On Gardening/ With Proper Care Holiday Plants Will Last

12-17-97
University Park, Pa. -- For those of you who receive plants as gifts this Christmas, remember that your plants can be kept alive into the new year. The following tips should make the job easier.

Azaleas will need plenty of bright light and a uniform level of moisture in the soil. Keep them in an area with higher levels of humidity if possible. This helps prevent foliage drop caused by dry indoor air. You can display them in drier areas for several days, but return them to the better conditions for "recovery." Also, remove the flowers when they fade. .

If the plants begin to grow, pinch them back slightly until they can be set outdoors in warmer weather. Also, azaleas like acidic conditions and you might need to counteract hard water by adding a pinch of alum to the soil surface every three to four weeks. The use of ammonium sulfate at a rate of one-quarter teaspoon per quart of water also works. Applications of a soluble fertilizer such as 5-10-5 each month will retain foliage quality. .

Poinsettias are still the most popular Christmas plant, but they do require considerable attention to keep them in good condition during and after the holiday season. Keep the plants in a sunny location where room temperatures do not exceed 75 degrees or drop below 60 degrees. Keep them watered regularly to prevent dry soil. Poinsettias do not like sudden changes in temperature, improper watering or low light. .

If you want to keep the poinsettia as a pot plant next summer you need to fertilize the plant lightly every three to four weeks and keep if well-watered during January and February. In March gradually reduce the supply of water. When the soil has completely dried out, store the plant in a cool, well-ventilated place while they go dormant. However, do not let them dry out completely because you don't want to kill them.

In May, cut them back to three to five inches in height, begin to water regularly and move into a sunny location. When night temperatures remain above 60 degrees place your poinsettia outside in a lightly shaded area. Pinch back each shoot once, to get a well-shaped plant.

Christmas cactus -- not reallly a cactus in the true sense of the name -- require as much water and attention as other houseplants. Keep them in full sunlight in areas where night temperatures are between 50 and 65 degrees. Christmas cactus flowers drop quickly if temperatures are continuously above 70 degrees.

When the plant stops blooming, keep it in a cool, sunny window. In summer, place it outside in light shade. Leave it there as long as possible and provide light applications of fertilizer during the growing period. When you bring your plant indoors next fall, place it in a cool, well-lighted basement until November when it can be displayed in time to enjoy blossoms next year.

Cyclamen are also popular holiday plants that I find hard to keep under indoor conditions. They are very sensitive to temperature fluctuations and indoor temperatures are generally too high to retain good quality flowers for any length of time.

To keep the plants flowering as long as possible, place them in an area with 50 degree temperatures at night. Warmer night temperatures cause the leaves to yellow and flower buds to die. Plenty of light in the daytime will help flowering. Keep the plant uniformly moist, but never get the plant wet when you water -- this encourages stem rot.

Cyclamen are very difficult to hold over into the next season, and you may wish to discard the plant when its quality declines.

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**Dr. Robert Nuss is a horticulturist at Penn State. He coordinates all extension horticulture programs. He has bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in ornamental horticulture and has been on the Penn State faculty since 1966.