THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 11, 1994 TAG: 9412090093
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G2 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: GARDENING REMINDERS
SOURCE: Robert Stiffler
LENGTH: Long : 149 lines
THE NEWEST IN 1994 poinsettias is the Eckespoint Monet. It is a single-stem plant with flowers that range in color from pink to white. The top bracts become darker in color, so you gradually have a two-toned poinsettia, named for the famous French artist.
America's favorite flower now has its own special day of recognition. Monday is National Poinsettia Day. It was designated by Congress in honor of Joel Poinsett, for whom the plant is named. He died in 1851, but the poinsettia became a living symbol of Christmas and the number one flowering plant grown in this country.
In the six weeks preceding Christmas, poinsettia sales of more than 52 million plants nationwide exceed the total annual sales of any other flowering potted plant.
If you haven't purchased yours, do it today. Remember that old wive's tale that they are poisonous is not true. The safety of poinsettias in the home has been clearly proven by Ohio State University and others. It has been found to give some people a rash, so it's smart to keep it and all houseplants away from small children and pets. But go ahead and celebrate National Poinsettia Day and brighten up your holiday season by buying half a dozen today. KEEPING CHRISTMAS GREEN
If you buy a living Christmas tree, keep it indoors no longer than seven to 10 days and keep it as cool as possible so it doesn't break dormancy.
Whenever you move it, whether from the outdoor cold to the indoor warmth or vice versa, give it a day or two in an enclosed but unheated area, to reduce the shock of transition.
Keep the roots moist but not waterlogged and mist the foliage to keep it from drying out. Plant the tree as soon as possible after the holidays.
If you buy a cut tree, there are certain steps to take to keep it fresh. If you do not plan to set up the tree immediately, put it in a bucket of water in an outdoor area protected from sun and wind. When you're ready to set it up, saw off 2 inches from the bottom and immediately put the tree in water.
A number of solutions have been recommended as preservatives. Here's the one from the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service that I've found to be most effective, adding as much as two weeks to the tree's useful life:
Mix a gallon of hot water with 1/4-cup horticultural iron chelate, 2 cups light corn syrup and 4 teaspoons chlorine bleach. Be careful not to spill the mixture on your carpets, because the stains are permanent. SIGN UP FOR SCHOOL
Registration is under way for the spring horticulture classes at Tidewater Community College in Chesapeake. You can register through Friday and again Jan. 2 and 3. Late registration is Jan. 4, 5 and 6, but there is a $10 penalty. This 16-week course is widely accepted as the best in Hampton Roads. It begins Jan. 9 and ends May 6. In addition to that course, there are new one credit, eight-week classes on herbs, native plants of Hampton Roads and arboriculture. For fees and information, call 549-5222. WORDS TO THE WISE
I like this advice about the months ahead and hope you do, too. It was written by Jeanne Marier Laskas in an article titled ``The Garden In Winter,'' which appeared in the Washington Post magazine: ``Winter is a time for thinking, planning, imagining how beautiful your yard will be next year, even though this year it may not have turned out so good. Winter is a gardener's holiest time, an opportunity to examine the stupid sins of last year's growing season and repent.
``Only in winter do you have time to read all those garden books you acquired with such lust over the summer. You can focus on the details of what any given plant was supposed to do, according to the books, and compare that information with your plant's less than exemplary life story.
``You try to store growing hints in your brain until next year so you'll be a better gardener, a smarter gardener, the greatest gardener in the world, perhaps, but usually you don't, and so you aren't, and deep down you know you never will be.'' PAMPHLET ON PERENNIALS
For variety and versatility, it's hard to beat perennial flowers. In recent years gardeners have discovered the wealth of forms and colors that perennials offer.
Information on how and why to use perennials is available in a new bulletin from Michigan State University Extension. Send 50 cents and a stamped, addressed envelope to Michigan State University Extension, East Lansing, Mich., 48824. Ask for NCR 556 ``Growing Perennials'' and mark your mailing envelope ``Perennial Bulletin.'' HOLY MOLE-Y
Reader Claire Grant sent me the most thorough article on moles I've ever read. It's from the March issue of Smithsonian magazine. If you want a copy, you should contact the magazine. In part, it says, ``A mole is not a rodent, it's not stupid, it's not unaware of danger, and there is method behind its seemingly haphazard tunneling.'' They can burrow tunnels as far as 60 feet in a single day.
In England there are professional ``mole catchers,'' because the problem is so great there. The magazine also tells that moles mate and have a litter of three or four youngsters every spring. TROPICAL PARADISE
You can increase the humidity around your tropical plants so leaves don't get brown and crispy around the edges by grouping plants together in a part of the house that is naturally more humid, such as a bathroom. Grouping plants on trays of gravel and keeping the gravel wet also is often recommended.
Misting has little positive effect, say most house plant specialists. It raises the humidity only temporarily and may leave the foliage wet long enough to encourage disease. A room humidifier will make the indoor environment more hospitable not only for your plants but for your family, pets and home furnishings. WIPE OUT PANTRY PESTS
If you see little moths fluttering around your house, they may be Indian meal moths, a pantry pest. It feeds on flour, cereal, dry pasta and other stored grain products, dry pet food, dried milk, dried fruits and nuts and bird seed. They contaminate the foods they feed on.
To get rid of them, eliminate all infested products and food spills in cracks and crevices. To prevent a recurrence, place the items they could infest in glass or metal containers with tight-fitting lids. Uninfested products will stay free of insects and any insects that escaped during the cleanup will not be able to escape the containers to infest other products. CARE-FREE CACTI
Cacti grow very little during the winter, so do not overwater or overfeed them. A light watering every three or four weeks to dampen the roots is enough, and give them no fertilizer. What they need is intelligent neglect. Too much tender loving care will kill them. LOVE THAT ``PLANT LORE''
If you believe in ``plant lore,'' such as apples to predict the future, beans to banish wars, carnations for aching teeth, you might like a copy of the booklet ``Plant Power.'' It's published by the publishers of Baer's Agricultural Almanac. For a copy, send $3 to John Baer's Sons, P.O. Box 328, Lancaster, Penn. 17603. HORTICULTURE CONFERENCE COMING
Horticulturists are reminded that the 13th annual Virginia Professional Horticulture Conference will be held Jan. 23-26 at the Virginia Beach Pavilion. Keynote speaker will be Marc Cathey, president of the American Horticultural Society and recently retired director of the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C.
The educational program focuses on landscape design, nursery production, interiorscape, lawn and tree care, xeriscaping and wetlands. There will also be a conference trade show. Registration is $45 until Jan. 6, when it increases to $60. For information, call 523-4734. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Traditional red poinsettias, such as the Eckespoint Freedom, remain
the favorite for the holidays.
by CNB