Shamrocks - So Many Lucky Choices...!

 Shamrocks have long been a symbol of 
Ireland and have even been considered a symbol of good luck. They are popular houseplants and fun gifts for friends and neighbors on St. Patrick’s Day. Shamrocks are easy to grow indoors if you follow these simple and easy to remember steps:

Light
Shamrocks prefer bright, indirect sunlight, be sure to place your plant in a window where it will receive plenty of light. Shamrocks will flower, even during winter, if they receive enough light. Each night the plant's leaflets fold up, then reopen in sunlight the following day.

Food
Shamrocks like food! Fertilize them regularly with either a liquid houseplant or a time-release fertilizer during their growing season. As always, we recommend following label instructions.

Iron Cross Shamrock

Soil
As a houseplant, they prefer moist soil. 
Avoid allowing your shamrock to dry out during the growing season.

Temperature
Give your shamrock a growing temperature between 50 and 70 °F during the growing season. They can be placed outside after danger of frost has passed and are a beautiful addition to your pots or in a grouping of pots.

Dormancy
Shamrocks have a dormant period. When your shamrock goes dormant, usually in late summer, don’t fret! Just place it in a cool, dry location out of direct sunlight for 2-3 months. The purple-leaf types  only need one month of dormancy.  

Since your shamrock grows from small bulbs, it is easy to divide and create new plants. Here's a short video showing how to propagate shamrocks.

Happy St. Paddy's Day to you!

Fun Indoor Plants for the Holidays and Beyond

Cooler temperatures mark the end of the gardening season for many, but for people who love plants, winter is just an excuse to move our favorite hobby indoors. Your home can become a showcase of what can be grown indoors, and holiday seasonal plants can be a fun place to start. Let’s talk about some of the best holiday plants that can be enjoyed year-round if cared for properly.

One of my favorite indoor plants is the Norfolk Island pine, sometimes called the Star Pine. Araucaria heterophylla. This beautiful, coniferous tree grows slowly indoors and needs plenty of light. It may start as a tabletop Christmas Tree but, if correctly cared for over the years, this plant will grow into a small tree. It does best in a bright window and thrives with average water and humidity.

The most common winter Holiday plant, the Euphorbia pulcherrima, or Poinsettia, is a classic and is sold in various sizes in December. Care for your plant and it will reward you year after year. The bracts are what change color to form the traditional Christmas plant. Colors range from burgundy, purple, white, red, and pink with variations of solids, mottling, and variegation. 

This Poinsettia is native to Mexico and the legend of the plant goes something like this:

There was once a poor Mexican girl called Pepita who had no present to give the baby Jesus at the Christmas Eve Services. As Pepita walked sadly to the chapel her cousin Pedro tried to cheer her up. 'Pepita', he said, "I'm sure that even the smallest gift, given by someone who loves him, will make Jesus happy." Pepita didn't know what she could give, so she picked a small handful of weeds from the roadside and made them into a small bouquet. She felt embarrassed because she could only give this small present to Jesus. As she walked through the chapel to the altar, she remembered what Pedro had said. She began to feel better, knelt, and put the bouquet at the bottom of the nativity scene. Suddenly, the bouquet of weeds burst into bright red flowers, and everyone who saw them was sure they had seen a miracle. From that day on, the bright red flowers were known as the 'Flores de Noche Buena', or 'Flowers of the Holy Night'. The shape of the poinsettia flower and leaves are sometimes thought of as a symbol of the Star of Bethlehem which led the Wise Men to Jesus. The red-colored leaves symbolize the blood of Christ. The white leaves represent his purity.

Rosmarinus officinalis, commonly referred to as Rosemary, grows well as a Christmas-tree-shaped house plant and makes a nice tabletop or kitchen plant. Some people love the smell of Rosemary and having a fresh sprig to use for your holiday recipes is a bonus. Although not as vigorous as a Norfolk Island pine, it can be planted outside in the spring. This plant just needs a little water, and a happy window to look out if grown indoors.

A more traditional plant to grow indoors is the Schlumbergera spp, or Christmas cactus. With flowers that range from orange to pink to red and even purple, these plants do not require a lot of water, and are a good choice for plant owners who travel a lot. Here are some tips that will help initiate flowers in Christmas cactus.

Narcissus papyraceus or Paperwhites are closely related to Daffodils and are grown indoors. They are fragrant and easy to grow. Just pot them and place them in a window away from drafts and enjoy! A fun craft idea for kids is to buy a simple pot from any craft store and have them decorate and plant it for the holidays.

