How to care for your Christmas plants now so they will bloom again next year
Just go to any garden center this time of year and the impulse aisles will be full of plants that can be given as gifts. Rarely do these plants come with instructions and often don’t make it long past the holidays. With some proper care, you should be able to keep these plants around to use in the holidays next year.
Nurseries and flower shops are full of cute little rosemary plants that are shaped like Christmas trees. Our master gardener volunteers have been inundated with questions as to how to keep them alive past New Year's Day.
How to care for your rosemary tree
The rosemary “trees” go against the grain with respect to how we would typically grow rosemary. They have been sheared into a tightly compacted tree form, a haven for pests and disease. To extend the life of your rosemary tree the first thing to do is to re-pot them into a larger container. The container should be 2-3 inches bigger than the one they came in.
Make sure the potting soil is well drained. Once repotted, let it adapt to its new container for 2-3 weeks. Trim part of the plant out creating small openings in the plant while trying to keep as much shape as you can. This will allow for better air circulation. However, don’t remove any more than 1/3 of the growth at a time, as over-pruning can put too much stress on the plant. Put your rosemary tree in a spot where it will get at least 6 hours of sun. Rosemary likes drier conditions. The biggest problem with rosemary is not insects or disease, but in fact, overwatering.
More tips: How to pick a real Christmas tree — and keep it alive for the holiday season
How to care for your Christmas cactus
Perhaps you have been given a Christmas cactus. This time of year, they are displayed with lots of pretty blooms. Christmas cactus, like poinsettias, are considered short-day plants. They produce leaves when the days are long in the summer and create flower buds as the days grow shorter in the fall.
Your Christmas cactus grows best in bright light and should be kept in a pot or container and placed within 6 feet of a window or closer. Once new growth begins, prune plants to force more branching. Continue pruning until late spring. This will create a bigger plant and increase the number of flowers come fall. You can use the cuttings to grow new plants by placing the cuttings that have 2-3 joints in a well-drained potting mix in bright indirect light.
Proper watering is one of the keys to success with these plants. However, figuring out the proper timing can be tricky. Don’t allow the soil to dry out, but then again, don’t overwater or the roots can rot. Before watering place your finger in the potting soil. If it seems moist hold off on watering. Fertilize your Christmas cactus every one to two months during the growing season of April-September. Read and follow the fertilizer label for proper amounts to avoid overfertilizing.
A common problem with Christmas cactus is bud drop. This typically occurs because of a change in the environment, especially high temperatures. To avoid bud drop, do not place the plant in a draft or near a heat source (vent, fireplace).
If you want your Christmas cactus to bloom next year, keep it away from artificial light from October through December. Flowers will come naturally because of the shorter day length. If plants are exposed to any artificial light in the evening like a lamp, or streetlight during this time period, they will not set flower buds. To make sure plants bloom in time for Christmas, expose plants to daylight from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. starting in the beginning of October. They can be moved to a closet or any other dark area from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. each evening. This “short-day” treatment should last for 6 weeks. The Christmas cactus will bloom 10 weeks after the “short-day” treatment is started.
How to care for your poinsettia
This article would not be complete without a word about the most common Christmas gift plant, the poinsettia. It is interesting to wonder how poinsettias became associated with the holidays when in fact they are tropical plants native to Mexico. Another interesting tidbit is the part of the plant we associate with the flower is actually a cluster of modified leaves called bracts. The flowers are the small yellow parts in the middle of the bracts.
To care for your poinsettia after the holidays, keep them in a container inside your home in a brightly lit area. They can also be kept outside on a sunny porch but must be protected from frost and freezing temperatures. Like Christmas cactus, water only when the surface of the potting soil has dried out. If it is still moist, skip the watering.
If you have a micro-climate that is free of freezing or frost, you can plant your poinsettia outside. After the threat of frost has passed, they should be planted in a sunny spot that does not get any night-time artificial light. They are “short-day” plants like the Christmas cactus and will bloom after the days get shorter next winter. At planting, you can cut off the flower bracts leaving as many leaves as possible on a 5-6 inch stem. Like Christmas cactus, they can be fertilized every 1-2 months using a balanced fertilizer. Prune them regularly during the growing season, or they can become leggy. Stop pruning in mid-September as the flower buds will start to form in October.
So instead of tossing these holiday plants out after the holiday season is over, take the challenge and try keeping them going until next year. For further information use the UF/IFAS search engine at edis.ifas.ufl.edu.
Larry Figart is an urban forestry extension agent with the University of Florida/IFAS.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Poinsettia, Christmas Cactus: How to care for your Christmas plants
