Herald & Lantern 7 December '83

Christmas Plants: After the Holiday

By LISSY LANCE Poinsettias and amaryllis — they look beautiful when you receive them on Christmas day, but what do you do with them later? While they are blooming, poinsettias (euphorbia s pulcherrima) should ' be ‘ placed in a warm spot away from direct sun and drafts, and the soil should be kept evenly moist. Once . the colorful bracts fall off, put the plant in a cool room such as a basement or an attic, leaving the soil nearly dry. In the spri/ig, give the plant a good.dose of water, put it in a sunny spot and watch for new growth. When this happens, repot it with new soil, cut back the

canes to six inches, and place outside for the summer. Pinch it often to encourage branching so you will get lots of blooms later on. When nights begin to cool during autumn, bring the plant back inside and continue sun during the day. To insure red blooms by Christmas, keep the poinsettia in absolute darkness from sundown to sunup for 10 weeks starting in October. YOUR AMARYLLIS (hippeastrum) won’t be quite so complicated. It’s just a firm, fat bulb whose growing cycle is interesting yet simple to handle. As soon as you receive yours, check the flower. Those of you who are very,

Sparrows In Snow-

The snow begins to lay and the bitter gusts make the sparrows shiver as they bob and perch in search of seeds on the frayed and broken sheaths of Queen Anne’s Lace... I watch behind our common pane.

You, I know, would scoop them up to take them in and greet each with a calming coo; soothe them with a finger stroke and cloak them . with the breath ^ of your easy smile... your easy loving ways.

The boldest of the drabby dappled ones tilts his head and in his one-eyed quiz taps the pane as if to ask what task I’d done or what his sin that, of all the sparrows wanting warmth, it’s me of them you’ve taken in.

very careful not to get pollen on your fingers can induce the flowers to bloom longer by pinching off the pollen sacs (anthers) just after the blossom opens. WHEN YOUR amaryllis is finished blooming, keep providing several hours of sun or bright indirect light all day long. They enjoy average house warmth but a tip from an expert in West Cape May says they. thrive when they receive bottom hea(. The track to amaryllis is promoting luxuriant leaf growth, because every four leaves will develop a flower bud inside the bulb. Keep the bulb evenly moist at all times, feeding every other week with liquid fertilizer until autumn. Then repot it with good houseplant soil in a pot that has about two inches of space on all sides of the bulb. Remove offsets at this time and pot them as well. Plant the bulbs so that half of the toulb is exposed above the.,soil. Let them rest, drying out in a cool place for 2-3 months. About six weeks before you want the amaryllis to 'bloom, water well once and wait for the flower stalk to appear. Then put it back in the sun, water once again and watch it grow. Keep it on the dry side of moist until it blooms. When the bulb is kept wet at this point leaves will grow but your

plant will not flower. Amaryllis bulbs keep indefinitely. Watch out for mealy bugs and repot every few years. (ED. NOTE Ussy Lance of Cape May is an English major with a "strong gardening interest".)

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