Agriculture Department

Chesapeake Master Gardener Tips

December 1999

Virginia Cooperative Extension, Chesapeake Office

Poinsettias & Holiday Plants

So you fell under the spell of some holiday plants and now you need to know how to care for them. The Chesapeake Office of Virginia Cooperative Extension has some suggestions for selection and care of holiday plants.

Poinsettia:
Poinsettia plants are the typical display for the holidays. Poinsettia plants are not considered to be poisonous, so you can feel confident using them in your home. Now you can find them in many colors, sizes, and even with different shaped "flowers" such as those of "Christmas Rose". Generally the poinsettias purchased for holidays are considered disposable. What you see as the color on a poinsettia is actually the bracts and not flowers. You should look for well-shaped compact plants with uniform bract color. You want to pick plants that still have the yellow flowers (in the center of the bracts) tightly closed. Once you get one home, this is how to take care of your plant.

• Place it in a sunny location, protected from drafts or chills. Keep the soil evenly moist but well-drained.
• Leaves will drop eventually, so when they do cut plant back to two buds on the stem and reduce watering. Keep the plant in a cool place to rest.
• In late spring you can place the plant outside in a sunny location.
• If you want to use the plant next Christmas, cut it back in the summer or it will be rather large and leggy for inside use
• You can make cuttings in late summer, just make sure the pieces you root have at least 4 joints.
• To make a poinsettia bloom again, they need long nights so you should start in October. Put them in a closet each night for 14 hours of no light. They should be getting no more than 10 hours of sunlight daily during this time and you continue this for 10 weeks. Then place the plants under regular house conditions and you should get bract color for Christmas.

There are many other plants that make the holiday season more festive and you should give some of these a try.

Christmas Cactus
These are not typical cacti, in nature they actually live in trees like orchids. They like rich porous soil and fertilizer while in their growth and flowering stages.

• To keep them blooming longer, reduce watering and keep in full sun at around 70 degrees room temperature
• If you want to make one bloom, they need long nights and cool night temperatures, so place them in 12-14 hours of darkness, 50-55 degree temperatures during the month of November.
• If the buds drop and stems shrivel, you have probably kept the plant too dry and the roots have been damaged.

Amaryllis
A bulb typically used at Easter, however they are gaining ground for the Christmas holidays

• Usually purchased in the bulb form, but can be in any stage of development.
• Place in a warm, sunny location and do not fertilize until after flowering
• The soil should be kept on the dry side
• It usually takes 4 weeks from bulb to flowering
• The plant will be more compact and healthier if kept in tropical conditions, high light & warm temperatures

Gloxinias
These are close relatives of African violets so treated them the same.

• Look for 3 to 5 open flowers with about the same amount of buds coming along on compact plants with rich green leaves
• Once home, keep the plants on the moist side, but not water logged in a warm area free of drafts.
• The plant does not like direct sunlight (high-intensity light).
• If it is too dark or allowed to wilt, the plant will drop it's buds.

Kalanchoe, Ornamental Peppers & Cherries
Very durable, can bloom for at least 1 month in the home.

• Kalanchoe are closely related to jade plants, they like it warm and dry.
• When picking one out, look for lots of color and no dead flowers
• There should be at least 3-5 clusters of flowers on the plant, depending on the size
• Ornamental Peppers & Cherries are easily maintained, but are not for homes where little hands may want to pick the fruit and eat it.

Lynnette J. Swanson, Associate Extension Agent for Environmental Horticulture and Jean Holton, Chesapeake Master Gardener