Poinsettias sure get around

It wouldn’t be Christmas without them, but I have a hard time deciding if they’re a plant or a Christmas decoration. It’s such a firmly entrenched tradition that I dare say most are purchased with the latter in mind. They’re available in colours and patterns to match any decor. That’s the poinsettia, of course, and the number produced is mind boggling. By Christmas, it’s unlikely anyone indoors in North America is more than a few steps from one.

It all began with a German immigrant to the U.S. in 1900. Although introduced to the country in 1828 by botanist and Ambassador to Mexico, Joel Roberts Poinsett, noted as the 'official discoverer’, it’s thanks to that German farmer, Albert Ecke and his descendants that you’re likely looking at one now.

Intrigued by the poinsettia, Albert began selling the plants at street stands in Los Angeles. His son Paul improved the plants giving them a bushier, more comely appearance, rather than the original weedy plant. It was then grandson Paul Ecke Junior’s turn to advance the association with Christmas.

He did this by sending free plants to television stations where they were displayed on air in the weeks from Thanksgiving to Christmas. He even appeared as a guest on the Tonight Show and on Bob Hope's Christmas specials to promote the plants. By the 1990s, the Ecke family held a virtual monopoly on production.

That changed when university researcher John Dole discovered the secret of how the family developed their unique poinsettias. After Dole published it, competitors began producing plants using low-cost labour in Latin America. The Ecke family business no longer grows poinsettias in the US, but still has a huge market share worldwide.

I don’t remember when I saw my first poinsettia, but it was here in Canada. As a Christmas plant they took off first in North America, but the rest of the world is catching up. Holly and mistletoe have been popular in Europe for centuries. Now, those traditional Christmas plants have been overtaken by the poinsettia. South Africa and Australia are catching up. In Australia, they’re also forced into bloom for Christmas. Given the climate there, they can be happily grown in the garden as well. Wouldn’t that be nice?

As a winter flower, it’s becoming popular in China, Japan, and South Korea where Christmas, at least the commercial aspect, has found a place. Despite different cultural traditions, it comes as a surprise to many travelers to cities in East Asian countries to discover Christmas trees on display in shopping malls, so it’s no wonder the poinsettia is appearing there as well.

In Turkey, much closer to the origin of Christmas, but with no connection, the poinsettia was being cultivated long before Europe was aware of it. It was simply an attractive winter plant that became popular because it was a favourite of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, first president of modern-day Turkey. Hence the poinsettia became known there as Atatürk's Flower, probably the only flower named after a politician, other than Joel Roberts Poinsett.

It can now be found growing wild in Turkey, where the climate, similar in places to Mexico, suits it. In fact, due to its proliferation as a houseplant around the world, where the climate does agree with it, there’s every chance poinsettia could become an invasive plant in the wild. Imagine a world in which there’s one in sight wherever you look — maybe not.

I confess I’m a reluctant admirer of the poinsettia, however, I was amazed the first time I ever saw one growing naturally outdoors. It was over two metres high, clambering up the side of a funeral parlour in Lahaina, Hawaii, and I thought it looked wonderful. Then again, it was January and the soft ocean breezes and ukulele music might have had some effect on my opinion.

Amaryllis -- or is it?

Here’s a little trivia to share, however, it might only elicit a few murmurs of huh, okay, or how about that — if you’re lucky. The only occasion when it might be worth repeating is when a conversation has stalled and is almost beyond recovery. It might help if there’s an amaryllis handy, preferably in bloom, or at least sprouting leaves.

It’s then you could pipe up and say, "Although we might call them amaryllis, the correct name is Hippeastrum, a genus of plants from South America.” Right, you needn’t have bothered because few give a hoot about the botanical nomenclature of plants. Botanists do, although they don’t always agree. They long debated whether the ones we know and love belong in the genus Hippeastrum, a group of plants native to South America, or should they be classed as Amaryllis belladonna, a plant from southern Africa?

The argument went on until 1987 when the 14th International Botanical Congress decided our seasonal houseplant was indeed from the genus Hippeastrum. Fortunately, they agreed amaryllis would be a “conserved name”, meaning it was okay to continue calling it what we always have done.

Regardless, these plants that brighten our homes as days shorten are all the result of hybridisation of Hippeastrum species from Central and South America. They’re selected and bred for flower size and ease of forcing in a gorgeous range of colours that continues to expand.

As for Amaryllis belladonna, the one that caused all the confusion, it’s a plant that you’d more likely see growing outdoors. In more temperate regions around the world, it’s become naturalized. One of the common names for it is naked ladies, so named, not after the band, but because the flowers bloom before the leaves appear, like the fall crocus. It could be grown in our gardens as a summer flowering bulb, that is if you can find it.

