Winter berries

Caring for a cut Christmas tree

Lealans Garden Centre stocks a selection of fresh cut Christmas trees. We stock Nordman Firs (Abies nordmanniana), and Norway Spruce (Picea abies) Proper care of your Christmas tree is essential to guard against loss of moisture, loss of colour, and needle drop. Here are some tips to keep your tree fresh and beautiful so that you can enjoy it throughout the Christmas season.

When you purchase a cut tree from Lealans Garden Centre, we will net it for you, so you can get it home easily. If possible put the tree in a stand or pot that can be kept moist at all times. Keep the base of the tree moist whilst inside as the warm temperature and dry air inside will make the tree to absorb water very rapidly.

Make sure the tree is well supported and is away from sources of heat such as radiators, and TV sets. This will keep the loss of moisture to a minimum.

Open flames should never be used on or about Christmas trees.

Check electric lights and connections. Worn, frayed wires or electric cords should not be used.

Keep wrapping paper and other flammable material from accumulating under the tree. Turn off lights on the tree whenever no one will be in the room for any length of time.

Caring for a Live Christmas tree

We offer living trees in pots. You will find Nordman firs, (Abies nordmanniana), Norway Spruce (Picea abies) and Blue Spruce (Picea pungens glauca).

When you get the tree home, leave it outside as long as possible before taking it inside. When you do take it inside, make sure that you stand a saucer underneath it so that you can water it regularly.

Do not place the tree near a heat source.

Try not to keep the tree indoors for more than 14 days.

• After Christmas, take the tree back out to the garage or up against the warmest side of the house for a day or so to help the tree adjust itself to the colder outdoor temperatures.

• Make sure that if we get a mild spell the tree is kept watered outside.

Hopefully you will see new shoots appear on your tree in spring.

Care of Christmas Plants

 Christmas gift plants provide colour during the winter months. With proper care, their flowers and fruits will often live throughout the winter months. Several general rules apply to all indoor plants during the winter.

Water less than you would during the summer, and stop feeding.

 Empty water from saucers after approx 20 minutes.

Most plants with showy flowers and fruits need bright light, so do not display them in a dark location for long periods of time.

Avoid drafts and locations where temperatures are likely to fluctuate greatly. If plants are very close to windows, remove them at night to prevent chilling.

Poinsettia

The poinsettia, Euphorbia pulcherrima, is the traditional Christmas plant. Its showy bracts can be red, pink or white.

Light - Sunny window

 Temperature – a warm room, out of draughts

 Water - Water only when the soil is dry.

Christmas Cherry

Solanum, the Christmas Cherry, produces long lasting shiny red-orange berries. These fruits are not edible.

Light - Sunny window

Temperature – normal living room temperature

Water - Keep soil reasonably moist to the touch.

Christmas Cactus

The Christmas cactus, Schlumbergera, produces red, orange, white or lavender flowers in November and December.

Light - Good light, but not direct sun

Temperature – normal living room

Water - Keep soil slightly moist.

Christmas Pepper

The Christmas pepper, Capsicum annum, bears oblong red and yellow fruits. As its name indicates, this plant lives only one year.

Light - Sunny window

 Temperature – normal living room

Water - Keep soil moist.

Cyclamen

The florist’s cyclamen, a popular Christmas plant in the UK

 Light – Good light at all times

Temperature – coolish room if possible

Water – allow to dry out between waterings and never stand in water.

The next couple of months are relatively quiet so many will want to sit back and take a well-deserved rest. However, it is also a good time to catch up with unfinished tasks and to prepare for next spring, such as order seeds and seed potatoes, tidy out the shed, clean the greenhouse, clean plant pots, repair frames, and plan your crop rotation for next year.

VEGETABLES  

Sow indoors

You can sow lettuce, radishes, round varieties of carrots, spinach, salad onions and turnips. Place them on a windowsill or in a propagator.

