Keep Your Poinsettia Looking Great!

 

Many homes will decorate with poinsettias during the holidays. It just does not seem like Christmas without this wonderful plant. But poinsettias are picky about their growing environment.  Here’s the quick guide of how to care for your poinsettia:

• Protect them from chilly weather. Just letting them get chilled on the way from the store to your house can be enough to shock them!
• Poinsettias prefer a daytime temperature between 65 & 75F and the night time temperature from 60 to 65F.  Keep them away from drafts, air vents, and space heaters.
• Place the poinsettia in a bright location in the home where it can receive indirect light. Although it can withstand direct sunlight, watering requirements will increase and the flowers will not last as long.
• Avoid letting the bracts touch cold windowpanes because the outdoor temperatures can cause damage.
• Do not let the plant dry out. If the plant wilts, just once, it will start to shed leaves and the colorful bracts.
• Overwatering is a major cause of early leaf and bract drop in poinsettias, so keep the plant moist but not soggy.  If the poinsettia came with a plastic decorator wrap, punch drainage holes so water will not accumulate.  Check the soil regularly. When it is dry to the touch, water them.  If damp, do nothing.

Follow these simple steps and your poinsettia will look good all through the holidays! 

 

National Poinsettia Day

  Today is National Poinsettia Day. The date marks the death of Joel Roberts Poinsett, an American botanist, physician, and Minister to Mexico who in 1828 sent cuttings of the plant he'd discovered in Southern Mexico to his home in Charleston, South Carolina.

    In July of 2002, the House of Representatives created Poinsettia Day, passing a Resolution to honor Paul Ecke Jr. who is considered the father of the poinsettia industry. It was Paul Ecke's discovery of a technique which causes seedlings to branch that allowed the Poinsettia industry to flourish. Every year, Poinsettias contribute upwards of $250,000,000 to the U.S. economy-at the wholesale level! Poinsettias are the best selling potted plant in the U.S. and Canada.

   In Mexico the plant is called La Flor de la Nochebuena or, Flower of the Holy Night and is displayed in celebration of the December 12th, Dia de la Virgen. Use of the plant to celebrate Christmas in Mexico dates back to the 17th century.

Selection and Care of your Christmas Tree

Well, like it or not, it’s that time of year when we will be getting and setting up a Christmas tree.  If you use a real tree, here are some tips to make it look good throughout the holiday season.

Getting the tree should be the last thing you do. First, you should get the space ready in your home. Get the stand out and ready to put the tree in, because once you get it home, you want to set it up in water just as soon as possible.

You want your Christmas tree to be as fresh as possible so that it will look better, last longer, and be less of a fire hazard.

To get the freshest tree, cut one at a local Christmas tree grower. If you go to a tree lot, take your time to select a tree that has not gotten too dried out. Grab it and thump the butt end on the ground a couple of times. If lots of needles fall off, put it back and keep looking. You can also bend the needles - a fresh tree’s needles will be somewhat flexible.  A dried out tree will have needles snapping like matchsticks.

 Once you get your tree home, cut ½ inch off the bottom of the trunk and immediately put it in water.  Check the water reservoir daily and keep it filled with water.

 Keep the tree away from hot drafts and open flames.  As soon as Christmas is over, remove and recycle your tree.

Late Season Angel's Trumpet

'Earth Angel' angel's trumpet

The frost has stopped my angel's trumpet that are growing in the ground from further bloom.  However, I have this one in a pot in a protected area.  The variety is 'Earh Angel.'  It has been a prolific bloomer since late summer.

If your plants have been nipped by the frost, then it is time to take cuttings to store for the winter unless you have a greenhouse.  There are several ways to do this.  Which ever method you try be sure to only save cutting that have the white bumps(lenticels) onthe stem.  If the stem is smooth it will not produce roots.

Some of my Master Gardeners cut long pieces and put them in a bucket of water in an area protected from freezing.  By spring the stems have formed roots and are ready for planting.

I sometimes make cutting about 12 inches long and stick them into a bucket of potting soil and let them form roots.  The problem is that I sometimes forget to water them since they are in the basement.  So I end up with dead plants.

The last couple of years I have been cutting the stems into 12 inch pieces and putting them into a plastic grocery bag and rolling them up and leave them in the basement.  Do not forget to put a name label in each bag.  By March they have started making roots. I remove the cuttings from the bags and put them in potting soil.  I have left some cuttings in the bag until July and they made plants.

For the angel's trumpet roots left in the ground, cover them with a 3 - 4 inch layer of much to protect them from the winter cold.

Pest Alert: Kudzu Bugs

Kudzu bug, Meridian, MS

In October 2009, large numbers of an insect known as kudzu bug (Megacopta cribraria) were discovered on the exterior of houses in nine northeast Georgia counties.  This insect is also referred to as the bean plataspid, lablab bug, or globular stink bug.  It is related to various species of stink bugs.  Before discovery in Georgia, kudzu bug was not known to occur in the Western Hemisphere

By September 2010, the insect was confirmed in more than 60 north and central Georgia counties as well as limited distributions in North and South Carolina.  By 2011 it was reported in Alabama.  In 2012 it has spread to Virginia, Tennessee, and Florida.  Kudzu bug was first reported in Montgomery and Warren counties this spring.  The photos shown were taken in Lauderdale County (Meridian) on October 16.   They were in large numbers.

    Kudzu bug adults are 4 to 6 mm long, oblong, olive-green colored with brown speckles, and produce a mildly offensive odor when disturbed. You do not have to mash them like you do with other stinkbugs.  If you get the smell on your hands, it takes several applications of soap and water to get some of it off.  I think you might need an industrial hand cleaner.

Kudzu bug’s preferred host is kudzu in its native Asia.  Kudzu appears to be a primary host in North America but it will also eat wisteria. This insect will continue to spread into most areas where kudzu is established.  Eating kudzu and wisteria is not a bad thing.  The problem is that kudzu bug also eats soybeans, southern peas, snap beans, and assorted other desirable plants.  Next spring, gardens will need to be monitored for this pest.   However, it is easily controlled by most common insecticides.



Kudzu bugs catching some rays on a cool morning.

        Kudzu bug can be a nuisance to ordinary homeowners.   As the weather begins to cool this insect, like the Asian lady beetles, seek secluded sites where they spend the winter.  They can accumulate in large numbers around doors, windows, and other openings.  This was how they were first noticed in Meridian.

 The best control method is to prevent the kudzu bug from entering your home. Homeowners should make sure that screens on windows are well-seated and without holes and that soffit, ridge, and gable vents are properly screened.  Doors should have a tight seal when closed and door-sweeps under their base.

 

To help control these insects outside the homes when they accumulate around the doors and windows, you can use an application of an insecticide spray labeled for outdoor insect control. Weekly applications may be necessary as additional insects keep moving in search of a place to spend the winter.

Do not be crush any insects that have managed to enter the home should, since this may stain indoor surfaces and result in odors that may prove difficult to eliminate.  Instead use a vacuum to capture them and then empty it into a sealable disposal container.  

      You can find additional information at http://www.kudzubug.org.