Plants Make Excellent Christmas Gifts

Christmas plants make wonderful gifts for the holidays as they can be enjoyed during this time as well as year round as the fragrant blooms bring a bit of sunshine into the home during the drab winter months. You can choose among a variety of Christmas plants in addition to the traditional poinsettia. The amaryllis with its bold bloom makes a delightful gift. Paperwhites are an easy bulb to force and when placed in a gravel container, make a unique gift idea. The Christmas Cactus is a gorgeous plant that can be grown indoors or it can spend the summer outside.

AMARYLLIS

Amaryllis is a great holiday gift. This blooming bulb gives a wonderful display all season for its blooms do last a long time. Of all flowering bulbs, amaryllis is the easiest to bring to bloom. The large flowers and ease with which they can be brought to bloom make amaryllis popular. The amaryllis comes in many beautiful varieties including various shades of red, white, pink, salmon and orange plus there are many striped and multicolored varieties.. I covered the care of this unusual plant last month, but here are the highlights.

Starting a bulb from scratch should begin in Mid -October as it needs 6 to 8 weeks before the blooms appear. You should plant the bulb in a six or eight inch pot with the top of the bulb above the level of the soil. Place the container in bright light and water thoroughly at first. Then begin to water only sparingly until growth begins. Allow the soil to dry a bit between watering as this stimulates the root system. A clay pot is preferable as well.

After the blooming period, you can let the bulb go dormant. Do not water and you can place the container outside in the summer which contributes to a larger bulb growth. Follow the same steps for another year of blooming. Remember to pot in new soil and add nutrients.

Amaryllis Tips:

• Planting Period: October until the end of April.
• Flowering Period: Late December until the end of June.
• Flowering time is 7-10 weeks.
• Larger bulbs produce more flowers.
• Always store un-planted bulbs in a cool place between 40-50 deg. F.

PAPERWHITES

Paperwhites, a form of daffodil, are grown for their intoxicating fragrance. They bear multiple blooms; up to 10 or 12 white flowers per bulb. Who wouldn't want some of these prolific, fragrant flowers blooming inside during the cold dreary winter months?

Paperwhites, one of the easiest bulbs to force to bloom indoors, can be grown in gravel, soil, or water. Place the bulbs in a dark place for about two weeks until the roots form. Cool temperatures (about 65°F) will keep the flowers lasting longer.

Most bulbs have gone through a grower's storage cooling period. If not, place in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.. To force the paperwhites, use a shallow container with no drainage, and put at least 2 inches of gravel in the bottom. Place paperwhite bulbs in the gravel, with more gravel around the bulbs to hold them in place; leave top 2/3 of bulb uncovered and water until just the bottom of the bulb is submerged.

The Christmas Cactus

The Christmas Cactus is an ideal holiday plant with blooms that can not only be enjoyed during the holidays but all year round. This is an easy plant to care for and it can be grown indoors throughout the year. Most people will find a color to their liking as the plant's blooms can be yellow, salmon, fuchsia, pink, or white.

Light

While the cactus can adapt to a low light, it will produce abundant blooms when exposed to a high density of light. This plant should be located in a sunny area while indoors. When moved to the outside in the summer, it is best to keep the plant is a shady or semi-shady area as too much sunlight can burn the leaves. When returned to the inside in the fall, a north or east window provides the best source of light.

Soil

The Christmas Cactus is asemi- succulent and well-drained soil is essential. Sand can be added to help promote drainage.

Water

The plant is not a true cactus and is not quite as drought tolerant as the name suggests. However, it can store a reasonable quantity of water in the leaves. Thoroughly water the top half of the soil when it feels dry. As usual, the time span between watering depends upon various conditions such as: air temperature, light amount, its rate of growth, and the humidity.

Summer watering should keep the soil moist while in the fall, you should just water enough to keep the plant from wilting. In October, do not water the plant. Resume watering in November. After the plant blooms, it should rest and should not be given any water for about 6 weeks. As new growth appears, the plant can be re-potted if needed.

Temperature

The Christmas Cactus prefers warm temperatures although the evening temps can range between 50 and 55 degrees. In October, keep the evening temps around 60-65 degrees and away from cold and heat drafts. Remember that cool temperatures at night enable the plant to bloom.

How to get the Christmas Cactus to Rebloom:

These plants are effortless to grow but are sometimes complicated to get to bloom. Cool temperatures or long nights are required to induce blooming. The plants bloom when given night temperatures near 55 degrees and day temperatures below 65 degrees for a six week period. Buds will develop. These plants are day-length sensitive. You may also keep the plant in a completely dark room in the evening until the buds develop. To have blooms for the holidays, this means keeping the plant in evening darkness from the end of September to mid October. Once the buds form, you can keep the plant in normal light and temperatures and keep the soil moist.

An ideal schedule for the Christmas Cactus:

January: Flowering
February to March: Resting
April to May: Water
June to August: Place outside in a shady area
September to October: Reduce the length of daylight hours and keep the plant on the dry side and cool until the flower buds form. Then increase water and temperature.
November to December: Flowering. Water normally and keep at temperature above 65 degrees in a shady area

If you are tired of the same old gift ideas, try something new, and give a different kind of Christmas plant.