THROW THE POINSETTIA OUT and buy a Christmas cactus. That about wraps up holiday gift-plant Tip Number 1, in answer to the most popular midwinter plant question of all: “How do I care for my poinsettia and make it rebloom?”
Tip Number 2: CHRISTMAS CACTUS is another story altogether. I grew one plant for more than 20 years, a family hand-me-down, that only perished after literally falling apart because it got so big and brittle and I had to move it, sadly, which did it in. The plant’s requirements are simple: Though its name says “cactus,” this isn’t some desert creature inclined toward basking in blazing sun, but rather a tropical forest native and an epiphyte at that (a plant that in its native habitat doesn’t grow in soil at all but nested in trees). Bright indirect light is fine; full sun will burn its tissue, which sometimes reddens up first, as if slightly sunburned, like it’s trying to warn you you’re getting close to the danger zone.
No drafty spots for Schlumbergera up against a winter window, nor any radiators (what plant really likes either condition?). It can withstand temperatures in the 40s, if need be, but not the violent blasts of hot and cold, hot and cold.
As with many plants, it’s spare the rod and spoil the child with Schlumbergera; a little discipline works wonders (amaryllis and Clivia are two others that like tough love). I let the Christmas cactus go dry in late summer for a month or so around August, then start watering again sparingly in mid-September, when it also appreciates one or both of two additional triggers–14 hours of nightly darkness and/or cooler temperatures–to set the best blooms. Even a month of covering the plant at night with a black plastic bag will do; some experts recommend eight weeks. The lazy-person’s method (mine) of drying it off in August and giving it a cooler spot thereafter, often forgetting the bag, seems to work just fine. In spring and summer, it’s the usual houseplant routine: feed and water regularly.
One more tip: Don’t jostle the Christmas cactus around, especially not during bud-setting time, nor expect it to manage in the super-low humidity of our winter interiors. Both are anathema to prolific blooming (and both can also cause the plant to drop those fleshy leaves, not just flower buds). You may have learned this the hard way when you bought a Christmas cactus: Once home, it sulked, and promptly dropped its flowers or buds. A tray of pebbles and water for it to stand on or some other conscious humidity-enhancer is appreciated by Schlumbergera.
Tip Number 3: KALANCHOE naturally responds to shorter daylength that we experience around October onward, so it makes a pretty willing year-end bloomer even without much special help. Its succulent foliage is giving you a hint that it doesn’t want to be sodden, ever: Allow to dry between waterings, and grow in a well-drained potting mix. Kalanchoe will sulk in low light, and is a sun-lover, so the brightest spot you can offer will be appreciated.
Deadhead spent flowers and pot the plant up a pot size as spring approaches, and summer it outdoors where possible. One detail: The plant wants about 12 weeks of nights that are longer than the days to come into bloom, so if you are determined to have it color up for Christmas, perhaps fake a few weeks of shorter daylength in mid-September onward, using the black plastic bag method above. Otherwise just be content to perhaps have your show in January (particularly if your house is on the very warm side, which can conspire to cause delay of bloom a bit as well).
Tip Number 4: FLORIST’S CYCLAMEN. My sister, Marion, a master of contrarian horticulture who stashes thing in radiator covers and all employs kind of other tactics “that cannot work” but do, grew one gift cyclamen for years and years, in the master bathroom of her house. Until then, I’d always had these on the “throw it out” list, unlike hardy cyclamen for the garden that one hopes to coax into perennial happiness. Actually, I still say throw it out, but not right away. Enjoy the foliage after the blooms are spent by keeping it cool and moist, not soggy. When the leaves fade, the tuberous thing wants to rest; let it. Withhold water. If there are no signs of mites or rot, you can water again to wake it back up like Marion does in that cool, bright bathroom of hers.
Tip Number 5: PAPERWHITES. Garbage; into the garbage, as they won’t bloom again (except in warm zones, in the ground, though they may skip a year after indoor forcing before doing so). If you really want to know more, or wish to force some now, try this recent post.
