POINSETTIAS: THE CHRISTMAS FLOWER

                                                           by Helen Gordon , Kitchener Master Gardener

           Of all the potted plants sold at Christmastime the most popular is the poinsettia. More than 65 million are sold every year in the United States alone.  But do you know their origin? Poinsettias (euphorbia pulcherrima) are native to Mexico and Central America where they grow wild as a bush up to 3 metres high.  The Aztecs knew these plants as cuetlaxochi and considered them a symbol of purity. They used the milky sap to treat fever and the red bracts for dye.

                                  

In the 17^th century Franciscan monks chose them for their Nativity procession because their bright colour in the winter months. A legend sprang up: a young girl, Pepita, was walking to mass on Christmas Eve unable to afford a gift for the Christ Child. Her cousin, Pedro, comforted her saying that any gift given in love would be acceptable in His eyes. She gathered some leaves from a straggly bush and humbly set them down. At that moment the leaves turned brilliant red and from that time on poinsettias have had red bracts. The flower became known as “Flor de Nochebuena”, or “Flower of the Holy Night”.

    

The bushes caught the eye of Joel R. Poinsettia, the first American ambassador to Mexico , 1825 to 1829.  Poinsettia, a scientist and botanist, sent some plants home to South Carolina, thus introducing them into the States and giving them their name. He propagated them for his personal collection and started giving them to friends and to botanical gardens. Soon, the cut flowers appeared for Christmas sale in Philadelphia and New York. 

                 

            The modern era of poinsettia culture began in 1923 when the “Oak Leaf” cultivar was introduced. This was the first cultivar to retain leaves on the flower stem. Wild plants bloom on leggy naked stems. In 1930 pink, white and variegated cultivars appeared as well as double varieties.

Until 1950 the flowers were sold as cut flowers or grown as shrubs. Since 1960 the many new cultivars have adapted the plant to growth in pots indoors. To-day their bright bracts say Christmas and light up the dark December days.

Christmas Wreath

Colour Paradise has sponsored a Christmas Wreath auction for a number of years in support of the House of Friendship and groups in the region are invited to create and donate a wreath to the auction. This year the Kitchener Horticultural Society decided to submit a wreath and Al Shivas designed and created the wreath you see above. Most of the items that you see in his creation were collected from around the gardens while others were found nearby.


The petals on the daisies are pumpkin seeds that were spray painted and attached to Teasel and a nut was glued to the center. Al admits that the Dahlia was a purchase from Michaels but he says that the most difficult part of building this wreath was catching and wrestling those little BlueBirds to the ground.

We joined three other Horticultural Societies and many local groups in the Auction. This photo was taken at Colour Paradise. Looks pretty good doesn't it. Looks even better on the wall in our living room. Had to bid more than we've paid for a wreath before but it is well worth it. We are looking forward to participating again next year and to supporting the House of Friendship

Fall Colours continued

While our annual and perennial flowers provide us with a cornucopia of colour throughout the Spring and Summer, it is the leaves and foliage that provides the colour in the Fall. In our pond, we have some miniature cattails that turn a gorgeous bronze colour (at least I think it is bronze).

Then there are many grasses that add to the Fall colourscape. There are the Fountain grasses that we all purchase for our containers in Spring and early Fall but one that I particularly like is the Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster'. I really like its compact upright habit. But there are many others to choose from. One that I can no longer remember the name of in our garden turns reddish in the Fall and has attractive seed heads.

But don't take my word for it, check out your neighbours gardens and see what works for them.

Colours in Fall

No doubt someone has shared a beautiful Fall photo with you or several of them at some point. The reds and yellows are particularly attractive and we often think about the Sugar Maples in our landscape. But what about your own garden? There are a number of trees and shrubs in our garden that provide some gorgeous colours. There is a Clethra alnifolia (Summersweet) that is in a container that is hauled in and out of the garage at critical times of the year and a Cornus sinensis (Chinese Dogwood) both of which have interesting Fall colours. The one I wanted to mention in this post though is the Acer tataricum ssp. ginnala (Amur Maple). We have one that has been in a container for over 10 years. I purchased it in my Bonsai phase and wanted to keep it long enough to create a miniature. Well I've had it long enough but the phase has phased and the poor shrub is still in a container waiting me out. The Amur is a small shrub and year after year it rewards us with the same attractive orangish yellow leaf colours. There are other varieties now that promise even more vibrant colours such as Flame.

