Poimsettias arent the only
flowers in town this Xmas

I HAVE nothing against poinsettias. They are as fine a
plant as other Christmas plants such as the azaleas, mums,
and Christmas cacti. It’s just that I seem to see a little too
much of them at this time of the year.

I would not propose that we do
without them for, though
Christmas would still be
Christmas without them, some-
thing would certainly be missing.
Still, there should be allowance
fer those of us eccentrics who
chovse to swim against the tide.

This weck, let’s look at a few
alternative flowering plants which
should be readily available. Cb-
viously, this list will be affected
by my preferences and prejudices.
There are likely to be many other
suitable candidates.

1 often see people trying to ex-
press their extravagance with the
purchase of an orchid, usually in
the form of a cymbidium or
(heaven forbid) a cattleya. You
are not doing yourself or in the
case of a gift, the recipient, any
favor.

At best, they are apt never to
bloom again. More frequent is the
worse case scenario that rewards
us for the smailest infraction of
the rules of culture with the sud-
den death of the plant.

If you buy an orchid this
season, go for a hybrid of the
“Moth Orchid’? or phalaenopsis.
These surprisingly forgiving plants
are also among the most beautiful
with their showy, long-lasting
flowers in shades of white, pale
yellow or pink.

If you keep these plants in a
bright) window and the root
system barely moist, never wet or
dry, you will be rewarded at Jeast
once a year with Mowers that can
last for two months or more. Any
te-potting should be done in soils
that are very porous such as those
made from fir bark or osmunda
fibre; commercial mixes are readi-
ly available.

Feed them every three to four
weeks with a one quarter to one
half strength solution of 20-20-20
plant food while the plants are
still actively growing. Hold back
water and fertilizer during the
dormant season which is generally
from late summer until late fall.

If the window gets too warm in
the summer months, remove the
plants to a cooler window, take
them ouiside into some light shade
or add extra humidity. Placing the
plant on a large tray full of peb-
bles, then adding water untii the
pebbles are almost covered will
usually provide all the humidity
needed.

Although the cyclamens are
common, they are not in the same
league as the other predictabiy
seen Christmas plants. They are
seldom expensive and can reward
you with weeks of cheerfu! color
if they are kept in a bright but
most importantly cool (10-12°C)

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window,

Keep these plants moist but not
too wet and feed them once per
month with 20-20-20. It is most
important to remove spent flowers
and any yellowed Icaves as this
will reduce the production of seed
and the risk of disease.

These plants are not easily
brought back into flower from
year to year. For those of you
who would try, here is a good
formula:

When the leaves begin to
yellow, a few weeks after flower-
ing has ceased, gradually decrease
the amount of water until the
corms ate dormant. Set the dor-
mant cortn, pot ard all on its side
in a dark cool area until mid-May.
Plant the pot outdoors in a lightly
shaded area until new growth ap-
pears in late July. Now you can
re-pot the corm in a slightly acid,
humusy soil, being sure to leave
half the corm above the surface.
Leave the newly-potted plant out-

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doors until the msk of night frost
demands that you bring it in. Now
place it in a cool window and
repeal the general care as outlined
above.

Onc fast favorite before 1 run
out of room. The stores are or
soon will be full of displays of
garden primroses; my best sugges-
tion is to leave them there. One or
two days of room temperature
heat or a touch of outdoor frost
will make the common primrose,
primula vulgaris, decidedly unat-
tractive,

The exceptions ure the indoor
primulas such as p. malacoides, p.
phennica, and p. x  kewensis.
These fine flowering houseplants
are just the thing for those of us
with bright, cool windows.

Although alsnost inipossible to
bring back into flower once they
have finished blooming, the
blooming season can be so
remarkably long that this does not
present a problem. ! have heard
of plants that have shown con-
tinual displays of color for six
months or more.

Keep these plants moist and
feed every one or two weeks with
a one quarter to one half strength
formulation of 20-20-20. If they
come to you in a small pot and
require potting on, move up one
size at a time and use a tropical
plant soil mix which contains at
least one quarter vermiculite or
perlite by volume.

Other plants which should be
included here are the anthuriums,
the ‘Pocke: Book’ plant
(calceolaria), the Kaffi Lilly (clivia
miniata) and more, but [ must
leave rcom to wish you all a very
Merry Christmas and offer my
hopes that the days ahead be
joyous indeed.

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Royal City

h Shore News - 13

Consumer
trends change

OK SANTA, ditch some of those
ioys and teddies destined for the
small set. Set aside some sleigh
room for houschold heating con-
version kits, microwave ovens,
personal computers and hand-held
video cameras.

Of course Santa will have to br-
ing the dolls and all those other
toys the kids expect. But if he
wants to spread some Christmas
cheer up the age ladder, Statistics
Canada figures show he'll need
some of the items mentioned
above to satisfy adult consumer
appetites.

In its first survey of household
facilities and equipment for the
1990s, Statistics Canada identified
the gadgets, appliances and other
popular equipment that have, in
recent years, become so popular
that they could almost be consid-
ered necessities rather than lux-
uries.

While some items on the pcpu-
larity list certainly fall into the
“frill’’ category, the question of
how to heat the household
through a Canadian winter is
definitely a matter for serious
consideration. And, keenly aware
of threats to oil supplies which
drove prices sharply upward in the
1970s and again this year, Cana-
dians have been turning to other
heat sources.

Fuel oil was used in just over 37
per cent of all our homes in 1980.
By 1990, this had dropped to less
than 18 per cent of homes, the
survey figures show.

The biggest shift was to electric-
ity. It was the heat source in just
under 20 per cent of home in 19806
bur more than 33 per cent in 1990.
Piped gas, which had already
made some big gains during the
1970s, moved from under 40 per
cent of ali homes in 1980 to
almast 44 per cent by 1990.

In the areas of less vital house-
hold equipment, gourmets
galloped out for more microwave
ovens through the 1980s.

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