No products in the cart.
The holiday season is over, and you can finally relax, you might think. But wait! After your holiday plants give you a beautiful display during the Christmas season, it’s time to provide them with the care they need.
I know it’s tempting to discard them and buy another one in time for the holidays, but wouldn’t it be nice to see them rebloom?
We have some tips to help you care for your holiday plants even after the season ends.
Christmas Plants With Their After-Holiday Care Guide
Great, your holidays are over, but what should you do to keep your seasonal plant outdoors and indoors thriving? Read on to find out.
Poinsettia Care
While throwing away your poinsettia after the holidays could be tempting, we advise that you keep it. Two possible scenarios may happen to your poinsettia after the holidays. One, it could retain its leaves; from there, you could treat it as a regular houseplant.
Keeping poinsettias alive helps to place them near a sunny window with cool nighttime temperatures ranging between 60 to 65°F (15.5 to 18°C). Water the plant regularly to keep the soil moist. After two weeks, apply a complete fertilizer until its colorful bracts become solid green leaves.
The other scenario would be when the poinsettias lose their leaves. Let your plant rest in a cool place (50 to 55°F or 10 to 12.7°C) with light coming through. Soak the soil occasionally to prevent the stems from getting completely dry.
The goal is to keep the stems and roots alive during this dormant or resting stage. Between late April and early May, you’ll need to cut back the stems to 3-5 inches from the soil line. Bring the plant to a sunny location and subject it to its regular watering routine to encourage new growth.
Make sure it also reserves a cool temperature during the night. Pinch back the growing shoots to keep them compact. Now, here’s the catch. Poinsettias require extra special care to produce red bracts in time for the holidays.
You must subject it to complete darkness for more than 12 hours a day. The holiday poinsettia is a short-day plant, meaning it must be exposed to a shorter day to bloom. During the afternoon at 5 pm, bring your poinsettia inside a closed cabinet without any light. Bring it out the next day at 8 am.
Do this repeatedly from mid-September until the colorful bracts appear in early December.
Note: The red bracts of poinsettias are not their actual flowers. Those are modified leaves that revert into colors of red, pink, white, green, and even orange.
The primary purpose of these red bracts is to help attract pollinators and draw them to the tiny yellow flower buds at the center.
Also, if you are wondering if poinsettias are poisonous, it is best to wear gloves.
-
$12.99Sold By: BubbleBlooms
In stock
Green Hoya Kerrii Heart / Original Sweetheart Plant / Mothers day plant / Hoya Plant / Heart Shaped Succulent / Heart Hoya / Live Plant Rare
Only 83 available and it’s in 2 people’s basketRated 4.83 out of 5 based on 275 customer ratings01Sold By: BubbleBlooms -
Free Shipping$45.00Sold By: CKK PRODUCTS LLC
In stock
TOKA Plum seedling
Only 3 available and it’s in 1 people’s basketSold By: CKK PRODUCTS LLC -
$14.99Sold By: GlassHouseMichigan LLC
$17.99In stock (can be backordered)
Alocasia Amazonica Bambino | Alocasia x amazonica | Exotic Houseplant
Rated 4.17 out of 5 based on 29 customer ratings00Sold By: GlassHouseMichigan LLC -
$13.95Sold By: SunSoul Plants
$19.95In stock
Dracaena Lemon Lime Plant, Dracaena Fragrans – in 3.5″ pot
Rated 4.87 out of 5 based on 98 customer ratings00Sold By: SunSoul Plants
Christmas Cactus Care
Christmas cactus is among the favorite holiday plants because of its beautiful flowers. But the flower will drop after the holiday, leaving the cactus-like foliage behind. Now, how do you care for it?
You need to keep your cactus in a place that receives bright indirect light, for example, a sunny window. Turn the pot occasionally so the leaves receive an even amount of bright light, resulting in uniform growth.
Let the top 2 inches of the soil dry first before watering again. Always ensure that excess water seeps out of the drainage holes. During early spring and summer, apply a half-strength balanced fertilizer every month. This will help boost the plant’s growth.
Encouraging the cactus to bloom will require the same treatment as the poinsettia. You need to subject the plant to an excellent day temperature from October to November, usually 50 to 55°F (10 to 12.7°C). This will stimulate the growth of buds.
Place your Christmas cactus under uninterrupted darkness for over 12 hours at night. Then, bring it out the following day to receive bright light again. Use a cardboard box as a cover if you don’t want to bring it to a dark closet.
Keep doing the dark treatment until your Christmas cactus produces flower buds. You can stop the treatment once the bud size is about half an inch.
Hot Tip: If you think of it, the Thanksgiving and Easter cactus care is nearly the same.
African Violets
Everyone falls in love with African violets, and they’re also one of the favorite holiday plants to display during winter. Thankfully, this perennial plant is straightforward to care for and maintain. Even after the holiday, you can treat it as a regular houseplant, and it will remain alive.
Place your potted African violet in a location that receives bright light. A sunny window is ideal if you choose to keep this plant indoors. Direct sun isn’t entirely favorable because it may scorch the leaves of your African violet.
