Is it Poisonous?

One of my readers sent me this question that has me talking about our Poinsettia plant again and I thought that this would be a good time to talk about the toxicity of houseplants.

The Poinsettia

First, the Poinsettia has been long rumored to be poisonous. The story of a poisoning of a child in 1919 after ingesting a few leaves cannot be confirmed as there is no medical record of the incident. The truth is that many tests have been on rats and rabbits that were feed large amounts of this plant with no effect.  However, the milky sap has been know to be an skin irritant and there are toxins in the plant that may have an adverse effect on some small children and pets. The death of a small dog in Switzerland was attributed to eating Poinsettia leaves is one isolated occurrence.

The Aracae Family

The most common Dieffenbachia

Dieffenbachia

The most dangerous houseplant in my opinion is the Dieffenbachia.  The sap of the plant when it comes in contact with moist parts of the body will cause immediate swelling with redness and stabbing pain.  The good thing about this is that if leaf is chewed, the swelling will hopefully prevent swallowing.  The bad part is that that the swelling can last several days with a lot of drooling.  In severe cases there will be a loss of speech - hence its name which translates to Dumb Cane. 


The Dieffenbachia is favored for its large patterened leaf.  The oldest one I know is the one pictured above.  I remember my mother had one in her livingroom when I was growing up.  It finally fell over when it reached a heighth of 8 feet and the ceiling of the room was only 71/2 feet.  Since then there have been many different leaf patterns offerings on the market.  I have two of them pictured here.
 



More plants in the Araceae family to watch are the Anthurium and Philodendron.  The Anthurium is loved for its simple bloom that comes in a variety of reds, pinks and whites.  A larger variety also has a purple blossom.  It has not had any case of serious poisoning reported.  The Philodendron which is a large genus has been responsible for skin complaints.  Care should be used around animals as there was a report written in 1961 by Greer that cited 72 cases of cats in which 37 died from eating Philodendrons.


This picture is the split leave variety call the Saddle Leaf  Philodendron. This is a large family so if you are not sure ask.

Other plants to be careful with are in the Amaryllis family which include the Daffodil. The poisonous part of these plants is the bulb and most reported poisonings were when the bulb was confused with an onion.  Digestion of the leaves will cause salivation, vomiting and diarrhoea.  As you can see, this can be very dangerous for a small child.

If it happens call for help

There is a lot to remember so try to keep it simple.  Take care in where you place your plants.  If you have large floor plants, it is OK to put a stake that identifies what it is.  Have the Poison Control number right next to your Doctor's.  Then if you find that you child, dog or cat has chewed on a plant you will have the information at your disposal for the center when you call.   It is best to be safe than sorry. 

I want to thank my reader who submitted this question.  It is an important issue to remember when bringing plants into our homes.  If you have any other questions, post them here or email me at houseplantsos@gmail.com .

k.k.jones

So what are you going to do with your Poinsettia now?

Christmas is over and that beautiful plant on the dining room table is starting to get a little ragged.  There still are a lot of red leaves on it but some of the branches have broken off and the lower leaves are curled or gone.  It really is not what you want on the table any more.  So what are your options?  

The choice most people make is to throw it out and buy another one next year.  That would be easiest but if you wanted to do that you would not be reading this posting. So let's continue to the next option.

The next option is to save the plant.  I have found that to do this it is best to put it the plant to sleep.  This means to stop the watering and trim the plant to about 4 or 5 inches tall.   This will encourage the plant to remain compact.  The larger the plant the taller the stalks should be after trimming.  There should be no leaves left on it. Now you can set it somewhere safe. Check on it from time to time and when you start to see green leaf buds you will need to start watering it again and giving it sunshine.  Now just let it grow.  Remember to fertilize.  Keep it compact during the growing season.   By October stop trimming so that the Poinsettia can start setting it's bloom.

The third option is to just let it grow.  I have planted Poinsettias in the garden once the danger of frost is over and they have grown quite large.  It makes a beautiful green annual that will be as big as a small bush in no time.  Now what if you want to keep it as a houseplant?  The only reason that you would want to do that is because you want to try and get it to bloom again. 

How to make a Poinsettia to Bloom

The Poinsettia blooms through photoperiodism which means it is the amount of light and dark that triggers the bloom.  It not only wants full sun for 10 hours and it also needs full darkness for 10 hours.  That is why the Poinsettia blooms in the winter.  If you want your poinsettia to bloom then you will have to recreate nature.  A greenhouse is the easiest route.  Next location is a unused room that faces south and has no streetlight out side the window.  If these options are not open to you, here is the last hope.  Every night when you come home from work, place your plant in the hall closet.  In the morning when you open the closet to take out your coat and head for work, put your plant in the window.  Keep this up for about 7 weeks.  You plant may not actually bloom, but you should get you red leaves and that is an accomplishment few can brag about.

