Christmas Flowers

Caring for Christmas Flowers

You’ll want to keep your flowers fresh and beautiful for the entire holiday season. That’s easy, if you follow these tips:

Placement

Most plants prefer a location with bright indirect light. Many plants require more light to grow, but will tolerate a lower light for the few weeks they are in bloom.

Shield plants from drafts, even warm ones. Don’t place them near heat sources or on top of the television.

Water

Check the soil daily and water when it is dry. You can’t tell by looking; push your finger an inch or two into the soil and check for moisture. Add water until the extra drips out of the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. If your Christmas flowers came wrapped in florist’s foil, you’ll have to remove it to let the water flow through the pot. Don’t leave the plant sitting in a saucer full of water.

Other Care

Remove blossoms as soon as they fade to help the other blooms on the plant survive longer. Don’t fertilize the plant while it is in bloom. If you want to keep the plant after the holidays are over, check its individual care requirements.

Favorite Christmas Flowers

Poinsettia

Poinsettias say Christmas! In subtropical climates they are actually flowering shrubs, but commercially they are wonderful potted plants that resonate with the spirit of the holiday season. In 2004, more than 61 million poinsettias were sold.

Over 100 varieties of poinsettias are in grown, but most Americans still prefer the red ones. White and pink plants are less popular, but can provide an interesting look for your holiday décor, and many other variations are available, including pale yellow, marbled colors, and plants that look delicately airbrushed. Most of the commercially-grown plants are raised in California.

Choose a healthy poinsettia for the holidays. Get one with dark green foliage down to the soil. There should be no yellowed or damaged leaves. The brightly-colored “flowers” are really modified leaves called bracts. They should be completely colored, with little or no green around the edges. The real flowers, located at the base of each bract cluster, should be young and fresh, without any yellow pollen visible.

If outdoor temperatures are below 50 degrees Fahrenheit when you take the poinsettia home, be sure to have it sleeved or covered. Daytime temperatures below 70 degrees and nighttime temperatures around 55 degrees will extend the plant’s blooming period.

Despite many old wives’ tales, poinsettias are not poisonous. However, eating the entire plant might cause nausea or vomiting. In addition, a few people are sensitive to the milky sap and will get irritated skin from handling it.

Christmas Cactus

Another popular Christmas flower is the Christmas cactus. LTK Christmas has an entire article about them here.

Amaryllis

Brilliant amaryllis flowers make a dramatic Christmas decoration. The flowers can be crimson, scarlet, rose, white, lavender, or bi-colored combinations. Usually each amaryllis bulb produces one flower cluster at the end of a two-foot flower stalk, but individual blossoms can be as much as eight inches in diameter. There can be two to four blossoms in each flower cluster.

Buy a plant that is in bud or beginning to flower. The flowers will last longer if the room temperature is around 65 degrees. The flower stalks can become weak in warmer locations, so stake the flowers if necessary.