Poinsettias

Trees need to be placed in water with tree preserve within 30 minutes of receiving a fresh cut! On its first day in your living room, it can go through a gallon of water, so make sure to keep water in the stand! To avoid it drying out and becoming brittle, don’t place it around a fireplace or other heat source. Do not water snow flocked trees! Click here to watch our Clip Tip on Christmas Tree Tips! Ready for an easy and quick decorating tip? Use ball garland in your trees or wreaths! These unique garland strands are loaded with shiny baubles ready to trim your tree! All you have to do is wind the wire frame through your sections and voila- it looks a lot like Christmas! Click here to watch our Clip Tip on Decorating with Ball Garland!  Deck your halls with fresh fir wreaths and garlands! When you first purchase them, soak them in a bathtub or large sink. Around the middle of the month, soak them again to keep them fresh, merry and bright! Anytime they look like they are dry, spray them with water or soak them for a quick re-fresh! Click here to watch our Clip Tip on Fresh Garland and Wreath Care! They’re the most memorable plants of the year: Poinsettias, Christmas Cactus, Cyclamen, Lemon Cypress, Holly, Norfolk Pines, Amaryllis and Rosemary. Click here to watch our Clip Tip on Holiday Plants! Amaryllis bulbs are easy to grow and produce blooms to captivate you. Plant the bulb up to its neck in the soil, and press the soil down firmly to set the bulb securely in place after planting. They flower from late December until the end of June for lasting beauty. Click here to watch our Clip Tip on Amaryllis Bulbs! DIG container gardening by planting a thriller, fillers and spillers for eye-catching fall containers! Use a powerful blend of soil ideal for container gardening such as Happy Frog, Ocean Forest or Strawberry Fields. Watch your pots explode in color! Click here to watch our Clip Tip on Cool Season Containers!

This iconic holiday plant has tropical roots. Get tips on keeping your poinsettia looking its best all year. Perhaps no flower represents the winter holidays like the poinsettia. However, these festive plants, which range from the traditional red to pale yellow, can be mysterious when it comes to care and maintenance. Here are some tips on poinsettia care that can help extend those blooms as long as possible – and maybe even encourage your poinsettia to bloom again next year: Warm and Bright: It may seem strange due to their holiday connotations, but poinsettias are tropical plants. Provide lots of sunlight — a sunny window with east, west, or southern exposure is best. Also try to keep the temperature between 65 and 70 degrees F during the day, keeping in mind that the area around a drafty window can be quite a bit cooler than the rest of the room. If your plant’s leaves are touching a cold window, they may drop off. At night, poinsettias like a slightly lower temperature (55 – 60 degrees F), but avoid drastic drops in temperatures. Hydrated and Humid: Make sure to water the poinsettia whenever the surface of the soil feels dry. Give the plant a good watering, but don’t flood or soak it – gravel in the bottom of the pot will help keep the roots dry. If your home is dry during the winter months, a humidifier or plant mister can help your plant stay hydrated. Prevent Leaf Loss: If your plant starts to lose leaves, there are a few likely culprits: is the plant resting against a cold window or near a draft? Is it too warm or dry in the room? Is the plant thirsty? With correct care, poinsettias can be encouraged to re-bloom next holiday, but it’s a touchy and time-consuming process that not all poinsettia fans are prepared for. Save for the Coming Year: First of all, after bloom time, in the spring, poinsettias can benefit from a period of semi-dormancy. You should slow down the watering to weekly at most. Old leaves may shrivel and drop; this is perfectly okay! At this time, you can cut back the plant’s stems to encourage fresh growth. At this point, when things warm up a bit in spring, it is okay to put it outdoors in a sheltered location such as a covered porch or patio. Pinch back the plant throughout the growing seasons to keep it compact and bushy; poinsettias can get quite large! Repot into a larger container if necessary. Prepping the Plant for Bloom: Now, to get it to bloom ! It may still be warm in early October, but now it is time to bring it indoors. Every night for at least 6 weeks, put the poinsettia in a completely dark room, like a laundry room or closet, for about 14-16 hours EVERY night. The change in photoperiod is what encourages the poinsettia to change color and bloom. This will happen naturally outdoors, but not in time to have a color change by Christmas, and the plant cannot endure the cooler weather outdoors, so the dark room indoors is the preferred method.  Showing Its Holiday Cheer: After doing this throughout October and November, the tops leaves of the plant should emerge red (or white, or pink, depending on your variety), and it should bloom! The showy part of the poinsettia are the leaves, but small yellow flower will emerge from the red fresh growth.

