December Gardening In Soperton

Written By Soperton's "Gardening Guru"

December has been a busy month so far. It is a good thing for southern gardeners that there are less numerous gardening tasks and usually less pressing gardening chores to accomplish this month. The extra time can be used in decorating your home inside and out for the holidays.

Poinsettias are a seasonal "must" for color and bloom. These plants should be watered regularly, kept out of drafts, and not exposed to either excessively low or excessively high temperatures. If poinsettia leaves drop off the lower parts of the stems, a few branches of holly or other greenery can be stuck into the pots to provide foliage.

If you need holiday greenery for decorating, why not plant a few evergreens to meet this demand in the future? Some popular ones are hollies, southern magnolia, aucuba, and nandina. And don't forget the old standby, cedar. I have a friend who uses Leyland cypress for greenery and it is beautiful. If you also need a supply of berries with your holiday greenery, try planting hawthorn and pyracantha along with the nandina and hollies. After planting these evergreens, be sure to water them thoroughly and mulch the soil around them.

If you decide to do a little pruning this month, do not prune spring-flowering shrubs! If a real rejuvenation job is called for, be prepared to sacrifice sping bloom for a year or so. With our warm December weather this year, pruning could be delayed a little longer.

This is a good time to catch up on your reading of gardening magazines and books. Visit the library and look over their stock of horticultural books. Make sure you are subscribing to one or more gardening magazines and, for Christmas, why not give garden books and subscriptions to garden magazines to your friends and family members who love to garden and putter in their yards.

You must take time to ride around Soperton at night and see the beautiful display of lights and decorations. It seems each year is more fantastic.

See you outside.