Holidays

Plant Hazards to Avoid this Holiday Season

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 By Nick Goltz, DPM, UConn Home & Garden Education Center, UConn Plant Diagnostic Lab

Tree with lights
Using low-heat LED lights is a great way to reduce fire risk while keeping things festive. The stewards of this tree took the extra step of installing a rope fence to discourage visitors from damaging the tree or lights. (Photo taken by Nick Goltz)

Using low-heat LED lights is a great way to reduce fire risk while keeping things festive. The stewards of this tree toko the extra step of installing a rope fence to discourage visitors from damaging the tree or lights. (Photo taken by Nick Goltz)

With the holidays upon us, many of us are focusing, with good reason, on last-minute gifts, travelling, reconnecting with loved ones, and all the joy and stress that will inevitably come with it. With all the hustle and bustle of the season, it can be easy to overlook some of the safety hazards that also come about this time each year, especially those involving the holiday plants that we rarely give a second thought.

On countless desks, coffee tables, and, in warmer climes, doorsteps, you are likely to encounter at least a dozen poinsettias this December. Poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) are some of the most conspicuous and popular plants associated with the holiday season here in the US. They are often thought to be highly poisonous if ingested. While ingestion may cause some mouth and skin irritation and gastrointestinal upset, sometimes with some associated vomiting or diarrhea in small animals, poinsettias are vastly “overhyped” with their supposed toxicity.

There is no documented case of human fatality associated with poinsettia ingestion, and most calls to poison control lines for ingestion report no adverse symptoms whatsoever. Medical intervention is usually unnecessary for people or pets that ingest the plant, except for those with allergic reactions to related plants (particularly those with latex sensitivity). For more information on poinsettias and their fascinating history, see Heather Zidack’s column from mid-November, “Poinsettias: The Story of a Holiday Treasure”. While poinsettias may be overblown with regard to their supposed toxicity, other common plants one might see around the holidays, including amaryllis and mistletoe, are quite toxic to humans and pets if ingested.

What we call “amaryllis” in most stores and garden centers is likely not the true South African amaryllis (Amaryllis belladonna), but rather a related South American plant in the genus Hippeastrum, which has been cultivated more extensively and has a greater number of cultivars on the market. Both are bulbous tropical plants that bloom in winter in the northern hemisphere, and both are poisonous if ingested. The bulb, commonly sold waxed or bare in stores around the holidays to be used as a table centerpiece or hostess gift, is especially toxic and should be kept away from pets and children. If you’re curious to learn more about the history and cultivation of this holiday plant, check out Dr. Matt Lisy’s recent blog post, “Amazing Amaryllis” on the UConn Home & Garden Center’s very own Ladybug Blog (https://uconnladybug.wordpress.com/).

Though in antiquity it represented fertility and offered protection from evil, mistletoe (usually Viscum album, European mistletoe and Phoradendron leucarpum, American mistletoe) has been associated with Christmas since some point in the late 1700’s. Though lovers may steal a kiss or two beneath the mistletoe this Christmas, be sure the mistletoe can’t be stolen by children or pets as you decorate for your holiday party! Although European mistletoe is more toxic than American mistletoe, both plants are dangerous if ingested, particularly by pets and children, who may be attracted to the small white berries that have a high concentration of toxin. If you know someone that accidentally ingests a plant not known to be edible, be sure to contact the poison control hotline by calling 1-800-222-1222 or by visiting https://www.poison.org. For pets, contact the ASPCA poison control hotline by calling 1-888-426-4435 or by visiting https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control. Conveniently, they have a poisonous plants list on this site that you can reference as you shop at your local nursery or garden center.

Though thankfully Christmas trees (typically fir, pine, or spruce) are not known to be toxic to pets if ingested, the sharp needles can cause injury if ingested and the trees themselves can pose other hazards if not maintained with care! If you have a pet that likes to chew through wires (there is a scene in a famous Christmas movie that likely comes to mind), be sure to keep those out of reach, or perhaps opt for battery-powered illuminating ornaments. For their safety and yours, cats and birds should always be discouraged from climbing or flying into your tree!

