Keeping Your Holiday Poinsettia Looking Festive

Nothing says “Merry Christmas” like a beautiful red poinsettia in bloom. Poinsettias have been a part of holiday celebrations ever since the Mexican flower was brought to the United States in 1925 by the first U.S. ambassador to Mexico and botanist, Joel Roberts Poinsett. Their beautiful crimson flowers and green leaves bear the colors of Christmas proudly in a way no other houseplant can. Their place is so ingrained in American life and Christmas celebration that they even have their own day to celebrate the flower and Poinsett’s beautiful contribution: December 12th is National Poinsettia Day in the United States. With attention to several easy details concerning their care, you can ensure your poinsettia retains its beauty through the holiday season and even beyond.

Poinsettias enjoy sunlight, but not full, direct exposure. Your poinsettia plant is more delicate and will experience its best growth if its required six hours of daily sun are diffused through a shade or curtain to curtail the wilting produced by direct sun exposure. Moist soil is essential, so while your plant is indoors, water it daily or whenever the soil is dry to the touch. After the holidays if the weather is warm enough and threat of frost has passed, your plant may be moved outdoors, its daily water may be administered with your hose reel, but while inside, a pitcher, spray bottle, or any receptacle will suffice. While indoors, you must control the poinsettia’s climate, 68-70 degrees is the most suitable range for your plant to flourish and bloom. Common houseplant fertilizer may be administered once a month (not while the plant is in bloom) to make sure the proper pH balance of the plant’s soil is maintained. Though your poinsettia might look fantastic perched on a mantle, this is to be avoided as excessive heat and alternately, cool drafts are harmful to its health. Proper drainage is essential for your plant, for sitting in standing water is extremely detrimental to its growth and overall health, as with most houseplants. Whether in its purchased container or transplanted within a more decorative one, drainage is of utmost importance.

By following these easy maintenance tips, your poinsettia can add its beauty to your holiday arrangements, holding onto its red flowers as long as possible. You and your holiday guests will appreciate and admire its lush reds and greens, helping your home’s decor instill the spirit of the holidays to all who enter!

About the author: Jon Bassfarm is an Internet content writer who enjoys researching and writing about many subjects including hose reel and landscaping.

Lemons in Your Living Room

“Plant a seed and watch it grow”, isn’t that how the old adage goes? Often times, simply planting a seed does not actually ensure growth, prosperity, or a coming harvest; of this, all gardeners are aware. Growing plants from seed to harvest often requires patience, perseverance, and vigilant care. Some plants also require ample space to grow, and this fact often discourages budding gardeners that happen to be spatially-hampered, whether living in an apartment, condo, or otherwise yard-deprived home. The excellent adaptability and growing characteristics inherent to lemons can allow an indoor gardener to, in all actuality, simply grab a seed from a store-bought lemon, plant it in a pot, and watch it grow. This could be ill-advised, however, if, unbeknownst to the grower, the plant from which the lemon came naturally grows to a height of fifteen feet or more! For this reason, it might be a better idea to visit your local nursery to find a lemon variety whose growth properties are more conducive to your space and lifestyle.

An excellent, hardy variety of lemon which could be a perfect fit for your living room is the Meyer lemon. Meyer lemons produce medium sized fruit that are extremely juicy, and the plant itself exhibits white blossoms which are at the same time quite lovely and fragrant. At your local nursery, you should look for specimens that are currently container grown, indicative of their ability to adapt to this style of gardening at your house. Houseplants in general, grow most successfully in slightly-acidic soil, so a soil mixture found at your lawn and garden store with a slightly-acidic pH should work excellently. A well-draining container (the larger, the better) helps promote growth of your houseplant “crop”, and situating it in a sunny spot with southern exposure will be very advantageous as well. An advantage to growing indoors is of course your ability to exercise extreme control over the plant’s environment, even supplementing the necessary sunlight with an artificial light when necessary. Your lemon plant needs soil that is kept moist while not being excessively wet; this is why adequate drainage is required. Indoor plants are most probably not watered using your hose reel, but instead should be diligently watered using a misting bottle and pitcher daily. While bees would naturally help in the pollination of your plants outdoors, indoors, you will need to be the bee. Often your plants will produce fruit without your aid in this matter, but transferring of pollen from the male plant (with the stamens) using a Q-tip to the female plant (with the pistils and small fruit) will help ensure juicy fruits will reward your hard work in the future.

As your lemon plant grows, visitors will exclaim with delight at the fragrant smells wafting within your living room and line up to taste the fruit you produce in homemade pies, lemon bars, lemonade, and more!

About the author: Jon Bassfarm is an Internet content writer who enjoys researching and writing about many subjects including hose reel and landscaping.