Live wreaths, garland, door charms, centerpieces and more are great for showing the spirit of Christmas in your home! They add ambience and a terrific “Christmassy” scent in the air. Here are some tips on keeping your fresh greenery lasting through the season: Submerge your greenery in a large container of water for a few hours or overnight. Select a location out of direct sunlight (for outdoors) or away from heat or warm air (for indoors) To help balance the moisture greenery releases, mist it with a spray bottle of water every few days.  If your greenery starts to dry out or doesn't appear fresh, just re-submerge it in water for a few hours. You'll be surprised how it livens up your greenery!

Christmas Tree Decorating is not an exact science but more of an art. There are no fixed rules. Unfortunately, one size does not fit all, but this guide can be used to loosely help instruct you, the designer, on how many of each item you may need for your project. A lot of people start with light coverage and add to their tree every year until they achieve the desired look. We are STOCKED full of ribbons in every shade of Christmas theme you can imagine- from whimsical to elegant to traditional to blue. We also have a huge selection of sprays and stems as well as ornaments to create the look you’re dreaming about! Shop our garden center for your fresh cut Christmas tree, then step inside the gift shop to dress it up! It is up to you to decide what look you like best. Some choose to incorporate more ornaments than sprays and stems and vice versa. Also, ribbon is a great space filler. And you will need to keep in mind how much ribbon you want to use in your tree when choosing ornaments, stems, and sprays. You will need to make adjustments to this guide based on whether you are filling up the entire tree/all sides or if you are only filling up 3/4 of the tree because only 3/4 of the tree is showing due to it being in a corner location. How many ornaments do I need to decorate ALL SIDES of my tree? Ornaments can be anything other than a spray or stem. Mix and Match. Ornaments could include birds, ball ornaments, character ornaments, and more. Use 3/4 of the total below if you are only decorating 3/4 of your tree with the back in a corner. You may also consider using less than the amount below if you want to use more sprays and stems in place of ornaments. Keep in mind, if you are wanting ornaments larger than 10 inches, you don't need as many of them to fill up the same amount of space. Tree Height Light coverage where you can still see the tree. Keep in mind how many stems and sprays you want to use. Heavy coverage where most of the tree is covered. Ornament Sizes 6.5 ft 70 pieces 100 pieces 4-10 in 7.5 ft 105 pieces 135 pieces 4-10 in 9-10 ft 180 pieces 215 pieces 4-10 in How many sprays/stems do I need to decorate ALL SIDES of my tree? Feel free to mix and match. The below are estimated totals depending on your tree size. You may decide you want to use more ornaments in place of stems and sprays. Use what makes you happy. Tree Height Light coverage where you can still see the tree. Keep in mind how many ornaments you want to use. Heavy coverage where most of the tree is covered. Spray/Stem Sizes 6.5 ft 35 pieces 50 pieces 7-48 in 7.5 ft 45 pieces 60 pieces 7-48 in 9-10 ft 60 pieces 75 pieces 7-48 in How many rolls of ribbon do you I need to decorate my ENTIRE tree? The amount of ribbon depends on the tree's width and your technique. It also depends on if you want enough ribbon to make a bow as a tree topper, or if you are only wanting to weave the ribbon throughout your tree. The guide below is intended to help you have enough ribbon to weave throughout your tree. We suggest starting with 3 yards of ribbon for every foot of tree. For example, you will need around 22.5 yards for a standard Christmas tree. Adjust the length based on whether you want streamers and if you are planning to tuck the ribbon into the tree versus allowing it to cascade down the tree. Tree Height Ribbon Length 6.5 ft 19.5 yards 7.5 ft 22.5 yards 9-10 ft 27-30 yards

