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poinsettia

Holiday Plants: Care and Maintenance of Amaryllis, Christmas Cactus, and Poinsettias

January 7, 2019

What do you do with your holiday plants now that holiday festivities have ended and the decorations are put away—toss them, or give them new life as house plants? It is possible—with varying degrees of difficulty—to maintain Amaryllis, Christmas cactus, and Poinsettias for years of enjoyment.

 Amaryllis

The Amaryllis (Hippeastrum) is a bulb from tropical South America. Your Amaryllis were forced to bloom indoors during the holidays, and although it is easy to keep them for years, their rebloom time is likely to be after the holidays, unless you provide a sufficient cooling period.

Amaryllis

Flower care:

  • While in bloom, keep the plant in a well-lighted area, out of direct sunlight.
  • Turn the plant ¼ turn every few days to maintain upright flower stalks.
  • Fertilize weekly with a liquid fertilizer, such as 10-10-10.

Maintenance:

  • After the flowers fade, cut off the flower stalk 1 to 2 inches above the bulb nose, taking care not to damage the bulb or foliage. Those leaves manufacture the food to replenish reserves expended during the bloom cycle!
  • Place the plant in a sunny window—ideally a Southern exposure.
  • Water only when the soil surface is nearly dry.
  • Avoid watering the bulb nose, which can cause disease or rot.
  • In Western North Carolina you can place the plants outdoors after the danger of frost has passed (usually around Mother’s Day).
  • Place the entire pot in an area with part to full sun.
  • Fertilize the bulb 2-3 times per month with a complete fertilizer such as 10-10-10.
  • Provide supplemental water as needed during the summer to prevent the bulb from getting excessively dry.
  • In fall, bring plant in before first frost!

Reflowering:

  • At least 3 months before you want your bulb to bloom, withhold water and place it in a cool storage or growing location for 8 to10 weeks at 55ºF. It is not necessary for the plant to go dormant.
  • After this cool period, move the plant to a warm, 70 to 75º area with bright light.
  • Keep it moist, but not wet, and the new flower stalk and leaves should emerge in a few weeks!

 Holiday Cactus

Holiday cacti (Schumbergera spp.) can live over 100 years and are native to Brazilian rain forests. There are actually two species sold as holiday cactus: Thanksgiving cactus (S. truncata), and Christmas cactus (S. x buckleyi)—many plants sold as Christmas cactus are actually Thanksgiving cactus! To identify: Thanksgiving cactus’ flattened stem segments—phylloclades—have 2- to 4- saw-toothed serrations; these projections are more rounded on Christmas cactus.

Thanksgiving Cactus

Maintenance:

  • Place plant in a cool, bright window.
  • Fertilize with a liquid low nitrogen fertilizer from fall to September (such as 0-15-10) and a balanced fertilizer (such as 20-20-20) from June through August for best flower production.
  • Holiday cactus bloom well when pot bound. Repot only every three years in spring.
  • Use a potting mix with good drainage, such as 20 to 40% Perlite.
  • Water when soil is dry to the touch. Drain plant saucers to avoid bud drop and root rot! Plants tolerate drier conditions in spring and summer.

Reflowering:

  • Keep temperatures as close to 68° F as possible for maximum flower production. Plants grown with night temperatures between 50 and 59º F will set flower buds regardless of day length, but at 50º F growth will be slower and bud drop may occur.
  • Bud set is best initiated in the middle of September when there are fourteen or more hours of continuous darkness. At this time, pinch back any terminal stem segments less than 1 cm (0.4 inch) long to make all stems about the same length.
  • Provide even moisture.
  • Prune after blooming by shortening long stems, preferably to where two leaves emerge from a single leaf—if this seems too drastic because you have not pruned before, remove half the length of long stems.
  • Prior to Pruning

    After pruning

Poinsettias

Poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) are native to Mexico. Their colorful bracts are actually modified leaves—the small yellow cyathia in the center of the bracts are the true flowers!

Poinsettia

Maintenance:

  • Place plant in bright light.
  • Provide even moisture. To avoid leaf drop, don’t let the soil dry out. Remove decorative foils or wraps to promote better drainage.
  • Moderate temperature—daytime temperatures from 70 to 75° F and nighttime temps from 60 to 65—are ideal. Avoid placing on cold windowsills, in drafty areas, or near heat vents! Temperatures below 55 or above 75° F or can damage plants.

Once the bracts start to fade, you may want to toss your poinsettia and buy a new one next year. You can go halfway and move your poinsettia out into a sunny spot in your landscape and treat like you would an annual. It won’t develop the colored bracts, but you will have enjoyed it until next fall!

