Become a Charles County Master Gardener!

Now might seem like a strange time to think about landscaping around your new home or luxury apartment. The garden is asleep, it’s cold outside, and at some point it may even snow.  But even if it is still too cold to go dig in the dirt, this is the perfect time of year to advance your knowledge of gardening and environmental sustainability, and prepare yourself to share your skills and interests in your community. Become a Master Gardener! Our Charles County, Maryland training class starts February 21, and runs through March 29, from 9a.m.-3p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

To become a Master Gardener Intern, you take 40 hours of classroom training in subjects ranging from ecology and botany, to soils, pest management, and water use.  Each class is taught by an expert in the field, including University of Maryland faculty, local specialists, and Master Gardeners.

Holiday Green And Gift Plants

If you have evergreens in your yard, you can cut branches of hollies, junipers, and nandinas now for holiday decorations.  You’re actually pruning them, so take branches that don’t ruin the shape of the plant.  If their stems are kept in water, most will hold up nicely throughout the season.  Nandina will probably drop its berries in a week or two, though the green leaves should stay attractive for several weeks.

And what to do about the flowering holiday plants that look so beautiful now?  Some kinds can be kept and brought back into bloom next year.  Others are better enjoyed once and then tossed (preferably into an inconspicuous corner of the garden or a compost pile rather than into the landfill).  Good ones to keep for another year are Christmas cactus, amaryllis, and cyclamen.   Christmas cactus is the easiest of the lot.  It really is a cactus, but not from the desert.  Keep it moist (not wet) and give it some light.  In the summer put it outdoors in the shade until nights are in the 40s.  Keep it away from bright lights when the days shorten.  The cool weather and long nights help it set buds.  When you bring it indoors, put it in a light, not-too-hot location – and enjoy.  With this treatment mine usually flower around Thanksgiving.

Florist’s cyclamen wants to be cold (but not frozen).  If you have a drafty window put it there and it may thrive for several months; keep it quite damp.  When it’s through flowering and starts looking shabby let it go dormant – almost dry.  Put it outdoors in shade for the summer, and when it starts to sprout new leaves water it and bring indoors before frost.  Success here depends on having a spot that’s quite cold; otherwise it will flop in a couple of weeks.