Category Archives: winter

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – December 2014

fellow gardeners, winter

Today is the 15th of the month, so it’s time for a Bloom Day post. Each month, garden bloggers who participate take snapshots of what is blooming in their gardens. Then we all dash over to May Dreams Gardens to take virtual strolls through gardens from around the world. You may want to head over there right now because the following Bloom Day post is not for the faint of heart.

The Lot is situated in Zone 6a, so blooms in the garden are rare at this time in the year. If we’re lucky, we have pretty snow standing in for long ago spent blooms. In our growing zone, the idea of “winter interest” in the garden is a feature we may or may not pull off during the winter depending on the weather.

Take the start of this winter for example. We had our first snowstorm in November, burying the city in a short amount of time and as a result causing a bit of a scramble. On the Lot, plants I leave standing in the garden to help with winter interest were flattened. By the end of the month, temperatures warmed enough to make the snow heavy and sloppy before finally melting. Temperatures plummeted again and we’re left to look at a frozen and gray mess. Here is this month’s Bloom (or lack thereof) post for December.

121514_helleboreHellebore with some broken stems. It does keep its color though because of being semi-evergreen.121514_smSedumThe little sedum out front usually have a cotton top of snow on the ends of their upright stems. No so much here.
121514_coneflowersThe coneflowers straggly stalks are usually surrounded by snow.
121514_AutumnJoyHere’s another sedum, Autumn Joy. This one was stronger than the plants out front on the South side of the house.
121514_falseIndigoUgh, this poor Baptisia… SPLAT.
121514_MaidenHairGrassAnd here is the maiden hair grass which I’ve had to tie together to even keep upright.

So, no blooms really to report, but weather events to log. This is a great time to catch up on the garden blog and maybe break out a knitting project or two.

Puzzled about Poinsettia Care

education, winter

Several people have recently asked me how to care for Poinsettia plants. The Poinsettia (Euphobia pulcherrima) is a popular gift choice to give during the winter holiday season. When I started researching care for the plant I discovered December 12th is National Poinsettia Day. The University of Illinois Extension provides some history and fun facts about the plant on their Poinsettia Pages.

For example, “in Mexico the Poinsettia is a perennial shrub that will grow 10-15 feet tall.” It was introduced to the United States by Joel Roberts Poinsett, a botanist and first United States Ambassador to Mexico.

Through my reading I also found the holiday plant, with its colorful bracts (modified leaves), is quite the diva. If you do not provide it with exactly everything it demands, it will throw a tantrum and drop those beautiful leaves. Take that! Only filtered water in its dressing room!

Not Too Cold, Not Too Warm

When selecting a place in your home to display the Poinsettia, be sure it does not sit in an area that is prone to cold drafts. The foliage should be kept away from cool window panes. Conversely, the plant should also not be set near appliances or on the television where it could receive too much heat.

An ideal temperature range to keep the Poinsettia blooming is between 65-70 degrees during the day. In the evening, the plant will benefit from a lower temperature of 60 degrees. However, temperatures below 60 could cause root rot.

Not Too Damp, Not Too Dry

Most Poinsettia pots are wrapped in colored foils when sold as gifts. Remove the pot from the foil so water does not sit at the bottom of the plant between the foil wrapper and pot. If you must, must, must have that festive foil, poke multiple holes in the bottom of the foil to allow water to drain.

Poinsettias can be watered when the soil surface is dry to the touch. But never let the plant’s soil completely dry out. It’s a good idea to check the soil daily. Soak the soil until water runs from the drainage holes. If you place a saucer beneath the pot, be sure excess water is dumped.

Bright Light, but Not Too Bright

The Poinsettia will be happiest where it will be exposed to bright, indirect, natural light but not sitting directly in sunlight. Areas near south facing windows are ideal. East or west will work too, but watch out for cool drafts near windows, especially at night. The combination of bright light and low humidity of winter may require the plant be watered more often.

Will the Poinsettia Rebloom?

Poinsettia

The pictured plant is Mom G’s Poinsettia from a past holiday. It is doing fairly well, but is leggy and she says a bit unpredictable in its blooming. Maintaining a commercial greenhouse vigor in a Zone 5b home environment is tricky.

A Poinsettia can rebloom the following holiday, but the care regime to ensure this is quite grueling. The New Mexico State University Extension, Ohio State University Extension, and Michigan State University Extension all have helpful pdfs for anyone willing to take on the yearlong challenge. Many people, myself included, will compost the plant after it has finished its holiday display.

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – November 2014

backyard bed, fellow gardeners, house bed, the Lot, winter

On this chilly Bloom Day, temperatures in our Zone 6a reached a whopping 30 degrees Fahrenheit. This seems to have been the weather theme for 2014. Everything has been cooler this year. This type of chill in November reminds me more of the Zone 5a where I grew up in the countryside, not in our current urban microclimate. Our trick-or-treaters had red noses and snowflakes in the air this year.

We’ve had our first hard frost already and the majority of the colorful Fall leaves are on the ground. Most of the perennials in the garden are looking quite fatigued if not completely wilted from the cold temperatures. I only have a handful of pictures to share, but thought it’d be a good idea to log them anyway.

This first mess of color is of an old-fashioned spirea we have in the backyard bed. I pruned this one back hard after it bloomed in the Spring. The growth was old, overgrown, and collapsing from the center. The shrub sprung back throughout the season with healthy new growth.

111514_spirea

Here is a bit of Lamium that is sheltered by the fence and house at the southeast corner of the backyard. Behind it is foliage from a Heucherella ‘Sweet Tea’ and a little Labrador Violet to the left.

111514_lamium

And here is our single pumpkin the raised veggie bed decided to grow this year. We were going to carve it for Halloween but never had time to do so. It’s currently under the bird feeder as a snack for the squirrels. You can see they have already started to nibble on the back corner a bit.

111514_pumpkin

So, only one plant is blooming right now on the Lot. Everything else seems to be settling in for the Winter. Head on over to May Dreams Gardens and maybe you’ll find a few more blooms from the more toasty areas of the world.