THE CHRISTMAS FLOWER

Of all the symbols, sights and traditions of Christmas, perhaps the poinsettia is the one most taken for granted. It’s cheery red leaves (not petals, we’ll get to that in a minute) adds festive touches to homes, churches and businesses every holiday season, making it the most popular holiday plant.

Those bright red “flowers” on the poinsettia plant are actually leaves and not its flowers. The flowers are actually the yellow clustered buds in the center of the plant. The colored leafy parts are called bracts which are modified leaves that turn color in response to the plant’s forming flowers. Once the flowers are gone, the leaf bracts fall off. Eventually, even the green ones drop.

The poinsettia is a light sensitive plant. When you deprive the plant of light in its full leafing stage, the only chlorophyll used to turn the leaves green cannot be produced. As a result of this total darkness and lack of light, the only color that will be produced is red. This is called photoperiodism.

Red is the most popular color with pink and white trailing close behind. To date there are more than 100 varieties including salmon, apricot, yellow, cream and white. Several colors are blended together to produce speckled and marbled varieties. Homeowners and businesses are experimenting with these un-traditional colors to add a personal touch to different decors. The only color that is not produced, but rather is designer-created is blue.

Every state grows poinsettias commercially. California is the top producer with over 6 million pots grown annually. North Carolina comes in second at 4.4 million, then Texas with 3.7 million with Florida and Ohio following them.

That’s a lot of poinsettias, but then, folks buy a lot each holiday season. Approximately 34 million are sold each year which is about 25% of sales of all flowering plants. That earns them the distinction of being the highest selling potted flowering plant with sales at $144 million. Easter lilies are second and bring sellers $22 million each year.

Poinsettias are native to southern Mexico. They naturally bloom in December and they have been used there to decorate churches for centuries. From the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries, Aztecs used the leaves to dye fabric for clothing and the plants were cultivated for that purpose as well as for using the sap as medicine. Red was considered a symbol of purity, so the plants became a popular part of religious ceremonies. In Mexico and Guatemala, it was referred to as the “Flower of the Holy Night.” Since, it has also been called the “lobster flower” and “flame-leaf flower.”

Dr. Joel Roberts Poinsett, a botanist and first Ambassador to Mexico, introduced the plant that would become known here as the poinsettia to this country. He discovered the plant with the brilliant red leaves growing on the side of the road in Taxco, Mexico in December of 1828. He was so taken with the plant that he sent cuttings home to his plantation in Greenville, South Carolina.

Even though most botanists dismissed it as a weed, Poinsett kept studying and growing it. The poinsettia became popular despite its short bloom time. In the 1960’s researchers were to successfully breed the plants to bloom more than a few days.

Since the mid-1800’s, December 12 has been observed as National Poinsettia Day in the United States. It honors the man and the plant that he introduced.

Paul Ecke, Jr. is considered the father of the poinsettia industry since his ranch in southern California produced the majority of the poinsettia plants and cuttings bought in the United States and many that are bought worldwide. Initially, they grew tall stems that had to be bent back into a loop to keep them at a desirable height. He figured out how to get them to branch. It’s from this plant and firm that the football bowl game in San Diego gets its name.

The big question surrounding poinsettias is how to get them to rebloom each Christmas season. With just a little work starting after Christmas you can help them live to see another holiday. They like temperatures to be between 65* and 75* and lots of direct sunlight which means a southern, eastern or western window. Keep the soil moist while they are still in bloom. When it feels dry to the touch, re-water but don’ let them set in water.

Spring is when you want to get snippy. Allow the plants to get a little drier and in May cut about 4 inches from each stem to ensure a lush, full plant next winter. Start fertilizing in the spring when the soil is moist so as not to burn the roots.

In June move them outside where there is plenty of sunshine. They are a little finicky and don’t like the intense hot sun, but rather, they prefer morning sun in partial shade. Be vigilant about insects and if the temperature drops below 65*, be sure and take them inside.

October is when the real work starts because that is when they need daylight for no more than 10 hours per day. Put them in a dark closet or room with no light at any time, not even cracking the door for a moment. Do this from 5 PM until 7 AM daily for eight to ten weeks. Don’t forget to bring them back into the daylight every day.

If this sounds like a lot of work, it is. Depending on if you want the challenge or not, just remember that new and superior plants are available each year.

A few fun facts about the “Christmas flower” are:

1.      * In the wild or tropical climates, poinsettias can reach a height of 12 feet with leaves measuring 6 to 8 inches across. They are actually considered a small, tropical tree.

