December 2023 Newsletter of the Sandy Spring Museum Garden Club

 

Garden Club News

Greens Sale Workshops

It is time for our elves to get busy making all our pretty greens sale items.  All the picking and cutting and storing of greens has been done.  Workshops start on Wednesday with a boxwood tree workshop.   We have lots of orders for them so we could really use the help making these unique trees.  For those of you who can only do weekends we will do another boxwood tree workshop on Saturday and a kissing ball workshop on Sunday.  And of course the following week we have our normal lineup of workshops.  The listing is attached.   Any questions please email marilyn38858@comcast.net. 

 

If you want to pick up early please check to make sure your order is completed.  Payment by check or cash is preferred. 

Come Join the FUN!!

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November Program

Mushroom expert Tom Higgs gave a presentation on growing mushrooms at home. Mushroom treats were also served.

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Christmas Cactus

Holiday cactus is a more accurate name as a plant purchased during the holidays may be a Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera × buckleyi), a Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata), or a hybrid. Christmas and Thanksgiving cacti are similar in appearance. However, the stem segments on the Christmas cactus have scalloped edges, while the stem segments on the Thanksgiving cactus have 2 to 4 pointed teeth along their edges. 

Holiday cacti are native to the mountainous forests of southeastern Brazil. These unique members of the cactus family are epiphytes. They grow in the crotches of trees and derive water and nutrition from rain, decaying organic matter, and filtered sunlight. 

The stems of holiday cacti are composed of flattened stem segments called phylloclades. The leaf-like phylloclades carry on photosynthesis for the plant. 

Day length and temperature control the flowering of both Schlumbergera species. Like the poinsettia, holiday cacti are short-day plants. Plants will not bloom properly if exposed to artificial light at night. Flowers may also fail to develop if the plant is exposed to temperatures above 70°F. Night temperatures of 60° to 65°F with slightly warmer daytime temperatures are ideal for flower formation. 

https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/legends-and-traditions-holiday-plants

The Sandy Spring Museum Garden Club is an activity group of the Sandy Spring Museum. Our activities can be found on the  Garden Club webpage:                        https://www.sandyspringmuseum.org/programs-and-events/garden-club/.

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