Friday fun, part 1

This posting is for Holly, who I am sure is desperately trying to finish her annual review.  I feel your pain!  And I’m going to add to it today.

 

The poinsettia in these photos is not from this Christmas, but from 2008.  You can see it thriving happily in its office environment.  I’m told by its caretaker Nick (a nongardener) that it has no bugs or other problems, and seems very happy.  And it’s blooming, without the benefit of the extended night period.  (The post-it notes are instructions to its care when Nick is away.)

Apparently SOME people can easily grow poinsettias well past their expected holiday life span.

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Linda Chalker-Scott

Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott has a Ph.D. in Horticulture from Oregon State University and is an ISA certified arborist and an ASCA consulting arborist. She is WSU’s Extension Urban Horticulturist and a Professor in the Department of Horticulture, and holds two affiliate associate professor positions at University of Washington. She conducts research in applied plant and soil sciences, publishing the results in scientific articles and university Extension fact sheets. Linda also is the award-winning author of five books: the horticultural myth-busting The Informed Gardener (2008) and The Informed Gardener Blooms Again (2010) from the University of Washington Press and Sustainable Landscapes and Gardens: Good Science – Practical Application (2009) from GFG Publishing, Inc., and How Plants Work: The Science Behind the Amazing Things Plants Do from Timber Press (2015). Her latest effort is an update of Art Kruckeberg’s Gardening with Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest from UW Press (2019). In 2018 Linda was featured in a video series – The Science of Gardening – produced by The Great Courses. She also is one of the Garden Professors – a group of academic colleagues who educate and entertain through their blog and Facebook pages. Linda’s contribution to gardeners was recognized in 2017 by the Association for Garden Communicators as the first recipient of their Cynthia Westcott Scientific Writing Award. "The Garden Professors" Facebook page - www.facebook.com/TheGardenProfessors "The Garden Professors" Facebook group - www.facebook.com/groups/GardenProfessors Books: http://www.sustainablelandscapesandgardens.com

4 thoughts on “Friday fun, part 1”

  1. Nick probably goes home in the early evening, and his poinsettia gets nice, uninterupted dark night, every night. This is perfect for pointsettia.

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  2. My mom grew the same Poinsettias for at least four years in our kitchen in Oregon. It’s not difficult to do if you’ve got a real green thumb like she does. (I, on the other hand, struggle to get a Pothos to prosper, and have difficulty getting each tomato plant to produce more than one fruit.)

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  3. I actually work 8 am to 5 pm, and have it lit with a light directly above it during those hours. We don’t keep the overhead lights on, so that is part of it blooming.

    It had a near death experience when I first got it, and I had to prune it back pretty hard at that point. I probably removed about a third of the plant. Honestly, the poinsettia grows really really fast!

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  4. Congratulations, Nick! AND it has its little decorative sleeve still on! You have the “gift”… you need to move on to orchids to keep yourself challenged!

    BTW Annual report is now DONE. Thank you for thinking of me, Linda. Going home to have a celebratory cocktail.

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