Christmas Gift Buying Made Easy

By Ava Green

The Eising Holiday Gift Guide has become a popular tradition, and this year, I asked staff members to share their favourite gifts. We have some great picks to brighten anyone’s holidays: family, friends, teachers, hosts/hostesses, the cat sitter, the dog sitter - anyone you would like to wish a Merry Christmas to!

Everlasting Decorations

What looks good every year? Everlasting decorations! Kirsten’s favourites are natural wreaths with just a bit of an embellishment. Elegant, timeless and oh-so-festive!

An ornament from our Giving Tree is Arlene’s choice because she can gift the beautiful glass cardinal, and the proceeds go to the local toy drive. Now that’s a gift that keeps on giving!

We also have lots of beautiful everlasting garlands, and Lindsey’s favourites: holiday-themed decorative containers to choose from. These festive plant pots transform any houseplant into a Christmasy gift or are perfect for holding other treasures if you’re creating a gift basket. 

Fresh Greenery

There’s an entire team of decorators, no…creators, no….elves, no…very talented staff members who spend the holiday season making the most beautiful urns, planters, and fresh greenery centrepieces. Donna and I are holding two of our favourites. Mary stopped making festive urns just long enough for this photo to be taken! She really pours her heart into it.

Tropicals, Holiday Plants, and Bulbs

As always, Courtney has a phenomenal selection of tropical plants to choose from. Do not ask her which one is her favourite. Trust me. Too many to count.

Ely is hoping for some gardening tools under the tree this year, and what gardener couldn’t use an array of trowels?!

Lori is ready for a party with her favourite hostess gifts - Amaryllis bulbs. Apparently, the Grinch likes plants, too. Who knew? Cindy Lou Who, possibly, and Lori.

Sassy Fashion

Donna is wearing and holding some of her favourite clothes, jewelry, accessories, and products from Sassyfras Boutique inside Eising Greenhouse. Yes, she has many favourites. In her defence, who can pick just one thing from Sassyfras?! Not us.

For Your Favourite People!

Finally, this is THE most flexible item in the guide, our Eisings gift card. It can also be the perfect solution for the person who has everything already and is hard to buy for. Why is this Lucas’s favourite?  Eising gift cards can be used for plants, landscaping, trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, seeds, tropicals, decor, pots, garden tools, and any other items sold in the greenhouse. And that’s not all! Gift cards can also be used for anything in Sassyfras Boutique. So many options!

Good Tidings To All!

During this season of abundance, Henry and all of us at Eisings hope you get all of your favourite things, but mostly we wish you a safe and happy holiday season! ✨

By: Dave Zeldon and Ely Schweyer with tips from Mary K, Zach C, Sandy M, and Jeanine LT!

Now is the time to prep our outdoor landscapes for the coming cold weather and the ensuing spring! Perhaps your autumn is calmer than your spring, and this is the best time to clean up and begin new projects. The following are some simple but effective tips to get your yard winter-ready - so your spring will be a little more pleasant for you!

Planting

When warm weather still allows it, plant trees, shrubs, perennials, and bulbs to allow them to establish for budding and blooming next spring.

Pond Care

Mary, our perennials gal, suggests not removing any water from your pond but instead aerating it all winter. She skims out the leaves to maintain the balance of the nitrogen cycle in the water and suggests waiting to do a big pond clean out in the spring, as that’s when the water’s culture can bounce back easier.

Fertilizing

After top growth of your landscape plants ceases, reduce your annual fertilizer application by up to half of the requirement. Autumn is a major root growth period for woody and herbaceous perennials; roots will grow and absorb nutrients whenever soil temperatures remain above 5 °C but can be over fertilized quickly in these cooling temperatures.

Produce gardens could benefit at this time from a top layer of compost that will break down during the winter so it isn't too 'hot' for spring planting.

Leaf Litter

Here’s our pitch on the ‘leave it – don’t leave it’ debate: It DEPENDS.

   Ideally, we should leave litter leaf on the ground for our pollinator friends and endangered species like fireflies to hide out in the winter. But, there are appropriate situations in which to remove leaf litter.

