The year ended for the Pulaski Garden Club with a catered Christmas Party on December 5th at the Pulaski United Methodist Church with 22 members and guests. Roll call was answered by ‘which bulb interests you the most”, answers were a mix of spring and winter bulbs.
Kay Beck reported on the succulent of the month, a Schlumbergera or known as Christmas Cactus. The leaves are not as jagged as a Thanksgiving Cautus, soft around the edges and the flowers hang down.
They need to be in a bright light, room temp around 60 to 70 and once a month set in sink without bottom drainage plate and water soaking the plant and drain and fertilize every time.
The Christmas Cactus has flat leaves and flowers can be white and older plants are red, Thanksgiving Cactus/or Holiday Cactus has broad pointy leaves and flowers are many colors, and Easter Cactus has rounded scalloped leaves with soft hairs and flowers look like stars and flowers can be red, orange, and pink.
A thank you was given to the Christmas party Committee of Cam Miller, Michelle O’Dell, Rhonda Obus, and Connie Simmons.
Club members met in November to help decide the theme for the Floriculture Show at the Williams County Fair and “A Night at the Movies” has been selected.
One of the classes will be “seed art” and Kay Beck handed out a drawing of a rooster as the design for this class.
A few other ideas were “King Kong” floor arrangement, “Sound of Music” a Vibretral, and “Breakfast at Tiffanies: a tray set for Breakfast. And a few changes to special varieties.
Connie McGrew presented our program on “Caring for Christmas plants”. She brought many plants to showcase her efforts.
She started with Cactus, leave outside in the summer, then when weather changes, to induce flowering keep in a dark closet for 12 hours.
Poinsettias, keep outside in summer and below 50 degrees bring in. In October, sit in dark closet from 5 p.m. until 8 a.m., don’t miss a night.
In November it will start showing a little red. Trim back in winter, needs fertilizer, and after Christmas cut back to 6″ and water a little.
Amarillas, start in mid-October, it could skip a year for blooming. Seeding heat mat & grow lights help or put on top of your frig. Then outside when 50 degrees.
Paperwhites, take a glass bowl with stones in bottom fill with water covering the stones, but keep bulbs on top of stones, if bulbs get into water they will rot. They do best in water not soil.
Can keep over but won’t bloom for several years. They will be shorter and sturdier and give them a shot of volka.
Included in the festivities was a gift-wrapping contest with four categories:
- White Christmas “I’m dreaming of a White Christmas” won by Cathy Sharp.
- Blue Christmas “I’ll have a Blue Christmas without you” won by Kay Beck.
- Silver Bells “It’s Christmas time in the city” won by Judy Shilling.
- Rudolph the Red nosed reindeer – “had a very shiny nose” won by Regina Partee.
We then handed out a gift to each and had a crazy “left or right” game trading gifts all around and then each opened the gift they ended up with, only one person got their own gift back and so another trade cleared that up.
President Regina Partee noted we have a convention in August we will be helping with at Maumee Bay but in the meantime wished all a “Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year”. We will resume meetings in March 2024.