Poinsettia

Poinsettias

Poinsettias are one of the major symbols of the Holidays. Below you will find some information on the care and upkeep involved in keeping them looking nice through the holidays and beyond.

Poinsettias are a tropical plant

From the moment you purchase your poinsettia
at a store, you must take special care in
protecting it. They do not like cold weather,
so make sure you take your plant directly
home once you buy it. Do not leave it in
your car all day. If you do, you will have
a lovely green stemmed leafless plant—Oh-
what a great conversation piece.

Put your plant in a nice warm sunny spot.
They need at least 6 hours of light. Do not
let the hot afternoon sun blast through the
window onto your plant, your nice color will
go bye-bye. Don’t put it near a door or a
drafty place. Again–Poinsettias do not like
the cold. Through the holidays your plant
should do just fine. Check to see if it needs
water from time to time, but do not over
water.

Keeping the Poinsettia for next year

When the color begins to fade from your plant,
you can cut it back to about 6 to 8 inches
from the soil line.
Keep the plant in the same location–as before.
continue to check to see if it needs water.
The plant does not require a lot of water
at this time. Just don’t let it dry out.
In no time at all, you should have new growth
starting to pop from the stem. After it warms
up outside, (late spring)you can set it outside.
If your poinsettia is root bound, (More roots
than soil)transplant it to a container one
size larger.(Example-6 in up to a 8 in) Fertilize
the plant through out the summer. A balanced
fertilizer works well—about every 3 weeks.
A liquid fertilizer also works good for most
kinds of plants in containers.

Getting your poinsettia to Bloom again

Bring your Poinsettia indoors before the
nights get cold in the fall. You need to
bring your plant indoors at least by October,
so it will be blooming by the holidays.Poinsettias
need at least 14 straight hours of complete
darkness in order for them to bloom. The
darkness can not be interrupted at all or
the plant will not bloom. A closet that you
are not going to be using at night works
well.It must be a warm place, above 60 degrees.So
if you put your plant away for the night
at 6 o’clock, you would bring it back out
at 8 in the morning. During the day put the
plant in the same kind of location as last
year, They need at least 6 hours of day light.

Keep this up for about 8 weeks and you should
have a colorful Poinsettia for the holidays.
It’s well worth the effort.

Live Christmas Trees

Live Trees for the Holidays
Tired of getting cut Christmas trees every year and throwing money away. Think about getting a live Christmas tree. Even if you live in a condo or an apartment and do not have anywhere to plant it after Christmas.You can always donate it to a park, school, charity,etc.

There are a lot of types of trees that you
can find at your local nursery that would
look good in your home as a live tree,Spruce,
Pine, and Fir are just a few. The big thing
on live trees is that you do not want to
move the tree directly into your house from
the great outdoors. You need to gradually
acclimatize your tree to the warm indoors.
If you move your tree from 30 degrees outside
into let’s say 75 degrees inside–As Keith
Jackson says—Whoaaaaa Nellie.When you bring
the tree home from the nursery, put it on
your porch or garage–some place protected
and a little warmer than outside. Leave it
there for a few days then move it inside.
Do the reverse when it is time to move it
out. You do not want to go from cold to hot
or hot to cold all in one day.
Once inside, keep it away from your heat
source. Be it a heating vent or wood stove.Keep
ice cubes on the base of the tree-It helps
fool the tree for a little bit and keeps
the soil cool. No–do not try dry ice.Try
to keep it in your house no longer than a
week.Plant the tree outside when the ground
is not frozen. Several things you can do-

 

 

1.Dig your hole before the ground gets frozen or
2.Wrap your tree in a blanket or burlap
to keep the roots from freezing.

 
You can also mulch it in until it warms up.
When you are able to plant it outside, make
sure you plant it in the right spot. Your
tree might be a cute little six footer, but
it will grow up. When you buy your tree,
make sure you know  how large your tree will
get.Do not plant it to close to your house
or property line. Most evergreens will grow
a couple of feet a year once they get growing.
Dig your hole and add some organic matter
to the hole. Mix it well and add some water
and you are ready to go. Wail till it warms
up in the spring to add some fertilizer. Your
nursery person can help you with that choice.
A normal garden fertilizer will work but
there are some good evergreen fertilizers
also. Every nursery will have a different
kind or there own . You will have to check
the watering the first year, but once it
gets going you will not have to water that
much. How much water your tree needs depends
on your soil, drainage and climate.

