Selecting and care of Poinsettias

Selecting Poinsettias

Poinsettias are traditional Christmas plants that will last through the Christmas season and beyond. It is important to select the best plant for your home environment. The following are a few selection pointers:
Choose a plant with dark green foliage down to the soil line.
Choose bracts (modified leaves) that are completely colored.
Do not purchase poinsettias with a lot of green around the bract edges.
Do not choose plants with fallen or yellowed leaves
The poinsettia should look full, balanced and attractive from all sides
The plant should be 2 1/2 times taller than the diameter of the container
Choose plants that are not drooping or wilting.
Do not purchase plants that are displayed in paper or plastic sleeves. Plants held in sleeves will deteriorate quickly
Do not purchase plants that have been displayed or crowded close together. Crowding can cause premature bract loss
Check the plant’s soil. If it’s wet and the plant is wilted, this could be an indication of root rot
Check the poinsettia’s maturity. Check the true flowers which are located at the base of the colored bracts. If the flowers are green or red-tipped and fresh looking the bloom will "hold" longer than if yellow pollen is covering the flowers
When you take the poinsettia home, be sure to have it sleeved or covered when outdoor temperatures are below 50°F.
                                                                                                         


  Caring for Poinsettias


The length of time your poinsettia will give you pleasure in your home is dependent on (1) the maturity of the plant, (2) when you buy it, and (3) how you treat the plant. With care, poinsettias should retain their beauty for weeks and some varieties will stay attractive for months.
After you have made your poinsettia selection, make sure it is wrapped properly because exposure to low temperatures even for a few minutes can damage the bracts and leaves.
Unwrap your poinsettia carefully and place in indirect light. Six hours of light daily is ideal. Keep the plant from touching cold windows.
Keep poinsettias away from warm or cold drafts from radiators, air registers or open doors and windows.
Ideally poinsettias require daytime temperatures of 60 to 70°F and night time temperatures around 55°F. High temperatures will shorten the plant’s life. Move the plant to a cooler room at night, if possible.
Check the soil daily. Be sure to punch holes in foil so water can drain into a saucer. Water when soil is dry. Allow water to drain into the saucer and discard excess water. Wilted plants will tend to drop bracts sooner.
Fertilize the poinsettia if you keep it past the holiday season. Apply a houseplant fertilizer once a month. Do not fertilize when it is in bloom.

Pumpkins

Article from P.Allen Smith, photos are mine.

Pumpkins 101
I confess that I am obsessed with pumpkins. Whether it is a bowl of mini-pumpkins on a table, a stack of cushaws, luminas and blue hubbards by the front door, or a traditional Jack-o-lantern, there is no easier way to decorate for the season.
Growing pumpkins takes a lot of space, but if you've got it I recommend giving them a try.
Growing Pumpkins
Pumpkin plants like warm soil so set out plants about two weeks after the last frost date when the ground has had a chance to warm. The soil also needs to be fertile. Amend the planting area with a generous amount of compost or well-rotted manure. Unless your soil is nitrogen poor, don't add nitrogen. Too much of this nutrient will result in lots of leaves, but few flowers. Space plants feet apart or place one plant per hill. Make hills about three feet in diameter and six inches high.
Water early in the day and low to the ground using a soaker hose or drip irrigation. This will help keep the foliage dry and prevent fungal diseases like powdery mildew.
Pumpkins bear both male and female flowers. The female flowers are easy to identify by looking for a tiny fruit below the blossoms. Male flowers are borne atop a bare stem and often drop to the ground as they wilt. Bees and other small insects pay numerous visits, spreading pollen from the male flowers to the female flowers.
Harvesting Pumpkins
Pumpkins mature in 3 to 4 months, depending on the variety. A pumpkin is ready to harvest when it has reached the desired color and the rind is hard. You can test its readiness by jabbing your fingernail against the outer skin, or rind. It should be strong enough to resist puncture. Also, you can tell a pumpkin is ripe if you hear a hollow sound when you thump it.
Collect your pumpkins before the first frost or when night temperatures are expected to drop down into the 40s for an extended period of time.
Gently clean the pumpkins by brushing off any excess dirt and then place them in a dry, warm area for 7 to 10 days. This will heal scratches and further harden the rind, which helps reduce moisture loss. If a frost is expected, cover the pumpkins with a frost blanket overnight.
After they have been cured keep your pumpkins in a cool location (about 50 to 60 degrees F), out of direct sunlight with plenty of good air circulation. Stored this way, they should last up to 3 months.

