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How to get most from your Christmas containers

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Q: It is the season for Christmas pots and I was wondering if you would have any suggestions on plants that a person could grow, that you could use to snip off stems for winter pots.? Is it harmful to the plants to do a little pruning in the wintertime?

A: Many plants can be very festive when used in outdoor pots for the holiday season. Some of the readily accessible and inexpensive additions to your winter container can include :

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? Pine, spruce or cedar boughs. These can be pruned from your own trees (pruning spruce or pine in November or December is a good idea) or obtained from a friend with a garden. These boughs will remain green throughout the winter adding colour, texture and form to a container. If your fresh Christmas tree needs trimming to fit don’t throw away the branches. Recycle by using the branches outdoors in your containers.

? Cotoneaster branches. Interesting branch forms with berries for added interest. Some may even have leaves still attached. Cotoneaster leaves add wonderful colour.

? Winterberry branches. Perhaps a little more difficult to find if you don’t grow your own but available through some florists. Great splash of colour from the bright red berries.

? Mountain ash branches. Again the berries make a strong and colourful addition to any container.

? Red or Yellow-twigged dogwood. The lovely red and bright yellow colours are great for winter scapes.

? Rose branches with rose hips. Many roses form beautiful hips that have great colours. Explorer roses have some very colourful hips.

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? Dried grasses such as Giant moor grass (Molina caerulea) add colour, shape and interest. If you don’t have access to grasses of your own, take a drive out into the country. Tall, dried grasses can be found close to many roadsides. Make sure you ask permission before cutting any.

? Corkscrew willow (Salix matsudana `Tortuosa’) or Corkscrew hazel (Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’ willow is hardy to zone 4b). Although the willow is hardy to zone 4b and the hazel to zone 5 many prairie gardeners are growing these interesting shrubs in sheltered areas. If you don’t have one the branches can be purchased in many florist shops or greenhouses. The unusual twisted shape adds visual punch to the container. The curves and twists are very appealing to the eye.

? Ninebark (Physocarpus spp.) branches. The peeling, multi-layered bark of the Ninebark is a great addition to your mini-landscape.

? Russian Olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) branches. Interesting thorns on the branches add interest. Many Russian olives keep the dead leaves on the branches during winter. These gray-silver leaves add a great deal of interest to the container.

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You can take cuttings off all of the plants I mention without harming them in the winter.

Every week, Growing Things Outdoors runs online at?edmontonjournal.com?or, if you prefer an epaper format, epaper.edmontonjournal.com

Learn more by emailing your questions to filipskigerald@gmail.com, reading past columns or my book Just Ask Jerry. You can also follow me on Twitter @justaskjerry01.

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