winter – Page 2

House Plant Reboot

If your houseplants could talk, they would tell you that they like natural daylight—the kind you get outdoors—better than artificial light of any kind. They might also say that the winter-time humidity level in your house is too low. They hope that the compensatory misting you give them does something good for you, because it doesn’t help them very much. Neither does the overwatering that they get from time to time. In the midst of saying those things, some of them might yawn, as winter is a time when many houseplants’ growth cycle slows.

What do your plants want in the winter? The following will help keep them in good shape until spring sets in and growth cycles start anew.

Tidying Up

Anthurium 'A4' (PACORA™) PP11728 — Wipe down the leaves of large-leaved plants, such as this *Anthurium*, if they become dingy or dusty. (Jessie Keith)

Your plants, especially those that have summered outside, probably could use a little TLC. Prune out weak stems, and cut back those that are too gangly. If the plant has glossy leaves, like a gardenia, gently wipe the foliage with a damp cloth to eliminate pore-clogging dust. Check stems, leaves, root ball for pests. Many can be dislodged with a stream of water or application of insecticidal soap. If the plant is pot bound, repot with fresh media, like Fafard® Professional Potting Mix, in a clean container that is about one third larger than its predecessor. Winter will not bring much growth, but it won’t bring strangulation either.

Light

Clivia are midwinter bloomers that need bright indirect light for good flowering. (Jessie Keith)

If you are blessed with a lighted greenhouse, all you have to do is find appropriate spaces for houseplants that prefer a bit of shade. But if you, like many gardeners, have to rely on windowsills, try to put most of your plants in south-facing ones. This may be too much for some popular indoor varieties, like African violets or fancy-leaf begonias. Save areas with bright indirect light, like north-facing windows for them. Be sure to rotate your houseplants regularly to even out light exposure and avoid lopsided growth.

Fertilizer

In general, fertilize plants when they are in active growth. For most plants this means little or no feeding in late fall and winter. The caveat is that you should know your plant. If it is a winter bloomer, it may need fertilizer during the colder months. A little research on individual species will ensure that you fertilize properly for winter blooms.

Humidity

Calathea lancifolia — Low humidity caused the leaf edges of this Calathea to turn brown and dry. (Jessie Keith)

Houseplants like more humidity—generally 40-50 percent— than the average indoor environment provides in winter. If all your plants are in a single room, think about investing in a humidifier. The added moisture in the air will be good for you, the plants and any wooden furniture in the immediate area. If a humidifier is not an option, fill deep plant saucers with pebbles and water and stand the plants on them, making sure that the bottoms of the pots are not standing in water. Replenish the water around the pebbles every few days or as needed. If plants are grouped together and each stands on a bed of pebbles and water, the humidity level around them will be comfortably high.

Watering

Agave victoriae-reginae 'Variegata' — Succulents, such as this variegated *Agave*, need very little water in the winter months. (Jessie Keith)

Overwatering is the most frequent cause of houseplant death. Fortunately, it is also the most preventable. Before you water, take a look at the plant. Is the top inch of the soil dry to the touch? If you pick up the container, does it feel relatively heavy or light? If the specimen in question is a succulent, it is best to water them very sparingly in winter. If your plant appears to be too dry, gently feel a leaf or two. Thirsty succulents tend to have slightly flaccid leaves.

If the plant is dry, water thoroughly until water flows out of the holes in the bottom. Deep watering once or twice a week in the winter is much better for overall health than adding a little water every day. Some houseplants, such as African violets and Streptocarpus, need to be watered from the bottom to keep their leaves from getting wet; moisture on the leaves causes spotting and damage.

Temperature

Pilea cadierei JaKMPM — Tropical plants like this *Pilea* need warm temperatures to grow well indoors. (Jessie Keith)

The majority of popular houseplants like the same indoor temperatures as the majority of humans. Like us, they also prefer to avoid extremes. Ambient temperature around 70 degrees F is generally good. If you house your plants on windowsills, don’t let leaves touch the cold glass panes. Avoid positioning them over radiators too. Intermittent cold drafts from doors, windows or vents can also be harmful.

Languishing

Kalanchoe blossfeldiana JaKMPM — Flowering potted plants may languish when you first bring them indoors for winter. Give them good care and they should revive. (Jessie Keith)

In late fall or early winter, houseplants that have spent the summer and early fall outdoors often languish while adjusting to lower light, less humidity and fewer daylight hours. If the plant is in the right light situation and receiving adequate water, it will adapt and recover after a few weeks. That does not mean that your plumbago or oleander or prize geranium will behave like the blooming fool that it was in the summer. It means that it will live to dazzle you again when warm weather returns.

The same may hold true with houseplants that you purchase from a nursery, garden center or other retailers. Many have been raised under near-ideal conditions and will need adjustment time as they get used to your particular indoor environment.
Houseplant care follows the same rules as care of any other kind of plant. If you are observant, the plant will generally tell you what it needs. Watch for signals and respond accordingly. If the soil is too wet, cut back on watering. If leaves appear burned around the edges, move the plant to a place with less light. About the time you are feeling droopy due to winter blues, your plants may be similarly afflicted. If you have given them good care, both you and the plants will recover as the hours of daylight increase.

Streptocarpus are houseplants that should be watered from the bottom and kept just moist in winter, never wet.

Ornamental Seed Heads for Winter Garden Interest

The seedheads of *Rudbeckia fulgida* stay looking pretty into winter and will even hold the snow. (Photo by Jessie Keith)

Winter is the garden’s quiet time when its subtler charms hold sway. It’s the season of the three B’s – eye-catching bark, colorful berries, and architectural branching – and of evergreen foliage. And it’s also the time to appreciate the marvelous and often beautiful diversity of seed heads.