Hey—We finally made it into June. Now everything
should really get to growing. This is a great
month—It starts warming up, you can start
picking some of the fruits of your labor
and you can plant anything that you want
into the soil and not have to worry about
mother nature, freezing you out. Everything
this month starts taking off and it is real
easy to let things get out of control.

Starting with your lawn—You need to watch
the watering—with the temp warming up,
it can dry out fairly quickly. Watering in
the morn is the best time—if you can. If
your lawn is fertilized, it will require
less water to stay green, then a lawn that
is not—You can water you lawn all day but
if it has no nutrients it will never grow
or get green.

Weeds can get out of hand but try to till
them in or pull them by hand instead of using
a weed killer. A few weeds won’t hurt. It’s
the grasses that can hurt your garden–they
can put a damper on strawberry beds and asparagus
beds.

It’s not to late to plant your vegi’s. Most
vegi’s have a harvest time of less then 90
days, So check to see what the harvest time
is on the vegi you want to plant and go for
it. Some melons and such require over 100
days to harvest, so you might be cutting
it close by planting it now. It really depends
on what the weather will be in September
and that is hard to tell. In the lower elevations
it usually stays fairly warm until October.

Now is the time to dead head your Rhody’s. When picking the dead flowers off, make sure you don’t take off the new growth or new buds that are starting to form.

It’s ok to prune your shrubs if need be. Just try not to prune when the temps get up in the mid 90′s. The foliage underneath might get a little sunburn (boxwoods for one).

Also not a good idea to spray insecticides when the temps get in the 90′s—can cause some damage.

So, this is a great gardening month–get out there and enjoy.

Gardening in May

May is here and that means full bore gardening
time. In the higher elevations still keep in
touch with the weather, for a little frost
might pop-up in the next week but you should
be safe.

Now is the time to start checking for insects,
they are starting to be active and with the
mild winter that we had, there should be
plenty of them this year. If you keep everything
neat and tidy, you can cut back on the insect
problem. Any extra stuff that you have laying
around in your yard–get rid of it–Bugs
like that kind of stuff.

If you have been thinking of adding something
new this year to your yard, now is the time
to check out your local nursery. They should
be fully stocked up and have a good selection
and variety.

Now is a great time to do any sod or seeding
that you have been waiting to do. The warmer
the air temp is at night, the faster your
seed will take hold. speaking of sod and
seed brings me to this subject. Some people
say that if your lawn is over 50% good grass,
that you should just take out the bad area
and you will be find. I do not agree. If
you have bentgrass or crabgrass in your lawn
and it is starting to spread all over—Then
I say get rid of it now. That stuff is nasty
once it takes hold and you can be fighting
with it for the rest of your life. The best
way to get rid of the nasty weeds is to spray
it with round-up–wait a week—roto-till
it until you can’t roto-till no more. Rake
the area out–put water to it–wait a week
and then spray again. Then you are ready
to put down some seed or sod. If you do not
want to spray(that’s fine)you just have to
roto-till even more.

The Rhody’s in this area are starting to
do there thing. After the flowers have died
off–pinch off the dead blossoms. Be careful
not to pinch off the new growth or the new
buds that are forming. If you are going to
buy a new Rhody, they do best in a protected
area–with no afternoon sun(too hot)and not
a lot of wind. The north side of your house
is the best place–with the eastside being
the second choice.

With it now being May, this is a good time
to take a walk around and see what all is
growing and blooming. It’s a great way to
get idea’s. Be creative and try not to plant
the same old thing. Gardening can be a lot
of fun and a great way to make your own statement
on how you feel.–Have fun—Chuck

Bare Root

There are basically three ways you can buy nursery stock. Most people know about containers, fewer know about bare root and balled & burlap. It sounds like it would make a good novel or movie. So with out further interruption here is the scoop on Bare root-, Balled & Burlap and Containers.