Another one of my favorites, which happens to be a bulb, is the Amaryllis. From the genus Hippeastrum, these bulbs are also native to South America. What I love about these bulbs is that they are so ridiculously easy to grow. Grab a shallow glass vase or pot, fill it with gravel, stick the bulb on top, give it some water, and watch it start growing. It takes about 6 weeks for it to bloom once it is planted. The colors are deep red to white with all types of variations in between. Because they can tolerate a lot of abuse, Amaryllis are a great indoor plant for college kids and people who have pets.

A relatively new one to the scene is Cupressus macrocarpa, or Lemon Cypress. This dwarf shrub, with chartreuse green foliage, can be grown in a pot and is a wonderful bright addition to your home. Potted cypresses need sunlight and are used to bright, sunny locations outdoors. Their soil should be kept moist but not wet and should not be allowed to dry out. A good test is to insert your finger into the pot down to the first knuckle and then remove it. If soil particles adhere to your fingertip, the plant does not need water at that time. Lemon Cypress can go outdoors and live as a containerized plant or be planted in the ground in USDA zones 7 to 10. 

So, while gardening outdoors may have been placed on pause for the winter, above are several plants that I hope will inspire you to keep growing through the Holiday Season and long afterward.

Choosing Deicers That Are Friendly to Plants, Animals, and the Earth

While applying products to keep our walkways clear of snow and ice, it’s important to remember the nearby plant life. Deicing products, primarily composed of salt, can injure plant material, but is there a safer product to use around desirable vegetation? What about around pets? What about the run-off in our rivers and watershed?

• Salts can cause injury to trees, lawns, and shrubs
• Salt run-off can harm our groundwater
• Salts can corrode concrete
• Salts can do bodily harm to humans if handled improperly
• Salts are hard on the little paws of your four-legged friends

So you may be thinking salt is salt, right? No, not all salt is not the same. Think table salts (Sodium chloride) and Epsom Salt (magnesium sulfate). If you remember your days in chemistry, salts are combinations of negatively charged anions and positively charged cations. Examples are sodium chloride (table salt), potassium chloride (used as a fertilizer), and magnesium chloride (the one you see trucks spraying on our roads). The most problematic element in these salts is chloride, a corrosive ion that damages metal and concrete. Chloride is also toxic to plants.

Salt damages plants by dehydrating plant tissues, causing burns, or being toxic at high levels. While most plants have some tolerance to salt injury, repeated applications of deicing products during the winter can result in dieback or even death the following spring. Misapplications of deicers (i.e. dumping piles or using too much) can leach through the ground and into the water table or wash into the storm sewers, causing pollution. Before buying or using any product, read the label carefully and use only as directed.

Here are a few of the salt products you might run into while shopping:

Calcium magnesium acetate (CMA)
It has low corrosion potential, so it’s less damaging to cars, metals, sidewalks, and plants. Notice it’s not a chloride product, the “salt” comes from the calcium-magnesium mix and the acetate replaces the chloride. Plus, it’s biodegradable! Its ice-melting properties are equivalent to traditional deicers, but the cost may be 20-30 times as expensive as sodium chloride products. These are often touted as “pet friendly”. 

Magnesium chloride
Commonly referred to as “mag chloride”. Applied as a brine, it’s the most common product used on our roadways before storms because it lowers the freezing point of soon-to-arrive precipitation. It can melt ice down to -15° F, which is a nice benefit. If applied in moderate amounts, it’s relatively safe for plants and pets. Its corrosion potential is low, as is its pollutant possibilities.

Potassium chloride
It’s expensive and not as widely used as a deicer because of the rising costs of fertilizer. This works best when temperatures are above 15° F. Because it’s most commonly used as a fertilizer, it’s relatively safe to apply near plants.

Sodium chloride
It’s the most widely available and the cheapest. It doesn’t cause corrosion to concrete and melts ice best when temperatures are in the 20s. It is the most damaging to plant material. If you use this product, use it sparingly and in small amounts!

Before using any de-icing product, clear away as much snow and ice with a shovel as possible. If heavy snow is predicted, then try to shovel more frequently. Remember, deicing products are not meant to melt all snow and ice, but rather aid you in your removal efforts. If you want to avoid adding chemicals to your landscape, then consider using sand or kitty litter. While they don’t melt snow, they can provide traction in slippery spots. Sand and kitty litter are also safe for pets and plants and can be swept up when the snow melts.

