With proper care and feeding, it will continue to bloom for many weeks and may even bloom again next year. Many people prefer a live Christmas tree over a cut or artificial tree for ecological and aesthetic reasons. During the holiday season, a lot of new plants, wreaths, and flower arrangements come into our homes, as gifts from friends, business associates and neighbors. If you long to really tiptoe through those ever-popular tulips, you'd better start digging. Many kinds of leaves prove an excellent addition to the compost pile.
Leaves are low in nitrogen, yet high in mineral content.
And some, including oak and pecan leaves, are especially slow to break down. Your neighbor's yard is ablaze with color every summer, yet for some reason, those ornamentals you planted a few years ago still have not flowered. Never encourage growth with heavy applications of fertilizer or excessive pruning at this time as plants will quickly delay their hardening process that has already begun in anticipation of winter several months ahead. New growth can be easily injured by an early freeze. Gardeners have preserved flowers by drying for many years.