Native Plants
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Friday - October 28, 2005
From: TULSA, OK
Region: Southwest
Topic: Non-Natives
Title: Hours of darkness for non-native poinsettia to bloom
Answered by: Joe Marcus and Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
I have a poinsettia from last Christmas still alive. I was told to get it so many hours of darkness. Do you know how many hours? When would be the best time to start displaying the plant again?ANSWER:
The poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) is native to southern Mexico. They are "short-day" plants which means that flowering is in response to long nights. It varies among cultivars, but 16 hours of uninterrupted darkness per night for several weeks is sufficient to induce the flowering response in any poinsettia. Any light at all will delay or stop the flowering response. There are classic stories about automobile lights from nearby highways and even flashlights from night watchmen delaying flowering on greenhouse grown poinsettias. People commonly put their plants in a dark closet each night for a few weeks in the fall to induce flowering and the red bract development (they bring them out each day). It is a little late to get your plant to flower by Christmas, but you can still get it to turn red just the same. If you start now, it may be red in time for St. Valentines Day! You can read more about the care of poinsettias.More Non-Natives Questions
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July 31, 2012 - I purchased 3 gardenias this year for the garden. Now I'm told that I can't leave them out all year round here in mid/western Ontario.
Is this true, and if so, how do I keep them over the winter i...
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Yellowing leaves on non-native jasmine from Austin
June 25, 2012 - Hi, I have a mature jasmine plant in the ground in a very sunny courtyard which gets watered daily. The lower leaves are turning yellow and am wondering if this is too much water for it. The top lea...
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Browning of non-native Plectranthus in Dallas
November 28, 2010 - I live in Dallas and planted 'Mona Lavender' which is now brown and limp after overnight temps in the low 30's. Is it dead or will it come back? Do I need to cover these plants during the winter m...
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Plant Care for Plumeria
October 15, 2005 - I have a plumeria that is getting too tall for my small patio. How I should cut it back and can start the cuttings into new plants? Does the original plant need any special care when it is cut back?
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Difference between invasive Chinese and Japanese wisterias and native wisteria
September 12, 2014 - Dear Mr or Ms Smarty Plants,
Is there any way I can tell for sure if my wisteria is native? I bought it at a place when it was in bloom that sold a lot of native plants. I Would like to know for sure...
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