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

Baby It's Cold Out There!

I have heard that snow has fallen, so winter is officially here.  By now your tender plants have come inside.  You have added the grow lights to the plants that need them and put the rest near the sunnier windows.  What next.

Winterize the windows.

When I lived in a cold region of the country my best friend was that film that you place over the window to keep the draft out.  Not the cheep stuff but the kind that you take your hair dryer to and it shrinks to a clear finish, allowing a maximum amount of sun to shine through.  About now I would be covering all the north and west facing windows with the film.  These are the two directions that most of the cold wind comes courtesy of the jet stream.  As it gets colder the next is the east windows. 

I liked to keep the southern windows uncovered for as long as possible to take advantage of the warm sunny days that surprise us throughout the winter.  It is wonderful to be able to open a window and get a little fresh air now and then.  Usually, I found that about the middle of January I would have "shrunk wrapped" the rest of the windows and even covered the coldest windows with draped for extra warmth. 

Now, why am I telling you all this?

It's because most of us think that winter is coming and everything has to be done NOW!  THIS IS NOT SO.  You do need to be prepared.  The film is available now.  It isn't as easy to find in January.  Planning for the placement of plants include grow lamps, bulbs, extension cords and you may need a fan or two to keep the air moving around tightly packed plants.  Try finding a fan in January.  If you find one now, it is probably on sale.  Buy it.  I have found that you can never have too many fans and all plants love some breeze.  Be sure to put down protection on the tables or floors against watering accidents.  Orchids that love to be misted all the time will need something to keep walls dry. 

Just because your plants are dormant doesn't mean you have nothing to do.  Late winter is early spring for houseplants so this is a good time to think about repotting your favorites.  Many garden centers have put their pots on sale to make room for the Christmas decorations.  Take an inventory of the plants that will need to be replanted and stock up.  Be sure that you have enough soil on hand or you will be working with frozen bags.

Well, I guess I have given you enough things to do before you get that bird in the oven.  If you have any questions, be sure to pass them on to me through this blog or my email address joneskathee@gmail.com.

I would love to hear from you concerning any specific problems you are having or just to say hi.  'Til next time, stay green.

Regards,
k.k.jones

The Easiest Plants to Grow!

Let's be realistic.  Some of us just don't understand plants.  We love how they make our home look more "homey", but we have killed more plants than we would ever admit.  If you are one of those people here is a short list of plants that are easy to grow and the directions on how to make them flourish.

First is the Pothos.

I love this plant for beginners.   It comes in different sizes with a leaf that is 3 inches wide to 3 feet wide.  The can be solid green, golden marble green and white marble green.

I love this plant because it is so easy to start and grow.  A small cutting from a health plant can be put in the water and grow into an enormous house plant.  This is one of the few plants I know that can live its whole life in water as long as it gets fertilizer. 

To begin, be sure that to have two or more nodes (places that leaves have been removed) to put in the water.  Only one or two leaves need to be left on the cutting.  As the new roots begin to develop be sure to add a liquid fertilizer in the water.  You can transfer the new plant as soon as it has a good set of roots or leave in water for a different look.  Leaving the pothos in water will entail watching for root rot which can be avoided be draining half the water and adding new water once a month.  Trim any soft roots away.  To develop a full lush plant, trim the end of the stem as it grows.  This will create branching and make the plant to develop new shoots from just above the root ball.

I have never had a pothos come down with a disease or be susceptible to bug infestation.

The Second is the Spider Plant

Correctly named Chlorophystum comosum, the spider plant has made my list of easy plants because of the fact that it does not need to be repotted.  In fact,  the wonderful babies on the end of long stems can only form if the plant is potbound.  To start a new plant you can place another pot next to the "mother" plant and just set the baby on top of the dirt of the new pot.  you can also wait for the baby to develop its own roots and plant directly into the pot without the stem.

The spider plant comes in a varigated leaf like the one listed and in solid green.  A number of years ago the solid green was the easier plant to find but because the varigated is so popular it has outshown the green making the most available.

Part of the care of this plant is to remove dead leaves as they will harbor insects that are hard to get rid of it established.  Watch for Scale, which is its deadly enemy.  Scale is a bug that has a hard shell and attaches itself to the leaf and eats.

Both of these plants will do well in natural light, but will also do well as a desk plant under florecent lighting.

Please email me or contact me if you have any questions. 
Thanks,
k.k.jones

 

My New Oncidium Orchid

My New Orchid

I was wandering through a craft fair yesterday and came across this beauty.  She is of the species call Oncidiums  For those of you who would like her proper name, she is A. Mtssa. Charles M. Fitch 'Izumi'.  This is important information if you are interested in buying this particular plant or if you plan get into orchid growing as a serious hobby.

Otherwise, just enjoy the flower.

As my experience yesterday shows, orchids are becoming easier and easier to find for the common indoor gardener.  You can find them almost everywhere, home improvement stores, grocery stores and even craft fairs.  So, I though you could use a little information to help you through. 

