The gift of a poinsettia means you should enjoy the beauty over the next three months or more. Your poinsettia should be warmly wrapped to protect from chilling outdoor temperatures from the garden shop to your home or apartment. If applicable, carefully unwrap the protective sleeve around your poinsettia to prevent injury to leaves and […]
Archive for the ‘Photoperiod (Daylength)’ Category
Caring For Thanksgiving/Christmas Cacti
Holiday cacti are not true cactus plants. They are native to tropical rainforests of South America and their care is much different than desert cacti. Christmas and Thanksgiving cacti refers to the time that they bloom in Fall. Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata) and Christmas cactus (S. bridgesii are available in several flower colors: red, salmon, pink, purple, orange and […]
Poinsettia Care
Poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) have become a symbol of the Christmas and winter holiday season. Their colorful bracts (most people call them”flowers”) are actually modified leaves. The tiny “true” flowers are in the center of the bracts. Each year new poinsettia varieties hit the garden shops. In the mid-19th century, Joel R. Poinsett introduced the poinsettia […]
Re-blooming Poinsettia This Fall
The winter holidays may be over, but your poinsettia plant is likely still looking pretty. If you opt to grow and re-bloom your plant next Christmas, follow this growing schedule. Keep the soil evenly moist and set the plant in bright daylight. Feed bi-monthly with a house plant fertilizer. Inspect and rid your plants of all […]
Poinsettias – Best Of Show**
This holiday season poinsettia breeders continue to give plant buyers lovely colors, patterns and shapes. Recently, at Mitchell’s Nursery & Greenhouse in King, North Carolina, Judy Mitchell got the word out about their annual Poinsettia Open House. Close to 400 people attended their openhouse and evaluated the 10,000 poinsettias, choosing which of the 79 […]
‘Ascot Rainbow’ Variegated Spurge
‘Ascot Rainbow’ Spurge (Euphorbia x martinii) is an herbaceous evergreen perennial which has shown to be remarkably winter hardy (USDA hardiness zones 5b-9). This spurge is a relatively low maintenance perennial. This plant has both distinctive variegated flowers and foliage. Plant several spurges together for an awesome visual show. Ascot Rainbow Spurge struts attractive bluish-green narrow foliage […]
Photoperiodism – Short Day/Long Day Plants
“Photoperiodism” or daylength is responsible for triggering flowering in numerous plants. Some examples of short day plants are poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima), fall mums (Dendranthemum spp.), asters (Symphyotrichum spp.), Thanksgiving (Schlumbergera truncata), Christmas (S. bridgesii) cacti, Kalanchoes (Kalanchoe spp.) and Salvias (Salvia spp.). “Photoperiodism” is the amount of light and darkness a plant is exposed to. The […]
Christmas Vs Thanksgiving Cacti
Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera bridgesii) or Thanksgiving cacti (Schlumbergera truncata) are called holiday cacti. They are actually succulents and not true cacti. Both originate from tropical regions and make dependable, long-lived house plants. Christmas cactus are frequently mislabeled as such and are really Thanksgiving cactus. Christmas cacti have flattened leaves with rounded leaf edges compared to Thanksgiving […]