Naked!

 

December 2022

 

Pickaway to Garden

Naked!

By Paul J. Hang

 

This is not about getting naked but, now that I have your attention, about evergreens and Christmas trees. There are many species of trees that can be used for Christmas trees. All are evergreen and coniferous. All are gymnosperms. From the Greek, gymnos means naked and sperma means seeds. Coniferous plants have naked seeds. Curiously enough, gymnos is where we get the word gymnasium. I wouldn’t carry this too far or you might be asked to leave the “Y” with a police escort. But I digress.

 

Most flowering plants are angiosperms. Angio from the Greek means vessel. Vascular plants that are angiosperms develop their seeds within an ovary within a flower and the seeds are contained in a fruit. Vascular plants that are gymnosperms develop their seeds exposed (naked) on the surface of cones, not in fruits. We call them conifers. Gymnosperms were some of the earliest plants. Angiosperms evolved later and are more numerous.

 

Conifer leaves are almost always simple, often needlelike as in pines, spruces, larches, and firs or scale-like as in some junipers and cedars. Some conifers are not evergreen but deciduous and lose their leaves, like Dawn Redwoods, Bald Cypress and Larch (Tamarack). Most conifers are evergreen.

 

Evergreens retain their leaves as their name implies.  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 in northern climates must produce chemicals to protect their cells from the destruction of freezing temperatures.

 

Plants use their leaves to exchange oxygen as well as to collect sunlight. This exchange (transpiration) loses water as vapor in their “breath” just as in ours. Our evergreen trees are particularly susceptible to this. They risk drying out, or desiccation.  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 for the winter. Don’t leave them naked.

 

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. They celebrate the return of the light and with it greenery, which is the promise of returning life. Another way to enjoy them is to spend an evening with nothing on but the tree lights.

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. If you haven’t already done so, clean up crop debris. Get the vegetable garden ready for spring. As mentioned before, leave stems in the perennial beds 18 inches high for overwintering beneficial insects’ eggs and pupae. If it remains dry, continue to water evergreens and perennial plants, particularly those planted this year, until the ground is frozen hard.

 

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 below. Those bitter cress weeds are small now. I find them in between the bricks of my walk. They, false dead nettle and ground ivy in the beds and in the lawn are trying to gain a foothold now while they have little competition. The biennial mullein with its fuzzy lamb's ear-like leaves is growing flat against the earth. Rosettes of poison hemlock and teasel continue to grow. Dig 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. Plant native seeds directly over snow or frozen ground. Go to www.backyardhabitat.info.

 

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, they will die. A little light pruning of trees and shrubs while they are dormant won’t hurt. Damaged, rubbing or simply inconvenient small branches can be removed. Never top trees in any season. When harvesting or buying firewood use only from local sources less than 20 miles. This helps prevent the spread of bugs and diseases harmful to trees.

 

In the vegetable garden, write down and/or map where you planted what this year. This will aid in crop rotation. Use sand and/or ice melt, not rock salt, on your walks, salt is harmful to plants including grass and contaminates ground water.

 

Gift ideas for gardeners: a good spade, soil knife, scuffle hoe, gloves, mud boots, books.