Miscanthus sinensis ssp. condensatus 'Cabaret' JaKMPM — *Miscanthus sinensis* var. *condensatus* ‘Cabaret’ (Photo by Jessie Keith)

No plants better exemplify this beauty than grasses. Many produce large, elaborate flower heads that reach their full glory in fall and winter as the seeds ripen and scatter. Doubtless, the best known of the bunch (at least in eastern North American gardens) is Chinese maiden grass, Miscanthus sinensis. This variable East Asian native produces huge, plumy, silvery flower heads in late summer on 5- to 8-foot talks that erupt from fountain-like clumps of arching leaves. The ripening blooms gleam in the slanting fall and winter light, glowing most brightly when backlit by the sun.

Among the many outstanding varieties of Chinese maiden grass are the longtime favorite ‘Gracillimus’ and its descendants, all of which feature narrow leaves with silvery midribs. Broad, yellow, widely spaced bands mark the leaves of ‘Zebrinus’, which is floppier in habit than the similar ‘Strictus’. The broad-bladed, variegated Miscanthus sinensis var. condensatus ‘Cabaret’, has cream-striped leaves and reddish plumes that dry to silvery tan in fall. Compact cultivars such as the 40-inch-tall ‘Adagio’ make a good choice for tighter spaces. This (and other) grass species may self-sow, particularly in warmer parts of its USDA Zones 5 to 9 hardiness range.

Other notable grasses of winter interest (and of similar hardiness range) include:

The North American native Panicum virgatum (commonly known as switch grass), which produces hazy clouds of dainty pale flowers that darken as they ripen in fall. Most varieties grow to 4 feet or more.

Cortaderia selloana 'Silver Comet' — Cortaderia selloana ‘Silver Comet’

Fountain grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides), instantly recognizable by its large foxtail-like flower heads on 3-to 4-foot stems above finely textured mounds of narrow leaves. Several dwarf cultivars (including ‘Little Bunny’) are available.

The upright, tassel-flowered Calamagrostis acutiflorus (feather reed grass), with bronzy blooms that mature to beige tones as they mature in late summer and fall.

Cortaderia selloana (pampas grass) is an imposing tender grass surviving in USDA hardiness zones 8-10. The tall plumes reach 8-12 feet and appear late in the season. It can seed freely, so be cautious where you plant it.

Panicum virgatum 'Prairie Sky' JaKMPM — *Panicum virgatum* ‘Prairie Sky’ in winter (Image by Jessie Keith)

These and most other ornamental grasses flourish in relatively fertile, not overly dry soil and full sun. A good nitrogen-rich soil amendment (such as Fafard Garden Manure Blend) will help bring heavy or sandy soils up to snuff.

Purple coneflower seedheads eventually shatter as their seeds are eaten by birds, but they do offer pleasing winter interest. (Image by Jessie Keith)

Like grasses, many broadleaf perennials have attractive seed heads that make a pleasing sight in winter (particularly when displayed against a blanket of snow). Among the best perennials for winter interest are species in the aster family that bear persistent conical heads of dark seeds. The near-black central cones of perennial garden favorite Rudbeckia fulgida remain long after the last golden-yellow petals of its summer-to-fall ray-flowers have dropped. Usually sold under the name ‘Goldsturm’, it’s one of a tribe of similar ‘black-eyed Susans” from the central and eastern United States. All are easy-care sun-lovers, are hardy from zones 4 to 10, and have a penchant for self-sowing. Rudbeckia nitida, by contrast, has greenish cones (with yellow petals) on stately, 4- to 6-foot stems, and is a less enthusiastic self-sower.

Also hailing from prairies and meadows of central and eastern North America are several species of purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea and others). The large brown “cones” protrude pleasingly from the snow on 2- to 4-foot stems and also look nice in summer when fringed with purple-pink ray-flowers. Hybrids and selections of purple coneflower come in a host of flower colors, from white to red to yellow.

Tall sedums continue to look attractive in the garden well into winter. (Image by Jessie Keith)

The North American prairies are home to several other perennials that make great winter garden ornaments. The silver-white, spherical flower heads of rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium) ripen into spiky globes that resemble some sort of miniature medieval weaponry. They cluster atop 3-foot stems that arise from rosettes of fleshy, spiny, yucca-like leaves. False indigo (Baptisia australis) and its kin are big bushy legumes that produce blue, white, or yellow pea-flowers in late spring and early summer, followed by peapods that become leathery and brown-black as the seeds mature in fall. All make wonderful low-maintenance perennials with spring-to-winter interest.

Attractive seedpods are also a feature of the many butterfly weeds (Asclepias spp.) that dot the prairies and fields of eastern and central North America. The pods split in fall to release seeds that float away on tufts of white down. Orange-flowered Asclepias tuberosa is one of the best, as is Asclepias purpurascens, which has rose to purple blooms. Tall Sedums (Sedum spp.) of all types also grace the winter with seedheads that can remain attractive through winter.
Sweet autumn clematis (Clematis terniflora) is one of the numerous Clematis species (including many shrubby and vining perennials native to central and eastern North America) that bear seeds with plumy, silver-white appendages that continue to draw onlookers long after their flowers have fallen. Heavy-blooming plants appear to be enveloped with a feathery froth as the seeds (and their plumes) mature. As with all of the above (as well as the scores of other perennials, shrubs, vines, and trees with ornamental seeds), they’re essential elements of the winter garden and splendid accents for fall and winter flower arrangements.

Growing Happy Hellebores

Double Helleborus niger — A double *Helleborus niger* hybrid lights up a late-winter garden.

Garden writers in cold winter climates often warm themselves in January and February by rhapsodizing about topics like good garden “bones”, shrubs with bright berries, and the enduring appeal of evergreens. That is all well and good, but many of us are just dying to see a flower—any flower—in the garden. And that is precisely why hellebores are so wonderful.

