November 5

Winter is around the corner and it is time to revisit some of the information I gave you last year. If you have been reading my blog, you know that I posted a number of articles last fall on getting ready for the winter.  So rather than repeating myself, I thought I should give you a summary and tell you where to get more information.

You should have already brought your houseplants into a protected area with the intent of taking them inside. There are two postings from last September that are good references for bringing your plants back in as well as saving some of your favorite garden plants through cuttings. 

Green For Christmas

Begonias are easy plants to start from
cuttings and will root quickly

New plants from cuttings are inexpensive Christmas gifts and now is the time to get them started.  Even friends with 'not to green thumbs' love to get plants as gifts, especially if it is from someone whose gardening skills they admire. The post entitled Saving Your Favorites tell you how to make a Propagation Container to created new plants from cuttings. Choose something that they have admired in your home and trim just below a leaf nod. You will need at least one remaining leaf and one nod with leaf removed for a good cutting. The not with the leaf removed will be buried in your potting medium. Here is a link to a diagram showing the Parts of a Plant. You can see that the nod is where the leaf has emerged from the stem.  The bud right above the leaf is where the root will emerge. The amount of time to get a good root is between 4 to 6 weeks so don't wait. Of course you could use the new plants as boxing day gifts or if you want a little more show, start now for spring.

Red for Christmas

The poinsettias you saved from last year should be placed in a spot that will give them a full 10 hours of darkness.  They can take up to 7 weeks to develop buds. My favorite trick is to place the plant in the closet when you get home from work around 6 or 7 P.M. and take it out on you way to work around 6 or 7 A.M.  Check out my January posting So what are you going to do with your poinsettia now? for more detail.

The Legend of Poinsettias

A charming story is told of Pepita, a poor Mexican girl who had no gift to present the Christ Child at Christmas Eve services. As Pepita walked sorrowfully to church, her cousin Pedro tried to console her. "Pepita," he said, "I am certain that even the most humble gift, given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes." Pepita gathered a bouquet of common weeds from the roadside, for this was the only gift she could give. As she entered the chapel and approached the alter, her spirits lifted. Forgetting the humbleness of her gift, the girl laid the weeds at the feet of the Christ Child. Suddenly, Pepita's ordinary weeds burst into brilliant red blooms! This miraculous event was named the Flores de Noche Buena, or Flowers of the Holy Night. Today, we call these flowers poinsettias.

Today, Poinsettias come in a variety of colors and patterns and new ones are introduced every year.  Some of my favorites are Jingle Bells, Merry Christmas 2, Lemon Drop and Pink Elf.  Keep an eye out for them to shake up the usual at Christmas.

More Color, Give Me More Color

You should be feeding your Holiday Cactus as they are getting ready to put on their show.  Plant your Amaryllis Bulbs and your Paperwhites. If you haven't kept any bulbs from previous years, give yourself an early Christmas present.  These also make great hostess gifts for Thanksgiving. December 2012 postings will give you more information along with some great links on how to start and care for these plants.  

That's all for today.  Please comment on this post and tell me what you think. If I can help with any plant questions post them below or email me at houseplantsos@gmail.com . 

Sincerely,

k.k.jones

So what are you going to do with your Poinsettia now?

Christmas is over and that beautiful plant on the dining room table is starting to get a little ragged.  There still are a lot of red leaves on it but some of the branches have broken off and the lower leaves are curled or gone.  It really is not what you want on the table any more.  So what are your options?  

The choice most people make is to throw it out and buy another one next year.  That would be easiest but if you wanted to do that you would not be reading this posting. So let's continue to the next option.

The next option is to save the plant.  I have found that to do this it is best to put it the plant to sleep.  This means to stop the watering and trim the plant to about 4 or 5 inches tall.   This will encourage the plant to remain compact.  The larger the plant the taller the stalks should be after trimming.  There should be no leaves left on it. Now you can set it somewhere safe. Check on it from time to time and when you start to see green leaf buds you will need to start watering it again and giving it sunshine.  Now just let it grow.  Remember to fertilize.  Keep it compact during the growing season.   By October stop trimming so that the Poinsettia can start setting it's bloom.

The third option is to just let it grow.  I have planted Poinsettias in the garden once the danger of frost is over and they have grown quite large.  It makes a beautiful green annual that will be as big as a small bush in no time.  Now what if you want to keep it as a houseplant?  The only reason that you would want to do that is because you want to try and get it to bloom again. 

