Gift plants can last long after the holidays are over
It is often difficult to find the perfect gift for people who really don’t need anything in particular. I am a good example of that situation and it makes it tough on my kids to find something for me that I will actually use.
At my stage of life, if I need, or want something, I generally just go out and buy it. This year, I decided to ask the kids for stuff that I do use. First on my list is a type of fishing lure that I use. I will take pictures of it and send them to the kids! Fishermen love gadgets almost as much as gardeners!
Not too many years ago (OK, so maybe it was 25 years ago!) most holiday gift plants, such as poinsettias, did not last very long after they were brought home. Today’s plants are much tougher and many poinsettias sold this past month will still look quite spectacular in March or even April if given a little care.
Contrary to popular belief Poinsettias are not poisonous per se, so you need not worry about someone (or your cat or dog) getting sick from chewing on the leaves. However, most poinsettias, like almost every plant that has been mass-produced, have been treated with some sort of systemic insecticide or fungicide, which may have a residue in the plant tissue. Therefore, it is really not a good idea to eat a leaf to prove the non-toxic point to someone.
Here in Florida, poinsettias grow wild into shrubs or are sometimes used as foundation plants. My local friend Willy has a beautiful specimen that is the size of a small tree in full bloom now! Not all gift plants will remain in prime condition as long as poinsettias. Chrysanthemums
are often “forced” to bloom indoors in December, as well as for other holidays, and theoretically, they can be saved for spring planting into your outside garden. With a lot of luck, the mum might bloom again outside sometime next fall. Realistically, unless you really enjoy an indoor gardening challenge, enjoy the mum
until the flowers fade and then discard it. Hundreds of thousands more will be produced next season just for decorations.
The same is true for cyclamen and all of the spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils, tulips, crocus and hyacinths. These plants will hold their flowers longest if placed in a cool room (50 degrees) at night. Amaryllis plants, however, make wonderful longlasting houseplants that may re-flower once or twice a year for 50 years or more. Christmas or Thanksgiving cacti also make hearty, long-lived houseplants that bloom every year with little effort on your part.
Poinsettias will do best if kept by a bright, sunny, unobstructed south- or southwest-facing window. It is important to keep them out of either cold or hot drafts. Allow the soil surface to dry out to a depth of a half-inch (insert thumb to test for moisture) before watering. Water as needed and apply a very dilute dose of liquid houseplant fertilizer once a month. Poinsettias require lots of fertilizer to produce their huge flowers, but not in the winter after they bloom. Do not cut off the colored bracts, unless you want to trigger the plant into putting out new growth.
If you cut the plant back, it will sprout new growth. This new growth needs more light then we can realistically provide indoors during the winter, so leave the pretty bracts alone until they fall off on their own. By April, you can cut the plant back and it will sprout new growth. By April, our longer days will allow some new growth, but the plant really wants to be outside in full sun. You can transplant it outside in mid-May and it should survive all summer. If your new poinsettia should suddenly start producing lots of confetti-like, tiny white insects, it would be best to get rid of it. These insects are called whiteflies, and they can infest your other houseplants.
Experiencing Xmas in Florida is still a little weird for this Yankee snowbird. My senior citizen body is enjoying the sunshine and the joy of seeing the grandkids during this season is wonderful. I really don’t miss seeing snow at all. My daughter purchased a “real” fraser fir tree this Xmas, about 7 feet tall and it is truly beautiful, but it cost more than $150! I think I will write a column on growing Xmas trees this spring!