About Christmas and Lenten Rose

*Helleborus orientalis* has rosy blooms and fully evergreen leaves.

What could be better in the gray weeks after the Winter Solstice than to wade into the garden and see the large, buttercup-like flowers of the Christmas rose (Helleborus niger) shining out like spring beacons? Just as the white blooms of Christmas rose begin their transition to buff pink, Lenten rose (Helleborus orientalis) unfolds its petals.

If hellebores have been on your radar in the last few years, you know that those substantial Lenten rose petals may appear in an array of colors from palest green through a range of yellows, pinks, and reds to near-black. Not only that, but they may be single or double, with rounded or pointed edges. Bi-colored varieties are common, as are those marked with alluring freckles. Hellebore leaves are usually evergreen, deeply dissected, and medium to dark green in color, depending on species. Sometimes, the foliage is even enhanced with attractive marbling or contrasting venation.

Helleborus Origins

*Helleborus niger* has white to pale pink flowers and evergreen leaves.

Native to various parts of Europe, western Asia, and China, hellebore species, especially Christmas rose, have been on the horticultural and medicinal radar screen since ancient times.

Large-scale garden use of hellebores has taken off in the last two decades, with the plants’ popularity increasing exponentially. Part of this has to do with modern propagation methods. Traditionally hellebores were grown from seed—a slow process—or increased by dividing established clumps. Modern tissue culture (cloning) has made it much easier to produce large numbers of identical plants.

Breeding efforts in the United States, Europe, and Asia have also resulted in many new, seed-grown varieties. These have been painstakingly bred for specific traits, especially unusual coloration and double flowers.

Planting Hellebores

Freckled Helleborus flowers — Some *Helleborus* hybrids have alluring freckled flowers.

Hellebores have become catnip to gardeners who love their easy-going nature, long season of bloom and resistance to hungry deer and other garden browsers. Planted in lightly shaded spots with good drainage, most thrive with little care. Though they are reasonably drought tolerant, the plants appreciate supplemental water during dry periods. When planting, enrich the soil with organic material like Fafard® Premium Natural & Organic C ompost, to give young plants a good start.
Happy Lenten roses will often mature into large evergreen or partially evergreen clumps that can be used very effectively as ground covers. Their leaves can also provide good cover for the fading foliage of spring bloomers like daffodils and tulips.

Some species, like the unfortunately nicknamed “stinking hellebore” (Helleborus foetidus) also self-sow with enthusiasm.
Hellebores also perform well in spacious containers. Remember to allow enough room for plants that will reach 2-feet in diameter at maturity, and give the roots a good container medium like Fafard® Ultra Outdoor Planting Mix. Water containers regularly during summer dry spells. If space is tight, grow hellebores in plastic liner pots that can be dropped into slightly larger containers during the bloom season and removed later to make way for other flowering plants.

Other Hellebore Species

The Corsican hellebore has unusual green blooms. (Image by Jessie Keith)

Christmas and Lenten roses are the most frequently planted hellebores, but they are not the only ones available. If you are blessed with a spot that is too sunny for Lenten or Christmas roses, try Corsican hellebore (Helleborus argutifolius), which grows about 2-feet tall and wide and features large, pale green flowers and lightly marbled, leathery leaves. Mature plants can produce 20 to 30 flowers apiece.

Cloned varieties of the hybrid Eric Smith’s hellebores (Helleborus x ericsmithii) are worth growing for their foliage alone, which is adorned with silvery veining. Many of these hybrids have reddish flower stems that support outward-facing white flowers that age to pink, a testament to their Christmas rose parentage.

For maximum early-season floral impact and sequence of bloom, plant several species of Helleborus in shady garden areas. Christmas rose and its hybrids, bloom first, often followed by bear’s foot or stinking hellebore and the silvery green-leafed Corsican hellebore. The Lenten rose hybrids make a splash afterward. To get the best floral show, especially with low-growing stemless types like Christmas and Lenten rose, clip off old, ragged-looking leaves to allow blossoms and new growth to shine forth.

Berries and interesting tree bark of the winter landscape are lovely, but hellebores make a mid-winter garden party.

Holiday Spices: Origins and Use

Chilly winter holidays call for warm spices, especially spice rack all-stars like cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger. Over the centuries these kitchen staples have inspired their share of drama–sparking wars, financial speculation and great journeys of exploration. That’s a lot to contemplate as you stir up a batch of holiday gingerbread.

Mostly though, holiday spices conjure memories of delicious tastes and aromas. A few of us get our holiday spices from specialty vendors, but the majority of us buy them in jars from the grocery store. Those spice jars may be small, but when you open them, the aromas and tastes will transport you to kitchens in every era and all parts of the world.

Scrumptious Cinnamon

Cinnamon sticks — Most don’t know that cinnamon stick is the inner bark of a tree. (image by Bertrand Thiry)

Sweet, richly flavored cinnamon comes from the inner bark of several trees in the Cinnamomum genus. Arguably, the best cinnamon is Cinnamomum verum, native to Sri Lanka, and sometimes labeled as “Ceylon” cinnamon. Supermarket cinnamon is derived from the more assertively flavored bark of the related cassia cinnamon tree.

Prized from ancient times, cinnamon is sold either in sticks (called “quills”) or ground form. It is an integral part of the spice mixtures sold as “apple pie spice” and “pumpkin pie spice”. Cinnamon loves company, especially fruits of many kinds, not to mention chocolate and coffee. It has been used in just about every kind of pastry, sweet bread, and dessert—from comforting cinnamon rolls to rice pudding—as well as in savory dishes like tagines and biryanis.

