If you have been reading my posts for the past few years, you already know that one of my favorite pass times is spending time outdoors in my garden, and taking pictures of the Beauty of Nature.

I love planting veggies and herbs, but also totally adore flowers.

Today I will share some of the pictures I took of few of my currently blooming plants.

My East side flower patch, with some of the flowers already blooming, and others are just getting  ready do bloom a little later on.

Irises and Sweet Williams loving the sunny weather today.

What a natural beauty of an Iris flower.

As you can see, I am not the only one enjoying these gorgeous blooms.

A perfect place to sit down and relax.

My youngest son built this bench, in his late teens, as a Mother’s Day gift to me, so it creates a very special place for me to sit down and relax, surrounded by blooming plants.  There are also three, corner openings for flower pots, but I usually leave them open.

I was very proud of him, since he did a very nice job with his first ever woodworking project (now he is my computer specialist and financial adviser).  I am so lucky!!

Are you saying – Is this a Poinsettia? – You are correct, this is my Poinsettia…no, I am not growing it outside.

I had to share a picture of this Poinsettia with you, since it is in my care for two years now.  If you recall my previous post, I purchased it for Christmas two years ago.

I preserved it for a whole year as per the instructions I also posted, and this is how it looks like today.

As you can see, it’s still doing very well.

Now my challenge is to keep it going for as  long as I can, and  I will definitely share my progress with you.

I am very curious to find out how long this Poinsettia will last, and still keep a descent shape.

Did any of you save your Christmas Poinsettias?

How are they doing?

Please share your stories.

The holiday rush seems to be over, but for the Ukrainians, Greeks, and others, it still is going on, as they are getting ready to celebrate Christmas Eve on January 6th, and New Year on January 14th.

My family gets together for Christmas on December 24th, however, we also honor the January 5th date as well, in order to unite ourselves with our families abroad.

If you have been following my posts about my Poinsettia from last year, and how I tried to preserve it until this Christmas, you are probably anxious to witness my failure, or success.

Well, I have a mixed bag here, since I have been traveling extensively during the most important Poinsettia nurture time, between October and December, so I was not able to follow the recommended TLC process.

This is how it looked on December 24th.

Here is a close up picture of the flower.

The plant continues to grow, and the flowers are getting fuller, and more vibrant.

Actually, I am very pleased with the results, considering the fact that I have not been home several days at a time to care of it properly, so Mother Nature was taking over for me, regulating the daylight, and darkness, requirements.

I will try to keep up with it again for next year, to experiment for how long it will last, and still look presentable.

This year I did not even buy a new Poinsettia, since I knew I was losing my job at the end of December, so this was a pleasant surprise for me to have my last year Poinsettia bloom for Christmas.

If any of you also were caring for your previous years Poinsettia, please share your stories.

Happy New Year!!

photo credit: Daquella manera

Are you still holding on to your Poinsettia from last Christmas, and hoping that it will bloom again in December?

If you read my first post about saving your Poinsettia, and my second post about the progress of my Poinsettia from last year, you will remember that I promised to post a reminder in October.

Here we are, October has arrived, your Poinsettia now requires special care, so it hopefully blooms again.

If you have not done it yet,

this is the time to bring your plant indoors,

into a totally dark room (basement or closet)

every night during October, November and early December (8-10 weeks period) for 14 hours daily.

You must make sure the plant is in TOTAL darkness.

NO PEEKING!

Bring it out into bright daylight for 8 hours, daily.

If your follow this schedule, you should be rewarded with a gorgeous blooming Poinsettia for Christmas.

I am testing this theory with you, as I have never before tried it on my own.

I will share the results in December (hopefully a blooming plant).

TIP: If you do not have basement or closet space, you can keep you Poinsettia in a sunny area of your home, but for the 14 hour night time, cover it up with a paper shopping bag, and then just slip it off before going to work, to give the plant 8 hours of daylight.

photo credit: Daquella manera

If some may celebrate Christmas in July, then why shouldn’t I write a post about Poinsettia in September?

At the beginning of this year, right after the Christmas season, I wrote an article about Poinsettia (click on the highlighted word to see that post).

I encouraged you not to discard your Poinsettia into trash, but suggested to nurture it until next Christmas, to be pleasantly surprised with its renewed beauty, and to save money by not purchasing a new one.

Since I try to practice what I preach (most of the time), I saved my Poinsettia as well, and will keep you updated with its progress from now until Christmas.  If you can follow the instructions I provided in my first post, we both might have a free blooming Poinsettia for Christmas.

Let’s be optimistic, and don’t worry too much if we both fail, because there will be plenty pretty plants around the holidays to pick from, so we can start all over again.

Just don’t give up.  “They didn’t build Rome in one day either”!

I kept my Poinsettia on my kitchen table all the way until Easter, but had to move it to my living room at that point, so my family wouldn’t think that I had my seasons mixed up.

I did not pamper it much at all.  I just picked off any dried up leaves, and watered it as needed.

Believe me, there were times when I was ready to “throw in the towel”, when it started to look very shoddy.  However, that would have made me a quitter, and would have let you down, so I held on to it.  For a while my poinsettia looked like something from a recycling bin, with hardly any leaves on, but I kept my hope for better days ahead.

Once the weather warmed up,  I took my plant outside and kept it on a window sill in the sun-room.  Watered it regularly, but did not fertilize it at all ( I’m kind of wary of house plants fertilizers, as sometimes they do more harm than good to my house plants).

It started to grow new foliage, and looking like a healthy plant once again. This is how it looks like now, from  this  side.

I must tell you that one branch broke off, when the wind knocked it off my window sill one day,  otherwise it would have looked even better.

Here you have the other side.  As you can see, it looks quite nice from both sides.

Now, if you still have your plant, please read my first article for further, very important, directions on how to care for your revived Poinsettia plant, in order to have it bloom once again in December.

I will keep you posted with my plant’s progress, so check back with us in October, November and December.

I’m just as curious as you are, as this is my first time actually following the care instructions.

I saved Poinsettias before, but was not aware of all the necessary steps to make it bloom again.

photo credit: Marit & Toomas Hinnosaar

Poinsettias are one of those plants you find in every store during Christmas season, and at the curb shortly after Christmas.   It really does not have to be that way, since with proper care you can save your Poinsettia until next December, and admire fresh blooms for Christmas.

If you consider yourself a frugal shopper, and you love plants, you may wish to follow these steps to save your Poinsettia until next year:

1. Expose your Poinsettia plant to indirect sunlight for at least 6 hours each day while it is blooming.
2. Keep it slightly on the dry side, so please do not over-water.
3. Do not fertilize during flowering time.
4. Apply all-purpose fertilizer, after the plant has finished blooming.
5. Cut it back in early spring.
6. Fertilize monthly.
7. New growth will begin to appear later in the spring.
8. You may keep it outdoors for the summer, once all danger of frost is gone.
9. Fertilize more frequently during the summer months.
10. Prune the plant, to keep it from getting leggy.
11. Bring it indoors in early fall, once the temperature begins to cool.
12. It will set buds and produce flowers during November or December.

For Christmas blooms, follow this schedule of daylight and darkness for 8-10 weeks:

1. During October, November and early December, keep it in total darkness for 14 hours each night (no peeking).
2. Any stray light will upset the schedule.
3. Allow 6-8 hours of bright sunlight.

Once you follow these steps, you should be able to save money by not needing to purchase a new Poinsettia for the upcoming Christmas, and enjoy the old Poinsettia in a new full bloom.

Please share your experience with Poinsettias, if you have plants that have been saved from the previous year.