You might be asking yourself what we did before email. I remember getting questions sent via the U.S. mail when this column first appeared. For nostalgia’s sake, let’s start this week’s questions (sent via email) with a question I get every year and was one of the very first questions addressed in this column (back when it was called “Petal Power”): Is it really possible to get a poinsettia to rebloom, and if so, how?
I think I had a pretty positive answer back then, along with the first of many snarky attempts to get readers to stop mispronouncing it as an Italian word, ”point set ah.” The actual pronunciation, as today’s reader now knows (along with a famous, local and beloved radio announcer), “Poin set E ah.” Plant names are Latin (Euphorbia pulcherrima in this case) and poinsettia honors a guy named Joel Poinsett.
Anyhow, I made it sound easy to rebract/bloom a poinsettia. Trim it back in late winter, and grow it indoors. Move it outdoors and give it 14 hours of continuous, uninterrupted darkness and 10 hours of continuous, uninterrupted bright light starting in September to get new bracts and blooms by Christmas.
Today, I conclude it is not worth the effort given the number of plants available during the season, their low cost and all the work it takes. Oh, and I have to admit that I just don’t enjoy these plants. Give me Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter cacti instead!
[Give your houseplants a little love and they’ll help you get through winter]
Which brings us to question two: How can you ensure those seasonal “cacti” plants will produce blooms? Each is identified by their leaf shapes. A picture is worth a thousand words, so check online to identify yours. The answer to getting it to bloom is to put the plant where it gets only natural light. If it happens to be a cool room or windowsill, so much the better.
The change in day length (or night length), longer or shorter, is what triggers these so-called holiday plants to set bud. In that regard, they are like poinsettias.
By the way, it is the Christmas blooming cactus (Schlumbergera) that lives for generations. (A certain general in town has one that is at least two generations old and is huge!) Look for them wherever plants are sold and buy a few.
OK, keeping with a Christmas theme, I get questions from readers about using living trees. Currently, there is some correspondence with a reader who has placed a spruce in a large container and is keeping it outside. She wants to bring it indoors after Thanksgiving to use as a Christmas tree.
The simple fact of the matter is spruce trees do not do well indoors. Period. After two weeks of heat and low humidity, such a tree will suffer and not recover well. At the most, bring a potted tree indoors for one week. Water it well and make sure it is in the coolest spot you can put it in.
You will be seeing holiday plants on sale soon. By all means, take advantage of them to brighten up your winter. Most will rebloom for years.
Jeff’s Alaska Garden Calendar
Alaska Botanical Garden: Really, you must join. Get a year’s family membership. Memberships last one year from the date of payment. There is so much offered by this wonderful institution.
Long pole for knocking snow: Do you have a long pole to knock snow off of trees and shrubs to minimize damage? Get one.