Ginger’s Bite

Gingerbread cookies — Gingerbread tastes like the holidays. (image by Jessie Keith)

Ginger or ginger root, with its sweet/sharp flavor, comes from the rhizome of a tropical plant, Zingiber officinale, native to Southeast Asia. It can be used in many forms—fresh, dried, candied and crystallized. Everyone is familiar with its holiday star turn in gingersnaps and gingerbread, but it is also integral to German pfeffernüsse cookies. Crystalized ginger makes a great after-dinner sweet after heavy holiday meals. With its heat and sparkle, ginger works well with apples, pears, plums, and pumpkin.

If you live in a frost-free climate or have warm indoor space, you might want to try growing ginger at home. Start with a plump, fresh grocery store ginger root. If you grow your ginger in a container, fill it with a rich, high-quality potting mix like Fafard® Professional Potting Mix with Resilience™. Soak the rhizome for a few hours, then plant, barely covering it with potting mix.

Place in a sunny spot indoors or light shade outdoors, water regularly, and the ginger will eventually develop long, strap-like leaves. In about eight months you can harvest bits of the root, but it will take a year or two for the plant to sprout tall spikes of colorful flowers. In cold weather climates, bring ginger plants indoors before the first frosts and mist regularly to compensate for dry winter air.

Comforting Nutmeg

Holiday Plate — Eggnog, gingerbread, and other holiday treats get their great flavor from holiday spices.

The word “nutmeg” inspires visions of eggnog, custards and fruit pies, but its range is actually much wider. Familiar in whole and ground form, aromatic nutmeg is the seed of a tree, Myristica fragrans, native to the Banda Islands of present-day Indonesia. Nutmeg is inextricably linked to another spice, mace, which is made from the lacy red covering of the nutmeg seed.

Dairy products get along famously with nutmeg in sweet or savory dishes. Cooking guru, Julia Child used it liberally in her classic recipe for spinach quiche and also added a grating of fresh nutmeg to traditional béchamel sauce. On the sweet side, nutmeg is lovely in fruitcakes, bread pudding, quick bread and just about anything made with pumpkin, squash or sweet potatoes.

Piquant Cloves

Orange pomander (image by Wendy Piersall) — Pomanders make great natural gifts. (image by Wendy Piersall)

Like nutmeg, cloves are produced by a tree native to the Indonesian island group once known as the “Spice Islands”. The cloves that we make into pomanders or insert in the rind of baked ham are actually dried, unopened flower buds harvested from an evergreen tree, Syzygium aromaticum. Cloves share membership in the myrtle family with allspice, a frequent traveling companion in holiday recipes.

Like ginger, cloves have a sharpness and piquancy that is a particularly good complement to rich, unctuous flavors, like beef or pork. They are also a stock ingredient in spice blends for mulling cider or wine. Pear and plum dishes benefit from a hint of clove, while spice and fruit cakes would lack depth without them. Use cloves—whole or ground–carefully, the little buds pack a flavor wallop.

Fresh spices taste best when ground or grated just before use. Store them in sealed containers away from direct sunlight. Ground spices lose flavor fairly rapidly, so use them up, lest they remain to haunt the cupboard like the ghosts of holidays past.

Trees with Beautiful Winter Bark

A number of hardy tree species possess bark that is eye-catchingly handsome, particularly in winter, when most everything else in the garden is dressed in frostbitten drab. Such trees are essential for bringing defining structure and color and texture to the winter landscape.

Maples

The maples have given us a number of trees that possess arresting bark, including the iconic paperbark maple (Acer griseum). In its best forms, this highly variable Chinese native slowly matures into a 25- to 35-foot, round-headed specimen with polished, flaking, cinnamon-brown bark that is especially striking when frosted with snow. The three-parted leaves assume sunset tones rather late in fall.

Paperbark maple interbreeds with another trifoliate East Asian maple (Acer nikoense), which has striking green streaked bark, to produce hybrids with finely shredded bark of a somewhat paler cinnamon-brown. A third species in the three-leaved maple tribe, three-flowered maple (Acer triflorum), has shaggily flaking, silvery- to creamy-gray bark. It, too, is a small to medium tree, perfectly sized for most residential gardens in USDA Cold Hardiness Zones 5b to 8. Sunny or lightly shaded sites work best.

Snake-bark maples constitute another group well worth growing for their colorful stems. Arguably the most beautiful is red-vein maple (Acer rufinerve). Some selections of this fast-growing, medium-sized tree have luminous lime-green bark marked with paler longitudinal fissures. Abundant, colorfully winged fruits dangle from the branches late summer and early fall. This Japanese native is closely related to our native moosewood (Acer pensylvanicum), which is sometimes represented in gardens by the red-stemmed cultivar ‘Erythrocladum’. Both do well in sun or partial shade.

Stewartias

Like the maples, the genus Stewartia is centered in temperate East Asia and eastern North America and contains several species with beautiful bark. The best known, Japanese stewartia (Stewartia pseudocamellia), bears white, camellia-like flowers in early summer, and oval leaves that go fiery in fall. Its most notable feature, however, is its multicolored bark, which exfoliates into mottled patches of gray and bronze and pinkish-tan. Other, far lesser known stewartias (including Stewartia rostrata and S. sinensis) are also beautifully mottled. Also noteworthy is Stewartia monadelpha, a relatively slight species whose bark resembles that of paperbark maple. All these stewartias are small, rather spreading trees that make good choices for sunny to partly shaded niches in modest-sized gardens. Most are hardy to USDA Zone 5b.

Lacebark Elm

Japanese Stewartia bark — Japanese stewartia

A diverse species that occurs over a wide range of Asia in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, lacebark elm (Ulmus parvifolia) has given rise to numerous cultivars, including some dwarf selections that make ideal bonsai subjects. For the garden, forms with exfoliating bark are undoubtedly the most desirable, their trunks maturing into a stewartia-like patchwork. All forms flourish in full sun, and most will weather USDA Zone 5b conditions.

