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!

How to Winter Over Your Banana Plant in the Northeast

Musa basjoo "Hardy Banana"

Wintering over a tropical banana in Northeast, Connecticut (Zone 5-6) is easier than you think.

To find out your zone you can go to our website and enter your zip code. A zone number will appear. Or you can look at a USDA Zone Map.

First, the two bananas that we discuss in the video below are the Musa basjoo, our true hardy banana (Zone 4) and Musa sikkimensis, a banana that is a little more sensitive to the cold but can be grown in Zones 5 or higher. These bananas are grown for their defining tropical look in a garden.

Musa sikkemensis

The Musa Basjoo grows so fast it can produce up to a leaf a day. Musa sikkimensis is grown for its red underside and adds a splash of color to its large leafed foliage. Both bananas grow extremely fast when given full sun, plenty of water and lots of fertilizer. It's not unusual for the height to get upwards of twelve feet in one growing season. Finally, although they don't produce bananas, they do have the ability to flower, which is also edible. See our new book,Growing Tasty Tropical Plants for more details.

Logee's Ponderosa Lemon featured at Book/Open House Weekend

Our famous Logee's Ponderosa Lemonade and Lemon Bread were featured at our Book Launch Party/Open House Weekend.

Our Ponderosa Lemon Tree has been growing in the same spot since 1900 and was brought to Logee's by train from Philadelphia, then by horse and buggy from the train station. It has been producing lemons reliably for over one hundred years and has given us thousands of cuttings.

We used the lemons from this tree for our Ponderosa Lemonade and for our Ponderosa Lemon Bread.

Our recipe has been tweaked for the past five years and now we have the perfect combination of sour and sweet. We served complimentary Lemonade Friday night at our Book Launch Party and all Weekend at our Open House.

Byron and I started the weekend signing books for customers and friends.

Here, my mother and I are standing in front of her Ponderosa Lemon Bread.

She made six loaves. One of her secrets is in the Glaze. Take some fresh squeezed lemon and sugar mixture and spoon it over the warm loaves while they are still in the pan. Do not Remove from the pan until the glaze has been absorbed. This makes for a wonderfully moist and fresh lemon tasty tea loaf.

Her recipe is featured in our book on page 33. If you would like the recipe, visit our website where it is posted.

My sister, Gwendolyn Carbone, is serving other beverages for us too.

She also transformed our lunch room into a warm and welcome event.


She is the owner of The Blue Door Emporium, which features collectibles and antiques.

There's always some comic relief with our son, Elijah.

Someone else showed up at the book signing too. Bella Rose, (our daughter's shitzu/bichon puppy). Bella Rose has been designated by our staff as Logee's mascot.

Amy,our retail supervisor gets ready for the Open House.

Tiffany takes a break from the greenhouse and helps Amy make more Lemonade for the weekend. They made over 10 gallons of lemonade.

Napa Howe, one of our growers gave a tour of Logee's, in spite of our muddy, construction site.

Byron gets ready for a lecture about growing fruit in containers.

More Ponderosa Lemonade.

Sham, our business manager and his son Malek helping in our retail store.

If you go to Logee's retail store now through the end of the year, we sell the Ponderosa Lemons from the tree. They are $5 each, but when you walk into a holiday party with a lemon that size, heads turn and conversations begin. Or better yet, a lemon this size will easily make two loaves of bread, then go to the party bearing gifts.