Poinsettia Care is Easy and Fun

Poinsettias line the staircase at
Graceland in Memphis, TN

The poinsettia is the traditional Christmas flower. It was introduced to the United States in 1825 by Joel Robert Poinsett, first U. S. ambassador to Mexico who obtained plants from the wilds of southern Mexico.

The colorful parts of the poinsettia are actually modified leaves called bracts. The real poinsettia flower is the small yellow “ball” in the middle of the colored bracts. The real flowers are petal-less and often fall off indoors due to low humidity and light levels. Poinsettias are available in many colors in addition to the traditional red, including pink, white, and many multi-colored varieties. Blue and purple plants are died and not true flower colors.

When purchasing a poinsettia, look for two main features: healthy foliage and tight, intact “real” flowers. Avoid plants with yellow or damaged leaves because this could indicate poor handling, old plants, or a root disease problem. Tight “real” flowers indicate the plant is in an early stage and will last a long time. Once you choose the right plant, be sure it is well wrapped when you take it outside for your trip home. Even short exposure to low temperatures can injure leaves and bracts.

Once home, unwrap the plant as soon as possible. The best location for it is near a sunny window or another well-lighted area. A window that faces south, east, or west is better than one facing north. Do not let any part of the plant touch the cold windowpane because this may injure it.

Proper watering is important. Examine the soil daily, and when the surface is dry to the touch, water the soil until it runs freely out the drainage hole in the container. Discard the water that collects in the outer foil wrap or saucer. Do not leave the plant standing in water. Overly wet soil lacks sufficient air, which results in root injury.

Poinsettias prefer temperatures between 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit. They do not tolerate warm or cold drafts so keep them away from radiators, air registers, and fans as well as open

windows and doors. To extend the blooming time further, place your poinsettia in a cooler location at night.

Finally, please be sure to note and tell your friends that poinsettias are not poisonous. Extensive laboratory testing and university research have concluded that poinsettias are not poisonous. However, this does not imply that they are edible. Also, some people develop a dermal reaction (skin rash) if exposed to the white, milky sap of poinsettias.

To learn more about caring for poinsettias, check out my ILRiverHort YouTube video at go.illinois.edu/ILRiverHortvideos.

Just What Are Frankincense and Myrrh?

Just what are frankincense and myrrh? Certainly, they are part of many Christmas stories, but do you really know what those products are and why they were so valuable? Here is more information on both plant-based products.

Frankincense and myrrh are both resins -- dried tree sap -- that come from trees of the genus Boswellia (frankincense) and Commiphora (myrhh), which are common to Somalia and Ethiopia.

The value of these products comes partly from their use, but also from the labor-intensive way that they are harvested. To collect the tree’s sap, the tree's bark is cut, causing the sap to ooze from the cut. The sap used to create both frankincense and myrrh comes slowly and is allowed to dry on the tree for several months. The hardened sap is collected and used as frankincense and myrrh.

Frankincense is used mainly for its lovely fragrance, although historically it also had medicinal uses. Frankincense is a leafy tree that grows without soil along the rocky shores of Somalia. The young trees furnish the most valuable gum - a milky white ooze that hardens to a translucent golden hue.

Myrrh is collected from a small five- to 15-foot-tall tree about one foot in diameter called the dindin tree. The tree looks like a short flat-topped hawthorn tree with gnarly branches. The whitish-green flowers appear before the leaves in the spring. The plant looks scrubby and desolate among the rocks and sands of the desert.

True myrrh is crumbly and dark red inside. The exterior is white and powdery. The best myrrh has little odor and no oily texture. High quality myrrh demanded the best prices in the Roman Empire, but it did not ship well.

The most common use for frankincense and myrrh – past and present – is as incense. I have both in incense sticks, cones, and resins. Myrrh is also used medicinally, as an embalmer, in cosmetics, and today myrrh is found in some flavorings.

Today, you can find frankincense and myrrh for sale at stores and on the Internet. Beware that the product you purchase may actually be resin from another Middle Eastern tree and not the real stuff.

Cones are a Great Addition to Holiday Decorations

Cones are the seeds of conifer plants that keep their needles all year. All conifers have seed-bearing cones. Although many people call all cones “pinecones,” pine cones are only on pine trees. Other types include hemlock cones, spruce cones, fir cones, and cypress cones.

White pine (left), Red pine (upper right),
Blue spruce (lower right)

The most used cone is a pinecone. Mature cones on an eastern white pine are six to eight inches long by 2 inches wide. They are light brown with white tips on each cone scale. In the east, these cones sometimes grow much larger and are sold as giant eastern white pinecones.

The true giant cones typically come from Florida. Some of these mammoth beauties are up to 11 inches long and 16 inches around the base.  They come in random colors of brown, gray or red and some have green tips.