2.       They have had to overcome a bad reputation as being a poisonous plant. They have been cleared by the National Poison Center in Atlanta, GA and the American Medical Association. Even so, they are not meant to be eaten because they can cause stomach irritation and discomfort. Cats and children may choke on the fibrous parts.

3.       The best way to prolong their life is to keep them out of hot or cold drafts and to keep them moist. Once the leaves wilt too far, it is too late for them.

4.       Many make the mistake of not protecting them from the wind after purchasing them. They are highly sensitive to cold temperatures and even a few minutes of exposure to temperatures 50* and colder will cause them to wilt.

In their humble way, poinsettias bring color and joy to the Christmas season; it wouldn’t be Christmas without them. If treated right, they are a hardy plant that will give you joy for many seasons if you put forth the effort. As it has been said, “If cared for properly, they will usually outlast the desire to keep them!”

CHRISTMAS BUCKET LIST

It’s in the air again, that special time of year that is Christmas. Folks make plans to go home to family and friends, businesses wind down and, if only for a few weeks, it seems that everyone’s worlds turn just a little slower. At least that is how it is supposed to be.

Sadly, for many in this fast-paced world, Christmas only adds more pressures instead of relieving them. How many times have you heard, “I have to get the shopping done, I have to make cookies, I have to get the cards out,” and so on. Why do we “have to” do any of it? Today’s society makes us believe that we have to do all the traditional stuff plus a lot more.

Not this girl, not this year. I have a Christmas bucket list. For the most part, I want to go back to simpler times and really enjoy the season. If I get the cookies baked; if I get the cards in the mail; if I find that perfect gift, it will be great but none of those are on my absolutely have to do list anymore.

How many times have you picked up Christmas cards that depict sleigh rides, chopping down the Christmas tree or folks snuggled by the fire with hot chocolate? People yearn for an old-fashioned holiday but then jump right back into the rat race of the “holiday have-to-do list.”

It is great when folks decorate their homes for the season. However, it should be what you like to see, what decorations makes you happy. Sadly, especially in small towns, I have seen one neighbor trying to outdo another with a bigger, brighter outdoor display. Really, is this what the holiday is all about?

A couple years ago my sister Jean told me that she finally had the Christmas tree she had always wanted. It was a beautiful live spruce tree decorated only with tiny white lights and tin foil icicles. She has never liked the idea of putting ornaments on a tree just for the sake of having ornaments. I couldn’t imagine what it looked like but, when I saw it, it was the most beautiful tree I had ever seen. There is beauty in simplicity.

That’s why I have tried to put the “reason for the season” at the top of my bucket list. I have always believed that the best presents didn’t always consist of the latest fad, but rather something that was special for the recipient. If it is homemade, that is even better because a lot more thought and work go into a gift from the heart than one that is just plucked off store shelves at random just for the sake of giving a gift. If I am going to give a gift, I want it to be something that will actually mean something to the recipient.

I remember when I collected snowmen. It got a little out of hand. We would spend two days setting out all the snowmen and Christmas decorations, inside and out. At last count, I had over 100. Enough. I put the special ones that the grandkids made and others that friends and family gave to me back on the shelf and sold the rest this year.

At first, I felt twangs of guilt of letting them go until Michelle, my niece, helped me to realize that they were bringing others joy instead of just setting in a box in the basement. That made it better and less really is more as I do enjoy the special few instead of having the house cluttered with all of them. I really like the idea of it only taking an hour to set them out as opposed to two days! There is beauty in simplicity.

So, back to my Christmas bucket list. I have always wanted to go on a real sleigh ride at Christmas time. There is a tree farm not far from me that offers rides through their Christmas tree fields, on wagons if there is no snow and sleighs if there is snow. I will be going this year. I am not going for a tree, instead I want to step back in time and go for the ride in the crisp air, drink hot cocoa by the fire and smell the scent of pine.

Caroling is another tradition that has basically gone by the wayside, which is sad. I remember one evening right before Christmas when I was still living at home, there was a knock on the door and a church group had stopped to carol. It is a treasured memory to this day, partly because of the tradition and partly because we never expected to have carolers in the country.

Many light displays today are synchronized to music and cities and towns are putting up huge displays that folks can drive or walk through. There is nothing wrong with these except many are charging megabucks to go through and see them. Are these really Christmas?

I much prefer the old-fashioned way of driving around the countryside and looking at individual homes. My Aunt Sharlene and Uncle Don used to decorate their home and barns with lots of lights and seasonal décor. They didn’t go overboard, but rather had just enough to be tasteful. He had an antique tractor that he would do one side in green for John Deere and one side in red lights for International. They had a large nativity display and the highlight was a large cross on their barn.

