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Happy New Year!
The hurried days of December have passed, the days are cold and dreary, and
you are looking at your collection of new plants. These plants arrived as
holiday gifts from family and friends. Popular "gift plants" during the
holidays include: Norfolk Island pine, Christmas cactus and cyclamen. Just
because these plants are commonly given as gifts does not mean they are
carefree plants. Each one has its own specific cultural requirements. While
most gift plants arrive with a care tag, a few arrive with a nametag only.
Norfolk Island pine is purchased most often for decorating. This "tree" is
native to the Norfolk Islands in the
 South Pacific and where it reaches
heights to 80 feet. When these plants are grown in containers, they are much
more manageable. The Norfolk Island pine needs bright light, but not direct
sunlight. Your pine can continue to grow and flourish if you give it at
least 16 hours of household light per day. During the grey days of winter,
most homes have a light on almost constantly so this should not present too
much of a hardship. Poor watering practices and low relative humidity are
the reasons most of these plants fail. Humidity is needed to keep the plant
healthy. Indoor, heated air tends to be very dry. If you water your plant
only when dry, about every 7-10 days, and mist it daily, your tree can live
for many years. We suggest fertilizing with Jack’s Classic® All Purpose
20-20-20 every time you water at a rate of ¼ tsp per gallon of water or
twice a month with a rate of ½ tsp per gallon. If you decorate your Norfolk
Island pine, use light-weight ornaments and minimal lights. The added weight
and the heat of even 50 mini-lights can cause plant injury. When the plant
is decorated and lit, remember to check it frequently to see if it needs
water and mist it daily.
The Christmas cactus is another popular holiday plant. This is a sturdy
plant that can be kept growing for a very long time. A woman that works here
at J.R. Peters has a plant that belonged to her godmother for many years. It
is over 60 years old and 5 feet in diameter! These plants prefer a well-lit
area, free from drafts and heat vents or other heat sources. Water them only
when they’re dry and do not allow them to sit in water. We suggest
fertilizing with Jack’s Classic® All Purpose 20-20-20 every time you water
at a rate of ¼ tsp per gallon of water or every 7-10 days with a rate of ½
tsp per gallon from January to September. In late September, these plants
begin to initiate flower buds and this is the time to switch to Jack’s
Classic® Blossom Booster 10-30-20. The high phosphorus in this
formula promotes bud set and the high potassium promotes deeply colorful and
long-lasting flowers. These plants do very well when placed outdoors during
the late spring and summer months. If you do take your plant outdoors, keep
it in an area of part shade since direct sun will burn the plant. It is best
to acclimate your plant to the outdoors by taking it out for 2-3 hours per
day. Slowly extend the hours the plant spends outside, until you are sure
the days and nights will remain very warm. When it is time to bring the
plant indoors for winter, follow the same process to acclimate the plant to
your house.
The Cyclamen is another popular holiday gift plant. Cyclamens are very
beautiful but they are the most demanding of the group. They require a
constant daytime temperature of 65 degrees F and a night time temperature of
50 degrees F in order to thrive and bloom. They do not perform well near a
heat source or draft. They should be watered frequently and misted once or
twice per day depending upon the dryness of the house. Fertilize these
plants through the month of March with 1/4 tsp/gallon of Jack’s Classic®
Blossom Booster 10-30-20. This formula has all of its nitrogen in the
nitrate (NO3) form and the higher P and K promote long-lasting, deeply
colorful flowers and leaves. These plants naturally fade in late March to
early April. At this time, slowly reduce the frequency of watering and move
them to a cool dark place until it is safe to plant them outdoors. They may
be planted out in a shady area. Water them weekly if nature does not do this
for you. We suggest fertilizing with Jack’s Classic® All Purpose 20-20-20
every time you water at a rate of ½ to 1 tsp per gallon of water. Early in
August small leaves will begin to appear from the plant’s corm, a bulb-like
structure. This signals it is the time to get the plant ready for indoors.
Dig up the corm and plant it in a pot with fresh, well-drained potting soil,
but leave outdoors for several more weeks. In late September, these plants
begin to initiate flower buds and this is the time to switch to Jack’s
Classic® Blossom Booster 10-30-20.
These holiday plants not only add color to your home during the dark days of
winter, but also help keep the indoor air clean. It’s not too late to obtain
one of these plants, if you have not received one as a holiday gift. Most
greenhouses will keep them around until the middle of January. The best
advice for bringing these or any other plants during the winter months is to
keep them protected when taking them outdoors.
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Jack's Classic is proudly
manufactured by the Peters family in Allentown, Pennsylvania!
J.R. Peters, Inc.
J.R. Peters, Inc. is a
Designer, Formulator, Producer and Custom Toll Manufacturer of fertilizer
products for the Horticulture, Specialty Agriculture and Retail markets.
Jack's Professional Fertilizer
We offer professional greenhouse growers over 40 formulations of Jack's
ProfessionalTM water-soluble
fertilizers as well as custom formulations.
J.R. Peters Laboratory
Professional
growers, horticultural
products manufacturers, and university researchers throughout the world have
come to trust the Peters family to supply accurate and timely laboratory
services.
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