Avoid azaleas, cyclamen and chrysanthemum
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Q. What would you recommend as a gift plant for my grandmother, who lives in an apartment kept quite warm? Ideal would be a plant that is colourful and cheery without being demanding.
A. Avoid azaleas, cyclamen and chrysanthemum. They are lovely, but they stop flowering and tend to wilt in warm temperatures and dry air.
If you’d like to be seasonal, select a poinsettia. They’re available from very small to huge sizes and you’ll find interesting variations in colouring. In bright indirect light and with watering when the pot feels light when lifted, poinsettias can give a long-lasting show of colour.
Rieger begonias are very showy and stay in bloom for a long time at a bright window. African violets are probably the most tolerant of very warm room temperatures. The brightest light possible in winter, warmth, and high humidity levels all help to prolong bloom.
Q. I’m disappointed to see that the “sprouts” on my Brussels sprouts plants are open and leafy rather than tight and button-like. Why would this happen?
A. Sprouts that fail to form firm buttons and develop instead in a more open, leafy fashion are called “blown” sprouts. Conditions that foster the problem are the same ones that tend to produce cabbages without a tightly formed head.
The main causes are not enough organic matter in the soil, a soil that is loose in texture, or/and a failure to firm plants in well when they are transplanted. An excess of nitrogen in the soil has also been known to yield loose sprouts.
Inadequate soil moisture during dry weather can contribute to the condition as well. In early autumn, water well before mulching around the plants with compost and pressing it down well.
Pinching out or cutting away the plant tips late in September helps to hasten sprout development. Those small balls of tip growth are delicious steamed and eaten with butter, salt and pepper. Leaving the plant tips intact delays formation of the upper sprouts for an extended harvest period.