Poinsettia Lore

You may wonder when the poinsettia became associated with Christmas. According to legend, it began in the 16th Century when a young girl was too poor to provide a gift for the celebration of Jesus' birthday. An angel told the child to gather weeds from the roadside and place them in front of the church altar by the manger scene. Magically crimson blossoms sprouted from the weeds and became beautiful poinsettias. In the 17th Century, Franciscan friars in Mexico included the plants in their Christmas celebration. The star-shaped leaf pattern symbolizes the Star of Bethlehem and the red color represents the blood sacrifice through the crucifixion of Jesus.

You may wonder where the poinsettias you buy come from. The Ecke family held the technological secret on growing poinsettia up until the 1990's, making it difficult for others to grow them and go into business. The family secret was to graft two varieties of poinsettia together, producing a fuller, more compact plant. When a poinsettia grows naturally, it looks weedy. The Ecke's method enables every seedling to branch, making a bushier plant.

In 1900, the senior Ecke came from Germany to Los Angeles and sold poinsettias on the street. His son developed the grafting technique, and the next generation of Eckes were responsible for promoting the association between poinsettias and the winter holidays. The family sent free plants to television stations so they could be shown over the holidays on TV. Paul Ecke, Jr. made promotional appearances on The Tonight Show and Bob Hope's Christmas specials.

The family's virtual monopoly on poinsettias came to an end in the 1990's when a researcher discovered the grafting technique and published it. Competitors arose, especially in Latin America, where labor costs were lower. The Ecke family no longer grows poinsettia, but they still control about 70 percent of the market in the United States and 50 percent of the market worldwide.





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For more interesting information about poinsettias, visit the Paul Ecke Ranch at http://www.ecke.com/html/h_corp/corp_pntcare.html#poison.

Happy Holidays!

Be Careful Who's Under the Mistletoe

Before you go out and buy plants for the Holidays to deck your halls, be aware that some of them may be toxic, and could be injurious to children and pets. Did you know that Mistletoe (Phoradendron flavescens) is a poisonous plant? According to MedlinePlus (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus) mistletoe is an evergreen plant with white berries. Mistletoe poisoning occurs when someone eats any part of the plant. Poisoning can also occur if you drink tea created from the plant or its berries. The poisonous ingredient is Phoratoxin and is found in all parts of the plant, but especially in the leaves.

Symptoms of poisoning are blurred vision, diarrhea, nausea, stomach pain, vomiting, weakness and drowsiness. If you suspect poisoning, do not make the person throw up unless instructed to do so by a poison control or a health care professional. If you have an exposure, call your local emergency number (such as 911) or the National Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222.



Some interesting facts about Mistletoe
Kissing under the mistletoe is first found associated with the Greek festival of Saturnalia and later with primitive marriage rites. Mistletoe was believed to have the power of bestowing fertility, and the dung from which the mistletoe was thought to arise was also said to have "life-giving" power. In some parts of England the Christmas mistletoe is burned on the twelfth night so that not all the boys and girls who have kissed under it never marry. 

From The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens:

"From the centre of the ceiling of this kitchen, old Wardle had just suspended with
his own hands a huge branch of mistletoe, and this same branch of mistletoe
instantaneously gave rise to a scene of general and most delightful struggling
and confusion; in the midst of which,
Mr. Pickwick, with a gallantry that would have done honour to a descendant of
Lady Tollimglower herself, took the old lady by the hand, led her beneath the
mystic branch, and saluted her in all courtesy and decorum."



Getting Your Roses Ready for Winter

It's time to think about protecting your rose bushes for winter weather conditions. In September, you should let the flowers remain on the bush. These flowers will begin to become seed pods. Allowing the rose to produce seeds signals the plant that it has successfully reproduced itself and may now rest. Feeding should have been discontinued in mid-September. Where I live in upstate New York it is advisable not to winterize roses until early November. If you cover them too early before temperatures are consistently cold, you can harm them.

To understand why the bushes should be protected, you need to know what happens when winter damage occurs. Each plant cell is composed mainly of water, and when water freezes, it expands. If the water in the cell is allowed to freeze, the cell becomes damaged and could even die.

Lower temperatures and shorter days trigger a two-step process called acclimation. In the first stage, changes occur in the permeability of the cell wall and to both protein and sugar levels inside the cell. This change allows for the water in each cell to move out when the temperatures drop below freezing for extended periods of time.

The second stage begins during this extended time of subfreezing temperatures and results in full winter hardiness so plant tissue can now freeze and recover. When you winterize is important. If you winterize your roses too early, the first stage cannot happen because you will have insulated the plant from the temperature change. Without these metabolic changes to its cells, the water will still be present, and will expand and burst the cell.


Let blossoms form hips (the red capsule left after the petals fall). This helps slow down growth and promote dormancy. Remove all fallen leaves from around the base to keep fungal disease spores, such as black spot and powdery mildew, from over-wintering. Bundle the canes together using twine or strips of cloth. Using light soil, make a mound covering the base and canes to a height of 10 to 12 inches.
Don't use soil from around the rose, since you could expose the roots.