 Harvest

Jerusalem artichokes, perpetual spinach, brussel sprouts, winter cabbage, savoy cabbage, carrots, chicory (non-forcing and forcing varieties), kale, leeks, lettuce, parsnip, radish, spinach, swede, turnips.

Remove yellowing leaves from winter brassicas. These are of no use to the plant and will encourage botrytis to develop.

Protect the curds of cauliflowers to keep them white and delaying the time when they will open up by bending the inner leaves over them.

Net winter brassicas to protect them from pigeon damage.

Earth up spring cabbages to anchor them better in high winds.

A few chives or roots of mint potted up now and kept in a cool place for a week or so will provide new young shoots for Christmas. Parsley is better left under cover.  

FRUIT

Plant rhubarb crowns. Plant crowns of rhubarb in a bucket for forcing in a warm, dark place. It can be done under greenhouse staging, or cover the pot with a bin.

Cut down canes of autumn-fruiting raspberries which have finished fruiting and burn to prevent fungal diseases spreading.  

Plant bare-rooted fruit trees and bushes this month.

Winter prune young apple and pear trees. Use winter wash and grease bands on fruit trees now the leaves have dropped.

GENERAL TASKS

Rake up and burn all rose leaves to prevent the spread of diseases on to next year's leaves. In mild winters, leaves may remain on the plants until January or even February, so if necessary clear up again.

Continue digging over the ground incorporating manure. Don’t dig when the soil is wet such that it sticks to boots and tools. 

Now is an excellent time for the preparation of new borders. Double-dig and leave the surface rough to be weathered. If the area was previously turfed, remove turf first and bury it under the bottom spit as you dig. Add manure if available. Coarse compost is excellent for lightening heavy soils, and so is grit.

Undertake any pruning, shaping or thinning of old wood on shrub roses. Shorten tall floribunda roses a little, to prevent wind-rock in winter gales; their main pruning comes later, after the worst winter weather.

Put down a few slug pellets round herbaceous such as delphiniums and lupins.  

Take care of our feathered friends! Put out bird seed and fat balls to feed birds through the winter. Keep your bird feeder filled, especially when there is snow on the ground.

Cover compost bins to keep the rain out and heat in.  

Set up water butts to collect rain water from shed and greenhouse roofs.  

Check stored crops removing any showing signs of rot. Check tubers in store of dahlias, begonias etc. Remove any infected tubers from healthy stock.

Check over dormant pelargoniums and fuchsias. Remove dead leaves, and give little water.

If your pond freezes over frogs can be deprived of oxygen. Floating a small ball in the pond will keep a small area clear.

If you potted up bulbs, such as hyacinths, daffodils or tulips, earlier for winter forcing, keep an eye on them. Make sure they remain moist, and in the dark until they have established their root systems. It is possible that they have already filled their containers with roots and that the new top growth has begun. If this is so, bring them into the house and set them in a cool room, in indirect light. After a week or so, move them into bright light, and watch them flower.

Winter rains tend to make you forget about watering your garden. However, plants and shrubs that are growing underneath large evergreens or under the eaves of the house, especially winter hanging baskets, may be dry by this time. Lack of water in the cold winter months can be fatal to many of these plants. A quick check will let you know if you need to do a little winter watering.

If there is a sudden drop in the temperature, provide extra protection for your more tender flowering plants like Rhododendrons, Camellias, Azaleas and Daphne. Also remember that the more tropical plants we now grow in the garden may require protection in severe weather – Hebe’s, Cordylines, and Phormiums etc. You can provide temporary, emergency protection by driving three of four stakes into the ground around the plant, and then simply covering the plant with some type of cloth, like a sheet or an old blanket. Don't let this material come into direct contact with the leaves of the plant. Remove the cover completely, as soon as the weather improves. We sell 2 different grades of fleece for this job as well as fleece bags.

Don't let your hose freeze and burst. Stretch it out with both ends open, to allow the water to drain completely. Coil it up and put it away.

Remember to protect outdoor taps against freezing temperatures.