If you use deicing products near vegetative areas, then use caution with potential salt build-up and consider a soil test in the spring.  If it’s an especially snowy year, you may consider rinsing the areas next spring with clean water. Try not to scoop snow laced with deicing products directly on top of plants, especially if they are sensitive. If you have the opportunity, consider planting more salt-tolerant plants near walkways and driveways. Here's a great publication on plant tolerance to salts.

For more information about sustainable gardening, contact your local University of Idaho Extension Office. 

Growing Shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day

Shamrocks have long been a symbol of Ireland and have even been considered a symbol of good luck. They are popular houseplants and fun gifts for friends and neighbors on St. Patrick’s Day. Shamrocks are easy to grow indoors if you follow these simple and easy to remember steps:

Light
Shamrocks prefer bright, indirect sunlight, be sure to place your plant in a window where it will receive plenty of light. Shamrocks will flower, even during winter, if they receive enough light. Each night the plant's leaflets fold up, then reopen in sunlight the following day.

Food
Shamrocks like food! Fertilize them regularly with either a liquid houseplant or a time-release fertilizer during their growing season. As always, we recommend following label instructions.

Soil
As a houseplant, they prefer moist soil. Avoid allowing your shamrock to dry out during the growing season.

Temperature
Give your shamrock a growing temperature between 50 and 70 °F during the growing season. They can be placed outside after danger of frost has passed and are a beautiful addition to your pots or in a grouping of pots.

Dormancy
Shamrocks have a dormant period. When your shamrock goes dormant, usually in late summer, don’t fret! Just place it in a cool, dry location out of direct sunlight for 2-3 months. The purple-leaf types only need one month of dormancy.

Since your shamrock grows from small bulbs, it is easy to divide and create new plants. Here's a short video showing how to propagate shamrocks.

Happy St. Paddy's Day to you!

Get your Shamrocks for St. Paddy's Day!

Shamrocks represent good luck and are a 

popular house plant, especially around Saint Patrick’s Day when they are in stores everywhere! Shamrocks are easy to grow if you follow these five simple and easy to remember step

·       Shamrocks prefer direct sunlight, be sure to place your plant in a window where it will receive plenty of light. Shamrocks will flower, even during winter, if they receive enough light. Each night the plant's leaflets fold up , then reopen in sunlight the following day.

·       Shamrocks like food! Fertilize them regularly with either a liquid houseplant or time release fertilizer during their 

     growing season- always following label instructions.

·     As a houseplant, they prefer moist soil. Avoid allowing your shamrock to dry out during the growing season.

·       Give your shamrock a growing temperature between 50 and 70 ^°F during the growing season. They can be placed outside after danger of frost has passed and are a beautiful addition to your pots or in a grouping of pots.

·       Shamrocks have a dormant period. When your shamrock
 goes dormant, usually in late summer, don’t fret! Just place 
it in a cool, dry location out of direct sunlight for 2-3 months. The purple-leaf types only need one month of dormancy!

Since your shamrock grows from small bulbs, it's easy to divide and create new plants. Here's a short video with how-to steps for propagating.  

Happy St. Paddy's Day to you!

So-o-o many choices for growing Indoors for the Holidays

For some, cooler temperatures mark the end of the gardening season, but for those of us who love plants, we know that we just change the locale of where we work. In the spring and summer, we work outdoors; in the fall and winter, we move indoors. My home has become an indoor showcase of what can be grown indoors in the winter. Holiday decorations can be augmented with living plants of various types.

One of my favorites includes the Norfolk Island pine, sometimes called the Star Pine. Araucaria heterophylla is a beautiful, coniferous tree that grows slowly indoors and needs plenty of light. You may receive this as a table top Christmas tree and, if correctly cared for, over the years, this plant will grow into a small tree. It does best in a bright window, and thrives with average water and humidity.

The most common winter holiday plant, the Euphorbia pulcherrima, or Poinsettia, will, contrary to popular belief, not make you sick if you eat it, although I am unsure why you would want to. Care for your plant and it will reward you year after year. The bracts are what change color to form the traditional Christmas plant. Colors range from burgundy, purple, white, red, and pink with variations of solids, mottling, and variegation. Native to Mexico, the legend of the plant goes something like this:
There was once a poor Mexican girl called Pepita who had no present to give the baby Jesus at the Christmas Eve Services. As Pepita walked sadly to the chapel her cousin Pedro tried to cheer her up. 'Pepita', he said, "I'm sure that even the smallest gift, given by someone who loves him, will make Jesus happy."  Pepita didn't know what she could give, so she picked a small handful of weeds from the roadside and made them into a small bouquet. She felt embarrassed because she could only give this small present to Jesus. As she walked through the chapel to the altar, she remembered what Pedro had said. She began to feel better, knelt down and put the bouquet at the bottom of the nativity scene. Suddenly, the bouquet of weeds burst into bright red flowers, and everyone who saw them were sure they had seen a miracle. From that day on, the bright red flowers were known as the 'Flores de Noche Buena', or 'Flowers of the Holy Night'.  The shape of the poinsettia flower and leaves are sometimes thought as a symbol of the Star of Bethlehem which led the Wise Men to Jesus. The red colored leaves symbolize the blood of Christ. The white leaves represent his purity.