How to make a Poinsettia to Bloom

The Poinsettia blooms through photoperiodism which means it is the amount of light and dark that triggers the bloom.  It not only wants full sun for 10 hours and it also needs full darkness for 10 hours.  That is why the Poinsettia blooms in the winter.  If you want your poinsettia to bloom then you will have to recreate nature.  A greenhouse is the easiest route.  Next location is a unused room that faces south and has no streetlight out side the window.  If these options are not open to you, here is the last hope.  Every night when you come home from work, place your plant in the hall closet.  In the morning when you open the closet to take out your coat and head for work, put your plant in the window.  Keep this up for about 7 weeks.  You plant may not actually bloom, but you should get you red leaves and that is an accomplishment few can brag about.

This is my last Christmas posting.  I have not seen any pictures from you so I am again encouraging you to send me your pictures.  I will post them along with any advice you would like concerning the care of plants.  Please contact me through this blog or email me at joneskathee@gmail.com .

Flowers in a Box (Part 2)

Amaryllis

The second most popular flower that is given as a Christmas Gift is the Amaryllis.  The bright beautiful red flower can be as wide as 7 inches in diameter and is dazzling to all who see it.  The Amaryllis originates from South America with the most common varieties being Ferrari (red) and Apple Blossom (white & pink).  There are many more varieties as shown by my favorite supplier, White Flower Farm.  They sell 50 different varieties and even have doubles.

The Amaryllis usually comes one to a box and is about the size of a large fist. The container which is included is deep enough to allow adequate room for good root development but may not allow for drainage so be sure to not over water.  The diameter of the pot should be about ONE inch larger than that of the bulb. Although this may seem small, amaryllis bulbs prefer a smaller container. Plant the bulb so that at least one-third to one-half, of the bulb is above the surface of the potting medium. Firm the potting medium around the bulb, water it thoroughly and place the container in a warm, sunny spot.  The Amaryllis will send up a the flower stalk before it starts to develop leaves. Up to 4 large flowers will appear on one stalk, all facing a different direction.  This makes the Amaryllis a favorite for the Holiday Centerpiece. A hint to making the flowers last longer is to remove the plant from direct when the flower buds start to turn color.



Amaryllis Ferrari
 

If you are planning to keep the bulb for future blooming it is essential to fertilize the plants regularly after the bulb shows signs of growth.  Fertilize with a high phosphorus content. Move the plant back into a sunny location after blooming to help feed the bloom for next year.  Keep the flower stalk until it begins to shrivel and turn yellow.  While green it helps to manufacture food that will be stored in the bulb for the next blooming.  Continue to fertilize with a balance formula throughout the year.

The Amaryllis bulb does not have to rest between bloomings and can be grown in many gardens where frost is not an issue. I met one gardener in Jacksonville, Florida who had them  growing under trees to protect them from the frost and they were doing quite well.  If you are not one of the lucky ones who can do this then you can place your bulb, pot and all, right into the ground for the summer.  As they like to be a little pot bound, you should not have to change the pot for almost four years.



Amaryllis Apple Blossom

Bring your bulb in before the first frost.  Though no rest is needed, you can control the time it blooms by forcing it to take a rest.  You will need a minimum of 12 weeks to force a bloom.  This is not an exact science because your environment will affect the timing and it could take as much as 18 weeks.   I would suggest that you plant multiple bulbs at staggered times to be sure you have the flower you want for your Christmas Table.

To force your Amaryllis bulb into a rest period, stop watering and place in a cool dark place.  Discontinue fertilizing.  Do not cut off the leaves until they have dried and shriveled.  After 8 weeks, start to check bulbs regularly for signs of new growth.  When you see green, bring the pot into a sunny location and wait for the bloom.  The bloom should appear within 4 to 6 weeks.  Remember to start fertilizing with the new growth.

If you would like to learn more about the beautiful Amaryllis, I recommend a paper by Carl Hoffman and Mary Meyers of the University of Minnesota / Extension .  It continues with information about disease and bugs that can harm you bulb and what to do about it.

One more posting before Christmas.  This will be on my favorite Christmas flower the Cyclamen.  Pick one up if you see it.  The flower is beautiful and easy to care for.

Please email me, joneskathee@gmail.com ,  if I left anything out.  Send me any pictures of your Amaryllis and I will post them on this blog.  You can add comments right on the blog if you would like.

 



Flowers in a Box (Part 1)

Today we are going to talk about the gift boxes of bulbs that are popping up all over the place for the Christmas season. The ease of growing them to beautiful flowers make them a favorite for gardeners and non gardeners alike.

