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Mecklenburg Extension Master Gardener℠ Volunteers
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    • About Master Gardener Volunteers
    • 2024 Master Gardener training
    • Demonstration GARDEN
  • Request Our Help
    • Horticulture Help Desk
    • School/Community Garden Consultation
    • Speaker
  • Garden Zone
  • GARDEN CALENDAR
    • January winter
    • February to do list
    • March timely tips
    • April 15th last frost
    • May spring frenzy
    • June garden tasks
    • July summer tasks
    • August hot summer
    • September gardens
    • October fall begins
    • November planting
    • December gardens
  • Our Publications
  • Videos
  • Consider a Donation
  • OTHER
    • Gardening Articles >
      • VEGETABLES >
        • Heirloom Vegetable Seeds, Cool Season
        • Heirloom Vegetable Seeds for Summer Crops
        • Peas Edible Landscape
        • How To Dig A Vegetable Garden - Soil Science And Preparation
        • Warm Season Vegetables & Fruits: Edible Landscaping
        • Growing & Feeding Container Vegetables
        • Organic Vs. Chemical Gardening Practices
        • The Quest for the Perfect Tomato
        • Tomato Primer the basics
        • Fall Greens for the Edible Landscape
        • Grow Lettuce
        • The Tomato Wars heirlooms vs. hybrids
        • Okra is more than a vegetable
        • Hill of Beans
        • Seasonal Edible Planting Layouts for Raised Bed Gardens
      • HERBS >
        • Rosemary Darling Of The Kitchen
        • Herbs Uses, History And Cultivation >
          • Bay Laurel Essential Oils: Keeping The Immune System Healthy
          • Basil Essential Oil for Memory & Concentration
          • Comfrey The Best-Known Healing Herb
          • Basil The 2003 herb of the year - Cultivation, History, Medicinal Use
          • Comfrey - A Controversial Herb
          • Eucalyptus in the Landscape and Cough Drops
          • German Chamomile: Herbal Tea And Treatments
          • Eucalyptus Essential Oils: Treatments For Skin Conditions And Respiratory Systems
          • Geranium, Pelargonium Odoratissimum Essential Oils: A Fresh Rose-Like Scent
          • German Chamomile Essential Oils: Anti-Inflammatory Properties
          • Goldenseal, Hydrastis Canadensis L.: A Long And Colorful Folk History Native Plant
          • Perilla, P. Frutescens: An Interesting And Valuable Addition To The Garden
          • Goldenseal, Hydrastis Canadensis: In The Herbalist's Medicine Cabinet
          • Thyme - With Culinary, Medical And Aromatherapy Uses
          • Yarrow Essential Oils, A Pretty Healer
      • FOOD Health Organics >
        • Eat Local
        • LOCAL food in Mecklenburg
        • Carolina Produce
        • Grow Healthy Kids with Gardening
        • Grow Top 6 Veggies
        • Okra Southern Food
        • Sweet Potatoes
        • Let Us Eat Lettuce
        • Green Leafy Friends
        • Canning Basics 101
        • Snappy Green Beans
        • Tasty Peas
        • Gardener Skin Care
        • Summer Heat Safety
        • Produce Your Produce Grow Guide
      • BULBS, Rhizomes >
        • Coo-Coo for Crocus
        • Bulbs for Spring Planting, Summer Bloom
        • Tall Bearded Irises Dig Divide
        • Bulbs For Fall Planting Spring Bloom In Mecklenburg County And Region
        • Cool Crinum Beat the Heat
        • Silly Scilla! in September
        • Daylily 'Genesta' Tall Blond
      • NATIVE Plants >
        • Natives With Winter Interest
        • Native Plants for All Seasons
        • Ameliorating Habitat Loss
        • Native Plants With Spring Interest
        • Tough Plants for Tough Times
      • Invasive Exotics
      • FAVORITE Plants >
        • Japanese Maple Ferns Black Mondo - A Winning Combination
        • Spring Woodland Gift
        • Winning Perennial Plant Combo
        • How to Stop A Car!
      • FRUIT >
        • D - Easy Fruit Growing
      • PERENNIAL Flowers >
        • Gardening Basics
        • Seeds for Winter Sowing
        • Right Plant Right Place
        • Black Lenten Rose
        • Trillium
        • Amur Adonis
        • Hosta 'Empress Wu'
        • Wa-Hoo For Waipahu!
        • Chrysanthemum
        • Ranunculus
        • Ragged Robin
        • Toadflax Canon J. Went
        • Spurge Euphorbia
      • SHRUBS, pruning >
        • Pruning Boxwoods
        • Paperbush Edgeworthia
        • Camellia Primer
        • Spider Azalea
        • Garden Borders
      • LAWNS Groundcover
      • GARDEN DESIGN >
        • Rain Gardening
        • Attracting Hummingbirds to Your Garden
      • CONIFERS >
        • White Cedar Cypress
        • Growing Conifers in the South
        • Select Pines for Carolinas
        • Eastern Red Cedar
        • Yews and Plum Yews
        • Hemlocks Tsuga
        • Japanese Cedars
        • Spruces Picea
      • TREES, care, resources >
        • Flowering Apricot
        • Witch Hazel Hybrids
        • Redbud Primer
        • Dogwood Primer
        • Growing Bamboo
        • Crape Myrtle 'Violet Filli'
        • Earth-Friendly Lawn
        • Managing Lawns Environmentally
        • Acer palmatum 'Bihou'
      • SOIL compost >
        • SOIL in the Piedmont
        • SOIL pH guide
        • SOIL Mecklenburg basics
        • Topsoil the dirt about
        • Prep SOIL for transplants
        • Build SOIL fertility
        • Garden Recycling: Yes, No, Yes, No, Yes . . .
        • MICROCLIMATES
        • Heat Wave Garden Tips
        • Why Should We Care about Biodiversity
        • Why Biodiversity Is Slipping Away
        • Plant Hardiness Zones From The USDA (2012 update)
        • Biological Islands for Cleaner Water Purification through Floating Treatment Wetlands
      • BUGS & Insects >
        • YELLOW JACKETS look out!
        • SLUGS a beer fest
        • HORNWORM control
      • WILDLIFE, Varmints >
        • DEER stinky control that works
        • RABBITS defend your garden
        • SQUIRRELS what really works
        • VOLES what will & won't work
        • MOLES what works
