pH News - Orange County Extension Education Center - University ...

* Always lock your doors, even at night while you are home sleeping. If you leave your windows
open while you sleep, make sure they aren’t easy to reach from outside your house. It isn’t
unheard of for criminals to enter a home through an unlocked door or open window while a
family is asleep inside.
Thank you all for being valued volunteers as Orange County Master Gardeners. May you all
have a safe and most joyous holiday season.
“And when thou art weary, I'll find thee a bed of mosses and flowers to pillow thy head.”
..John Keats
What to Expect in December
With a sigh of relief, hurricane season is officially over. However, some strong winds can occur and
a homeowner should survey the landscape looking for broken or weakened limbs in trees that can
cause harm to individuals or property. Play it safe and if in doubt, contact a Certified Arborist for a
professional evaluation. The average high temperature will be 73 and the average low temperature
will be 53. Of course there will be some extremes. Rainfall average is 2.3 inches so supplemental
irrigation may be needed for your water demanding plants. However, irrigation of turf should be
reduced to once every 10‐14 days.
Holiday plants are everywhere. Poinsettia is the most favorite holiday plant and was named after
the First U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Joel Roberts Poinsett, in 1828. Visit this web link for more
information: http://urbanext.illinois.edu/poinsettia/facts.cfm. The plant is not poisonous but the
latex “milk” that appears at the base of broken stems may cause a skin irritation. To extend the life
of the plant to Valentine’s Day, keep the soil moderately moist, fertilize with a quarter‐strength
liquid fertilizer, and keep the plant out of drafts. To have the plant re‐bloom next year, here is a
brief timeline to help you in getting a second year of flowering from your poinsettia: in July cut the
plant back to about 2/3 the height you desire for your holiday season; on October first, begin 14
hours of uninterrupted darkness each night, every night without interruption, and continue this
until the holidays arrive. Each night you do not provide uninterrupted darkness roughly equals a
one day delay in getting holiday color. (Hint: cover the plant completely with a cardboard box,
black trash bag, or place in a closet to exclude light).
Amaryllis, Cyclamen, Azaleas, Kalanchoe, Christmas Cactus, Norfolk Island Pine and Holly (“Deck
the Halls with boughs of … “) are other holiday plants to enjoy during the festive season ahead.
Cyclamen may be difficult to continue to grow after the holidays but the other plants should do
well to see future holidays with time and care. Norfolk Island Pine should be enjoyed for the short
holiday period and then disposed of in your yard waste. This tree can grow very large in the
landscape, often dwarfing single story homes. For more information see:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/ST/ST08300.pdf
Christmas trees that you purchase this season may not be from this region. If it is a live tree (in a
container with roots) and not grown in this region, the lack of extended cold season may adversely
3