Plant Highlight

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.

Holiday Houseplants on CRIS Radio

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CRIS Radio: Focal Point 11/25/2024

Heather Zidack from the UConn Home & Garden Education Center talks to host, Stephen Thal, about common holiday plants, houseplant care, and indoor winter gardening.

Transcript

00:00:01 Stephen Thal 

Hi and welcome to another segment on Focal Point. I'm Stephen Thal, and I'll be your host for today's program. Today we have a former guest who was on in the spring to help us about plants and from the UConn plant and science center out at Storrs. So, welcome back, Heather Zidack. It's glad to have you back. 

00:00:25 Heather Zidack 

Thank you. I'm excited to be back. 

00:00:27 Stephen Thal 

Yeah, we can learn more about what's going on because apparently, we have some sort of drought. We've had some fires around the state. And I'm sure people are unloading a lot of questions for you guys up there at Storrs. 

00:00:42 Heather Zidack 

Yes, we're getting a lot of questions right now about the weather concerns and people are calling because their plants are in distress. Right now it's a really good time to make sure that you are watering especially for new plants that are getting established. Anything that you planted this year, you want to keep watering until the ground freezes. So we still got a little bit of a way to go with that.  Other plants that are starting to drop their leaves and showing signs of stress. Some of those we're telling our clients to kind of just wait until next spring and see how they leaf out next year because they might have just decided to shut down a little bit early with the drought. But we really won't know until next spring when they're growing, whether it's a big problem or just a little hiccup on the in the road. 

00:01:36 Stephen Thal 

OK, so one of the things we'll be talking about is house plants inside. They're being moved inside. They said they had enough of outside. Gotta get in before the cold. 

00:01:50 Heather Zidack 

Yes! So right now is really good time. Most people have started to bring their house plants in what we're looking for and what we guide is 50° at night or lower is that threshold. So once we hit 50° at night consistently, you wanna start bringing your plants in. There are some that will take a little bit more, you know, a little bit of a higher temperature, they're a little more sensitive to the cold. There are some that will tolerate some lower temperatures, but that 50° mark is really the best guideline.  

And so we, we tell people to bring them in and you want to kind of bring them in slow. So you wanna start with bringing them into if you have a mud room or a garage, or a three season room, or even somewhere like that's a little bit more protected than wherever your outdoor plants were in the summer to help them adjust to the temperatures inside. So they adjust to the lower light provided by maybe an overhang or something to that nature. And then they slowly move them in. 

You want to put them into a place that's sunny. If they need sun. If you've had these plans for some time, you may have an area established already that they go to. If it's your first time giving this a try, you will probably know if they were in full sun when they were outside. They're going to need a really sunny place when they're inside as well. 

And when you bring them in you want to avoid putting them in any locations that have temperature extremes. So near drafts, near heat vents, near entryways anywhere that the temperature we can get, a gust of wind come in, or a gust from when the heat kicks on. Those are all things that the plants are going to not enjoy as much as we would, you know, you go in from the grocery store, you get that big gust of warm air. The plants may not like that as much. So it's the same kind of thought for them. 

00:03:57 Stephen Thal 

Now, well, many of these plants are coming in, are showing growth again? 

00:04:03 Heather Zidack 

Some of them do. What's really happening, and it's actually interesting, is because we've had these drought conditions, plants bringing them in right now, they may have a little bursting growth. You may notice the opposite where they're going to start having a little bit of a decline. Plant stress is always- They always speak in one way, and that's to either wilt or drop leaves, no matter what's going on. So you will see that they may have a little bit of a temper tantrum as you move them, but that's totally normal and just keep to doing what you've been doing with them, make sure your watering is consistent, make sure that they're in the right spot. 

And it really depends on what kind of house plant you have. So some of them will slow growth and they'll kind of just stay the course while they're indoors. They will stay green. They'll stay upright. It'll look like they're almost like an artificial plant where it's like they haven't done anything for a while. 

Some will go dormant. So, like I said, they'll drop their leaves. They'll look like sticks and pots. They won't look very good at all.  

You'll feel like you don't have a green thumb anymore. That is also natural, and some plants like hibiscus have a cycle where some years they will be in flower, and they will do really well. And then some years they will have that dormant period. So, it can be a very wide range. 

If you're ever unsure, go ahead and scratch your thumbnail into the stem of the plant. If you feel very, if it feels very dry and it breaks easy like a stick, that's probably a red flag. You want to feel some kind of fleshy texture. You want it to feel a little bit soft, not mushy, but a little bit so that you feel your nail digging into that tissue you want to. If you're able to get a closer look, you want to look for signs of green and feel some moisture. Those are all signs that even though there's not a leaf on it, it is still alive, and it will come back in the spring. 

You know, so like I said, if anything is other than that where it's it snaps easy or it's incredibly mushy when you push your finger into it to it those are all signs that there could be something bigger going on and then you really have to take a look and see if there's disease or other things that are causing stress to the plant at that time. 

00:06:36 Stephen Thal

And that doesn't mean necessarily throw a lot of water at it?

00:06:41 Heather Zidack 

Correct. That's actually something that happens a lot. People will tend to over love their plants and I'm even guilty of it myself. If there's a plant in my home that I haven't watered in a week or two, I will put a little bit extra just to keep it going and that's something that we really want to avoid doing. You want to make sure that you're always consistent when you're watering your plants. Feel the soil with your fingers. If it feels-you want to poke your finger in a couple inches-If it feels moist in that depth, you're good. If it feels like it's dry or sandy or scratchy. It's going to be something that you need to add water to at that time also. 

