Christmas Plants Have Live-In Rules

Festive holiday plants, mainly the poinsettia and Christmas cactus, brighten our tables and challenge our gardening skills. Each of these special plants has its own character and own set of live-in rules.

Poinsettia, poinsetta: No matter how you pronounce it, this traditional holiday plant is easily the most popular Christmas plant in the U.S. We use it to fill baskets, line staircases, grace coffee tables and end tables and add bright spots of color to otherwise uninteresting corners.

In the past, we were usually stuck with short-lived, red plants. Today we can purchase poinsettias in a myriad of rich colors and color combinations - white, yellow, pink, salmon, many shades of red, red with white splotches and pink shades fading into white.

Most new hybrid plants will remain in bloom for many months after the holidays. It’s not uncommon to find plants still sporting colorful leaves in June.

Since these plants are used mainly as decorations, their cultural requirements, primarily light, are often overlooked. Poinsettias enjoy bright, direct sunlight. When nestled in and around other plants or set off in a corner, they react to this lack of light by dropping their leaves. Depending on the situation, most, however, should make it through the holidays.

During this busy time, we may also overlook the plant’s need for water. One obvious sign the plant is dying of thirst is when it plasters its leaves and bracts to its side. Usually poinsettias are quite forgiving. With a good drink, the leaves and colored bracts should spring back into place. If it has gone too long unnoticed, many leaves may drop, leaving a colorful pinwheel atop a barren stem. Remember to remove the colorful sleeve around the pot when watering. The pot should never sit in water.

Once the holidays are over, simply set the plants in a window where they will receive plenty of light and keep them evenly moist. Come summer, set them outside to bask in the natural light and fresh air. Around mid-September, repot them and bring them indoors. If they look shaggy, cut them back to about six inches, otherwise leave them as they are. Getting them to rebloom can be a bit tricky since they require 16 hours of darkness and 8 hours of light. If you don’t wish to bother with this ordeal, poinsettia’s make fine green foliage houseplants. If you don’t care for the foliage, they also make great compost.

Christmas cactus: Because of new hybridization, there is very little difference now between the Christmas and Thanksgiving cactus. Both can produce blossoms a number of times throughout the year if the growing conditions are right.

Remember, these are not the type of cacti found roaming the desert. They are tree dwellers. They anchor their roots in the soft, damp organic matter collected in the recesses of tree bark and the tight angles found at the base of limbs and branches.

Here, moisture collects and runs off, leaving behind a damp carpet filled with rich nutrients. The air in this earthy scene is also damp, telling us that these plants also enjoy a humid atmosphere. Because of this, these cacti have special requirements.

The light should be indirect or filtered. Their leaves can easily scorch with hot direct sunlight.

Of course, hot sunlight is of little concern to us during the winter months. We’ll take any sunlight.

The roots of these plants must be nestled in soil that drains quickly. Their roots cannot tolerate wet soil.

That may explain why the soil of purchased plants seems like a brick of concrete. There is no way water is going collect around those roots.

Creating a humid environment isn’t absolutely necessary, but an occasional misting does help maintain good health.

Getting them to bloom isn’t difficult. They either need temperatures at or below 55 degrees for about six weeks or they need a regimen of short days and long nights - 12 hours of darkness and 12 hours of light. I accomplish this task by simply leaving them outside in the fall until the temperatures drop below 45 degrees.

By that time of the year, the days are short, the nights are long and the temperatures are cool. The cacti come indoors loaded with tiny flower buds.

These colorful plants not only add a spark to our holiday decor, but they also make excellent presents or hostess gifts. And with a little care, they can last for years.

From our home to yours, may you have a blessed Christmas.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Phyllis Stephens The Spokesman-Review