Showers of holiday flowers
The month of December brings forth bargains and coupons, shoppers galore and showers of good will for all. The Christmas season has many variations of religious celebrations, and well wishers donating toys and food for the less fortunate.
We need all of this energy to keep us mindful of the good things in life and to remember that some of us do not have a lot of material things to brighten the Christmas spirit. We tend to overdo the whole month as we scurry around like bees in a hive, determined to make everything as sweet as possible.
Even gardeners tend to forget that when it comes to giving and receiving, they have a shower of flowers to brighten the holiday season.
I know, a floral gift is not going to last forever like a ceramic babul, or a warm Christmas sweater, but sometimes it is nice to have something beautiful and it sits around doing its thing and then it is gone. We all kind of do that don’t we?
There are so many seasonal plants and flowers available – many colors, many sizes and not costing a whole lot.
Yes, you can spend $80 for a beautiful poinsettia tree and that will last pretty long.
Orchids are in a abundance, especially those darn blue ones. Sorry, I take exception to having an exquisite and beautiful plant like an orchid dyed blue, it is just not a natural thing.
The poinsettia plant is the Queen of Christmas plants. This plant even has a sweet Christmas legend all its own.
Poinsettias come in a range of sizes and colors with names like Ice Punch, Peaches and Cream, pastel pinks and the solid deep reds. Many different leaf patterns. The smallest one I have seen could set in a coffee cup.
There are white ones and off-white ones, a slight white lemon tinted one that is one of the largest and looks great anywhere.
You can set them out in soil, right in their pot, with a little mulch to cover their pot rim. You can also unpot it and plant it in soil and with good luck, you will have it out there for years. It will bloom each year. You do need to read up on the growing technique, but it is not hard. I have done it successfully.
Remember no pets should be nibbling on the poinsettia. You can nibble if you really want to, and not die, however after ingesting a nice large plant you will very likely have a large stomachache.
The sticky sap that oozes from the cut stem can be irritating to some people’s skin. I think you would have to be having a lot of flavored eggnog to even want to think about nibbling on a poinsettia.
When a stem brakes off on the way home from purchase, you can sear the end with flame and then have a single flower for a small vase. Use a sturdy candle flame to seal the sappy end of the stem. No water needed. When you water a potted poinsettia, remove it from its pretty foil wrapper. Water the soil well, let it drain and place it back into its pretty foil. It likes bright light, not full sun.
Amaryllis is a lovely fun plant to give as a hostess gift. The standard amaryllis will produce huge flowers at the tip if a long green stem. The stem starts at pot level and grows in leaps and bounds that are amazing. You really need to have a green garden stick from the garden center so that you can anchor this stem to hold it upright as the large flowers develop. I have a friend who has a plant of multicolor blooms and is more of a dwarf, and interestingly enough, it’s large bulb is incased in a green ball of wax and it stands upright and looks very special without any pot.
When you buy one in a box you will get explicit instructions and a pot in the box with a pad of growing medium. You must remember to make a drainage hole in that pot before wetting the medium. I use an ice pick.
Once flowers bloom, keep out of direct sun so flowers will last longer.
It will rebloom next year. Set it aside and cut the tall stem back to soil medium. Water off and on for a few weeks then set it in a shady spot out in the yard, like under a bush where it will get some rain off and on. In the late spring you can water off and on, or just watch that it is getting water off and on, and not dry out. When you see it starting to grow, it needs bright light again, not full sun as it starts to grow.
In this area they can be planted in the soil. And will grow and bloom and last for years. The bulbs will become very large as they happily stretch their roots deep into the soil. They will tolerate morning sun.
Cyclamen plants are so delicate looking and I think a little hard to keep for a long period, however that may just be me and I will always buy one when I see one I can’t resist. Always happens.
You may have another Christmas flower you enjoy, or even something all green. A potted rosemary tree can even be a great hostess gift, you can’t beat that beautiful scent.
This is the season to shower others with, flowers, gifts and love, so do your share.
Looks like we will have a warm Christmas day this year, however, maybe we will get a nice little cold front blowing through for the day.
Put a bow on your garden shovel and be glad not to have to use it here.
Happy times till we meet again.
H.I. Jean Shields is Past President of the Garden Club of Cape Coral.