 That's the caveat of knowing what kind of plant you have. For example, Cactus can actually survive those drier temperatures, right? So, you want to know what you're taking care of, what it needs and be able to kind of check that. Water regularly. Too much moisture in the soil is going to lead to issues like root rot, pests, those fungus gnats that are everywhere. Those are teeny, teeny, teeny tiny black gnats that sometimes we see in the winter time. Those are actually not even feeding on plants. They're just feeding on the decaying root material. And so that's a sign that there's too much moisture. 

You can mist your plants, but it's not always necessary. You need to just know what you have and research the specific needs of the species of plant you have. 

00:08:17 Stephen Thal

And where would you go to find that information from a flower shop or?

00:08:23 Heather Zidack 

You can. Usually when you purchase the plant, it will come with some kind of tag. 

It does depend on where you're looking, but usually they have some kind of tag that at least has a common name on it, so that is the very the colloquial name. So, a common name is like a fiddle leaf fig or a Benjamin fig, whereas the botanical name is going to say Ficus benjamina for a Benjamin Fig and what you're gonna do with that information is then you would, you could call our office at home and garden and we can help you get some information on how to take care of it or you can go ahead and do some of that research yourself to see what those plants are going to need. Really, you need just the name. The common name is good. The botanical name, so it's usually on on those little labels in italics. That's even better. And if you're not sure, we can always take a look at some pictures and try to help you out as well. 

00:09:23 Stephen Thal 

Why don't you give them your phone number since you mentioned it mentioned that they can call you. 

00:09:29 Heather Zidack 

Yeah, sure. So, at the UConn Home and Garden Center, you can give us a call. Our number is 860-486-6271. Again, that's 860-486-6271. 

00:09:49 Stephen Thal 

What about house plants? Do we have a sort of categories of house plants we can review? 

00:09:55 Heather Zidack 

Yeah. So I actually have a list that I had ready for us today to talk about house plants that are going to be common now that we're going to be moving into the holiday season. We're already getting ready to talk about Thanksgiving and Christmas and seeing the decorations in the stores. So I thought it would be a good idea to bring up some of those plants that people might be seeing at this time of year. 

00:10:18 Stephen Thal 

OK, which one would you like to start with? 

00:10:21 Heather Zidack 

So the first one that I have is called an amaryllis, that is given as a bulb as gifts at Christmas I you know, I've gotten those for Christmas gifts before you see them in displays and windows.  

These are the kind that have a very thick large single stem that emerges from a bulb that's probably the size of your fist. The larger the bulb, the more flowers and the more stalks you're going to get, right? Those flowers at the top are very large. Those are probably about the size of your open palm for a lot of these species, they have 6 petals. On those flowers. It's kind of an organization of three and three yo make that cluster. Tou can have two or more flowers in a cluster, they're very, very big, very vibrant. They're very attention catching and you see variants of red, pink, white, all of those colors and solids, stripes and everything in between.  

It is something that if you have a green thumb and you wanna start them yourself. You want to start them in early to mid November and you'll make sure that you'll have blooms for the holidays. You just use regular potting soil. You don't use dirt or anything, you use potting soil and you keep the soil moist and you keep it in a sunny window and from there that plant will come out of the bulb. You'll see the green stalk and the green leaves first and then up at the very top, you'll get that flower to bloom right at the holidays. So that one's really, really cool. 

00:12:02 Stephen Thal

Do you have a second one that's common?

00:12:06 Heather Zidack 

Yeah. The next one, we'll talk about the holiday cactus. There are a bunch of different holiday cactuses and this one I like to talk about because we have a Thanksgiving cactus. We have a Christmas cactus and there's actually an Easter cactus as well. They're all house plants that people have. 

The common misconception with these guys is that their bloom time is the only thing that identifies them. So, your Thanksgiving cactus is going to bloom in November. Your Christmas cactus will bloom in December, and your Easter cactus sometime in the spring. 

The actual difference between the three is the shape of their flowers is slightly different, and the shape of their leaves is different. When you look close. The Thanksgiving cactus has deeper lobes or indents into the leaf. Right, it looks sharper. It almost looks like it has a pair of cat ears on the top of the leaf that's emerging.  

The Christmas cactus is going to be similar to the Thanksgiving cactus, but it's a totally flat or square top to that leaf, so there's no cat ears on it. It's just totally flat. 

The Easter cactus is round. So that leaf is rounded at the top and the colors of all three of them will vary. So you'll have your Reds and your whites and your pinks. I've seen some in like salmony orange colors and with all three of them, you can purchase them from the store, or you can start them from cuttings. And what you can do is you can actually take a small branch. Dip it in. They have a product called rooting powder. 

And put it in some sandy potting soil and it should be able to produce some roots for you. So they're really easy. If you want to get into plant propagation. If you want to have something that's a low water need to take care of, these guys are really good because they are in the cactus family and they're just very colorful and very seasonal. Depending on what time of year they bloom. 

With the three, the time of year, the light can actually affect when they bloom or not too, so that can be a really interesting thing. So always look for the shape of those leaves. 

00:14:25 Heather Zidack 

Do you want to hear the one I have next? 

00:14:27 Stephen Thal 

Sure 

00:14:28 Heather Zidack 

All right. So then I have a plant called paperwhites. These are tiny. They are actually Narcissus bulbs, which is a relative of the daffodil. So if you're familiar with the daffodil shape that has those petals that are kind of like a wide open starburst with that circular set of petals in the middle. That's what it looks like, but it's on a very small star shaped scale, so they have tiny White Star shaped flowers, upright green foliage and stems. They're very delicate. They're very leafy looking. 

Many varieties are fragrant and what you can do with them is you can start your bulbs between September and November indoors, and you'll get flowers during the holiday season and winter months.  

Cooler temperatures help them root for the first few weeks, so if you're putting them in two pots yourself, you want to keep them at 50 to 60° to help them develop their roots in those first couple of weeks. 

