WASHINGTON — As the weather cools down and winter looms, new gardening
mysteries arise. But with the right plants and proper soil treatments, savvy
gardeners can make it through.
The secret to rosemary Christmas tree survival
Yes, I know; it’s not even Thanksgiving yet. But one of my favorite holiday
plants is already on sale at garden centers and upscale supermarkets across
our region, and I feel obligated to help you not kill these treasures right
away. I’m talking about the lovely and fragrant living rosemary plants that
have been pruned into the shape of Christmas trees and sold in festive pots.
These little trees make great living outdoor decorations. And, as
people who do a lot of cooking have learned, there’s usually more usable herb
on these things than you’d get for three times the price in any other form.
And yes, I do mean outdoors. While rosemary is a Mediterranean plant that
won’t survive bitter cold temperatures, it’s much heartier than the
traditional plants of summer and can stay outside as long as the nights don’t
dip below 30. If they do threaten to plummet deeper, just bring it inside for
the night.
But it won’t survive any weather if it’s trapped in that tiny little pot. The
problem with these plants is that the producers have to start with a really
big shrub (or multiple shrubs crammed together) to be able to prune them into
the desired shape. You’ll see when you lift the plant out the pot — it’s all
big roots down there, with very little room for soil.
So to prevent the classic “death by browning in three days,” these trees
should be replanted into a container twice as large as soon as you get them
home; otherwise, the root-bound beauties won’t last a week. Just lift the
plant
out of the old pot and get some compost, high-quality garden soil or a bagged
potting mix that doesn’t contain chemical fertilizers, and a bigger pot with
good drainage holes in the bottom.
Put a couple of inches of soil in the new pot, drop the root ball on top and
add
or remove soil until the old soil line is at the right spot for the new plant.
Then fill in the sides, tamp it all down gently and let the whole thing sit in
a
sink with a few inches of water for an hour. Then let it drain. It’s best not
to rewrap the pot, but if you must, make sure no water sits down there.
Rock the plant every couple of days. When it seems to be somewhat lighter in
weight, repeat the watering process. Don’t overwater, or let water sit inside
the wrap or in a protective saucer underneath.
But do enjoy the fragrance by rustling the branches every day and inhaling
deeply. The highly aromatic oils of rosemary — “The herb of remembrance” —
have been shown to help people stay alert and are being investigated as a
possible treatment for the prevention or delay of memory loss and even
dementia.
Now that’s a festive plant.
Which mulches are the merriest?
Kristine in Loudoun County writes: “I have perennial beds, vegetable beds and
a rose garden. What is a good mulch for these? Our house is new and came with
shredded wood mulch — and the associated artillery fungus problems.”
Well Kris, as you have seen, the ubiquitous wood mulch is the worst mulch. So
step one is to remove that chipped-up wood trash. And depending on how new you
are to your home, I might try to hold the seller or previous owner
responsible for the damage caused by the artillery fungus spores; those black,
tar-ball-like dots cause extremely expensive cosmetic damage to the homes and
cars they stain.
Now:
- Perennial beds and spring bulb plantings benefit greatly from a light,
loose mulch over winter. An inch or two of well-shredded leaves or pine straw
would be ideal. Always apply winter mulch after the soil freezes hard for the
best protection. - Shredded leaves are best for the veggie garden; they prevent erosion,
keep nutrients in the soil and encourage earthworms to move in and leave
behind the castings (a fancy name for worm poop) that enrich your soil with
sensational natural nutrients. - And while wood and bark mulches weaken roses and make them prone to dread
disease, the pretty plants absolutely thrive with two inches of high-quality
yard waste compost at their base.
Roses, spring bulbs and weed barriers
Kristine continues: “I have a rose garden where I’m planning
to scrape up the existing bark mulch and lay down landscape cloth with
openings for the spring bulbs I’ve planted. The rose basins will have gravel,
and I’m trying to decide what to use to hide the landscape cloth.”
Roses should never be mulched with bark or wood, which breeds mold, mushrooms
and disease. And stone is almost as bad. It can change the soil’s pH and
provides a perfect environment for weeds to become overwhelming — even with
‘landscape cloth’ (which grassy weeds love to grow out of) underneath.
And don’t use landscape cloth over the top of spring bulbs — especially
existing
plantings. No matter how well you think you know where your tulips, daffodils
and such are planted, the fabric will almost certainly smother most of them
and ruin the springtime show.
Remove the existing wood mulch, forget about a weed barrier, and mulch your
roses and bulbs with a two-inch layer of black yard waste compost. It’ll look
sensational and prevent disease; it’ll keep down weeds as well as wood mulch,
and
it’ll naturally feed those roses and spring bulbs.
Shredding leaves without ‘horsepower’
A listener with the handle “Virginia Reader” left this comment about shredding
leaves at the Garden Plot website last week: “Good advice on shredding fall
leaves for mulch and compost making, but I don’t want to further burden the
environment and my neighbors’ ears with noisy machines. Does anyone know of a
source for hand-cranked leaf shredders?”
Well, my electric blower-vac is surprisingly quiet, Reader; and because it
isn’t gas-powered, there are no on-site emissions (or stinky spilled fuel) to
worry about.
Now: Do you have a lawn mower? Any kind of mower will do the job well. And an
old-fashioned push-powered ‘reel mower’ (the kind with the rotating cage of
blades) would seem to meet your needs perfectly. These people-powered machines
have made a huge comeback in recent years and are now very easy to find —
including models made in America.
Just keep the blades on that rotating cylinder nice and sharp and you’ll shred
your leaves perfectly — while you get a great aerobic and upper-body workout.
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