Finally, though we all can appreciate rustic and vintage holiday décor, another strategy to reduce the risk of fire this holiday season is to upgrade your string lights to low-heat LEDs. Whatever type of string light you use, unplug it before you go to bed to help reduce fire risk. If you use a live tree, be sure to keep it watered as dehydrated trees are more likely to catch fire.

With these tips in mind, the Plant and Soil Health team at UConn wishes you and your loved ones a safe, joyous, and restorative holiday season! For questions regarding winter plant safety or for any other gardening questions throughout the year, contact the UConn Home & Garden Education Center for free advice by calling (877) 486-6271, toll-free, visit our web site at www.homegarden.cahnr.uconn.edu/, or contact your local Cooperative Extension Center.

‘Tis the Season for Holiday Plants

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By Dr. Matthew Lisy, UConn Adjunct Faculty

Yellow, white, and red poinsettias
The yellow Poinsettia on the left bottom corner really stands out from the traditional white. Photo by M. Lisy.

Once again, the winter holiday season is upon us!  I am sure I have said this before, but I never cease to be amazed at the seemingly endless varieties of holiday plants available.  This year, I planned on not buying any holiday plants, but one trip to two local greenhouses changed my mind immediately.  If one plant could exemplify the season, it would be the Poinsettia.  Although red and white Poinsettias have been the standard for many years, there are a lot of really neat colors available if you look hard enough.  One of my all-time favorites is orange.  I used to grow this variety when it first came out, and could never stock enough of them.  In the old days, you needed to set it next to a red one to tell the difference, but fast forward many years, and the orange is now much more intense and can stand alone in all its glory.

If I had to pick just one favorite Poinsettia, it would be the yellow.  It just looks so unusual and unlike anything else.  I first saw it years ago in small quantities in a big box store, but now they are much more common.  The regular white has a slight yellow tint to it, but there is a super bright white that looks as pure as freshly fallen snow.  Another new favorite is called “Christmas Mouse,” and has rounded leaves that resemble mouse ears in contrast to the normal pointed ones.  Of course, there are also Poinsettias that are actually spray painted with a plant-safe paint.  These plants usually also have glitter sprinkled onto them.  Even though these are artificial looking, they are beautiful works of art in their own right.

There are new varieties of cyclamen around too.  These are characterized by interestingly shaped flowers that are more open.  Some of the varieties even have the flowers turned upright.  The colors are amazing and range from dark maroon reds to almost neon pink.  Another plant I am really excited to see this year is the Amaryllis.  These have been around an extremely long time, but what changed is the number of places carrying many different varieties for sale.  I like when I can just buy the bulb and pot it up on my own.  This is less expensive and allows me to buy more varieties.  There are even some places selling the bulbs with a type of paint coating on them which is said to eliminates the need for watering.  I prefer a bulb in a pot as I think it looks more natural, but that is a matter of opinion.  What I have seen a lot less of this year is the Christmas Cactus.  While they are still around, their numbers are not nearly as plentiful as in the past.  The Amaryllis and Christmas cactus are the two plants you can keep long term.  They each have special care routines that you will need to follow to get them to bloom again the following year.  The Christmas cacti need a certain lighting (or darkness) period, and the Amaryllis need a dry dormant period.

Wherever you are going for the holidays, I suggest bringing one of these festive plants to the host as a gift.  There is nothing more cheerful than a brightly colored plant during the dark days of winter.  On that note, why not buy some for yourself and enjoy them all season?  Either way, I suggest you make the most of things with a nice new plant variety that you never had before.  There certainly are plenty from which to choose!

Cyclamen in flower and amaryllis bulbs
A beautiful new cyclamen variety and a few large Amaryllis bulbs. Photo by M. Lisy.

For your gardening questions, feel free to contact us, toll-free, at the UConn Home & Garden Education Center at (877) 486-6271, visit our website at www.ladybug.uconn.edu or contact your local Cooperative Extension center.

