Geeze, real plants take a lot of work!

So with the holiday season coming, I recently found my self in possession of a poinsettia plant. Given my recent successes with other green growing things blsmoke I decided "hey this could be fun to try and grow rather than just letting it wilt and throwing it out after Christmas!" Well after reading up a little on it, I have to say it sounds like a lot of work! It seems to have rather more stringent growing requirements. Like its window of acceptable temperatures sounds much smaller than Mary Jane's. Oh also in case you're interested, the Poinsettia plant is another example of a plant that has to fall below some minimum threshold of lighting hours in order to bloom.

While I have no real experience in the "easier stuff", I have grown a couple of vegetable crops. They are a lot of work, but are definitely rewarding! I just finished my harvest of Romaine lettuce. The heads produced for about three weeks before finally dying out.

In the past, I tried to grow a Poinsettia in the ground. It did not last. Two of my hortuculturely minded friends tried it too...same success rate as me (0 or 3). I think they are genetically designed to die about three weeks after December 31st.

Good luck. Keep us posted how it turns out.

Nothing is as easy to grow as MJ, probably the only thing that grows from the artctic to the equator...

I found poinsettas easy and low maintenance here in Florida. Plant them in my yard, and they grow. Every year I do that with the christmas poinsettas and every year they take root and grow. With that said, I care less about the "fruitlessness" of a poinsetta than I do some other flowering plants so maybe they aren't their best but they look good to me. Maybe it's my lattitude, maybe not, but to take one already potted and transplant it has been a no-brainer for me.

Hehe, everything's easy to grow in Florida!
Here in upstate NY anything outdoors better be damn hardy!

Man, screw poinsettias. I can't ever keep those things alive and I have a pretty good green thumb (and not just with the resiny stuff).

You want some low-maintenance plants, try some ivys or jade trees. There are plenty of things that aren't nearly as hard to grow as poinsettias

Oh, btw, what do you mean "real" plants? I never knew cannabis was a "fake" plant

Caring for Poinsettias


The length of time your poinsettia will give you pleasure in your home is dependent on (1) the maturity of the plant, (2) when you buy it, and (3) how you treat the plant. With care, poinsettias should retain their beauty for weeks and some varieties will stay attractive for months.

• After you have made your poinsettia selection, make sure it is wrapped properly because exposure to low temperatures even for a few minutes can damage the bracts and leaves.
• Unwrap your poinsettia carefully and place in indirect light. Six hours of light daily is ideal. Keep the plant from touching cold windows.
• Keep poinsettias away from warm or cold drafts from radiators, air registers or open doors and windows.
• Ideally poinsettias require daytime temperatures of 60 to 70°F and night time temperatures around 55°F. High temperatures will shorten the plant’s life. Move the plant to a cooler room at night, if possible.
• Check the soil daily. Be sure to punch holes in foil so water can drain into a saucer. Water when soil is dry. Allow water to drain into the saucer and discard excess water. Wilted plants will tend to drop bracts sooner.
• Fertilize the poinsettia if you keep it past the holiday season. Apply a houseplant fertilizer once a month. Do not fertilize when it is in bloom.

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/poinsettia/care.cfm

misshestermoffitt said:

Caring for Poinsettias

The length of time your poinsettia will give you pleasure in your home is dependent on (1) the maturity of the plant, (2) when you buy it, and (3) how you treat the plant. With care, poinsettias should retain their beauty for weeks and some varieties will stay attractive for months.

• After you have made your poinsettia selection, make sure it is wrapped properly because exposure to low temperatures even for a few minutes can damage the bracts and leaves.
• Unwrap your poinsettia carefully and place in indirect light. Six hours of light daily is ideal. Keep the plant from touching cold windows.
• Keep poinsettias away from warm or cold drafts from radiators, air registers or open doors and windows.
• Ideally poinsettias require daytime temperatures of 60 to 70°F and night time temperatures around 55°F. High temperatures will shorten the plant’s life. Move the plant to a cooler room at night, if possible.
• Check the soil daily. Be sure to punch holes in foil so water can drain into a saucer. Water when soil is dry. Allow water to drain into the saucer and discard excess water. Wilted plants will tend to drop bracts sooner.
• Fertilize the poinsettia if you keep it past the holiday season. Apply a houseplant fertilizer once a month. Do not fertilize when it is in bloom.

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/poinsettia/care.cfm

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You serious? Fuck these plants! If they are that sensitive, they should become extinct. Do we really need them anyways?

