Keeping With The Times

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Preserving Fresh Peonies

June 18, 2015 by Barb 9 Comments

The parade of flowers continues here in Alberta, and I want to share a tip about preserving fresh peonies for later use … later as in a couple weeks, or even a couple months!

This year I have a bumper crop of these beauties ready to pop … I know I’m going to be overwhelmed with possibilities … and quite likely I’ll feel paralyzed. It’s a common occurrence when we’re faced with overabundance. But luckily, I have an a amazing tip on how to preserve these beauties while still in the bud stage.

Our peonies bloom in June,  but with this tip, I was able to extend fresh bouquets for weeks!

Tip for Preserving Fresh Peonies for Weeks

  • Snip a few peony stems while still in the bud stage, making sure there is some colour showing (as in the following image)
  • Slip them into a plastic bag and tie it closed (no water necessary.) Again no water, no paper towels nothing … nada!
  • Place the bag in the vegetable crisper in the refrigerator and forget about it for a while
    Preserving Fresh Peonies, Keeping With the Times

When you’re ready for a fresh bouquet:

  • remove from fridge
  • snip end of stem
  • place in water

The blooms will open within a day! I’ll warn you that they don’t last long, perhaps a day or two depending on how long you stored them, but they are still beautiful.

When I finally removed mine from the fridge, it was near the end of August (and I had picked them in June!) I was quite doubtful it would work … but … here’s the proof:

Preserving Fresh Peonies, Keeping With the Times

Peonies in August

Preserving Fresh Peonies, Keeping With the Times

Peonies in August

Peonies in October

Peonies in October

I’d love to know if you try this, and how it works for you! and please pin my image if you like :)Extend Peony Bloom Time, Keeping With the TimesThanks for stopping by!

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Filed Under: GARDENING Tagged With: gardening, peonies, preserving

How to Care for a Fresh Rosemary Plant

November 29, 2013 by Barb 36 Comments

Rosemary is one of my favourite herbs, and while it’s quite easy to grow, I have a few tips on how to care for a fresh rosemary plant.

When I first bring a rosemary plant home from the greenhouse, I like to transplant it into a slightly larger pot that has good drainage holes. That way it has plenty of room to put down a sturdy root system during the summer. When I bring it in for the winter, I may repot once again, as hopefully it will have grown quite a bit.

Rosemary is a tender evergreen perennial grown as an annual in most areas of Canada. It loves full sun, tolerates shade and does very well in containers. It prefers light, well-drained soil.

So here’s the “down and dirty” part. If you want to keep your plant as healthy as possible for as long as possible, this is what I would recommend.

How to Care for a Fresh Rosemary Plant*

  • Remove your new rosemary plant from pot and if it seems potbound, pinch the roots to loosen, and stimulate growth
  • Choose a new, larger pot, with good drainage
  • Rosemary does not like to dry out, but it does not like to stand in water either, so place something on the bottom to help increase drainage even more—I used a plastic liner from one of my summer pots
  • Put soil in the bottom of the pot
  • Place the plant inside, then pour more soil down the sides, pressing down as you go until the soil reaches the top, making sure you don’t cover the top of the root ball
  • Water rosemary when the soil at the top feels dry
  • I like to either mist or spray the top of the plant quite regularly. It keeps spider mites at bay, and also revitalizes it
  • Having said this – most experts will tell you powdery mildew is a problem with rosemary, so make sure there is lots of airflow around the plant

This also works well on the large topiary plants available around Christmas-time.

How to Care for Fresh Rosemary, Tips for keeping your rosemary plant vigourous.

Rosemary Topiary at Christmas

How to Care for Fresh Rosemary, Tips for keeping your rosemary plant vigourous.

larger pot

How to Care for Fresh Rosemary, Tips for keeping your rosemary plant vigourous.

if it seems potbound, pinch roots to loosen and stimulate growth

How to Care for Fresh Rosemary, Tips for keeping your rosemary plant vigourous.

water well, using a sprayer but let drain completely

And lastly, don’t forget to use the herb in your cooking and baking. Pinch off the fresh new green ends that are sure to grow now that it’s happy!

Rosemary Windfall, What to do with Rosemary? Keeping With the Times

*Since being first published on Keeping With the Times in 2013, this post has been revised and updated.

Thank you for stopping by, and have a wonderful day!

How to Care for Fresh Rosemary, Tips for keeping your rosemary plant vigourous.

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Filed Under: GARDENING Tagged With: gardening, rosemary, tips

Welcome! I'm Barb, and this is where I practice my mantra to "learn something new, try something different". It's my hope that something I do here may inspire you! Read More…

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