Gardening This Weekend: December 24, 2020

Short, sweet and to the point, here are this week’s activities.

PLANT
• Tulips and Dutch hyacinths as soon as possible. If you wait much longer you will run out of time for them to establish roots, grow normally and bloom well. The same goes for all bulbs given to you as gifts this holiday season.
• If you have a living Christmas tree, get it planted outside as soon as you can. Gradually acclimate it to outdoor conditions, though, especially if it’s fairly cold when you choose to take it outdoors.

PRUNE
• Mistletoe out of trees for use in last-minute decorating. The berries don’t hold on the twigs very long, plus they’re a bit toxic, so be careful where you use them to decorate.
• Don’t waste your precious holiday time topping crape myrtles. It’s the wrong thing to do anyway. More on that later.

FERTILIZE
• No need to feed poinsettias or any other holiday flowers. The fertilizers growers used will sustain them through the next several weeks.

ON THE LOOKOUT
• Don’t let poinsettia, azaleas and other holiday flowers dry to the point of wilting. That greatly shortens bloom life and results in severe leaf drop.
• Have frost cloth pre-cut and ready to put in place over tender plants when cold blows in. You can put this off until after Christmas, but don’t let it go too long.