And then temperatures above 70 are going to cause them to kind of flop over. They're not going to hold their shape as well. So if they get too warm, they can also throw a little bit of a fit about it. And so they will be much happier if you're able to stake them up if the room is too warm and they start to do that, flopping over, they like the cooler 50 to 60 kind of temperature for them, so that's something to keep in mind. 

00:15:57 Stephen Thal 

Yeah. What kind of pots do you use? I know some people use clay pots. Some people use plastic ones or other types of. 

00:16:04 Heather Zidack 

Really, the pot material isn't the important thing. What you really want to make sure that you have is the right size. So for paperwhites, you would probably want maybe a six inch pot or like a geranium pot to put your bulbs into. You want to make sure that whenever you have for house plants-and this is even stuff that you bring in-You want to have your pot be a little bit wider than your root ball. So once the roots start getting too expansive, you're going to have what's called a root bound plant. And so it's kind of going to be outgrowing itself, kind of like when we outgrow our shoes, when we're kids, right. So you want to put a new pot there. 

You want it to be just an inch or two bigger than that root ball so that it has enough room to continue growing. That's really what you want to pay attention to more than the material. 

00:17:05 Heather Zidack 

And then the last one that I have is poinsettias. Do you want me? To go into that one. 

00:17:08 Stephen Thal  

Sure. 

00:17:08 Heather Zidack 

 All right. So for pointsettia is for the holiday. This is our traditional holiday plant that we have. What's really cool about these guys is that they were discovered in Mexico where it actually grows natively. The native poinsettia doesn't look at like anything that we know from what we've seen in stores. It's actually tall, it's a little bit what we call leggy. So it actually spreads out. 

You know, and it's very wild looking and it's more shrub like it. It is a very different plant altogether. It was something from Aztec culture. They had a lot of symbolism behind this plant where it represented purity and new life earned by warriors who had died in battle. 

It was used for dyes and other products and then it didn't come to the US until the 18 hundreds and then it started to become a a holiday staple over the years. There's a lot of people that can go out, and purchase them.  

The growers start those plants in August or September, sometimes even earlier. We're still all in summer mode thinking about getting those last few days at the beach, and they're already putting these points that is in the pots. So it's something that is it takes a long time to grow. They love heat and they love warmth. So that's something to keep in mind when you have them in your house.  

They come in tons of varieties and colors now and they've really done a lot of breeding projects to get them to change from what they originally were with that wild native plant. 

And so the new colors have all sorts of different stripes, splashes, solid colors, Reds, whites, pinks and everything in between. There are ones that are blue, and some of those can actually be painted. You have to kind of take a look and see real close if they're painted or if it's a a color that's true from actual breeding but you'll be able to tell if you look close. 

00:19:11 Stephen Thal 

Hmm. Wow. 

00:19:13 Heather Zidack 

They're really cool. 

00:19:13 Stephen Thal 

Yeah. Yeah, I would agree with you. Yeah, yeah. 

00:19:18 Heather Zidack 

Yeah. 

00:19:18 Stephen Thal 

What people tell me they are. Yep, you're right. 

00:19:22 Heather Zidack 

Yep. And they have. They have a really, really nice history from them too. So it's always cool to see what plants start as and what they end up becoming. That's a, that's a really cool field to look at with plant breeding and how plants have changed over time. 

00:19:40 Stephen Thal 

Yeah. OK. Well, these are exciting. And the one day they get all nice colors and and they also have it used to be used for dyes. That's interesting. 

00:19:50 Heather Zidack 

Yeah, they used to use the color they they used the petals for dyes and all sorts of different uses when they would use the native plant. 

00:20:03 Stephen Thal 

And I bet you the fragrance is pretty nice. 

00:20:06 Heather Zidack 

They actually the ones that we have now don't have too much fragrance. I don't know about the wild or the native ones, how fragrant they were. But the other thing that's really interesting about poinsettias is the fact that they have their flowers and what we know to be their flowers are actually the tiny itty bitty yellow spots in the center of the plant. So if you ever look at a whole Poinsettia plant and you see the little tiny yellow pieces in the middle, those are the actual flowers. What we see is changing colors and different petals and things like that is actually called a bract, which is a modified leaf. 

And so, they're all leaves that have changed color. So that's another really cool fun fact about them. 

00:20:56 Stephen Thal 

Yeah, yeah. No wonder people flock to the poinsettias and they're around the holidays a lot. 

00:21:05 Heather Zidack 

They're very popular. 

00:21:06 Stephen Thal 

Yeah, also about. Any what about poison plants? We know sometimes during the holiday season there are some plants that children, adults and animals should be cautious. 

00:21:21 Heather Zidack 

Yeah. So, one of the things that we tell our clients is that our office and with the home and Garden Center, we can identify a plant for them to tell them what it is. And we can say that is a poinsettia, for example, right? 

Other professionals need to be the ones to deem it toxic and give you those warnings. So the best advice that I can give to you is to do your research before purchasing any plant. You want to kind of like I talked about with the house plants before. Know the species of what you're purchasing and that'll help you to determine whether it's toxic for people, for pets, for anything like that. There is a really good resource from the ASPCA. They have a database of plants that are toxic to domestic animals, and they have a 24 emergency hotline, a 24 hour emergency hotline. Now that's for pets. I do have that number. Would you like me to share that with you? 

00:22:22 Stephen Thal 

Yes, please. 

00:22:23 Heather Zidack 

OK, so that is 1-888-426-4435 again, that's 1-888-426-4435. 

00:22:41 Heather Zidack 

Now on the people side of things, when you're looking at plants that could be toxic again, I can give you the identity of what that plant is, but then we would refer people to the Connecticut Poison Control Center for human toxicity. And I have that number as well. Would you like that? 

00:23:00 Stephen Thal 

Yes, please. 

