‘Tis the season to adorn our homes with beautiful living plants. What a wonderful way to help winter become more bearable. After all, when it is fifty shades of grey outside, what better thing to do than jazz up your indoor living and stay where it is warm while enjoying the splendor of beautiful plants. Whether they are potted or fresh cut it really doesn’t matter!
One of the nicest plants to grow is the amaryllis. This bold and beautiful plant is so easy to grow that even those of us with the brownest thumbs can manage to be rewarded with spectacular blooms. Simply pot up the bulb, put it in a sunny spot and water and feed it as you would your other tropical plants. Once the bloom is finished you can even keep the plant for another year and again enjoy the bloom.
The Christmas Cactus is another plant that can grace your home during the holiday season with the first of many seasons of blooms. It is what is termed a “short-day” plant which simply means that it responds to decreased day length of our winter days by initiating bloom. My Christmas Cactus is literally covered in blooms right now which is so appreciated when it is cold and white outside. This plant is another easy keeper that with a small amount of care will keep blooming for years to come. Water thoroughly when the service of the soil feels dry and keep it in bright light.
Ornamental peppers are fun and festive and bring another style of bloom to your home. The plant will produce an abundance of peppers that are first green, turning white, purple, orange and finally a brilliant red. It is a great short term plant as you often will get every colour of pepper on the plant at the same time. They take little care and don’t mind being a little bit dry – an ideal thing when our humidity is at an all time low. They are unfortunately not a plant to keep for years but are generally discarded once the peppers are finished.
Another short-term plant is the Bromeliad. These exotic looking plants are sure to bring an impact to any holiday events you might be hosting in your home. They thrive in lower light environments and take very little care. They should be watered about once a week. There is one small difference in the care of bromeliads in comparison to other tropicals. The foliage forms a rosette in the centre of the plant which forms a funnel which should always be filled with water.
I have this philosophy that people should live with flowers in their everyday life! Encouraging people to pick up some fresh cut flowers is as essential as purchasing groceries…..and in fact can make grocery shopping better! It does not have to be an expensive addition to the day to day bills if you learn a bit about arrangements. Just think if you could make “professional” floral design pieces in your home. At the Saskatoon School of Horticulture we can help you to do just that. We have a community floral design class scheduled for Friday, January 18th from 7 - 9 pm.. Cost is $65 plus taxes. Our next Level I floral design class is being held on January 19th from 9am to 4pm. Participants will learn the basic concepts of floral design and gain the necessary skills to begin work in the floral industry. You will also become adept at designing flowers for your home and in fact you will design four lovely floral creations to take home. Perhaps this is the perfect gift for someone you care about! Cost: $495 plus taxes – includes fresh floral materials. Register now to hold your place! Contact SSH at 306-931-4769 for more information or check out our website at saskhort.com
Hanbidge is a horticulturist with the Saskatoon School of Horticulture and can be reached at 306-931-GROW(4769); by email at growyourfuture@gmail.com; facebook: @schoolofhort; twitter: @hortiuclturepat; instagram: patyplant or check out our website at saskhort.com
Commercial Cannabis Production is the newest course option available at the School of Horticulture. Meet the needs of this growing industry by understanding cannabis from a scientific perspective and strive to meet the requirements for qualified workers in this expanding industry.