First garden, 68. Love it, etc. A thing happen in 1983. Walked into a big Mall at Christmas time.... there stood a 30 ft. tall Poinsettia "Tree". Every leaf was red.... Out of all the amazing things I've ever seen, this hits the top. 25 years later, I'm still left breathless. The Mall rented it for the season.

JBinFla said:

I found poinsettas easy and low maintenance here in Florida. Plant them in my yard, and they grow. Every year I do that with the christmas poinsettas and every year they take root and grow. With that said, I care less about the "fruitlessness" of a poinsetta than I do some other flowering plants so maybe they aren't their best but they look good to me. Maybe it's my lattitude, maybe not, but to take one already potted and transplant it has been a no-brainer for me.

Click to expand...

Yah, me too. I have had two 5 footers in 45 gallon pots for the last 4 years. They ended up in the 45's, They didn't start there. I just wheel them into the deep shade of my oak hammock in October, and bam.... red all over for the holidays. It's an attractive plant....

South Texas said:

First garden, 68. Love it, etc. A thing happen in 1983. Walked into a big Mall at Christmas time.... there stood a 30 ft. tall Poinsettia "Tree". Every leaf was red.... Out of all the amazing things I've ever seen, this hits the top. 25 years later, I'm still left breathless. The Mall rented it for the season.

Click to expand...

That would be something to see. They must have forced that at some pro nursery .. quite an investment in time and effort. Like when i bought two sago's from a guy to pollinate my six females, he says, "uh, you're too old to start growing Sago's." I laughed and agreed with him..... I was 40 at the time..... damn Sago's !!



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I wish I could grow cools plants outdoors, but it's just too cold here in the winter. I'd love to just leave my elephant ears in the ground and let them grow, but nope, have to dig them up and store them every fall. They're never going to get huge like I'd like them to get..........

What's a sago?

It's a palm. They're really cool looking, I'd love to have one but I don't think they like -33 wind chill.

Hey miss... (waves).


A Sago is actually a Cycad, one of the ancient lines going back past the age of Dinosaurs..... extremely long lived.... I would guess the one above is at least 20 years old or more. I'll post one of mine in a bit... I have 8 total... 6 females and 2 males. When the male goes to pollen it puts out a soft pine cone looking spike from the center. usually about 2 feet in length. I'll take a pic when it happens next year for yah...



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Hey ya Jax (waves back)

If they go way back to the dinosaurs, then I might have to buy a small one. It must be nice to grow neat things in your yard all year 'round.

i took a cutting of elephant ear (a cool looking pink variety) at my shrink's office. it is rotting ina cup of water, but i also took a piece of the 'tuber' and planted it to see what it would do. it is sprouting finaly after about 1.5 months.

I've got tons of elephant ears growing in my Oak hammock. They are pretty cool and grow quite large here in Floriduh. I have on more than one occasion used them as a rain shelter......just like a green umbrella man, it can RAIN here...

here is some info on Sagos for yah Miss...if you want to take the plunge... they are expensive. I bought 5 footers but I pay wholesale

Sago Palm Care

Regardless of age or size, the Sago palms (Cycas revoluta) are one of the easiest plants to grow, indoors or out, by beginner or expert. This subtropical adapts to a wide range of temperatures from 15 to 110 degrees F (-11 to 42 degrees C), accepts full sun or bright interior light, thrives with attention, and tolerates neglect. In addition, Cycads are extremely long-lived. A 220 year old specimen of Encephalartos, a relative of Cycas revoluta, is on display at the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew England; the restoration of the famous Palm House required it to be temporarily transplanted to a holding area for more than a year; the move was successful and is an example of the durability of these ancient "living fossils".



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here's a pic of one of them. that's Reagan next to it and she's a hundred pounder.... to give you a scale to work with.










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I wouldn't get anything that large, around here sometimes you can buy little tiny one, like 6 inches tall or something. I'd go small like that, maybe keep it in my veg cabinet in the winter time.

My elephant ears are in a basket in my pantry. When it gets warm enough for the house plants to go out for the summer, then the elephant ears go into pots and sit in the south windows until they get growing good, then they go outside too.

I need one of those sun rooms with the glass roofs and walls, then I could leave stuff in all year.

Yah, Miss... if i was you I'd get a baby sago and pot it..... they make great Bonsai plants and live longer than a friggin parrot. It won't sh*t on your shoulder either

You can keep it inside year round in a bright spot. Very drought tolerant as well, so if you go on vaca... no worries.


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