Simple tips to help holiday plants shine

The holidays aren't the holidays without poinsettias, Christmas cactus, kalanchoe or amaryllis on display. These plants make up a big part of the festive season. Next to the Christmas tree, the poinsettia is the plant most identified with the holiday season.

These celebrated plants are easy to grow if you treat them right. Here are some suggestions to prolong their beauty.

Poinsettias come from Central America, so they like warm temperatures. Their leaves drop if placed in cold, drafty spots near doors and windows. They also drop leaves and red petal-like bracts (modified leaves) if kept from light. They need at least four hours of sunlight, ideally coming through an east-facing window, but keep them back from south- and west-facing windows where it can get hot.

Poinsettias dislike wide fluctuations in soil moisture, so be consistent with waterings. Water thoroughly, but let soil dry slightly between waterings. If your poinsettia comes wrapped in decorative foil, poke holes in the bottom for drainage.

Holiday cactus can refer to Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter cactus. Denoted by their blooming season, they are true cactuses from the mountain regions of Brazil. Flowers come in red, pink, lavender or white, bursting forth on ends of cascading green stems. These broad and flattened stems, like other cactuses, serve the function of leaves.

Holiday cactus blooms respond when given cool temperatures and shortened days. Keep them in a cool spot at night and away from direct sunlight. Keep soil evenly moist and fertilize twice a month with a liquid plant food.

Kalanchoe have beautiful star-shaped flowers covering plants with red, pink, coral and yellow blooms. Succulent, dark green and broad leaves are for water storage, so don't overwater them. Shiny leaves become dull green, signaling a need for water. Give them at least four hours of full sun a day and place in a cool location at night. If you keep the house extra warm at night, set them outdoors overnight.

The spectacular amaryllis flowering bulbs bear gigantic trumpet blooms in a wide range of holiday colors. You'll find them in florist shops, garden centers and nurseries in bloom or potted, ready for the holidays.

When growing amaryllis indoors, give it plenty of water and keep it warm in a sunny location while leaves and flower stalks grow. When buds develop, provide indirect light. Water regularly, because blooming amaryllis are thirsty. Excessive heat shortens the bloom life, so move it to a cool location at night.

When finished blooming, keep amaryllis as a houseplant to bloom next year. As flowers fade, remove spikes but keep leaves. Apply a water-soluble fertilizer often until the leaves die and the plant goes dormant. At that time, store the potted bulb in a cool, dark place and water sparingly until late fall.

Try planting amaryllis outside in a shady location, preferably on the north side of the house. You'll be amazed with the number of flowers it will produce this summer. Every couple of years divide the bulbs in the fall and replant the largest, spacing them several inches apart.

Cut flowers and floral centerpieces also are popular. To keep them fresh, change the water daily if in a vase. Cut off the bottom of stems often to maximize water absorption and to extend the life of your flowers.

If the arrangement is in florist foam, keep the foam moist. Keep flowers away from ripening fruit. The fruit gives off an ethylene gas that shortens the life of your arrangement. Locate flowers away from heat sources, such as the kitchen, fireplace, television and direct sunlight.

COMPOSTING

Find out how you can turn your kitchen scraps, grass clippings and leaves into compost and humus that will enrich your garden soil: Join our compost expert to explore the vital steps and techniques to composting to create a productive garden from those scraps you'd normally put in the garbage. The program is at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at the Springs Preserve, 333 S. Valley View Blvd. Call 822-7786 to make your reservation.

MUM SHOW WINNERS

Dotti Fogg was the big winner at the recent mum show. She had the best-disbudded cut bloom and best multiple cut blooms. She won over the National Chrysanthemum Society President James Hackett, who came to judge show.

Linn Mills writes a gardening column each Sunday. You can reach him at linn.mills@ springspreserve.org or call him at 822-7754.