North American Scarlet Plume Gardens Cut, Planted, Potted by Christmas

Summary: North American scarlet plume gardens cut, plant, pot lilies, peonies, roses and Christmas berry, cactus, cholla, fern, mistletoe, poinsettia and rose.

closeup of orange red flowers of scarlet plume (Euphorbia fulgens); Allan Gardens, Toronto, southern Ontario, east central Canada; April 23, 2016: Nadiatalent, CC BY SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

North American scarlet plume gardens, with their alternative, back-up and supplementary cut and potted flower arrangements, augment the traditional array of seasonally correct Christmas berry, cactus, cholla, fern, mistletoe, poinsettia and rose.

Scarlet plume, native Mexican woody member of the Euphorbiaceae family of spurge-related herbs, shrubs and trees bears arching branches, bright orange-red blooms and dark green leaves. Its cultivated varieties, called cultivars, color the Euphorbia genus's signature flower- and leaf-lined stems with orange, peach, salmon or white blooms and purple or red foliage. Cut or severed cultivated and wild scarlet plume shoots drip irritating, milky, poisonous sap that demands a two-second dip in boiling water or over controlled flames.

The evergreen perennial's October to February bloom times in Canada and the United States and year-round in Mexico embellish cultivated or wild, indoor or outdoor soils.

Scarlet plume, scientifically named Euphorbia fulgens (Euphorbus's [physician to Juba II (Mauritania, 52 B.C.?-A.D. 23)] shining [spurge]), favors American Horticulture Society heat zones 11 to 8.

The drought-resistant, sun-tolerant shrub gets through United States Department of Agriculture hardiness zones 10 to 11 outdoors year-round and zones 9 northward with indoor-out, outdoor-in shuffles. It has to have moisture-infiltrated, water-percolated, well-drained sheltered sites with air and water pore spaces, neutral 7.0 soil pHs and south- or west-facing orientations for sunlight. Drip systems or soaker hoses optimally irrigate the 3- to 5-foot- (0.92- to 1.52-meter-) tall, 2- to 3-foot- (0.61- to 0.92-meter-) wide shrub in drying soils.

Soils dry to the touch, and non-clinging to probes, from the surface down 3 inches (7.62 centimeters) jumpstart irrigation schedules in North American scarlet plume gardens.

Scarlet plume, described by Bavarian naturalist Wilhelm Friedrich Karwinski von Karwin (Feb. 19, 1780-March 2, 1855), knows fragrantly clustered flowers, inedible fruits and lance-shaped, long-stalked leaves.

The Christmas poinsettia's non-famous relative, subsequently described by German botanist Johann Friedrich Klotzsch (June 9, 1805-Nov. 5, 1860), links modified leaves called bracts into cuplike clusters. Its genus, Euphorbia, monopolizes, in the Euphorbiaceae family, cuplike, flower-clustered, self-defensive cyathia whose petal-like bracts merge around 0.5-inch- (12.7-millimeter-) long, orange- to white-colored, yellow-eyed true flowers. The floral leaves need humid temperatures between 55 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit (12.78 to 23.89 degrees Celsius) to nestle firmly into drooping, leaf-riddled, weeping willow-like branches.

Prolific flowering, fruiting of dry, explosive capsules and seeding occur amid healthy leafing, rooting and shooting over 10-plus-year life cycles in North American scarlet plume gardens.

The indoor and outdoor ornamental prefers a 1- to 3-inch- (2.54- to 7.62-centimeter-) thick bark or leaf mulch 1 inch (2.54 centimeters) away from its base.

Pruning back to the trunk and repotting into the next container size respectively quicken the healthy growth of splendid-looking shoots and resourceful roots every three years. Fragrant, flower-interspersed, 2.76- to 5.12-inch- (7- to 13-centimeter-) long, 0.47- to 0.98-inch- (1.2- to 2.5-centimeter-) wide leaves rate cutting, planting, potting with lilies, peonies and roses. Scarlet plume survives 10 days in antibacterial, pH-adjusted, nutrient-, preservative-enriched water changed every two days in vases away from direct sunlight, fresh whole fruit and heat.

North American scarlet plume gardens likewise treasure indoor, outdoor displays and plantings with such holiday traditionals as Christmas berry, cactus, cholla, fern, mistletoe, poinsettia and rose.

closeup of foliage of scarlet plume (Euphorbia fulgens); Enchanting Floral Gardens of Kula, Maui; Oct. 24, 2007: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

closeup of orange red flowers of scarlet plume (Euphorbia fulgens); Allan Gardens, Toronto, southern Ontario, east central Canada; April 23, 2016: Nadiatalent, CC BY SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Euphorbia_fulgens,_Allan_Gardens.jpg?uselang=fr

closeup of foliage of scarlet plume (Euphorbia fulgens); Enchanting Floral Gardens of Kula, Maui; Oct. 24, 2007: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/starr-environmental/24526741469/

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