YOUR GARDEN GUY: Tips for purchasing poinsettias this season

Happy Thanksgiving! This year has really gone by fast! However, there is still plenty to do in the landscape. Buy poinsettia plants now for color throughout the holidays. Here are some tips about poinsettias.

Pick plants that are rich in color and that have no browning at the leaf tips. There should be no signs of wilting from a lack of water.

Buy plants that are free from disease and insects. Turn over several leaves and inspect them for unwanted holiday pests. And then, refuse to bring them home. I think there is a correlation here.

Poinsettias should have a group of tight yellow buds at the center of the colorful brackets (flowers). If the yellow buds have started to open, the plant is past its prime.

Once home, place your poinsettia near a window with at least six hours of bright, indirect sunlight, avoid drafts and keep the soil slightly moist, not soggy.

These holiday plants come in a variety of colors. As with any design, try to coordinate the flower colors with the colors of your decorations.

Buy a colorful holiday container for your poinsettia. Those "shiny plastic things" that the plant is in when you buy it are meant to be temporary. Now you know!

Remember, one very large, colorful, healthy poinsettia makes a more dramatic and tasteful statement than a bunch of "teenie tiny" plants!

One final note: I'm not a fan of the poinsettias with sparkles or artificial coloring on the flowers. Give me some of those ole fashion Christmas poinsettias, please!

Todd Goulding provides residential landscape design consultations. Contact him at www.fernvalley.com or 478-345-0719.

This story was originally published November 25, 2015 at 5:37 PM with the headline "YOUR GARDEN GUY: Tips for purchasing poinsettias this season ."