Tip Number 6: AMARYLLIS. I rest my bulbs for two months or so each fall, starting when cooler weather prompts me to bring them back indoors. From September to November or thereabouts, they sit on their sides, pots and all, in a little-used closet with almost no light and absolutely no water. Don’t expect to win these bulbs over to your schedule, at least not the first year after you adopt them, even with strict timetables like mine.
One of my favorite recent varieties, ‘Supreme Garden’ (shown), is reminding me of that fact this winter. Try as I might to wake it up completely, forget it. It’s had three green leaves since November, which appeared right there in dark storage defiantly, when it hadn’t had a drink or any light in weeks. Though I started re-watering it when I saw the sign of life, it did nothing more then or in the last six weeks.
As I recall from last year’s post, it’s a tardy creature, blooming in April; I expect a resurrection in another month or so. A final amaryllis detail: Don’t overpot. They are fine with a container perhaps an inch bigger than the bulb around in all directions.
Still determined to nurse that poinsettia along in your office or home? Ask the Paul Ecke family, the world’s leading producer of poinsettias for the nursery trade, how to treat it best. I suspect, however, that like me they’d prefer you toss it and buy a new one. Some things just aren’t meant to be recycled and play better as fond memories.
a plant I’d order: spiraea thunbergii ‘ogon’ 
brrrr! overwintering tips for tender plants 
tips for growing better tomatoes from seed 
Very useful info, especially for the Christmas cactus. I’ve had two for years that struggle to hang on despite my neglect. I will try your advice to perk them up.
My amaryllis never cooperate on timing but like to surprise me with blooms in February or even May. But they’re a delight whenever.
Amen to that!
Good info. In our Zone 7b gardens, we are able to plant our amaryllis in the garden for many more years of delight.
Welcome, Jendy. Glad to have the affirmation…I am sitting here worried that someone will come by and yell at me for composting plants. My ex-colleague, Andrew, current garden editor at Martha Stewart Living and ‘“Homegrown” radio host, and I each used to try to coax people to give up spindly plants at the office. I think they thought we were heartless. Glad you don’t. Hope to see you soon again.
And there goes Helen making us all jealous with the possibility of outdoor amaryllis! :)
@All: I realize I failed to mention that I am now in favor of reblooming Phalaenopsis orchids, too (since I finally had a success last fall). I used to toss them. No more. Read about how here.
A friend gave me her Christmas cactus when she moved 11 years ago. It has been generous with me, surviving benign neglect and being harassed by cats and blooming more abundantly each year.
A great post! Love that you are realistic about Poinsettias.
It can be very difficult to explain to customers that it really is not worth it to save the lovely red poinsettia from Christmas. And that it just won’t look like that next year.
Kalanchoes, Amaryllis, Phalenopsis orchids, and Christmas Cactus, are definitely worth their weight in gold.
Jen
Welcome, Jen. So nice to be surrounded by like-minded friends. I hope to see you soon here again.
What’s with everyone’s urge to toss poinsettias so quickly? Ken Druse had the same advice on his radio show this weekend.
I’ll play the contrain. Nurse it along. Cut it back hard when it gets really ugly. Then use it outside as a filler in pots or in the ground (maybe where you don’t have anything to cover up the fading bulb foliage).
I have a friend in Virginia who collects all the poinsettia cast-offs from friends, family and neighbors and plants them in beds all about.
Of course even she (and I) are way too smart to try to bring them in in fall and make them ‘rebloom’.
Hi, Craig, casting a vote for recycling. What I love about gardening is all the answers are right, and wrong, since it’s art combined with science (neither 100 percent one nor the other) AND it’s each of us in our own plot, doing as we please. Wonderful, isn’t it? Now here’s the thing: I love the image of the collection of all the local poinsettia castoffs in Virginia, bedded out. That’s a plan, a gardening idea, a point of view. What I’m against: offices and homes filled with bracht-less, scraggly creatures who look as if they’re in pain.
Ms. Margaret, I’m echoing all the folks who say “super helpful”! I got a Christmas cactus last year and have been nursing it along (no thanks to one cat who insists on eating it for night lunch). It’s managed three blossoms this winter, so now I’ll try my thumb at helping it flourish and prepare for next year!
