By Kathleen Cardinal Garland County Master Gardener
By the end of the holidays most of us are the proud owners of either a poinsettia, Christmas cactus or an amaryllis. All are beautiful, but what does one do with them after the holidays?
Poinsettias (of which there are 100 varieties) are unique, as they obtain their color by staging them under sequential darkness. While we cannot easily duplicate the color, you can still have a lush plant all year. Planted in the ground in shade among perennials or in a pot, it can be an eye-catcher and great conversation piece. It can grow up to 3 feet tall in zone 7b.
The Christmas cactus can be kept indefinitely indoors or on your patio. It requires 4-6 hours of bright indirect sunlight. Water when it gets dry and fertilize lightly every 2-4 weeks. It begins to bloom in October or November for a real flower show by the holidays.
The amaryllis grows from a large bulb. Go to easytogrowbulbs.com for an easy tutorial and color photographs. Not only can you maintain the bulb for the following holidays, but they will multiply. Some of our Garland County Master Gardeners plant them outside in semi-protected areas and they bloom in a fantastic fashion year after year.
Kathleen Cardinal, a Garland County Master Gardener, volunteers with GC Master Gardeners of the UofA Div. of Agriculture, Cooperative Ext. Service. Master Gardeners pool skills and resources to improve home horticulture, stimulate interest in plants and gardening, and encourage beautification. For more info, call 501-623-6841 or email adykes@uaex.edu.
