From The
Santa Cruz Sentinel
November 24, 2005
Deck The Halls
Feeling uninspired to deck your halls with last year's decorations? Why not let the magic of fresh plants and greens ignite your decorating creativity?
Imagine your home filled with colorful flowers and the refreshing scent of foliage. Plants are so easy to use as decorations that all the elves in the family will want to get in on the fun.
Here are a few ideas to add to your decorating plans, along with advice for selection and care from local growers and plant experts:
The Right Tree
Container-grown trees are available to enjoy inside for the festivities and become part of the family landscape afterward.
The dwarf Alberta spruce is a dense full tree "that only grows 1 to 2 inches a year," says Sharon Hull, horticulturist at San Lorenzo Lumber Garden Center. It can be maintained as a patio plant, staying small enough to bring inside for years to come. Another stunning choice is the Pinus flexis, Vanderwolf pine. Hull describes it as having "incredibility blue soft needles. It is just a stunning tree." A fast grower, it will probably need planting outdoors after a few years.
Native trees like Douglas fir and redwoods make nice holiday trees, staying a portable size for a few years.
Find the shape and type of tree that suits your needs. For best results, "make sure that the tree is vibrant in color without a preponderance of dead needles and the twigs should be flexible," advises Hull.
"Avoid plants that have circling roots on the top of the pot or roots coming out of the drainage holes."
To keep your tree alive and healthy, Hull suggests trees should not be left indoors for more than seven to 10 days. While inside, avoid fireplaces or heater ducts and keep the soil moist, "but not soggy." Be sure to invest in a large saucer for underneath the container. "Remove excess water with a turkey baster if necessary," she says.
The Freshest Cut
"A 'choose-and-cut' tree is the freshest tree you can get," says Warren Church, owner of Church Christmas Tree Farm near Watsonville, "because it is as fresh as the moment you cut it. Along with the tree comes the adventure of wandering through the farm and finding the one you want and then getting some mud on your knees," Church says with a laugh. "Trees are like people. They are all different."
Monterey pines and Douglas firs are often sheered to produce a full, cone-shaped tree. The white fir has branches spaced apart, giving it an airy look. The incense cedar doesn't have needles like a pine or fir, but according to Church, it has "the best scent of any tree."
To keep cut trees fresh throughout the holiday, Church has the following tips. Any tree that has been out of water for more than a half an hour needs to be recut. Remove about an inch from the butt end and put the tree in water immediately. Use a stand that holds water and keep the water level up and position the tree inside the house where it is not too warm.
Plant Says Christmas
The big, red, showy bracts of the poinsettia the plant's true flowers are the little yellow cyathia at the center have made it the Christmas show-stopper for decades.
Although many colors are available, "red is the most common," says Rockne Arola, poinsettia grower and owner of Corralitos Nursery. "It makes up about 60 percent of the crop." Poinsettias now come in a range of reds, from fire engine red to deep burgundy. Euro Glory is a new red variety for Arola this year.
"It is almost a blood red in color with velvety leaves," he says.
In the pink shades, Shimmer Pink is one of Arola's newer varieties.
"It is a real novelty. A pinky cream color with speckled jingle bell-looking bracts."
Other poinsettia colors include white, yellow and salmon.
"Buy early and buy local," Arola advises. "The best plants leave the greenhouses in early December."
Select a "nice, round, even plant," Arola suggests. "Take a look at the roots. They should be vivid white from the top of the pot to the bottom." At home, place the poinsettia in a high light area with good air flow. Take care of those roots by "watering them thoroughly. Over-water and they will rot at the bottom. Water a little bit too often and you end up with sludge," cautions Arola.
Indoors And Out
Cyclamen flowers dance in a cloud of blooms above a sea of green leaves making a stunning display outdoors or indoors.
There are some wild new varieties with fringed and picote flowers says Linda Neuschwander certified nursery professional at Alladin Nursery.
"Cyclamen come in red, white, pinks, and purples," says Anne Stocker, plant propagator at Blue Pacific Greenhouses. "Some are even scented like a sweet perfume, but not obnoxious."
Christmas cactus Zygocactus is a prolific bloomer that brightens up any room. Flowers can be yellow, white, pink, or fuchsia. These heavy bloomers remain showy well into the New Year. Hydrangeas make an elegant show in either blue or white. Both mop head and lace cap varieties can be planted outside in pots or the ground and bloom annually.
Coleus, "may not be traditional, but varieties with deep red and green make outstanding accent plants," Stocker suggests. To keep them looking nice, "pinch the tips to make them branch for a fuller plant."
When making your potted plant selection, "look your plant material over, period," declares Amber Traina, houseplant and floral buyer at San Lorenzo Garden Center. In general, look for full, even plants with healthy, fresh-looking foliage. While indoors, water thoroughly when the soil begins to dry out. Position plants away from heat sources and direct sunlight. Most plants can be moved outdoors after the danger of frost. For plant-growing specifics check with your local nursery worker.
Abbie Blair, a member of the California Native Plant Society, has a degree in horticulture and has spent 25 years in plant and cut flower production, at one point operating a nursery in Gilroy. She lives on Mount Madonna and is waging hand to vine combat against the ivy and vinca displacing the native plants. Contact her at svreeken@santacruzsentinel.com.