Good to Know: Pollination
Lack of pollination is one reason pumpkin vines don't produce fruit. There are several reasons why pollination does not occur. Environmental conditions such as unusually hot or cool temperatures, excessive moisture or low light will reduce successful pollination.
Honeybees and other pollinating insects are invaluable helpers in the pollination process. If you use floating row covers, harsh insecticides or even organic insect repellents you reduce the ability of these garden helpers to get their job done.
If you are using floating rows covers to protect your plants from harmful insects, remove them when female flowers begin to appear. Repellents such as garlic spray should be applied a few days before the flowers open. And only spot use insecticides for problem areas.
You can also hand pollinate female flowers. Using a small paintbrush or cotton swab, collect the pollen from a male flower and transfer it to the top center of a female flower.

Fall Mums

Mums are an all time favorite flower in the fall because of their beautiful colors and   
perfect for mass plantings. To get the maximum effect from far away, stick to only one or two colors. Another possibility is to arrange a gradual transition of related colors. Look around your yard to see what colors would best complement the existing landscape. If you decorate for fall with pumpkins and gourds, choose orange, bronze, yellow, and creamy white mums. If you have a lot of evergreen plants that provide a backdrop of varying shades of green foliage, try bright pinks, lavenders, pure whites, or reds. With such bold colors, a large grouping of mums can excite even the most drab of fall landscapes.
  

Mums aren't as expensive as many perennials, so if you choose to, you can plant them as annuals without worrying that you've spent too much money on something that might not live more than one season. If you're an impulse buyer, you'll probably see pots of colorful mums this fall and not be able to resist.
Fall planting lessens the chance of winter survival, however, since roots don't have time to establish themselves. If you want something more permanent and are willing to provide proper care such as mulching and pinching to encourage compact growth and more blooms, plant mums in the spring and allow them to get established in the garden. This will improve their chances of overwintering and reblooming the next year. Some plants will even produce a few blooms in the spring before being pinched for fall flowers.

Ornamental cabbage

Ornamental cabbage is a hybrid flowering plant that produces red, pink, and white blooms in the cooler weather. They survive to temperatures as low as five degrees Fahrenheit. They are edible, although they are not as tasty as regular cabbage, and are mainly planted for ornamentation. Since they are low growers, they are often planted as edging plants. They must be started in the late summer to early fall to get the best blooming. They are often used as replacement plants in gardens and flower boxes for summer plants that are gone or dormant in the colder weather.   

Ornamental Cabbage looks very nice  in the garden with fall Mums

If you purchase the plants from a nursery, transplant them into your garden in September. If you plant too early, they will grow leggy and will not change color. Buy the larger plants as the cabbages will become root bound and the top portion becomes stunted and won't give you the growth you expect. Plant them in the ground about twelve to eighteen inches apart in a sunny area with nutrient rich soil that will remain moist but also well drained. The bottom leaves should actually touch the soil. Water well and cover the soil with mulch to retain moisture.

Cattails

Cattails are wetland plants with a unique flowering spike, flat blade like leaves that reach heights from 3 to 10 feet.  They are one of the most common plants in large marshes and on the edge of ponds.
Under the right conditions, cattails can grow and spread vigorously.  The pollinated flowers develop into fluffy seed heads, blowing across a pond in autumn breezes.  Just as commonly, cattails spread through their root system.  The thick, white roots, called rhizomes, grow underground near the edge of ponds and in shallow swales.  As long as the water is not too deep, the cattails feast off the open sunshine and abundant water, storing a large amount of food in the root system.  In fact, cattails at the edge of pond can grow faster than fertilized corn in a field!  

Cattails are a nice addition to a fresh, silk or dried late summer or autumn flower arrangement. Cattail stems blend well with sunflowers, zinnias, carnations, Gerber daisies, roses and lilies in yellow, orange and brown tones.
Cattails give a line of interest to the bouquet while adding an unusual natural element. The tall stalks are best suited to large floral displays in ceramic containers or baskets.

Magic Lillies

Magic lily or also known as Naked Lady

The five to seven pink four inch long trumpets are produced atop the pale, naked three foot tall stems start blooming in mid August.
The foliage comes up in late winter and looks like a large-leafed clump of daffodils, but without flowers. There will be one bloom for about every 10 leaves produced by the clump. The leaves die away with the arrival of the first warm days of late spring, usually disappearing below ground by late May. This growth pattern is an adaptation of the species to survive in an area with moist springs and prolonged periods of summer drought.

Magic Lilies (Lycoris squamigera) first appeared in the American garden trade in about 1880, but they have been cultivated for centuries in Japan. It was originally misidentified and sold under the name Amaryllis halli.
Magic lilies are easy to grow, doing well in any average garden soil in full sun or partial shade. They are sold in both the spring and the fall in garden centers. If plants are to be divided from a friend’s garden, dig the plants after the blooms fade in September. They require no fertilization and, as far as I have seen, are bothered by no pests.

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