Hunt County Master GardenersTexas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

Plants for Valentines

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Plants for Valentines by June Morgan, Master Gardener.

Poinsettias for Christmas, lilies for Easter and red roses for Valentine are traditional flowers for gift giving. The first two are usually potted plants, and with the right care can give pleasure for a long time. Alas, it is not true for the beautiful long stemmed roses which are not only expensive but wilt within a short time. With proper care, potted plants with long lasting blooms and dish gardens can be welcome and practical alternatives.

Despite having a finicky reputation, orchids can be easy to care for. Their blooms are long lasting, and with the right lighting and fertilizing, can last for years, putting out new flower stalks when the old blooms are finished. Phalanopsis (Moth orchid) are readily available, do not cost a fortune, and come in many colors.

Cyclamen colors range from deep red to white and shades of pink. The blooms are long lasting and several colors together make a striking presentation. When blooms are over, the plants can be set outside and the bulbs saved for sunny weather. Pansies, with their many varieties, are an interesting addition to a green arrangement as well as loving the cool outdoors. Pansies are a close cousin to violets, the purple ones being a symbol of love. Traditionally, giving a bouquet of purple violets spoke of a prospective suitor to a lady. Violets are an ideal indoor hobby and are easy to reproduce.

More unusual floral gifts include bonsai trees and an assortment of succulents planted in an attractive dish. Both are easy care and suited for the indoor gardener, especially shut-ins. Not to be forgotten are children, especially those whose sweets intakes are severely limited. As an elementary student I was given a potted ivy at a gift exchange. I was thrilled because it sent two messages to me. One, someone thought that I was responsible enough to care for it, and two, I was now in the big league when it came to presents.

Big league or not, potted or not, flowers are always welcome. While florists and grocery stores will always have available “ready to go” plants, don’t forget the garden centers where you can make your own one of a kind creation for that special Valentine.

Bare Rooted Fruit Trees

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Bare Rooted Fruit Trees by Wanda Loras, Master Gardener.

There is nothing better than a firm, juicy peach or a crisp apple plucked from your very own tree.  If this sounds good to you, start now and in a couple of years it can happen.

Bare rooted fruit trees are available in the garden centers now.  They come packed with damp moss or sawdust covered with material to keep the roots moist.  They are less expensive and if planted properly are just as successful as container plants.  Plant when the trees are dormant from December to February.  Three to four foot trees are a good size.  It is important to pick one with a good root system.  Whatever variety you choose, the planting method is the same.

Remove the wrapping, tags, and strings from the root ball.  Remove any broken roots and soak in water for one hour.   Dig the hole in a sunny location.  Measure the depth of the root system by finding the ring that shows color separation on the trunk.  This was the depth of the tree in its originally setting.  Dig the hole at the same depth and wide enough to let the roots spread out in their natural position.  Back fill the hole insuring that all the roots are firmly covered with loose soil.  Hand tamp the soil around the roots as you fill.  When the hole is half full, water lightly to purge any air pockets.  Finish filling with the same method.  Finally, soak the hole with water.  When the loose soil sinks below ground level, add enough soil to make it ground level again.  Do not fertilize when you plant.  A root stimulator may be applied according to the package directions.  When the tree begins to leaf out in the spring, fertilizer may be added.

After the tree is in the ground it should be pruned.  Remove all side shoots and cut the center trunk back by ½.   It will look like a stick in the ground.  This will insure proper growth and successful fruit bearing.  When the new growth comes out in the spring, prune so the center of the tree is open and has a V shape.  Peaches, plums, apricots, and almonds are often pruned to leave an open center.  This allows the sun to penetrate through the opening, therefore more fruit at harvest time.  Keep the open center for the life of the tree by pruning away new growth that invades the open space.  Keep crowded branches and any shoots that are overly aggressive pruned away.  This will reduce the height and will be easier to harvest.

Pears, pecans, and apple trees are left with a main trunk in the center.  Trim away the branches with a sharp V shape to the trunk leaving only the limbs with wide angle crotches.  If the lateral branches are too close to each other, trim to maintain sufficient distance between them.  More information on pruning can be found at http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/fruitgarden/managing-html.

It does indeed take a little patience for your first fruit to bear from your new tree.  It is truly worth the wait for that scrumptious peach cobbler, apple pie, or pear preserves. It just doesn’t get any better than that.

Poisonous Holiday Plants

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Poisonous Holiday Plants by June Morgan, Master Gardener.

 If you have been following the columns by Master Gardeners, you are well aware of the main  toxic plants such as poison oak and ivy found in the summer. But decorative  winter plants also have their dangers, especially those prevalent during the holidays which can pose special threats to our pets and children.

Poinsettias have a reputation for being poisonous, but it would be unlikely for a pet or child to ingest enough of the leaves to be really dangerous as the sap is irritating to the mouth.  Holly and mistletoe have a higher level of toxicity to both dogs and cats, causing severe intestinal disturbances, and if large amounts are ingested, seizures and even death. Oils of a fir tree can be irritating to a pet’s mouth and stomach causing vomiting or drooling, while the needles can cause gastric irritation, obstruction and intestinal puncture. The tree’s water container may have dangerous preservative chemicals and bacterial growth.

