Tis the Season for Topiary: Selection and Care

 Lemon cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa ‘Goldcrest’) topiaries adorned with festive red bows add pop and balance to the tablescape.

Tis the Season for Topiary—Selection and Care

Each year, it is hard to resist the temptation to pick up a few festive indoor topiary plants to enhance the magic that is Christmas. The artful forms of topiary plants and shrubs are perfect in their ornament to celebrate the holiday season. Topiaries can be charming when adorned with festive ribbons and holiday show-stoppers when draped in twinkling lights. Many garden centers and grocery stores sell these seasonal artfully pruned or trained plants, evergreens, and conifers in geometric and representational forms. However, the regal and elegant houseplant topiaries easily add a festive formality to your interior holiday decorations. These artful houseplants also provide an opportunity for indoor gardening during the winter for many who are now homebound with recent surges in the pandemic. 

Topiary heaven at Wine Country Garden Center

Now is the perfect time to take on a fun new project of growing indoor topiary houseplants. The price and scale of the larger outdoor topiary shrubs of evergreens and conifers usually keep many in check from impulse buying. However, the smaller potted indoor topiaries are temptations for many because of size and affordability. Each holiday season, many purchase popular ivy wreaths and also the fragrant miniature rosemary shaped Christmas trees. I just bought one at Home Depot to decorate my backyard patio for outdoor holiday gatherings with family and friends. Sheltering in place will give many the needed time and focus on their proper care. For success, make a plant selection that will align with your ability to maintain it.

There are three popular types of indoor topiaries that make fabulous houseplants and also festive holiday decorations in your home:

Pruned Topiary is a plant shaped into forms such as spheres, cones, and spiral shapes. Training young plants can take a long time to grow into desired shapes and also require constant maintenance to keep their form. Purchasing a well-shaped topiary and maintaining its shape with pruning is the easiest way for those with little patience to grow them. Common plants and herbs used for indoor topiaries typically have woody stems to support slow-growing forms that take a long time to shape and train. Indoor topiaries employ the following herbs and plants ( dwarf and small leaf varieties):  thyme, rosemary, lavender, boxwood 
[Buxus microphylla or Japanese box]  holly, myrtle (myrtus communis compacta), lemon cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa ‘Goldcrest’)l

Hollow Topiary is created by shaping wire into a variety of forms such as hearts, diamonds, animal shapes, and three-dimensional forms like spheres or fanciful cages. Insert the wire-shaped form into the soil of a potted vine. Wrap vines around the shaped-form and secure with twist ties or twine. Pinching the tips of the vines create more branching for a fuller appearance. English ivy and creeping fig are typically used in hollow topiary.

Hollow topiary cage with moss stuffed bird topiaries

Stuffed Reindeer Topiary

Stuffed Topiary requires no soil. Stuffed topiary is fabulous because it is very sculptural, often taking the forms of animals, birds, wreaths, or any imaginative shape. Wireframes are stuffed with pre-moistened sphagnum moss or peat moss. Use clear fishing line and floral pins to secure the moss into place. Next, take a small leaf vine- English ivy and creeping fig -and wash all soil away from the plant. Then, make a hole with a finger, and insert plant root filling any extra space with moss. Dunk topiary in water to hydrate. Stuffed topiary dries out quickly and requires frequent soakings in water for a few minutes. One must be extremely careful to let the excess water drain from the plant form to prevent damage to wood furniture or fine linens.

Pruned, Hollow, or Stuffed indoor topiaries make irresistible holiday decorations that bring your garden into your home. While they do not require more attention than any other house plant, many find these indoor topiaries difficult to keep alive for very long. Mine often end up in the shredder along with our Christmas tree by the New Year because of neglect. In general, most are not difficult to grow, but require following the basic rules of care for each variety. The greatest challenge is keeping the seasonal topiaries watered and in sufficient light while indoors. According to experts, most indoor topiaries will likely die of thirst rather than disease.

English holly topiary sprig purchased from Filoli Historic House and Gardens in Woodside

Most indoor topiaries require consistently moist soil. Many forget to water indoor topiaries during the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Once a topiary becomes dry it is very difficult for them to bounce back. Roots should not sit in saucers of water either or they my rot. Also, each topiary has specific light needs that make some more challenging to keep indoors. Following the care instructions unique to your specific variety is essential. Care instructions vary depending on a variety including watering, light requirements, fertilizing, and rotation regiments to ensure longevity and lush even growth.

As a footnote, shaping topiaries has become one of my new obsessions during the pandemic. While many have taken up knitting or baking sourdough bread, I became inspired to shape the hedges in my yard after following on Instagram the masterful work of @hedgebarber and the beautiful images of @hedgeslover.

My husband even surprised me with a new hedger to perfect my new craft. My topiary practice brought a sense of control into my unruly, abundant, and overplanted small garden. Caring for them has also provided a practiced meditation that calms my anxious mind during these uncertain times. My handful of artful topiaries both large and small provide joy in both my home and garden. In the ritual of their care, nurturing, and maintenance, they also gave my anxious mind a sense of calm and peace during these uncertain times. Here's to finding peace and joy as well as growing topiaries in 2021! 

Tis the season for topiary with flowers and grapes!