Christmas, House Plants

Poinsettia as a Gift

Now you received a poinsettia as a gift, now how do you care for it?

Give it bright light (a sunny window if not too hot) and keep out of cold areas like drafts. The biggest problem you may have is the dropping of the leaves. The main cause is how you water the plant. Too much water or too little water will cause leaf drop. Water when the top of the soil medium is dry and wait till it dries out to water again. Be sure to remove the foil wrapper to let the excess water drain away. Also if the plant got chilled before receiving, the leaves will drop. A few leaves will drop as the plant ages. Do not worry about this.

As the plant ages, the bracts will fall off sometime in February. Prune your poinsettia back to 6 inches tall leaving a couple of leaves on each stem. The plant will grow new shoots. At this time fertilizer with a houseplant fertilizer every two or three weeks. In May, repot into a slightly larger pot and prune back if needed. Now if you want, move your plant outside when the night temps are above 55 degrees with afternoon shade. In mid-summer pinch out the tops of the stems to promote side branching.

Now the next part is critical. In the fall take your plant indoors before it gets too cold. Place the plant in a dark spot for around 14 hours of COMPLETE darkness every day like a closet around the first of October. Then return to a sunny window each day. Stop fertilizing. Keep doing this until the bracts start to color and then treat as a new poinsettia.

Christmas

Christmas Tradition

Cutting backyard evergreen trimmings

Decorating your home both indoors and outdoors is an old Christmas tradition. Since you can not buy fresh winter boughs anymore, look in your backyard. A variety of winter greenery can be found in your yard along with other interesting twigs like red dogwood. Just remember when you are removing the plant material, you are pruning the plant. Take into consideration of the plant’s form. You do not want to cut into the tree or shrub but cut around it.

Trimmings going down a landing

Cedars, pines, and spruces all have a winter fragrance for indoors and last for many weeks. If used as outdoor decorations, they last much longer.

Arborvitae in a candle holder

Be careful using boughs by fireplaces and candles. If the evergreens dry out too much, they can become a fire hazard. To keep the boughs fresh, start by cutting the branches and placing the ends in water. Keep in a cool place until you are ready to use them.

Christmas centerpiece with oranges and pine

Use the boughs in wreaths, garlands, and centerpieces. Adorn with other organic materials like fruit, cinnamon sticks, pinecones, etc.

Christmas

Symbolic Christmas tree

There are ways around not having a Christmas tree but staying in the holiday tradition. Real trees had impossible to find then after 3 weeks you have to get rid of them. Artificial ones are rather expensive and do not look too good after a couple of years. Let us now even talk about what pets and small children can do to them. Then there is the required space it takes up. You can think outside the box and get creative and still have the symbolic Christmas tree.