Blizzard At Logee's

Like everyone else in the Northeast, we had a genuine Blizzard. The old-fashioned Nor'easter that dumped a lot of snow on us at Logee's. This is the day after and except for a bit of snow on the roofs, we were amazingly fine! Take a look!

Our sign is just about covered from the 22 inches of snow.

A day later and we are open for business.

Our Lathe House under a blanket of snow. In the springtime, hanging baskets and flowers galore will be bursting forth with color.

Next to the Lathe House is a bush covered with the heavy snow. The two snow lumps in the lower left of this picture are the hardy bananas that we are wintering over. We'll see how they do in the springtime.

The lattice sides on the tool shed serve as a climbing structure for our goji berries and honeyberry plants in the springtime.

Inside one of our retail greenhouses, the snow has covered the panels and is preventing light from shining through.

This bougainvillea 'Barbara Karst' is usually in a bright spot, but until the snow melts it is getting a bit of shade today.

The snow you see is actually covering our under ground greenhouse called the Herb Pit. Once it warms up a bit, we will carefully shovel the snow off the glass.

This branch of our greenhouse is known as the Potting Shed and that layer of snow is bringing shade to our plants.

Inside the potting shed, it is rather dark for this "Golden Trumpet Vine" (Allamanda Cathartica 'Williamsii'

Our camellias in the big house still poking their heads out with lots of brilliant color.

Another Colorful surprise in the Big House called Tibouchina urvilleana "Edwardsii'

Empty snow-filled benches.

Pallets of soil will need digging out.

Another burst of color in the Greenhouses.

Clerodendrum Quadriloculare "Fireworks Plant"

An Angel Wing Begonia called 'My Special Angel' in the darkened Greenhouse.

The white plastic wrapped statue in the left is a fig wintering over.

Another fig wrapped in black plastic.

Horticulturist Byron Martin with a hot cup of green tea in one hand and his cell phone in the other.

The old range, emptied of plants but giving way to the blue sky through its metal ribs. In the spring this propagation house will be dismantled.

The outside of our new propagation greenhouse.

Lots of life inside our new building.

At the top of the photo you can see the shadow of snow, which will continue to melt in the gutters.

A christmas cactus Schlumbergera 'Cristen' at our grower's desk.

The seven circuit labyrinth resting 'til springtime.

Christmas Cactus still in bloom last day of December

The Christmas Cactus, also known as Schlumbergera, are going strong. They are easy-to-grow and some of the new colors are just breathtaking. My favorite is Schlumbergera 'Cristen' with its bright, electrifying pink color.

The common name Christmas Cactus refers to its blooming season. Although, the varieties shown below actually start blooming in the fall and can bloom all the way into late winter.

Here is an array of colorful Christmas Cactus.

The bright pink is called Schlumbergera 'Cristen.'


The salmon colored group is called Schlumbergera 'Christmas Flame.'


The white with pink edges is Schlumbergera 'Thor Tena.'

Here a trio of Christmas Cactus ready to go out the door.


In the center is Schlumbergera 'Thor Carmen'

Remember to care for Schlumbergera, they need to dry out between watering. They can be susceptible to root fungus, if they are kept too wet. Also, partial sun to shade is fine for light requirements. It is the shortened day length and cool night time temperatures that induce bloom. Prune after flowering and during active growth feed 1/2 tsp of balanced fertilizer (7-9-5) to 1 gallon of water every two weeks.

Christmas Cactus can grow for years in the same pot and cuttings can be given to friends and family. It's not unusual to hear someone say, "That's my grandmother's christmas cactus that I've had since my childhood."

Happy New Year!