00:23:01 Heather Zidack 

Alright, so that number is 1-800-222-1222. Again, that's 1-800-222-1222. 

00:23:19 Heather Zidack 

And any plants that you have done your research on and found that they could be toxic house plants, anything like that, you want to make sure that they're kept out of reach of children and pets-if you're going to bring them into the home. If you do that background homework and figure out if it's toxic to your pets or children or whatever you, you know, are concerned about the toxicity of. You can also just not bring them into the home. So the best thing to do is to know what the plant is, have those emergency numbers on hand. 

And keep anything out of reach or just don't bring it home at all. If you have any concerns. 

00:24:01 Stephen Thal 

OK, this is Stephen Thal with another segment on focal point and we were speaking with Heather from the UConn plant and Science Center up at stores, Connecticut. We have to remember many years ago, as I remember, as I recall from history is that that was one of the first universities in Connecticut to start as an agricultural college, didn't it? 

00:24:27 Heather Zidack 

Yes, we have a very deep history here at the university and the College of AG, which is now the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources. We call ourselves CAHNR for short C-A-H-N-R. That college was one of the first ones started here at the University of Connecticut as well. 

00:24:48 Stephen Thal

What are some other plants that you'd like to end the program with?

00:24:57 Heather Zidack 

I think one thing that we could talk about real quick is growing herbs indoors because that's something that a lot of people can do. You can still grow your herbs right now whether you want to dig up the herbs that you have in your garden and bring them inside. 

And get a whole grow light operation and everything else, which is what I do because I am a very, very intense gardener at home. I bring my plants in. Or you can start herbs. Herbs are one of the easiest things that you can grow on your window sill indoors. It's very easy to start and restart and regrow them from time to time. 

Whenever you start them, you can start them from seed to anytime and many of them like basil for example, is really good. You can just put a sprig of basil in a jar of water and it will actually send out some roots and you can put that in a a pot of potting soil and grow your basil from that as well. 

So you can do that. Most herbs do well by a sunny window. They are used for culinary purposes. It's also a really great fragrance in the wintertime. It's really nice to have fresh herbs all year round and it's easy to rotate them. Like I said, if anything happens-Disease or you get bugs, or you get anything like that-It's really easy to just kind of let them go and start fresh with new herbs. If you're growing herbs. 

00:26:29 Stephen Thal 

Now, do you- 

00:26:31 Heather Zidack 

Oh, go ahead. 

00:26:32 Stephen Thal 

Do you need a lot of light for these herbs? Put them in a lot of light area. 

00:26:37 Heather Zidack 

They tend to need a sunny window, herbs. The nice thing is that because they aren't producing flowers, they don't need as much sunlight and as much energy as some of the other house plants that we were talking about. So they do need a sunny window, but they can actually adapt pretty well to other conditions as well. 

00:27:00 Stephen Thal

UM, that's wonderful. Herbs and anything else you can grow at home.

00:27:08 Heather Zidack 

The other, the last thing with the herbs, that's really cool that we're seeing is a trend right now is that Rosemary plants are being used as mini indoor Christmas trees. And so people are purchasing Rosemary plants that are shaped to be like a Christmas tree. 

Stephen Thal  

Yeah 

Heather Zidack 

They decorate them for the holiday and then they end up having them throughout the rest of the winter for a-they can use it for the culinary purposes. They're fragrant. They're really pretty. So that's that's something that we're seeing is a new trend right now. 

00:27:40 Stephen Thal 

Right. And so they don't have to throw the tree out. 

00:27:44 Heather Zidack 

Right, exactly. They can keep it and they can go from there, yeah. 

00:27:45 Stephen Thal 

Recycling 

00:27:48 Stephen Thal 

Very good. OK. Heather, we want to thank you for a great job and a great wealth of information. We hope that people will take notes and if you want to leave your phone number one more time to regarding information or how they can assist you, how they can you can assist them. 

00:28:06 Heather Zidack 

Yeah. So if anybody has any questions about gardening, plants or anything that we talked about today, we we are here Monday through Friday, 8:00 to 4:00 give us a call. The number here is 860-486-6271. Again, that's 860-486-6271 

00:28:28 Stephen Thal

We want to thank you very much for your information and we hope that the people online will find this helpful and also not only ask your question but maybe go online and show you the pictures on your computers, right. You might be able to do that.

00:28:46 Heather Zidack 

Yes, that would be fantastic. We can do a lot with pictures, and we can help people with their gardening projects and questions that they have. 

00:28:55 Stephen Thal 

OK well, wishing you and your family and the school a happy, safe holiday. I know this Thanksgiving’s not too far around the corner. 

00:29:06 Heather Zidack 

Yes, thank you. You too. 

00:29:07 Stephen Thal 

Take care and stay well and thanks for coming back and give us a call in the spring so we can get you on again. 

00:29:08 Heather Zidack 

Thanks for having me back. Yes, I will. Thank you so much. 

00:29:15 Stephen Thal

Yeah. Thank you. This is Stephen Thal saying thank you for joining us on Focal point. Two quick reminders. One where a hat and sunglasses while you're outside to protect your delicate eyes and also to develop an emergency plan no matter where you are, whether it's school or ome or traveling. You need to develop an emergency plan, so if an emergency happened, you know what to do. You need help. Call the fire department. Thank you again. Stay safe and stay healthy.

 

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.

Berry Good Pick for Winter Interest

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By Dawn Pettinelli, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

Winterberry shrub with no leaves and bright red berries.
Winterberry shows winter interest with no leaves and bright red berries. Photo by dmp2024

Looking for a splash of color in your yard amid winter’s dreary landscape? Check out one or more of the many winterberry (Ilex verticillata) cultivars. This deciduous member of the holly family sports bright, shiny red berries from early fall through late winter. Branches may be cut and used in holiday arrangements.

