Christmas is all about good cheer, good company and counting our blessings. Decorating the home adds to the festive atmosphere and that’s where houseplants come in. They are incredibly versatile as living décor.
While poinsettia and amaryllis are the go-to Christmas flowers, kalanchoe, chrysanthemum, hibiscus, hydrangea (aka Christmas roses) and even bromeliads are just as bright and cheerful, especially for a sunny South African Christmas.
For last minute festive décor, just pop a few pots into your supermarket trolley (to match your colour scheme) and style them creatively or cajole members of the family to do it for you.
Here are some ideas Dress up the Christmas-eve feast table with a row of indoor flowers down the centre, in decorative or elegant containers. Use low growers like kalanchoe, calandiva, chrysanthemums, pot roses, or even pot succulents so that no one has to crane their necks to see each other. Don’t be afraid to go over the top. The more plants, the bigger the splash of colour. Group three, five or even more flowering houseplants together to make a Christmas centrepiece instead of a tree, and as a meeting place for the presents. Use colour coordinated containers, to highlight the colours of the flowering plants. Be as whimsical as you want to, by adding tinsel, baubles, candles, and Christmas lights, or go fresh and green with scattered foliage, and fresh flowers. Artificial flowers work too.
Poinsettia has the most take-home appeal with its vividly coloured bracts that look like flowers. Why not fleck the flowers and leaves with glitter to make them sparkle? All they need is good indirect light but no direct sunlight and lightly moist soil.
TIP: for long lasting plants that will look good long after the festive season, check the true flowers, which are located at the base of the coloured bracts. If the flowers are green or red-tipped and fresh looking the bloom will “hold” longer than if yellow pollen is covering the flowers.
https://lvgplant.co.za/portfolio/poinsettia/
There is also something very festive about the bold red, trumpet shaped flowers of Amaryllis. Make a feature of them with a cluster of candles, or float individual blooms along with candles in a bowl of water.
While in flower keep it out of direct sun. Let the top 5cm of soil dry out before watering. When the flower is over, let the foliage die back, but feed and water to build the bulb for its next flowering. Once the plant starts to grow put it on a sunny windowsill and it will flower again.
While poinsettia and amaryllis are traditional festive flowers, bromeliads are anything but conventional. These elegant plants, in all their glorious variety have a vivid, contemporary look. This arrangement features the red flowering flag-type Vriesea, the star-flowered Guzmania, and the silvery-leaf pink flowered Aechmea. What better opportunity than the festive season to increase your collection of bromeliads? All are long lasting indoor plants that have few needs and virtually no problem with pests. They like bright indirect light, and the soil should be allowed to dry out moderately in between watering.
https://lvgplant.co.za/portfolio/bromelia/
The Christmas day braai is as much a festive tradition as Christmas eve dinner. Tropical, heat-loving hibiscus is the perfect plant for the outdoor patio and pool area. Plants in pots need a lot of water in hot weather and much less water in cold weather. Water until you see water come out the bottom of the pot. If the pot is in a plant tray after 12 hours the water in the plant tray should be gone.
https://lvgplant.co.za/portfolio/hibiscus/
Chrysanthemums are all-year round flowering plants that come into their own at Christmas because of their bright colours, and long-lasting flowers. Plants produce a continuous supply flowers, so why not sacrifice a few and use them as fresh, decorative table settings.
They do best with high light (no direct sunlight) and watering once a week to keep the soil evenly moist. Just trim after flowering and feed with a liquid fertiliser to encourage a new batch of flowers.
https://lvgplant.co.za/portfolio/chrysanthemum/
* Pictures supplied by the Flower Council of Holland.
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