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Garden Calendar:
December
Protect
- Protect moveable
plants from sudden changes in temperature by bringing them
indoors.
- Protect tender
plants by placing layers of mulch, or pine straw, to a depth
of 6-8 inches.
- Water plants
well if there is warning before a frost. Otherwise water as
the plants begin to thaw.
Plant
- Toward the
end of the month plant Tulips and Hyacinth that have been in
the fridge for 6 weeks.
- This is a
good time to move Japanese Magnolias.
- Plant many
types of bare root trees: fruit, nut or citrus.
- Plant dormant
shrubs: Azalea, Camellia, Nandina, Wax Ligustrium, Indian Hawthorne,
Pyracantha, Mock orange, Hydrangea, Flowering Quince, and Spirea.
- Herbs for
a sunny window: Tarragon, Chives, Oregano, Marjoram, and Rosemary.
Prune
- Prune fruit
trees and shade trees to remove damaged wood.
- Cut off tops
of brown perennials, leave roots in the soil.
- Do not prune
spring flowering shrubs.
- Ferns will
come back from the ground, cut back brown fronds.
- Cut Mistletoe
out of trees.
Indoor
Plants
- House plants
to consider: African Violets, Amaryllis, Begonia, Bromeliads,
Christmas Cacti, Dieffenbachia, Ferns, Philodendron, Schefflera,
and Weeping Fig.
- Feed houseplants
twice during the winter months.
Miscellaneous
- To maintain
a live Christmas tree in good condition, mix in a 2 liter bottle:
8 oz non-diet soda, 2 oz vinegar, 1 oz mouthwash. Fill the
bottle with water. Keep base of tree in this solution. After
Christmas have your tree turned into mulch. Some Christmas
decorations are poisonous to people and pets: Keep Boxwood,
Holly, Mistletoe, and Jerusalem Cherry high up and out of reach.
In
Bloom
- Sweet Pea,
Sasanquas, Poinsettia, Camellia, Osmanthus, Narcissus, and
Amaryllis
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