HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1969-12-25, Page 2210IM (ADERI4ai! &IGNALr&TAR, xHUM" MEMBER 25, 1868
Care Of Christmas Gift Plants
BY A. R.BUCKLEY,
During the past few days,
florists everyre have been
busy packing and dispatching all
kinds of plants for Christmas
gifts, These plants, have, no
doubt, been received with
joyous ecstasy, an emotion that
may later change to a feeling of
perplexity or one of complete
frustration, depending on how
much the recipient knows about
plants. •
Some of these plants yvill be
appreciated for severalweeks
after they are received, and some
for many years if the proper care
is given. ,A few, however, barely
last over Christmas and cannot
be rejuvenated after flowering.
These should be discarded as
soon as their usefulness has
passed.
Nothing has been spared by
the grower in producing lovely
flowering and foliage specimens
for his, customers. They are given
special greenhouse conditions,
soil mixtures, temperature,
humidity, fertilizer and in some
cases special equipment has been
used so that the plants get extra
carbon dioxide from the air.
The shock to a plant that
travels from ideal conditions,
such as these, to a customer's
home in tremendous, and yet
much of this sock can be
minimized if you, the customer,
knows the care required for
various house plants.
Here are some of the gift
plants you might receive this
Christmas and a few words on
how to look after them.
Azaleas: Never let the soil of
an azalea dry out. It requires a
good soaking ' daily, and if
starting to J wilt, immerse the
entire pot in a pail of tepid
water until air bubbles.. cease.
'Keep them crin a light sunny
window, even after they have
finished flowering. Then ..In
--spring, plunge --the- pots -outside ----
and keep the plant well watered.
Bring them in next year after a
few heavy frosts, say about the
end of November or early
December.
Keep growing Christmas azaleas all winter until the weather is
Warm enough in May for plunging them in the garden.
finish flowering, then removed
to a basement window until
spring, when they can be divided
and planted out in the garden.
The kinds sold in florists'
Shops are mostly late -flowering
types. and will not be early
enough to flower outside in the
garden. You may pot them in
the fall before frost and bring
them indoors. Make sure they
are placed where there is no
artificial light to prolong the
natural short days necessary for
flower development. The
chances are, too, that if you
bought a dwarf pot mum it has
been treated with a dwarfing
compound. Next year it may be
3 feet .high.
Cyclamen: Water cyclamen
daily, ,particularly during
blooming ,period, with water pt
room temperature. Although
these plants may be kept from
year to year, they are quite
difficult to manage and need
ve y special treatment, so it is
better to discard them. To
prolong flowering in the home,
place them in a cool temperature
at night at least. If possible, find
a place with a temperature of 55
to 60 degrees.
Kalanchoes: These are
. delightful succulent plants and
should be kept in a sunny
window all year where they will
flourish indefinitely. They are
hardly without flower all year,
but take care not to water them
too much.
Cinerarias: These are annual.,
plants and must be discarded
when they are through
flowering.
Poinsettias: Keep this
traditional Christmas plant well
watered until all the leaves have
Fibrous begonias: Give these
plants a fair amount of light and
a cool temperature at least at
night to insure' much more
bloom: Nip the tops off tall
9 shoots to encourage branching
and more flowers.
Christmas Peppers and
t Jerusalem C r t e p ithese.
in a sunny window and a cool
• temperature of 55 to 65 degrees.
Once the leaves drop and the
fruits wither, save some fruit and
discard .the plant. It is better to
treat these as annuals and start
afresh from seed each spring. In
• order to effect cross pollination
and secure lots of berries, these
plants must be planted out in
nursery rows -in--summer, and be -
brought inside and potted,.before
freezing weather occurs.
Chrysanthemums: Potted
mums are. very popular at
Christmas. These may be
• watered sparingly after they
�A .C23fessA
eristmas
The inspiration of that
Holy Night lives anew.
May all Us spiritual
blessings be yours, at
this C.hristtnastide.
SHORE
GIFTS
dropped, then remove it to the
basement and keep entirely dry
until April. At that time cut the
stems back to six inches and
start the plant into growth again
giving it water and moving it to a
bright room.
In June plunge the pot
outside in a shady corner of the
garden and keep the plant
growing all summer. Bring it in
before frosts and be careful that
it is never exposed to artificial
light too long for this will retard
and sometimes eliminate
blooming.
Dwarf orange. --- Calomondin
orange: This is coming tb be a
favorite Christmas plant. The
oranges are extremely decorative
but inedible. Keep the plants as
cool as possible in a very sunny
window. When the fruits or
flowers are sparse, dry the plants
off for a few weeks, and repot
into new soil. ,
Pot Plants: Many other pot
plants are now available from
flaFisCs includirTg the Christmas
cactus, bromeliads and
fool -proof plants like Chinese
evergreen peperomias and
philodendrons. These will give
long-lasting pleasure .if attention
is paid to certain details. li.ep.
the plants,. as cool as ooss,')le
when they are insiut
flowering. Except
poinsettias, do not allow
to dry out completel
withhold water gradually urge
outside in the summ€ a
semi -shady ,place. Itis be, � to
plunge the whole pot into -i~le
soil, but make. sure a bed of
gravel or ashes is placed at the
base for easier removal in fall.
