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The tallest living Christmas tree is a 162-foot Grand Fir, Abies grandis, at the Coeur d’Alene Resort in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Poinsettia Pushed off Top 10 List



No, say it can’t be true! The poinsettia has not just lost its Christmas bloom. It has been kicked right off Britain’s top ten favourite festive flowers list. Just last year it took second place. Never has this happened before, laments the country’s top seller, Thompson and Morgan. They blame cheap, quickly grown plants from Europe. The company says this season’s top ten are:
  • Hyacinth ‘Scented Pearl’
  • Hibiscus ‘Festive Flair’
  • Christmas Cactus ‘Pink’
  • Narcissus ‘Tete â Tete’
  • Deluxe Hyacinth basket
  • Scented Amaryllis ‘Double Delicious’
  • Christmas Cactus ‘Tricolour’
  • Christmas Azalea tree
  • Christmas Crocus
  • Dendrobium Orchid ‘Anna Green’

Diversion No. 1

An Australian company is eyeing Christmas Island as a hub to grow and export medicinal marijuana. AUSCANN is excited about federal government plans to allow the controlled cultivation of cannabis for medicinal and scientific purposes. Christmas Island lies off Western Australia’s northwest coast [Source: NT News]

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One of the few beneficial results of Canada Post’s decision to curtail home delivery is this will see better care of lawns overwinter. Continual trampling down snow into compact, icy mass prevents air from reaching the dormant grass below, effectively killing it. The damage only becomes apparent the following spring. However, flyer delivery services continue unless deterred by thorny barriers . . .

Diversion No. 2

Will juniper blight put G&T at risk, asks the Daily Mail? A fungal disease is laying waste to juniper bushes in Scotland, which is considered the UK’s “last remaining stronghold” of the prized ingredient, juniper berries, which give gin its distinctive taste
Indoor plants will flourish if sprayed with tepid fresh water several times a week. This does little to raise the humidity but does clean dust and grime off foliage, permitting more efficient photosynthesis. It also discourages spider mite pests that flourish in dry, overwinter atmospheres of northern homes. What appear to be ‘fruit flies’ are in reality likely to be fungus gnats, the larvae of which feed on fine roots of indoor plants. ‘Sticky Stiks,’ yellow strips with similar action to old-fashioned fly paper will take care of these and other pests such as white flies. While paying attention to the home jungle, don’t neglect to fertilize all plants in bud or flower.

Diversion No. 3

Thieves stole a giant wooden carrot from entrance of Prince Charles’s farm near Tetbury, Gloucestershire. Police are yet to get to the root of the theft explained the Daily Mail, but enquiries are ongoing after the 100kg giant ornament disappeared.
Italian companies are being investigated for passing off ordinary olive oil as extra-virgin, according to reports. The investigation, the latest scandal to hit Italy’s lucrative food and drink sector, involves seven well-known producers, writes The Daily Telegraph. So what is ‘extra-virgin olive oil?’ According to one theory, virgin olive oil is the result of olives that have only been squeezed a single time; extra-virgin olive oil is from olives that have never even thought of being squeezed . . .

Diversion No. 4

Vegetables and herbs are becoming increasingly popular at weddings, with brides choosing artichokes, cabbage, carrots, kale and leeks over traditional flowers for their bouquets, according to The Daily Telegraph. But who wants to get hit by one?
The tallest living Christmas tree is a 162-foot Grand Fir, Abies grandis, at the Coeur d’Alene Resort in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. It is decorated with over 30,000 lights and requires two miles of extension cords, according to the World Academy of Records. The tallest cut Christmas Tree is a 110-footer in Phoenix, Arizona. If neither appeals to you, spruce up your holiday season with an early December visit to the Ithaca Farmers’ Market in upstate New York where will be held their annual International Rutabaga Curling Championships. Warmer weather more your style? Try the famed Noche de Rábanos (Night of the Radishes), Zócalo, Oaxaca, Mexico held on 23 December and renowned for incredible veggie carvings. Then just fly down to New South Wales for what in Digger talk is a ‘sun bake’ – Sunburnt Christmas (yes, that’s its name) on Bondi Beach.

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Wes Porter -- Bio and Archives

Wes Porter is a horticultural consultant and writer based in Toronto. Wes has over 40 years of experience in both temperate and tropical horticulture from three continents.


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