They arrived with the frozen turkeys in the peak of greenhouse health: brilliant red and soft white bracts, rich pink blossoms, bright deep green stems. Who can resist putting a few Euphorbia pulcherrimas or Schlumbergera bridgesii in the shopping cart? For us gardeners who have been roaming the empty nurseries looking for left-over pansies, poinsettias and holiday cactus are food for the soul. For non-gardeners they are as much a part of the holidays as fruitcakes and Christmas trees.Few of us, gardener or non, expect our holiday plants to last past January. This expectation is usually reinforced by the hundreds of foil wrapped pots found in the trash each February. However, if they are given proper care. Euphorbia pulcherrima and Schlumbergera bridgesii will not only live past January, they will bloom again every holiday season.

POINSETTIAS

Poinsettias grow to ten feet or more in their native Mexico, blooming beautifully each winter with little care. Commercial poinsettia growers use climate controlled greenhouses where they adjust temperature and light to produce blooming poinsettias on schedule. Duplicating these conditions is a sizeable challenge for the home gardener. When you bring your poinsettia home, place it in a sunny window away from drafts or heat sources. Water carefully, keeping the soil moist, but not soggy (one Master Gardener uses ice cubes), and never let water stand in the pot bottom. If you have a humidifier and keep your home on the cooler side (65? F), the bloom will last longer. After the poinsettia leaves drop, reduce watering and continue to keep the plant in a cool spot until spring. This is the plant's dormant period. After the last spring frost, set the plant outdoors in the sun and cut the stems back to two buds, this is a good time to move the plant to a larger pot. Poinsettias will not tolerate being transplanted during active growth, so choose a pot that you can later bring into the house. Fertilize the plant lightly to encourage new growth. Pinch back new growth occasionally to promote bushiness. If you forget to do this and the plant gets leggy, don't try to prune it. Poinsettias will not tolerate pruning during active growth. Your poinsettia will thrive outdoors in the summer heat if it is carefully watered and fertilized. After September, however, the plant needs constant cool temperatures (60? F) and high humidity to set buds. Since this is difficult to control outside, bring the plant indoors when night temperatures drop below 60?F. The secret to successful bloom is darkness. Poinsettias require 10 weeks of short days (10 hours of full sun), and long nights (14 hours of UNINTERRUPTED darkness). Without this, the plant will not produce flowers. Move your poinsettia into a closet, or cover it with a light-tight box every evening, moving it back into the sun each morning. If you begin forced darkness in October, your poinsettia should be blooming again by Christmas. Poinsettias are propagated in late summer by rooting stem cuttings having at least four joints or eyes.

HOLIDAY CACTUS

The Christmas cactus, Schlumbergera bridgesii is one of two holiday cactus that bloom in November and December (a third blooms in spring). All of the holiday cactus are epiphytes (tree dwelling) plants from Central and South America. They are not desert plants, and need soil rich in organic matter with plenty of light and high humidity. Generally they are long-lived. Plants as old as 25 years are not unusual. When you bring your holiday cactus home, stand the pot in a tray of moist gravel, and place it in a sunny window. Overwatering, low light, cold drafts, high temperatures, and low humidity can cause bud drop and shorten bloom time. Do not fertilize. After the cactus stops blooming, let the soil become nearly dry between waterings, but keep the plant in full sun. This is the plant's dormant period. Do not repot. Holiday cactus does best with slightly crowded roots, and need to be repotted only every three years. After May you can move the holiday cactus outside, but watch the plant carefully through the dry months, and shade the plant from intense sun. Watch for yellowish or sunburned growth (too much light), or weak spindly growth (too little light). Begin fertilizing lightly every ten days. For a Christmas bloom, leave the plant outside until night temperatures drop into the fifties. As with the poinsettia, bloom is triggered by temperature and darkness. Holiday cactus thrive in temperatures between 50 and 60 degrees F. They need 4 to 8 weeks of short days (9 hours of light), and long nights (15 hours of UNINTERRUPTED dark ness) for buds to form. Move them into a closet in the evening, or place them under a light-tight box, and move them back into full sun in the morning. Propagate in spring by placing stem cuttings in moist sand until rooted. Then move to medium of 2 parts peat moss to a part of perlite to 1 part sand.