WHAT'S RED IN CERTAIN AREAS?

Old,

You've got to have the right spot for them.

Send them to me. My friend in the lab across the hall has exactly the right conditions in the southern exposure windows of her lab. We bring them in and she reddens them up for us.

My grandfather used to ride his bike around his neighborhood and collect all the almost dead poinsettias set out on the curb on trash day. He'd winter them over in his garage. Then plant them in the backyard and bring them back inside before the first frost. His front sitting room was also perfect conditions for them. When they got so big (would count over 50 blooms on some of them) he couldn't replant them back outside so we'd carry them to nearby nursing homes during the holidays.

I've got instructions somewhere at home I'll try to find. But I think it really is having that "magic place."

SZ

SZ

Yes, my grandfather had a bright green thumb. His tomato plants used to grow up to the eaves of his house.

Shuttling the poinsettias was one of the holiday traditions I remember helping him with. He was also very thrifty....I don't think he EVER bought one of those plants! Just took everyone else's rejects and turned them into amazing things. What a wonderful "hobby!"

Just send it to me, I'll put it in the lab across the hall and it'll be ready before Christmas!

Or, like my mom always said. "It really is nothing...."

She has the perfect window for growing african violets in her kitchen. She always had 10 or 12 there. And she had a dark purple one at work, on her desk in the middle of a cubical farm w/no windows. She had 2 or 3 identical ones in the window at home. About once a week she'd bring home the one from work and swap it out for a great big healthy blooming one! Everyone thought she was the miracle woman. "It really is nothing...."

Grow what grows best in the conditions that you have. Check out my quote about the grass is greener...on the quote thread! Trying to force something to grow where it is not happy is torture. For you and the plant. Hmmm.... does this tie in to DWD somehow?

SZ

I'll look up my directions. My advice is to try out different locations in your house till you find somewhere that works.

To help your Poinsettia turn red for the holidays, it does need to spend time daily in the dark. My family has kept them for yrs. The best way I have found is to stow it in a closet overnight or cover it with a garbage bag nightly. It needs the daylight too. The newer varieties aren't as hardy these days. The green leaves don't turn red; it grows new red ones. My Mom has one 38 yrs old. It looks like a small tree by now. Don't be dissappointed, but it may "bloom" late, like at St Patty's day. I usually started covering them in late summer to get ready for Xams. Also, they can be set outside for summer. Once the danger of a frost it over, give it a severe hair cut before you set it out. Make sure you don't set it in direct sunlight at first. It will come back with a lot of new growth once groomed. Hope this helps.

Sounds like you have a plan. As I said, it could bloom late, but hey, better late than never and there's always next year for it.