The Christmas and New Year Holidays are well appreciated by gardeners. The greenery, the flowers and the fresh decorations are exactly what we need at this time of the year. However, as the holidays wind down later this month or the beginning of the next month, we need to be careful to not invite trouble into our own yards and gardens.

The fresh greenery that we purchase comes from many places around the country, which means that pests and diseases are able to hitch a free ride. A good guide is the following website located at https://www.mda.state.mn.us/holiday-greenery-best-management-practices.

Caution should be taken when deciding what to do with greenery such as real Christmas trees, boughs, branches, and wreaths. These items should not be just thrown away because these items should not go to the landfill. These items can be disposed of at an approved compost location, which can be located by going to the following website at https://www.pca.state.mn.us/waste/compost-facility-site-locator.

Diseases and pests have been known to hitch a ride from state to state on these types of greenery. There are several that we are on the lookout for which include: Brown Marmorated stink bug, Elongated Hemlock scale, Gypsy Moth, Sudden Oak Death, and Oriental Bittersweet.

The best practice is to keep these items out of the trashcan and into the compost pile.

As we seem to move into winter in our area, the next thing to think about is our use of deicing salts on our sidewalks and driveways. In the metro area, several lakes are now showing a higher concentration of salt in them. Overuse of deicing salts can also eventually lead to these salts entering our groundwater too.

There are things that we can do to use less deicing salts. Sweeping or shoveling snow often during a snowfall so that the snow is not compacted onto the sidewalk or driveway will help to keep ice from forming. If the weather is going to warm up, wait to see how much of the compacted snow or ice will melt before using the deicing salts. Remove snow first and then apply deicing salts afterwards. Use the deicing salt on just the areas that have built up ice

Remember that in this particular instance, more is not better. A coffee cup size container will be able to cover 1,000 square feet of area. Using as little as possible around planted areas but in particular around evergreen plants is essential to prevent deicing salt burn on these plants. Plants and trees should be planted away from areas that there is an opportunity for salt to be blown or sprayed onto plants. These areas may benefit from an annual garden instead of trying to raise perennials, trees or shrubs in those areas. For more information, visit https://extension.umn.edu/lawns-and-landscapes/effects-deicing-salts-landscapes.

For more information on gardening, you can reach me at s.dejaeghere@me.com