Holiday Gifts for Gardeners

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By Dawn Pettinelli, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

Vegetables in garden basket
Photo by Dawn Pettinelli

Let the holiday shopping begin! Compared to many family members and friends, buying a gift for the gardener in your life is a breeze. Lots of great possibilities and there’s always the option of a gift certificate to their favorite local garden center. These are just some of my personal suggestions.

With long, dark days settling in, reading is a great winter sport. I’m partial to whodunnits and might curl up with The Garden Party by Marty Wingate or The Garden Club Murder by Amy Patricia Meade. For non-fiction readers, especially those longing for greater self-sustainability, perhaps Small-Scale Homesteading by Michelle Bruhn and Stephanie Thurow might be an informative resource when just starting out. With all the calls we get about vegetable problems, two books by Susan Mulvihill; The Vegetable Garden Pest Handbook and The Vegetable Garden Problem Solver offer up lots of great photographs and least toxic controls for a myriad of insects, diseases and other pest problems. Of course, you can also call us at the Center for assistance.

Gardening magazines still offer excellent articles, advice and inspiration. A subscription to the Connecticut Gardener should be in every CT gardener’s mailbox or inbox. Fine Gardening is also CT based and fills our head with amazing plant information and truly inspiring gardens. I’ll also admit to a subscription to both Horticulture and The American Gardener.

Working in the garden often brings me to my knees and when that up close and personal, I find there are 2 tools always in my bucket. First is a Cobra head weeder, crafted in Wisconsin last I looked. This curved-headed tool can be used for weeding, thinning, making seed rows, digging in little seedlings and whatever other use you can come up with; a multi-tasking tool that is long-lasting and affordable. My deluxe soil knife features a smooth, sharp side and a serrated side with inch measurements, useful when planting. I find it does a nice job dispatching both annoying roots and jumping worms. When deployed on the ground, those larger, oval-shaped kneelers are tough and functional.

In my most recent issue of The American Gardener, there is a Craftsman 54-inch wood-handle action hoe that I would like to try so I can weed standing up. It works with a manual push-pull action but might be just the thing us older gardeners need.

While I have 2 different types of pruners that are great for stems from about a half to one inch in diameter, I can use help on the opposite extremes. Last year my sister got me a hand-held mini-chainsaw and it is wonderful for removing 1 to 3 inch or so stems or branches. It’s really made pruning much easier. On the other end of the spectrum, a pair of horticultural scissors with long blades treated to resist rust would be great for harvesting or deadheading cut flowers as well as indoor houseplant grooming.

For years, I have placed picked vegetables, whether peppers, carrots or chard into those attractive wicker baskets. Recently, I was given one of those garden trugs made out of recycled plastic that had holes on the bottom so I could gather up my harvest and then hose the soil off in the same container. There are several trugs on the market including those made of wood and wire mesh. They do make cleaning your vegetables a lot easier than doing it at the kitchen sink.

Gardeners go through gloves and despite what the ads say, if a pair lasts me a season, I’m lucky. They are always needed and appreciated, and you can’t go wrong gifting these to a gardener. For those with a lot of roses, consider purchasing a pair of rose gauntlets so their arms won’t get all scratched up when pruning.

Indoor gardeners might appreciate watering cans with long spouts that dispense water slowly, attractive cache pots, houseplant fertilizers, cork plant coasters or misters. Bird lovers may enjoy feeders, bird baths, bird houses or seed and suet for their fine-feathered friends.

There are many types of garden ornaments to present to your plant loving friends and family. Plus, tis the season for holiday plants – poinsettias, holiday cacti, amaryllis, frosty ferns are just a few of the selections that your gardener recipient might enjoy. With all these choices, the gardener on your gift list is sure to be pleased.

For your gardening questions, feel free to contact us, toll-free, at the UConn Home & Garden Education Center at (877) 486-6271, visit our website at www.homegarden.cahnr.uconn.edu or contact your local Cooperative Extension center.

