Green Thumb Tips
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Echter’s Plant Doctors are available
during store hours seven days a week to answer
your gardening questions. For
accurate diagnosis, it helps to bring in a sample.
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Perennials & Roses
- Cut any remaining debris down in the garden or flower bed.
Cut back perennials to 5". Tall stems
left to blow in the wind can damage perennial crowns. Leave ornamental grasses to provide winter
interest until spring.
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Put Rose Collars around your roses in mid November. Fill with Mini
Nuggets Bark Mulch.
- Mulch your perennial and bulb beds after the ground freezes. Mulch conserves
soil moisture and helps minimize freezing and thawing of the soil.
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- If you had powdery mildew, black spot or any other fungus diseases on your
shrubs, roses, trees or perennials, be sure to clean up all leaves and debris
and get rid of it - do not put this debris in your compost. In the spring
spray new leaves with a spray containing neem oil.
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- Lawns
Water your lawn once a month during warm and dry periods. Since the sprinkler systems are drained, you will need to do this with a
hose and sprinkler. Pay particular attention to southern exposures. Disconnect your hose from the faucet and bring it inside before the
temperatures drop below freezing in the evening.
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Trees & Shrubs
Knock down heavy snows from your shrubs and tree branches by gently pushing up
with a broom.
It is very important to water your
trees, shrubs, perennial and bulb beds every 4-6 weeks
throughout the winter.
If dry soil freezes, there is a good chance there will be root damage and
the trees and shrubs will suffer. Your plants will better resist insect and
disease problems next year
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Tree wrap is
important winter protection for young trees that have not yet developed their
bark. The purpose is to keep the tree's
bark temperature consistent. Start wrapping at the bottom and overlap up to the
first set of branches. In Denver wrap about November 15 and remove the
wrap around April 1.-
- Protect tender shrubs, like rhododendrons, azaleas, hollies, etc. during the winter months from drying
winds by providing a barrier made from a frame wrapped in burlap and placed on the north and west
sides of each shrub.
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Indoor Plants
- Now that our windows and doors will be shut
for the winter, houseplants in the home are a very important air cleaner.
Plants remove air pollutants from our homes and offices.
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- Move
houseplants away from heat vents if you have forced air heating.
Houseplants
will benefit from added humidity. Humidifiers are great, but you can also use
a pebble tray. Take an oversized saucer, add pebbles, and fill halfway with
water. Then place your plant on the pebbles. As the water evaporates, add
more, but don't let the plant sit in water. Be alert to cold drafts as
well, especially for ficus, philodendron, begonias, and gardenias.
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Poinsettias prefer a bright area away from cold drafts and heat vents. Keep them from direct sun. Never allow the soil of you poinsettias to
dry out completely, but be sure they are not constantly wet or sitting
in water inside the foil wrap. Be careful of locations where the hot
afternoon sun may shine directly on the colorful bracts and cause the color
to fade. Temperatures ideally should not exceed 70° during the day, or fall
below 65° at night.
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Shorter days mean less growth for houseplants. Water only
when your plants require it, but water the same amount when you water. Use fertilizer at half strength every other time you water until mid March.
Try to let your plants receive as much light as possible during the darker
winter days.
Cyclamen are great plants for brightening your home during the holidays.
They prefer a cool dry and bright place. The pink, red, white or maroon flowers will continue for weeks.
Holiday cacti are
beautiful with red, pink or white flowers.
To ensure flowers for Christmas, keep your plant
in
a room with bright daylight hours and no light after sunset. They prefer cooler rooms. Keep the soil on the dry
side in November. Flower buds should set and the plants will be in flower
by late December. Stop in and pick up our care sheet for year-long
care of your holiday cactus.
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 Amaryllis bulbs will bloom 7-10 weeks
after planting. Choose a pot about
2" wider than the bulb and one that is heavy enough to keep from
tipping. Fill the pot part way with potting mix. Set the
bulb so that the top 1/3 of the bulb will be above the top of the soil
when you fill the pot to 1" below the top edge of the pot. Give
the plant about 4 hours of bright light a day. Plant every 2 weeks
for a spectacular color show all winter.
Paperwhites are bulbs that can be planted
indoors every two weeks for continuous flowering through the holidays. Paperwhites come in white or yellow and are very fragrant.
Norfolk Island pines make great living Christmas trees and wonderful houseplants after the holidays. Be sure you use very lightweight ornaments and cool burning twinkle lights when you decorate these beautiful trees.
Keep these plants away from drafts and heating vents.
To bring fragrance into your home during the holidays don't forget herbs. Rosemary, lavender and thyme along with many other herbs will add a delightful aroma to the home.
Use the wonderful scent of fresh greens and pine trees to add to the
traditional holiday atmosphere. -
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Birds
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Echter's offers many seed mixes for all types of birds who are seed eaters. Individual types of seed are
also popular and there is a great selection to choose from. Sunflower seed, safflower seed,
peanuts, and nyjer seed are among the favorite choices. Thoroughly clean feeders once a month.
Insect-eating birds such as flickers and nuthatches have a taste for suet rather than seed.
Suet is a great energy source for birds in cold weather.
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- Distract the
squirrels from your bird feeders by offering them corn on the
cob, peanuts and Squirrel Food. Let the birds have the seed.
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- Cut
Christmas Trees
When
purchasing your fresh Christmas tree, be sure to bring a blanket or tarp to
cover the tree if you are tying it to the top of your car. This will protect
your tree from drying out on the way home.
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- Cut
1 to 2 inches off the trunk of your tree and immediately place it in water. Add some tree
preservative
to the water.
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- Check the water level daily. A tree may “drink” a gallon or more of water
each day. If the water reservoir gets dry, even once, the tree cut will seal
and may not take up water again.
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- Place the tree away from heat sources, including fireplaces, wood stoves, heat
vents and direct sunlight.
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- Always turn tree lights off when leaving home or going to sleep.
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- Don’t forget the wonderful fragrance of fresh wreaths, greens, garlands to add
to the traditional holiday atmosphere. A spray of Wilt Stop
will prolong the freshness of your greens and your Christmas tree.
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- Home & Patio
Clean wrought iron and aluminum furniture and
protect your patio furniture and grills with appropriately-fitted covers.
Make sure there is an opening in the ice in your pond. A pond de-icer
will keep an opening so gases can escape and your fish will stay healthy.
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If the deer repellents
you have been using aren’t working anymore, try switching products. Deer can become
accustomed to one scent. Switching ingredients is more effective.
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