Winterberry can be found growing throughout eastern North America from Canada down along the east coast and west to Texas. Look for the brilliant red berries when driving past marshy areas in particular. While winterberry will grow in well-drained soil, it is a great candidate for areas that stay moist and aren’t particularly well drained. These plants naturally occur in forested wetlands as well as along the banks of streams, ponds or other water sources.

There are several factors to consider when selecting a winterberry bush for your yard. One of the most important is the mature size of the plant. Cultivars are available that vary from dwarf, 4-foot, compact plants to 15-foot, more rangy specimens. ‘Red Sprite’ and ‘Berry Poppins’ are two red-berried, compact cultivars. ‘Winter Red’ and ‘Sparkleberry’ typically top 10 feet. Check out suggested cultivars for Connecticut with the UConn Plant Database (https://plantdatabase.uconn.edu/). While initially slow growing, winterberries may eventually form clumps through suckering and depending on the cultivars, may form dense stands if allowed.

The berries on most cultivars are a brilliant red. There are, however, some that have gold or orange fruits. ‘Goldfinch’ boasts golden yellow berries while both ‘Aurantiaca’ and ‘Afterglow’ offer delightful orangey fruit.

Do realize that plants are dioecious, meaning that individual plants may be male or female. Only the female plants produce berries. The male plants supply the pollen to fertilize the female’s flowers so that berries are produced. One male plant can fertilize at least 10 females if located within 50 feet or closer. Look at tags so a compatible male cultivar is chosen. Appropriate pollinators should be listed on nursery tags.

Unless plants are in bloom or have berries, it is not possible to tell males from females, but they should be marked on their tags at the nursery. When in bloom, the female flowers have tiny green immature berries in the center while the males have fluffy, yellow, pollen-bearing anthers. Occasionally the female flowers have non-pollen bearing anthers, probably effective is luring pollinators to fertilize their flowers. Although not common in Connecticut, one native species of cellophane bee, Colletes banksi, is a specialized pollinator of winterberry.

Winterberry with full berry display.
Photo by dmp2024

Winterberries do best in full sun to partial shade. The shadier the site they are grown in, the fewer blossoms and berries they will produce. Being native New Englanders, they prefer acidic soils rich in organic matter. If your soil pH is between 5 to 6.5, plants should happily grow. Once plants are established, only minimal fertilization is usually required. For the first few years, about a cup of a complete organic or synthetic fertilizer could be lightly worked into the soil surrounding the plant each spring.

Plants can be used in foundation plantings, as a hedge, in rain gardens and when setting up areas attractive to wildlife. Not only are pollinators attracted to the flowers but over 48 species of birds feed on the berries, typically after they soften following periods of freezing and thawing.

Pruning can be tricky and is best kept to a minimum so selecting the right sized cultivar for your particular site is crucial. Winterberries have an upright growth habit but may sucker. They bloom on old wood meaning the flower buds that open in the spring were formed last fall. If grown as a multi-stemmed shrub, a few stems can be removed if plants seem crowded.

Complaints about little or no berry production may be due to lack of a male pollinator, too much shade, young plants that have not established a good root system, improper pruning or excessively dry conditions. In general, winterberries are rewarding, easy to grow shrubs that make quite the impact when little else in the landscape stands out.

For questions about selecting or growing winterberries 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.

 

 

Do You Dig Dahlias?

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By Dawn Pettinelli, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

Dahlias in a bed at Enders island
Dahlias at Enders Island. Photo by dmp2024

A couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate to visit the spectacular dahlia gardens on Enders Island in Mystic. For those unfamiliar with this retreat, an 11-acre seaside estate was donated to the Society Edmund by Mrs. Alys E. Enders in 1954. This Roman Catholic religious community offers ministry, retreats and respite to many. The grounds are open to all for contemplation or just unbound appreciation of nature and horticultural beauty.

Gardeners will delight in the gorgeous, well laid out garden rooms but especially be entranced by the vast array of dahlias. The gardens at Enders Island are filled with over 300 varieties of prize-winning dahlias in all colors (except blue), shapes and sizes imaginable. A Dahlia Preservation Trust was established to preserve the dahlia collection that is rated as one of the largest in New England.

Any of us growing dahlias while appreciating their cheery, attractive blossoms lasting long into the fall, do realize they are not winter hardy, even with milder winters attributed to climate change.  Dahlias are native to Central America. In fact, they are Mexico’s national flower. Those wishing to save the tuberous roots for replanting next year, must dig them up and store them over the winter.

Ideally, gardeners should wait until a frost blackens the foliage. Then, if possible, wait a week so any carbohydrates left in the above ground tissue can make their way to the roots to enable good sprouting next spring when the tuberous roots are replanted. This has been a particularly confusing fall to both plants and gardeners. Frosts have hit some areas but often not severe enough to affect all plants and dahlias in more protected sites are still blooming their heads off, a trait most appreciated by pollinators such as bees.

On the other hand, it is November. Time to reign in gardening activities and begin preparations for the holidays. What’s a gardener to do?

Since my plants were losing bottom leaves to disease and looking a little ragged, I just decided it was time to dig them and move the tuberous roots into the cellar. Before digging any dahlias, be sure to note their names. If tags were not written out when planting, make them out now if color and flower type are important.

Cut back stems to 2 or 3 inches and carefully dig the tubers starting at least 8 inches away from crowns so tubers do not get sliced or speared. Use a spade or pitchfork but dig in carefully. This year the soil is so dry that it was not necessary to leave the tuberous roots in the sun for a few hours so the soil clinging to them could dry and be shaken off. Every one I dug up was dry enough so that practically no soil clung to the roots. Each was placed in a separate container with repurposed labels.

