Outdoor Plants: Use Leftover Holiday Greens

Branches of pine, spruce, cedar, holly and other evergreens are useful for protecting plants outdoors. Normally the most abundant supply of greens comes from our Christmas trees. One or more trees are particularly useful to make a temporary windbreak to shield tender evergreen plants such as some hollies, azaleas and rhododendrons.

Neighbors may be willing to donate their old trees to your cause. For protecting fairly large plants, the trees may be left intact and placed close to the plant needing protection. One or more positioned on the northwest side give good wind protection, while those on the south provide protection from winter sunscald.

Stakes should be put into the soil so the trees can be tied to them to keep them from shifting or being blown away completely. If you do not like the appearance of old Christmas trees lying in the landscape, tie them in an upright position to give the appearance of growing trees. These trees will normally remain green for most of the winter. However, browning begins as warmer spring weather arrives. Birds are also attracted to the dense cover given by a group of bush trees.

Pine branches normally retain needles quite well for this purpose. If there is no need for protection of large plants, Christmas trees may be cut up and their branches used as a mulch to cover low growing plants. Strawberries or fall-planted violas or pansies benefit from a cover of this type. Some perennial flowers that might be covered with evergreen branches include chrysanthemum, delphinium, anemone, baby's-breath, phlox and red-hot poker.

Weight down the branches, or push the base of each branch into the soil so that strong winter winds do not carry them away and expose the plants needing cover. In spring the branches can be removed and added to the compost heap. Many evergreen branches are fairly slow to decompose, but decay can be speeded if they are cut into small pieces or shredded. Covering them well with actively decaying compost is also beneficial. After they have decomposed, your evergreen branches, although not obvious, will continue to benefit the garden long after Christmas has passed.

In addition to the greens, we are also left with holiday plants. Christmas pepper, Jerusalem cherry, poinsettia and chrysanthemum are just a few. When these plants have begun to decline, Christmas pepper and Jerusalem cherry should be discarded. These plants cannot be saved for another year. Their seeds may be saved and started indoors in the spring, if desired. Chrysanthemums should also be discarded. If they must be saved, cut back the tops after flowers have died. Keep the plants cool and slightly moist until spring.

When warm weather arrives, they may be planted outdoors in a protected location. Most chrysanthemum varieties grown for forcing bloom quite late in the fall and are not reliably winter hardy. Poinsettias are usually difficult to rebloom in the home.