LADY BUG: HOLIDAY PLANTS NEED SPECIAL ATTENTION THIS TIME OF YEAR

Possibly if a poll were taken of the most frequently asked question each year, it would be "How can I make a poinsettia bloom against this year?" Most people ask this question about the first of December or around Thanksgiving.

It is about this time of year that the poinsettia plan is preparing for its December show but there are other holiday plants that need special attention. Different varieties of holiday cacti, namely Christmas and Thanksgiving cacti, and some kalanchoe, are all sensitive to length of daylight and darkness as well as to night time temperatures. Night time temperatures of near to or above 70 degrees at night may delay or reduce flowering in all of them.

All of these belong to a group called short day plants. More correctly, they are called long night plants, because it is the long period that we use artificial lights in our homes at night. The poinsettia will not flower if its night is shortened, or if a light is turned on for only a short period.

Indoors, poinsettias need bright light during the day and light only a little brighter than moonlight at night. You can create long nights or artificially produced long nights by covering plants with a light tight box about 5 p.m. and uncovering it each morning about 7. This will create 14 hours of night and 10 hours of daylight, which is the required number of hours for the formation and development of flower buds.

This is the point where I always stop and say to readers, "Leave this business to the professionals. It is not worth the bother."

During the years we have tucked them safely in a box inside the garden room closet, and jumped up at 7 the next morning to take them our and give them a drink, or a bit of fertilizer or whatever meets their demands. Then, there is something on the morning show that would attract our attention, and the poinsettias were allowed 30 minutes longer in bed.

If we were out in the later afternoon and did not return just on the strike of 5 p.m., we goofed again!

Then, here comes another question, "I did all those things that The Ladybug says and they still did not flower until the end of January or near Valentine's Day, and then it was a blossom about the size of a teacup.

It normally takes three months for flowers to appear after the short day treatment is begun. Poinsettias can be expected to develop a little faster and may be started a little later on or around Oct. 1. The long night treatment may be started and then continued until flower buds have appeared around Thanksgiving when color is beginning to develop in the bracts.

New varieties of poinsettias stay in bloom for months. but the day will come when they end up bare and shriveled or wilting by the back door. Do not let this happen to yours after the holidays.

Since poinsettias are perennials, they can be brought back to bushy, full plants next year with a step-by-step method.

When the plant is brought home for the holiday season, put it in a well lit spot and give it a thorough soaking until water seeps into the saucer. If the plant is foil-wrapped, poke a hole through the bottom for drainage. (They may stay right there in bloom until Easter.)

Put it outside with other house plants during the summer. If the plant is backed against a wall, turn the pot regularly so it will grow evenly all sides. Do not forget to water during dry spells and feed as you would any other plant.

Pruning is an essential part of summer care. In July, cut all shoots back to about 4 inches long. This will encourage it to grow full and have many blooms, since flower will form at the end of each shoot. If a single plant bloom is desired, root and pot one of the cuttings. Pinching it will create branching.

In late summer, take the plant inside, but continue to give it plenty of light and water.

The final step is the most crucial period, a continuous night time dark period, which is essential for flowering. This means poinsettias must be provided with the long period of darkness, at least 15 hours.

Make sure that poinsettias are in a place that gets absolutely no light. Strong moonlight, a street light or even a flashlight can upset the cycle. Our good friend, Henry Ochs, for many years owned a greenhouse on West Cape Rock Drive. One year a whole crop of poinsettias were late in flowering and he learned a car had pulled into the parking lot and the lights had shown in enough to harm the many plants.

Do you understand why the Ladybug says, "LEAVE IT TO THE PROFESSIONALS!"

~Mary Blue is a resident of Cape Girardeau and is an avid gardener.