When the ground has frozen, cover the remainder of the canes with with straw, leaves, or any light mulch and wrap them completely with burlap and tie with twine. For hybrid teas, floribundas and grandifloras, I prefer stuffing crumpled newspaper among the canes, as it's much easier to handle than leaves or mulch and easier to clean up in the spring.
You can use foam cones instead of burlap, but I don't recommend them. If you choose the cone methods, you should still mulch the crown and lower stems with soil inside the rose cones, and put some holes in the cone tops so the rose can breathe and excess moisture can escape.


You can use foam cones instead of burlap, but I don't recommend them. If you choose the cone methods, you should still mulch the crown and lower stems with soil inside the rose cones, and put some holes in the cone tops so the rose can breathe and excess moisture can escape.

For climbing roses, you can follow the above method or do the following: Lower the bush from its support, gently arching the canes near the crown, placing it in the ground. Hold the canes down with two crossed stakes every few feet, then cover it completely with 3 or 4 inches of soil.

In spring, remember not to uncover their roses too early. Many gardeners make the mistake of uncovering their roses as soon if it becomes warm in late March and then lose them to a hard freeze in early April. So it's advisable not to remove the wrappings until there is no danger of frost in May.

Protect rose bushes over the winter so you'll still have them next year. 

Winterizing Your Lawn

Didn't have a lush lawn this year. Well, there's always next year and here's how to get a head start. The final feeding of your lawn is the most important feeding of all. Yes, it's more important than the Spring feeding.

While the blades of the grass plants wilt from the frost, the root system remains alive but dormant through the winter. It is the health and vigor of the root system that determines how well the lawn will winter over.

Late in the season it is the natural tendency of the plants, because of shortening days and cooler weather, to shift its growth emphasis from the blades to the root system.

Summer lawn foods are improperly blended for fall feeding. They have more nitrogen (blade growth stimulant) than phosphorus or potash (i.e. 27-3-3. 27-8-8, 10-6-4, etc.) Feeding a lawn more nitrogen than phosphorus late in the season is counterproductive to the health of the lawn. The use of a lawn food with more phosphorus (root growth stimulant) and a healthy amount of potash (body building component) will aid the grass plants in developing a stronger root system before winter. A fall lawn food will have a blend of 14-18-14, 10-18-10, etc.

Winterizers can be used in Spring and Summer under the following conditions:

• Lawns that have suffered from grubs (root damage) can often be saved by repeated applications of   winterizing lawn food.
• Newly seeded lawns will benefit from a high phosphorus food to get the root system developed quickly. This will shorten the critical period of heavy watering necessary to establish grass plants.
• Winterizing (high phosphorus) lawn foods should be applied in any situation where thickening the lawn is the primary goal. 

   

When Should You Prune Azaleas?

When walking through my local supermarket in springtime, I always admired the potted azaleas but never bought them because they are poisonous and could harm my cats. About four years ago, I found a spring special at Hewitt's--Four small shrubs for $20.00. I chose one azalea, two hydrangeas, and one Lemoine Deutzia (never heard of it until that day and happy to report by its third year it reached full size and produces nice white flowers).  

I decided to plant one azalea and one hydrangea against the brick wall of the house, just as you come out the back door into the yard. It doesn't get much sun, and this variety of azalea needs partial shade, so I thought it would be a good location. I use special fertilizer to make the soil slightly acidic. The azalea never flourished, but it has had nice healthy foliage and a decent number of blossoms. I was careful not to under or overwater it. The plant has survived the last few winters and I cut it back right after they bloom in the late spring. I've read that pruning after mid-summer cuts off next year's bloom, as most azaleas start growing next year's flower buds soon after they bloom. Late pruning also runs the risk of the tender new growth being killed in cold climates. 

Well, this year I can see next year's flower buds. However, the branches are a little too long, with some bare branch showing before the greenery at the end of the branch, probably because I didn't cut them back far enough at the beginning of the summer. I decided to leave them alone, as the plant is healthy. It will be interesting to see what happens in the spring! But first we have to weather the winter, which I'm predicting will be a very cold one.

How to Keep Geraniums "Alive" Over the Winter for Next Spring

Geraniums (Pelargonium xhortorum Geraniaceae) are popular in summer flower gardens. They are colorful and dependable, flowering all the time without requiring a lot of attention. They are a perennial, but in many cold winter areas, they are treated as an annual, as they will die from a hard freeze. Geraniums can be "overwintered" and you can keep them year-round.

There are different methods for keeping your geranium plants until the spring, when you can put them outdoors again.

Method 1: Bare Root Plants - Overwintering geraniums in dormant storage. Geraniums have the ability to survive most of the winter without soil. Here are the steps to follow:

(1) Dig up the entire geranium plant and gently shake the soil from their roots.
(2) Hang plants upside down in a cool (45-50 degrees), dry place.
(3) An alternate method is to place 1 or 2 plants in a large open paper bag or sack. The paper bag method is much cleaner than the hanging method.
(4) Once a month during the winter, soak the roots of each plant in water for 1 to 2 hours. Most of the leaves will eventually fall off.
(5) In the spring, when here's no chance of frost, prune or cut back each plant and remove all shriveled dead material. Discard any geraniums with shriveled stems, since they won't survive. Healthy, live stems will be firm and solid.
(6) After pruning, in late March or early April, put healthy dormant geraniums in pots. Water plants thoroughly and place in indirect light to initiate new growth. It may take several weeks for plants to initiate growth after dormant storage.