Dahlia tubers with a white tag
Dahlia tubers tagged for storage. Photo by dmp2024

Perusing through online sources, many suggest washing tubers off with a hose and letting them dry before storing. I have let them dry out in wet falls and shaken dried soil from them before storing but have never hosed them off. Maybe follow the approach that makes most sense to you. If any remaining soil is washed off, the tuberous roots should most likely be stored in lightly moistened peat moss or other slightly damp organic material, so they will not desiccate over the winter. For me, leaving a bit of soil around the roots that are stored in pots in the cellar over winter helps to keep tubers from shriveling with only a sparse sprinkle of water once or twice a month.

When happy, dahlias will multiply but it is probably best to leave the whole clump together and separate it before planting next spring when multiple buds or eyes can be seen. Keep the tuberous roots at 45 to 55 degrees F and check every 2 to 3 weeks for signs of decay or desiccation.

For an early start, the tuberous roots can be set into beds usually by late April unless unseasonably cold weather is predicted. If you have questions about overwintering dahlias or for other gardening questions, 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.

Gorgeous Grasses

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By Dawn Pettinelli, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

Autumn shines a spotlight on ornamental grasses. With their rustling blades and fluffy seedheads they are star performers in late season gardens going head-to-head with asters, mums, Montauk daisies and boltonias. Plus, they are great in fresh or dried cut flower arrangements.

The huge selection of grass species available is great for gardens but makes selecting difficult. Heights range from a few inches to more than 6 feet; colors from deep green to chartreuse, burgundy to black. Solid or variegated?  Would a clump former, spreader, or self-seeder best fit your needs? Are seed heads important for fall and winter interest? Is this grass planted as an ornamental feature in your garden bed or landscape or are you looking for natives to support pollinators and perhaps serve as food for birds and others? Answers to these questions may guide you in grass selection.

Two favorite non-natives grown for their ornamental value are cultivars of Miscanthus and Pennisetum. While the miscanthus species has been listed as potentially invasive in CT, a number of attractive cultivars are available for purchase and can be striking if well positioned in the garden. Two outstanding selections are ‘Gracillimus’ and ‘Zebrinus’. The first has shimmering silver veined green leaves growing in graceful mounds. Reddish flower plumes emerge in fall changing to a light silvery hue. Plants are clump formers but can reach 6 feet or more in height.

‘Zebrinus’ is more commonly known as zebra grass for its definitive yellow and dark green striped foliage. This plant gets big over time. Mine is now 6 feet across and probably 10 feet high. I wrap a rope around it in the late summer to keep it upright through fall rains and winds. Stalks have been used quite effectively as a substitute for cornstalks around the lamppost.

Pennisetum alopecuroides
Pennisetum alopecuroides. Photo by dmp2024

My Pennisetum alopecuroides was grown from seed probably 20 years ago. These plants are absolutely gorgeous in the fall. Despite the many bottlebrush seed heads, I’ve never found a seedling. The fine, arching foliage resemble flowing water hence the common name, fountain grass. Cultivars of this graceful, flowing grass range from 18 inch ‘Piglet’ to 5 foot ‘Fox Trot’.

Native grasses are soaring in popularity and much easier to find at garden centers than they used to be. One switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) cultivar, ‘Heavy Metal’, is quite popular for its upright, striking blue-green foliage. If happy, it can reach 4 to 5 feet in height. The wheat-colored seed plumes are attractive to us during the gloomy winter months but also as a food source to a number of bird species.

Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) is a favorite also of humans and wildlife, including both birds and butterflies. This upright native grass is pretty ubiquitous along roadsides and in fields and meadows. New growth begins a clean blue green but, by the end of the growing season shifts to deep bronze and chestnut hues. This is a tough plant content in sandy soils and reaching about 2 feet in height. The silvery seed tuffs are retained for most of the winter. Little bluestem combines well with a number of perennial wildlings like rudbeckia, pearly everlasting, goldenrod and species of asters.

Chasmanthum latifolium
Chasmanthum latifolium. Photo by dmp2024

Also commonly found along roadsides, purple lovegrass (Eragrostis spectabilis) grows on sites from full sun to part shade. This is a very well-behaved grass in the Poa (bluegrass) family. It is native to eastern and central U.S. and produces those airy pink seedheads you might admire as you drive.

Northern sea oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) has very distinctive, but attractive seedheads. Native to the eastern and southern parts of the U.S., it is hardy from zone 5 to 8. Northern sea oats is a clump former with showy panicles of flowers in late summer that mature into wide, drooping seedheads. This grass likes moist but well-drained soils and is a larval plant for several species of butterflies as well as serving as a food source for several mammal and bird species.

Other native grasses worth investigating include side oats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula), big bluestem (Andropogon geradii) and prairie dropseed (Sporabolus heterolepsis). Check out both native and exotic ornamental grass offerings for their varied textures, colors, forms and flowers.

For more information on growing ornamental grasses or selection or for other gardening questions, 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.

Spectacular Sedums: Your New Favorite Groundcover

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By Abigayle Ward, UConn Dept. of Plant Science & LA Graduate Student

A bee on a cluster of pink sedum flowers
Sedums are very attractive to pollinators. Photo by dmp2024

With varieties native to North America, tolerance to frigid temperatures down to minus 40 degrees F, and nearly 500 species described, sedums subvert all expectations of a succulent. Also known as stonecrop, sedums have been a garden favorite since the 17th century, and it’s easy to see why. Their visual interest and tolerance of harsh growing conditions make them well-suited as groundcover for the landscaper with an artistic eye.