We offer you fresh cut Christmas trees, each with a special name! These varieties of Christmas trees are fat, full and healthy. Below are some tips to assure your Christmas tree will stay fresh for the whole season: · Purchase a Tree Preservative to add to the water in your tree stand. This specially developed formula helps promote liquid absorption and needle retention. Contents include fiber softeners and essential nutrients and minerals to help maintain a fresher and safer Christmas tree. Natural evergreen fragrance in liquid preservative adds to the holiday experience. It is pet safe as well!  Provides nutrients to keep tree fresh Helps prolong needle retention Scented with natural evergreen oils When you get home, place your tree in its selected location and add tree preservative and water to fill the stand right away. The tree should be out of water for as little time as possible! 30 minutes to an hour is about the maximum time you want to allow. Make sure you check the water level in your stand daily for the first week or so. Your tree will absorb more water during this period. Don't worry if your tree slows down or even stops "drinking" water close to Christmas, this is a common occurrence. Once at home, close any A/C or heater vents close to where your tree is located. Otherwise, the air blowing on the tree will dry it out. Christmas trees look great framed in a big living room window, but the sunlight may contribute somewhat to branches drying out. Consider having a sheer curtain to spread across the window, and close it at least in warm, sunny days. Always be sure to turn off your lights when you are not at home or are going to bed, especially if you have incandescent lights. Newer LEDs are more expensive, but they last YEARS longer and have very little heat output, so they are much safer and more earth-friendly in a variety of ways. You may choose to put your lights on a timer. · We offer lighting and snow flocking services. If your tree is flocked, do not water it!

Most Louisiana landscapes can fool us into believing we live in the tropics. It’s true that some winters are mild and tropical plants survive, but severe freezes do occur and can be devastating to those tropicals in the landscape. All it takes is one night in the low 20s or teens to severely damage or kill many of the bright and beautiful tropicals. There’s no need stop planting tropicals in landscapes, but the best idea is to mix them with hardy plants so in the event of a severe freeze, the entire landscape is not wiped out. Tropicals will always be the most popular flowers and dramatic foliage for our intense summers. They just need to be protected when the temperatures drop. What are Hardy vs Tender plants? These two terms are used to describe a plant’s ability to tolerate the cold. If a plant will survive with no damage when the temperatures are 32 degrees and below, it’s a Hardy Plant. The level of hardiness varies by plant. Some plants can tolerate 15 degrees while a less hardy one may be damaged at 25 degrees. Commonly used Louisiana landscape plants (trees, shrubs, ground covers, vines & lawns) are generally hardy to 10-15 degrees, and won’t typically die in our winters. These hardy plants do not need much protection other than perhaps some mulch. Tender plants are those that are severely damaged or killed when temperatures are below 32 degrees. When these plants are left out without protection, even on nights when there is a brief temperature drop, there is a risk for damage. Many tender plants may survive by coming back from their lower trunk, roots, crown, or bulbs. Plant parts below the soil surface typically survive since our ground does not freeze. To assist both hardy and tender plants in the event of an oncoming freeze, make sure good care is given during the summer. Pruning and fertilizing trees, shrubs and ground covers should be avoided after September because it can stimulate late growth. How much damage occurs to a tender plant during a freeze can be a factor of where the plant is in the landscape. Place them in a more sheltered area that blocks the north wind and traps the sun’s heat. Planting in areas covered with overhang and tree canopies will also help. What are the types of freezes? Freezes can be characterized as radiational or advective. Radiational freezes occur on clear, calm nights. These freezes are considered generally light and mainly damage the foliage of tender plants, like tropicals. Covering plants during this type of freeze will significantly reduce damage. In an advective freeze, a drastic temperature drop occurs and windy conditions are normal. The temperatures tend to be very low, and will last longer, thus making protecting tender plants more difficult. Freezes that last 8 hours or more are particularly damaging. Frost- 30-32 degrees Plants will have little or no damage Light Freeze - 28-30 degrees Plants will have light damage, mostly to foliage Hard Freeze- mid 20s temps This will kill most tropical plants, and damage other tender plants Severe Freeze- low 20s temps This will most likely bring major damage or kill all tropical plants Catastrophic Freeze-temps in teens This will most likely kill most tropical plants What to do before a freeze? Water- If the soil is dry, water landscape plants thoroughly to help them deal better with the cold. Cold weather is often side-by-side with strong, dry wind. That wind may dry a plant out, causing damage. Watering helps prevent that. Cover- Smaller plants can be covered with cardboard boxes, and larger plants can be covered with fabric or another breathable material. The cover should extend to the ground and be sealed with stones or bricks. Any covering should be vented or removed on sunny days. During advective freezes, covering will need to be paired with a warm source, such as wrapping small Christmas lights around the base of plants. For plants that are too large to cover completely, wrap at least the trunk with an insulating material such as foam rubber or blankets. Even if the top of the plant dies, the plant may regrow from the surviving trunk. For palm trees, the trunk must be wrapped from the ground level to the base of the leaves. Mulch- Use a dry, loose material like pine straw or leaves. Note that mulch only protects what it covers. For example, mulch at the base of a bird-of-paradise will help protect the roots, but not the foliage. Mulch can be left at the plant’s base all winter. Move Inside- Move all tender plants in containers/hanging baskets into a warmer (above freezing) area, such as patio corner or garage. If plants remain outside, cover. If taken inside, provide as much light as possible.  What to do after a freeze? Move container plants back outside unless they will be inside for the winter. Remove any cover from plants to prevent excessive heat buildup if the next day is sunny. If a freeze occurs two or more nights in a row, the cover does not have to be completely removed, but air and light should be received by the plants. Do not prune anything for a week or more after a freeze. After a week, damaged growth or dead foliage on herbaceous plants may be pruned. If any tissue is oozy, mushy, slimy or stinks it should be removed. Make sure to prune prior to the spring, so any new growth is able to appear. Try scratching the bark of any plant with your fingernail. If the tissue underneath is green, it’s still alive. If it is brown, the branch is dead. Start at the top and work your way down to see how far the plant was killed. Remove all dead branches.