This is my last Christmas posting.  I have not seen any pictures from you so I am again encouraging you to send me your pictures.  I will post them along with any advice you would like concerning the care of plants.  Please contact me through this blog or email me at joneskathee@gmail.com .

Have you seen this?

The Dwarf Schefflera (Schefflera arboricola) has long been one of my favorite plants for indoor gardening.  It is easy to grow and it is of a good size for a floor plant.  So you can understand that I am now twice as pleased now that I have moved south and can also use it in my outdoor garden. But that is not why I have chosen to write about the Schefflera today. 

The reason is the picture that I took on my cell phone while heading into a local wholesale store.  I was so excited that I kept taking pictures to show you.  This picture shows a variegated bush with berries on it.  This is the first time I have ever seen them.  Look at the star that is shaped by the berry stalks. The berry stalks slowly turn to a rainbow of reds and oranges as they ripen. What a great show for the post Christmas season.   I just love it.  This is something that indoor gardeners do not get a chance to see very often.

Care and general information

The Dwarf Schefflera comes in both solid green and variegated varieties. The name is deceiving as this plant can grow up to 10 feet in height and will be very wide.  It likes sunny locations and can even be moved into a dappled sun outdoors during the summer (that is if it isn't too big.) They should not be exposed to temperatures lower than 60 degrees or you may get burn marks on the leaves.  Though the Schefflera prefers to be kept on the moist side, be sure not to over water it.  A good soaking once a week during the growing season should be all it needs. This plant is one of those who love a good misting if you find that it is drying out too quickly. 

Though the Schefflera is very disease resistant, you need to be wary of bug infestation.  Generally healthy plants are not bothered by bugs so be sure to fertilize regularly.   The Dwarf Schefflera is a heavy feeder during the growing season and some gardeners recommend doubling up on the fertilizer.  I am not too sure about that because over fertilizing is just a bad as not fertilizing.  I would love to hear comments about this from any reader who has had exceptional results with reguards to this.

Well I guess that is all for today.   I did find a picture of the blossom at Dave's Garden if you would like to see it.  Please add your comments to this page if you have any more information that other readers might need.  If you have your own photo of the blossom, please send it to me and I will publish it on this blog. 

You can reach me through the blog or email me at joneskathee@gmail.com.     

The Good Old Corn Plant

Dracaena fragrans

I thought I would give you a little treat today by showing you just why the corn plant has a name of "fragrans" which as those of you who have studied the romantic languages know means fragrant. 

Here it is.  I have had my "Dracaena fragrans" for over 8 years and this is the first time I have seen it bloom.  The poor thing has been delegated to a shady balcony until my recent move to a house and a sunny patio.  The flower is clustered on a long stalk like an orchid and it takes almost as long to blossom. 

The photo below show the whole flower stalk.  It is very heavy and the bottom of the stalk is at the top of the picture. 

k.k.jones


 

The Sun and the Bloom

Not enough sun and the corn plant's distinctive color variation on its leave will fade to a straight green.  So be sure to give it a bright filtered light.  To get it to bloom, you will need to add a little more light.  My little baby received full morning sun for 3 months before it set a bloom.  For those of you that live up north, that would be all summer.  Remember to keep it in a sunny window after you bring it back inside.  My stalk began to show in late November and the bloom you see above was in place on December 31st.  I am not sure if it popped it's bloom at night or early in the morning but it was waiting for me when I went out to check on it.  And yes it is fragrant.  The scent is stronger in the morning which makes me believe that blooms opened at night.

Well, I suppose I should go over the growing needs of this plant now that I have shown you the very unusual flowers.  First the lighting, as we have surmised is fairly high.  It will survive with less but will not be as happy.  The soil should be moist but not wet. It likes temperatures in the mid 70's and will tolerate as low as 50.  Mine actually is doing quite well with night temperatures of 40 but it is in a protected area.  Common problem is browning tips.  This can be from not enough water or the wrong kind of water.  The corn plant is sensitive to fluoridated water.  Fertilizing with a calcium base food will help protect against this. 

Well that is all for today.  All in all the corn plant "Dracaena fragrans" is a very easy plant to grow and makes a lovely houseplant. If you have any questions please email me at joneskathee@gmail.com or add comments right to this blog.