Post by kedigato on Dec 2, 2008 18:50:51 GMT
Holiday Blooms
When you visit your local garden center to pick up garland or wreaths, take a look at what they have available for holiday blooms. You will find that there is a lot to choose from beyond the usual poinsettia. Here are five of my favorites that I can count on to be beautiful long after the last of the Christmas tinsel has been packed away.
Christmas Cactus
The Christmas cactus never seems to go out of style and for good reason. In addition to beautiful holiday blooms these plants are an interesting houseplant that can live for up to 20 years. This makes them a popular heirloom plant to pass down from one generation to the next. A pair of large Christmas cacti in decorative pots on either side of a buffet can make an elegant statement or cluster several smaller ones in a single basket tied with raffia or ribbon for a casual centerpiece.
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Paperwhites
There is nothing like the subtle yet beautiful paperwhite narcissus to bring an early touch of spring to your home. Beginning in November I plant 5 or 6 bulbs a week right on through the holidays so I'll have blooms all winter. These beauties are some of the easiest bulbs to grow, thriving in soil, gravel and water or just straight water. I like to grow them in clear vases with glass beads and water so that you can see the whole plant, roots and all. I also pot them up in soil topped with rye grass for a fresh, clean look. To achieve this all you have to do is sprinkle the soil with rye grass seeds, which will sprout in no time.
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Amaryllis
The king of the indoor blooms is the amaryllis. I like to use red blooming varieties for the holidays and white or pink ones for after the New Year.
The giant, trumpet-shaped blooms need little fanfare to make a statement. A single bulb planted in a decorative pot with a bit of sheet moss covering the soil is a stylish accent. Or try clustering several miniature amaryllis such as 'Green Goddess' or 'Papilio' in a large container for more drama.
And be on the look out for the new Trumpet and ybister types. The Trumpets have elongated, cone-shaped flowers and Cybister offers fanciful spidery blooms.
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Cyclamen
Cyclamen are one of the most versatile and longest lasting blooming houseplants. They come in a wide range of color, from white through the various shades of pink into the deep maroon.
As a flowering houseplant, the blooms are known to last for a long time. In fact, I have had flowers for up to 4 months by choosing plants with plenty of emerging flower buds.
For the holidays, I like to cluster a few in a basket with holiday greenery. After Christmas I snip off a few blooms to use as cut flowers. One to three stems a small vase is a dainty way to dress up a nightstand or side table.
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Orchids
When it comes to duration of bloom, orchids will always come in first place. The arching stems adorned with delicate butterfly-shaped blooms add elegance to even the drabbest room.
I like to create a winter garden container using orchids with other houseplants such as cyclamen, variegated English ivy and ferns. These long blooming arrangements carry me through the coldest days of winter.
One of the easiest orchids to grow is the phalaenopsis. It will take low light conditions and as far as the ideal temperature goes, if you're comfortable, it is too.
When it comes to soil, orchids really don't grow in it at all. They prefer the bark of fir trees. Some growers like to create a similar growing medium by blending fifty-fifty fir bark and lava rock.
Orchids are light eaters. You only need to fertilize them with twenty-five percent of the recommended amount on a liquid fertilizer label. And they should be fed about every other week.
Orchids hate salt build-up from fertilizer so it's important to wash that out when you water.
After the blooms fade, cut the stalk above the 2nd or 3rd node and reduce fertilizing to once a month.
* * * * * * * * * *
Please look here for Poinsettias and also Holiday Plant Safety
naturalworld.proboards53.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=flower&thread=1997&page=1#10468
* * * * * * * * * *
From the P. Allen Smith Newsletter
When you visit your local garden center to pick up garland or wreaths, take a look at what they have available for holiday blooms. You will find that there is a lot to choose from beyond the usual poinsettia. Here are five of my favorites that I can count on to be beautiful long after the last of the Christmas tinsel has been packed away.
Christmas Cactus
The Christmas cactus never seems to go out of style and for good reason. In addition to beautiful holiday blooms these plants are an interesting houseplant that can live for up to 20 years. This makes them a popular heirloom plant to pass down from one generation to the next. A pair of large Christmas cacti in decorative pots on either side of a buffet can make an elegant statement or cluster several smaller ones in a single basket tied with raffia or ribbon for a casual centerpiece.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paperwhites
There is nothing like the subtle yet beautiful paperwhite narcissus to bring an early touch of spring to your home. Beginning in November I plant 5 or 6 bulbs a week right on through the holidays so I'll have blooms all winter. These beauties are some of the easiest bulbs to grow, thriving in soil, gravel and water or just straight water. I like to grow them in clear vases with glass beads and water so that you can see the whole plant, roots and all. I also pot them up in soil topped with rye grass for a fresh, clean look. To achieve this all you have to do is sprinkle the soil with rye grass seeds, which will sprout in no time.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amaryllis
The king of the indoor blooms is the amaryllis. I like to use red blooming varieties for the holidays and white or pink ones for after the New Year.
The giant, trumpet-shaped blooms need little fanfare to make a statement. A single bulb planted in a decorative pot with a bit of sheet moss covering the soil is a stylish accent. Or try clustering several miniature amaryllis such as 'Green Goddess' or 'Papilio' in a large container for more drama.
And be on the look out for the new Trumpet and ybister types. The Trumpets have elongated, cone-shaped flowers and Cybister offers fanciful spidery blooms.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cyclamen
Cyclamen are one of the most versatile and longest lasting blooming houseplants. They come in a wide range of color, from white through the various shades of pink into the deep maroon.
As a flowering houseplant, the blooms are known to last for a long time. In fact, I have had flowers for up to 4 months by choosing plants with plenty of emerging flower buds.
For the holidays, I like to cluster a few in a basket with holiday greenery. After Christmas I snip off a few blooms to use as cut flowers. One to three stems a small vase is a dainty way to dress up a nightstand or side table.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Orchids
When it comes to duration of bloom, orchids will always come in first place. The arching stems adorned with delicate butterfly-shaped blooms add elegance to even the drabbest room.
I like to create a winter garden container using orchids with other houseplants such as cyclamen, variegated English ivy and ferns. These long blooming arrangements carry me through the coldest days of winter.
One of the easiest orchids to grow is the phalaenopsis. It will take low light conditions and as far as the ideal temperature goes, if you're comfortable, it is too.
When it comes to soil, orchids really don't grow in it at all. They prefer the bark of fir trees. Some growers like to create a similar growing medium by blending fifty-fifty fir bark and lava rock.
Orchids are light eaters. You only need to fertilize them with twenty-five percent of the recommended amount on a liquid fertilizer label. And they should be fed about every other week.
Orchids hate salt build-up from fertilizer so it's important to wash that out when you water.
After the blooms fade, cut the stalk above the 2nd or 3rd node and reduce fertilizing to once a month.
* * * * * * * * * *
Please look here for Poinsettias and also Holiday Plant Safety
naturalworld.proboards53.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=flower&thread=1997&page=1#10468
* * * * * * * * * *
From the P. Allen Smith Newsletter
