THE LAND — DECEMBER 10/DECEMBER 17, 2021
www.thelandonline.com — “Where Farm and Family Meet”
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A holiday mainstay, Poinsettias can be trained to bloom again One flower that often decland on the yellow blooms orates our homes during and pollinate them. Blue, the holidays is the purple, or other unusual Poinsettia (botanical name colors are achieved by Euphorbia pulcherrima). spraying cream-colored Like the Holiday cactus and leaves with paint and are Amaryllis, it can be kept also sometimes sprinkled after blooming, grown, and with glitter. GREEN AND encouraged to rebloom in GROWING The Poinsettia gets its succeeding years. name from the first U.S. By Linda G. Tenneson ambassador to Mexico Dr. This native of Mexico is triggered to have its upperJoel Robert Poinsett, a botmost leaves turn red when the days anist and physician, who sent cuttings get shorter. The actual bloom is the of this plant to his home in South small yellow bud like formations in Carolina in 1828. Poinsett died on Dec. the middle of each set of red leaves. 12, 1851, and this date is celebrated as Hybridizers have also bred those mod- Poinsettia day in Mexico. Poinsettias ified leaves or bracts to turn red, grow wild in the lower altitudes of white, or shades of pink, as well as Mexico and may reach fifteen feet in variegated leaf patterns. Those leaves height. A large percentage of may remain colored until summer. Poinsettias are grown for sale are Their purpose is to attract insects to raised in California.
Calendar of Events Visit www.TheLandOnline.com to view our complete calendar and enter your own events, or send an e-mail with your event’s details to editor@thelandonline.com. Dec. 11 — Dairy Goat Management Meeting — Orange City, Iowa — The meeting will focus on dairy goat housing and ventilation, milking equipment maintenance and milk quality to improve overall milk efficiency on the farm. All dairy goat producers are welcome. Contact Fred Hall at fredhall@ iastate.edu or (712) 737-4230. Dec. 11 — FEAST! Festival — Rochester, Minn. — 100 regional food businesses on display. Most use locally-grown ingredients. Contact Elena Byrne at elena@rtcinfo.org or (608) 712-8340 Dec. 14 & 15 — Soil Management Summit — Mankato, Minn. — The Summit features presentations and Q&A sessions with researchers, farmers and agricultural advisors, information from sponsors and conversations with farmers experienced in different soil health practices. Contact Jodi DeJong-Hughes at dejon003@umn. edu Jan. 4 — Ag Outlook Meeting — Willmar, Minn. — Topics include weather patterns for 2022, outlook for U.S. agriculture, and what’s ahead for commodity prices and how farmers
adapt to changing markets. Contact Linder Farm Network at (507) 4449224. Jan. 5 — Strategic Farming: Let’s Talk Crops — Online — Crop fertility adjustments: Extension nutrient management specialist Dan Kaiser and Extension educator Brad Carlson will provide information based on up-todate research to help optimize crop management strategies for 2022. Register at z.umn.edu/strategic-farming. Jan. 5 — Ag Outlook Meeting — Marshall, Minn. — Topics include weather patterns for 2022, outlook for U.S. agriculture, and what’s ahead for commodity prices and how farmers adapt to changing markets. Contact Linder Farm Network at (507) 4449224. Jan. 6 — Ag Outlook Meeting — Mankato, Minn. — Topics include weather patterns for 2022, outlook for U.S. agriculture, and what’s ahead for commodity prices and how farmers adapt to changing markets. Contact Linder Farm Network at (507) 4449224.
This plant may be kept indoors where it will receive bright light or placed outdoors in partial shade. It should be moved back indoors before the temperature goes below 50 degrees. Regular watering and fertilization will encourage the plant to grow. It may also need to be moved to a bigger pot or container. Poinsettias may be pinched or cut back to maintain the plant in a manageable size. It will recover and grow new leaves if some leaves have shriveled due to a missed watering and dead branches may be easily removed. Starting in mid-September, keep the plant in a room that is not used in the evenings or provide 12 to 16 hours of darkness to trigger blooming. The darkness prevents the plant from producing chlorophyll, which is the substance that makes leaves appear green. Continue watering the plant during this period so that it remains healthy. A cardboard box placed upside down over the plant or moving the plant into a closet will provide this
amount of dark time. Short periods of light such as a streetlight shining through a window may interrupt the blooming cycle. When purchasing a Poinsettia, make sure it is protected by a paper or plastic cone to keep cold outdoor air from causing the leaves to drop. Plants in bloom may be damaged by cold drafts or high heat from fireplaces. The blooms may be displayed in a vase if the cut stems are first singed with a candle or match flame to keep the sap from emerging. Poinsettias are toxic to pets but not poisonous to humans, but caution is advised when handling the plant because the sticky white sap can cause skin rashes. The University of Minnesota Extension and the Illinois Extension web sites have additional details about this plant. Linda G. Tenneson is a University of Minnesota master gardener and tree care advisor. v
Talk crops with U of M Extension Join University of Minnesota Extension this winter to discuss crop issues through its “Strategic Farming: Let’s Talk Crops” webinar series. This live online program will provide up-to-date research to help optimize crop management strategies for 2022. Sessions will be held over Zoom and they’ll run from 9 to 10 a.m. Wednesdays from Jan. 5 through March 30. Each session will start with a brief presentation by the discussion leaders for the day, followed by discussion framed around farmer-participant questions on the topic. For more details on each session, go
to z.umn.edu/strategic-farming. You need only register once for the program series. At registration, organizers request that you take a moment to let them know what questions you would like highlighted during the discussions. There is no charge to participate, thanks to sponsorship from the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council. Sessions will be recorded and posted for viewing later at your convenience. This article was submitted by Liz Stahl and Phyllis Bongard, University of Minnesota Extension. v
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