POINSETTIAS 



479 



PLUMS 



See Prunus 



POLIANTHES TUBEROSA 



See Tuberose 



POINSETTIAS 



The Poinsettia is today, 

 as it has been for the past 

 fifty years, the ideal Christ- 

 mas flower on account of its 

 bright colored red bracts. 

 Perhaps no other plant or 

 flower we handle during 

 Christmas week is shorter 

 lived, wilts quicker or is more 

 disappointing to those who 

 receive it ; yet, when the next 

 Christmas comes around, 

 there comes again the same 



demand for Poinsettias and 



+u A* ^'^+ ~+ ^f , Fig. 273. PLATYGODON GRANDIFLORUM. Both 



the disappointments of a year w te and blue sorts w j th their simplej beU _ 



ago are all forgotten. Your shaped flowers belong in every collection of 



Christmas display is not com- ^ardy border plants; the retail florist will get 



. . .., . r AJ .' from them graceful cut flowers with good keep- 

 plete without Poinsettias in mg qua iiti e s 



pots and pans as well a s cut. 



To grow Poinsettias successfully, you must have heat; not 

 only that, but it must be a steady heat. Without that you may 

 grow good bracts, but you will have yellow leaves or none at all. 



Poinsettias hardly ever have an abundance of real dark green 

 foliage, but you can better obtain such foliage in a greenhouse than 

 find it in the tropics or out West. 



Starting out with 2- or 2j/-m. stock in July, keep the plants, 

 if wanted for pots or pans, on a sunny bench and keep them watered. 

 Those for single stems keep shifted or plant them out on a bench 

 allowing about one foot of space between them; the ones in the 

 bench will give you the largest bracts and are best for cutting. 

 Hardly ever do we sell single plants in pots, but there is always a 

 brisk demand for plants in Azalea pots or pans, ranging from three 

 to five or more to the pan. These usually are wanted short to serve 

 as centerpieces on Christmas Day and for this purpose, later 

 propagated stock is best, such as has been rooted in July and planted 

 from 2-in. pots into the pans in which they are to flower. In early 

 September, or even later, bring in these pans; ten weeks or more of 

 pushing and a good soil should be given. 



While it is no trouble to get the plants to do well during the 

 Summer months as long as they are watered properly, there is a 