Many gift plants are toxic.  Some lilies are more dangerous than others. Peace, Peruvian, and Calla lilies will only cause irritation and minor drooling, whereas Tiger, Day, Asiatic, Easter and Japanese Show lilies are highly toxic to cats. Even 2-3 leaves or petals ingested mandate an immediate trip to a veterinarian for aggressive treatment to prevent kidney failure.

It is hard to resist the stunning blossoms of cyclamen, but the ingested roots will cause severe vomiting and possible death. Amaryllis bulbs, often planted to bloom for Christmas and New Year’s, are even more highly toxic than the flowers and leaves, producing tremors, vomiting and diarrhea, intestinal pain, and lethargy. Other popular gift plants causing severe problems for pets include azalea, diffenbachia , daffodils, tulips, and kalanchoe. Ingesting any of these means a trip to the vet.

The Animal Poison Control Center is available 24/7 at 855-764-7661. Here’s hoping that you never have to use it.

Conditioning Your Garden in Winter

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Conditioning Your Garden in Winter by Stephanie Suesan Smith, PhD, Master Gardener.

Although most people do not grow vegetables over the winter, you can still work to make your garden the best it can be next spring.  First, remove all of the old, dead plant material.  If the plants were healthy and died of heat or frost, compost them.  If they had diseases or severe pest problems, it is best to throw the plants into a bag, seal the bag, and throw them in the trash.  If you compost diseased or pest ridden plants, you can spread the problem throughout the garden when you use the compost.

Till all of the mulch and other organic material into the soil.  Mulch will provide a hiding place for bugs over the winter.  Tilling it under prevents them from having a place to hide, while enriching your soil with the extra organic matter.  If you till a great deal of mulch under, sprinkle some nitrogen fertilizer on it and till that in as well.  This keeps the microbes that break down the mulch from depleting the nitrogen in your soil.

Cover crops are plants such as rye and vetch that fix nitrogen and enrich the soil.  They also hold it in place during the winter rains.  Cover crops keep the rain from washing away your topsoil.  They also prevent the wind from blowing it away.  Cover crops are generally planted after the garden is finished.  Since it has been so mild this year, you may still be able to plant one and get a good covering of plants.  In the spring, when it is time to plant, you simply till the plants under and use them as green manure.  They slowly decay and release their nitrogen to the vegetable plants you have planted.

If you do not plant a cover crop, you can still cover your vegetable plot to protect your soil.  You can spread a three to six inch carpet of dead leaves on your vegetable plot.  It is better if the leaves are chopped up such as when they have been run over with a lawn mower.  However, whole leaves will work fine.  These leaves will gradually decay over the winter.  This adds organic matter to the soil, making it rich and productive.  Any leaves that are still around in the spring when it is time to plant can simply be tilled under.

A few hours of preparation now will result in fertile ground that is rich and will easily grow vegetables.  Spend the hours now and benefit in the spring.

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Christmas Cactus

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Christmas Cactus by Stephanie Suesan Smith, Ph.D., Master Gardener.

Christmas cactus has segmented stems that are flat and have spines along the edge of the sections.  Most of the year, it is just a slightly odd green plant.  However, when it blooms the blooms are beautiful and unusual, and more than make up for the wall flower appearance of the stems.

The Christmas cactus is native to the South American rain forests.  This means that it expects a rather high degree of humidity.  It would be impractical to keep your house at a humidity of 50-60%, so use this work around:  Take a saucer one size bigger than the saucer you use for the plant.  Place it where you want the Christmas cactus to live and fill it with pebbles.  Fill the saucer with water but leave the tops of the pebbles dry.  Place the Christmas cactus on top of this saucer.  As the water evaporates from the pebble tray, it creates a high humidity zone around the Christmas cactus and keeps it happy.  Make sure you refill the water around the pebbles on a regular basis so the humidity around the Christmas cactus does not get too dry.

The Christmas cactus is picky about soil moisture, too.  Water the cactus by pouring water at the base of the cactus until it begins to fill the saucer under it.  Discard the water in the saucer and put it back under the plant. Do not water again until the top inch of soil is dry.

You can use any balanced water soluble fertilizer that is for potted plants.    Be sure and follow the label instructions.

Blooming is controlled by how much light the Christmas cactus gets.  The plant should be in indirect light most of the year.  However, if you want the Christmas cactus to bloom at Christmas, you will have some work to do.  You will have to duplicate the length of day and night that it would encounter in the wild.

Christmas cactus will only bloom when kept in complete darkness for thirteen hours a night if the temperature is between 55-70 degrees or in complete darkness for fifteen hours of dark a night if the temperature is above 70 degrees.  Eight weeks before you want flowers, you start putting the plant in a totally dark space for the time indicated above.  Do not fertilize it or overwater it.  When you see buds on the Christmas cactus, you should start giving the plant water every day, but smaller amounts of water each time you water it.  Too much water will cause the buds to drop.

When the cactus starts to bloom, set in an area of indirect sunlight.  The cactus blooms for four to six weeks.  Each individual flower lasts six to nine days.  After the Christmas cactus quits blooming, prune back every stem to a uniform size.  Use the sections you pinch off to start new plants. Go back to the regular fertilizer and water routine when new growth occurs on the stems you left on the original plant.