Augusta, GA

Campbell Vaughn: Tips to take care of a holiday cactus

Published

7 months ago

December 1, 2023

Press Room

Campbell Vaughn: Tips to take care of a holiday cactus

Campbell Vaughn
| Columnist

It is tough to be humble sometimes, especially when you are so good at something that people stop and look in awe.

I wish I could say this about me, but people still stop and look in awe; not at what I have done, but what happens around every Thanksgiving in my office in downtown Augusta. This time every year, anyone that comes by my office gets to gawk at a Thanksgiving cactus that is in full bloom and it is amazing.

I picked up a small 4-inch holiday cactus from the super friendly folks at Sanderlin Greenhouses when they hosted a meeting for our office a few years back. I took the little guy back to the office and planted it in a nice pot I had in the corner. This cactus just keeps getting bigger and bigger and the reason the plant does so well has nothing to do with my plant growing prowess.

My office faces directly east and literally has an 1880s built curved window the plant sits under and gets indirect light all day long. All I do to keep this plant moving is water it about twice a month and fertilize it three times a year. The rest is done on its own.

I have always loved these holiday cacti, mostly from a plant my mother had for a gazillion years that was a cutting of my great grandmother’s. It would always bloom for Christmas every year. And I have found they are easy to root and pretty easy to grow.

There are actually two similar plants we know as holiday cacti that bloom in the fall and early winter. They are in the genus Schlumbergera and originate from Brazil. These plants are epiphytes, meaning they live in the branches of trees or on rocks. Other plants that do this are Spanish moss and orchids.

The two different varieties of cactus that begin to bloom this time of year are the Thanksgiving cactus (Schumbergera truncata) and Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera bridgesii). Supposedly, they bloom for their respective holidays, but growers can manipulate them to bloom earlier or later, so beware.

To distinguish between the two varieties, look at the shape of the flattened stem segments. The Thanksgiving cactus have pointed tooth-like notches and the Christmas cactus have more rounded notches. Another way of telling them apart is that the Thanksgiving cactus has yellow anthers (the male part of the flower that carries the pollen) and the Christmas cactus has purplish-brown anthers.

How do the plants know when to bloom? It goes back to photoperiod, the amount of daylight compared to darkness. Thanksgiving cacti are short day plants. To set their flower buds, they need 14 or more continuous hours of darkness. It can’t be interrupted with any kind of light. They also need cool night temperatures, between 60-68 degrees. Keeping them outside on a porch is ideal for flower blooms to form in our area.

Once the cactus blooms, keep the plant above 50 degrees and below 90 degrees or they will drop the buds. Other reasons for bud drop are too much light, cold drafts, over watering, under watering, or a sudden change in temperature.

Campbell Vaughn: Southern pine beetles wreaking havoc on Georgia’s forested areas

After your holiday cactus blooms, cut back on the watering for a few weeks to let it rest. Then water when the soil becomes dry to the touch. Fertilize the plant monthly with an all-purpose houseplant food. A liquid fertilizer like Peters or Miracle Grow works best. Cacti have a high magnesium requirement, so once a month in the summer, water with 1 teaspoon Epsom salt per gallon of water. You’ll actually have more flowers if you stop fertilizing the plant once the summer ends.

There are a few other things you can do to keep your holiday cactus happy. Make sure your pot has good drainage holes, and keep your cactus somewhat potbound. Repotting is necessary only about once every three years. Additionally, for bushier plants and more flowers, pinch back three or four segments of each stem in June. You can also use these prunings to propagate a new plant. Just place the cuttings about an inch deep in potting mix (you want one of the joints between the segments to be underground) and water the soil well. You can also cover the container with a clear plastic bag secured with a rubber band around the container to create a mini-greenhouse for about five weeks, until you have roots. The only major disease these cacti have is root rot, which can be prevented by avoiding excessive watering.

My final advice is to put keep your cactus outside on a porch for most of the year, after the danger of frost in the spring until November. If you don’t have a porch, put the plant under a tree where it can get filtered sunlight. The holiday cacti will reward you with blooms galore for your holiday festivities.

