The Plant Lady: Christmas plants can be present year-round, if you treat them right

No plant, besides the Christmas tree, says “holidays” quite as much as the poinsettia.

Native to the warm locales of Mexico, the poinsettia became a holiday staple according to the following legend: A young girl placed a hand-picked poinsettia bouquet on the steps of a church, being too poor to buy flowers.

What most people think of as the flowers are actually modified leaves (bracts) that turn red. The true flowers are small and not very showy. Sadly, most poinsettias end up in the garbage — or at best the compost bin — after the holidays. This does not need to be the case.

To keep them alive year-round the following steps are required:

▪ During the winter, keep poinsettias away from heat sources such as fireplaces and heat vents.

▪ To water, remove the decorative covering and water until it flows out the bottom of the pot. Avoid letting the soil go completely dry.

▪ During spring, repot into a container 3 inches wider than the root ball, using a succulent soil to prevent rotting of the roots.

▪ Once night temperatures reach 50 degrees, move outside into a location with either morning sun and afternoon shade, or all-day filtered sun.

▪ Prune as needed to keep the plant the size you desire and to encourage bushiness.

▪ Once nighttime temperatures are below 50 degrees, move the poinsettias inside for the winter.

▪ It is possible to keep indoors as a houseplant year-round, but it must be by a sunny window.

I want to set expectations about the red foliage people are accustomed to with poinsettias. Most of the foliage is green, with a smattering of red. To grow red bracts in time for the holidays, poinsettias need to be grown in complete darkness for 14 hours a day, for eight weeks before the bracts are at their peak of red.

Amaryllis

Amaryllis are bulbs (underground storage structures) which allow them to grow year after year. In nurseries, they are forced to bloom around the holidays. In the wild, their natural bloom period is anywhere from spring through late summer. After the holidays, when the blooms fade, do not throw the plant out — instead, repot it to keep blooms coming year after year.

▪ Keep the plant inside by a sunny window during the winter.

▪ Water when the top 1 inch of soil is dry, using room temperature water.

▪ Fertilize with an all-purpose liquid product (10-15-10) once or twice a month.

▪ Remove the flowers when they begin to brown, but leave the flower stem. When the stem browns, cut it down, leaving about 2 inches.

▪ In spring, move the plant outside into a morning sun/afternoon shade location.

▪ Foliage will start to die in late fall/winter (this is the dormant period). When this occurs. move to a slightly protected area such as a covered patio. Cease watering and fertilizing.

▪ The dormant period is the time to repot — do so if the bulb is bursting out of the pot.

▪ Transplant into a container 2 inches wider than the bulb. Leave the top portion of the bulb exposed, using a succulent soil to prevent rot.

▪ Once the plant adjusts to its new timeclock, it will bloom the flowering year at its “natural” time of late spring-early summer.

▪ Note: In milder climates, the bulb may not drop its leaves. In this case, I recommend forcing the plant into dormancy by tapering off water until the foliage dies. A dormancy period will allow the plant to amass energy resources, resulting in a larger bloom the following season.

Christmas Cactus

One of the easier and more rewarding holiday plants is the Christmas cactus (Zygocactus or Schlumbergera). As the name suggests, it is a cactus, but unlike most, this one is a tropical variety from Brazil.

▪ During the winter, place in a sunny window.

▪ Water when the top 2 or 3 inches of soil dries. Do this year-round.

▪When night temperatures warm to 50 degrees, move outside into location with either morning sun/afternoon shade or bright, filtered shade.

▪ In spring, as new growth emerges, it is time to transplant out of the original soil. Nurseries ship these plants in a high peat soil, which leads to rot if kept too wet. I prefer planting in a succulent mixture. Plant in a container 3 inches wider than the existing root ball.

▪ When temperatures drop down into the 40s at night, move the plant back inside or place up against the house to keep warmer. They can tolerate temperatures into the 30s, however they won’t be as healthy.

▪ The “rules” state that this plant needs six to eight weeks of 12 hours of darkness a day to flower. The long nights of fall will be enough to induce blooming if growing outside. But keep in mind if growing inside you should try to place in darkness for 12 hours a night to achieve maximum blooms.

▪ To propagate (i.e. grow new plants from your original), use 3- to 6-inch sections of stem (the plant only has stems, no leaves). Place stems in pumice in bright shade and water sparingly until roots form.