by Katie Martin, UT Extension
Tis the season, the season for festive holiday plants! As we deck the halls and our homes with greenery and seasonal blooms this time of year, a few specific plants come to mind. Whether you purchased them for decoration or received them as a gift, properly caring for holiday cacti, amaryllis, and poinsettias can ensure maximum enjoyment and longevity.
Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter Cactus are all popular holiday houseplants that make a great gift and if properly cared for, can outlive you! It is possible for these plants to live over 100 years, given the right environment. They appreciate high humidity, cooler temperatures, and well-draining soils. Holiday cacti are “short-day plants” with Thanksgiving and Christmas cacti blooming around six weeks after short days in late fall and early winter. Ideally, cacti should be kept indoors in a cool, bright location, with twelve hours of complete darkness at night. Plants may not bloom if consistently exposed to night-time temperatures above 65 degrees. Allow soil to dry out between watering and make sure to drain excess water from pots after watering. After enjoying your holiday cactus blooms, remove spent flowers and apply a houseplant fertilizer. After the chance of frost has passed in the spring, your holiday cactus can move outdoors to a semi-shaded area until fall, when you will be able to enjoy its blooms for another year.
Amaryllis bulbs are often purchased or gifted already potted and sprouting. While the most common colors are red and white, flowers may also be pink, burgundy, or even bicolor. To care for your amaryllis, water when the top two inches of soil feel dry, making sure not to overwater as that can cause bulb rot. Fertilize with a houseplant fertilizer with a high phosphorus content to promote blooming, and move the plant out of direct sunlight once the flower buds begin to open. To save your amaryllis to reflower next year, clip the spent blooms to stop seed production, keep the plant in bright light, preferably outdoors after the danger of frost has passed in the spring, and fertilize and water throughout the summer months. In the fall, water less and allow the leaves to die back, then move the bulb to a cool, dry place for six to eight weeks before resuming watering. Flowers typically develop in four to six weeks from dormant bulbs, so you can time the blooms to once again happen during the holiday season.
Finally, the plant many of us think of when we think about Christmas, the poinsettia. The “flowers” on a poinsettia are actually modified leaves called bracts that change color in response to shorter winter days. While the most common color is red, poinsettias come in a range of whites, pinks, and even multicolored bracts. Poinsettias prefer temperatures of 65-70 degrees and moist soil. Make sure the plant is in a pot that drains freely, taking care to remove foil or outer pots that might restrict draining. Water when the soil surface feels dry and place your plant in a window that receives bright daylight. Your poinsettia can be saved for the next holiday season, although the process is somewhat tedious. To re-flower, move the plant outdoors after the danger of frost has passed, water, and fertilize often while keeping the plant in morning sun and afternoon shade. Bring the plant indoors when nighttime temperatures are under 60 degrees. Starting in October, the poinsettia will need fourteen hours of continuous darkness to develop the bract color. During the other ten hours, the plant should receive bright light. Any light during the ten hours of darkness can delay or inhibit flowering. The same process can be done each year, or feel free to do what I do and purchase a new poinsettia each year!
I hope your holiday season is filled with cheer and well cared for plants!
For further information about holiday plants or any other agriculture topic, please visit our website at smith.tennessee.edu or call our office at 615-735-2900.
