Plants great Christmas gifts
Christmas is only 13 days away, and what better gift is there to give someone who loves gardening than something that grows.
It is always interesting walking around a friend’s garden with them. Sometimes quite a story can entail. The different plants that make up their garden, whether it’s a certain growing challenge or triumph in the plant’s growth, the impressive flower or the story of how hard it was to find, or it might be of the person that gave them the plant and the occasion it relates to.
There are a number of plants that regularly are given as Christmas gifts. Most popular are the moth or phalaenopsis orchids. These orchids are grown inside as a cheerful elegant house plant. They can flower for six months with very little care needed. After this the spent flower spike can be cut back and often a second will appear and then flower for another six months — they really are an incredible plant for indoor colour and aesthetic appeal.
Venus fly traps are a popular gift for kids. Also popular at Christmas are poinsettia: the bright red foliage screams “Christmas!” and can add some festive cheer as a centre piece on the dinner table or elsewhere around the home.
They are an interesting plant with the foliage turning red with shortening day length. The association of Christmas and poinsettias comes from the northern hemisphere where winter and Christmas is a natural occurrence. In New Zealand, to have red poinsettias for Christmas, growers draw blinds on the greenhouses to shorten the day length thus duping the plants into producing the red foliage. Once purchased from the store and taken home the plants won’t quickly revert but will maintain their red show well beyond the festive season.
Other popular plant gifts include roses, fruit trees and native trees. These are long lasting gifts that can bring years of pleasure. I am always entertained by the well thought out sneaky gift of giving the fruit tree you always wanted to grow, but don’t have the room for, to a family member with the hope that in years to come you may get some fruit given back to you!
Garden tools have become a popular gift, particularly to those who have recently bought their first home.
Garden Tasks for December
As we are into the start of our summer period there are a couple of dare I say it “winter vegetables” that should be planted around Christmas; leeks and brussels sprouts.
Leeks traditionally are planted between Christmas and New Year. While planting is definitely not limited to this time, planting during December and early January tends to produce larger more robust plants than those planted later.
Leeks are a hardy vegetable that have very few pests/ diseases that affect them. The bigger the leek, the more flavoured it is. Leeks are best planted in free-draining, organically rich soil. Apply generous amounts of lime to the soil, a few weeks before planting, if possible.
Plants can be purchased in stores or grown from seeds. Seedlings grown in trays can be transplanted easily, but leave them until they have grown to 20cm high. When transplanting, trim 8cm off the shoots and about 2cm off the roots before planting out. This is usually not necessary on seedlings bought from garden centres, as they are already prepared. Dropping more than one leek per hole is fine, but the leeks will be smaller. Alternatively the plants can be thinned as if growing carrots and the thinnings can be added to soups and salads. If the growth is slow, fertilise with liquid fertiliser such as Ican Fast Food once a week until the base thickens. To achieve pure white leeks, draw soil (not wet) up around the stems, being careful not to get soil caught between the leaves. Cardboard cylinders (toilet roll tubes), dropped over maturing plants leaving leaves exposed, achieves the same results. Keep leeks weed free as they hate competing for light and moisture.
Leeks can be safely left in the ground until needed or alternatively dig up the crop and place them in a container filled with soil (cover the stems, leaving the leaves free), and store in a convenient spot until needed.
Brussels sprouts are adored by some and detested by others. These plants can take a while to mature and for a good winter harvest should be planted during January. Like its brassica cousins of broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage, brussels sprouts will perform best in rich fertile soil. The addition of well rotted animal manures, mushroom compost or soil conditioners such as Yates Dynamic Lifter will do much to enhance the soil structure and fertility and you will have a good chance to harvest a decent crop. They too, like the leeks, prefer an alkaline soil so the addition of lime prior to planting is beneficial. The biggest pest to brussels sprouts is the white cabbage butterfly and caterpillar which can be easily treated by the use of derris dust or a spray with Yates Mavrik or Yates success ultra. A non spray alternative is to completely enclose the plants with a fine netting where the butterflies cannot reach the plants to lay eggs and thus preventing caterpillars from gaining access to the plants. Companion plants said to deter white cabbage butterfly and keep the caterpillars away from brassicas includes oregano, mint, hyssop, thyme and rosemary. Planting sage and dill with your brassicas is said to improve their growth and growing with chamomile is said to improve the flavour.
Happy Christmas and enjoy the garden and outdoors.
■ Gareth Carter is general manager of Springvale Garden Centre