A Little Bit About Bare Root

Depending on where your live, you should be able to find B/R plants between February and March. B/R is a dormant plant which is not planted in soil. This is the least inexpensive way to purchase plants. Not all plants come bare root. Some shrubs do and most deciduous trees(trees that lose their leaves–go dormant). You will not find evergreens in bare root. The roots of bare root plants must be kept moist and in some kind of mulch before planting. Do not let the roots dry out.

Planting—Bare Root

If you buy B/R at a nursery, they should do all the necessary pruning of the roots and branches. Make sure there are not any broken roots.If you have more than three feet of branch growth with out any side limbs–prune it.Plant as soon as possible. Dig your hole a little larger than the roots on your B/R. Add about 1/3 to 1/2 organic matter to the soil you have taken out. Fill the hole up with water, then let it drain.Most B/R trees will be grafted. ( a little bump a few inches up the trunk, above the roots). DO NOT plant above this–YOU WILL KILL THE TREE–KEEP THE SOIL OFF OF IT. OKAY, I’ll calm down. Anyway–you should see where the soil line is on the trunk.Any soil you have left over you can use, by building a little water basin around the tree to hold in water. After planting your B/R, stake the tree up for the first year of it’s life. I prefer to fertilize a couple of weeks after planting (less chance of burning the roots).Some people mix fertilizer into the soil when they plant–your choice.

Balled and Burlap

B&B is a way to buy larger shrubs and trees in the early spring, for less than what you would pay for container grown material. B&B are plants that have been dug up and have kept the dirt intact with the roots. You can buy evergreens this way. Once the roots start growing in the spring they need to be planted, so you will only find B&B in early spring. (February-March). Just like B/R–B&B can save you money. When you purchase your plant it is important not to drop it. The plant could go in to shock. Dig your hole a little larger than the B&B–add some organic matter–water and mix–Place the B&B in the hole–Place ground level with the soil line of the plant. Cut the twine that is wrapped around the trunk–remove if possible–if not, tuck down into the hole–do the same with the burlap–unwrap around the trunk and cut some of the excess off. Tuck the rest into the hole, it will break down. Fill in the soil, water real well and build a basin around the tree.Remember to give your tree or shrub room to grow—Have fun.

Not to late to start seeds

In the higher elevations of Southern Oregon you can plant peas the middle of this month. Bareroot trees are available in your local Nurseries to plant now.
Now is the time to plant all of the different types of bareroot that is available. If your lawn is yellowing out, you can go ahead and fertilize your lawn.
Use a low Nitrogen type, a triple 13 will work real well for this time of yearor untill you can put down a spring blend type of fertilizer.The spring rains will
be coming soon and with it warming up, you will get a natural greening up though by fertilizing , you will replace all of the nutrients that have been lost this winter.You can go ahead and prune back your roses. Prune out all of the dead and leave 3-4 canes about 3-4 ft high.If you haven’t gotten around to transplating something that you thought of moving last summer–now is the time.
Growing flowers and vegetables from seed can be one of the most rewarding gardening experiences a person can have. You can do it alone, or with others. Now is a great time to get a head start on Spring by planting seeds indoors. No matter where you are, starting your own seeds now will give a head start and allow you to try new varieties.
What do you need to start?

Here are some basics:

Seeds

Containers

Soil (growing media)

Water

Light

Warmth


Seeds


Choose the type of seeds by looking back on your past gardens. What are some of the plants you have had the most success from? What are some plants you might like to try? Are there some things you have not seen before that looks interesting? Browse our selection and make a list. A few seeds are better to plant directly in the ground where they will grow through the season. Some examples are corn and root crops. Most flowers, herbs and vegetables do well when started early and transplanted.

How many packages do you need? Most packages contain more seeds than you might need for a home garden and since the seeds are sold by weight, the smaller the seed size the more per package. What about seed you have from previous years? The simple answer is fresh seed has the best chance of growing. If you have some seed from previous years, you can do a simple germination test by placing a few of the seeds in a clear quart jar with a damp paper towel, close the top and place in a warm (60-70f) spot with bright light. Most good seeds will sprout in about 10-15 days. You can usually store unused seed for the next season if you keep it in a dark and dry location.

