Friday: Decorate For The Holidays With Potted Plants

December 11, 2010

theresafriday.jpgWith Christmas approaching, homes are being decorated with lights and trees and other festive adornments.  While the chiller weather discourages the use of decorating with potted plants outside, the indoors can come alive with festive potted plants.

Poinsettia

Very few plants are as closely associated with a holiday as poinsettias are with Christmas. The poinsettia, native to South America, was given the botanical name Euphorbia pulcherrima, which literally means “very beautiful.”

The showy portions of the poinsettia, which most people think of as the flower, are actually colorful leaves called bracts.

In addition to the traditional red, bracts can be pink, white, orange, and even purple. Poinsettia plants come in many sizes and their bracts come in a wide range of shapes.

poinsettia

Contrary to popular belief, poinsettias are not poisonous, although some people are sensitive to the sap, which contains latex.

With proper care, your poinsettia may stay colorful for months after the holidays.  Because they are tropical plants, keep them in a bright light and away from chilly drafts.  To learn more about how to care for your poinsettia, read the UF/IFAS publications titled “Poinsettias at a Glance”.  It’s available online at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep349 or by calling your local Extension Office.

Amaryllis

Potted amaryllises excel as small but stellar holiday gifts.  These easy to grow winter bloomers produce surprisingly exotic flowers, yet are still unknown to many people. The bulb is large, the flowers are huge. They grow and bloom for weeks on end – indoors in the middle of winter.

If you purchase a bulb, plant it in a pot with well-drained potting soil.  Place the pot in a sunny window and keep the soil evenly moist. When the flower stalks begin to emerge, rotate the pot every few days so the stalks will grow straight. If you provide your amaryllis with too little light, the flower stalk will grow excessively tall and may even fall over.

red amaryllis

Each stalk will produce several flowers. As each bloom fades, snip it off. When all the blooms on a stalk have faded, cut off the entire stalk about an inch from its base. Don’t assume the show is over after the first flowers fade. Your bulb will probably produce a second stalk with more flowers. Sometimes a third one pops up.

For more information on how to grow and care for amaryllis, read the UF/IFAS publication titled “Amaryllis.”  It’s available online at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep060.

Rosemary

To add the fragrance of the holiday season to your home, include a rosemary plant.  Available in many stores in a Christmas tree shape, rosemary is an easy herb to grow.

When a rosemary Christmas tree is purchased it is usually a large plant in a small container. That means that there is probably a pretty good size root mass with not much soil to hold onto the water. The more soil a container holds, the longer the plant can go between watering. One of the tricks to growing rosemary is to allow it to dry out between watering.

One of the first things you can do to improve its ability to survive is to replant it using well-drained potting soil.  Using a terra cotta pot will help keep this somewhat top-heavy plant from being easily tipped over.  Since rosemary likes it on the dry side, terra cotta pots are an especially good choice. After a good initial watering, keep the soil moderately dry. Also provide plenty of light with a south or west exposure. Low light will produce leggy growth.

Enjoy the holiday season by adding Christmas plants to your décor.

Theresa Friday is the Residential Horticulture Extension Agent for Santa Rosa County.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under FEATURE TOP STORY, Features, News