'CORLISS CLIPS'/January 2012/Page 4

Corliss Clips
January 2012 ...... Page 4

It’s January... do you know where your Christmas tree is? Hopefully, it’s lashed to a fence, adjacent to the bird feeding station, providing songbirds with shelter from winter storms and marauding hawks. Roll pine cones in a peanut butter/cornmeal/birdseed mixture, and hang them in the tree for an extra treat. Suspend a suet cake in a sturdy suet cage. String and hang garlands of cranberries. Cut tree boughs make good winter protection for perennials, but the early snow cover is probably sufficient, this year. Finally, next spring, grind the remains of that tree and spread it around the landscape as mulch... all great lessons in backyard recycling!

Holiday Plants, After the Holidays...

Poinsettia
•No drafts/warm
•East or filtered south sun
•Tepid water
•Keep lightly moist, on a humidity tray.
•After colorful bracts have faded, trim stem back to 3-5” above soil surface, above a leaf node.
•Feed with water-soluble, organic fertilizer every two weeks.
•Set out in filtered sun, after danger of frost/back inside in September.
•After 2 months of short days/long nights, your plant should bloom.


Cyclamen
•Cool window
•West or east light
•Tepid water
•Lightly moist
•Humidity tray
•Feed monthly, until dormancy
•After flowers fade and foliage yellows, keep dry in a cool, dark spot.
•In 2 months, after foliage has dried, repot in a 1” larger pot, with top half of tuber above soil
•Start watering in fall when new leaves appear - if they don’t, begin watering in October.
•Hey - it’s worth a try!

Christmas Cactus
•East, west or south sun
•Tepid water
•Dry between waterings/humidity tray optional, but beneficial
•May bloom sporadically till spring/turn pot frequently
•Feed monthly with water-soluble, organic fertilizer
•Set out in filtered sun, after frost
•Bring back inside, just before a killing frost/has almost always budded at this point
•Provide about 2 months of short days/long nights for re-blooming

Stay with us for a brand new season of gardening! New introductions, new hybrids... 2012 is shaping up as a most exciting season. Meanwhile, keep up with that armchair gardening - it’s time well spent!

A special thanks to the Corliss Bros. staff for the excellent photography: photos©CBI 2012

Corliss Bros. Garden Center & Nursery
31 Essex Road (Rte. 133) Ipswich, MA

978-356-5422

January 2012 'Corliss Clips'
- finis -

©DJL/CBI 2012