Thanks for this post!! My holiday plants are my nemesis!
I am the queen of tough love houseplants. My 20 year old Clivia, aka the Mothership, thrives on my neglect. The Christmas cactus blooms at Thanksgiving- I leave it outside into the fall as late as possible- perhaps I will try the plastic bag routine; and when the kalanchoe got leggy I clipped the tips and rooted them in the same pot and they are loving their winter perch near my only bright window. Maybe I’m just very lazy.
Welcome, Caroline. I have a 20-year-old Clivia, too, and will hereby start calling it The Mother Ship, thanks. Glad to be helpful, and to have you in the group. Hope to see you again soon.
Remember all those gardeners in more forgiving zones than upstate New York’s. I was shocked and giddy to see my mother’s recycled poinsettia blooming its head off in the bed at Christmas http://travelinbride.wordpress.com/2008/12/25/happy-christmas-from-el-paso/ It’s huge and happy! Her amaryllis do it, too. But yeah, no spindly halfhearted hopefuls struggling under flourescence!
I know it flies in the face of conventional wisdom, but I plant my spent paperwhites in early spring–I don’t even bother to cut back the foliage–and while it takes them a full season of doing nothing to recover, the second year they bloom in the ground just like any other narcissus. I discovered this after tossing a pile of spent forced bulbs over the deck railing where they rooted themselves into the ground with only fallen leaves covering them. I am in zone 7B which might explain some of this…in any case, I always think its worth a try, right? At about a buck a bulb if I can coax any life out of them, I try!
Hi, Lynn–long time no see. Happy New Year. I am laughing about Texas-style Christmas and all the other possibilities in those warmer zones. Thanks for the link.
Welcome Kate–and you are so right. I am always thinking northern thoughts, and indeed by the time one gets to the warm end of 7 you can get more life out of my “indoor” bulbs than I can (should have sent you the ones I composted!). Thanks for the helpful tip, which I will add into the post above. Do come back soon and keep me accurate! :)
Great post & great tips! Thanks
Absolutely love the idea of a Christmas cactus. Great tips, Margaret, thank you!
I found a Christmas cactus at the big box store for $2.19 marked down from $8.99 after Christmas.
I surely wouldn’t pay 2 dollars for a marked-down poinsettia.
Ha! Love this thinking, and you are oh-so-right in your houseplant economics. Thanks and Happy New Year, Nell Jean.
I have such fond memories of Christmas Cacti hanging from the eves at my parents house(zone9?). A super holiday display.
This year a senior citizen gave me one as a hostess gift, and although I never look a gift plant in the root ball, it is just sooo fuschia…A tropical fish out of New York water!
Hello, I love my Christmas Cactus and its beautiful flowers. This was the only plant in my mother-in-laws’ house when she passed 14 years ago today and I have been taking care of it ever since. However, it did not bloom for me for several years (not the right window I guess), but now it likes to show-off once or twice a year. I think of her every time I look at it.
My future mother-in-law has a christmas cactus that she inherited from her mother. The beautiful plant bloomed last year during the holidays and it blooming again right now. We have discussed the proper way of taking care of it and proper summer care. I’ve never known what to say until now. Thank you!
Welcome, Jacqueline. Thank you for the tender story of your hand-me-down plant. I love the way plants can be laden with memories of those who shared them with us, who grew them before. Hope to see you again soon.
My mother in law goes to Florida every winter, and puts me in charge of her houseplants, most of which are delighted to see her go. But she has two incredible plants – a Christmas cactus that belongs in the freaking botanical gardens of NY, and a huge pineapple plant, growing in water, that would be at home there as well.
Go figure.
The cyclamen I gave my grandmother in 2006 is still going strong, in an east-facing window, on a table in the middle of the room: bright, filtered light, consistently moist soil, a coolish room. It’s happy there, offering almost constant blooms.
Happy New Year, Margaret!
Yes my poinsettias have and are fadding rapidly, but unfortunately so has my “Christmas” Cactus!