Method 2: You can also choose another dormant storage method--Store the potted plant in a place where they will stay cold (above freezing) and will remain in the dark where they won't dry out completely. Follow these simple steps:

(1) After digging up the entire geranium plant, put the plant in a pot and let the soil dry out.
(2) Cut plant back about one half its original size.
(3) Put a paper bag over each plant.
(4) Store in a cool, dry location, such as the basement.
(5) Check every couple of weeks to see if the plants are shriveling or drying out completely. If they are, spritz water on them or slightly water their root area. Let the plant dry off before replacing the paper bag.
(6) If you followed the dormant storage methods, it will take a few weeks before your geraniums come back to life for the spring. About 6 weeks before the last expected frost (I know it's hard to gauge. So let's say late March or early April.), bring your geraniums back into indirect light.
(7) Thoroughly water potted plants and lightly fertilize. They should become greener and grow new leaves. Move them outdoors when there's no chance of frost. Be careful, you wouldn't want to lose them after taking care of them over the winter!

Method 3: It's not the most recommended method, but you don't necessarily have to let your geranium go dormant over the winter. This is another easy way to keep your geraniums alive until spring, but make sure they get enough light.

(1) Prune the geranium back to half to one-third their original height, and carefully dig up each plant.
(2) Place in 6- to 8-inch pot. Use potting soil mix, as garden soil will be too heavy and drains poorly.
(3) Water them well and place them in a bright, sunny window under artificial lighting.
(4) Keep them in cool indoor temperatures. Daytime temperatures near 65 degrees F. and nighttime around 55 degrees F.
(5) Avoid warm, poorly lit areas.
(6) Water plants only when the soil becomes dry.
(7) Occasionally pinch the geraniums to promote branching and prevent weak plants.
(8) Before planting outside when weather permits in late spring, fertilize lightly.

Plants kept in containers over the winter are usually larger than geraniums sold in the spring. You will have a head start on growth and blooms for next year's garden!

I'm not going to go over it in this column, but there's yet another method of overwintering that gardeners either love or hate--taking cuttings from outdoor plants. The attraction this method holds is that it's a good way to multiply the number of plants for next year's garden.

Putting Down Manure Now to Get Soil Ready for Planting Next Year

Vegetable gardening is not my forte--prefer growing zinnias and cosmos from seed and tending to rose bushes and favorite perennials like delphiniums. However, I do plant tomatoes before Memorial Day every year and cross my fingers we get enough sun and heat. This year was one of those years and due to a labeling error at the farm I frequent, I had 4 Roma tomato plants instead of Big Boys. At least I had a couple of Jet Stars. The Romas were tasty, but I missed having more larger ones. Now to the point of this blog...Every year after a couple of frosts I simply yank the straggly plants from the ground and put away my tomato cages. This afternoon I was reading the newsletter from Dave's Garden and learned there's more to putting a vegetable garden down to bed for the winter.

I've always been a fuss budget at preparing soil in my flower beds before planting in late spring, but never gave any thought to doing anything with garden once harvest is over. Here's what you should be doing:

(1) After removing the vegetable plants and weeds, examine the mulch, that is if you used it. If the mulch is mostly rotted away, just mix it into the soil. If it looks good, you can rake it off and use it again. (I would mix it into the soil because I can't stand storing stuff like that over the winter!)

(2) Have you ever done soil testing? I'm afraid I skip this step too, as I've never had difficulty growing good tomatoes. You don't need to soil test to find out what your garden needs now. But you can dig up a few trowelfuls of dirt, save it and send it off soon to your local university soil testing service.

(3) Feed the soil over the winter. The author suggests getting horse manure from your local barnyard. I would simply buy it at Home Depot, Hewitt's or your local nursery. Spread the manure in the garden. The author mentions the timing--allowing six months from horse or cow to harvest. Time and the weather lets the manure mellow out and become safe for you and the plants. Again, to take the easy way out, I would buy it already bagged. The author loads a few big plastic tubs and hauls them away in her minivan. Too much work for me!

Try to cover the whole garden up to a couple of inches. Ideally, dig it in with the top few inches of garden dirt. But you can just leave it on top of the garden and it will work as well. When the soil test results come back, scatter pelleted lime across the surface as called for. In the spring, you can address the other nutrient recommendations.

(4) Top the garden with a lot of shredded leaves, accomplished by running the lawn mower over your fallen leaves in the yard. The shredded leaves will stay put when you wet them down with the hose and you can do this when you have the time. The last layer of leaves can usually be put down by Thanksgiving when most of the leaves have fallen. Be sure the leaves are nice and damp, then cover it all with thick layers of newspapers and hold them down with rocks or a good covering of fresh mulch. The soil will now be fed over the winter and you're ready to take it easy until planting time.