Caring for Popular Holiday Houseplants

 by Amy Lentz, Weld County Horticulture Extension Agent

Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of sitting in on a fantastic webinar about caring for holiday plants by one of our Larimer County Colorado Master Gardeners, Susan Bonsall. Her class was so informative that I thought I would highlight some of these holiday plants in this week’s blog post. If you want to dive deeper into Susan’s 1-hour webinar, a recording can be found HERE. (Thanks Susan!)

Many of you may be receiving a holiday themed and decorated plant as a gift this holiday season, or maybe you decide to buy yourself one to dress up your home. But don’t be fooled, even though most of these plants are sold and promoted this time of year, they are not made for outdoor temperatures or winter landscapes. Most of these are tropical in nature and are to be grown as houseplants indoors. So, let’s talk about a few of the most commonly received holiday houseplants! 

*Be sure to check out all of the linked text throughout this article for more information and growing instructions.

Poinsettias

I could go on for days about poinsettias. In fact, I’ve written a blog post in the past about the interesting history of the poinsettia and how it became the quintessential holiday plant. Poinsettias are not commonly kept very long after the holidays are over, but if you do want to keep your poinsettia going past the holidays, you can keep it indoors in a high light area until the summer then move it outside. Water it thoroughly when dry and allow the pot to drain completely. For more tips on caring for poinsettias, see the following fact sheet from CSU Extension.

Poinsettias in a Greenhouse - Photo: Amy Lentz

Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter Cactus

That’s right, there are actually 3 main types of holiday cactus and the difference is shown in the leaves and when they each bloom. These popular holiday plants are short-day plants that require several weeks of days with less than 12 hours of light in order to bloom, with the Easter cactus requiring the most number of weeks. If you are unsure of which type you have, try comparing the leaf segments to the chart below from Iowa State UniversityExtension:

I'm guessing Thanksgiving cactus. 
Photo: Amy Lentz

For more information on how to care for your holiday cactus, visit this PlantTalk article.

Amaryllis

I LOVE the amaryllis! These popular houseplants have beautiful trumpet-shaped blooms atop a tall stalk with long, thick grass-like leaves. They are truly stunning when they bloom! They come in a variety of colors from red to pink to white - and all shades in between. 

The bulbs prefer to be planted in a container that is 1 inch larger in diameter than the bulb and deep enough to support its long root system. They also like to be planted shallow with half of the bulb above the surface of the planting medium. And, because these plants bloom better when pot-bound, you only have to repot them every 3-4 years.

My amaryllis blooms when it wants to
and surprises me every time.
Photo: Amy Lentz

 For more tips on growing Amaryllis, see the following PlantTalk article.

Paperwhites

Paperwhites (Narcissus tazetta) are an easy plant to force indoors by planting the bulbs in a container of rocks. They are a tropical bulb that take about 6 weeks to grow and bloom. They will show off their blooms for a few weeks, but then do not rebloom and can be disposed after blooming. To help keep your paperwhites on the shorter side, you can follow Cornell University’s research guidance and give them a little hard liquor mixed with water (4% solution)! 

The above video from PlantTalk and Tagawa Gardens has more tips on how to grow Paperwhites and Amaryllis.

 

 Norfolk Island Pine

This time of year, these popular gifted plants are adorned with lots of holiday decorations to look like a miniature live Christmas tree. And even though they are dressed up as cute little pine trees, they are not true pines at all. They are actually large tropical houseplants that would not survive out in the cold!

Photo: Costa Farms/Amazon

When caring for these tree-like houseplants, make sure to give them a large container to support the top growth that can be anywhere from 2 to 20 feet in a home setting. These plants can actually reach heights of 200 feet in their native habitat in Australia and New Zealand! They prefer a mild room temperature of 60-72 degrees and at least two hours of bright but indirect sunlight. Click on this link to CSU's PlantTalk article for more information about growing a Norfolk Island pine in your home.

Hopefully these tips and links will help you to keep your holiday plant going strong for years to come!

Bloom Your Extra Bulbs Indoors

By: Sherie Caffey, CSU Extension-Pueblo County Horticulture Agent

Bulbs are so beautiful and give such a pop of color in the spring. Did you buy bulbs this fall that you never got planted? Or maybe you just want to give a new indoor gardening project a try? If so you can try forcing your bulbs to bloom indoors! It’s fun, will bring some winter color to your home, and cure your winter gardening blues. If you don’t have bulbs left over from the fall, you can order some from an online retailer, or see if a local gardening store has any leftover.

Paperwhites

Paperwhites are very easy to grow indoors. They don’t need to be refrigerated, and take only about 6 weeks to bloom after planting. Place them in a bulb pan with a couple inches of soil, pointy end up. Then cover them to about half way with more soil, and water them. You can also do this with no soil and just a pan of water. Place the pan in a cool dark room until you see growth, and then move them to a room with light. PlantTalk script #1322 has more information on paperwhites. 

Amaryllis

                   

Amaryllis are very popular around the holiday season, and are also pretty easy to grow indoors. They like a small pot, so choose one that is about an inch taller than your bulb and a couple of inches wider. Plant the bulb so that about half of it is sticking out of the soil. Water it once and then not again until you see it starting to grow. Start watering and fertilizing regularly, and you should have blooms soon! Cut the flower stalk off once the blooms fade and keep watering the leaves if you want to have it again next year. See PlantTalk script #1303 for more information on re blooming your Amaryllis.

