Buying Your Christmas Tree

OK, here we go, it's that time of year, and I just have to put my two cents in on this.  We used to sell Christmas trees, and it was quite the education.  So here are my Christmas tree tips:
1) If you are going to cut your own tree, be sure it is above 34 degrees.  (the air temp, not the tree)  This will insure that the sap is up in the tree and it will hold its needles much longer. Cutting your own on a really cold day won't get you a longer lasting tree than the ones in the stores that were cut in October or November!  How long ago the trees were cut is not nearly as important as what temperature it was on the day it was done, so don't vex over it Dad!
2) NEVER tie your tree to the roof of your car to transport it home unless it is completely wrapped in plastic or a tarp of some kind.  I know, I know, it's so romantic.......the air blowing over the tree going home will suck ALL of the life out of the tree and it will drop  needles like crazy.  So stuff it in the car or trunk if you can.
3) Always fresh cut the trunk of the tree before putting it in the stand with water in it.  A cut trunk will seal over in about two hours, so if you can't get it in the stand before then, stick it in a bucket of water, and let it wait like that until you are ready.  The fresh cut can just be a half inch off, so you're not sacrificing height. Then do not let the trunk get dry in the house.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!  HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!  HAPPY TREES!!

Fall Clean Up

Just getting back into this blog thing.  Now that it's Fall, well late Fall really, there are some really important tips for perennial gardeners.  When I teach classes in Spring, I'm always saying "well actually these are things that should be done in the Fall", so here it is:
1) Always cut down your perennials and remove all debris, including leaves and stems.  If you had roses with black spot, or phlox with powdery mildew, or any sort of disease or insect problem, the diseases in particular will carry-over in the soil, and start up again next season.
2) Remove all tree leaves from the garden.........I know.......you feel like it insulates the perennials from the cold.  Truth is, they don't need the leaves for protection.  The snow cover insulates, and keeps the soil at 32 degrees.  Even if there's no snow, they are better off without the leaves, because they can create disease and insect problems for the plants.  If you have Maple trees with the black spotting on their leaves, you for sure want to remove them completely from the garden and the yard because this disease carries over.
3) Be sure that your garden is well watered and moist before it finally freezes.  This usually doesn't happen in Rochester until late December, but I've seen winters that have had dry spells and the soil was cracked in the garden.  This is one of the biggest causes of plant failures in winter.....freezing when they are DRY!