If you’re searching for the easiest plant to grow, air plants, or Tillandsia, should be on your list. Did you know air plants are in the Bromeliad family? This is a larger family than the Broussards, with over 650 species that vary in size, texture, shape and color. They are native to the West Indies, Mexico and much of Central & South America. In that habitat, this unusual species attaches itself to rocks and trees using its roots. They get nutrients and water from the air, which is how they came to be known as air plants. The cool fact is, as its name implies, no soil is necessary for this plant to grow and thrive! Even though there are so many varieties of air plants, they can fall into two different categories: Xeric and Mesic. What are the Xeric types? These air plants have flattened, silvery leaves that are covered with tiny hairs. These hairs assist them in absorbing moisture, which is how that have adapted to surviving desert conditions. What are the Mesic Types? These air plants boast darker green, smooth and often curly leaves that thrive in high-humidity rainforest conditions. With such little maintenance requirements, air plants are not fussy and will adapt to your office or home conditions with minimal care! Here are some guidelines to keep them healthy and top-notch. Light: Air plants require plenty of light, so place them somewhere light streams though. However, direct sun will dry out their leaves quickly and can cause them to dehydrate and wilt. Therefore, placing them in the light of your office or kitchen windowsill is more idyllic than outside on your patio table where the sun shines directly. Water: Both types, Xeric and Mesic, of air plants should be soaked in clean room-temperature water for about 20 minutes. The Xeric types should be spritzed twice a week and soaked once a month. The Mesic types like to be spritzed every other day and once a week. Spritzing should also be done with clean, room-temperature water in a spray bottle. After soaking, shake off any water left on the plant and place it somewhere with good air circulation so it can dry quickly. If you notice the leaves are beginning to wrinkle or roll, this is a sign of dehydration. Give them a good soaking session and spritz them more frequently so they can perk back up. Temperature: Our typical indoor temperatures are perfectly suitable for air plants, which makes them ideal for home and office décor. To be exact, they like temps ranging from 50-90 degrees Fahrenheit. Pruning: Don’t fret because it is common for the outer leaves of an air plant to dry out and turn brown. You have not failed! These spent leaves can simply be removed. If the leaf tips show the same signs, you can cut off the tips and carry on with regular care. The plant will continue to grow and have a fine future.