Source link

Click to comment

Augusta, GA

Augusta Boxing Club makes ‘you the best version of yourself’

Published

2 mins ago

June 28, 2024

Press Room

Augusta Boxing Club makes ‘you the best version of yourself’

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The Augusta Boxing Club is celebrating 50 years, and they have a huge boxing match coming up to mark the anniversary.

Their goal has always been to keep the youth off the streets and into a structured, safe environment.

We spoke with a couple of the kids there about what it’s like to be a part of the club.

“I learned that it is a lot of hard work, but it definitely pays off. Everyone in here, they work with you to make you the best version of yourself,” said TJ Nalley.

Nalley has been coming to the Augusta Boxing Club for more than a year.

“I started coming here because my dad passed away so I just figured it would be a good place to get that anger out,” said Nalley.

Nalley is now gearing up for the 50th-anniversary boxing match alongside 8-year-old Gary Thomas.

Thomas says this place is where he lets out his emotions.

“If someone is getting bullied or hurt, I can help out, and this is where I show my anger out at so I can punch bags,” said Thomas.

And punching bags is what he is good at.

Rayonta Whitfield has been the director for 16 years. It’s a place where he started training at 10 years old.

“It’s been a long road. Boxing has done so much for me and the kids, and the community, so going on 50 years is such a great accomplishment for us,” said Whitfield.

Local partners come together to help those suffering in dangerous heat

Whitfield says what they teach goes beyond just boxing.

“We can help them with school and different things and their journey on life and keep them out of trouble, so that’s what we structure our program on, the kids,” said Whitfield.

More than 80 kids come to the Augusta Boxing Club. Whitfield says no kid is ever turned away.

Whether you’re a teenager, eight years old, a news photographer or a news anchor, there’s a place here for you.

Thomas said: “If you want to come here, you have to train hard and you will get better and better every time. I started out, I was not doing too good, but as I kept going, I got better and better.”

Their 50th-anniversary boxing match will take place on July 27 at May Park Community Center at 1 p.m.

The proceeds benefit the Augusta Boxing Club and their scholarships for families that cannot afford it.

Source link

Augusta, GA

Augusta Names Ember Holloway Head Women’s Golf Coach – Augusta University

Published

7 hours ago

June 28, 2024

Press Room

Augusta Names Ember Holloway Head Women’s Golf Coach – Augusta University

AUGUSTA, Ga – Ember Holloway has been named the Head Coach of Augusta University Women’s Golf.

Holloway joins Augusta after serving as an assistant coach for the Georgia women’s golf program. Before her tenure at Georgia, she was an assistant coach at Purdue University, working under legendary head coach Devin Brouse.

“It became abundantly clear early in our search that Ember was not only a great coach but would be a perfect fit for our campus and community,” said Director of Athletics Ryan Erlacher. “Our women’s golf vacancy was highly sought after and produced a tremendous candidate pool. Ember embodied everything we were looking for in our next coach and we have no doubt she will continue the commitment to excellence Coach Caroline Hegg established.”

During her time at the University of Georgia, Holloway coached three All-Americans, three All-SEC performers, and four individual title winners. The 2023 Bulldog team won the NCAA Athens Regional championship and finished 14^thoverall at the NCAA National Championship. The 2023-24 UGA recruiting class was ranked the No. 1 recruiting class in the country by the Golf Channel. The team was ranked inside the top-25 nationally by GolfStat and Clippd Golf for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.

“I feel truly honored to be the next head women’s golf coach at Augusta University,” said Holloway. “I want to thank Ryan Erlacher and the rest of the search committee for their belief in me to build upon the success Augusta Golf is known for. My family and I look forward to being a part of such a storied and passionate community. Augusta is truly a special place and I cannot wait to compete for championships.”

Holloway had a distinguished collegiate golf career at Illinois from 2010-14, competing under her maiden name, Ember Schuldt, and later played professionally for three seasons. In 2020, she was the assistant and interim head golf professional at Urbana Country Club in Illinois. Prior to that, she worked as the senior assistant golf professional at Boot Ranch Golf Club in Fredericksburg, Texas.

A native of Sterling, Illinois, Holloway recorded the second-lowest career stroke average in the University of Illinois program history. Playing in over 50 career tournaments, she achieved ten topz10 and 20 top-20 finishes.