Persian Ironwood

Also notable for its showy patchwork bark (and also hardy into USDA Zone 5b) is a medium-sized tree from the witch-hazel family, Persian ironwood (Parrotia persica). Typically multi-stemmed and wide-spreading, it bears leaves that resemble common witch-hazel and produces curious little early spring flowers composed of clusters of purple stamens. Fall color is often a spectacular blaze of orange, red, and smoky purple, with the brightest coloration occurring in full sun.

Amur Chokecherry

One of the best ornamental trees for sunny niches in especially chilly regions (USDA zones 3 to 6), Amur chokecherry (Prunus maackii) grows rapidly into a medium-sized tree with lustrous, shredding, tawny-orange bark that fairly glows in the winter landscape. Rounded clusters of white flowers open in spring and are followed by small black fruits. Although relatively short-lived and prone to damage from heavy wet snow and ice, it is still unsurpassed as a four-season tree for cold-climate gardens.

Peking Tree Lilac

A. nikoense x A. griseum bark — *A. nikoense* x *A. griseum*

The Peking tree lilac (Syringa pekinensis) resembles Amur chokecherry both in its exceptional cold-hardiness (USDA zones 3 to 7) and in the exfoliating, coppery bark of its finest forms (such as ‘Copper Curls’). But this variable Manchurian native offers greater longevity and clay-soil tolerance, as well as a bevy of fleecy, fragrant early-summer flowers. Typically multi-stemmed, it grows at a moderate rate to 20 to 30 feet tall, prospering in most soils in full sun.

Amur Maackia

Fafard Premium Natural & Organic Compost Blend pack

Copper-tinged bark and USDA Zone 3 hardiness are also among the virtues of another small tree from the harsh climes of Manchuria, Maackia amurensis. Amur maackia’s bark is remarkable not only for its rust-brown coloration but also for the diamond-shaped exfoliations that decorate its surface, inviting closer inspection. Upright candelabras of dull white flowers deck its branches in early summer. The pinnately compound foliage of this single-stemmed, round-crowned, leguminous tree is an attractive dark green in summer but offers little in the way of fall color. Growth is slow, even in ideal conditions (full sun and fertile, well-drained soil).

Plant one of these trees with beautiful winter bark next spring, and it will bring much-needed color and presence to the garden next winter (and for years to come). To get it off to a good start, give it a planting hole that’s about the same depth as the root ball, and three times as wide. Amend the backfilled soil with a bit of balanced fertilizer, as well as a humus-rich amendment such as Fafard Natural & Organic Compost Blend if the soil is excessively sandy or heavy.

Fast-to-Force Flowering Branches for Indoor Arrangements

Early-flowering Cornus mas has great branches for forcing.

So many beautiful spring-flowering trees and shrubs have branches that can be forced early for a little indoor spring in late winter. The process is simple but forcing times vary from plant to plant. Fast-to-force branches are the most satisfying, and the color they bring to the table never disappoints. All you need are some shears, water, flower food, and a little patience.
The earliest flowering shrubs of the spring are often the best to choose. They typically only require short forcing times. Many of the early bloomers are fragrant as well as colorful, which helps them make an even more pronounced statement for table arrangements.

Pussy willow branches force and root quickly for pretty cut flowers and new shrub starts to share with friends.

Some of the better common quick-blooming branches for forcing are golden Forsythia (Forsythia x intermedia), fothergilla (Fothergilla spp.), pussy willows (Salix caprea), curly willow (Salix matsudana ‘Tortuosa), honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.), Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas), serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.), and bridal wreath spirea (Spiraea prunifolia), all of which will force in around two weeks. The branches of many popular flowers shrubs that bloom a little later, like Rhododendron, dogwood, cherry, and lilac, typically take more time to force, often between four and five weeks.

How and When to Harvest Branches

Branches only force well in late-winter when they have been outside and dormant for long enough through winter. Late January to February is the perfect window for harvest time.
When pruning branches, be sure to selectively remove those that should be pruned off anyway. That way, you will be killing two birds with one stone. Crossing, old, or out-of-place branches are the best to prune off and bring inside.

Homemade floral preservative — The best homemade floral preservative contains warm water, lemon-lime soda, and a little bleach.

Cut branches with sharp, bypass pruners as opposed to anvil types that crush branch tissue. (I like Felco 2 classic pruners.) Clean cuts will enable branches to take up water and food more efficiently, which will result in prettier, more successful flowering. Make branch cuts ¼ inch above a bud and select branches between 1 to 3 feet long, depending on the size and impact of the display you want for the final arrangement. Cut branches should be placed in a container of water immediately, so have a bucket or jar on hand at cutting time.

Forcing Branches

Bring the branches indoors, and using a floral knife, cut the bases of the branches at 45 degree angles. Then immediately place them back in the water. This maximizes their ability to take in nutrients and water. Cold water is best, especially if outdoor temperatures are below the freezing point. Branches should always be held upright in the container, and the water should only cover the first inch of the branch bases.
After a day or so, replace the container water with slightly warm water, and add a homemade flower preservative made from the following: 2 cups lemon-lime soda, 2 cups warm water, and ½ teaspoon bleach (recipe care of Purdue Extension). At this point, the branches need to be stored in a cool place with moderate light, and the container’s water level needs to be maintained at its original depth. After a week or so, the buds should start to plump up and show some color.

Forsythia branches in blue vase — Forsythia branches are some of the easiest to force!

Once the signs of bud break appear, place your branches in a warmer, brighter spot with indirect sunlight, and arrange them in a vase with added flower food. In a matter of days, they should be blooming and beautiful!
After flowering, the bases of some of your branches may root. This is most common with pussy willow and curly willow. If this happens, be sure to pot up your cuttings.
Plant the rooted cuttings in 1-gallon pots filled with Fafard Professional Potting Mix, and keep the pots moist in a cool, well-lit location until the threat of frost has passed. Once the weather has warmed up, the cuttings should have rooted well enough to be planted in the ground. You might even want to share some with friends, so they can force their own winter branches in the future and keep the cycle of sharing going.