Poinsettias: The Story of a Holiday Treasure

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Poinsettias: The Story of a Holiday Treasure
By Heather Zidack, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

Princettia poinsettias in white, hot pink and light pink
Photo by dmp2024

It just isn’t the holiday season without a poinsettia. We adorn homes, churches, and other public spaces with them at this time of year. Their bold color and striking presence are hard to miss.  With a story as spectacular as their seasonal color, the poinsettia is a plant to be treasured.

Poinsettias have a rich history and culture. While we associate them with the coldest time of year here in the Northeast, they actually come from a much warmer climate! Known as Cuetlaxochitl in their native region of Mexico, they were cultivated and used by indigenous peoples for medicines, dyes, and decorations. In Aztec culture, the Cuetlaxochitl held cultural significance as a symbol of purity and were also used to symbolize a new life earned by warriors who had died in battle. The Mayans called this plant k'alul wits. Many traditional uses for k’alul wits are still practiced by the Téenek people in southeastern Mexico, today.

Their association with the Christmas holiday started when Franciscan monks in Mexico began to use their bright red and green foliage to decorate nativity scenes. It became known as la flor de Nochebuena, translating to “the Christmas Eve flower.” It was brought to the United States by Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first U.S. minister to Mexico, in 1825. Poinsett was a man of many talents, having a career in politics, a passion for science, and an enthusiasm for agriculture. Through continuous plant breeding and developments, there are now hundreds of varieties of poinsettia.

Contrary to popular belief, poinsettia flowers are small and barely noticeable. The insignificant yellow flowers are surrounded by stunning, colorful bracts. Bracts are not flower petals, but rather, specialized leaves. The bracts of a poinsettia change color when daylight hours begin to shorten. Breeders have developed poinsettias that have bracts of various shapes, textures, and colors. Some are variegated or have speckles of color on them. These cultivated varieties (cultivars) are quite different from the straight species, Euphorbia pulcherrima, in its native environment, where it can grow over 10 feet tall, is semi-evergreen, and can sometimes grow a bit scraggly.

Poinsettia on greenhouse bench
Photo by H. Zidack

Greenhouses start poinsettia production as early as July. Tiny plugs get put into their pots while we’re all still soaking up the summer sun. (It makes sense when you remember that they’re originally from Mexico!) They grow as little green plants through the rest of summer and autumn. The fall equinox will naturally trigger these plants to change color, however, growers can manipulate their greenhouses to create ideal darkness/brightness to help time the coloring of their plants for holiday sales.

If you’ve got a green thumb and are trying to get a previous years’ poinsettia to “reflower,” simulating this dark period with an opaque container, paper bag, or moving the plant into a closet or dark location for 14-16 hours a day can do the trick! Make sure they’re receiving 8 hours of bright, direct light, and not a ray more! After about 4 weeks of these conditions, most poinsettias can go back to their life with your other houseplants, as normal, and you should see a change in color.

Shopping for a new poinsettia as a gift or decoration this year? Always shop for a plant that is brightly colored and has tight (tiny yellow) flowers that aren't already going by. Select a plant that has evenly moist soil, and a nice shape that doesn’t appear to have been crowded for too long. Here in Connecticut, make sure that your florist, grocer, or grower packages the poinsettia for you to help protect it from cold winds while transporting it to and from your car. When you get it home keep it away from entryways, drafts, fireplaces, or heating vents, and keep it in a room that is between 60° and 70°F. Water your poinsettia when the soil begins to dry out in the pot and enjoy the holiday season.

Whether you’re reviving an old poinsettia, shopping for a new one, or deciding that artificial is the best choice for your home this year, take the time to recognize the special journey these plants have taken to become such a treasure and staple in our holiday celebrations. There truly isn’t anything quite like it!

For questions about caring for your poinsettias or for other gardening queries, contact the UCONN Home & Garden Education Center, toll-free, at (877) 486-6271, visit their web site at www.homegarden.cahnr.uconn.edu, or contact your local Cooperative Extension Center.

