Wichita gardener’s almanac for Dec. 26

New life for Christmas tree — Some of us celebrate the 12 days of Christmas — which begin Christmas Day — and keep our tree up as long as possible. But sometimes the tree gives up the ghost early, or there are other reasons for ushering it out. If you have a real tree, you can take it to one of the recycling locations (see below). You can also use it in the yard as a shelter for birds, placing it in a corner of the deck, potting it up on the porch, or placing it in the yard somewhere. You can scatter birdseed nearby, Charlie Barden of K-State suggests.

“Or cut and let it dry for a few weeks, and you will have some easy-lighting firewood,” Barden writes in the Horticulture 2015 newsletter. “Just beware that most conifer species tend to spark and pop more than hardwoods, as resin pockets in the wood make tiny explosions. This can delight the youngsters, but for safety’s sake, keep an eye on the fire when burning Christmas tree logs!”

Christmas-tree recycling and mulch — The county’s Christmas-tree recycling sites are open through Jan. 24. Remove all decorations before leaving the tree. The trees are chipped, and the resulting mulch is available for free. Here are the locations:

In Wichita: Boston Park, 6655 E. Zimmerly; Buffalo Park, 10209 Hardtner; College Hill United Methodist Church, First and Erie; Earhart school, 4401 N. Arkansas; Edgemoor Park, 5815 E. Ninth St.; Extension Center, 7001 W. 21st St.; Great Plains Nature Center, 6232 E. 29th St. North; Old Cowtown Museum, 1865 Museum Blvd.; Osage Park, 2121 W. 31st St. South; South Linwood Park, Hydraulic and Mount Vernon.

In Cheney, East South Avenue and Garfield; Clearwater, Aquatic Center parking lot; Colwich, 115 N. Third; Derby, 2801 E. James; Garden Plain, water tower; Goddard, Means Park; Kechi, 107 Sioux; Maize, 201 S. Park; Mount Hope, 400 S. Thomas; Mulvane, 117 E. Main; Park City, 6801 N. Hydraulic; Valley Center, Veterans Park.

Fruit-basket care — If you received a fruit gift basket, here are some tips for storing the produce from Ward Upham of K-State: Disassemble the fruit basket as soon as you receive it. If all the products in the basket are tree fruits (such as apples, pears, oranges or grapefruit), you can place the whole basket in a cool place — around 40 degrees for best results. If you received bananas or other tropical fruits (with the exception of citrus), store them separately. You can expect to keep the fruits for at most three or four weeks before there is some shriveling and loss of crispness, he says.

Storing pecans and other nuts — Upham also has these tips for storing nuts: Place shelled or unshelled nuts in a tightly sealed container so they don’t pick up other flavors, and place them in the refrigerator or preferably the freezer. If they’re frozen, they can keep for a year but will be better if used within six months.

Garden events

Illuminations — Botanica’s lights display runs through New Year’s Eve at 701 N. Amidon. Hours are 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $8, $7 for members, $6 for ages 3 to 12; children under 3 get in free. Advance tickets can be purchased at Botanica or QuikTrip.

Annie Calovich

This story was originally published December 21, 2015 at 4:21 PM with the headline "Wichita gardener’s almanac for Dec. 26."