Poinsettias
Available in shades of white, pink, red, plum and combinations thereof, poinsettias are great for decorating your home as well as the perfect holiday gift. We sleeve your plants to protect them as you take them to your car. Do not leave them in an unheated car…and take them quickly indoors when you get home. Poinsettias’ colorful bracts last well beyond all the holidays and even into the spring. These easy-care plants prefer bright, filtered light in a spot free from drafts. Let the plant become moderately dry between waterings.
Christmas Cactus
With colorful flowers in red, pink, salmon, lavender or white, Christmas cactus will do best in a sunny south, east or west window. Keep the soil evenly moist. To get your cactus to re-bloom, avoid any artificial light at night starting in September. You will also need to keep the plant in a cool location, allow the soil to dry well between waterings.
Cyclamen
A popular plant with a profusion of colorful flowers that bloom for a long time. Keep cyclamen evenly moist from September through May. Let them dry from June to August, so the tuber can rest. Ideal light is a sunny east or west window. Cyclamen prefer a cool room (60 to 70 degrees). Feed them from September to May, and then stop for the summer months.
Amaryllis
This plant never fails to break the gloom of winter and provide enormous pleasure with its gorgeous blooms. If you want an amaryllis to bloom for Christmas, it must be started in the fall. Plant your amaryllis in a container not much larger than the bulb itself with a third of it above the soil. Place in a warm, sunny spot, watering when soil is dry. As the bulb grows more actively, increase the frequency of watering. Your plant will flower in brilliant color! After flowering, you can save the bulb for next year.
Norfolk Island Pine
These little ‘Christmas Trees’ are native to Norfolk Island in the Pacific, where they will grow as high as 200 feet, with trunks 10 feet in diameter. They are easy-to-please houseplants. A slow grower, Norfolk Island Pines will send out about 6 inches of new growth each year. Bright, indirect light is fine although in the winter the plants can stand full sun. Keep the plant moist, but never sodden. Feed your plant every 2 months. Repotting is best done in spring, but needs to be done infrequently, since the plants are slow growers. These trees lose their lower branches as they grow.
Indoor Bulb Planting
Of all flower bulbs, the paperwhite narcissus and amaryllis are probably the easiest to bring into flower in the indoor garden. Paperwhites are the delicate white flowering, notoriously fragrant narcissus that reliably bloom indoors about 4 to 6 weeks after planting. Paperwhites are grown in a dish with stones (or in a pot with soil). Fill the dish halfway with stones and place bulbs on top. Place bulbs close together, but not touching. Add water up to the base of the bulbs. Pack more stones around the bulbs until just the tips of the bulbs are visible. Place in a bright, cool area (60-65 degrees F) and water regularly.