Holiday Blooms: Amaryllis, Christmas Cactus, and Poinsettia

The Christmas cactus

A beautiful jungle cactus with a really exotic, festive look. They are easy to care, requiring very little attention to look fantastic. Getting the nice winter blooms isn't too hard--they just like to be in tune with what's going on outside. As long as the temperature is not getting too low (into the 40s) you can start sitting your Christmas cactus outside in the fall. As the days get shorter and the temperatures drop this will trigger your cactus to start budding and give you those nice bright blooms through the holidays.

The Amaryllis

Amaryllis always has a nice display with huge showy holiday blooms. And this one is even easier to care for. Plant is in a light planting medium, like sphagnum, with the top 1/3 showing and water lightly. After the blooms fade cut it back to the bulb and store it in a cool dry place until next Holiday season. You will start this process again about 4-6 weeks before you would like your Amaryllis to bloom.

Poinsettias

 Another popular, low-maintenance, holiday plant--water them when the planting medium is dry and they should stay bright and showy all season long. But, after the holidays, usually late winter to early spring, the poinsettia bracts (modified leaves, "petals") will return to green. Most people will just throw them out. I thought I wrote a guide for reblooming them last year, but I can't find it--here's one I found from the University of Illinois extension that is pretty helpful: Reblooming Poinsettias