Repeat Performance

The two showiest flowers midwinter flowers – poinsettias and amaryllis – can be frustrating for the home gardener. They look great the year you buy them. Getting a repeat performance the next year takes some extra care.

To get these plants to flower again in 2008 you need to provide conditions that mimic their natural habitat. For poinsettias, this means giving them sunny but short days of only 9-10 hours for 10 weeks. This mimics the conditions normally found in Mexico in autumn – days growing shorter and the bright sun of the topics. (see http://www.pauleckepoinsettias.com/html/point_fset.html for more information)

Amaryllis are also from the tropics. They don’t create flowers in response to short days but in response to an annual dry period. They’re tropical plants, so the dry period needs to be relatively warm, not as cold as needed for forcing daffodils and tulips.

To get your amaryllis to flower in 2008, begin by cutting off the flower stalk at the base after the flowers have faded. Put the plant in a bright spot and keep it watered through summer. Fertilize with dilute water-soluble fertilizer every two weeks. If you like, you can put your amaryllis outdoors once the weather warms. Toward the end of summer, the leaves may begin to yellow. This is your sign to reduce watering drastically and let the leaves die away. If the leaves don’t start to die back on their own, reduce watering by the beginning of September. After the leaves have faded, the bulbs need to be dry and slightly cool for 8 weeks. You can leave the bulb in the pot. Try to keep it at about 55-60 degrees F and don’t water. After 8 weeks, bring the potted bulb to a slightly warmer room and water sparingly until you see new growth. You should have open flowers in 5-6 weeks.

Not just red anymore!

Poinsettias are popular flowers for the holiday season. The traditional red reminds us of holly fruit and leaves, but poinsettias are now available in pink, white, salmon, purple, burgundy, two tones, even polka-dots. Care for it correctly and your favorite can last into the new year.

Poinsettia Care Tips
- Don’t let your poinsettia get cold. Cover it with plastic or a paper bag when you transport it from the store to your car and then into you home. Once home, make sure night temperatures stay 60 degrees F or above.
- Keep your poinsettia cozy but not toasty. Poinsettias prefer daytime temperatures from 65-75 degrees F and nighttime temperatures a bit cooler, from 60-65 degrees F. Too hot and the color won’t last long; too cold and the plant may get root rot.
- Give your poinsettia a drink of water – but not too often. Make sure you don’t overwater or underwater. Yes, this can be a bit tricky. Feel the soil. When it is dry an inch deep, water the soil thoroughly.
- Don’t drown your poinsettia! Make sure any decorative pot covers have holes in the bottom so water can drain out. Don’t let the pot sit in water either.
- Share a little sunshine. Place your poinsettia so it gets bright but indirect light all day.

Gardeners Don’t Love Ice!

Central Indiana was very lucky this past week. We missed the ice storms that plagued the central US, getting rain or snow instead. Both ice and lots of wet heavy snow can damage your trees and shrubs. There’s not a lot you can do when an ice storm hits. Should you do anything at all?

If your plants are coated with ice or frozen snow, it’s best to not do anything at all. You’ll break or damage the branches as you try to remove the ice. Just let it melt naturally. If it’s just heavy snow, you can try to remove it. Be gentle! Brush it off or use a broom to reach under a branch, then lift and gently shake. Don’t hit the plant with the broom or your shovel to get the snow off.

Some plants have several main trunks instead of just one. This is called having “multiple leaders”. Arborvitae and junipers often have multiple leaders. These leaders can be bent over by heavy snows. If you have these plants in your yard you can do some preventative care. Tie the upright branches together with cloth or nylon stocking before the snow or ice arrives.

Some of the damage from snow and ice is damage actually caused by you. If you shovel snow, don’t throw it onto your shrubs. Stay way from deicing salts made from sodium chloride. If the salt gets on your plants (or drain into the soil after the snow melts) you may see dried foliage and struggling plants. Use cat litter, sand or sawdust instead.

If the ice does break branches off trees and shrubs, there’s not much you can do but remove the broken branches. Cut them all the way back to where they join a larger branch. Remember that tree branches are quite heavy. If the branches are 3” or more in diameter or high in the tree, consider hiring a profession to help (see http://www.treesaregood.org/).

Do Gardener’s Love Snow?

Central Indiana had its first snowfall of the season this week. Do gardeners rejoice when there’s snowfall or do they think only of shoveling the driveway?

I think most gardeners are glad to see snow cover their gardens. It doesn’t make much difference for those growing annuals and vegetables. Their plants have long ago joined the compost pile. If you have a large perennial garden, though, snow cover can help some marginal plants make it through the winter.

That seems backward, doesn’t it? Isn’t it extra cold under all that snow? Actually, comparatively, it’s warm and snuggly under the snow. Snow keeps plants at a constant temperature, closer to the melting point of water than to the air temperature. Snow also protects the plants from drying winter winds.

We see the effects of snow cover in two ways. First, herbaceous plants normally killed when temperatures fall to near zero may survive if they are covered with snow. Secondly, flower buds that cannot survive extreme cold are often protected by the snow cover. We frequently see this in forsythia, a shrub that flowers in early spring. If temperatures fall below about -10 degrees F the flower buds of forsythia are killed (not the whole plant, just the flower buds). However, if there is snow cover, the buds low down on the stem, under the snow, will stay warmer and survive. In spring, you will see forsythia that has flowers close to the ground, where the snow covered the stems, but no flowers on the upper stems.

So, yes, gardeners usually love snow. But gardeners often don’t love really heavy, wet snows and ice. Check back next week for tips on dealing with this type of weather.

Gifts and Gardeners

It’s easy to shop for that gardener in your life. Plants, tools, books, gift certificates, there’s almost no end to the list of things they’d enjoy finding in their stocking.

Some tools may not fit in a stocking, but they make gardening easier and gardeners happier. Spades, rakes, trowels and cultivators are all good choices. You don’t need to spend $200 just for a shovel, but you do need to buy sturdy tools that won’t break on their first use. Select tools make of quality steel. The word “tempered”, “heat-treated”, “forged”, or “drop-forged” should appear somewhere on the tool. Avoid tools made of stamped steel. Check the handle also. If it is wooden, make sure there are no knots that would make the handle weak and breakable. The handle should connect to the steel head by fitting into the head, not the other way around, and be secured by rivets.

If you’re looking for pruners, make sure to select one whose blades meet in the same way as the blades of scissors. There are lots of new ergonomic designs on the market, with swiveling handles, soft grips, and smaller pruners for smaller hands. Think about adding a leather holster to hold the pruners securely to your gardener’s belt.

Gardening books make great gifts, but which to choose? I’m often asked for recommendations, but I’m hesitant to give them. People have different needs, so there’s not a one-size-fits-all gardening book. Unless there has been a specific request, this is a great time for gift certificates. Let your gardener browse the book stores, but suggest they visit the library as well. Most book stores will special order that special book if it’s not on their shelf.