Christmas in September?

Linn County Master Gardener, Claire Smith, describes how to prep your Christmas cactus to bloom, as well as overwintering strawberry beds and transplanting perennials.

             Oh! My! Can we really be talking about Christmas in September?  Yes, because a blooming Christmas cactus is definitely a bragging rite.  Flowering of the Christmas cactus is controlled by both temperature and day length.  This fall put your holiday cactus in a cool location (60-65 degrees) and let it receive only natural daylight.  It should flower between October and January.  After the holidays, place the cactus back into that cool area and water it sparingly.  The cactus should show an active growth period during the spring and summer.  Water it more frequently during that time frame and fertilize it once a month.  Maintaining that routine should allow your Holiday Cacti to live a long long life. 

           School is going well.  The football rivalries are in full force. The days and nights are cooling. It must be fall, but that doesn't mean it's time to abandon our lawn and flower beds.  Outdoor housekeeping continues here long into cold weather.   Someone asked me about over wintering strawberry beds.  Uncle Matt helped us build a new raised strawberry bed this summer so the grandkids are anxious to participate in planting an entirely redone bed.  The plants in the old bed were o.k., but the structure was falling apart.  We have been successful in protecting the plants during the winter by mulching with a thick (2”-4”) layer of straw.  Chopped corn stalks work well but are not as readily available.  Mulch the bed as soon as the temperatures drop into the lower 20s then let the sleeping plants lie untouched until the warm spring sun awakens them.

           Straw is excellent mulch for transplanted perennials.  Chopped leaves, other than walnut leaves, work well, too.  Now is an excellent time to transplant yarrow, daylily, peony, iris and Hosta.  The plants have completed their flowering cycle and dividing and replanting in the fall allows them to direct all of their energy to root and foliage growth before the ground freezes.  Using   mulch in winter affords protection for plants from alternate freezing and thawing of the soil.  As with strawberries, use a generous 2”-4” of mulch applied as soon as the temperatures drop to the 20s.  My old iris bed is finally gone, moved to a more manageable location.  It was fun to give some plants away to a friend. My favorite daughter, who has transformed into quite the gardener, took the rest. Moving Hosta is next on the list, hopefully within the next week or two.