Holiday Plants
How to Care for PoinsettiasTo rejuvenate your poinsettia for next year’s holiday season, move it outside when night temperatures are not apt to fall much below 50 degrees and prune to keep it bushy and compact. To initiate flowering, the poinsettia needs long nights in complete darkness starting in early October. Cover the plant with a cardboard box or keep it in a closet from about 5:00 PM to 8:00 AM and water sparingly. When buds form in early December, stop the dark treatment.
Holiday plants such as poinsettias, amaryllises, and Christmas cacti are traditional gifts that can be enjoyed long after the Christmas season is over. How do we care for them so that they thrive now – and later?
How to Care for Christmas Cacti
Like poinsettias, Christmas cacti are available in a kaleidoscope of colors including red, white, pink, cream, and fuchsia. Long-lived, they may produce bountiful blooms for 20 to 30 Christmases to come. You can force a Christmas cactus into bloom in much the same way as a poinsettia, by providing long nights starting around October 1. You can also persuade it to flower by subjecting it to cool night temperatures of 50 degrees to 55 degrees starting in early November.
How to Care for Amaryllis
Although the amaryllis can be purchased at any stage of development, for many the real fund is growing their own plant from a bulb. Most amaryllis bulbs are sold already potted and with complete growing instructions. Once watering is started, you can expect magnificent lily-like blooms of red, pink, white, or orange in 4 to 6 weeks. After flowering, grow the amaryllis as a foliage plant until the leaves turn yellow. Then store the potted bulk on its side in a cool, dark room or basement to rest for 8 to 10 weeks. When new growth appears, repot the bulb and return it to the light to start the cycle again.
Once your holiday plants are back on track, display them away from drafts in a bright room, but not in direct sunlight; they all prefer 60 degree to 70 degree temperatures and like moist but not soggy soil. As with many of us, these colorful plants are already looking forward to this year’s holiday season.
Information gathered from The Old Farmer’s Almanac.