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North Mississippi Gardening Tips
November/December, 2002

CARE OF HOLIDAY PLANTS

Poinsettia

This plant is by far the most popular flowering plant for the holidays. Today's poinsettia breeders have greatly widened the color range of these beautiful plants from every shade of white, red, and pink to variegated combinations of these. There's even a purple poinsettia appropriately called, "Plum Pudding." Also, there are poinsettias with double red flowers that look like huge roses! This selection is appropriately called "Winter Rose." If you are the one purchasing the poinsettia, always examine the flowers. No, not the colorful petals, which are, actually modified leaves called bracts. The tiny buds located at the center of the whorl of bracts are the true flowers of the poinsettia and are called cyathia. Select a plant if possible that still has the flowers buds tightly closed rather than fully open displaying the fuzzy yellow stamens. Definitely pass over plants that do not have any cyathia or are missing some. These are old plants because after flowering, the cyathia abscise and fall from the plant.

At home keep the plant away from heat and water only when the soil is dry. More indoor plants are killed by over watering than any other practice. Keep your poinsettia in a cool room with bright light and it should stay attractive well into January. As it begins to decline, my inclination is to chunk the whole thing in the trash, but if you're a gardener who likes a challenge you can keep it, plant it out next summer and try your hand at coaxing it into bloom for next Christmas. For complete instructions on how to do this go to the county Extension office and ask for Information Sheet 227, Caring for Poinsettias.

I relieve myself of a lot of aggravation and do my part to support my local "green" business by purchasing new plants every year.

Christmas Cactus

If you've never had a Christmas cactus you should give these beautiful plants a try. These succulents can be forced into bloom-actually we're not forcing anything, but taking advantage of a natural process called photoperiodism, the triggering of flowering or other growth responses of a plant due to changes in the length of the light and dark periods. Rather than manipulating the light period to initiate flower formation, you can take the easy way out and purchase a plant whose buds are showing color. Carried-over plants from last year should be kept in a semi-dormant state with little water and reduced light from September to October. Leave it outdoors during the cool nights and short days of these two months so that flower buds will form. Bring it indoors on those nights that frost threatens, and put it in a room or closet that can be darkened for more than twelve continuous hours. Put back outside during the day. After the buds begin to form increase the light and lightly water until color shows in the buds. When buds are showing color, it is safe to move the plant indoors to a cool, sunny location for flowering.

While blossoming, do not overwater them, but keep the soil slightly moist. After blooming, they start their growth stage and should be given more water and fertilized as new growth increases. They will continue to grow until you harden them off in September. Christmas cactus bloom best when slightly pot-bound. For more detailed information on these plants and other holiday plants call your Extension office and request the new publication, "Holiday Houseplants," publication 2309.

BULBS

Some people cannot abide the up-close smell of the blooming paperwhite narcissus. My husband swears it smells just like a bowl of rotten fruit. I, on the other hand, possess a more accepting view and think it smells just lovely, thank you very much. Besides, being a gardener, I am always looking for ways to bring the garden indoors during the winter, or ways to "hurry-up" spring. Potting up a group of paperwhite narcissus bulbs and bringing them into bloom is one easy way to do this. Even my husband with the persnickety nose, bless his plant ignorant heart, could succeed with this project. For the doubting Thomases among you, Brent Heath, a nationally recognized expert on bulb culture, has these suggestions for success every time. If you don't pot them immediately after purchase, store your bulbs at 70 degrees F. He suggests the top of the refrigerator rather than in it as you do with other bulbs. To prevent them from drying out, Brent suggests covering with dry sphagnum moss or vermiculite. Storing them this way allows gardeners who don't ever have enough winter flowers to buy a quantity of bulbs now and plant a pot full every two weeks for continuous bloom till spring! Although peperwhites will bloom if grown in nothing but gravel and water, the blooms will last longer according to Brent if the bulbs are potted in soil. He says to choose a pot with a drainage hole and fill it three quarters of its depth with potting soil. Set the bulbs shoulder to shoulder. Pour gravel or more potting soil to cover the bulbs. Water well and repeat when the soil is dry. Hasten root growth by giving the roots warmth. Placing the pot on the television or refrigerator will work fine. Move to bright light as soon as leaves and buds begin to appear. Extending the day length by the use of supplemental fluorescent or grow lights will keep foliage shorter. I hedge my bets, by sticking some pretty-shaped tree branches such as winged elm into the pot to provide support for the emerging foliage. As soon as buds begin to open, move to a prominent place in your home where the sight and smell can be enjoyed. Some stories have a sad ending and I'm afraid this is one. Paperwhite narcissus should be discarded after bloom because they will not easily bloom again for you. It doesn't work to plant them in your garden either, in the hope that they will bloom next spring with the other daffodils. Unlike other narcissus the paperwhites are considered tender bulbs and are hardy only in USDA plant zones 8-10. As surely as I'm writing this there is a reader in Starkville shaking their head and going, "Why, those bulbs bloom for me every year in my garden!" Yes ma'am they might do it, but for most of north Mississippi they don't. If, however, you just can't bring yourself to throw them away after flowering, box them up, express mail them to Aunt Sookie in Biloxi with instructions to plant them in her garden posthaste and she will bless you.

