Master Gardeners – Page 4

September 21, 2023Juli Pomainville

Timing a gorgeous Christmas cactus bloom

Plants don’t often bloom when we tell them to, but ever since a friend gave me some instructions back in 1997, I’ve been able to get my amaryllis and Christmas cacti to bloom on demand. When I took the time to mark a few dates on my calendar and follow through, I got lovely blooms for the holiday season exactly when I wanted them. That little bit of knowledge piqued my interest, and I’ve done a bit of research since then. This post and the previous one convey what I’ve learned about amaryllis and Christmas cacti and controlling their bloom time. A Christmas cactus in fool bloom

Christmas cacti have been known to live 100 years when cared for properly! Both plants naturally grow in the spring and summer, and bloom in fall and winter, so we need to recreate those conditions if we want gorgeous flowers.

GENERAL CARE

Before we talk about blooming, we should talk about general care. Many people hear the word “cactus” and immediately think “hot sun,” and “dry soil.” In fact, the term “cactus”is a misnomer. This plant is an epiphyte (grows on trees) from the Brazilian rainforest, not a desert cactus. It doesn’t like blazing sun or dry soil. While Christmas cacti are pretty tolerant in terms of water and light amounts, if your cactus isn’t blooming, it’s a sign that you’re not quite treating it the way it wants to be treated. Read more Timing a gorgeous Christmas cactus bloom

August 31, 2023Juli Pomainville

Timing a Glorious Amaryllis Bloom

Plants don’t often bloom when we tell them to, but ever since a friend gave me some instructions back in 1997, I’ve been able to get my amaryllis and Christmas cacti to bloom on demand. When I took the time to mark a few dates on my calendar and follow through, I got lovely blooms for the holiday season exactly when I wanted them. That little bit of knowledge piqued my interest, and I’ve done a bit of research since then. This post and the next convey what I’ve learned about amaryllis and Christmas cacti and controlling their bloom time. Let’s start with Amaryllis.

Amaryllis will bloom for you each year and believe it or not, you can use the same bulb for literally decades if you treat it right. These plants naturally grow in the spring and summer, and bloom in fall and winter, so we need to recreate those conditions on a timeline to get gorgeous flowers when we want them.

Timeline:

Start waking your dormant, bare bulbs 10-12 weeks before you want blooms (October 1 if planning for Christmas.) Note: If your bulb isn’t already dormant, start creating the artificial dormancy in mid-September.

Tip: For Christmas blooms, starting October 1 plant a bulb per week for 3 weeks if you want to ensure blooms happen on the desired date. Environmental conditions are naturally variable– the bulb, the soil, the moisture in the air, and a myriad of other things contribute to how fast a plant grows. Three bulbs will provide good insurance.

When purchasing an amaryllis bulb, go big. The bigger the bulb, the bigger the stems to support the blooms. Also, small bulbs may not flower for you as they may not be mature. Read more Timing a Glorious Amaryllis Bloom

August 24, 2023Anneke Larrance

Meet Anneke Larrance, Master Gardener Volunteer

With a new cohort of Master Gardener Volunteers beginning to serve their community, we’d like to introduce them (AND YOU!) to the group of MGVs who have sustained this program for the last several years. Meet Anneke Larrance!

Can you remember the moment you decided to become a gardener, or when you realized you had become one?

I was raised on a farm and we grew much of what we ate, so I learned early the miraculous transformation of seed into good things to eat. My mother traded pieces of iris, leaves of African violets, and “starts” of many houseplants, and I learned from those processes too. Weeds and fertilizer were topics of conversation. I didn’t decide to become a gardener, I naturally grew into one.

Anneke's geraniums — I take cuttings from my own geraniums to start new plants every year.

What benefits do you gain from gardening?

Gardening clears my mind and soothes my soul. It’s also great exercise. I sometimes commune with my free-ranging chickens while I garden and I do my best writing there.

Why did you want to become a Master Gardener Volunteer?

There were so many things that I wanted to learn!

In what ways do you serve as a MGV?

I’ve made presentations, written articles, judged 4H horticulture at the St. Lawrence County fair, weeded at CCE, answered lots of gardening questions, tabled at different events, and led holiday wreath-making.

My two biggest projects were helping to design, prepare, and then plant the original perennial landscape at CCE. During the pandemic I spearheaded the design, construction, planting, and care of a living quilt on the slope at Cornell Cooperative Extension (see picture above).