• When they’re covering your bulbs and tender perennials, remove SOME. Leaf litter acts as a ground insulant, which can amplify our temperamental zone 6b temperatures. This freezing and thawing can often confuse and kill early spring bulbs and tender perennials.

• Zach, our trees and shrubs guy, suggests that if a tree shedding leaves has been diagnosed with pests and fungi, remove the leaf matter to reduce the spread to other plants. Diseased matter should always be removed in a quarantined fashion and taken to a landfill or burned.

☝️Please note: Unless diseased, compost your leaves, they contain vital nutrients specific to the plants they came from!

Lawncare

With autumn mowing practices you have the opportunity for the addition of much needed organic matter for your lawn, which is also an excellent source of slow release nutrients. Keep mower blades sharp since leaves can be tougher than grass. Raise the mower height up and mow leaves when they are lightly wet (e.g., morning dew). This will keep the leaves from blowing all over and will prevent the mower from getting bogged down in wet leaves.

See more on general lawncare in Dave's Lawncare 101 post.

Clean Up

Now is a good time to wash your tools with soap and water to prevent diseases spreading from plant to plant.

  ☝️Mary's tip is to spray garden tools with PAM before use, so the dirt slides right off them!

Pruning Perennials

Mary, our perennials gal, suggests leaving things until frost to cut back. This way they're easier to compost. Make sure to leave seedheads (i.e., coneflowers and black-eyed Susans) for wildlife, and things like hydrangeas for winter interest.

☝️Make sure if things are cut back, to leave them sticking up enough you can still find them in the spring!

Dividing and Moving Perennials

Moving or dividing perennials in the autumn is a great way to reduce your work next spring. The cool, moist weather is an ideal time for perennial roots to become well established.

👍The rule of green thumb for moving perennials: If the plant blooms between early spring and late June, then early fall division/moving is ideal. If the plant blooms after late June, then early spring division is ideal (except for Peonies which should only moved or divided in the fall, Poppies in August, Irises in July & Lilies in the Fall).

Overwintering Trees

Zach and Sandy from trees and shrubs suggest a couple of things to help your favourite trees along this winter:

• To reduce winter injury in evergreens: Keep properly watered throughout the growing season and into the fall is another way to reduce winter injury. Decrease watering slightly in September to encourage hardening off, then water thoroughly in October until freeze-up.

• Cedars - Spray cedars with antidesiccant spray (available at Eising GC) or wrap in burlap (with stakes to create dead air space) so wind doesn't dry out and burn tips.

• Fruit trees - In late fall, spray fruit trees with sulfur-horticultural oil (available at Eising GC) for protection against fungi and pests overwintering in the bark.

• Ornamental trees - wrap the base of young trees to protect from chewing rodents. 

• Pruning trees - trees that prefer winter pruning rather than spring pruning are maples, oaks, birches, and elms, as well as with fruiting trees such as apples and pears. This ensures blight and pests will not affect the tree's open wounds.

If you missed the frosty deadline for transplanting trees, Sandy suggests insulating unplanted potted trees to help them best survive the coming winter. Here are some methods:

• Double-pot your tree with an insulative barrier (i.e., burlap, straw, mulch, etc.) stuffed between the two pots and securely cover the top with tarp to deflect moisture.

• Bury your potted tree in the ground, level with the top of the pot (don’t forget to dig it back up!) and mulch the area.

• Huddle all of your unplanted trees and plants together when using the above methods.

Mulching

Mulching is one of the simplest and most beneficial practices you can do for your garden. Just by simply placing a protective layer of material over the bare soil will benefit the soil as it decomposes providing the much-needed organic matter which improves root growth, the infiltration of water and the nutrient-holding capacity of the soil while reducing soil erosion.

   A good layer of mulch allows the soil to warm more slowly in the spring, so perennials aren't fooled into breaking dormancy too early, as you want the ground to stay cold until it really is spring!

☝️Make sure your mulch application won't stunt the growth of your plants come spring as discussed in our Transplant Troubleshooting blog post!