How To Force Bulbs for Winter Cheer

Daffodils, hyacinths, and tulips in winter? For many of us, this would seem the stuff of fantasy, absent a visit to the florist. Yet, with only a modest investment of money, time, and effort, even a beginning gardener can know the joy of bringing these and other spring bulbs into bloom during the coldest and darkest days of the year. Forcing bulbs is that easy.

Flower bulbs are little marvels. Those that grow in cold climates usually leaf and flower in spring, retreating from summer through winter to a tiny condensed underground storage organ known as a true bulb, corm, tuber or rhizome (we’ll just call them all bulbs here). Give them a warm summer followed by 2 or 3 months of chilly temperatures and moist soil, and they’re primed to grow and flower as soon as temperatures turn milder. By providing these cues, along with a nice pot, we can have them up and blooming indoors weeks (even months) before their outdoor kin make their appearances.

Bulb Forcing Pots and Mix

Hyacinth and daffodil bulbs in baskets — Hyacinth and daffodil bulbs can both be forced in winter.

So what does it take to stage this little miracle? Aside from the bulbs themselves (which we’ll get to in a minute), you’ll need a container, some potting soil and a chilly place for the bulbs to cool their heels. Containers of various sorts and sizes will do fine, but wide shallow pots (sometimes known as “bulb pans”) are ideal. Look for something in the 6- to 8-inch-wide and 4- to 5-inch deep range. Clay pots look especially nice and have the added advantage of not tipping as easily as plastic ones.

I recommend a light, well-drained, quality potting mix such as Fafard Professional Potting Mix, which is also perfect for bulbs and contains less added fertilizer. A fertilizer-enriched mix is not necessary unless you’re planning to relocate the bulbs to the garden after they’ve bloomed.
Now for the stars of your planting projects: your plants!

Bulbs for Forcing

Amaryllis by the window — Amaryllis are some of the most common bulbs to be forced.

Many bulbs “force” well. Perhaps the most rewarding are those that smell as nice as they look. Among these are numerous daffodils, including Narcissus tazetta hybrids like ‘Geranium’ and ‘Cragford’, the delightfully double-flowered ‘Cheerfulness’ and ‘Yellow Cheerfulness’ and ‘Sundial’ and other hybrids of N. jonquilla. Netted irises (Iris reticulata and hybrids) also offer beautiful flowers and a heady scent, as do many grape hyacinths and some tulips and crocuses. And of course, there’s the bulb that practically defines floral fragrance – the hyacinth. Other bulbs worth trying include Grecian windflower (Anemone blanda), Siberian squill (Scilla siberica) and fumewort (Corydalis solida).

Assemble all your materials in early to late fall (either on a potting table or just a kitchen counter festooned with newspaper) and you’re ready to go!

How to Force Bulbs

Two amaryllis sprouts in pots — Two amaryllis sprouts in the pots

Start by filling your container with enough slightly moistened potting mix so that the tips of the bulbs will be an inch or so below the container’s rim when set on the soil’s surface (large bulbs such as hybrid daffodils can be planted with their noses above rim level). Then place your bulbs on the soil, spaced closely but not touching. Fill the container to just below the rim with more potting mix, water until the drainage holes begin to drip, then move the container to a dark location where temperatures will remain above freezing but well below the comfort range of shirt-sleeved humans (40 degrees F is just right). An attic or attached garage may be suitable, but keep in mind that bulb-loving critters might be afoot. If no other place is available, the refrigerator will do nicely, as long as the bulbs don’t have overripe fruit as fridge-mates. Refrigerated containers are best kept in paper bags, to retard drying. Water the containers lightly if the top layer of soil dries.

And now you wait. At about 7 or 8 weeks, start checking for signs of root development. When roots are evident at drainage holes, or if bulbs offer significant resistance if gently twisted or tugged, your bulbs are ready to party. (The appearance topside of leaves or fat buds is a further sign that flowers are in the offing.)

So let the show begin: Bring your container into a cool, shady room for a few days, to acclimate the prepped bulbs to “spring.” Then move it to a sunny – but not too warm – niche, and watch the miracle happen. Most bulbs will flower 2-4 weeks after coming into the light. Water when the soil surface dries.

After they bloom, either discard them or plant them in the garden once the soil becomes workable. (If you replant them in your outdoor beds, just be patient: Your transplanted bulbs will likely be bloomless for a year or two in the garden before they flower again.)

What better antidote for winter than a windowsill brimming with brightly blooming bulbs? You might even find yourself in the market for a spare refrigerator.

Variegated Evergreens for Winter Landscaping

Daylight starts its annual return with the Winter Solstice, but cold gray days continue well into the New Year. Gardens, shorn of flowers and deciduous leaves, are stark. In winter, evergreens make all the difference. And variegated varieties, their leaves edged, striped or splashed in contrasting tones, add zest and color to the landscape. With choice specimens available in many sizes and shapes, the only constant is variety.

Variegated Holly

English holly (Ilex aquifolia), brightens landscapes and winter arrangements with glossy green leaves and vibrant red berries on female plants. Variegated varieties include ‘Argenteomarginata’, with white leaf edges and ‘Aureomarginata’, featuring yellow borders. Both can be grown as large shrubs or small trees, reaching up to 20 feet tall and 12 feet wide, with a pyramidal habit. Variegated English holly thrives in full sun to light shade. Nearby male varieties provide necessary pollination for female plants.

‘Golden King’ is one such male. It is an English holly hybrid (Ilex x altaclerensis) that features slightly more rounded leaves than its parent and golden variegation on the leaf edges. Developed at England’s Highclere Castle, home to TV’s “Downton Abbey”, it grows up to 24 feet tall and 12 feet wide.