The orchid family is known to be one of the largest families in the plant world with over 5,000 names species.  They grow all over the world in all different terrains.   The ones that we are most familiar with are more semi-tropical and tropical.  Many are not grown in soil as they do not like wet feet.  This can make orchids a little difficult for the busy gardener because they still need water and their planting medium does not hold a lot. In other words, you will be watering smaller amounts more often.  One way of keeping them moist is to put them on (not in) a dish filled with stones and water.  This will increase the humidity of the orchid plants' environment.  I learned a neat trick when I bought an orchid from a big box store a couple years ago.  One or two ice cubes placed in the pot will release water slowly, allowing the orchid to drink what it wants and the medium will absorb moisture for later use.  This is a great time saver if you only have one or two orchids. It need only be done once or twice a week depending how dry your house is. 

Though you may not recognize my particular orchid, you have seen one of her sisters many times. Shades of yellow and gold are the most common colors of Oncidiums. Sometimes called "dancing dolls",  they look a lot like little girls dancing in the wind and showing off their long full dresses. 

Oncidium orchids adapt well to indoor living, doing well in an environment of cool to intermediate temperatures. They are not much different than you in their temperature needs.  Some will prefer a little warmer daytime temperatures but you can give it to them by placing them near a sunny window (which will also give them their lighting needs).  Be careful if you place them in a southern window that they do not get too much sun.  Just keep them back from the window about a foot.

For ideal temperature need: here are the recommendations of OrchidWeb.com .

Ideal night temperatures (fall, winter, and spring months) are 60°-64° Fahrenheit. Ideal daytime temperatures are 70°-85°F. Summer temperatures are generally a few degrees warmer.

Be sure to give them plenty of water while they are actively growing but cut back when they go into a dormant period.  Some people recommend a period of two to six weeks with no water during dormancy and directly after flowering.  I recommend a mild fertilizer mixture every time you water to be sure your plant is getting enough nutrients.

As for bloom periods: You can expect to see your Oncidium blossom twice a year.  This would be in the spring and the fall.  The blooms develops as a long spike called a spray.  New blooms grow from the top and sprays of some hybrids can grow up to four or six feet.  What I like best about orchids is that their blossoms last so long. One bloom can last for weeks. 

In closing, I would like to say that orchids are not hard to grow and as you probably know any plant  needs special care to get a blossom.  I hope that this blog will help you get started.  If you have any comments or questions, please add to this blog or email me at joneskathee@gmail.com .

Happy Gardening,
kk jones

Holiday Cactus

 

The Holiday Cactus - Schlumbergera

It's time to talk about the much loved Christmas Cactus.

First, the answer to the old question, "is there a difference between a Christmas Cactus and a Thanksgiving Cactus?"  Yes there is.  There are actually six species in the genus family of Schlumbergera.  The three most common are S. truncata, S. russelliana and a cross between the two S. buckleyi. Different places I have looked show different common names for the family.  I have included a good description of the plants that I found on Wikipedia to help you decide which plant you have.  This can be important because growers can force blooms out of season.  In other words, make a Christmas Cactus bloom at Thanksgiving and vise-versa.  All three will bloom in the fall between September and December.  Of course there is also the possibility that you have an odd plant that blooms whenever it wants.  My mother has one from my paternal grandmother that blooms every year for my father's birthday in March.

There is another plant called an Easter Cactus, that looks a lot like this family of plants.  It is related but it will not be discussed here and now.  I only mentioned it because one or two of you may ask.  If you want to know more about the Easter Cactus, e-mail me at joneskathee@gmail.com or add a comment to this blog.

Now, before you buy a Holiday Cactus you should know a few things.  First, this plant does not like to be moved.  So when you bring it home from the store, it will drop a number of flowers.  Find it a home in the house and it will create new blooms as long as you don't move it again.  Though it likes bright sun, to get it to bloom (or continue to bloom), the Holiday Cactus will want long nights and cool days.  A sunny window area to the east or west of your house will do well. 

Fertilizing is important before and during flowering as flowers take a lot of energy to create.  Holiday Cactus will like the same food that you would give a tomato.  Water the pot heavily and then let it dry out between watering.  Next year, cut back on the watering in the month of August to help the plant set its blooms. 

I hope that answers all your questions on this wonderful plant.  If you have any more, please forward them to me at joneskathee@gmail.com or add a comment to this blog.

Sincerely,

k.k.jones

 

Reprint from Wikipedia

The Truncata Group contains all cultivars with features derived mainly from the species S. truncata: stem segments with pointed teeth; flowers held more or less horizontally, usually above the horizontal, whose upper side is differently shaped from the lower side (zygomorphic); and pollen which is yellow. They generally flower earlier than members of the Buckleyi Group and although common names are not applied consistently may be distinguished as Thanksgiving Cactus, Crab Cactus or Claw Cactus.

The Buckleyi Group contains all cultivars with at least some features clearly showing inheritance from S. russelliana: stem segments with rounded, more symmetrical teeth; more or less symmetrical (regular) flowers which hang down, below the horizontal; and pollen which is pink. They generally flower later than members of the Truncata Group and are more likely to be called Christmas Cactus.

joneskathee@gmail.com