Japanese Beetle Prevention

Nematodes are microscopic worms that should be applied to lawns that have been ravaged by grubs especially of the Japanese Beetle. Nematodes have a short shelf life and must be refrigerated until they are applied. Normally, they are sprayed onto the lawn from mid-May to mid-June and then again (for best practice) from mid-August to mid-September.

Pots

To prevent freezing and cracking, Mary suggests emptying and turning your pots upside down. You can disinfect at this time too. 

Design Time!

Jeanine, from production, suggests writing down what worked best in your produce garden this year so you can implement it again in the spring.

With the trees and land being barren enough you can see its contour, now is a great time to plan ahead for spring landscaping! Don't forget Eising GC would love to offer help with your landscape designing!

We hope these tips help your landscape plants enjoy your winter abode as much as you do this season, for more information - and plants – visit Eising Greenhouse and Garden Centre! 🍁

It’s always nice to take some time away during the holiday season, but it’s kind of a hassle to arrange for a house sitter simply to take care of your houseplants. So, we recommend doing some thorough holiday-proofing before you go. With the right tools and a little prep work before you head off, you should be able to leave your plants for several weeks without worrying about them drying up. Here are the basics of holiday-proofing, so you can rest assured that your precious plants will be safe and sound through your vacation. 

Holiday-Proofing Your Houseplants

Is it about time to start holiday-proofing your houseplants in Simcoe? Follow these simple steps for getting them all holiday ready for while you’re away. 

First, water them thoroughly. Make sure the soil is thoroughly saturated, but if your pot doesn’t have drainage holes, try not to overdo it. If your pot has drainage holes and is placed on a dish, make sure you’ve watered it enough that water begins to collect on the dish. Be sure to dump the water in the dish before you leave so it doesn’t end up getting funky. 

Remove any dead plant material. When dried up plant parts remain on a plant, it will still end up directing its energy toward those limbs. Nipping off those pieces should help your plant to grow stronger and use up resources and nutrients more efficiently.

Move them away from cold drafts and direct sunlight. An icy breeze sneaking in through a frozen window could shock your plant, and a ton of sun will end up drying the soil out too quickly. To maintain a safe temperature and reduce sun exposure without depriving your plants of light, try moving them a few feet away from the window. 

Turn the thermostat down a bit. Indoor plants don’t mind a cooler base temperature as opposed to being in warm air. This will also help prevent the soil moisture from evaporating too quickly.

Huddle your plants together. It’s all about retaining that moisture, and plants that are all huddled in a bunch will be much better at conserving water.

How To Water Indoor Plants While On Vacation 

If you’re going to be away on a holiday for over a week, you’ll want to put together a plan to keep your plants watered while you’re gone. There are a few ways to keep your plants watered while you’re lounging on a beach on the other side of the world, so try some of these methods for self-watering.

Purchase a drip-irrigation system. These automatic watering systems slowly release water over an extended period. There are several different models and designs to choose from, ranging from high-end electronic drip systems, and more budget-friendly options like glass water globes or spikes. Evaluate the size and quantity of your plant collection and select your irrigation system accordingly.

Build a DIY irrigation system. If you’re a crafty type who enjoys saving money by going the DIY route, there are tons of tutorials online for creating your own irrigation system using everyday household materials like mason jars or wine bottles. Browse through Pinterest to see if you can find one that works for your plants.

Mimic a humid climate with a water tray. If you’ve got plants that prefer humid environments and need to be misted occasionally, this is a great way to increase the moisture in the air. Simply fill a tray with pebbles or river stones, then pour some water in. Place your potted plant on top of the tray so it can enjoy some humid tropical air while you’re out soaking in the tropical sun!

Houseplants For Frequent Flyers

If holiday travelling is common practice for you, it might be worth sticking to plants that are low-maintenance and more tolerant of dry spells. These are our favourite options for all you globetrotters out there:

• Snake plants
• ZZ plants
• Succulents
• Cacti
• Chinese evergreens
• Ponytail palms

There’s no need to go to the trouble of paying a house sitter to come by your home just to water your plants. These tricks should keep your plants well-watered while you’re away on vacation. If you need to purchase any irrigation systems for while you’re away, come visit Eising and we’ll help you pick out the right models for your plant collection. Enjoy your holiday!