In This Issue
Judging of GTN's Greatest Christmas Awards set to start this week
Do your customers think you are The Greatest at Christmas?
100 firefighters tackle garden centre fire near Heathrow Airport
Great festive sales look set to deliver a record month
Taylors Bulbs raises £2,400 for Children in Need during Rickshaw Challenge ride-past
Cat Wars Bonanza for Garden Retailers
Completion of 'extraordinary' project approaches for Smiemans
Bonningtons' buying team expands to support rapid growth
Customer service team rewarded at Tong Garden Centre
Keter rolls out garden centre shed trial
Stewart featured in Parliamentary Review Manufacturing
Approval granted for £7m garden centre redevelopment
New climate control investment ensures peak freshness for Allensmore’s Christmas wreaths and planters
Thrive’s work with young people with special educational needs in Birmingham gains momentum
Gardman donates Poppy Bird Feeder kits to The Royal British Legion Care Homes
Wyevale Nurseries’ staff offer advice on career to grow into
Use your social media, e-mails and website for Christmas Customer Votes
Plantarea Supervisor Manager (Berkshire)
Garden Centre Sundries Shop Manager (Kent)
Plantarea Assistant (Oxfordshire)
Garden Sundries Manager (Oxfordshire)
Get your own copy of GTN Xtra
Vitax’s consumer-focused website goes live
Evenings draw in and lighting sales increase
Top 50 Christmas products up 20% year on year
A dozen compost lines are still growing sales
Bulbs provide welcome boost to plant sales
Spruce is Garden Plant of the Month for December
Ken White takes over chair of the APL
Get your own copy of GTN Xtra
Bestsellers Top 50 charts every week
Buy your subscription to GTN Bestsellers
All the latest news from the world of garden centre catering
Notcutts Norwich apologises after 'technical' issues at new restaurant
Cotswold Fayre to hold New Product Launch Shows
Situations Vacant
Plantarea Supervisor Manager (Berkshire)
Salary: Excellent
 
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Garden Centre Sundries Shop Manager (Kent)
Salary: £35,000 - £38,000
 
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Plantarea Assistant (Oxfordshire)
Salary: £18,000 - £22,000
 
Read more»
Garden Sundries Manager (Oxfordshire)
Salary: To attract the best
 
Read more»
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Contact us with your news. 

Email neil.pope@tgcmc.co.uk, or trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or call the GTN News team on 01733 775700



GTN's Greatest Christmas Awards 2106

are sponsored by:

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Book your tickets for GTN's Greatest Christmas Party on Sunday January 8th 2017 by calling 01733 775700


Spruce is Garden Plant of the Month for December
Spruce is in the spotlight in December as the Garden Plant of the Month. Growers and horticultural specialists from the floriculture sector select a garden plant every month at the request of Thejoyofplants.co.uk in order to inspire and enthuse.

We have long known the Spruce is the most popular Christmas tree. With its fine, slightly prickly needles it takes pride of place in many a living room. But the Spruce is also a popular evergreen conifer in the garden. Its attractive shape means that the Garden Plant of the Month for December can shape the whole look of the garden combined with other shrubs and conifers.

From big to small!
The Spruce (Picea) is a hardy needle conifer that ranges in size from 50cm up to 50m. For those that produce cones, these will hang at the ends of the branches. This garden plant is often supplied without roots, and therefore needs to be placed on a wooden cross or metal stand. Increasingly we are seeing Christmas trees with rootballs and even miniature Spruces with an attractive conical form - Picea glauca ‘Conica’. The decorative value is determined by the arrangement of the branches bearing the needles (actually the leaves) and the tree’s shape. By placing the spruce in water, you can help prevent needle shed. The Spruce definitely shapes the look of a garden so it’s a good idea to plant a solitary tree which has room to grow.

Caring for the Spruce
Follow a couple of simple tips to keep the Spruce healthy and looking its best. Plant in a damp, moderately nutrient-rich, somewhat acidic soil –  the Spruce can tolerate both shade and full sun.

Replanting a Spruce with roots in the garden requires some care. When buying the Spruce, check that there is a sufficiently large rootball at the bottom of the tree, and preferably place the tree on a Christmas tree stand containing water and shrub food. Because the plants have been standing indoors in the warmth for three weeks, the transition outdoors is not always easy. A frost-free period is therefore important in order to allow the plant to root properly in the garden. Caring for miniature Christmas trees in the home is often much easier as long as you water the plant regularly and place it in a light spot. The cooler the spot, the longer the plant will continue to flourish.  

Spruce pruning tips
With most Spruces, particularly the dwarf varieties, there’s no need to prune. If a larger Spruce is getting too big or too bare, prune the plant ideally in spring (April, May). Use ordinary hedge clippers for this and snip a few centimetres off the ends of the branches. This will keep the shape nicely symmetrical and bulk out the spindles.
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