        • PESKY 'POSSUMS
        • PESKY RACCOONS
        • SNAKES gracious Alive!
  • HOME
    • About Master Gardener Volunteers
    • 2024 Master Gardener training
    • Demonstration GARDEN
  • Request Our Help
    • Horticulture Help Desk
    • School/Community Garden Consultation
    • Speaker
  • Garden Zone
  • GARDEN CALENDAR
    • January winter
    • February to do list
    • March timely tips
    • April 15th last frost
    • May spring frenzy
    • June garden tasks
    • July summer tasks
    • August hot summer
    • September gardens
    • October fall begins
    • November planting
    • December gardens
  • Our Publications
  • Videos
  • Consider a Donation
  • OTHER
    • Gardening Articles >
      • VEGETABLES >
        • Heirloom Vegetable Seeds, Cool Season
        • Heirloom Vegetable Seeds for Summer Crops
        • Peas Edible Landscape
        • How To Dig A Vegetable Garden - Soil Science And Preparation
        • Warm Season Vegetables & Fruits: Edible Landscaping
        • Growing & Feeding Container Vegetables
        • Organic Vs. Chemical Gardening Practices
        • The Quest for the Perfect Tomato
        • Tomato Primer the basics
        • Fall Greens for the Edible Landscape
        • Grow Lettuce
        • The Tomato Wars heirlooms vs. hybrids
        • Okra is more than a vegetable
        • Hill of Beans
        • Seasonal Edible Planting Layouts for Raised Bed Gardens
      • HERBS >
        • Rosemary Darling Of The Kitchen
        • Herbs Uses, History And Cultivation >
          • Bay Laurel Essential Oils: Keeping The Immune System Healthy
          • Basil Essential Oil for Memory & Concentration
          • Comfrey The Best-Known Healing Herb
          • Basil The 2003 herb of the year - Cultivation, History, Medicinal Use
          • Comfrey - A Controversial Herb
          • Eucalyptus in the Landscape and Cough Drops
          • German Chamomile: Herbal Tea And Treatments
          • Eucalyptus Essential Oils: Treatments For Skin Conditions And Respiratory Systems
          • Geranium, Pelargonium Odoratissimum Essential Oils: A Fresh Rose-Like Scent
          • German Chamomile Essential Oils: Anti-Inflammatory Properties
          • Goldenseal, Hydrastis Canadensis L.: A Long And Colorful Folk History Native Plant
          • Perilla, P. Frutescens: An Interesting And Valuable Addition To The Garden
          • Goldenseal, Hydrastis Canadensis: In The Herbalist's Medicine Cabinet
          • Thyme - With Culinary, Medical And Aromatherapy Uses
          • Yarrow Essential Oils, A Pretty Healer
      • FOOD Health Organics >
        • Eat Local
        • LOCAL food in Mecklenburg
        • Carolina Produce
        • Grow Healthy Kids with Gardening
        • Grow Top 6 Veggies
        • Okra Southern Food
        • Sweet Potatoes
        • Let Us Eat Lettuce
        • Green Leafy Friends
        • Canning Basics 101
        • Snappy Green Beans
        • Tasty Peas
        • Gardener Skin Care
        • Summer Heat Safety
        • Produce Your Produce Grow Guide
      • BULBS, Rhizomes >
        • Coo-Coo for Crocus
        • Bulbs for Spring Planting, Summer Bloom
        • Tall Bearded Irises Dig Divide
        • Bulbs For Fall Planting Spring Bloom In Mecklenburg County And Region
        • Cool Crinum Beat the Heat
        • Silly Scilla! in September
        • Daylily 'Genesta' Tall Blond
      • NATIVE Plants >
        • Natives With Winter Interest
        • Native Plants for All Seasons
        • Ameliorating Habitat Loss
        • Native Plants With Spring Interest
        • Tough Plants for Tough Times
      • Invasive Exotics
      • FAVORITE Plants >
        • Japanese Maple Ferns Black Mondo - A Winning Combination
        • Spring Woodland Gift
        • Winning Perennial Plant Combo
        • How to Stop A Car!
      • FRUIT >
        • D - Easy Fruit Growing
      • PERENNIAL Flowers >
        • Gardening Basics
        • Seeds for Winter Sowing
        • Right Plant Right Place
        • Black Lenten Rose
        • Trillium
        • Amur Adonis
        • Hosta 'Empress Wu'
        • Wa-Hoo For Waipahu!
        • Chrysanthemum
        • Ranunculus
        • Ragged Robin
        • Toadflax Canon J. Went
        • Spurge Euphorbia
      • SHRUBS, pruning >
        • Pruning Boxwoods
        • Paperbush Edgeworthia
        • Camellia Primer
        • Spider Azalea
        • Garden Borders
      • LAWNS Groundcover
      • GARDEN DESIGN >
        • Rain Gardening
        • Attracting Hummingbirds to Your Garden
      • CONIFERS >
        • White Cedar Cypress
        • Growing Conifers in the South
        • Select Pines for Carolinas
        • Eastern Red Cedar
        • Yews and Plum Yews
        • Hemlocks Tsuga
        • Japanese Cedars
        • Spruces Picea
      • TREES, care, resources >
        • Flowering Apricot
        • Witch Hazel Hybrids
        • Redbud Primer
        • Dogwood Primer
        • Growing Bamboo
        • Crape Myrtle 'Violet Filli'
        • Earth-Friendly Lawn
        • Managing Lawns Environmentally
        • Acer palmatum 'Bihou'
      • SOIL compost >
        • SOIL in the Piedmont
        • SOIL pH guide
        • SOIL Mecklenburg basics
        • Topsoil the dirt about
        • Prep SOIL for transplants
        • Build SOIL fertility
        • Garden Recycling: Yes, No, Yes, No, Yes . . .
        • MICROCLIMATES
        • Heat Wave Garden Tips
        • Why Should We Care about Biodiversity
        • Why Biodiversity Is Slipping Away
        • Plant Hardiness Zones From The USDA (2012 update)
        • Biological Islands for Cleaner Water Purification through Floating Treatment Wetlands
      • BUGS & Insects >
        • YELLOW JACKETS look out!
        • SLUGS a beer fest
        • HORNWORM control
      • WILDLIFE, Varmints >
        • DEER stinky control that works
        • RABBITS defend your garden
        • SQUIRRELS what really works
        • VOLES what will & won't work
        • MOLES what works
        • PESKY 'POSSUMS
        • PESKY RACCOONS
        • SNAKES gracious Alive!