CHOOSING A CHRISTMAS TREE

Christmas is just around the corner and it's time to put up that tree. If your family's holiday tradition includes a freshly cut Christmas tree, your search for "The Tree" has probably already begun. Part of our holiday ritual when I was growing up on my family's farm was to scour the nearby fields for the perfect specimen. This activity commenced the minute we were let loose from school for the holidays. My sister, Spoonie, and youngest brother, Johnny, would make a real expedition out of our hunt for "The Tree." Our tree of choice was always an Eastern red cedar. When the fattest, most symmetrical tree was located after we had marched all over creation, it was felled with several well-placed blows of the axe accompanied by the obligatory, "Timmmm-ber!" We would then close ranks, hoist our victim, and march toward home while singing our rendition of "O Tannebaum" which was retitled in our young barbarian way as "Oh Atomic Bomb." Mama never failed to oooh and ahhh at our magnificent selection even though we always seemed to bring home a tree that was several feet too tall to fit in the house.

Nowadays, most folks who use fresh-cut trees buy them from a retail outlet. What should the discerning shopper look for in a Christmas tree? Freshness is the number one consideration. Be bold and ask a salesperson where the trees were grown. Why? Because the closer to home the trees were grown the fresher they will probably be. If they were shipped in from Canada or other far off places up North the trees were more than likely cut weeks before the more locally grown specimens. Can't find out where they were grown? Do the tree freshness test recommended by the National Christmas Tree Association: grasp a twig between your thumb and forefinger approximately six inches from the tip and pull your fingers toward the branch tip. If any of the needles come off in your hand pass that tree by.

Once you get the tree home, keep it in a humid place until you are ready to bring it inside and decorate. If you know the tree had been cut several weeks or more before you bought it, recut the trunk at least four inches to help the tree absorb water before placing it in the tree holder. It is also important to close all heating vents in the vicinity of the tree. Trees should be placed well away from the dry heat of a fireplace. Keep the holder filled with water at all times. Remember that live Christmas trees are very flammable. Improperly wired lights and nearby candles can spell disaster. Make sure your fire extinguisher is full and in an accessible location. Be careful. A dried out tree will literally explode into flames. In which case singing "Oh Atomic Bomb" would be appropriate as you evacuate the house.

GENERAL TIPS, NOTES AND FACTS

Plant spring bulbs now until early December. The ground has cooled sufficiently to prevent premature emergence of foliage. If this is your first pass at bulb planting, remember that planting a single variety en masse normally has a more desirable visual effect than interspersing several different kinds of bulbs.

If the birds eat your holly berries before you cut branches for holiday decoration, cut the branches now, place cut ends in buckets of water and hold in a cool place (like an unheated basement or garage) until you do your holiday decorating.

To loosen the peels on your garlic cloves, soak them for five minutes in very warm water. November through early December is the best time to plant garlic in the garden.

Fallen leaves provide natural mulch for trees that aren't standing in grass, as well as mulch for hedges, shrubs and other plantings. What a perfect, carefree, natural system! So, leave those leaves be in those situations. Make sure, however, that the leaves have not piled up in layers too thick for the perennials and other small plants that might be smothered underneath. Never allow leaves to lie for long on lawns. They will cut off light and air from the grass and encourage the growth of fungi.

Most American school children learn about fertilizing plants from Squanto, who helped the Pilgrims in the winter of 1620-21. According to William Bradford, Squanto taught the colonists how to fertilize every hillock where corn was planted with a fish. The Native Americans also furnished colonists with their first corn and bean seeds. Yet for all their efforts, the Pilgrims' survival was difficult.

The first Thanksgiving feast lasted for three days, and by all standards the first harvest was poor. The 20 acres of corn produced pretty well, but the six or seven acres planted with English wheat, barley, and peas were a disaster. This did not prevent the Pilgrims from giving thanks or eating well. Their first feast was not only nourishing but in modern terms stylish. Besides ample meats and seafood, there were leeks, watercress and a variety of greens. Wild plums and dried berries were served for dessert, along with a very sweet and strong wine made from wild grapes.

I hope all this has enlivened and enlightened you a little-maybe provided a little food for thought instead of the belly, because "The mind is a bit like a garden. If it isn't fed and cultivated, weeds will take it over." E.G. Hall. Have a wonderful holiday season!

Lelia Scott Kelly, Ph.D., writes North Mississippi Gardening Tips monthly and is a Horticulture Specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. Her office is in the North Mississippi Research & Extension Center, Verona.