Rosmarinus officinalis, commonly referred to as Rosemary, grows well as a Christmas-tree-shaped house plant and makes a nice table top or kitchen plant. Some people love the smell of Rosemary and having a fresh sprig to use for your holiday recipes is an added bonus. Although not as vigorous as a Norfolk Island pine, it can be planted outside in the spring. This plant just needs a little water, and a happy window to look out if grown indoors.

Another more traditional plant to grow indoors is the Schlumbergera spp, or Christmas cactus. With flowers that range from orange to pink to red and even purple, these plants do not require a lot of water, and can handle me forgetting to tend to them if I am out of town for the holidays. Here are some tips that will help initiate flowers in Christmas cactus.

Narcissus papyraceus or Paperwhites are closely related to Daffodils, and are grown indoors. They are fragrant, and easy to grow. Just pot them up and place them in a window away from drafts and enjoy! A pot from any craft store can easily be decorated for the holidays and used to brighten up any room, which also makes it a great craft idea and can be a fun project to do with children!

Another one of my favorites, which happens to be a bulb, is the Amaryllis. From the genus Hippeastrum, these bulbs are also native to South America. What I love about these bulbs is that they are so ridiculously easy to grow. Grab a shallow glass vase or pot, fill it with gravel, stick the bulb on top, give it some water, and watch it start growing. It takes about 6 weeks for it to bloom once it is planted. The colors are deep red, to white with all types of variations in-between. They tolerate abuse from animals, too. I had an Amaryllis named Jar-jar in my apartment in college with 5 other roommates and it did quite well.

A relatively new one to the scene is Cupressus macrocarpa, or Lemon Cypress. This dwarf shrub, with chartreuse green foliage, can be grown in a pot and is a wonderful bright addition to your home. Potted cypresses need sunlight and are used to bright, sunny locations outdoors. Their soil should be kept moist but not wet and should not be allowed to thoroughly dry. A good test is to insert your finger into the pot down to the first knuckle and then remove it. If soil particles adhere to your fingertip, the plant does not need water at that time. Lemon cypress can go outdoors and live as a containerized plant or be planted in the ground in USDA zones 7 to 10.

So, while the gardening outdoors may have been placed on pause for the winter, above are several plants that I hope will inspire you to keep growing through the holiday season and long afterwards.

Shamrock luck!

Shamrocks  are for  good luck and are a popular house plant, especially during St. Patrick’s Day. 

Shamrocks are easy to grow if you follow these five simple and easy to remember steps:

·       Shamrocks prefer direct sunlight, be sure to place your plant in a window where it will receive plenty of light. Shamrocks will flower, even during winter, if they receive enough light. Each night the plant's leaflets fold up , then reopen in sunlight the following day.

·       Shamrocks like food! Fertilize them regularly with either a liquid houseplant or time release fertilizer during their growing season- always following label instructions.

·     As a houseplant, they prefer moist soil. Avoid allowing your shamrock to dry out during the growing season.

·       Give your shamrock a growing temperature between 50 and 70 ^°F during the growing season. They can be placed outside after danger of frost has passed and are a beautiful addition to your pots or in a grouping of pots.

·       Shamrocks have a dormant period. When your shamrock
 goes dormant, usually in late summer, don’t fret! Just place 
it in a cool, dry location out of direct sunlight for 2-3 months. The purple-leaf types only need one month of dormancy!

Since your shamrock grows from small bulbs, it's easy to divide and create new plants. 

Here's a short video with how-to steps for propagating. 
Happy St. Paddy's Day to you!

Or I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll dry your ground out!

Or I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll dry your ground out

One of the trademarks of living in Idaho seems to be wind. Learning how to adapt can be challenging to any newcomer. Unless you are from, say, Chicago? In any case, being aware of how wind affects your landscape can help in protecting them during our often dry, windy fall and winter seasons.

