Saugus Gardens in the Fall

Here’s what’s blooming in town this week to make your walks more enjoyable

By Laura Eisener

Today is the final day of Chanukah, and all of the lights are lit on the Town Hall menorah. Blue and silver are traditional colors of Chanukah, so bouquets of blue and white hydrangeas, sometimes with silver sparkles or snowflakes accompanying them, are often used in bouquets at this season. The hydrangeas in our gardens have completely turned brown, but those grown in greenhouses or in the southern hemisphere may be at their peak of bloom. As with some other popular bouquet flowers, sometimes the flower colors are enhanced with food coloring, as is the darkest blue hydrangea in the bouquet above.

December is “Pear Month” in the United States. It got this name from commercial pear growers – in the Pacific Northwest, this is the month most pears fruits ripen. While pears are grown in New England, too, the fruits ripen earlier in the fall, but the leaves still remain on branches until early winter. Quite a few pears (Pyrus spp.) still have red or yellow leaf color. In sun, the leaves usually turn dark red, but in shadier spots some of the leaves are more likely to be yellow. The ‘Bradford’ pear (Pyrus calleryana ‘Bradford’) was planted widely as an ornamental tree and for shade in the 1970’s and is noticeable in most neighborhoods due to its egg-shaped crown, as well as the white flowers in spring and often red foliage late in fall. The fruits are very small, rounded and brown, not at all what you would think of as pear shaped. While you’re out there savoring the sight of pear foliage this week, it might be a good idea to check the tree for partridges! And if you do find one, better look around for the two turtle doves and all the other birds in “The Twelve Days of Christmas” song!

Astronomical winter begins with the winter solstice, often called the longest night of the year. It will occur this Thursday, December 21, after which the days begin to grow longer. Many plants will be dormant until spring begins, but as long as the ground is not frozen there is still activity in the soil. In addition to the dandelions flowering here and there this month, I saw a few rock phlox (Phlox subulata) blooming on Ballard Street when I was out admiring the seasonal decorations in that part of town.

People often refer to Christmas trees and all needled evergreens as pines, but in fact other needled evergreen species have become more popular than actual pines. While eastern white pines (Pinus strobus) are still sometimes grown and cut as Christmas trees, fir and spruce are far more often used. Fir, especially balsam fir (Abies balsamea) and Fraser fir (Abies fraseri), have that nostalgic fragrance and soft needles which make stringing lights and decorating a fairly painless activity. Spruce, especially Norway spruce (Picea abies) and Colorado spruce (Picea pungens) have stiffer, more prickly needles and a less appealing scent, but are also very popular and may retain their needles a little longer.

To keep cut trees from losing needles, it is important to keep the tree base from drying out. The first step is to cut an inch or more from the base of the trunk when you get it from the tree lot, since the trunks may have been covered by congealed sap, which would make it hard for the tree to take up water. Water in the tree stand should cover the bottom of the trunk at all times and should be checked every day to make sure the water does not sink below the trunk level. The sap vessels draw up a lot of water when first cut, but much less as time goes on. Once the base has dried out, there is very little chance that the tree will be able to start taking up water again. Antidesiccant sprays can help keep the needles from losing moisture through transpiration and can be useful both on indoor trees and on outdoor evergreens. Using a humidifier near the tree can be helpful to help needles stay moist as long as possible. Avoid siting the tree next to the fireplace or near a heating vent. Any non-LED lights used on or near the tree create heat, so they can dry out the needles more rapidly.

Some people use a plant mister to spray water on their trees daily, but this can damage some handmade ornaments, and, of course, the lights need to be unplugged every time the tree is misted. Keeping the overall temperature in the house lower than most of us feel comfortable with can also help prolong the tree, but it is hard to enjoy the tree if you have to huddle in blankets and shiver.

  Editor’s Note: Laura Eisener is a landscape design consultant who helps homeowners with landscape design, plant selection and placement of trees and shrubs, as well as perennials. She is a member of the Saugus Garden Club and offered to write a series of articles about “what’s blooming in town” shortly after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. She was inspired after seeing so many people taking up walking.

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