Home Garden & Home Houseplants Guide to Festive Houseplants

Guide to Festive Houseplants

Indoor plants bring great energy to any space. At Christmas, the most popular choices tend to be very traditional, but festive houseplants can also be given a thoroughly modern twist.

If you are a serial houseplants killer, don’t be afraid! Our guide includes houseplants to suit every festive home. Just find a spot for your pot and let it uplift your soul.

Top Varieties

Schlumbergera (Christmas Cactus)

Indoor plant Schlumbergera — *Schlumbergera*

For a fabulous display or for a well loved gift you cannot go wrong with a Schlumbergera. Originating from the coastal mountains of south east Brazil, in its natural habitat this indoor plant grows attached to trees in sub tropical woodland areas.

Sun requirements	Bright, but not direct sunlight
Soil	Moist, well drained
Hardiness	Can be grown outside in the summer months
Size	This can spread up to 50cm and grow in height to 50cm
Flowering time	Autumn-winter

Plant care tips

Move the plant into a cool room and only water very sparingly. At the end of March, it can be re-potted in preparation for its growing season from April to September. Start feeding with liquid houseplant feed and move into a warm and light position in the house. From mid-September when temperatures begin to fall, flower buds will start to develop. At this point the home foliage can be brought back inside the house to enjoy for another season.

Cyclamen

Indoor cyclamen are bright and cheerful winter friends. Growers have developed many hybrids for us to enjoy in a range of shades and shapes, from ruffled petals to heart shaped leaves.

Sun requirements	Bright spot
Soil	Well drained and moist
Hardiness	Can be grown outside in the summer months
Size	This can spread up to 50cm and grow in height to 50cm
Flowering time	October – February

Plant care tips

Cyclamen are easy to grow with a little care and will flower for six to eight weeks. They are happy in cooler rooms but avoid leaving behind curtains on frosty nights. Keep moist and deadhead regularly by twisting the stem with a tug.

Azaleas

Azaleas are a real joy. They bring a burst of colour into our homes during the winter months. For many years, Azalea indica (Rhododendron simsii) was imported from Europe and was almost always pink. Now we have a feast of colours, from every shade of pink to deepest burgundy and a modern botanical purest white.

Sun requirements	Light dappled shade
Soil	Well drained and moist soil, ideally add ericaceous peat-free compost
Hardiness	Can be grown outside in the summer months
Size	This can spread up to 60cm and grow in height to 45cm
Flowering time	Winter

Plant care tips

When buying your Azalea look for a plant with plenty of healthy fat buds showing a touch of colour and with some flowers already out. Position in a cool room with good winter light but not in direct sunlight. Keep well watered and don’t allow to dry out. Remove faded flowers regularly for weeks of beautiful blooms.

Orchids

Indoor plant orchid up close — *Phalaenopsis*

Orchids are one of the most popular festive houseplants given at Christmas. A wide variety are available, but two highly recommended varieties are Phalaenopsis (Moth Orchid) and Cymbidiums (Boat Orchids). Phalaenopsis is always the most chosen of orchids as it is a classically beautiful variety and the perfect choice for centrally heated homes. Cymbidiums are also at their best this time of year. Native to the Himalayas, they do well with cooler night temperatures.

Sun requirements	Full sun
Soil	Well drained and moist
Hardiness	Can be grown outside in the summer, but keep inside all year round
Size	This can spread up to 50cm and grow in height to 50cm
Flowering time	Early spring, late autumn

Plant care tips

Buy strong well established plants. Place with access to sunlight and make sure the compost remains moist and you may enjoy several months of flowers. We recommend an orchid specific drip feed, such as Baby Bio, to ensure your orchid gets the nutrients it needs.

For detailed information on orchid varieties, read our orchid plant profile.

Poinsettias

Poinsettia the christmas houseplant — *Poinsettia*

No Christmas houseplant guide is complete without mention of Poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrina). This is one of the most popular plants of the season. With their distinctive brightly coloured bracts they add a festive feel to your home and make an ideal gift.

For the majority of the year Poinsettias are green but if put in a cycle of 12 hours of darkness followed by daylight for around a week it promotes the new bracts to start changing colour. This is why bracts create their colour in autumn winter due to the increased hours of darkness and shortened days.

Sun requirements	Full sun and free from draught
Soil	Well drained and moist
Hardiness	Can be grown outside in the summer months
Size	This can spread up to 30cm and grow in height to 60cm
Flowering time	Autumn-winter

Plant care tips

Cold conditions and draughts damage the foliage on these plants so be careful where you position them in your home. The temperature should be at least 13-15°C. A position on a sunny windowsill free from draught in a warm room is ideal.

Growing Guide

Planting

When planting, ensure that the plant is raised inside a second larger decorative pot. You can do this by putting in pebbles or small stones in the base of the decorative pot, then resting the grow pot with the plant inside on top of them. Alternatively, if space allows it, then you can put the grow pot on a saucer inside the decorative pot. This will allow the saucer to catch excess water which will need to be regularly emptied.

Watering

You should feel the need to water the plants when they’re dry, you can check this by gently sticking your finger (about an inch) into the soil. If it feels dry then water the soil, avoiding the leaves/foliage.

Pruning

Gently remove any dead or dying leaves to allow fresh new growth.

Complementary Planting Ideas

When every room in the house needs a statement, what better way to do this than to add a plant. A stand alone plant would elevate the room. Plants stood together would really feel uplifting.

Visit your nearest Hillier Garden Centre to view our range of houseplants. Availability may vary by centre.

Fact

During the Christmas period the most popular of the houseplants is the Cactus (Schlumbergera). However, despite their name, the Christmas Cacti are not actually a cactus as they don’t have spines and do not require arid conditions