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Poinsettia: The Christmas Star.
Poinsettias have become as much part of the festive season as Santa Clause, Mistletoe and Holly.
The traditional reds remain the most popular, but look out for the many beautiful shades of salmon ,cream , pink ,orange , purple white and marbled types .
Not such a temperamental beauty as it once was, varieties nowadays will often last till spring.
Choose a plant that has no sign of yellowing leaves, unblemished bracts and which has unopened true flowers or sciathia intact in the centre of the "bloom" (these appear as pea sized , yellowish green buds.) .
Poinsettias actually seem to enjoy central heating as long as they are near bright light. Water regularly by sitting in a saucer of water. after half an hour the plant wil have drank it's fill and any remaining water can be poured away.
Feed with liquid tomato fertiliser once a week to maintain the bract colour.
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Ray Lokar |