Christmas is just over a week away and it seems when I was growing up mid December is when we brought poinsettias into our homes or businesses and moved in the cut Christmas tree. Christmas decorating really started about ten to fourteen days before Christmas. Over the years everything for Christmas has started earlier and earlier from shopping to decorating to parties. Even our poinsettia has evolved with new varieties to stay in bract or full color for weeks and even months with a little basic care. Many of you may have purchased and decorated with poinsettias as early as Thanksgiving and may be able to enjoy their color and beauty all the way to Valentines or St. Patrick’s Day. Others may like the tradition of adding poinsettias this weekend or even closer to Christmas to enjoy their red, white, pink or patterned bracts for Christmas and though the winter.
If you got a cut Christmas tree make sure to keep it standing in water to slow down how quick it dries out and to extend its life in your home. This is the perfect time to set up a live Christmas tree that you can then plant out in your yard to enjoy for years to come. Live Christmas trees do best if only kept indoors for ten to twenty days. If you keep them in a warm dry home for too long, they will dry out and drop needles and it will reduce your chances of success when you transplant the live Juniper, Pine or Spruce out into your yard. Make sure to place the live tree in a container with drain holes and set it in a saucer to collect drained water. Water the live tree every five to seven days while it is in your warm home. A live tree will generally not look as impressive and full as cut tree but it is a great way to make memories with your family and then add to your landscape and commemorate those memories for years to come.
If you have an apartment or limited spaces consider using a Norfolk Island pine as your miniature Christmas tree. You can save it to use as a beautiful and interesting house plant after the Christmas celebrations are over. There are many other interior plants you can use to add color and life to your Christmas celebrations. Cyclamen (shooting star plant), amaryllis, kalanchoe, orchids, English Ivy wreathes or trees and many other house plants can add color, fresh oxygen and fun to your holiday celebrations.
There is still plenty of time to get the perfect Christmas gift for your gardening family and friends or even yourself. Consider a gift of a tree, shrub or plants that have a special meaning or interest for that person or a gift certificate from their favorite nursery, garden center or florist. Live plants or a fresh floral bouquet are always a great gift for Christmas parties or events. There are unlimited gift possibilities from hobby greenhouses to tools, wheelbarrows or carts, gloves and gardening clothes or nice decorative containers. Gardeners will appreciate a membership in the Oklahoma Horticulture Society or their favorite garden society or club. A membership in the Myriad Gardens Conservatory is a special treat they will enjoy all year long. Don’t forget gardening books and magazines or a card with an offer to help with their yard work later this year.
We wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and would encourage you to get out and enjoy the Christmas color at the Myriad Gardens Conservatory, Will Rogers Park Conservatory and Gardens and in neighborhoods across our state. It is exciting to see the extra beauty of our trees, shrubs and homes when they are dressed up in Christmas lights.
Rodd's Seeds of Wisdom 