Keep the pots well watered all
summer, just as though they
were still in the house.
:�>>d
ir
hem
but
'
OfR5ffkt5
May this holiday season bestow
on you every blessing and happiness.
Please accept our best wishes,
and may we express our gratitude to
you for your loyal patronage. Thank you!
JEWELS BROTHERS
APPLIANCES & TV LTD':
(GERRY'S APPLIANCES
Closed dor Holidays
DEC. 25 to JAN. 1
Asiatic Holly
Canadian debut
When people think of
Christmas, they think of holly,
with its thick, glossy, spiny
leaves and bright red berries.
R. A. Fleming, Horticultural
Research Institute of Ontario,
Vineland Station, has been
experimenting with an Asiatic
variety, quite unlike the familiar
holly in appearance.
Although the Asiatic holly has
red berries, the leaves are small,
almost square. Instead of the
usual seven or more poixtts• on
the leaf, the Asiatic holly has
four distinct points. ,
Mr. Fleming explains that this
type of „ holly grows well in the
Vineland area, where it has been
grown under various weather
and soil conditions. 'It is usually
planted in the spring and
4karvested in December.
Horticultural societies in the
Niagara Peninsula have shown
interest in the small -leafed holly,
reports Mr. Fleming. He feels,
that if hardiness can ' be
maintained, nurseries will be
able to promote and sell it.
"Hardiness' in holly depends'
on a well-established root system
in a deep, rich, well -drained
soil," he says, "and in our
climate, protection from a the
prevailing winter winds."
Mr. Fleming explains• that in
order to be really useful,
whether for nurseries or home
gardens or for growing in public
areas, the Asiatic holly must
adapt readily to climatic
conditions, especially possible
winter extremes.
Yodeling Yule
An old custom of the Aus-
trian Tyrol is the Christmas
yodel. Traditionally, the
Yuletide yodel ----a song with-
out words - may be impro-
vised, or it may be based on
the tune of a familiar carol.
A joyous Christmas
Take these flowers, ge mm'd with dew -drops.
As gtft from me :
May thy heart reflect their briahtness
And thy Christmas joyous be I
Flowers ' Speak Language of Love
In Modern or Victorian Era
Like holly, ivy and .mistle-
toe, flowers share in the leg-
end and lore of Christmas. In
terms of the Victorian era,
the floral legend is an espe-
cially meaningful one.
A Victorian lady who re-
ceived a bouquet from her
admirer could either smell it
or read it as if it were 'a let-
ter. Qften, it was a letter.
Young engaged couples,
strictly chaperoned, found a
way to communicate words
of affection via flowers. Each
flower had a special meaning.
Flowers in sequencecould
be used to spell ou4.,a f vent
pledge of love. To he p in
composing — and 1 •islat-
ing — these messag there
were numerous tiny 'tion-
aries listing flower- u. their
meanings.
The flowering honeysuckle,
for instance, spoke of "bonds
of love." A red rosebud told
a lady that she was "pure and
lovely." Red double pink
meant "woman's, love." And
heliotrope carried a bold
message, "f love you."
This Victorian language of
flowers greatly influenced
ale design of Christmas cards
of the time -- witness the
card illustrated here, from
the Norcross Historical Col-
lection of antique cards.
The lush summer blooms
are typical of the Victorian
admiration of flowers, re-
gardless of the season.
Though sentiments may be
expressed differently, flowers
still bloom on modern Christ-
mas cards. A current. card
offers one example. Poinset-
tias flower on a background
of mistletoe, and the message
reads, "Just for you, honey,
all my love at Christmas."
aearvk,ter
‚�rt/f»e
CHRISTMAS SEASON
`hanks to the support of friends old and
new, everydaybusiness is a special pleasure.
Best wishes for the holiday season.
E. BRECKENRIDGE
HARDWARE - PLUMBING - HEATING..
THE SQUARE
GODERICH
E
ERYCNE AT MCGEE1S:
.FRONT ROW (left to right)
Don Baxter, John Van Der Wall, .Ken McGee, Bill Kirkey, Don Dunch,
• Jim Pfrimmer, John Wayne, Doug Cruickshank, Ron McGee.
WISH YOU A
BACK ROW (left to right)
Gary Merner, Ken Treitz, Al McGee, Mary Irving, Tom Poelman, Stan
Kacprzak, Ray Black, Fred McCullough.
Absent When Picture Was Taken -- Rob Erickson, Joe Thompson
ND
HAPPY& PROSPEROUSANSW YEAR
A