One of the things I've noticed when doing my Christmas shopping is that there's too many poinsettia plants everywhere you look. You can't seem to move in any store for all these darn plants, their red bracts providing a flame of bah-humbug Christmas cheer. What follows is a sure fire way to kill these tropical invaders.

To begin with, put this scarlet plant in a draft or other cold place. Anything less than 62 degrees will do nicely, especially if you can arrange for it to get drafts from an open door.

If you don't have a really cold place, try overwatering the poinsettia. As a native of Mexico, this plant likes even moisture; so watering it every day will knock its leaves off quickly. Too busy to water? Try allowing it to dry out completely. This is a sure way to knock the leaves off in a hurry. If you don't give it water when it needs it, you can get rid of it a lot sooner.

Put the pot over a heat register where the hot, dry air from the furnace will really speed up the drying out process. Combining an area with no light with a heat register is a sure way to killing success and to increasing the size of your compost pile.

The clever gardener won't need all the above directions because they'll manage to start the plant on the slippery road to the compost pile on the way home. Simply take your poinsettia plant to a cold, unheated car. The colder the better. Alternately, make a few more shopping stops, leaving the poinsettia in the car to cool down several times during the course of the day, you'll also get the desired leaf drop within hours of getting home. .

And we’ll send these tropical invaders home.

Doug Green, an award winning garden author, tries hard to keep his plants alive, passing along his professional tips and answering questions at http://www.beginner-gardening.com

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