You can purchase either tall or creeping varieties of sedums. Also known as ‘clumping’ varieties, tall sedum varieties can grow up to 3 feet tall although many will only grow to 1 foot tall or less. Tall, top-heavy varieties can be prone to falling or flopping over especially if overfertilized or if they receive too much water. They are well-behaved perennials that are clump formers, and thus can be useful as focal points in garden beds. Alternatively, creeping varieties of sedums grow from 2 to about 6 inches tall.  These creeping varieties will spread a few feet in every direction but do so very slowly. If you wish to fill your bed with sedums, you can stick vegetative cuttings throughout the area you want them to grow. Keep moderately moist until well rooted. Once they root, they will usually fill out your bed fairly rapidly.

With such a large variety of leaf shapes and sizes, interesting bed textures can also be created with sedums. Some varieties have large, broad, spoon-shaped leaves while others have many short, pointed leaves surrounding the main stem. You may wish to combine different textures together into one bed to make a wild, visually striking design, or try taking advantage of certain textures for specific locations in the bed. For example, you could choose short creeping varieties with small leaves for bed edges, and select slightly taller creeping varieties with larger, broader leaves to build up to the bed’s focal point.

Variegated sedum with yellow flowers
Some sedums come in a variety of leaf shapes and colors. Photo by dmp2024

Sedums come in a smattering of delightful color combinations from electric green to deep purple, red to teal; there’s a color of sedum for any design. Many keep their color year-round, and produce delightful bunches of tiny, colorful flowers between summer and fall, depending on the species or cultivar. The magenta, yellow, and lilac-colored petals attract pollinators in great numbers, especially between August and September here in Connecticut. The flowers persist until wintertime, when they dry out and turn brown as the plant goes dormant. While you may choose to remove the flowers before the winter snowfall, you can also leave them on the plant to add some color contrast in your garden as the brown stalks are surrounded with snow. Additionally, leaving the dried flowers on the plants may help creeping varieties spread, as the tiny seeds fall to the ground and germinate come springtime.

While generally very tolerant of adverse growth conditions, sedums do best in sunny spots with well-drained soil. Luckily for those of us in Connecticut, many of our soils are well-drained. Sedums require little nutrients to thrive and typically are happy with just a spring application of an all-purpose garden fertilizer. Since sedums go dormant in the winter, no fertilizer should be applied later in the year. While other groundcover plants may need water in a drought, sedums, like most succulents, can go extended periods of time without supplemental irrigation. To top it off, their foliage is bitter, and thus unlikely to be damaged by grazing wildlife. The limited maintenance requirements of sedums make them attractive candidates for both lawn alternatives and green roofs alike.

While resistant to consumption by mammalian wildlife, the juicy sedum leaves are sometimes appealing to hungry aphids and thrips. To manage aphids and other sap-sucking insects, you can simply spray sedums with water to knock off the pests – just be mindful of overwatering, as the sedums may rot. Alternatively, you can try attracting ladybugs and other aphid predators to your sedums by planting marigolds, dill and other predator attracting plants nearby. The ladybugs will partake in the pollen and snack on the sapsuckers. Avoid spraying insecticides, as they will kill both pests and beneficial insects, including pollinators. Leaving leaf litter in your garden over the winter gives a place for ladybugs to hibernate. Come spring, newly hatched ladybug larvae will be on the hunt for a meal, ready to vigilantly defend your sedums from attacking aphids.

Your next groundcover selection can be both visually appealing and low maintenance. If you’re looking to update your groundcover, consider picking up some sedums at your local garden center in the spring or summer.

If you have questions on growing sedums or on other gardening topics, 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.

Coleus: A Victorian Dream

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By Abigayle Ward, UConn Dept. of Plant Science & LA Graduate Student

Red coleus in the middle of a flower garden
A bed of red coleus surrounded by magenta celosias, and baby pink and purple petunias, complete with a walking path dividing the bed in two. This circular bed is located at the end of Mansfield Road within the University of Connecticut Storrs campus.

Seen anywhere from great-grandma’s ornamental garden to your neighbor’s hanging basket, coleus are the colorful, velvet-textured leafy cousins of oregano and deadnettle. Native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, it is thought that Dutch botanists introduced the fascinating foliage to Victorian England in the mid 1800s. Coleus were readily welcomed into homes as parlor plants and into ornamental gardens. They were especially coveted in so-called “carpet bedding” gardens, where bedding plants of equal height are used to create colorful designs such that they appear like “carpets” when viewed from above. Other than coleus, the Victorians enjoyed using colorful flowers such as petunias, asters, and zinnias as carpet bedding. Carpet bedding is still popular today; we have at least one such garden featuring coleus and petunias on display at the University of Connecticut Storrs campus. To design a carpet bedding garden, try combining simple shapes and lines to make symmetric, harmonious patterns. Use green vegetation, such as sedums, or even a green cultivar of coleus, to contrast with the bright colors of flowers and the mulch or soil below.

For those of us lacking yard space comparable to an English country house, a large carpet bed garden might be impractical. Instead, coleus can be planted alongside other flowers for a splash of color in a flower bed against a house or fence. Coleus are the perfect complement to the colorful clapboard siding characteristic of houses in New England – draw attention to the colors of both by putting reds with greens and yellows with purples. If coleus are planted directly into the ground, slugs are one major pest to look out for. In particularly wet summers, such as those in recent years, slug populations can devour entire coleus plants.

To avoid slugs, container gardens may be a wise option. Sitting above the ground and out of field soil, slugs will have more difficulty reaching the tasty, tender leaves. For those with outdoor space around their apartments, container gardens are also generally a renter-friendly option. Coleus grow well in window boxes and other small containers, and they can help add a warm, friendly atmosphere to the entrance of any home. Most cultivars of coleus available on the market today are tolerant of both shaded and sunny conditions, and thus are well-suited to either covered or open porches. In containers, the main pests to look for are thrips, mealybugs, and aphids. These three pests can cause discoloration in leaves, such as silvery/gold, yellow, or black spots. Outside where predators of these pests thrive, infestations should not progress to the point of killing entire plants, but affected foliage may be unsightly. While systemic insecticides may help keep these types of pests off coleus, they also can kill bees. Avoid applying systemic insecticides to coleus outdoors whenever possible. Try moderately forceful sprays with water instead, insecticidal soap or other least toxic controls.