Holloway was the first Illinois golfer to participate in three NCAA Regionals and held the Illini’s lowest stroke average in 2013 and 2014. In her senior year, she was named second-team All-Big Ten after leading Illinois individually in six out of 11 tournaments, including a sixth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships. Academically, she earned Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honors as both a junior and a senior.

During her three seasons as a professional golfer, Holloway competed in 21 Symetra Tour events and 18 Cactus Tour events. She also qualified for two U.S. Women’s Amateurs and three U.S. Public Links Amateurs.

Fans of Jaguar Athletics can subscribe to the email listserv by clicking here. Fans can follow Augusta University at www.AugustaJags.com and receive short updates on Facebook at Augusta University Athletics and on Instagram at @AugustaJags

Source link

Augusta, GA

Augusta voters gather, share thoughts on presidential debate

Published

14 hours ago

June 28, 2024

Press Room

Augusta voters gather, share thoughts on presidential debate

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – As President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump squared off in Thursday’s debate in Atlanta, some locals held watch parties around the CSRA.

The Republican party gathered at the Columbia County Party Headquarters, while the Democratic party gathered at the Augusta Municipal Golf Course.

The watch party is about showing up and standing up to watch what some consider a real debate.

“I think they’re having a real debate between two people and they’re the only two people in the room. It’s a real debate,” Democrat Franklin Williams.

It was the first time since 2020 that Biden and Trump faced each other on the same stage, and there were new rules in place to keep the candidates from interrupting each other.

“Necessary, very necessary. If you go back at those debates in 2020, those rules were necessary,” said Williams.

But others were curious about how the rule would work.

“It could be very interesting and might even have an impact on the way the results of the debate may go,” said Republican Trey Allen.

New rules or not, local supporters believe their respected candidate would perform well.

Viewers on both sides were watching Biden’s stama and Trump’s rhetoric.

“I ain’t worried about his age,” said Williams. “Age today ain’t what it used to be because we have better health care.”

Allen said: “I think Trump is gonna probably perform well but, again, I’m very curious to see what Trump shows up.”

Aside from the candidate’s personal performance, both sides were focused on different issues.

Williams said: “Why do we have a convicted person running for president?”

Allen said: “I’m looking forward to hearing that the plans are about the economy. I think inflation is something we are all concerned about but the standard topics are affecting us all.”

Ahead of the debate, we spoke with local voters on what they wanted to hear as Trump and Biden went head-to-head.

From overseas to here at home, it will be a heavily watched debate with a new set of rules.

It could be a pivotal night in the race for the White House.

With polls showing this to be a very close race, the stakes Thursday night are high with one in five voters telling Forbes they will be watching to decide who they will vote for in November.

What are voters from both parties listening for in Thursday’s debate?

People in Augusta have a lot to say about what they want to change but to sum it all up, people we spoke with want a cohesive plan to solve the financial squeeze many people in Augusta are feeling right now.

Gov. Brian Kemp speaks about the killing of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Hope Riley on...

No matter the age, race or gender, people in Augusta seem to want the same thing — a better economy.

And on Thursday night, people want to hear genuine words from the candidates.

“Are they standing firm on their faith, or is it being more swayed by politics?” asked one Augusta resident.

Another resident said: “All candidates seem to sound very repetitive and robotic.”

It’s a debate that local political parties say is going to turn that tide for many people undecided.

“For those who are watching, it’s going to be very impactful because not only are you going to have die-hard Biden and Trump supporters you have a pretty good amount of people who are undecided,” Richmond County Democratic Party Chairman Jordan Johnson.

Columbia County Republican Party Public Relations Chair Ashley Lee said: “I think a lot of people’s minds are made up but there are still a lot of independents that go either way.”

In the end, everyone just says they want stability in the economy and direction, and they want it now.

“I am looking forward to hearing a plan for both sides because the plan right now is not working,” said a CSRA resident.

Other big issues people shared are control of immigration and the federal government using funds for the country first and not other countries.

Certainly, there are a lot of issues on the table that are on people’s minds, and they are waiting to hear what both candidates have to say.

Source link