I’m afraid my suggestion of a garden plant that you can’t easily buy is about as useful as the bit of trivia, so back to our good old amaryllis. You might be unloading one with the groceries right now as they’re currently being sold everywhere. If you also bought a monster garlic or some kind of exotic root vegetable, make sure it’s the amaryllis that goes in a flowerpot, not the soup pot because it is somewhat toxic to humans, but only if you eat a lot. Dogs and cats, however, can become quite ill if they were to chew on a bulb or eat the leaves.

Now that I’ve sorted out the plant that no one was confused about until I brought it up, here’s how to care for it. Some come ready planted with complete instructions, but if you’re starting out with a bare (don’t mention naked) bulb, choose a pot that is slightly larger than the bulb, preferably a heavier one to avoid tipping.

Don't bury the bulb completely in the pot, just two thirds to three quarters deep leaving the shoulders exposed. A specific potting soil isn’t necessary. Place in a warm, sunny location and water sparingly at first as too much can cause rotting. Gradually water more as the leaves and flower bud appear and fertilize every couple of weeks. To prolong blooming, move it to a still bright but slightly cooler location.

Pinch off the blooms as they fade but keep the leaves growing for as long as possible to replenish the bulb. To get it to flower again next winter, sink the pot in the ground outdoors in spring. Cut off the foliage after it dies back, then leave it be until September.

Repot in fresh soil, bring it indoors, repeat the process as above and you can look forward to it blooming a second time — how about that, huh?

 

Lotsa leaves -- indoors and out.

Leaves are falling in abundance, and not just outdoors. Chances are they’re clogging up the vacuum cleaner in the living room, too. When plants arrive indoors after returning from summer vacation on the deck, we shouldn’t be too surprised if they begin to shed a few leaves.

As days get shorter and light levels fall, it’s a signal to plants to slow down, even stop growing for the winter. Outdoors it happens slowly, but when a plant that spent the summer outdoors is suddenly dragged indoors where light levels are considerably lower, the plant is thinking winter, already? What happened to fall?

Between the shock and the panic it shuts down, stops growing and the leaves begin to fall. Leaves that weren’t healthy in the first place soon turn yellow and drop off. After a week or two the plant adjusts and rests awhile until late winter when it will begin to produce new growth.

Sometimes the plant owner panics as well, immediately reaching for the fertilizer in the mistaken belief the plant is starving to death, except force feeding a plant has the opposite effect. Instead of producing healthy leaves, guess what — they turn yellow. Fertilize only when there is active growth.

Yellowing leaves may be due to disease — bacterial, viral, fungal — and without a thorough examination by a Doctor House houseplant doctor, it can be hard to determine the cause. More than likely, if the plant was reasonably healthy outdoors, it’s less likely disease is the cause. More likely insect pests have hitched a ride indoors.

If left outdoors, most insects quickly succumb to frost, but when transported indoors they think they’re wintering in Florida, and since there’s usually a bit more action happening on a winter vacation, it only takes one pair of amorous bugs to begin producing offspring and soon enough they’re swarming over the plant, sucking the green life out of the leaves.

It’s not always obvious there are bugs on the plant as (a), they are frequently green, making them hard to see, or (b), they’re too small, making them hard to see, or (c) they’re green and small . . .

The usual suspects are aphids or spider mites — or both. The aphids tend to cluster around the stems and at the tips of new growth, if there is any. They are easy to see when clustered together, but by then they’ve already been reproducing like crazy, and worse still, aphids don’t need a mate to start a family.

The other pest, almost invisible to any one over fifty, is the spider mite. They love warm, dry homes, so conditions are perfect for them to start a new family. They can be found mainly on the underside of leaves and look like tiny reddish specks. Here’s where a magnifying glass helps considerably. Look closely and you’ll see that these tiny specks are moving about. They’re not true spiders; in fact, a real spider might keep them in check, but if one also happened to hitch a ride indoors, chances are it was flattened on sight by a half-crazed arachnophobe.

 When bringing plants in for the winter, it’s essential to check thoroughly for hitch hikers. Even then, they can be missed, so give the plants a good soaking with a 40-parts water to one-part natural soap solution — not detergent. Best place to do this is outside or in the sink for small plants, otherwise into the shower with them. Spray every part of the plant — over and under stems, leaves, branches and even the soil surface.

After about fifteen minutes, rinse off the soap. Repeat a week later to be sure you got all the beasts. Oh, and if you have other plants indoors, quarantine the newcomers or you’ll be needing the garden rake indoors.

A tale for Halloween