21 December 17, 2008

Christmas Eve is only a week away. If you have some decorating to do with fresh greens and plants, let me give you a few tips.

If you like to decorate indoors with fresh greens, you will find out that the warm and dry air in your home will dry the greens quickly. There are several ways around this problem. One of the ways is to spray the greens with an anti desiccant spray. This is the same spray that you would use to protect your shrubs from the winter wind. If you apply the spray to evergreen roping or evergreen boughs and allow it to dry, the greens will remain fresh a lot longer.

If you want to put the greens on tables, mantles and in pots, you can use floral foam. You can buy these blocks of foam at garden centers and florists. The foam block is soaked in water until it is saturated with water. Take the block out of the water and let the excess water drain. The block can then be placed on a tray or in a pot. You will want to use some holder or container that won’t allow excess water to drain on your furniture etc. Once you have the block in place, you can arrange your evergreen boughs into the foam. The foam block holds the greens in place and also releases water to the greens. You will need to check the foam each day to see if you need to add any additional water. Ideally, you should spray the greens with an anti desiccant spray before you place the greens in the floral foam. This would give you greens that would stay fresh for the longest possible time.

I have talked about poinsettias, with you, over the last few weeks.  One of the things that I neglected to tell you was that poinsettias need to be in bright light if they are to remain happy.  You can gauge the proper light level by using this simple test. If you pass your hand over the top of the plant and your hand casts a shadow on the plant, then the poinsettia will be getting enough light. Remember that poinsettias don’t like to be in drafty locations and the night time temperatures should not fall below 60 degrees.

Well, that’s all for this week. I’ll talk to you again next week.