dave epstein

The following guest post – on December gardening chores – is from Dave Epstein of Growing Wisdom, an online how-to video show for homeowners and horticulture pros. The information originally appeared in Dave’s December 2010 newsletter.

December gardening chores

By Dave Epstein

CLOSING THE GARDEN

This time of the year can be sad for many of us in the northern latitudes as winter slowly arrives.  I find myself looking at the yard for remaining signs of life and those hints of spring that will emerge in 12 long weeks.  This afternoon I was outside looking at my witch hazel and noticed it was full of buds.  It should open in February and looks to be a great show.

What I am doing now is moving hoses into the garage or basement, cleaning shovels and other tools and looking around for what has to be done before the hard part of winter sets in and seeing what can wait till spring.

Click here to go to Growing Wisdom and watch some gardening videos.

WINTER VEGETABLES

I am now into year two of winter gardening.  I have just covered my tunnels with row covers to protect against frost and one of them now has green house plastic to protect it even further.  I am looking forward to a mix of Asian greens, kale and collards for the next few weeks.  We used many of these for part of our meal at Thanksgiving.  I am also still planting some lettuce seeds and arugula under these tunnels for a late winter harvest.  The plants will germinate in the next few weeks and really take off in late January and early February.

Growing vegetables without heat all winter is a great way to keep your sanity through the cold months.  There are still a lot of unknowns with regard to this type of gardening, so experiment.  Check out some of the books by Elliot Coleman.  He is one of the pioneers in this field.

Click here for a video on winter gardening.

TIP OF THE SEASON

Make sure to use an antidesiccant on tender evergreens. During the coldest months, plants that retain their leaves still lose moisture. If they lose too much water over the winter, there can be significant dieback in the spring. If you decide to spray, do it on a day when temperatures are above freezing and winds are light. I typically spray early in the morning to ensure there’s enough time for the spray to dry.

Click here to see how I prepare broadleaf evergreens for winter.

Want to design some beautiful container gardens? Check out the latest how-to videos “How to Grow Tropicanna^® in Containers” and “Flower Carpet^® Roses in Containers” by Dave Epstein of Growing Wisdom.com.

You can go directly to the Growing Wisdom website, or you can see them on such other web sites as YouTube, 5min.com, mefeedia.com, www.metacafe.com, howcast.com, viddler.com and blinkx.com.

“In containers, you want a thriller, a filler and a spiller,” says Epstein in the Tropicanna cannas video. “And our Tropicannas, of course, are the thriller.” He then uses the rainbow-striped foliage of the original Tropicanna canna and the gold-striped leaves of Tropicanna Gold to create stunning container designs – even without flowers.

Those who do want flowers in their containers, however, can use Flower Carpet roses, says Epstein. “I can put one Flower Carpet rose in the container and eventually it will fill the entire container. And that’s one perfectly great choice …” Or, as he demonstrates, you can use Flower Carpet’s compact, low-growing roses as just one element – or even the centerpiece – of a great design.

In his canna container designs, he paired the original, rainbow-leaved Tropicanna cannas with small yellow zinnias and the green-and-gold-striped leaves of Tropicanna Gold (both as a vertical, showy background) with purple and yellow foliage and/or blooms like plum-black heuchera (coral bells), purple petunias and helichrysm petiolare 'Limelight.'

I also love this great container recipe using Tropicanna cannas featured in Garden Gate magazine's 2010 edition of its annual "Great Plant Combos" feature: Tropicanna canna original with caladium (large, hot-pink, heart-shaped leaves), Mexican sunflower (orange blooms) and coleus 'Buttercup' (subbing in, if you wish, Joseph's coat and/or flowering maple).

My personal favorite, however, is Tropicanna^® Black - and good news, gardeners! Huge supplies of this purple-black leaved favorite are now available for the 2011 gardening season. I chose to plant it in a container with Tropicanna gold and purple oranmental kale. (a combination that'll transition well into fall). Remember: that gold/lime/purple color combo just can't be beat!

Flower Carpet roses' unique, low-growing habit, meanwhile, is more ideally suited to container gardens than other easy-care shrub or landscape roses. Here are just a few design ideas. And don't forget to check out all the care and cultural information in Dave's videos!

Have a great container combination using roses or cannas? Post a comment, and share it with me!

Today’s post is a wonderful guest piece on that earliest of spring bloomers — witch hazel — from Dave Epstein, host of Growing Wisdom.com [www.growingwisdom.com]:

In the dead of winter there is not much growing in the garden. However, there is one plant that will reliably bloom for you each and every February. That’s right, February.