Hearts for Valentine’s Day

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 Hearts for Valentine’s Day
By Dawn Pettinelli, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

While there’s always the traditional Valentine’s Day gifts of flowers and candy, why not give that special someone a plant with heart-shaped leaves that will likely last much longer than chocolates or bouquets. There are actually a number of plant species to choose from with some being quite easy to grow.

Perhaps the cutest, as well as the easiest is the Sweetheart hoya (Hoya kerrii). Hoyas are a very slow growing, vining plant with stems that may reach 13 feet in length. Typically, it is grown in a wreath form or on a trellis. The pink or white flowers are fragrant but not produced in great abundance.

While this plant has the most adorable heart-shaped leaves, the ones that are sold as a single leaf in a pot will, in most cases, remain as a single leaf. Unless a piece of stem was left attached to the potted leaf, the plant is not able to initiate new leaf or stem formation. This makes for a simple plant to care for, however. Keep your Sweetheart hoya leaf in a bright sunny spot with temperatures in the 60 to 80 degree F range and water when dry.

Sweetheart Hoya
Sweetheart Hoya - Image by dmp2024

Another plant for small spaces with charming marbled, heart-shaped leaves is the String of Hearts (Ceropegia woodii). While the dainty individual stems can grow 12 feet long, they can be trimmed to keep the plant compact. The grey-green leaves are small, only about ½ inch in diameter. String of Hearts is a succulent best grown in a potting mix labeled for cacti and set in bright, filtered sunlight. Let plants dry out slightly between waterings. Keep away from drafts and note that plants may go dormant if the temperature falls below 60 F.

Philodendrons (P. hederaceum) have been grown for ages and with good reason. These tough, vining plants with heart-shaped leaves tolerate the lower light levels found in many homes. Stems may grow 3 feet or longer and plants are best suited to a hanging basket or trellis. Exciting newer cultivars such as ‘Brasil’, ‘Cream Splash’ and ‘Rio’ offer variegated leaves. Grow plants in bright, indirect light and avoid overwatering. Trim plants if they overgrow their bounds.

More recently, anthuriums with their flashy colored spathes in red, orange, pinks, and purples have been livening up the holiday plant scene. Both the spathes, which are modified leaves, and the true glossy, green leaves are shaped like hearts. Plants grow to about 16 inches high and if content will produce long-lasting colorful spathes several months of the year. Tiny flowers are on the tail-like spike that emerges from each spathe. Anthuriums also appreciate bright but indirect light, a well-draining, acidic soilless potting media and to be kept moderately moist.

Similar in care to anthuriums, syngoniums have heart-shaped leaves and new varieties come in various shades of pink, purplish red and even variegated cultivars. Syngoniums are evergreen climbers but can be maintained as a shrubby houseplant if trailing stems are removed. As the plant ages, leaves become more arrow-shaped. Plants enjoy warmth and humidity and do best in moderately moist potting mixes and in bright diffused light.

Syngonium
Syngonium - Image by dmp2024

A little harder to find but worth the search is the Heart Fern (Hemionitis arifolia). Like many tropical ferns, it prefers indirect light in a warm, humid location. Plants may reach 10 inches tall and wide. The leaves are dimorphic, with the sterile fronds being heart-shaped and the fertile ones resembling arrowheads. Unlike most ferns, the foliage is thick and leathery. Being an epiphyte, plants should be grown in a light, airy potting mix and kept moist at all times.

Lastly, there are varieties of English ivy (Hedera helix) with heart-shaped leaves. ‘Sweetheart’ and ‘Heart’ are two common cultivars. Blue-green leaves form along stems that can be trimmed to any length. Grow as a hanging basket or in a decorative pot. English ivy enjoys cooler temperatures and bright but diffused light. East or north facing windows are ideal locations.

This year, mix it up a little for Valentine’s Day and give the heart-felt gift of a plant with heart-shaped leaves. Do note that some of the above plants are toxic if consumed so should be kept away from children and pets.

If you have questions about these plants or if you have any other gardening questions, contact the UConn Home & Garden Education at (877) 486-6271 or www.homegarden.cahnr.uconn.edu or your local Cooperative Extension Center.