Paperwhites

Paperwhites are a pretty little white flower which is part of the narcissus family (Narcissus tazetta).  This is the same family as the much loved daffodil that heralds the spring but unlike the daffodil it does not have to go through a chill before it blooms.  This makes the paperwhite a good candidate for forcing and a much loved favorite at Christmas.  (Forcing is the process of making a plant bloom out of season.)

If you are luck enough to get these bulbs in a gift box, you will also get a container and potting medium.  If you have only the bulbs, here is what you will need.  You will need a container 4 to 6 inches deep.  It should hold water and glass is the material of choice.  The potting medium can be anything from stones to marbles.


Place two inches of potting medium in the bottom of your container.  Bulbs are placed on top with the point up.  It is OK to fit all the bulbs snugly into the pot because as they grow this will help them from falling over.  Place another shallow layer of potting medium on top of the bulbs but not covering them.  This will also help to keep them upright as they grow tall.  I have recently read about a study by Cornell University where small amounts of alcohol was added to the water after the roots have developed and this kept the paperwhites from growing too tall.  The study showed that the plant only grew one third the usual heigth but did not change the size of the flower.  If you would like to know more about this check out the following link. www.news.cornell.edu/stories/March06/drunk.flowers.ssl.html

Add water to the container up to the bottom of the bulb.  If you add more then you might get rot before you get a bloom.  Do not let your bulbs dry out and watch for signs of roots.  Sunshine is not necessary until you see the roots and then you want to move the container in a bright sunny spot.  The bloom should appear withing 3 to 4 weeks after planting.

Many people find the scent of the paperwhite to be a bit overpowering so be careful where you place it for display.  One small bouquet will fill a room with its scent so it is best to place it in a large room or one that is a little more chilly.  I found that the chill blends well with the scent and actually enhances it.  Of course, that is just my opinion.

After your paperwhite is finished blooming you can save the bulbs and try to make them flower again.  This is not always successful as forcing the bulb takes an enormous amount of strength from the bulb.  But if you want to try, first you must remove the spent flower and the stem.  Cut back on the watering and wait for the leaves to brown.  Lay the bulbs out on a newspaper to dry so that they do not touch each other. They are now ready for the garden.  Paperwhites are usually hardy to zone 5.  It may take a few years for the bulbs to recover so place them where their missing flowers won't be notices.

I have tried to fertilize the bulbs while they were blooming but with little success.  If you or someone you know has successfully gotten a second bloom from their paperwhites, please add you secret to this posting.

Next time we will talk about the amaryllis which is the other popular bulb that you can give at Christmas and even easier than the paperwhite.  Until then please write me at joneskathee@gmail.com or add any comments right on this page.

Poinsettias for Christmas

Countdown to Christmas

This Thursday is Turkey Day. For those of you who are unaware of the American holiday of Thanksgiving, this is the day we gorge ourselves with good food surrounded with family as we thank God for all we have before we make out our Christmas list for Santa. Yes, Thanksgiving is the official kickoff of the holiday season and with that comes the much loved Poinsettia. 

The poinsettia is a member of the Euphorbia family and originally hails from Mexico.  Starting as a simple red flower, hybrids have given us colors and patterns of red, pink and white. Each being more beautiful than the next.

But you know all this.  What you want to know is how can you keep it looking beautiful for the whole Christmas season.  So let's start at the beginning.

Choosing your poinsettia.  First you have to know that the coloring you see on the plant is not the flower.  The red (or what ever you have chosen) are leaves that have colored to attract pollinators to the little flowers in the middle of the leaves.  I hope you can see them in the picture I have included.  If you are buying your poinsettias early, be sure that you pick a plant that has not blossomed yet.  The buds should be tight and green.  Later they will open to reveal small yellow petals and longer stamen with read tips.  These plants will stay fresh the longest.  As for plant structure, choose a compact plant.  The branches are brittle and the compact plant branches will not break as easily. 

After you get you poinsettia home is when the hard part starts.  The poinsettia likes full sun but needs a minimum of 10 hours of complete darkness to set a bloom.  The bloom is already set so the complete darkness is not as important as the sun.  Where this becomes difficult is that most of us want to use our beautiful plant within our decorations. 

Here is what I have to say about that.  Place the poinsettia in an area where it will get what it needs to flourish.  Give it full sun that is out of drafts.  Keep it damp but not wet.  One hour before your company comes.  Place your plant where you want it to steal the show. Please do not put it too close to the fireplace. If you want to keep it in the same place all of the time you will have to plan to replace the poinsettia every 2 weeks.  The only other option is to buy silk.

After Christmas we will talk about keeping your poinsettia until next year.  If you have any questions, add a comment to this page or email me at joneskathee@gmail.com

Until next time, Happy Thanksgiving.
k.k.jones