Christmas plants

The Christmas season is here and many of us will use holiday greenery and live plants to add color and life to our home décor. If yours never seem to last more than a week after you get them home, you may be treating them all wrong. Many holiday plants can thrive for years with the right conditions and care. Read on to see how to ensure that your favorites won’t end up as the Ghost of Christmas Past before the holidays ever arrive.

First is the poinsettia. The poinsettia is the king of all Christmas plants. Poinsettias can be found in every nursery and big box store beginning around Thanksgiving. Choose plants that have a cluster of small yellow flowers, called cyathia, in the center of the colored leaves (bracts). If you choose a plant that is shedding pollen or in which the cyathia have dropped off, it is past its prime and will not last through the season. Look for plants with dense, plentiful foliage. Reject those that are wilting or have weak stems.

Keep your poinsettia in a relatively warm place inside. Room temperature is fine. Place in bright light by a window is ideal. Water only when the soil feels dry to the touch. The most reliable way to kill a poinsettia is to overwater it, causing root rot.

The Christmas cactus is one of the hardier holiday plants and can last for many years. Place yours near a bright window. Water when dry but do not allow the plant sit in water. Cactuses are succulents and the leaves get soft and mushy if overwatered. Fertilize monthly between April and October.

To get flowers to set next year, take the plant outdoors in September or early October. When the fall nights are in the 50 to 60 degree range, flower buds will form. A plant left outside until temps dip into the mid-40s is likely to have had enough cool nights to have formed flower buds by the time it is brought inside. During this time, while the buds are forming, stop fertilizing them and water them sparingly-just enough to keep the stems from shriveling.

Once the flower buds appear, the night temperatures and hours of darkness no longer matter. Set the plant in a bright spot and enjoy watching the buds open.

The cyclamen is a colorful, cool season plant in bright shades of red, white, and pink. Cyclamen can bloom for more than eight weeks under the right conditions. Place them in bright light near a window. Avoid warm drafts to prolong flowering and deadhead spent flowers and yellow leaves by pulling off the entire stem near the foliage line. Water cyclamen plants from the bottom rather than from the top by setting it in a saucer of water and letting it absorb for 15 to 20 minutes. Avoid splashing water on the leaves. After flowers are spent, toss the plant. It is very difficult to get the cyclamen to rebloom.

Rosemary is our last selection. This plant is often sheared into a topiary or pyramidal shape to resemble a Christmas tree. Its fresh piney scent is invigorating in the middle of a dreary winter day and is a savory complement to stews and roasts.

Place rosemary in bright light in a south or west-facing window. If allowed to stay in dim light for an extended period it will tend to drop its leaves. Keep the soil evenly moist. The most common mistake with rosemary is underwatering. These plants are Mediterranean, but they don’t like to dry out.

Keep your rosemary by moving it outside in the spring. Fertilize it every few weeks. Let it grow naturally or maintain the topiary or pyramidal shape if you so desire.

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