They no longer decorate since he has passed, but my aunt and my cousins still put the cross on the barn. Though I miss all the lights that they had, there is something regal and stirring about that cross by itself. There is beauty in simplicity.

So, this year and all years hereafter I will be working on my Christmas bucket list by simplifying. I did make a few Christmas cookies this year but I didn’t make three double batches like in the past. I did send Christmas cards and with each one that I wrote, I reminisced about times spent with that person. And it is all OK.

The best part of all is that I still have time to enjoy the season. I will be going to the tree farm and I will be stopping in to see a few people that I haven’t caught up with for a while and I will be curling up by the fire with some hot cocoa.

It is so ingrained in us that we always have to do the things that we are accustomed to doing every year. We feel the pressure but we do it to ourselves.

Instead of dreaming about an old-fashioned Christmas this year, I am going to live it. There really is beauty in simplicity.

GARDEN IN A BOX

How many times have you wandered the endless toy aisles at Christmas and was overwhelmed by all the selections that you just knew your kids or grandkids would play with once and then toss aside? For years I have searched for something that kids would cherish, that would help them along life’s way… in other words, just be something more than “stuff.”

I am not a scrooge, it is not about the money, but rather it is about value…and not the monetary kind. Perhaps this year I have succeeded in finding at least one item of that nature.

It was right there before me all the time. It is true, that sometimes you cannot see the solution because it is too close. I found mine where it has been all along, in the garden where my soul lives.

Of course, gardening and farming has always been close to my heart and I have always thought it sad that kids growing up in today’s world aren’t exposed to the old ways and hard work that have always been an integral part of farming life. It’s not their fault because most “farming” that kids, especially those that grow up in the city, see is the big tractor or combine in the field with the farmer enjoying air conditioning (or heat), music and probably eating lunch while in the fields. Sometimes they don’t even have to steer!

Yea, what is so hard about farming? They have no idea of the blood, sweat and tears that make it possible for them to eat every day.

So, it dawned on me, why not show them, up front and personal what it takes for them to eat that bowl of corn flakes or whatever. After all, hands-on is always the best way to learn. Thus, the idea for the “garden in a box” was born.

Actually, it is pretty simple, I wanted to gather everything for kids to be able to plant a few seeds, nurture them and watch the miracle of how a simple dormant seed can multiply many times over and provide fresh produce. It doesn’t require a lot of space. Probably, the less space you have is all the better because the idea is to learn how just a little piece of earth can produce much. A container works equally as well.

I started back in the summer buying a few seed packets of lettuce, radishes, carrots and a few flower packets of marigolds and zinnias. Anything that suits your fancy is fine as long as it does not vine out like cucumbers or melons. The idea is to keep it in a tight space, so anything that grows straight up is best.

I also went for flowers that grow fast and is vibrant. Nothing catches a child’s eye more than color. Marigolds and zinnias fit this bill and they keep producing most of the summer. It’s even better if you make it personal and incorporate some of the child’s favorite veggies.

Next, I picked up a pair of small gardening gloves, also in bright colors. Then I added a small spade and three-tined garden fork. To round it out, no garden is complete without a watering system so a small watering can rounded out the mix.

Every gardener knows that for anything to grow, you also need to fertilize it. I saved an old plastic corn starch container, the kind where the lid screws tightly on. However, any container that can be sealed tightly would work. I put a large label on one side and then spray painted the outside and lid, taking care not to cover the label. Before the paint dried, I sprinkled glitter over the paint.

When the paint was dry, I wrote “magic growing powder, do not open until ready to plant” on the label. Who doesn’t like a little magic and isn’t fertilizer and the whole seed sprouting thing a little magical in its own right!

Then, I wrote a note telling them what all the stuff in the box was for and the real important thing was that they could not open the “magic powder” until spring…not even for a quick look or the seeds would not grow. Hopefully, this will save having fertilizer all over the house! Next, I put everything in a larger box and wrapped it with a big bow on top.

Those of us who are entrusted with even a little piece of God’s earth know how special it is. Hopefully, this will help even city kids to know the joy that we gardeners and farmers know. It will be interesting to see next spring if the kids tend to their small two-foot square gardens or not.

Perhaps this gift is more for me than them, but at least I will know that I tried to share the magical joy of growing things from a tiny seed. And I will also know that I didn’t buy the latest gadget that will be hauled to the landfill in a short time. I hope I did well.