If you are motivated, you can enjoy your poinsettia next holiday season. Dr. Leonard Perry, Extension Professor, University of Vermont, has a clever way to remember when to provide extra attention to your poinsettia that ties the care schedule to holidays throughout the year. See: https://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/poinsett.htm

Article by Barbara Hayes, Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteer.

Read more:

Amaryllis

NC CES Horticulture Information Leaflet:

Home Forcing of Potted Amaryllis (Hippeastrum)

https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/home-forcing-of-potted-amaryllis-hippeastrum

Christmas cactus (Holiday cacti)

Clemson University HGIC Factsheet 1554 11/29/18

https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/thanksgiving-christmas-cacti/

Holiday cacti

University of Minnesota Extension

https://extension.umn.edu/house-plants/holiday-cacti

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Categories Seasonal Chores Tags amaryllis, Christmas cactus, Euphorbia, Hippeastrum, poinsettia, Schumbergera, Thanksgiving cactus

Poinsettia

December 17, 2015

Q: We have a really beautiful poinsettia this year. Can we save it and have it bloom again next December?

imageA: Getting a poinsettia to bloom on schedule can be a little tricky. But for those who enjoy a challenge it can be done.

After the colored bracts fall, you can keep it like any house plant, in good light and warm temperatures. Some people find it easier to put the plant in a cool place out of direct sun and let it go semi-dormant. In this case you would water only when it gets completely dry.

Next spring, after the last frost, pot it up to a larger container using fresh potting soil and cut back all of the stems, leaving the plants only a few inches tall. Put the plant outside where it will get at least a half-day of good sun and begin feeding with a balanced fertilizer according to the label. Pinch back the stems several times during the summer to make a bushier plant, which will have more flowers.

The real trick to getting a poinsettia to bloom will come next fall. Poinsettias need “long nights” to trigger them to bloom. One way or another you’ll need to provide about 14 hours of total darkness each night for about six weeks starting in mid-September. You can do this by placing it in a room with good sunlight, but which will have no lights turned on at night. Or if you can remember to do it every day, you can cover it with a box at 5:00 or 6:00 every night and uncover it in the morning. Make sure the plant has good sunlight during the day. Let it get a little dry between waterings.

Once the bracts begin to show a little color, probably in late October or early November, you can bring the poinsettia back to civilization to enjoy again.

Some other facts about poinsettias: they were named after Joel Poinsett, the American Ambassador to Mexico who carried plants home to South Carolina about 1830. While they’re often classified as toxic, a person or animal would have to eat a lot of poinsettia to become ill.

Written by Glenn Palmer, originally published in the Asheville Citizen Times.

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Categories Houseplants Tags poinsettia

Poinsettia Tidbits

December 22, 2014

image

Statistically, poinsettias are the bestselling of any potted flowering plant in the United States. Total yearly retail sales add up to around 144 million dollars, with North Carolina being second only to California in sales.

Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) is of the spurge family and is native to southern Mexico and Central America, growing in the deciduous forests at moderate elevation. In its native habitat, it will grow to 15 feet; the leaves were used by the Aztecs as a dye and the sap as a medicine.

image
Native poinsettia

Poinsettia supposedly got its Christmas orientation in the 1600s when priests sent young girls out to gather flowers to place around a nativity scene. The plant was introduced to the United States in 1825 by Joel Poinsett (hence its American name). Poinsett, an amateur botanist and the first ambassador to Mexico, sent cuttings back to his plantation in Greenville, SC.

Contrary to popular belief, poison control centers have determined that the plant is not poisonous. There are some skin irritating components, but none are serious.

image

 

Modern breeding, which did not begin until the 1950’s, has produced over 100 different cultivars with colors of varying shades of red, pink, white and spotted bracts (or modified leaves). Modern cultivars will hold the leaf color for a fairly long period of time and will live for extended periods of time if well-tended.

Caring for your holiday poinsettia is easy. The average household temperature will be sufficient, and lighting from a window will sustain the plant in the winter months. The plant should be watered only when the top part of the potting soil is dry. Overwatering is not a good thing.

imageTo extend the life of your poinsettia and to regain color for the next year is much more time-consuming, but it can be done. This winter, continue to care for your poinsettia until after the last frost, and then move it outside, remembering not to overwater. Introduce the plant to brighter light in increasing increments, as the leaves will burn if moved directly into the sun. Maintain during the summer as any potted plant. Around the first of October and before first frost, move the plant inside. To obtain bract color, the poinsettia will require 13-14 hours of TOTAL darkness every day for about 2 months. The remaining 10-11 hours a day should be the brightest light that is available. Any introduction of light during the darkness hours will retard color development. It’s probably easier to go to your favorite nursery and purchase a bright-colored, beautiful poinsettia grown under controlled conditions in a greenhouse.

Article written by Patsy McNatt, Extension Master Gardener Volunteer.

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Categories Houseplants Tags poinsettia

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