The holidays are arriving and that means one thing, we are going away! It is sad to say that next week on the 24th Garden Time will be ending our 7th season. But not to worry! For those of you who follow the show, you know that we have to leave the air for 3 months during the winter. There are just not enough advertisers to support us during the winter. We have a great bunch of advertisers but as business slows down they need to get ready for 2013, and so do we.

You may also notice that this week’s show was dedicated to Bob Denney. Bob (along with his son Jon) was one of the people behind the start of Portland Nursery. If you had been to one of Portland Nurseries Annual Apple Tastings you probably saw Bob wandering around. He loved apples! Our thoughts and prayers go out to our friends at Portland Nursery.

We would also like to wish everyone a great Thanksgiving with their families and friends, and thank you for all your support.

See you next week for our final episode of 2012.

This week we featured...

Al’s Poinsettias

Believe it or not, it is time for poinsettias. They are starting to make their appearance at local garden centers and other stores. The big push will be in a couple of weeks but you can get some nice plants right now. The big question that we hear is ‘how do I pick a good one’ and ‘how can I make it last’. To find out the answer to these questions we stopped by the growing operation for Al’s Garden Center (503-981-1245) and talked to owner, Mark Bigej. He pulled a few plants out of the greenhouse to show us some of the varieties that they are offering this year. We started with 2 ‘cool’ selections. First, we had ‘Premium Ice Crystals’ with a light red bract and a light center running down the middle. This was followed by ‘Ice Punch’ which had a slightly smaller white center. ‘Jester Red’ was the next one we looked at and it did look like a jester’s hat with pointy, upright bracts. Al’s also gets the opportunity to grow some of the newer introductions including one called ‘SK 91’. Mark really liked this one for its red color and traditional features. The next one was ‘Arctic White’ which is one of the whitest flowers you will find in a poinsettia. The next one is a return to the original look of the poinsettia. “Dolce Rose’ shows some of the smaller bracts (leaves) of the original species. These ‘throwback’ varieties have been very popular the last few years. Finally we looked at one of the coolest varieties called ‘Cortez Electric Fire’ which had an orange color to the bracts. This one can be used in the days leading up to Thanksgiving and all the way to Christmas as well. There are lots of different varieties including variegated, and ones with different colors. You can find one to match any décor you may have for the holidays.

Some other tips on how to pick a good plant… First look for good branching. A single branch plant will not give you the bunches of blooms that you want. And speaking of blooms, the bright colors you see are not the flowers of the poinsettia. The flower is the small center buds that are usually yellow. The bright colors are modified leaves (bracts). As for the blooms you will want small tight buds that are not yellow yet, that means they are early in their bloom cycle. Also look for good healthy green leaves under the brightly colored ones.

Now that you have picked out a good one, how can you make it last? Al’s recommends that you treat your plant with tender loving care. Make sure that is doesn’t get placed in too hot of a spot, that it doesn’t get in too many drafts and keep it in bright non-direct sunlight. You will also want to water it regularly without over watering or having it set in water. Remember to remove the decorative foil sleeve when you are watering it. If you follow these tips it will be around for a couple of months if not longer! You can find a sheet of ‘care tips’ at all Al’s Garden Center locations or get a link to it here.

Fall Containers

Now that the winter is right around the corner you may think that your days of color are gone, but there are lots of options for color and texture in your outdoor plants. We stopped a Cornell Farm (503-292-9895) and chatted with Deby to see what she recommended for late fall and winter containers. We started in one of her covered greenhouses. This is an unheated area and it had quite a few containers that can stand cooler protected areas in your garden or on the front step. One container contained a nice mix of ferns, euphorbia and even a slightly tender cyclamen. You can also use pansies and bulbs in these outdoor containers. Deby recommended that you not only use forced bulbs like paperwhites inside, but also take them outside. The cooler air will slow down their growth and make the blooms last a little longer too.

Then we moved outside to see a couple containers that can handle anything that winter can dish out! One container had a small conifer as a centerpiece. Around the conifer was a selection of small hebes, wintergreen (with its red berries) and native knick knick. Other plants that you can put in pots include hellebores, camellias and rosemary. There are lots of different hardy plants that you can choose from!

This coming Friday is a great time to stop by the nursery because they will be celebrating ‘Green Friday’ instead of the usual ‘Black Friday’. Why fight the crowds when you can get a great gift for nearly everyone on your list. Stop by on the day after Thanksgiving, or anytime, for something unique!

Jan’s November Tips

This month we caught Jan in her front yard blowing her leaves, not into the street, but back toward her house! Jan knows that the colder months are coming soon and she was making use of one of the best natural protective mulches you have at your disposal, tree leaves. Jan and Ray will push these leaves into their flower and vegetable beds to help protect their plants until spring. Then they will remove them and compost them for an even better mulch later next summer!

We then moved inside to see what else we can be doing this time of year. Jan showed us some of the kale she has been growing and how she was going to make some extremely healthy kale chips. These chips are truly easy to make. Just clean the leaves, removing the woody center stems. Dry them and spread them out on a cookie sheet, add some olive oil, sea or kosher salt and some nutritional yeast for some extra flavor. Then put them in an oven heated at around 300 degrees for 10-20 minutes. Check them until they are the crispness you like.

Now is also the time to bring those last plants indoors. Make sure they are clean of bugs and debris. Keep them near a south facing window or pick up an inexpensive grow light. If you have a Christmas cactus this is the perfect time to bring them indoors as well. The heat will soon have them blooming for the holidays. For more information about what you should do in the garden right now, check out the OSU extension website, http://extension.oregonstate.edu.

Pruning Caneberries

If you love berries you may have cane berries in your garden. A lot of people who have recently planted caneberries in their gardens or backyards may not know what to do with them now that the season is over. To get some pruning tips we stopped by Smith Berry Barn (503-628-2172) and chatted with Rich. He has acres of berries to cut back every year and he must do an excellent job, because they have tons of berries in their store every summer and fall!

We started in the early summer bearing raspberries. These had 2 types of canes, ones that had dead berry stems and newer light green canes (some with leaves still on them). Rich told us that the older canes had to be cut back and the newer canes brought together up and off the ground. The newer canes will be the ones that produce better fruit and in larger quantities next season than the older canes. He also has some ever-bearing berries that he will cut almost to the ground and they will come back later in the summer with a good crop.

Next we move across the aisle to some blackberries. These had the older canes wrapped around a wire and you could see the older, dead berry clusters. The newer vines here were on the ground. The key here is to remove all the older canes on the wire and leave the newer canes on the ground for now. In early spring he will come through the fields and wrap the newer vines around the wires for the coming season. Once on the wire the newer canes will send up fruiting spurs with the new crop for the summer.
If you are still confused, you can stop by the farm today, Saturday, November 17th at 11am for a little hands-on seminar. If you can’t make it out, give them a call and arrange a time to come out for a little one-on-one lesson. And don’t forget to mark your calendar for the Annual Holiday Open House at Smith Berry Barn. It takes place on December 1st from 5-7 pm. There will be gourmet food sampling, wine tasting, hot apple cider, special discounts and a raffle drawing.