The Christmas cactus is a long lived plant with flat, segmented stems. Most of the year its appearance is fairly unassuming. Some potted green in the corner of the living room or parked under a tree in the back yard. Around Christmas, however, something magical happens. With care, this plain looking plant will blossom with flowers of red, white, pink, purple or orange. Because of this festive seasonal bloom, the Christmas cactus is a tradition in many European and North American homes during the holidays. But the beauty of the hardy Christmas cactus isn’t limited to just the holiday season. Caring for Christmas Cactus Christmas cactus thrives in bright, but indirect sunlight. Keep it near a window when indoors or shaded by trees if kept outdoors in warmer months. Despite its name, the Christmas cactus is not a desert plant, but rather has its origins in the tropical rain forests of South America. The plant will not tolerate dry soil and requires regular watering (done at the base of the plant). Conversely, too much water will cause leaves to spot and fall off. Allow the top layer of soil to dry completely before watering. Ensuring a Christmas Bloom In fall, night temperatures around 50-55 degrees will trigger Christmas cactus to form flower buds. A carefully monitored balance of darkness and sunlight will give you beautiful blooms in time for the holidays. Six to eight weeks before Christmas, place the plant in a completely dark space where the temperature is 60 degrees (such as a closet or garage) for 12 hours each night. Be sure to bring the plant out to a sunny spot for the other 12 hours each day. Water only when the top inch or so of the soil feels dry, and you should get flowers for the holiday. A few weeks after the flowers have faded, prune stems back to encourage new growth.

-Want to enjoy the mums you purchased this fall again next year? You can! After their flowering season this year, cut them back far enough to remove all the faded flowers, (about 1/4 their height) and plant them in the landscape. -Check your yard for Sod Webworms, hundreds of moths ready to destroy your yard. We have a product to combat; come see us. -Plant hardy trees, shrubs, ground covers and vines. -Plant spring flowering bulbs (except for tulips & hyacinths, which must be refrigerated and planted in late December/early January). -Watch azaleas for lace bugs. Control with a horticultural oil spray or one of our recommended products. -Build a compost pile. Leaves, grass, and remains from a veggie garden are great components. -Plant cool season annuals. Pansies are a great choice now that night-time temps will hopefully stay around 65 degrees.  - Clean leaves up in and around roses to remove any possibility of diseased leaves staying over winter and causing black spot next year. - Yellowing herbaceous perennials should be trimmed back now. As leaves deteriorate, the removal is important to maintaining overall vigor of the plant. - As cold weather arrives, be sure to keep your bird feeders full of seed. Local birds will appreciate a free meal. Keep in mind, birds love berries from holly, winter berries, crab apples, beauty berry and many other shrubs. You may want to snip some now for winter decorations and keep in a sheltered area before they disappear. -If you have not aerated your lawn, do so now. Aerating your lawn pulls plugs out of the ground and allows water, and fertilizer to reach roots easily. If you dig out a plug of your lawn and find you have an inch of dead matter between the roots and blades of grass, you should aerate your lawn. As cold arrives start to reduce the height of your lawn mower and shorten your grass in preparation for winter. -Continue to rake and discard leaves as they fall. If you have the ability to shred them or mow them and bag them, do so before adding them to your compost bin. If they are diseased, get rid of them! -Install pond netting over your garden ponds to stop leaves from floating and eventually sinking to the bottom of the pond causing problems down the road. If you have fish 5-6" long, be sure you add a water aerator which pumps bubbles into your pond for the winter. Fish this size and larger need constant oxygen when pumps are shut down for winter. -Take time to enjoy the season, stop and look around you or take a stroll through a park. Mother Nature offers some incredible picturesque selfies this time of the year. Enjoy them before they are gone. The world moves way to fast and we all need time to slow down and enjoy the moment.