Variegated Winter Daphne

Winter or fragrant daphne (Daphne odora) is aptly named. The fragrant flowers appear very early—in late winter or early spring. With leathery leaves and a mounding habit, shade-tolerant winter daphne makes a good hedging or specimen plant, especially in alkaline soil. Tempting variegated varieties include ‘Aureomarginata’, with yellow leaf margins, ‘Rubra Variegata’, featuring rosy-pink flowers and white-edged foliage, and ‘Variegata’ with soft pink blooms and bright yellow leaf margins.

Variegated False Holly

It’s easy to mistake false holly or holly olive (Osmanthus heterophyllus) for the real thing. The dense, spiny leaves resemble those of English holly, though the leaves are smaller and denser, and false holly does not produce its namesake’s bright red fruits. Osmanthus is a densely-leafed, upright shrub that grows into an oval shape and usually tops out at 8 to 10 feet tall and wide. It can also be clipped into standard form.

Variegated false hollies abound, including ‘Aureomarginata’, with yellow leaf edges, the eye-catching ‘Goshiki’, bearing foliage marked with flecks of gold, cream and green, and ‘Kembu’, featuring white leaf margins and flecks, and ‘Variegatus’, with white-edged leaves.

Variegated Euonymus

Variegated Wintercreeper — Variegated wintercreeper is one of the easiest in the group to grow.

The large euonymus genus contains many variegated evergreens. Wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei) is one of them. Some of the best-known varieties are low-growers, less than 12 inches tall, with small, dark green or blue-green leaves. With its spreading habit and adaptability to varying light situations, wintercreeper works as a groundcover, rock garden subject, low wall cover, or erosion controller. Among the many variegated varieties are ‘Emerald ‘n Gold’, with yellow leaf margins on leaves that turn pinkish in winter, the taller ‘Gold Splash’, which grows to 3 feet tall and wide, ‘Moonshadow’, with green-edged yellow leaves, ‘Silver Queen’, featuring yellow margins that age to white, and ‘Sunshine’ with its gray-green leaves edged in gold.

Use wintercreeper carefully. It has been reported as invasive in some areas. One way to keep it in check is to grow it in large pots and trim as necessary. (It can take very heavy pruning so shear and shape it at will.) Give containerized wintercreeper a good start by using a quality potting mix, like Fafard Ultra Outdoor Planting Mix.

Japanese Euonymus (Euonymus japonicus) is a shrubby plant, topping out at 10 to 15 feet tall and half as wide. Like most euonymus, the species bears shiny green, ovoid leaves. Variegated varieties of this rather formal hedging plant include ‘Albomarginatus’ and ‘Aureomarginatus’, bearing white and gold leaf edges respectively. ‘Latifolius Albomarginatus’ also features leaves with white margins, but has broader leaves than ‘Albomarginatus’ and gray-green leaf centers.

Variegated Spotted Laurel

Spotted Laurel 'Variegata' — The spotted laurel ‘Variegata’ is a gold-flecked female variety, originally introduced in 1783.

Shade-loving spotted laurel (Aucuba japonica) is easy to spot. The hardy plants, often used for hedging, grow up to 10 feet tall, with a nearly equal spread. Spotted laurel leaves are somewhat leathery and up to 8 inches long. Purple spring flowers are an added bonus, giving way to red fall fruits on female plants. ‘Mr. Goldstrike’, a male plant that can serve as a pollinator for female spotted laurels, is dramatic and generously dappled with golden speckles. ‘Variegata’ is a gold-flecked female variety, originally introduced in 1783 and known as the “gold dust plant.” Another notable spotted laurel is ‘Goldieana’, featuring a solid splotch of gold on each long, green leaf.

Evergreens provide the horticultural music in quiet winter gardens. Variegation makes that music swing.

Holiday Cooking with Fresh Ginger

Whether you cook something sweet or savory, fresh ginger (Zingiber officinale) has a traditional place at the holiday table. Its bright, spicy flavor adds something special to cookies, cakes, and festive starters that will encourage family and friends to keep coming back for more. The key is choosing the freshest roots from the store or (even better) your own potted ginger plant.

Growing Ginger

Ginger is wonderfully easy to grow as a potted houseplant, if kept in a sunny window. Just provide it with a well-drained pot of fertile Fafard Professional Potting Mix, water moderately, feed monthly with an all-purpose water soluble fertilizer and you’ll be set. If planting ginger root for the first time, be sure to plant it with its horn-like buds facing upwards and sink it 1-2” below the soil’s surface. Store-bought roots will work very well or you can purchase plants from retail greenhouses like Logee’s. One choice cultivated variety is the Javanese ‘Sunthi’, which has smaller, more pungent roots, but it is hard to find in commerce.
Starting with the good stuff always makes recipes taste better, so be sure to go for the firmest, nicest ginger roots for your holiday cooking. Here are several fresh ginger recipes that will make the best use of them:

Lemon glazed cake — Tart lemon glaze makes this moist, seasonal cake taste extra good.

Fresh Ginger Cake with Lemon Glaze

This oil-based cake is very flavorful and moist. The addition of tart lemon glaze makes it even more decadent. Begin by buttering and flouring a bread pan and heating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. All wet ingredients should be at room temperature.
Wet Ingredients
2 large eggs (room temperature)
¾ cup vegetable oil
¾ cup hot water
¾ cup granulated sugar
Dry Ingredients
2 cups cake flour
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
½ cup packed, macerated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon lemon zest
Glaze
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
½ cup powdered sugar
Directions
Combine all of the dry ingredients (except the sugar) in a sieve over a large mixing bowl and sift the ingredients. Next, add all the wet ingredients, except the ginger, lemon zest, and eggs, to another large mixing bowl and whisk until smooth and light.
Combine the molasses mixture to the dry ingredients and fold in the ginger and eggs, using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, until fully combined. Then transfer the batter to the baking pan. The cake should be baked for around 45 minutes.
Test the cake with a bamboo skewer and make sure it comes up clean before removing the cake. Before the cake cools, whisk the glaze ingredients together, skewer holes across the top of the cake and pour the glaze over the top—allowing it to sink into the cake and harden. Once cool, take a knife along the cake edges and remove the cake from the pan.