So, if light intensities get too intense, provide a sheer curtain to block the harsh light rays. In late fall through winter, you’ll need to supplement artificial light.
Water regularly, but leave the soil dry to the touch before watering again. African violets don’t like having soggy soil as this condition leads to root rot and death. Check the pot to see if it has good drainage.
You may need to prune some parts damaged during the winter season. Once spring arrives, you can repot your African violet to help it rejuvenate if you think it’s necessary.
African violets need fertilizer for healthy foliage and profuse flowering. Feed the plant with African violet fertilizer every 14 days during the growing season. Refrain fertilizing during the dormant season.
The good thing about African violet is that you don’t have to subject it to dark treatment to produce flowers.
Cyclamen
Once provided with proper care and growing conditions, the cyclamen plant will bless you with pretty flowers like the poinsettias and the Christmas cactus. Cyclamens produce blooms in winter or spring but then go dormant after the blooming.
After the holidays, provide the usual care and maintenance your cyclamen needs. Keep the pot in a location with bright, indirect sunlight. If you have either, placing it in an east or north-facing window would be best.
Water it from the bottom up. This technique will help provide tepid water to your cyclamen. Fill a saucer with water and place the pot there. Remove it after 15 mins or more. Check if the soil is moist using the finger test method.
Cyclamen also likes high humidity so regular misting may be needed occasionally.
Once flowering has stopped, remove the spent buds. At this point, your cyclamen is ready to enter the resting stage. It’s natural for the leaves to start dropping.
The dormant stage begins in spring and lasts until mid-summer. You must reduce watering and stop feeding the cyclamen plant during this time. You’ll need to keep the corm in a cool and dry spot until July.
After that, begin watering the corm. Once new growth begins, it’s time to repot the corm.
Kalanchoe
The Christmas kalanchoe is among the beautiful holiday plants you could rebloom each year. Even without blooms, they look pretty with those waxy, dark green leaves, so this plant is more than a holiday decor. You can keep this plant and have it ready for reblooming.
Start by cutting back some overgrown stems and faded flowers. Water it well and place it in a spot with bright light. After the danger of the first frost is over, move the plant outdoors in a partly shaded location.
Please bring it back indoors before the first frost begins. Kalanchoe is also a short-day plant, so it needs exposure to complete darkness for more than 12 hours daily to form flower buds. This treatment should last about six weeks for the kalanchoe to bloom again.
Christmas Pepper
Many garden centers are selling Christmas peppers as part of their holiday plant collection. This pepper variety is an ornamental type of pepper, and it looks really pretty. The red chili peppers look like tiny Christmas lights against the green leaves.
Christmas Pepper loves bright light so find a sunny location for it to thrive. Keep the soil well-watered but not soggy. This plant doesn’t like getting wet feet. Add fertilizer from time to time to help boost growth.
Amaryllis
The beautiful flowers of Amaryllis, which bloom between late winter and mid-spring, are the reason why this plant is among the favorite holiday plants by lots of home gardeners. Like cyclamen, the Amaryllis is also a bulb. Hence, they have almost the same care requirements.
After the holidays, the plant will still bloom. Keep it under bright light, water regularly, and fertilize it as needed. Once the blooms have faded, remove the bloom stalks.
The leaves will continue to grow, so let them be.
Come late summer, the foliage will also die and this is when your Amaryllis enters a resting stage. It’s time to cut off the yellow leaves and reduce watering. Store the bulb in a cool, dry place to keep it viable.
This will take about two to three months.
After completing the resting stage, begin watering your Amaryllis again. It should bloom again in the next 4 to 6 weeks. If not, it’s most likely that the bulb does not have enough stored energy to support flowering.
Final Thought
Now you have a reason: do not throw away your holiday plants and save some money. You can care for these plants indoors and prepare them for the next holiday season with just a little effort.
Still, if you cannot provide them with natural light, invest in artificial light and remember when to start the regular watering routine with your plant indoors and outdoors.
Whether you want to buy, sell, or reach out to other plant enthusiasts, Plantly is the right place to be!
-
Free Shipping$37.95 – $42.95Sold By: A&K Plants
In stock
Philodendron Fuzzy Petiole – Rare Philodendron with Fuzzy Stems | 4-inch pot
Only 2 available and it’s in 1 people’s basketRated 4.95 out of 5 based on 66 customer ratings00Sold By: A&K Plants -
$35.99Sold By: Succulent Oasis
In stock
Mature Succulent Plant Echeveria ‘Hortencia’ Hybrid.
Rated 4.84 out of 5 based on 352 customer ratings00Sold By: Succulent Oasis -
$39.99Sold By: Succulent Oasis
In stock
Cactus Plant -Small Grafted ‘Moon Cactus’ Assortment.
Rated 4.84 out of 5 based on 352 customer ratings00Sold By: Succulent Oasis -
$22.95Sold By: SunSoul Plants
$49.95In stock
Philodendron Bipennifolium ‘Horsehead’ Plant in 4″ pot
Only 1 available and it’s in 1 people’s basketRated 4.87 out of 5 based on 98 customer ratings01Sold By: SunSoul Plants