EDMONTON - christmas flowers mexico Nothing adds a splash of gorgeous, festive colour to a room like a poinsettia. And a healthy, robust one will retain its brilliance in your home with minimal effort. But how these holiday favourites are grown and cared for before you buy them is critical. So before you head out to poinsettia shop, it helps to understand what’s best for these plants in greenhouses, retail stores and your home. Here’s what you should know.
First, you need to understand about poinsettias’ native habitat. The plants are indigenous to regions of Mexico and Central America where they grow in rather porous soil that is fairly dry. Unfortunately, far too many commercial poinsettias are grown in soils that are too dense. Because dense soils hold more moisture, there’s less oxygen available and the poinsettia roots don’t breathe as well as they should. This results in underdeveloped root systems. And, of course, poorly developed roots have a difficult time sustaining leaves and flowers.
But how do you know if poinsettias were grown in the right type of potting soil? One thing to look for is bark and pumice (volcanic rock). Both should be present in a medium suited for poinsettia growth. On the flip side, avoid poinsettias grown in a soil that is mostly fine peat moss, which makes a very dense growing medium. This type of soil will have a consistently fine texture and you’ll see lots of short, blond to brown bits of peat.
You can also tell a lot about how poinsettias were grown by the thickness and strength of their branches. Too little light, too much warmth or not enough space between plants can lead to flimsy branches. Plants grown under these conditions are sometimes so weak that merely lifting them into your shopping cart can cause branches to break off. The poinsettia you choose should have sturdy, resilient branches.
When out shopping, the one thing you should avoid at all costs is a poinsettia in a plastic sleeve. That’s because poinsettias (along with many other plants) emit ethylene, a naturally occurring gas. Unfortunately, elevated ethylene levels have a nasty habit of causing poinsettia leaves to fall off. Plastic sleeves are an inexpensive yet fairly effective way to protect poinsettias during shipping, but they trap the ethylene gas that instigates leaf drop (a.k.a. abscission). Most often this doesn’t actually happen until after the poinsettia comes home with you. The last thing you want is a leafless plant, the kind only Charlie Brown could love.
After selecting healthy poinsettias, caring for them at home is pretty simple. They won’t need any additional nutrients, so don’t waste your money on fertilizer. But what is key to keeping them in prime condition are water and sunlight.
Always water poinsettias thoroughly. By that I mean you want the soil to be completely wet and have water run out the drainage holes of the pot. If you haven’t taken the growing pot out of the decorative outer container to water, pour out any water that collects between the two. Complete drainage is essential. Don’t water again until the top 1 cm of soil dries out. To find out if it’s dried to that depth, stick your finger into the soil up to your first knuckle.
You also need adequate sunlight to keep these sun-loving southern native plants looking their best. Place yours as close to a sunny window as possible during daylight hours. You don’t have to keep it there in the evening, though. Move the poinsettia to wherever it will best impress your dinner guests.
So that’s it. Just a few simple tips to help you enjoy your poinsettia throughout the holiday season. Now the only thing you need to do is decide whether you want a traditional red poinsettia, or a pink one, or a white one, or maybe a marbled or a frosted variety … I like Red Glitter with its splashes of cream on bright red bracts and Marble Star with its coral bracts trimmed in white.
To keep abreast of what’s new in the gardening world, follow christmas flowers mexico blogs .
No comments:
Post a Comment