Gingerbread with Fresh Orange Zest

This fresh gingerbread tastes extra good with the addition of orange zest. — Crisp gingerbread ready for decorating!

For years I sought out the best gingerbread recipe and finally settled on a conglomerate of recipes gathered from a variety of places.
Wet Ingredients
¾ cup salted butter
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup dark molasses (not black strap!)
¼ cup warm water
1 tablespoon fresh crushed ginger
1 tablespoon fresh orange zest
Dry Ingredients
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cloves
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
A healthy pinch of salt
3 ¼ cups sifted flour
Directions
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy then mix in the molasses and water. Sift the dry ingredients then add them to the wet until fully combined (be sure not to over mix).
Flour your hands and pull the dough together into a flattened ball and chill for at least 12 hours. Before you roll the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Flour up a board and pin and cut your dough in two. Roll out the dough to around 1/4 inch thickness. Be sure to keep the board and pin floured to stop the dough from sticking.
Cut out your shapes and reroll any excess dough, though try not to overwork it as this results in tough cookies. Place the rolled cookies onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for eight to ten minutes, depending on how large or thick your cookies are. The less baked, the chewier the cookie. Allow the cookies to cool before decorating. Royal icing is the best for decorating and gel food coloring provides the deepest colors.

Roasted Eggplant Dip with Ginger

This creamy, nutty, gingery eggplant dip tastes great with pita, crackers, and fresh vegetable crudités.
Ingredients
1 large, fresh Italian eggplant
3 tablespoons almond butter
1 tablespoon full fat Greek yogurt
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons macerated ginger
1 clove finely minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground fennel seed
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon flatleaf Italian parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the top of the eggplant, cut it in half and place it flat side down on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Roast it until it is completely soft. This should take around 45 minutes. Once cooked, allow the eggplant to cool. Scoop out the soft eggplant and add it to a food processor. Briefly heat the coriander, cumin, and fennel seed in a heated pan with two teaspoons of olive oil—a minute or two should be enough. Add all of the ingredients to the food processor and pulse the dip until smooth—adding salt and pepper to taste.
This dip tastes best if the flavors are allowed to marry for sein the refrigerator. Bring it to room temperature before serving.

Winterberry Garden Gems

Berries of cardinal red, golden yellow and orange stud the branches of winterberries (Ilex verticillata) like late-season gemstones. When planted together in masses, they offer clouds of landscape color that can be appreciated both close up and from afar. Cut branches the for festive holiday arrangements or simply keep them outdoors for the birds to eventually devour after more desirable winter food becomes scarce.

Winterberry Origins

Wintergold berries — ‘Wintergold’ is a pretty, gold-berried selection that’s commonly sold at garden centers and nurseries.

These are the shrubs for winter. Native to the whole of eastern North America, winterberries are deciduous hollies that offer little more than inconspicuous white flowers in early to mid-spring and green foliage in summer, but when they produce their bright berries in fall, and the leaves drop, they glow.

Like most hollies, they are dioecious, which means some plants produce male flowers and some produce female flowers. Only the female flowers produce fruit, so it is essential to know the sex of your plants because a male pollenizer is required. For this reason, varieties are sold as either male or female, so be sure to plant at least one of each. For larger plantings of winterberry, plant one male shrub to every five females.

There is no shortage of cool, fun winterberry varieties for the landscape. and each year more are introduced. With the newer, better variants, these shrubs become more and more popular with homeowners. Many have denser, larger berries. Others come in warm shades other than red.

Red Winterberries

Winter Red berries — The bright red berries of the classic Ilex verticillata ‘Winter Red’ shine through much of the cold season.

Of the red-berried selections, Berry Nice® has bright red, medium-sized berries that heavily cover the branches of this tall shrub and remain for a long time into winter. Another with lots of berries is Berry Heavy®, the difference being that the berries are quite large. The more delicately fruited ‘Sparkleberry’ is an introduction by the U.S. National Arboretum, which has very long-lasting scarlet fruits that appear on large, upright shrubs. And one cannot write about winterberries without mentioning the classic ‘Winter Red’, which is a reliable variety with consistently beautiful red fruit. The dwarf ‘Red Sprite’, which reaches only 3 to 5 feet, is a pretty variety for small gardens. All of these female shrubs can be pollinated by the male ‘Mr. Poppins’.

Orange and Gold Winterberries

Aurantiaca orange berries — The unusual, orange-berried ‘Aurantiaca’ has exceptional good looks.

The tangerine-berried ‘Aurantiaca’, is tall and vigorous and looks uniquely beautiful in winter. Plant it alongside yellow- and red-twigged dogwoods for a real color explosion.

Of the gold and yellow-berried varieties, the classic ‘Winter Gold’ offers consistent good looks with its rich, golden berries. Berry Heavy® Gold is a new variety that becomes so heavily loaded with bright gold berries it literally drips with color.

Growing Winterberries

Winterberries are adaptable, thriving in full to partial sun and moist to average soils on the acid side. Fruiting is most spectacular in plants given fuller sun.

Before planting a new winterberry, be sure to amend the soil with organic-rich amendments like Fafard Premium Natural & Organic Compost Blend and Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss. New shrubs are best planted in spring but are also cold tolerant enough to be planted in fall

Winterberries of all colors look outstanding when planted together in great swaths. Their bright, cheerful good looks consistently make a big landscape statement that will have your friends wanting to plant their own.

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