Holiday Plants – Now What?
Were you gifted a plant or purchased some to help with seasonal decoration? Amaryllis, holiday cactus, poinsettia, Norfolk Island Pine, and rosemary tree are all common plants that are found this time of year in garden shops, grocery stores and big box stores. After the holidays are over, think twice before discarding these lovely plants! Below will be more details on the general care of each plant. You can click on the hyperlinked name to read a more in-depth care and info guide for each plant.
Amaryllis – These popular holiday plants produce trumpet shaped flowers and are typically, red, white or pink in color. Once they are done with their blooming period, you can continue caring for them so they bloom again! After the flowers are done, you can cut the stalks off and watch as the leaves start poking out. The energy made by these leaves are stored in the bulb for the next season’s flowers. Place the plant in a well lit area, water after the top inch of soil is dry and fertilize monthly with a household fertilizer like Sustane 8-2-4. Once the threat of frost is over, you can move the plant outdoors to an area where it’ll get at least 6 hours of sunlight. Move back indoors when temps will dip below 45F. When the leaves start yellowing or 8-10 weeks before you want it to bloom again, put it in a dark, cool area and stop watering. This dormancy period will reset the plant and when you bring it out again, it should be ready to produce more flowers. With the right care, amaryllis can live for 25+ years!
Holiday Cactus – Thanksgiving and Christmas cacti are seasonal plants and look very similar to one another. These plants are in the cacti family but have growing needs more similar to succulents. They tend to bloom in the fall/early winter depending on temps and light length but if the right conditions are not present, they may not flower. These plants enjoy bright indirect light. With a well draining soil, you can water more often but if you have a compost based soil, or a soil that retains moisture well, less frequent/lighter waterings are recommended. These plants can live for decades and are easy to propagate to share with friends and family.
Poinsettia – Common in decorations and regular household plants, Poinsettias come in a variety of statement making colors. Their colorful parts are actually a special kind of leaf called Bracts that change color with the shortening days of winter. They do well with bright indoor light or 4-6 hours of outdoor light. You can put them outdoors as long as temps stay above 55F. While they don’t do well sitting in water, these plants do prefer a moist soil and do not do well if their soil gets dried out. With the right care, they can live for years. Click the plant name link to learn more about their dormancy period.
Norfolk Island Pine (lil xmas trees) Small, green and flexible, these plants can be grown after the holiday season and reused as mini christmas trees for many years. These are not true pine trees and cannot handle cold temperatures. While they are tough plants and can handle different conditions well, they prefer bright light, moderate humidity, and 65-75F temps. When watering, let the soil dry out before watering because the roots do not like sitting in wet conditions. These fun plants can live up to 150 years and grow up to 2 feet per year. If you cut their top off, they will likely stop growing upwards.
Rosemary trees – This new trendy plant is just a regular rosemary bush that has been trimmed into the shape of a tree. These plants can be finicky to keep alive due to their temp, humidity and light preferences. They do better with full sun, cool temps and higher humidity to keep them healthy and prevent their leaves from drying out and falling off. They like moist but not wet soil and can tolerate regular fertilizing but that may weaken their flavor and fragrance intensity. These tricky plants can live upwards of 30 years with the right care.
Need help picking out some fertilizers or amendments for your plants? Give us a holler and we are happy to help! We offer a variety of fertilizers, composts, soils, and pest control options for house plants as well as other gardening supplies.
We also are happy to take in any plants you no longer want. They can be brought in to our retail store and added to our “Tree-iage” corner.