For other bulbs such as tulips, hyacinths, and crocus, you will need to give them a chilling period before they will bloom. Plant the same variety in one pot so they all have the same chilling times. Place a loose layer of soil in the bottom of a pot. For a 6 inch pot you can usually fit about 6 tulips, 3 hyacinths, or 15 crocus bulbs. The pointy side of the bulb should be facing up. Add more soil so that the bulbs are about half way exposed. Water your bulbs and don’t let the soil become dry from here on out.

Hyacinths in jars

Now your pots will need to move into a dark, cold place for a while. Try an unheated garage, attic, basement, or refrigerator. Don’t let them freeze or dry out. Tulips will need to chill for 14-20 weeks, hyacinths for 10-14 weeks, and crocus for 14-15 weeks. Bring your pots in after they have chilled, and they should bloom within a month. Start them off in a cooler (50-60°F) room at first and then move them a warmer room after a week or so. Read more about forcing bulbs in PlantTalk script #1319!

Some bulbs are easy to bloom inside; some take a little more effort. Either way it will be worth it when you have beautiful blooms in your home during the off season!

Forced fall bulbs provide winter color

Kathy Steffa
Colorado Master Gardener -- Chaffee County

My favorite fall bulb catalogs have arrived, and I am preparing my order of bulbs to grow indoors this winter. Two benefits of this are that I can grow tender varieties that wouldn't survive outside, and I don't have to worry about bad weather and sudden snowstorms.

The easiest bulbs to force are Paperwhite Narcissus which are usually grown in pebbles with water no higher than the bottom of the bulbs. Since I worry about overwatering and rotting the roots, I prefer to grow them in plastic pots with a mixture of half garden soil and half peat-based potting soil. The bulbs often arrive already growing, so I put them in bright light for three days until the shoots green up, then I move them to full but cool sun. Cool temperatures and regular rotation of the pots results in strong, straight stems.

All paperwhites are very strongly scented. The Chinese Sacred Lily has an orange cup; Grand Soleil d'Or is yellow and orange and should be grown in potting soil only as it takes longer to come into bloom.

The other bulb commonly forced in water is the Hyacinth, for which attractive eggcup-shaped glass vases are available. Carefully remove all the outer dry husk and add water to just below the bottom of the bulb. Do not put any fertilizer in the water.

Blooming is apt to be more successful if you purchase specially cooled bulbs. Otherwise, keep the vase in the dark at a very cool 50 degrees F. until the flower stalk is completely out of the bulb. Check the water level weekly and top off as it evaporates.

Amaryllis are another very easily forced bulb, and there are new varieties including Cybister hybrids and the Papilio "butterfly" which is green and maroon flowered. Both of these are evergreen houseplants and are never forced into dormancy by cutting off the leaves. Miniature hybrids, often not much shorter, and Trumpets have also been developed.

Christmas-flowering Amaryllis come into bloom earlier than the Dutch ones because they come from South Africa. They are supposed to have more leaves on the plant when it blooms so that the flower doesn't look so naked. Never remove dry, dead-looking roots from an amaryllis bulb as they do absorb nutrients until new roots form.

Almost as easy to grow as Paperwhites and Amaryllis are unfamiliar bulbs which do not require twelve to sixteen weeks of pre-chilling. I start these on the garage floor, covered with black plastic until I see some green growth. This has included Anemone blanda and A. coronaria, Dichelostemma, Dracunculus, Freesia, Ipheion uniflorum, Ixia, Ixiolerion, Lachenalia, Ornithogalum dubium (can't tell beforehand if they will be yellow or orange!), Pancratium maritimum, Ranunculus, Scilla peruviana, Sparaxis and Veltheimia bracteata. Calochortus and Fritillaria davisii and F. pudica have not been successful for me.

Once a green leaf shows, move the pots to a place in cool sun where the temperature ranges from 40 degrees F. at night up to about 60 degrees F. daytimes. (If the nights get cold enough to start freezing the soil in the pots, bring them in to a warmer place even if they aren't yet showing any growth.) They will grow slowly and bloom in two to four months. I fertilize them lightly with a diluted low-nitrogen and kelp powder mix at every watering and watch for aphids as the winter days lengthen and warm up.

When flowering is completed, Paperwhites are usually discarded. Hyacinths can be planted in a pot after bloomiing and saved until spring but will need two or three years of growth in the flowerbed to rebloom.

Keep watering the bulbs with the dilute fertilizer solution until the leaves dry up and save the bulbs in a cool place to replant next fall. Those hardy in Zones three and four can be planted outdoors for bloom next spring.

The ultimate indoor bulbs are garlic and Egyptian or walking onions. Let them grow eight to ten inches tall, then pull them up and chop into soup, salads and other foods for a touch of green at the winter table. Enjoy!

Websites of bulb companies include: mzbulbs.com, johnscheepers.com, and dutchbulbs.com. Alternatively, you can shop locally and mix-and-match the exact bulbs you want on a planting day convenient to you.