POINSETTIA AND CHRISTMAS TREE CARE

With Christmas approaching at an alarming rate, two plants immediately come to mind that require proper selection and care, poinsettias and Christmas trees.

CHRISTMAS TREE CARE:
The fragrance and beauty of a decorated tree are part of most family Christmas traditions. To keep your Christmas tree from drying out and becoming an eye-sore and potential fire hazard, you must carefully select and care for it.

When selecting a tree from a commercial lot, choose one as fresh as possible. Early selection may be beneficial if all trees were cut at the same time. Check for needle shedding and brittleness, an indication that the tree has dried out. Pull the needles. If they come off the stem easily, the tree is too dry. Bounce the butt of the tree on the ground. If many needles fall, reject the tree.

Check the shape and size of the tree's base before purchase. Select a tree that will fit your stand. The stand should be designed to hold water. The base of the tree should be free of lateral branches for at least the first 8 inches to properly fit the stand.

After selecting a tree, keep it as fresh as possible. As soon as you get it home, cut about an inch off the base and put the tree in a bucket of clean, warm water. If the tree is not to be decorated immediately, store it outdoors in the shade until ready to use. Check the water level periodically. Keep the butt end of the tree in a container of water the entire time it is in the house. Refill the container daily as the tree requires a lot of water. Sprinkling water on the branches and needles before you decorate the tree will help retain freshness. You may also want to spray the tree with some of the anti-transpirants such as Wilt Proof or Cloud Cover which reduce water loss from needles. The tree will take up a larger quantity of water at first, as much as a gallon a day, but will slack off later. Tests show that a 6-foot Christmas tree will take up between 1 and 2.5 pints per day during the 3-week season. Once the tree is put in a container of water, never allow the container to dry out. Experience shows that needle loss from trees with an interrupted water supply is far greater than needle loss from trees with a continuous supply of water. An interrupted water supply could be worse than no water.

Several home recipes and manufactured products have been used by homeowners in an attempt to prolong the freshness of a cut Christmas tree. In testing these additives, none of them provided any clear-cut benefit over the use of water alone.

When you move the tree indoors, set it away from fireplaces or other heating units. Also, do not place the tree where a heating vent will blow dry air on the foliage. Open flames, such as lighted candles, should never be used on or near the tree. In addition, never leave your home with the Christmas tree lights still on.

The longer the tree is indoors, the more combustible it will become. Check electric light cords for fraying and worn spots that could easily lead to fires. Also do not overload the electric circuits and avoid placing electric toys directly under the tree. Be sure to avoid the use of combustible decorations.

Following these care and precaution measures should insure an attractive tree that stays fresh indoors for more than a week and a holiday season free from Christmas tree mishaps.

POINSETTIA CARE:
Poinsettias also require proper selection and care. The red flowering poinsettia is by far the most popular flowering potted plant for the Christmas season. White, pink, and variegated white and pink are also available. Many new, long lasting varieties of poinsettias are now available. If properly cared for, they may last a month or more after Christmas.

DON'T EAT THE FLOWERS! Every year at this time when poinsettias are being sold and displayed some folks go crazy. They want to know if poinsettias are poisonous if eaten. Who cares! We're not selling poke salad or collards here; we're talking poinsettias - - plants that are to be looked at, not eaten. The poinsettia has been declared non-poisonous. This doesn't mean that the leaves won't give you a stomach ache if you don't use the proper salad dressing and compliment the meal with the best wine selection. Rather than eating the beautiful poinsettia why not plant some seed of collards or mustard greens for future use?

Check your poinsettia daily and follow these tips:

1. Water your poinsettia frequently but don't drown it. Make sure soil remains moist, but do not allow water to remain beneath the pot in the saucer or wrapping. Too much water will cause the roots to rot, and the plant will deteriorate. One easy way to water the potting mix in which the plants are growing without flooding the living room is to use ice cubes when applying moisture,i.e., put 4 ice cubes (64 ml of water) per day per small quart-size or
   6-inch pot; put eight ice cubes (128 ml of water) per day per medium
   8-inch pot; put twelve ice cubes (192 ml of water) per day per larger,
   10-inch pots. Ice cube size varies; the recommendations given are for
   ice cubes for which 20 melted cubes will produce 320 ml of water as
   measured by a standard measuring cup used for cooking.
   Poinsettias are closely related to many desert plants. Their first response to dry conditions is to drop their leaves in order to cut down water loss. Since poinsettias are fertilized EVERY day before you buy the plants, it is a good idea to fertilize them EVERY day you grow them. Water soluble fertilizer is the safest way so make some "Miracle Cubes" to feed your beautiful plants at home. Simply mix a solution of Miracle Grow (since it is Christmas!) according to label instructions and freeze it into cubes in an ice tray. Then follow the watering instructions mentioned above using Miracle Cubes instead of non-fortified ice cubes. Remember that fertilizer is only salt and will not damage your ice trays for future use. Even the consumption of Miracle Cubes are not hazardous to your health though not recommended. Yet the consumption of Miracle Cubes by poinsettias and other house plants will make them healthy and happy during the holiday season.
2. Keep the plant out of drafts. Excessively hot, dry air from heating ducts will reduce the life of the plant. Also avoid cold drafts. Poinsettias are semitropical, and cannot tolerate cold temperatures or rapid temperature changes. Temperatures between 65 and 70 degrees are ideal.
3. Place the plant in good light, but not direct sun.
4. And finally, after blooming, discard or begin preparing the plant to bloom again next year.
5. Poinsettias are perhaps the most difficult flowering potted plants to rebloom indoors. Fortunately in South Texas, poinsettias can be planted directly out-of-doors in the spring after the danger of frost is past. If placed in a protected area where early fall frost won't harm it, they will make beautiful plants for the next holiday season.
6. Make sure that the outdoor poinsettia receives only natural sunlight. Any additional light from yard and street lights will inhibit blooming. Keep pinching out the tips of the new growth once a month so the plant will bush out. Do no pinching after August 15th. The plant should flower right on time if these procedures are followed.

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