The December Garden 2022
My RHS month by month gardening book tells me that although any sunshine in December will be weak, sunny days can be pleasantly spent in the garden digging, pruning, repairing sheds and fences and catching up with cleaning jobs! Not the best sounding list of jobs but even I have to agree that such work is necessary, if not desirable, and done in short spells on good weather days can be quite rewarding.
Last year in December I concentrated on our own garden for the blog as I wasn’t able to visit Aberglasney at the end of November due to a bad back closely followed by Storm Arwen! That blog, to be found in the archives under December 2021, looked at the last of the autumn colour from our trees and shrubs, the early winter flowering shrubs such as Viburnum x bodnantense and Mahonia, the swelling buds on Sarcococca, Magnolia and Camellia and some useful evergreen plants such as Yew, Pittosporum, Pinus, Holly (Ilex) and Cotoneaster which really come into their own as winter begins. In the December 2020 blog I looked in more detail at some of the delights to be found in December gardens including flowers, the promise of buds, foliage colour, the shapes of branches and twigs, seed heads, colourful stems and last, but definitely not least, the evergreens which hold the whole winter garden together. This blog also contains some details on the jobs which Teresa and I carry out when the weather permits which includes bagging the last of the leaves to make precious leaf mould, keeping off the lawn when it is frosted or very wet, pruning deciduous trees and shrubs, feeding the birds and, of course, planning for the year ahead from the comfort and warmth of inside the house!
In the rest of this blog for this December I am going to concentrate on five plants all of which have associations with Christmas- Christmas Box, Rose, Trees, Cactus and Pepper– five very different plants which can all add their own particular charm to the Christmas period.
Christmas Box or Sweet Box comes from the genus Sarcococca of which there are around 14 species of evergreen shrubs found in moist, shady places, forests and thickets from China to the Himalayas and SE Asia. They are grown for their evergreen leaves and fragrant flowers followed by glossy, black, berry-like fruits. The flowers are male or female, small but highly scented, white or whitish-green and are borne in clusters or spikes in the leaf axils (where the leaves join the stems). The male flowers have conspicuous anthers (the top parts of the stamens which release the pollen) and the females are produced below the males in order to catch the pollen. I have to admit that they generally flower after Christmas in January but in December their flower buds swell and give a great hint at what is to follow in the new year. It is also possible to cut some stems for the house and hope that the heat will bring the flowers out over the Christmas period and fill the room with their delicious perfume. They are trouble-free plants and perfect for a shady spot especially one near a door or window so that their scent can be enjoyed to the full. Several different species and cultivars can be found in most garden centres at this time of year including S. confusa (up to 3ft/1m), S. hookeriana (up to 5ft/1.5m) and S. humilis (2ft/60cm) high. We grow a cultivar S. hookeriana var. digyna ‘Purple Stem’ which has young shoots flushed dark purple-pink and pink-tinged flowers.
The Christmas Rose is a species of Hellebore, Helleborus niger. The genus is one of about 15 species of perennials found in scrub, woodland and grassy or rocky sites from central, eastern and southern Europe to western Asia. Most flower from late winter to mid-spring but H. niger starts to flower in early winter hence its association with Christmas. The name ‘niger’ refers to the dark colour of its rhizomes (one of the types of plant food storage organs) not to the colour of its flowers which are white, sometimes pink-flushed, with greenish-white centres aging to pinkish-white and numerous bright yellow stamens. The flowers are held on stout, purple-marked stems above leaves which are leathery and dark green. As with all the Hellebores it is always a good idea at flowering time to remove the older, often ‘weather worn’ leaves in order to allow the flowers centre stage. There are several cultivars available today including H. niger subsp. macranthus with spine-toothed, bluish or grey-green leaves, H. niger ‘Potter’s Wheel’ with its large, bowl-shaped white flowers with green eyes and one which we have just planted ourselves, H.niger ‘Christmas Carol’ with its five, pure white petals and striking bright yellow stamens and anthers.
The traditional Christmas tree is the Norway Spruce, Picea abies, although the tradition only began in Victorian times! Before that most homes at Christmas time were dressed with two of our native evergreens- Holly (Ilex) and Ivy (Hedera) which of course are still widely used for both indoor and outdoor decorations.
The Norway or European Spruce, native to north, central and eastern Europe, is still popular inside or out either as a cut or a potted tree. Its conical shape, small needles and ‘pine’ scent make it a very attractive tree as does its slightly lower cost compared to its rivals! It does have one drawback though and that is its willingness to drop needles before the end of the festive period! However, keeping potted trees watered and cut trees in a water reservoir of some kind as well as placing them in cooler spots well away from radiators reduces needle loss considerably.
In recent years other trees have been introduced to the Christmas market which hold onto their needles much better that the Spruce. They are sometimes labelled as ‘no drop’ which is not quite accurate and they are better described as ’low drop’, again as long as they are kept watered and reasonably cool. The most popular of these is the Nordmann Fir, Abies nordmanniana (also known as the Caucasian Fir) originally from the mountains south and east of the Black Sea in Turkey, Georgia and the Russian Caucasus. The needles are larger, flatter and a little less ‘prickly’ than those of the spruce and the trees have a lovely conical shape with layered branches with gaps between the layers ideal for showing off the decorations to best effect. They have some scent but in my opinion not as good as the spruce. A third tree which can be found in most garden centres is the Fraser Fir, Abies fraseri, which is native to the Appalachian Mountains of the south eastern United States and is closely related to the Balsam Fir, Abies balsamea, which as its name suggests has a fine scent. The low drop, flat, shiny, deep green needles with almost white undersides are smaller than those of the Nordmann and the tree itself is usually more densely branched and less layered. Frasers are often also slimmer trees than Nordmanns making them particularly good for smaller spaces.
The so-called Christmas Cactus (one of ours doesn’t always get its timing right) comes from the small genus of Schlumbergera with less than ten species found in the coastal mountains of south eastern Brazil on trees or rocks in habitats that are generally shady with high humidity. There are two species of these epiphytes that are both commonly known as Christmas Cacti, S truncata and S.x buckleyi, as they flower from late November to late January giving a wonderful Christmas display. They do best in bright conditions but not in direct sunlight and are generally considered to be easy house plants to look after. After flowering they welcome a resting period from late January to late March when watering can be reduced and plants moved to cooler rooms (12-15C). The growing season is April to September when watering, heat and liquid feeding can all be increased. At this time a room temperature of 15-20C is ideal. Plants can also benefit from being put outside for the summer once any chance of frost has gone. Repotting every year or at least every two years helps plants to maintain healthy growth and this is carried out at the end of March. A standard cactus compost or John Innes No. 2 with some added peat free compost and grit for good drainage is ideal. The plants like to be snug in their pots so are best potted on into only slightly larger containers.
A second houseplant with a Christmas name is perhaps the less well known Christmas Pepper, Capsicum annum. These are grown for their brightly coloured, long lasting ornamental fruits. As a boy I did try to eat one of these (I have no idea why!) and is it not to be recommended! They are generally a festive red colour but also come in yellow and orange and as the name suggests come into fruit over the Christmas period. They are again easy to care for preferring a bright position with watering just once a week. I am sure that with care and attention they can be kept for several years but most people treat them as a seasonal plant similar to the very popular Poinsettia.
I hope that the above has given you some ideas for either Christmas outdoor plantings or to help you plan your interior decorations. I shall be back in the new year with some good plants for January but until then I wish you all a very happy and healthy Christmas and a good end to the gardening year.
Keith.