Containers


Seed starting does not require a large container. In fact, shallow containers are generally best. Low rectangular containers called trays or flats are well designed with enough space to start many seeds. You can recycle old trays or containers, but they should be cleaned and treated to avoid contamination from diseases. An easy way to treat your container is to apply a simple mixture of household bleach and water. In addition it works best if you cover the container with a clear dome. If you want to start the seeds on a counter or table indoors, try the best-selling Accelerated Seed Propagation System (APS-40), which is fully enclosed and simple to use.

Soil


Perhaps the most important thing after choosing seeds is the soil selection. The selection of the right material will go a long way toward your success. First, do not use used soil. Start with vermiculite, sand and (or) sterilized potting mix. There are many different recipes for seed starting, but one that we like is to use ½ washed river sand and ½ vermiculite. Save a small amount of sand for seed cover.

Water


Before planting, add enough water to make the soil moist without making it soggy. Misting with hand a held sprayer or a Garden Coil will work best. It will be necessary to add water later and misting will be easiest.

Light


There is no equal to sunlight, so wherever possible, use the brightest natural light you can. If you have low light or very short days, consider using a lighting system. The light needs to be placed very close to the surface of the container which makes fluorescent light a good choice because it does not get as hot as incandescent light. To save energy, try to use the lighting system to make the daylight hours longer and use it just before sunset for three or four hours.

Warmth


All seeds germinate best with warm temperatures and bottom heat is best because it helps draw the roots down through the rooting soil. Using a heating mat can make the seeds germinate more uniformly and quickly. If you do not have a heating mat, find a location were the temperature remains stable around 60-70f.

Planting


Fill the container with the moist mix and press it down firmly with a flat board. To prevent disease, lightly coat the seeds with organic garden dust by placing a tablespoon in a bag, add the seeds and shake vigorously. If the seeds are very small, mix them thoroughly with a cup of sand. (Note: though they can easily be planted directly in the garden, peas and beans should be soaked in water for about 24 hours before seeding) Sprinkle the seeds over the surface and press them in with the board. Cover the soil with just enough sand to hide the seed. Mist lightly with water. You do not need to add fertilizer, that will come later when you transplant the seedlings. Place the clear dome over the top and if you have a light and mat, plug them in. Germination can begin in as few as 3-5 days or as long as 2 weeks. Be patient and make sure the soil stays moist to the touch. Keep the dome on until the seedlings have grown to about one inch tall, then it can be removed. When your seedlings are about 1½ to 2 inches tall, they can be transplanted into individual containers 3-4 inches in size for planting later.

Time your seeding to be ready about the time the weather allows you to plant in your zone. Be sure to make notes about the varieties, timing and names.

Now that April is upon us

 

Now that April is upon us, there are tons of things that you can do in your yard. You can put that lawn in that you wish you would have done before winter hit. You can plant a lot of different kinds of flowers, to get you out of those winter blues. Moss seems to be heavy this year in lawns as compared to the past few years. You can go to your local nursery and by a type of moss out or if you want to stay away from Chems— you can hard rake it or thatch it out.  April is known for its unsteady weather.  One day it could be in the high 70′s and the next day it could be in the 40′s. In Klamath Falls you can have all four seasons in one day. You need to take the good with the bad and work out in your yard when you can. In the higher elevations of Southern Oregon you need to wait until the end of May to plant your heat loving plants. In the lower elevations by the end of this month, you can plant anything you want and shouldn’t have to worry about any frosts. The average last frost for the lower elevations is late April and for the higher elevations it is late May. Slugs and Snails seem to be on a lot of people’s minds. I don’t know why, I’d rather think about anything else except Slugs and Snails. Slugs and Snails can do a lot of damaged to all kinds of plants. They will travel a good amount of distance to get to that favorite plant of yours. The chemical baits that are sold in Lawn and Garden stores do work fairly well, but they do seem to even bring your neighbor’s slugs on over to party with the ones you already have. Plus if you have pets, you need to keep them away from it. One fun way to get rid of them is to take an empty tuna fish can and pour some beer in it and set it where you have a snail problem and check it in the morning. Slugs and Snails like dark, damp and cool places, so by clearing out any extra stuff (junk) that you have hanging around—you will take away their hiding places. 

Watch the weather, as Spring/Winter can come and go in April