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How to Kill Poinsettia Plants
One of the things I've noticed when doing my Christmas shopping
is that there's too many poinsettia plants everywhere you look.
You can't seem to move in any store for all these darn plants,
their red bracts providing a flame of bah-humbug Christmas
cheer. What follows is a sure fire way to kill these tropical
invaders.
To begin with, put this scarlet plant in a draft or other cold
place. Anything less than 62 degrees will do nicely, especially
if you can arrange for it to get drafts from an open door.
If you don't have a really cold place, try overwatering the
poinsettia. As a native of Mexico, this plant likes even
moisture; so watering it every day will knock its leaves off
quickly. Too busy to water? Try allowing it to dry out
completely. This is a sure way to knock the leaves off in a
hurry. If you don't give it water when it needs it, you can get
rid of it a lot sooner.
Put the pot over a heat register where the
hot, dry air from the
furnace will really speed up the drying out process. Combining
an area with no light with a heat register is a sure way to
killing success and to increasing the size of your compost pile.
The clever gardener won't need all the above directions because
they'll manage to start the plant on the slippery road to the
compost pile on the way home. Simply take your poinsettia plant
to a cold, unheated car. The colder the better. Alternately,
make a few more shopping stops, leaving the poinsettia in the
car to cool down several times during the course of the day,
you'll also get the desired leaf drop within hours of getting
home. .
And we'll send these tropical invaders home.
About the author:
Doug Green, an award winning garden author, tries hard to keep
his plants alive, passing along his professional tips and
answering questions at beginner-gardening.com
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