Hamamelis or its common name, witch hazel, is my favorite late winter/early spring bloomer. The fall variety of this shrub is native to New England and blooms in October. However the crosses of the Japanese and Chinese Hamamelis bloom from February to April and in a mild year have even been known to bloom even in January. 

Witch hazel are considered a small tree or shrub and are relatively easy to grow. They will adapt to most soil conditions but prefer a slightly acidic PH.  You will want to be sure that your plant gets several hours of sun, is not in an open area subjected to harsh winds, and is not overly wet. A lot of folks may not be comfortable with plants they do not know. However, adding one or two Hamamelis varieties to you garden will bring you years of enjoyment, at a time of the year that can be pretty bleak.   When considering where to place this plant outside you need to head inside. Once indoors look out your windows from a spot you spend a lot of time. I have planted my three varieties outside the kitchen and den. Perhaps you will want yours outside the home office window, the living room or dining area.  It’s a great feeling to make lunch on a sunny February afternoon and see these flowers bursting open. The flowers come in yellow, red and even orange. You will find that the buds open up during those sunny days in late winter when the temperature gets above freezing. At night, the flowers will curl back up. This process continues for weeks and can last into April about when the forsythia is in bloom.

When choosing Hamamelis there are so many varieties of this plant that it would be impossible to pick a favorite. However, here are few to seek out this year when at your favorite nursery. ‘Arnolds Promise’ was developed at the Arnold Arboretum and is still considered one of the best. Its brilliant yellow and opens in early March.  ‘Moonlight’s’ flowers are pale sulfur yellow with claret red. This variety is also a very early flowerer in February and has a strong sweet fragrance.   You will even notice bees on some of these plants on a warm day in spite of several inches of snow left on the ground. I have ‘Diane’ in my garden and the flowers are a coppery red. The leaves sometimes hold on through the winter and can hide the flowers. You might also try ‘Orange Beauty’. The flowers of this variety border on a deep yellow or orange yellow however; there is not much of a scent.

During the summer the plants will blend into the background of the garden. The leaves are a fan shape but there is nothing particularly remarkable about them. In the fall many of the varieties turn spectacular colors. Two other great properties of this shrub are that it has few pest and disease problems and needs little if any pruning. After 10 years or so it will be about 15’-20’ in height so plan accordingly. Click here to watch a video about Witchhazel. 

Dave Epstein

Host/GrowingWisdom.com

Happy New Year!

And happy National Mailorder Gardening Month (at least according to the Mailorder Gardening Association, which offers great information on gardening by mail).

Check out the catalogs

That’s right. Those mailorder catalogs – full of the latest dramatic flowers and fantastic foliage — should be filling up your mailbox any day now. So grab your Snuggie and a cup of coffee – it’s time for a trip to Catalog Land.

Getting to these catalogs and ordering from them early is especially important if you want one of those hot, new introductions that’s in limited supply. And since this blog’s about easy-care gardening, you might also want to add to this year’s shopping list plants described as "low-maintenance," "disease resistant," "pest resistant," "easy to grow," "self-cleaning," or "drought tolerant."

Plan, dream…have fun!

While you’re at it, now’s the time to sketch new garden layouts, plan additions or renovations and play with different plant combinations for your beds and container gardens. Just get out that stack of gardening magazines and 1/4-inch graph paper or your laptop (and try the free, online Plan-A-Garden feature at BHG.com).

Keep those houseplants alive

In addition to the houseplant care tips I provided in my Dec. 15, 2009 post on December garden chores, you’re going to want to think about increasing the humidity. “A lot of plants will benefit just from a misting – once a day, or once every other day,” says Dave Epstein, founder of GrowingWisdom, an online video website for homeowner-gardeners and landscape professionals. “It creates a miniature, more humid environment around it – kind of like a microclimate.”

Schedule tree service

“If you have a tree that’s dead, this is a great time of year to have it removed,” says Epstein. “Contact an aborist, since this is a slow time of year for them. Plus, your ground is probably frozen, so they can bring big equipment onto your lawn without doing any damage.”

Another reason to call them now is to set up a spring health maintenance program for your trees.

Regional roundup

If you live in a wamer climate, check out the fantastic, region-specific "Gardening To Do List - January in the Garden" post by About.com gardening guide Marie Iannotti. And wherever you live, she adds, don’t forget to feed the birds and provide them with fresh, unfrozen water.