Recycle Your Christmas Tree

Christmas is over, the egg nog has gone, the relatives have departed... and you're left packing up the lights and ornaments and wondering what to do with the Christmas tree.

Here are some tips on what to do with your live tree as the holidays draw to a close:

• Removing the tree: The best way to avoid a mess removing your tree is to place a plastic tree bag underneath the stand when you set the tree up! You can hide it with a tree skirt. Then, when the holidays are done, pull the bag up around the tree, stand and all, and carry it outside. You will want to remove the stand before recycling the tree. If some needles do scatter inside, it is better to sweep them up; as needles can clog vacuum cleaners.
• Soil erosion barriers: You can use Christmas trees to make effective sand and soil erosion barriers.
• Fish feeders: Sunk into private fish ponds trees make excellent refuge and feeding area for fish.
• Bird feeders: Place the Christmas tree in the garden or backyard and use it as a bird feeder and sanctuary. Fresh orange slices or strung popcorn will attract the birds and they can sit in the branches for shelter. Eventually (within a year) the branches will become brittle and you can break the tree apart by hand.
• Mulch: A Christmas tree is biodegradable; its branches may be removed, chipped, and used as mulch in the garden.
• Living, rooted trees: Of course, next year, you could get a rooted (ball and burlapped or containerized) tree and then plant it in your yard after Christmas.
• Important: Never burn your Christmas tree in a fireplace or wood stove. Pines, firs and other evergreens have a high content of flammable turpentine oils. Burning the tree may contribute to creosote buildup and risk a chimney fire.

Christmas Cactus

Christmas is just around the corner, so are these colorful Christmas plants.

Schlumbergera is the correct botanical name for... Christmas Cactus. It is possibly the second most popular houseplant for the holiday season. They have been kept as a holiday houseplant since the 1800’s.

Christmas Cactus are normally available in bud or bloom from late October thru December. They can be found in a variety of tabletop container sizes as well as hanging baskets.

Christmas Cactus are best grown in a peat based potting media. A potting soil that has more peat moss in it than any thing else. Christmas Cactus will do best in bright indirect light. Long term direct sunshine can stunt the plants growth and burn the leaves. If you put your plant outdoors for the summer... be sure to place it in a shady location. Christmas Cactus are quite tolerant to temperature. They will survive in temps as low as 35 degrees and as high as 100 degrees. Normal house temperatures of 65 to 80 degrees are perfect. Christmas Cactus are not a true cactus, which rarely need watered. They fit closer to the category of a houseplant. When the soil is dry to the touch... its time to water. They don't require much in the way of fertilizing. Feeding your plant 2 to 4 times per year is sufficient. Use any high quality feed that reads 20-20-20 on the label. If you have lived with your Christmas Cactus for a few seasons you know when the plant usually buds… stop feeding a month before buds appear. If not, stop feeding by the end of October.

It is best to prune your Christmas Cactus after it has finished flowering. Pinch your plant back 1 or 2 leaves. Either cut at the joint with scissors, a sharp knife, or pinch with your thumbnail and index finger. Pruning helps the plant to branch out which should increase your bud count the following season. It also helps to promote new root growth. You can transplant what you have trimmed off to give to someone special next Christmas.

Christmas Cactus are what they call thermo-photoperiodic. This means bud set is triggered by a combination of day length and temperature. When day length is approximately equal to darkness... the plant knows its time to grow buds. The secondary trigger that most  miss is temperature. Chilling the plant at 50 to 60 degrees for a week or two should cause the plant to start setting buds.

Now you know the secrets of Christmas Cactus. A properly cared for plant can live for 20 years or more... flowering year after year. And can be passed down for generations.