Cyclamen: Holiday & Cool Season Favorite

It's time to select your Christmas tree! Here, we have your tree BY NAME! How about having "The Hulk" or "Minnie Mouse" in your living room? Always make sure your tree receives a fresh cut before taking it home. We do this for you! When selecting, cup your hand at the base of a branch and run up down the length of the branch. If the needles have a healthy green color, are soft and hold fast, the tree is fresh. Christmas trees need a stand. Make sure it is large enough to hold at least one gallon of water. Replenish the water as needed, never letting the water level drop below the bottom of the trunk. Add tree preservative to the water to help keep it fresh longer. DECEMBER TO DO LIST: -Plant cool-season annuals & vegetables -Lower lawn mower blades for cool-season lawns -Stop feeding St. Augustine lawns -Place a bird feeder in the garden since natural food sources may not be available as much for birds -Freshen up container gardens -Divide and replant all clumping perennials -Plant all kinds of hardy plants {trees, shrubs, perennials & vines} -Reduce water on deciduous fruit trees -As bulb foliage yellows and goes dormant, separate and replant for next season's bloom -Pansies and other cool-season annuals benefit from using blood meal when planted in order to keep the older foliage healthy. - Apply Turf & Ornamental Weed & Grass Stopper by Hi-Yield containing Dimension in flower beds to prevent cool weather weeds from growing. Try to apply right before a rainfall or deeply water in. -Apply fresh bed dressing (mulch, straw, etc.) to flowerbeds to help prevent winter weeds and to insulate the roots of landscape plants -Water landscape plants every 7-10 days or as needed - Do NOT prune landscape plants back yet, wait until mid-January to early February. Pruning back now may promote new growth. Tender vegetation is much more susceptible to cold damage, which may occur if we have a strong cold front in January. Also, remember not to prune azaleas until after they bloom in the spring.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year! The memories created with family at this time of year are priceless. With all the merriment, here are some tips to cover the topics from Christmas tree care to wintertime annuals ready to plant now! Click here to watch the Clip Tip on Christmas Tree Care! Click here to watch the Clip Tip on Fresh Garland and Wreath Care! Click here to watch the Clip Tip on Ball Garland for Christmas Decorating! Click here to watch the Clip Tip on Holiday Plants! Click here to watch the Clip Tip on Cool Season Annuals! Click here to watch the Clip Tip on Planting Bulbs! Click here to watch the Clip Tip on Planting Camellias! Click here to watch the Clip Tip on Planting Container Gardens! Click here to watch the Clip Tip on Winterizing your Grass! Click here to watch the Clip Tip on Planting Trees & Shrubs with Root Stimulator!

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. This year we have a gorgeous selection of Live Fresh Fraser Fir Garland, Live Fresh Cedar Garland, and Live Fresh Deluxe Mixed Garland. All are sold by the foot, so tell us exactly how much you need, and we'll cut it for you! 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!

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!

Our fresh fir Christmas trees are here! The smell of our favorite season is in the air, and families will be making memories by selecting their tree by name! Yes, all of our Christmas trees are named! You can have “Mickey Mouse” or “Princess Elsa” in your living room all season! There are some factors to choosing a healthy tree. A straight trunk is great, but there is more to consider. There should be no damaged bark, cracks in the trunk, or oozing sap, as these will cause needles to become brittle more quickly. Needles should feel supple, somewhat waxy, and provide resistance against the hand. Those that are limp, dry, and easily bent may be ready to drop. Freshly cut trees should be put in water as soon as possible. The trick is to get the tree into water within 30 minutes of the fresh cut. Don’t allow the basin to dry once it runs out of water because after 30 minutes of being dry, the tree will not take up any water. If a stand is not ready, set the trunk in a bucket, or put warm, damp towels over the base. Don’t put trees in direct sun – for those in a sunny window, a sheer curtain will help. You're welcome to bring your own stand or you can purchase one here. Tree preservatives contain wood softeners to help water reach the needles. Remember that a large tree can drink a gallon of water its first day. If it does not, give another fresh cut, or use hot water to soften the sap and add tree preservative to get water flowing. Read our blog on Caring for your Christmas Tree through the Season. What varieties of Fresh Fir Christmas Trees do we have this year? We will be carrying two varieties, both with the aroma and spirit of the season we all love. Fraser Fir: Native to the Appalachian mountains, it is considered by many to be the perfect Christmas tree. It boasts attractive 1'' needles that are silvery-green & soft to the touch, making it ideal for families with young children or pets who tend to handle their tree. Noble Fir : Native to the Pacific Northwest, it boasts "noble" deep bluish green color. This tree has sturdy, but flexible branches, and is a symmetrical shape. The long needles are four-sided and twist upward, leaving the lower surface of the branch exposed. It's also very aromatic for the season! We offer Christmas tree services to further enchant your holiday season! Click here to contact us and book your Christmas tree services. We offer the following services, and the price depends on the size tree you select: - Delivery - We all love fresh Christmas trees, but we don’t all have a vehicle to bring it home ourselves. No worries. We offer delivery + set up for the normal delivery fee. Please have the area where you want the tree to be ready for it ahead of time! Please note that delivery dates cannot be guaranteed. - Snow Flocking - This service does something that nothing else can do: bring a “snow-filled” tree into your Louisiana living room! We flock your tree in either medium or heavy- depending on your preference. Your flocked tree will have its own custom-built stand, so you will not need to purchase that. After its flocked, it will require at least 24 hours to dry before being delivered. Trees that are flocked are NOT WATERED! Do not water your flocked tree! The water is taken up from the trunk and will sluff off all the flocking. With a flocking service, your tree can be picked up or delivered complimentary. -Lighting - Have your Christmas light up your life with us lighting your tree! We have either white or colored lights as to your preference. The lighting service fee includes all the lights needed for your tree. Please note that we use our own lights to ensure the best quality so will not accept lights from a previous year or pre-purchased. With a lighting service, your tree can be picked up or delivered complimentary. We can combine any of these services to help you and your family celebrate the magic of Christmas with a fresh Christmas tree!

Poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) are one of the most popular winter and Christmastime plants. They can be found this time of year in retail outlets and florists and now even in grocery stores. The gorgeous display of bright red against dark green foliage is the perfect combination to match our traditional Christmas palette of red and green. These colors have been used for decorative purposes during winter months dating back to Roman times with the celebration honoring the god Saturn each year between Dec. 17 and 23. The tradition was carried on by Christians as early as the 1300s. Native to Mexico and Central America, the poinsettia grows naturally in the landscape in moist areas that get six to eight hours of indirect sunlight. The Aztecs of Mexico cultivated and used poinsettias for decorative purposes in religious ceremonies, medicinal purposes and as a reddish-purple dye. Poinsettias get their name from Joel Poinsett. A member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina, he was a physician and minister to Mexico in the early 1820s. Poinsett sent the plant back home to South Carolina and shared it with other plant enthusiasts. Since then it has been grown and used by florists and decorators alike during the winter. Highly cultivated, hundreds of varieties come in shades of red, white and pink and mottled or striped combinations of the colors. Poinsettias do well in containers indoors year-round in well-lit areas protected from drafts and outdoors on patios or protected from full sun during the warmer months. The showy colors of the poinsettias are not flowers. They are actually modified leaves called bracts. The actual flowers are the yellow centers of the bracts. When grown naturally in its native setting, the plant is a large shrub or small tree that grows up to 10 to 15 feet high. As a potted plant, they usually only grow 1 to 2 feet tall. To care for it, water the plant when the soil dries. They do not like to be too wet or too dry. Water at the base of the plant directly on the soil. The plant produces a milky sap that may irritate those who are sensitive to latex. If eaten in large quantities, the sap may cause a mild irritation or possible nausea for pets, especially small kittens and puppies who just love to destroy plants. However, poinsettias are not poisonous, according to a study at The Ohio State University. The best way to select a poinsettia is to look for one that has at least six or more bracts extending over the lower green leaves. Inspect the leaves — they should not droop — and check underneath for pests such as white flies. The longest-lasting poinsettias will have no pollen or sap in the yellow flowers in the center of the bracts. If they have begun to show yellow pollen and sap, poinsettias will not provide a display for much longer. A poinsettia should last for four to six weeks in the home if properly cared for. Once Christmas is past, plants may continue to look good into spring. After that, some folks just throw them away or compost them. They can be transplanted into the yard, but you may lose them during hard freezes if not protected. South sides of the house will be the most protected. Before planting, cut them back to one-half their size. You can also try to get your poinsettia to bloom again for the following year. Poinsettias are short-day plants. That means they set buds and make flowers when the nights lengthen in fall and winter. To help the plant flower and develop the colored bracts, it must receive six to eight hours of indirect sunlight during the day and 14 hours of darkness at night for 40 days straight, starting about Oct. 1. You can do this by covering the plant with a black plastic bag to the ground every afternoon and continuing the practice daily until color shows in the bracts. I’ve successfully done this — with patience. Read our blog, "Poinsettias: Care Through Winter & Beyond" here Article by LSU Ag Center. Visit online here.

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. Click here to read our blog, "Poinsettias: Not a Flower, A Bract."

Here are some easy growing tips for this seasonal favorite! 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.

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.  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