible) is xeriscaped. You can then lie in your hammock, sipping a cool drink on those hot summer days, and watch your neighbors sweating over their vast expanses of turf.

Question:
Do birdhouses have to have bird seed in them? How do you make it comfortable enough for birds to nest in them?

Answer:
Bird feeders have seed in them, bird houses have birds in them! Hellooooooo!

As long as the entrance/hole is a proper size and the birdhouse has ventilation openings without letting in rain, the birds will be happy.

Unfortunately many bird houses not approved by the National Audubon Society (usually the small, painted "cute" looking ones) have no ventilation. The birds nest, lay eggs, the eggs hatch, and then the babies die because they overheat.

You don't want to make the birds "comfortable" by adding stuff for the birds to nest in, because the house will then smell like a human and the birds won't want to nest. They're quite content to find everything they need to build a comfy nest inside all on their own.

Happy Birding!

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