Drying winds strip plants, turf, and the soil of much needed moisture. As the wind blows it wicks the moisture out of the plant, and the soil. As the low humidity and wind blow, plants can’t replenish the water they lose through their leaves, or needles. This is one reason you may have a brown cast on the edge of your evergreen needles.

On perennial shrubs, such as roses or lilacs, damage to terminal growing points can occur.

There are several things to keep in mind about your landscape if you live in these windy areas.

1. Fall and winter watering is not an option. Failure to water your plants is the most common cause of plant stress I see in landscapes. And just because your landscape is mature, does not mean you can stop watering it. You don’t stop drinking water just because you've matured, do you?

2. Mulch can help retain moisture in the soil. Yes, I know, it’s windy and the wind blows your mulch all the way to Kansas. Well, I am sure the people of Kansas appreciate your contribution to their fine state. Really though, mulching can make a big difference in how much water your soils will hold.

3. Add organic matter to your soil. Incorporating 2-3 inches of plant based organic matter at a depth of 4-6 inches will help hold in water if you have sandy soil, or help water drain if you have clayey soil. Either way, adding organic matter such as composted plant material will benefit your plants. Just be careful if you use animal manure as compost as these contain salts and heavy metals that build up in the soil over time, and can increase the risk of food borne pathogens if used improperly in vegetable gardens.

For more information on fall or winter watering, visit your county Extension office.

Don't get burned this winter, wrap your trees!

Growing up as a ginger (redhead) there were several things I learned early on we just part of living with red hair. 

Besides freckles, there was the need to always wear sunscreen. This was reinforced a few weeks ago when I was on the big island of Hawaii and decided to take a hike from South Point to Papakolea Beach, the green sand beach. 

I’ve done plenty of hikes before, conquering some of Colorado’s peaks and this was a three-mile hike so it sounded simple enough to me. I set out with my backpack full of flip flops, swimming trunks, a towel and a bottle of water, but no sun screen. I’ve done much longer hikes in my day and thought this would be fairly simple.

What I had not accounted for was the latitude! I was, after all, at the southernmost point in the United States and the sun was intense! There are no trees, and the wind blows incessantly. In fact, if it was not for the fact the ocean was right three on one side, the rest of the view could easily be mistaken for southern Idaho. Red clay, grasses, and low growing shrubbery in a dry climate and basalt rock. Oh, and it was very windy! About halfway there, I was wishing that I had brought sunscreen.

So, you’re probably thinking “cool travelogue man, what’s your point?” Bear with me, because it relates to plants.

Plants need protection from the sun too! Especially young trees. One of the more common issues people contact me about with their trees is what I call Southwest Winter Burn, or sunscald. This is caused by some pretty simple physics. The easiest way to understand it is to stick a can of soda in the freezer and forget about it. What happens is the sun is warmest in winter when it is on the southwest horizon. As the sun’s heat warms up the tree’s trunk, sap starts flowing. Since sap is a liquid, the sun sets, temperatures drop below freezing and the freezing liquid expands, bursting cells and trunks. Much like that can of soda in your freezer you forgot about.

Young trees are especially prone to this. Trees with thin bark are even more prone to this. This includes Acer (maples), Betula (birch), Fraxinus (ash), Gleditsia (honeylocust), Malus (apples), Prunus (apricot, cherry, peach, plum), and others.

There are a few ways to help minimize bark damage in the winter. The first method is to eliminate drought stress. If your irrigation was shut off in September or October, your tree has not had water for several months now. They are likely to be drought stressed going into the winter. Fall and winter watering is critical for tree and plant survival. This may mean you need to drag hose and water with municipal water. Just don’t forget to disconnect the hose from the faucet once you are done watering. Usually once a month with temperatures above 45˚ you should be taking the hose out and allowing the water to soak deeply into the soil. Turn the hose on a low trickle in the morning and shut it off before the sun sets. If it is windy where you live, you need to water more frequently. Evergreens suffering from drought stress will show brown tips. Just like me on my three-mile hike on a sunny, windy trail, trees in these situations will need more water.

The next two things involve sunscreen. Although not like lotion or SPF factors, trees and plants need protection from the sun in one of two ways:

1. Apply a one to one diluted white interior latex based paint to the trunk.

2. Wrap the tree with tree wrap available at most nursery or landscape garden centers. If you do this, be sure to remove the wrapping in the spring. Trees breathe through “lenticels” on the trunk. Trunks also need to expand as they grow. The other thing that you risk if you forget to remove the wrap is that it makes a great place for disease, decay, insects, fungus and other unwanted things to live along the trunk of the tree you are trying to protect.

For more information in tree care, contact your local University of Idaho Extension Office.