Go Green with a Living Christmas Tree

by Terri Sonleitner Law, UC Master Gardener

There’s nothing like the aroma of a fresh Christmas tree to put us in the holiday spirit! Living Christmas trees are eco-friendly and can do double-duty: bring your living tree indoors and decorate, and after the holidays it can be planted outside as part of your landscape. You won’t face Christmas tree disposal problems, and a living tree adds up to an eco-smart alternative to cut trees.

If a living Christmas tree makes it onto your holiday wish list, begin by selecting a sunny location where the tree will eventually be planted. Give this some thought, as evergreen trees can grow to be quite large. Some varieties may eventually top 60 feet!  If you don’t have a suitable location, think about donating the tree to your local parks department, to a non-profit organization or to a friend with a larger landscape.

When you visit your local garden or home center to pick out your living Christmas tree, look for a healthy, potted, landscape-grade specimen in a 5, 7 or 15-gallon nursery container.  Some of the more popular varieties sold locally include Douglas fir, Colorado spruce, and Deodar cedar. Norfolk Island pine is a good indoor living Christmas tree; however, it is unsuitable as an outdoor tree in much of San Luis Obispo County.

When you bring home your tree, hose it off to remove any dust or small insects, water it well, and place it on a porch or in the garage for a few days. Don’t keep your living Christmas tree indoors for more than 7 to 10 days, and the soil should not be allowed to dry out. Potted trees can’t handle lots of heavy lights or ornaments, so perhaps it’s time to invest in a few small LED light strings, too. After the holidays and before planting your living Christmas tree outside, re-acclimate it to the outdoors by putting it back in the garage or on a covered porch for a few days.

Enjoy the holidays and your living Christmas tree!

Advice To Grow By Workshop -Winter Chores and Tool Maintenance

By Andrea Peck  Master Gardener

As winter sinks her icy claws into our coastal landscape, you may be wondering how to keep your garden at its holiday best. This month’s Advice to Grow By workshop addresses your winter garden concerns. Tool maintenance will be demonstrated as a bonus. The workshop, put on by the University of California Master Gardeners, will be held on Saturday at 10 a.m. in the Garden of the Seven Sisters, located at 2156 Sierra Way, San Luis Obispo. Bring a comfortable chair, a notepad and be prepared to take notes.

 Did you lose a plant last year to frost? There are many ways to protect plants from freezing weather. The Master Gardeners can show you tried and true methods, plus answer your questions on this topic. Interested in saving on your water bill? Find out how to get the most out of the rainy season. Winter is the time to alter water schedules and adjust irrigation systems. As you look around your garden, you may be disturbed by plants that look dead.  Before putting up a “for rent” sign on those empty garden spaces, learn about dormant plant care. Did you know plants love to be kept warm with a blanket of mulch? Mulch also keeps erosion at bay and retains moisture. Winter is a great time to prune. Come and find out which plants and trees appreciate a good winter thinning. Learn how to keep the garden in tip-top shape to discourage pests and decrease the spread of disease.

Tools, often neglected, or used and replaced without a second thought, will get their day of pampering at this workshop. Come and learn how to sharpen and clean those steady workers. You’ll go home with a new appreciation of those “extensions of your arm.” Maybe you’ll even learn about a new tool or two to add to your quiver.

Get the most out of the workshop. Wear comfortable clothing and sunscreen and please park in the lot adjacent to the demonstration garden. Most of all, enjoy!

photo by Noni Todd

Advice To Grow By Workshop

Winter Chores & Tool Maintenance!

Come and join the San Luis Obispo County Master Gardeners for their monthly Advice To Grow By workshop on Saturday November 17th from 10:00 am to Noon.

This workshop will have two topics covering the basic chores for winter preparation of your garden, as well as a demonstration of tool sharpening and maintenance.  Winter garden preparation will cover protecting sensitive plants, adjusting irrigation schedules, dormant plant care, and more. So come on out and join us in the Garden of the Seven Sisters and learn how to make your garden winter ready! 

If it is raining the workshop is held in the auditorium next to the garden.

The UCCE Garden of the Seven Sisters is located at 2156 Sierra Way in San Luis Obispo. 

See you in the garden!

November Chores

By Ann Dozier Master Gardener

I’m cleaning up my garden and pulling out summer tomatoes and squash.  Can I plant in November for a harvest of winter vegetables?  Dan P. Arroyo Grande

In winter, a sunny plot can grow beets, carrots onions, peas, chard, onions, radishes and turnips from seed.  Seedling plants would be a better choice for slower developing broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. In mild coastal areas, you could grow various salad greens, though it’s probably too cold in North County for tender lettuce to survive. 

In planning your garden, remember you can discourage soil borne pests by not planting crops from the same family in the same spot for two years running. If your problem with root disease is serious, you might even consider a four-year crop rotation; e.g. corn, tomatoes, squash, beans.

If you should decide against growing winter vegetables this year, you might plant a cover crop of clover, fava beans, rye or vetch to enrich the soil for next season’s veggies. 

 After you have cleaned up the vegetable garden, give the rest of your garden a clean-up.  Rake up leaves, cut back grasses and perennials. You can still divide perennials like iris and daylilies before frosts. Cut back berry canes to the ground, leaving new young canes to bear next year’s fruit. Late fall is a good time to plant biennial flowers like hollyhocks, Canterbury Bells and foxglove – they need cold weather to produce a good show next spring.

You can also add some flowers to your winter garden. Narcissus of all kinds can be planted until late fall (until Christmas along the coast). They will naturalize in spots where they are happy – give them well drained soil and avoid regular summer water.  If you want to plant tulips and hyacinths for spring bloom, bulbs should be purchased now and chilled in the refrigerator for six weeks before planting out.

Finish up fall garden chores by mulching everything. A good layer of mulch will keep down weeds and make them easy to pull when they do appear. It will retain moisture if this is a dry winter and prevent erosion if big storms arrive.