We Love Those Easter Plants
by
Carmen Cosentino

Don’t we all love Easter and the coming of spring? Suddenly we are aglow with beautiful flowering plants to chase away the winter blues. In spite of all the bad weather, spring cannot be far behind when you see all the lovely, jewel like blossoms on the
Azaleas that are arriving in stores these days. They must have had a great growing season in California and Oregon (that is where most of the plants start out), because the plants look great. Azaleas make great house plants because they thrive in house 66-74 temperatures. They will, of course, last longer at lower temperatures. Though they won’t do well in a very dark room, blooming zaleas are not nearly as sensitive as many other plants to low light situations. Don’t let those azaleas go too dry. Though you can’t let them sit in water, you must really pour it to them. If by chance your azalea does dry out and seems to remain wilted after you’ve watered it, remove the decorations and submerge the pot in a pan of water until the air bubbles stop rising. With a little care your azalea will be a friend for a long time. And then there is that old standby, The Easter Lily. It goes in and out of popularity as a
house plant, but always seems to bounce back. This year they are looking great. Nice size blooms and lots of dark green foliage. Sure it will not last as long as an Azalea, but then, they are much less expensive. And, you can set it out in the garden, in a nice sunny spot and it will bloom for you year after year.

As a matter of fact, after the blooms and foliage have died off, plant it and the chances are pretty good that it will bloom for you this coming August and then year after year in June. Some 30 or 40 years ago our most popular spring flowering plant was the Hydrangea, or the snowball plant as we referred to them. And they are still around this time of year. Only problem with them is that they require copious amounts of water. And, if you come down in the morning and it looks absolutely terrible, wilted as if it were dead, place the pot in a pan of water and watch as it revives itself. The Hydrangea will, in most cases, do well in the garden. When it has finished blooming, cut off the flowers and place it in a sunny, but protected place in your yard. There are two more plants we often get inquiries about, the Cineraria and the Calceolaria, that seem to be resurfacing. You’ve seen the Cineraria, there just isn’t a common name, in stores. About a foot tall, the plant is just covered with1 inch across, brightly colored daisies. They come in reds and lavenders and purples and pinks. Just keep them watered and they will last a few weeks, as will the Calceolaria. I haven’t seen this one in years and now it is back. It is usually referred to as the pocket book plant because of the shape of its flowers. As with the Cineraria, it is brightly colored. And the orange or red or yellow pocketbooks are decorated with dots. But, remember, they are inexpensive and will last for only one time. When done, it’s off to the compost pile. A nice thing about all these flowering plants is that you need only to water them to maintain their beauty for days and days and days.

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