It is a good shrub to consider for our smaller suburban gardens. Check it out.

Ponds

A few years back, we lost almost every fish we had in our pond. Whether it was a muskrat or a Heron, we're not sure. We did a lot of research to find some way to protect our fish and it wasn't until we made a visit to a local nursery that we were presented with a very simple solution. A few pieces of plastic weeping tile down at the bottom of the pond provides your fish with a place to hide when danger lurks.

Haven't lost any fish since or at least we haven't lost any in the numbers that we did at the time.

That leads to thoughts of over-wintering your fish outdoors. Here in the Kitchener area, if you plan to over-winter fish outdoors, your pond should be 3 feet deep. Early in our pond experience, in October or November, we would catch all of our fish and bring them into the house where we kept them in several large tanks. Then we would remove most of the water, clean the pond and then refill it. So much work!!!!

Now, I'm thankful that we had the smarts to dig the pond deep enough to keep the fish through the winter without having to bring them indoors. The only other thing you have to do to protect the fish through the winter is to ensure that there is an opening in the ice which allows the methane to escape. We use an agricultural heater that is used by farmers to keep water troughs open for their livestock.

Pruning clematis

So much for New Year's resolutions ...

The other day, I was cleaning up the garden and the day's project was to prune several Clematis. If you have some of your own, you know that there are three Groups (A - those flowering in early Spring on the previous season's growth, B - those flowering on previous season's growth and then again later in the season on current year's growth, and C - those that produce flowers on current year's growth each year). Some authors even refer to a fourth Group. In any case, each Group is supposed to be pruned differently.

I have found though that if you forget what Group your Clematis belongs to, the plant itself will show you where to prune. I have a C. terniflora that in mid-May begins to produce leaves as high as 6 feet above ground level. That's where I prune. Two others, C. texensis 'Dutchess of Albany' and C. x durandii, usually are leafing out at between 2 and 3 feet above ground level. That's where I prune.

Yes I know, all three Clematis belong to Group C and 30 inches is about where they should be pruned but I prune the terniflora much higher. If you are not sure whether you have a Group B or C Clematis, you will be OK if you prune 30 inches or higher.

Group A can be problematic though as it should be pruned after flowering in the Spring but no later than July as you want it to have enough new growth before Winter to flower again in the Spring. That may be where I went wrong with my C. macropetala and why I no longer have it.

Winter Projects

I’m often asked what I do in the Winter now that the ground is frozen and can’t get digging in the soil. While there is lots of thinking, planning and reading going on, there is much, much, more.

In addition to the administrative activities of the Horticultural Society and the Master Gardeners, we are in the midst of planning our Seedy Saturday and a Design Seminar and all that goes with these events. The Horticultural Society is planning to host the Ontario Horticultural Association District 19’s Annual General Meeting in Kitchener for April.

On a personal note, I am involved with the Kitchener Horticultural Association and the Kitchener Master Gardeners. At a minimum, there is one meeting a week for each group. For the Horticultural Society I prepare the bi-monthly Newsletter “Growing Thoughts” that takes a minimum of two days every other month. In total, I give each organisation about 250 volunteer hours a year. Included in these totals is about 4.5 hours weekly of Horticultural Therapy programs at Freeport Hospital and Winston Park Nursing and Retirement Home in Kitchener. While I count only 4.5 hours for each of these activities, they take up a half day of my time for each location.

In addition, I have the equivalent of 24 trays of plants under lights in my basement either for the 3 Horticultural Therapy programs or for my summer containers. There are more plants being overwintered in the garage that need watering from time to time and bulbs, tubers and corms in the cold cellar that need checking. Enough already you say, not quite I say. There are still our house plants about 12 orchids (5 varieties) and a number of other houseplants that include 2 thirty five year old Jade plants.

So that’s how I practise my hobby in the winter time.