Plump amaryllis bulbs, ready for potting and forcing into bloom indoors, are available now from seed and mail-order firms or from local garden centers.
Prices vary according to size, quality of bloom, and color. The best Dutch hybrids will provide wide-petalled flowers in solid deep red, pure pink, or clear white.
The largest bulbs often produce two flower stalks instead of just one. For potting, use a house-plant soil mixture. Place drainage material in the bottom of the clay pot.
Choose a pot just 2” inches wider than the bulb’s diameter and place the bulb so the top half is above soil level.
Press the soil firmly to hold the bulb in place. Water the soil thoroughly. Then, water sparingly until the flower bud begins to grow.
Bulbs in clay pots will need more water than those in plastic pots. To bring buds into bloom, place plants in good light.
The flowers last longer when kept out of the hot sun. After bloom, feed monthly and set pots in the shade in the garden during summer.
TREE GUARD… Protecting Trunks
The smooth, tender bark of fruit trees and ornamentals, like young flowering dogwoods and tree roses, are natural winter food for mice, rabbits, and other animals.
Unless the bark is protected, it may be chewed off down to hardwood, causing death to the plant.
Heavy building paper can be wrapped around the trunk to help protect it from these animals and to prevent sunscald and cracking, but wire mesh is more dependable.
Use the fine 4-inch mesh. Cut it in strips wide enough to overlap when wrapped around the trunk and long enough to extend at least 18″ inches above ground.
To install, first clear weeds, grass, and soil away from the trunk down to the top of the roots.
Unless the wire extends below ground, mice will girdle the trunk underground after the ground freezes.
Press wire tightly around the trunk and secure it in place, top and bottom, with strands of wire.
Keep winter mulches away from trunks. When the snow gets deep, tramp it down so rabbits cannot reach above guard.
EVERGREEN PROTECTION . . . Burlap Tent
Evergreens planted around the house are exposed to dripping gutters that will coat them with ice in winter, snow that slides off the roof, mounds of snow shoveled from paths, and reflected heat from white walls on a southern exposure.
To help keep these shrubs in good condition, protect them under a burlap shelter tacked over a wood frame, as in the photo.
The branches of plants with open, spreading growth should be lightly gathered together first and tied gently with a stout cord.
Wood Frame
The wood frame must be strong enough to withstand falling icicles and wet snow. Burlap, of natural or green color, is available by the yard from garden supply stores. You can fasten it quickly to the stakes with a hand stapler.
If some of your low-spreading evergreens have been sheared into wide, flat-topped specimens, you can cover them with a shelter with slats spaced 1” to 2” inches apart on a frame at the top and open sides.
This will help to break the force of falling snow and ice.
FLOWER BOXES . . . Emptying for Winter
If you take time now to empty and clean planter boxes before winter sets in, refilling them next spring will be an easy job.
Planter boxes of redwood will last for years, but many types of wood rot quickly unless cleaned and stored in a dry place.
Discoloration of Wood
Soil left in containers tends to discolor planters of wood or cast cement. In the North, frost action may even crack or split containers left out in the garden.
Use a hose and a stiff brush to clean boxes and urns inside and out. Rinse off any scouring powders or detergents you have used before storing the containers.
There is no better time than right after they are cleaned to repaint containers that need it. Neutral colors that do not steal the show from the flowers are best to use.
Or you might prefer colors that carry out your house’s color scheme or outdoor furniture.
Stack newly cleaned and painted containers where the air will circulate them. Cover them over with plastic sheeting to keep dust from settling on them.
BULB STORAGE . . . Checking for Disease
There is no greater disappointment in spring than discovering that some of your choicest tender bulbs have rotted or shriveled during winter storage.
Few houses provide ideal facilities for wintering dahlias, gladiolus, tuberous begonias, and other summer-flowering bulbs.
Cellars are often too hot and dry. Try to store the bulbs in a cool, airy place, in open bags or trays, and check the bulbs once a month to see if they are all right.
Indication of Molds
Mold indicates too much moisture, and shriveling means they are too dry. When gladiolus are dug in the fall, they can be dried in the open air, if weather permits, before storing them in a dry, frost-free place.
Clean the eggs as soon as the old stalks are dx-y enough to separate easily. Remove the dead roots and the old dried corn if it is still attached to the base.
The cormels (little bulbs) can be stored, too, and planted in rows next spring to continue growth. Before storing, dust the bulbs lightly with DDT to control thrips that might winter over on them.
SHRUBS.. . Snow Removal
A blanket of snow does not harm hardy plants unless it is heavy, wet snow or becomes icy from rain later.
Then its weight can snap overloaded branches or split entire plants at a branch crotch or at the base of a trunk, resulting in the loss of the whole plant.
The trunk may be curved when the topmost leaf branches of evergreens or birch trees are bent over for several days under a heavy load of frozen snow.
The plant usually will not straighten up without assistance. To avoid damage to plants, here are some suggestions:
Heavy Snow Falls
When heavy snowfalls, remove it before it can freeze. If you wait too long, you will invite trouble.
In the case of azaleas and rhododendrons, frozen snow can snap off tender tips and even flower buds when you try to shake it off.
Sweep the newly fallen snow gently from the inside of the plant toward the tips of branches, and you will avoid disheartening—and often irreparable —damage to your valuable woody plants.
44659 by Amaryllis . . . Planting