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Think Spring!

After taking almost three months off from writing, today is my first day back on the job and I look forward to offering you suggestions on how to make the most out of your landscape for your home, business, and garden.   

This is the best video to kick off the process understanding the landscape design process.

Produced by Plan by Design, this company has a series of videos demonstrating the  landscape design process involved in creating a landscape plan for the  residential property owner.  This particular video is all visual and presents a wealth of information of design principles that we will be using throughout the growing season as we talk about garden designs.

Orchids Are Named After a Greek God and a Male Body Part

We can thank the Greeks and Romans for many of our plant names.   The word  Orchid comes from the Greek word orchis which means testicle due the shape of the orchid root. 


Probably keeping with the Greek origin of the name, there is an accompanying Greek myth about Orchis, who was the the son of a nymph and a satyr.   Orchis was drunk at one of those lively Greek god festivals and as any drunken good nymph/saytr, attempted to rape a priestess of Dionysus.

Orchis did not fare well because of his insult and was torn apart.   

Orchis' father prayed for him to be restored, but the gods changed him into the flower we now known as the orchid.

Regardless of the flower's name, the orchid is one of the best plants for those who are passionate about indoor gardening. The popularity of the orchid are that the flowers appear almost wax like and come in a large variety of colors.

Orchid flowers last a long time and in some cases, some varieties of orchid flowers can last up to two months!

Before discussing the care of orchids, here are some additional interesting true facts about the family of Orchidacea, which we call Orchids.

• Orchids are considered one of the two largest families of flowering plants with over 26,000 orchid species
• There are more orchid species than bird species and mammal species
• Orchids encompass 6-11% of the word’s seed plants
• Vanilla flavoring and vanilla fragrances come from the dried seedpods of the orchid genus Vanilla
• There are more than 100,000 human produced orchid hybrids and cultivars
• There are orchid species, which grow in every region of the world other than the Arctic regions

Purchasing and Maintaining a Your Live Christmas Tree

Purchasing a cut live tree most certainly can be viewed, as not only an investment in the region's agricultural industry, but Christmas tree farming benefits the local environments where  they are grown and sold.

Some interesting facts:

• Three tree seedlings will be planted for every tree cut during the holidays as for example 30 million real trees are sold in the country each year, with almost 350 million more being planted to take their place.
• 350,000 acres of green space is devoted to Christmas tree farming in the United States.
• Most cut trees end up being recycled and offered back to residents as a garden mulch and as in some parts of Ohio discarded trees are often submerged in lakes to provide shelter and spawning areas for fish.  
• Buying a cut tree supports American and Canadian industries as most artificial trees are made in China

　
When purchasing a cut tree: 　

• The best practice is to cut your own tree or buying a tree fresh-cut from local growers if possible. Fresh cut trees from the larger stores were likely harvested one month before Thanksgiving
• Cut off an additional inch or from the bottom of the tree you purchase, as resin has filled the plant’s vascular system and needs to be removed to allow water absorption
• Water daily. Never allow the water to go below the cut stump, because the pitch will dry and the tree won’t be able to absorb water.
• Keep the tree away from any heat source to avoid drying and the risk of fire. To reduce a tree fire is probably that one great reason the smaller Christmas lights are much more preferable to the larger lights.
• Turn the tree’s lights off when no one is home.   Best practice is to never leave children alone in a home with a lighted cut tree.
• Some trees lots will spray fire retardant on the tree.

　
　
　When purchasing a balled and burlap live tree

• The tree generally needs to be gradually conditioned to the warmer house temperature. So often times, moving the tree to an unheated garage for several day and then inside is an effective way to reduce plant shock from the temperature change.
• Choose a smaller tree---large ones will substantially lose more water indoors and due to the weight of the soil ball or pot will be more difficult to move around.
• Keep the tree ball moist when inside. To achieve continual moisture, a good method is wrapping a wet blanket around the ball of the tree.

Have the hole already dug to plant the tree outside after the holidays before the ground has frozen. There are some that don’t replant the tree until March and keep the tree watered in a cool unheated garage.

Select Your Cut Christmas Tree This Weekend

This is the weekend to select your live Christmas Tree. There are several options to consider:

• purchase an already cut tree
• cut your own at a tree farm 
• select a balled and burlap tree to bring inside for Christmas and to replant outside  after the holidays

All of these are great options and actually all choices are indeed environmentally friendly as Christmas trees were commercially grown to be cut or dug.


The top selling cut Christmas trees are:

• Scotch
• White Pine
• Douglas Fir
• Noble Fir
• Fraser Fir
• Balsam Fir
• Colorado Spruce (best if locally cut as the tree is stiff and does not allow for shipment)

Though the Noble Fir is often times listed as the most popular tree, my experience was that the Scotch pine was the more popular and affordable tree, and generally, half the price of the fir varieties.

Most customers have a deep passion about the trees they select and the reason for their selection.

For this writer, the Firs are my favorite as they have soft needles; great fragrances; and ornaments and lights display nicely on the tree.

Finally, the top selling Christmas tree producers are the states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Oregon and New York. And generally, the National Christmas or Rockefeller Center Christmas Trees have been Norway Spruces.
　
Tomorrow:
How to Select and Maintain a Cut or Live Christmas Tree

The Regal Scottish Thistle Symbol in Meyda Tiffany Stained Glass

The Regal Scottish Thistle Symbol in Meyda Tiffany Stained Glass

Poinsettias Today Maintain Their Color Well Past The Holidays

Tomorrow will also be the beginning when poinsettias are being purchased to add to the holiday decor.

Years ago when I was just a kid, my parents would host a Thanksgiving dinner with some of their very good friends.  As a gift, the family would  arrive bringing  a large red poinsettia to be enjoyed through the holidays.  Well, back then (say 40 years ago) that poinsettia would be leafless by the time Christmas rolled around.   And those that maintained their bracts, were a source of discussion as, "Compared to last year's plant this one lasted to December 20th!"

The poinsettias of 40 years ago, just did not hold onto their leaves and bracts as they do today.

This past summer, in August, my parents still had the poinsettia from Christmas 2010 with most of the bracts still on the plant.   So, with deliberate hybridization, poinsettias have come along way and are therefore much studier in the average home environment. 

Here are some basic care tips  of poinsettias courtesy of  the Illinois Univeristy Extension Office.

Essentially their recommendations are:

• Be careful when transplanting the plant in the cold weather as just a few minutes outside could cause the plant to drop its bracts.  So wrap the plant during transport home.
• Six hours of light daily is ideal for poinsettias.  
• Poinsettias require daytime temperatures of 60 to 70°F and night time temperatures around 55°F. High temperatures will shorten the plant’s life. Move the plant to a cooler room at night, if possible.
• Check the soil daily and be certain there  are drainage holes in the pots. Water when soil is dry. Allow water to drain into the saucer and discard excess water. Wilted plants will tend to drop bracts sooner.
• Fertilize the poinsettia if you keep it past the holiday season. Apply a houseplant fertilizer once a month.
• Do not fertilize when the poinsettia is in bloom.

Do these things and if you are lucky you may have a poinsettia lasting through the summer---or as most people do--discard the plant after the holidays!