Gardening

A Little TLC Will Prolong The Life Of Christmas Plants

by Dr. William M. Johnson, Galveston County Extension Agent - Horticulture

January 11, 2006

Flowering pot plants carried over from the holiday season extend the holiday spirit. With a little care, they will also continue to brighten any home decor well into the New Year. Photo Credit: William M. Johnson

Here's hoping you're among the households whose Christmas decor was graced by a beautiful holiday plant or even several perhaps. Let's take a look at several of the more popular Christmas flowers and how to care for them to prolong their beauty.

POINSETTIAS outrank all other Christmas plants combined in popularity. They are well adapted to indoor temperatures so long as they are not allowed to sit in hot or cold drafts. Place them near a bright window and aim at keeping the soil evenly moist, but never soggy wet or overly dry.

Poinsettias used to be quite sensitive to changes from a greenhouse environment to that of a home, with leaf and flower drop being a common problem. With the new varieties available today, however, you can just about plan on your poinsettias looking nice on Valentine's Day, if you care to keep them around that long.

KALANCHOES should be kept in a sunny window. This plant flowers when the days (daylight hours) are short; consequently, they are difficult to re-flower in the home if carried over for another year.

Lights used in the home provide long days and the kalanchoes will not set flower buds under such conditions. They do make excellent foliage plants once the flowers are faded however. Just remove the flower stalks and use as a foliage plant.
CHRISTMAS CACTUS is not, in fact, a typical cactus. It requires as much water as many other house plants, though it should not be overwatered. This is one plant that can be kept over to bloom again next Christmas with good success. Keep it in a sunny window until the danger of frost is past, then place it in a shady spot out-of-doors during the summer.

The Christmas cactus is a short-day plant. That means it will have to be exposed to the short days of autumn out-of-doors and away from bright lights during fall nights before bringing indoors for winter. Bring it inside next fall, place in a cool room, and with reasonable luck, flowers should appear by Christmas. The grower may also place the plant in two extra hours of darkness each day until flower buds form.

CYCLAMEN, or shooting stars, are old favorites. Their large showy flowers are red, pink, salmon, or white and really do resemble falling stars. Unfortunately, the flowers fade and fall fast, so they have a short "shelf life" as flowering plants inside the home. To prolong its beauty, keep the plant as cool as possible. Avoid hot drafts and overwatering.

AZALEAS should remain attractive up to four weeks or more in the home environment, particularly if they are placed in a 60-65 degree spot each night. They don't seem to prosper at normal room temperatures. Be careful to avoid drafty locations when you select a spot for your azaleas, and be extremely careful of your watering practices.

Most greenhouse azaleas are grown in virtually 100 percent peat moss and it's easy to under or over water. Be aware that standard-type azaleas require special care to thrive in our area and that these holiday florist-type azaleas are even more finicky in their growth requirements. In other words, you may want to discard the plant once it has finished flowering.

CHRISTMAS PEPPER is becoming more popular each year as a gift plant. The colorful red, yellow, orange, and green peppers make it a distinctive plant to give or receive. Ornamental pepper plants will thrive inside the home for several weeks, and will make an interesting potted or container plant for the patio or porch. However, do not allow the plant to be subjected to temperatures below 35 degrees.

All holiday plants need natural light and perform best out of direct sun. Once the upper surface of the soil mix in the pot feels dry to the touch, water well, and allow the upper soil surface to become slightly dry to the touch before watering again.
While it best to water correctly at all times, it's otherwise better to underwater rather than overwater. It may be necessary to remove decorative wraps, ribbons, etc., which may impede good drainage.

Flowering pot plants carried over from the holiday season extend the holiday spirit. With a little care, they will also continue to brighten any home decor well into the New Year.

Dr. Johnson is a horticulturist with the Galveston County
Extension Office of Texas Cooperative Extension, Texas A&M University. Visit his web site at http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/index.htm

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