Be of Good Cheer

December 2015

 

Pickaway to Garden

 

By Paul J. Hang

 

Be of Good Cheer

 

December conjures up thoughts of dreary, bleak, cold, dark, short days. The winter solstice occurs this December 22. On that day the end of fall, the beginning of winter and the beginning of longer days will occur. The arrival of the winter solstice makes me cheer and cheerful. Bring in the green, deck the halls, light the fire, cook the goose, wrap the presents, lift a glass, sing along, the holiday season a lot of us call Christmas is here. All too soon it will be gone and then we will face several months of really cold bleak dreary weather and can all settle down for a long winter’s nap. But be of good cheer we know the daylight is getting longer every day even if it won’t be apparent for a while. The good (weather) times will roll again.

 

Plants are also settling down for a long winter’s nap. What we want to prevent is them from springing from their beds “to see, what’s the matter.” Plants newly planted, and even those planted a while ago, can be heaved out of the ground by freeze and thaw cycles, the same process that causes potholes in our streets. A way to prevent this, to plants, is to wait until the ground freezes and then pull the mulch up around the perennials. It’s the roots we want to protect until warm weather returns.

 

Cold stresses plants just as it does us. It is the reason why most perennials lose their leaves in the fall. Admittedly there are those that do not. Christmas ferns, heuchera and evergreens to name a few keep their leaves. As is true in all of nature, there is a cost as well as a benefit for every tactic of survival. Keeping leaves enables a plant to continue to take advantage of sunlight to fuel growth and development. Plants that retain their leaves must produce chemicals to protect their cells from the destruction of freezing temperatures. They also risk drying out, desiccation.

 

Plants use their leaves to exchange oxygen as well as to collect sunlight. This exchange loses water as vapor in their “breath” just as in ours. Our evergreen trees are particularly susceptible to this. Newly planted evergreens need to be watered right up until the ground is frozen deep and hard. If you have smaller evergreens planted in areas where drying winds are prevalent you may try spraying them with an anti-desiccant or wrapping them with burlap. We can also keep from drying out by using our favorite holiday anti-desiccants. Egg nog anyone?

 

I recently read a theory about why evergreen trees have the shape they do. Most of the trees in our temperate climate are deciduous. They lose their leaves in the fall. They also have canopies that are full, round and often much wider at the top than at the bottom. Some are even umbrella shaped with tops wide and flat. This takes full advantage of the higher angle of the sun in summer. By contrast, evergreens are often triangular in shape, tall and narrow with branches wider at the bottom than at the top. This enables them to take advantage of the low winter sun which comes at them sideways rather than from overhead. Look at your Christmas tree and be reminded of the low winter sun that is another reason for the season. Happy Holidays!

 

Things to do in the garden:

 

Thankfully, there are not too many things to do IN the garden as much as there are things to do ABOUT the garden. This holiday season think about gardening gifts.

 

If you haven’t already, clean up crop debris. Shred it and put in the compost heap or till and turn it over to bury in the soil. Get the garden ready for spring as much as possible. There will be less to do come spring.

 

On nice days wander about your place and notice how some plants continue to develop. If the local temperature reaches 50 degrees they grow, only to cease when the temperature falls. Those bitter cress weeds are small now. I find them in between the bricks of my walk. They and ground ivy in the beds and in the lawn are trying to gain a foothold now while they have little competition. The bi-ennial mullein with its fuzzy lamb's ear like leaves is growing flat against the earth. Rosettes of poison hemlock and teasel continue to grow. Pull them up while you have the chance or spray with an herbicide according to the directions on the label. Get them before the weather turns warm and they turn tougher.

 

If the ground remains open it’s still not too late to plant lilies, tulips and daffodils. You may find some bargains. Avoid the soft and shriveled ones. Check houseplants for insects. Move clay pots inside to prevent breaking.

 

Wrap young tree trunks with hardware cloth or the plastic wrap made for that purpose. Protect them from ground level to about 18 inches.  This also goes for newly planted shrubs. Place fencing around them. This prevents mice, voles and rabbits from using the bark as lunch. If they girdle the plants, no matter how big or woody they are, the plants will die. While you’re inspecting trees and shrubs a little light pruning while they are dormant won’t hurt. Damaged, rubbing or simply inconvenient small branches can be removed. Never top trees in any season.

 

In the vegetable garden, write down and/or sketch where you planted what this year, while you can still remember. This will aid in crop rotation which helps yields and eliminates disease carry over. Bugs lay their eggs near the crops they “enjoy.” By not planting the same crops in the same place next year you will foil the destructive insects. A rotation rule to remember is “to follow a root crop by a top crop and vice versa.”