Bring warmth and joy to your home this winter with the perfect holiday plants. These beautiful plants help brighten up any dull corner and make ideal decorative arrangements for December festivities! Here are our top 10 favourite holiday plants along with some tips on how to care for them!
1. Paperwhites
These beautiful winter-blooming flowers almost look like snowflakes! They prefer to be in a sunny, yet cool spot. Healthy plants produce flowers on stalks that can reach up to 30-45cm. If you’re growing them for decorative purposes and would prefer them to be shorter, here’s a simple trick you can use to stunt their growth.
When their stems reach about 1-2 inches, replace their water with a solution consisting of under 10 percent alcohol (4-6 percent is ideal). Any hard liquor like vodka, tequila, or whiskey should do the trick. This ultimately reduces the plant’s water absorption which minimizes stem growth. This amount of alcohol is not enough to affect the actual size of the flowers or how long they’ll last, so don’t worry! Unlike how alcohol usually works, tipsy paperwhites will not topple!
2. Poinsettia
These flowers with their red and green foliage are a classic during the holidays and some may say that they’re the Christmas flower. They make brilliant floral displays and can last long with proper care. Water them only when they’re dry to the touch as they can easily die from overhydration.
Remember to place these plants in a location with direct sunlight.
If you’re buying fully grown plants instead of growing them from seeds, avoid plants that are spotted or yellow. Choose ones that have little yellow flowers in the middle of the leaves called “cyathia”. If these parts have fallen off or the poinsettias are shedding pollen, this is a sign that they have already peaked and are declining in growth.
3. Christmas Cactus
Most cacti are known for being easy to care for. The Christmas Cactus is no exception. Holiday cacti actually consist of three types, including Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. As their names suggest, they grow during those seasons! Christmas cacti are hardy plants that can last for years. They grow best in containers with drainage holes and can be easily propagated, making them a great holiday gift idea!
4. Frosty Fern
This plant works as a great festive foliage accent among holiday decorations, centrepieces or even alongside flowering holiday plants like the poinsettia and the Christmas Cactus. They need to be kept in moist soil, so make sure to water them entirely when they get dry but also provide them with drainage holes. As they’re very sensitive to hard water, filtered water is preferred. Humidity is equally important as low humidity can cause the leaves to get brown and crispy when the air becomes too hot and dry. Misting them several times a day is helpful as well as placing their pots on a saucer filled with water and pebbles. After the holidays, frosty fern can be kept up as a houseplant. It mixes well in a large terrarium or dish garden.
5. Holly
Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly this year! These popular plants can be spotted from afar thanks to their signature pointed leaves, white blooms, and red berries. Although Holly is a genus consisting of about 480 species from the Aquifoliaceae family, the two most popular types during the holidays are the American and English holly. While the American holly has duller leaves with a yellow-green tint, the English holly has deep green and glossy leaves.
These plants love full sunlight and well-drained soil that is slightly more acidic.
6. Rosemary Christmas Tree
Cyclamens are perennials that grow from tubers and create flowers and petals pointing upwards in shades of white, red, purple or pink. Their leaves are green and heart-shaped. Although full sunlight can be too harsh on these plants during the summer, they thrive in bright filtered light during the winter. Soil moisture is important so water them thoroughly when their soil looks and feels dry to the touch. However, keep away from their leaves or tubers which can actually rot if they accumulate too much moisture. Although their Christmas tree-like shape should last throughout the holidays, prune them when they start to grow out. Not only do these guys fit perfectly into the season, but their aroma will also bring warmth to your holiday spirit and they can even be used in your favourite festive recipes.
7. Mistletoe
Would the holidays be the same if you don’t stand underneath the mistletoe? This cheeky plant is fun, symbolic and easy to care for! These evergreens grow in host branches of apple, lime, hawthorn, and poplar trees. If you live in a region where you can grow these evergreens, make sure to regularly prune their branches to keep their host tree healthy. Mistletoes can take up to four years to grow, but it might just be worth it for that holiday kiss!
8. Cyclamen
Cyclamens are perennials that grow from tubers and create flowers and petals pointing upwards in shades of white, red, purple or pink. Their leaves are green and heart-shaped. Although full sunlight can be too harsh on these plants during the summer, they thrive in bright filtered light during the winter. Soil moisture is important so water them thoroughly when their soil looks and feels dry to the touch. However, keep away from their leaves or tubers which can actually rot if they accumulate too much moisture.
9. Anthurium
As the world’s longest blooming plant, these bright and glossy red heart-shaped spathes with yellow spikes are perfect for the holidays. With your busy winter schedules, they’re pretty easy to maintain with a few key elements. Provide your anthuriums with indirect sunlight as direct sunlight can burn their leaves. They do best in warm and humid temperatures so go ahead and spread some holiday cheer with these guys in the bathroom! In winter, anthuriums should be watered only about once a week when their soil is dry as their big roots can easily rot when overwatered. Allow for complete drainage in between watering. With the right care, these plants will bloom for the next few months!
10. Kalanchoe
If you can’t escape the frosty temperatures this year, bring a piece of the tropic to you! Last on our list is the kalanchoe, a plant native to Madagascar. These flowers will bring a touch of vibrancy into your home with bursts of yellow, orange and red. Kalanchoes are pretty easy to care for.
They only need about 2 hours of sunlight a day and should be watered once every 2-3 weeks.
Check the soil every few days, if (and only if) the first 2 inches are completely dry, then water them thoroughly. As succulents, they store their water in their leaves rather than depending on damp soil. Remember to remove them from their containers while doing so and provide them with good drainage as they will rot in extremely moist conditions.
And that’s our list! Keep your holiday spirit alive with these bright and cheery plants throughout this festive season. We would love to hear which of these plants you plan to add to your home!
We wish you and your loved ones a safe and happy holiday! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to write to us at info@nurturegrowthbio.com
Blogger Biography
Krystle is a Ryerson University student majoring in Marketing and minoring in French. As a business student, she has always had a huge entrepreneurial curiosity with the hopes of one day running her own business. With a passion for environmental activism, she is always looking for ways to educate herself and others in the fight against climate change. She is upbeat, energetic and loves rollerblading, hot yoga and spending time with her little dog Zeus.
Citations
