Christmas Garden Sense Holidays

Getting Last Year’s Holiday Plants Ready For Another Season

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Getting Last Year’s Holiday Plants Ready For Another Season

I know no one wants to hear about the “holidays” just yet, but your seasonal plants need this extra time to get ready for their winter show.
Amaryllis
Getting Amaryllis to bloom again requires giving the bulbs a few weeks rest. Stop watering and allow the old growth to die back. Store the bulb in a cool dark place to rest for several weeks. When they are ready to force, bring them into a warm light room and water moderately to restart growth.
Christmas Cactus
There are three varieties of this holiday plant; one blooms around Thanksgiving, one around Christmas,and one around Easter! It takes about 8 weeks of dormancy to get your “Christmas” cactus ready to bloom. Remember most houseplants need less water during winter. This is especially true for cacti and other succulents like snake plants and aloe. These plants need a little extra monitoring of their moisture level.
When buds appear, move them to a sunny window ; preferably with a eastern or morning light exposure. These plants seldom bloom at temperatures above 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
Poinsettia
Poinsettias need long cool nights to form their colorful bracts. Between 5:00 pm and 8:00am store the plant in total darkness. Try not to expose the plant to any light during this time. From 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, put the Poinsettia on a bright sunny windowsill. Do this regiment from now until Thanksgiving and your plant should be ready for display.
Getting holiday plants to bloom again can take a lot of effort and monitoring; but what a great feeling to see them in bloom again!

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Cindy's Recipes and Writings

As a professional cook, I love creating exciting new recipes on the job as well as at home. Assisting in teaching low-income families how to buy, store and prepare healthy food through Penn State’s alliance with Pennsylvania’s Supercupboard Program was very rewarding. During my 11 years with the Master Gardener program, I taught horticultural therapy to assisted living patients using healthful, fr
esh grown food as a focal point. . My hands-on programs and instruction helped hundreds of children and adults learn about where their food comes from and how important fresh food is for your body.
Currently I’m a cook at a college in Pennsylvania. We prepare everything we can from scratch, including our potato chips that tout the seasoning of the day!
Of course I write about food; it's in my blood!

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