The Victorians also kept coleus as houseplants, and so can you. In plant hardiness zones 6a-7b in Connecticut, coleus are very tender annuals. They will grow prolifically when temperatures are above 60°F, and will experience cold injury if temperatures fall below 50°F. When temperatures plunge below 40-50°F and overnight frost becomes a possibility, leaves will start to blacken and die. At the end of the growing season before the first frost, consider planting stem cuttings in pots and bringing them indoors for colorful, year-round foliage. Coleus as houseplants will do best in north-facing or east-facing windows. Avoid placing them in windows where they experience too much direct sunlight for too long during the day. If windows are unavailable, coleus also grow decently under grow lights.

No matter where they are grown, the main attraction of coleus is its brilliant foliage. Plants grown in containers may benefit from occasional nitrogen additions to keep them growing all season long. Like others in the mint family, coleus grow flower spikes when stressed or when the plant is near the end of its life cycle. While the flowers on the spikes are not very attractive from an aesthetic standpoint, bees, hummingbirds, and other pollinators flock to them. While the spikes can be pruned off if they appear too early in the growing season to encourage further vegetative growth, consider leaving the late-season spikes on, so that bees can collect nectar to sustain their hives over the winter.

While the selection of coleus cultivars were limited in Victorian England, decades of horticultural breeding efforts have given us access to over 1,000 varieties today, including sun-tolerant cultivars, with endless colors, leaf shapes, sizes, and growth habits. Consider adding this versatile Victorian dream to your home garden for splashes of colorful summer foliage.

If you have questions on coleus or on other gardening topics, 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.

Great Hostabilities

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By Dawn Pettinelli, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

Hostas in a garden
Image by dmp2024

So versatile and ubiquitous are hostas that I have yet to visit a garden that doesn’t have at least one whether left by a previous gardener or selected by the present one. Hostas certainly are workhorses of the garden renowned for their shade tolerance, hardiness and longevity. Plus, few plants have such large variations in size, leaf color and texture. According to the American Hosta Society, there are more than 3000 varieties of hostas covering 45 species including stalwarts of our gardens such as Hosta sieboldiana, H. elegans and H. montana. Now the hostas you purchase are likely complex crosses of multiple species.

Hostas are native to Asia and came to the United States through Europe during the 1800s. Many of us older gardeners referred to them as plantain lilies because their broad leaves resemble a common weed (or herb depending on one’s perspective), plantain. The young leaves are reputedly edible. In fact, the Japanese are said to serve them raw, boiled or fried in tempura. Their palatability probably explains why gardeners around here half-jokingly refer to them as ‘deer candy’.

Hostas are divided by size into 5 groups. Minis are less than 6 inches tall, small range from 7 to 10 inches, medium from 11 to 18, large from 19 to 28, and giants are greater than 28 inches. ‘Gentle Giant’ and ‘Empress Wu’ are close to 4 feet tall with a spread of over 5 feet, if you’re looking for a plant to make a voluminous impression. Keep in mind a plant’s full size when incorporating them into your planting beds.

A notable feature of many hosta cultivars is leaf variegation. On marginally variegated plants the edges of the leaves are light in color, maybe cream or yellow. Medio variegated types have light colored centers with darker edges. There are also 5 groupings for color: green, blue and gold, plus the 2 types of variegation. The gold and variegated cultivars do best in part sun to dappled shade. Placed in a heavily shaded area, they can lose some of their color as only the green parts of the leaves photosynthesize.

Hosta leaves up close with raindrops
Image by dmp2024

Leaf shapes range from thin and smooth to ridged and heart shaped. Sizes range from 2 inches on ‘Mouse Ears’ to over a foot and a half on giant hostas.

While grown mainly for their attractive foliage, hostas do bloom once a year. Most have delicate-looking, tubular flowers in various shades of purple that are attractive to hummingbirds and bees. Fragrant white ‘Royal Standard’ grace part of a patio in my white garden. Their heady scent is especially pronounced on warm summer evenings. ‘Royal Wedding’ is another fragrant, white-flowering variety. Cut down the flower stalks once flowering is finished.

Growing hostas is a breeze. These tough, dependable plants put on their best show when not located in full sun as the large leaves can scorch during periods of hot, sunny weather. That being said, there are some cultivars like ‘Guacamole’ and ‘Paradigm’ which can tolerate full sun with adequate moisture.

An ideal location would be a semi- to fully shaded site in a soil with a pH in the mid 6s and moderate fertility. Hostas are often planted under trees as once established they can tolerate dry shade to some extent. Remember that a tree’s roots will be competing with the hostas and your plants would benefit from extra water and fertilizer.

The two major pests of hostas are slugs and deer. Ragged holes and tears on leaves are a sign of slugs. These soft-bodied creatures feed at night or on cloudy days but slime trails on the leaves or ground may be visible in the morning. Controls include hand-picking, beer traps, diatomaceous earth and slug baits.

Deer can make short work of a bed of hostas. Three strategies are to use repellents, fence them out or plant your hostas amid less appetizing plants. Some have reported less deer damage to blue leaved hostas, maybe because they have a waxy coating. If you’re growing hostas in deer country, you’ll have to figure out what works best for you.

At the end of the season, frost will flatten the leaves of your hostas. Cut them back and remove the foliage from your garden to give both slugs and diseases less places to overwinter. Plants typically need division every few years if they are outgrowing their allotted spaces. Dig up and divide in the spring when the new stems start to poke through the soil but before the leaves unfurl.

If you have questions about growing hostas or any other 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

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.