Extension Master Gardener℠ Volunteers​
​in Mecklenburg County

We're dedicated gardening enthusiasts who've expanded our horticultural education and skills to assist the public on a wide range of gardening topics.

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​Another Lowe’s Library Festival is in the books! Matthews was October’s stop for the CHARLOTTE LIBRARY FOUNDATION ‘Around the World in 21 Branches’ festival for readers. Mecklenburg Extension Master Gardener volunteers staffed an ‘Ask a Master Gardener’ booth, handed out colorful fall flowers donated by Lowe’s and helped future gardeners make germination necklaces.
 
At every library festival we have soil kits for homeowners, helpful handouts, and research-based advice to grow more confident gardeners throughout Mecklenburg County. Look us up on Saturday, December 2 at the Independence Regional branch.
 
Thanks to EMG volunteers Elizabeth Barnes, Margaret Brinsko, E.J. McGee, Kelly Rhoads, Bill Sloan and Mary Staton.
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Fruit of American holly (Ilex opaca) supports birds such as the cardinal, American robin and eastern bluebird.
December Garden Tasks
  • Bare-root season begins late this month 
    • Plant cane berries, grapes and roots of perennials, such as artichoke, asparagus, rhubarb, astilbe and peony, now.  
  •  Continue fall cleanup
    • Cut back chrysanthemum to about 6 inches
    • Remove dead leaves and stems from dormant perennials 
  • Clean-up flower and vegetable beds
    • Compost or recycle at the curb,  to curtail future plant diseases and insect damage. 
  • Plant spring flowering bulbs, trees and shrubs
    • Continue to monitor water levels, especially for newly planted evergreen trees and shrubs
Continue reading .... December gardens

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Become A Master Gardener
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Have a garden question?
Horticulture Help Desk  Master Gardeners can
​assist you 
by email or voicemail. 
Need a Speaker?
Our Master Gardeners can address a range of topics.
School/Community Garden Consultation
We offer technical guidance and volunteer assistance.

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 ​The Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Program is a part of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service and North Carolina State University
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Extension Master Gardener℠ Volunteers of Mecklenburg County All Rights Reserved
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