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 Poinsettias
are a favorite and now you can find unique colors from Pure White to
Hot Pink, and others with variegated leaves or flowers, which are
actually modified leaves called bracts, like Sparkling Rouge.
Include some other unique holiday plants available from your
favorite garden center. You’ll find a variety of cyclamen plants
with plain or ruffled white, pink, rose, lavender or bicolor flowers
that look like shooting stars. The blooms hover over heart-shaped
leaves with silvery highlights. These plants prefer cool, bright,
draft-free locations. Water when the soil is dry just below the
surface.
Use miniature cyclamen and poinsettias as a place card holder at
your next gathering or to brighten any small space. Dress up the
dinner table, mantle, or side table with one of the larger
varieties. Large or small, any holiday plant makes wonderful party
favors and hostess gifts. Place the plants in a decorative
container, basket, or colorful tin for a more impressive display. Be
sure to include care directions.
Add a bit of lemon fragrance with the chartreuse
foliage of Lemon Cypress (Hesperocyparis macrocarpa formerly
Cupressus macrocarpa). Its narrow upright growth habit makes it an
excellent holiday plant. Grow it in a sunny window with six to eight
hours of sunlight a day. Water thoroughly when the top inch or two
of the soil is dry. Group it with other plants or set the pot on a
gravel tray. The pebbles elevate the pot above the water in the
saucer, avoiding root rot while increasing humidity around the
plant. Those gardening in zones 7 and warmer can grow this as a
landscape plant. Those in colder climates can move it outdoors for
summer and back inside in the fall.
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Frosty Fern (Selaginella) with white-tipped,
scalelike leaves has become a recent holiday favorite. It is a spike
moss, not a true fern, and thrives in moist soil with good drainage.
Use distilled or rainwater for the best results and check soil
moisture several times a week. This is a perfect plant for those
that tend to overwater. Grow frosty fern with other houseplants, on
a gravel tray or under a glass enclosure like a terrarium or Wardian
case as it requires high humidity to survive. Place this plant in a
bright location out of direct sunlight. Don’t be alarmed as the
white tips will fade as spring approaches but the texture continues
to add interest to any indoor plant collection.
Whether giving, receiving, or buying some for yourself, living gifts
like these will brighten anyone’s mood and indoor décor.
Melinda Myers has written over 20 gardening books,
including Midwest Gardener’s Handbook, 2nd Edition and Small Space
Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything”
instant video and DVD series and the nationally syndicated Melinda’s
Garden Moment radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing
editor for Birds & Blooms magazine. Myers’ website is
www.MelindaMyers.com.
[Photo courtesy of MelindaMyers.com]
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