Whether cut or potted, these tips will help your evergreen stay fresh
Someone who shopped at The Plant Foundry snagged a tree named after Grogu, the "baby Yoda" from "The Mandalorian." Keeping it as green as its (shorter) namesake requires watering and proper placement. Kathy Morrison
How do you help your Christmas tree stay healthy, merry and green?
According to the National Christmas Tree Association, the answer is water.
Make sure your real tree has its trunk in a sturdy stand that can hold plenty of clean water. Check the water every day and replenish as necessary so the tree is standing in at least 2 inches of water.
Firs and other popular Christmas trees need about 1 quart of water per inch of trunk diameter, says the association.
And keep the water clean; added preservatives and home remedies such as aspirin, bleach, corn syrup or sugar have little impact on extending the tree’s freshness.
Daily watering is important, say the experts. If the trunk dries out, resin forms that can block the uptake of more water – and the tree dries out much sooner.
Keeping the stand’s basin full should help the tree – which likely was harvested before Thanksgiving – hold its needles through Dec. 25. Holiday evergreens stay fresh looking and hold their needles about four to six weeks after harvest, says the association.
Position your real tree away from windows or heater vents; both light and heat prompt the tree to need more moisture. It will last longer in a cool corner.
What about potted living Christmas trees? They have to have a spot next to a sunny window and as much light as possible. Because these trees really don’t like being in your living room and want outside ASAP.
Give the tree as much light as possible, but keep it away from heat. It doesn’t want a spot next to the heater, either.
Although a potted tree is appealing (it’s reusable!), evergreens aren’t meant to grow indoors; there’s not enough light. Once your celebrating is done, get your tree or other potted evergreens outdoors as soon as possible to limit their stress. Otherwise, they’ll start dropping needles en masse – just like a cut tree without water.
While it’s indoors, make sure the living tree stays watered. Keep the soil moist, not soggy. Check the soil moisture daily and remember that 1 quart per inch of trunk diameter guideline.
When transferring outdoors, move the plant back into full sun gradually. Let it acclimate on a semi-shaded patio for a few days as the tree re-adjusts to outside temperatures and light. The shock of cold temperatures and full sun may be too much – and your living Christmas tree won’t be around for next year.
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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3
November still offers good weather for fall planting:
* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.
* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.
* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.
* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.
* Plant garlic and onions.
* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.
* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.
* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.
* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.
* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.
* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.
* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.
* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.
* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.
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