Some of the smallest – and cutest – cones come from hemlock trees. Hemlock cones are ½ inch around and come in chestnut brown to a dark brown/grayish color. Hemlock cones are beautiful, sturdy little cones that some people say look like a little rose.

For a small round pinecone, use those from the Scots pine (also called scotch pine).  These are one to two inches tall by one inch in diameter. Pinecones’ colors vary from blonde to brown with red or gray tints. Scots cones have a small pyramid prickle and a rounded bottom. Even smaller are the cones from a mugo pine that are only one inch by one inch when mature.

For a longer, cigar-shaped cone use a Spruce tree. The Norway spruce produces the largest spruce cone at three to six inches long. The Colorado blue spruce cone is two to four inches long and has a softer, lighter appearance.

If you prefer a fancy cone, try the Douglas fir cone. The Douglas fir is not a true fir but is a relative of the hemlock family. The Douglas fir cones are 2-4 inches long and are very lightweight, with delicate, papery scales that also have distinctive 3-pointed bracts resembling the tail and hind feet of a mouse.  The color of Douglas fir cones ranges from a gray brown to rust.

What decorations do you make with cones each holiday?

2021 Garden Calendar Available for FREE download

This year I decided to recreate the gardening calendar that I produced for many years as a horticulture educator with University of Illinois.  I offer it as a gift to my friends and family.  It includes garden tips and pictures of my garden each month. More information about plants pictured is found on my Retro Rhonda J Blog. Each month also features an Arts & Crafts Project Idea with pictures of my creations. 

During this difficult year I’ve found much joy from my garden, yoga practice, arts & crafts, and healthy living practices. In April, I launched Retro Rhonda J as a place where I can share my love of plants and gardening, as well as herbs, teas, handcrafts, healthy living, homemade foods, nature connection, and much more.

I hope you’ll join me on my Retro Rhonda J Facebook Page and Blog where we can learn together how to live a hip, healthy, happy, and beautiful life! 

You can find me at

• retrorhondaj.blogspot.com
• www.facebook.com/retrorhondaj

Download my free calendar at https://bit.ly/33fsixU

Monthly Features

Below are what's featured on each month, along with links to more information. 

Cover Feature: Grow herbs in containers as part of an edible landscape.

January Features

• African Violet
  
• Crocheted produce bags

February Features

• Witchhazel 
• Macramé planters, ceramic pots, and crocheted curtains

March Features

• Hellebore - Christmas Rose
• Photos with quotes

April 

• Yellow magnolia flowers
• A watercolor of my favorite plant - Poppies!

May

• Hops
• Fresh flower arrangement in the house pairs well with my crocheted doily.

June 

• I Love Poppies!
• Journaling in nature at Anderson Lake Fish and Wildlife Area.

July

• Midsummer vegetable gardens
• African violet pots we made in Mom's ceramics workshop.

August

• Tiger swallowtail on butterfly bush
• Friendship bracelets

September

• Porcelain vine berries
• Books I published 

October

• October Glory red maple leaves in fall 
• Watercolor painted using Let's Make Art tutorial on YouTube

November

• Thanksgiving Cactus in bloom
• Colored pencil drawing of Mandevilla

December

• Back patio in snow (The Winter Garden)
• Quilted Christmas tree skirt

Back Cover: Wearing a vest I crocheted

The Winter Garden

Don’t let freezing temperatures and snow keep you cooped up indoors this winter. Winter is a wonderful time to explore plants outside in the landscape. Without their camouflage of summer leaves, the starkness of trees and shrubs during the winter season is most revealing.

Look for plant silhouettes. Each plant displays a branching silhouette characteristic only to that particular species. Branching habits range from strongly upright and horizontal to weeping and cascading. The bare silhouette of a big old tree looks very magnificent against the wintry sky.

Winter is also a good time to see different colors. The evergreens each come in a specific shade of green. It is very amazing how many different greens are created in nature. Greens range from gray to blue to yellow and all shades in between.

Textures and patterns come alive in winter as well. Tree bark is of particular interest. Often tree bark is more striking during winter. Bark patterns are unique to each tree species and are often used in winter identification. The greenish, gray of an elm is quite different from a black, dark linden.

Also take a closer look at plant buds, seeds, seed capsules, and fruit. Some tree species have very unusual buds. For example, a flowering dogwood flower bud is usually at the end of stems and shaped like a flattened biscuit. In addition to buds, notice berries and fruits. Bright red berries come alive when they are no longer hidden with leaves. Even brown fruits like the Alder tree’s small winged nutlets are beautiful as they persist through the winter.

In addition to the trees and shrubs, I particularly like the look of perennials and ornamental grasses in winter. If they were not cut off, these plants have a whole new look in winter to add another dimension to the winter garden. A bird swaying on top of a dried perennial plant in winter is such an amazing sight.

