I am not afraid to admit that I am not perfect, that I do not know everything, that I make mistakes!
I am not afraid to admit I can learn from others-from their mistakes, and from their advice!
I am not afraid to share what I do know while I am learning from your willingness to share what you know!
I am not afraid of waking up every morning ready to live a rich and full life based on common sense, and common decency; when some spoilsport knocks me down, I am not afraid to get back on my feet and keep on going!
This is brilliant! I am one of those women alone, and I was wondering what to do with the old TV. Thank-you for sharing this! ... View related article.
This is brilliant! I am one of those women alone, and I was wondering what to do with the old TV. Thank-you for sharing this! ... View related article.
Good idea! I use a gardening bag I got from an Avon rep selling her samples; it is so cute, and I love all the pockets-so easy to find everything, but it's so worn out after three years of constant use. I've got a pattern to make one out of old jeans, the pattern packet came with a back pack pattern, too, so I'll have to think more about trying a back pack for the hands free aspect when I need to take it out of the car. Thanks! ... View related article.
I'm a two state Master Gardener with a bit of experience with the lovely Poinsettia, so I think I can give you some worthwhile feedback.
The Poinsettia is really a weed discovered in the 19th century by an American traveling in Central Mexico. He brought it back to America, and its popularity was immediate.
The plants available today have been hybridized and require a lot of work to keep them going beyond the first season you purchase them. You can try planting them outside after the holidays depending on your planting zone in a darker corner of your yard; I say darker because to flower (the actual flower is the little yellow 'bead', the gorgeous red is leaf) the plant requires up to 14 daily dark hours. Floridians and Lower Alabamians really do just toss the plant out the back door and forget about it:) It makes an interesting yard plant.
Because the plant is still a weed even though it has been hybridized (mainly to encourage all those lovely colour variations), the stem will turn to wood and basically become a trunk after a year or two in the ground. The foliage and flower sets will mainly grow at the top, giving the plant a tree look without your having to prune a thing.
You can achieve the same results in a container; you'll need a large enough container to support healthy roots-Poinsettia hates wet feet but likes to be evenly moist while given opportunity to dry between waterings; be prepared to 'pot-up' at least every couple years; it would be easier on your back to put your potted Poinsettia on rollers, then you can roll it into a closet on schedule so that it receives its needed dark hours for flowering-you'll need to figure out the time by watching the sun patterns in your area, and the hours of light the plant gets if you've chosen to make it a large house plant; roll it into the dark place so that your plant is worked into 14 hours of dark by late August or very early September. By Thanksgiving your plant will be beautiful, and ready to display.
You'll need to feed it a little something every and then, I used a Jobe's Grow Spikes package that listed Poinsettia.
Several good books-look for the most current because these plants really are hybridized, and new information comes out with each crop-are out there about Poinsettia culture, and include two warnings:
Patents are in place for any Poinsettia you've purchased and are fiercly protected-you can't sell cuttings or other plant parts if you've purchased the plant commercially from a nursery (the best source of quality plants), home imrovement stores (the second best source) or one of the 'Marts or grocery.
Over-wintering Poinsettia is a pain in the neck, and it is easier to simply toss the plant when it gets ugly (and Poinsettia does, trust me:) and purchase new the next holiday season. But everyone should try, it's great fun if you're prepared for the work.
I tried one time, collecting all of the ones my friends were throwing out after New Year's. I got the plants into one huge container on my Lower Alabama deck, and took very great care of the thing, even getting my then husband to construct a cover so the plants could get their dark hours.
It was the most beautiful thing I've seen in a long time, and a hard freeze killed it off overnight the week after Thanksgiving.
