Now is a Key Time for Holiday Plants


	Now is a Key Time for Holiday Plants

Kalanchoe

Perhaps you haven't noticed but the days are getting a lot shorter. The loss of a few hours of day light probably won't affect your life very much but it's critical to the flowering of holiday plants.

Around mid October the days become short enough to trigger the flowering process.

Gardeners have to be careful their poinsettia, holiday cactus and kalanchoe plants receive only
the natural day light and no more. Even a short burst of light at night from street, porch or in
home lights can delay or stop the flowering process. Besides attention to light, holiday plants also need good care to stay on schedule.

Following are a few tips to make sure your plants give a colorful display.

	Stop all pruning so not to delay flower bud development.
	Keep poinsettias in full sun; give holiday cactus and kalanchoe plants light shade.
	Water when the surface soil feels dry to the touch.
	Feed pot grown poinsettias and kalanchoe every other week; holiday cactus monthly.
	Control caterpillars and other leaf feeding pests by hand picking or with natural sprays.

Holiday plants are best kept in one location to grow until they begin to flower. Then they can be moved into a display area. Try to pick a cool spot with bright light to help extend the holiday color.

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