On the occasional icy morning, every twig and shrub will be outlined in icy transparency. Snow and ice somehow enhance the beauty of plants. Snow and frost on evergreens seem to show their every feature. Admittedly, too much of this can be hazardous for plants, but a little sure is pretty.

Take a few minutes to really look at the plants in the landscape this winter. Take your camera. You’ll be surprised what you will find.

Vines

Originally published July 3, 1999 in Canton Daily Ledger

I enjoyed talking to many of you last Saturday at the Canton and Farmington Garden Walks. The response to the walks was overwhelming. Thank you to the garden owners for sharing their beautiful gardens with us. I know you all worked hard to prepare, and the results were just spectacular. Mostly I want to thank the two Master Gardeners who did all the preparatory work: Judy Hollaway and John Taylor.

All the gardens had something to offer and I learned something at each location. What really struck me, though, were the number of vines and their uses. When used properly, vines really catch the eye by adding a new dimension to the garden.

In Canton, I was at the Meade residence most of the day. The most common question of the day was “What is that growing on the fence?” The vine they were referring to is Porcelain Vine (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata). Kevin and Terry Meade have the variegated one called ‘Elegans’. Porcelain vine is named for its handsome fruit that is probably unrivaled by any other woody plant in vitality of color. The ¼” diameter berry changes from yellow to pale lilac and finally to bright blue; often with all colors present in the same cluster. ‘Elegans’ leaves are variegated white, green, and pinkish. This cultivar is especially nice because it is not as vigorous as the species.

Also, at the Meade residence was the unique and somewhat rare Arctic Beauty Kiwi (Actinidia kolomikta). This particular Actinidia has uniquely decorated leaves. They are pink at the tip, white in the middle, and green at the base. The White Flower Farm catalog indicates that they “offer male plants only, because they have the best coloring and note that leaf color takes a year or two to develop.”

Several locations displayed the Mandevilla (Mandevilla x amabilis) vine. This woody twiner has large showy pink flowers and blooms in profusion over long periods. The dark green, glossy leaves are also attractive.

Other vines displayed included clematis (pictured), wisteria, honeysuckle, trumpet vine, and many different groundcovers. The Martin residence in Farmington had both clematis and wisteria. Clematis is available in many flower colors from white to pink to dark wine-red to lavender to deep purple. The selection is almost endless.  This vigorous growing vine grows well on walls, trellises, fences, or any supporting structure.

Wisteria flowers are outstanding and often fragrant. As an added bonus, the twisted woody trunks add character to the garden. Wisteria is easy to grow, but sometimes difficult to get to bloom. The reasons vary including too much nitrogen, winter injury, and the need for pruning. Too much nitrogen promotes excess vegetative growth and few flowers. Sometimes it helps to cut vigorous growth back to 3 or 4 buds since some species bloom on the current season’s growth. It is also usually advisable to use named cultivars rather than seedling-grown material.

Butterfly Gardening is Fun

Butterfly gardening is becoming very popular. Put simply, butterfly gardening is the hobby of attracting butterflies by growing flowers and plants, which lure these colorful insects to the garden. This type of gardening is very simple but does require a different gardening mindset.

There are two different types of plants you can grow for butterflies: nectar food sources and larval food sources. Nectar food sources attract the adult butterfly. Many different types of flowers will serve as a nectar source. Annual flowers include zinnias, marigolds, and lantana. Purple coneflower, monarda, coreopsis, and milkweed are good perennial plants. Shrubs and vines include butterfly bush, lilac, spirea, and native honeysuckle.

Avoid planting flowers with double or triple petals (zinnias are an exception). Blue, purple, and white are the favored flower colors to attract butterflies with red probably the least favored color. For best effect, plant flowers in large beds or clumps.

Providing larval food plants is where butterfly gardening diverts from all other types of gardening. With these plants you are feeding the caterpillars that eventually turn into adult butterflies. It is hard for many people to allow a critter to eat up their garden plants. However, each type of butterfly larvae eats a specific type of plant.

Monarch caterpillars, for example, feed only on milkweed plants, while others feed only on certain trees or herbs. If you can bring yourself to tolerate some imperfect plants in your yard, it will allow you to witness nature in action. See butterfly mating dances, watch adults lay eggs, and simply see the entire butterfly life cycle unfold in your own backyard.

Butterfly gardens should be colorful, sunny, and sheltered from strong winds. Butterflies are sun worshipers and prefer areas in full sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Provide rocks and logs for the butterflies to bask.

In addition to the variety of flower groups, your garden could include other attractants. Puddles will attract male butterflies to drink and some butterflies prefer to sip juices from rotting fruit. Finally, reduce pesticide use. Butterflies are insects and are susceptible to insecticides.

Plant your own butterfly garden this summer. Then, sit back and enjoy the show. Butterfly gardening is very rewarding.