I was advised that the cactus I have is actually a Thanksgiving Cactus. Is this indeed correct, or do I just happen to have an early blooming Christmas Cactus?
Welcome, Ralphie. Yes, they are slightly different (two distinct species in the same genus, Schlumbergera) but I think there are all kinds of hybrids probably, too, so can be confusing. I found a PDF that has images of both in flower for comparison (as well as the Easter cactus, to add to the fun). Look closely for the more rounded foliage parts on the Christmas cactus and the little pointy edges on the Thanksgiving one, to determined what yours is. Thanks for joining us and do come again soon. http://counties.cce.cornell.edu/Oneida/home%20garden/HOUSEPLANTS/Christmas%20Cactus.pdf
Well, now that explains why my Christmas cactus blooms at Thanksgiving – actually between Halloween and Thanksgiving. Thanks. Mine were supermarket plants originally, so they didn’t come with labels.
I love my monsters, but moving them outside in the spring and back in in the fall is not my husband’s favorite job. I leave them out until they’ve been chilled by evening temperatures. That, and the shorter day length, seems to be all they need to initiate flowering.
What’s with cats and these plants? Is it because the branches snap off so easily and become instant toys? One of my guys landed right in the middle of one of my “cacti” and flipped it over, plant-side down – onto the floor. What fun! (It’s a good thing they’re so easy to root.)
The catalogues are arriving! Yippee!
I have to defend the poinsettias! I was given a small one about 4 years ago, and usually I try to see how long I can keep them alive after Christmas (they never seem to last beyond March), but this little guy was plopped in front of a sunny window and watered. Period. Well, 4 years later, it’s been repotted twice, and it’s about 3 feet tall, bushy and reblooming – all on its own. It started last year, with no coaxing or special treatment. It just started turning red again, and it’s happening again this year too. I’m amazed (and puzzled)but I’ll take it!
I also have a couple of kalanchoes in the same room (my dining room) and they are thriving also. It’s so great having flowers in winter!
Welcome, Kath. Thank you for bravely defending the poinsettia-as-houseplant. Good for you. Sounds like the essence of gardening: “I’m amazed (and puzzled)but I’ll take it!” Do come back soon.
Supreme Garden is lovely! Your photograph prompted me to purchase one and it has been “supreme” throughout our holiday season — two stalks from one bulb, ten blooms in all. I must confess that I was somewhat disappointed when the small bulb(s) arrived. I didn’t expect to see bloom for a year or more so was not too concerned about proper potting. The mother bulb was placed in a 6″ decorative pot. I pulled all the bulblets(8)away and stuck them in a nearby 10″ pot. Now three bulblets promise several more weeks of bloom. This amaryllis will not be tossed; rather, I expect to have bulbs to share with friends. Thanks for inspiring its purchase!
I am so glad, Mayapple. When I first saw the bulbs I thought “Oh, too tiny to bloom” also. But this thing is a surprise in many ways. Glad to help.
Let me chime in with another supporting comment on the hardiness of Clivias. Tough love describes them well. They really are wonderously reliable and beautiful with very little care. Our 20 year-old is pictured on my website (http://macgardens.org/?p=44). Another plant with similar good nature and twice-a-year blooms is the Amazon Lily (Eucharis x grandiflora).
Welcome, John. I am so eager for my Clivia (age 20-plus) to bloom now that you all are talking about yours! Thank you for visiting, and please come again soon…and I am off now to order an Amazon lily, thank to you.
Thank you for helping me rid my house of a messy poinsettia guilt free!
I’m fascinated reading all the comments; and I’m a bit embarrassed to write that, living in Los Angeles, all of the gift plants you mention, are pretty common year around garden plants. From one Kalanchoe, found discarded by a curb, I ended up with garden beds full, all from cuttings. And I have a friend whose potted white cyclamen has had a healthu crop of beautiful white blooms for about six months, possibly longer, but I’ve just been visiting for six months. I realize that your writings are aimed at the northern gardeners but I’m so glad to see that many national magazines now have articles for more temperate gardeners. There are quite a few of us!