Why not include some gorgeous indoor plants as living Christmas decorations?
Plants bring a room to life and even more so over the festive season with red and white flowering plants or those with silver and gold foliage. Add some glitter, tinsel, and baubles and it’s all set for a celebratory close to a looong year!
Poinsettia are always the stars of the show, but they are not alone. Bright red pot roses, red or white heart-shaped anthurium ‘flowers’ and the white flagged Peace Lily, equally reflect the colours of Christmas. Combine them with the silvery Cushion Bush or the holly bush with red berries for a dramatic effect.
Conifer ‘Gold Crest’ and a Mission Olive Tree pruned as a lollipop make unconventional Christmas trees, which can later be planted out into the garden. It’s also the season for Christmas roses (Hydrangeas) that can be used as living flower arrangements indoors.
Good to know
Even if such indoor plants need bright indirect light, they can be kept in areas with lower light for a few days, even for a week, as long as they are not over watered. Once they have done duty as Christmas décor, they can be moved back into better light.
Here’s a thought!
As each plant is a gift in its own right, why not invite your guests to choose one as a present to take home after the festive celebrations?
Festive Holly
A novelty this year is the availability of Holly (Ilex ) a much loved decoration in snowy northern climes. As a houseplant it needs filtered sun, and soil that is kept lightly moist. It should not dry out or be over watered. After Christmas it can be planted in the garden. Pick a sunny spot and plant it in acid soil that drains well. Fertilise during its growing season and prune at the end or winter or early spring before new growth starts. It makes a good hedge.
The Cushion bush (Calocephalus brownii) is a dramatic foliage plant that needs minimal water. It is hardy and drought tolerant, ideal for planting out into the garden or in containers after Christmas. Plant in full sun in ordinary garden soil that drains well. It grows 20cm high and wide and stays that way with the minimum of trimming.
Pot roses double up as living bouquets and long-lasting indoor pot plants. Each pot contains three to four mini-roses, which is why a single pot is so full of blooms and buds. To flower well they need good light but not direct sunlight. When the flowers are over, cut off the stems to 5cm above the ground, and when new shoots are visible, feed with a liquid fertiliser like Multifeed, Seagro or Kelpak. They will come into flower quicker if kept outside in the sun. Just make sure they are watered every day.
There is little to match the vibrancy of post box red anthuriums or the sparkle of the snowy white anthuriums. Take your pick from petite mini varieties or opt for the large leaved anthuriums with their massive heart-shaped blooms. Anthuriums are close to being indestructible and are long lasting indoor plants that need very little attention. Water when the surface of the soil feels dry and feed with a liquid fertiliser to keep them flowering.
Spathiphyllum, also known as the Peace Lily, is very much the symbol of Christmas. It sends up white flags (which prompted its name) which are called spathes and these stand out against the glossy, dark green leaves. It flowers best in high-light situations. It will tolerate low-light conditions well but won’t bloom much. Plants like moist but not soggy soil and if it wilts a good soak restores the leaves.
Pot hydrangeas, also known as Christmas roses, provide bold heads of colour. Indoors they need plenty of bright light and moist soil. Don’t let them dry out or sit in water. When the blooms are over plant out in semi-shade (morning sun and afternoon shade) in deep, fertile soil.
The candle-shaped pot conifer Cupressus macrocarpa’ Gold Crest’ has bright lime-green foliage, together with the pine-like fragrance and shape. They are tough and will handle the Christmas lights and baubles without dropping their leaves, which can happen with cut branches that double as trees.
After Christmas, use them as indoor features in any space with bright, indirect light or plant them out into larger containers as garden or patio features.
With their silvery green leaves, olive trees like the Mission Olive (Olea europaea ‘Mission’) are attractive indoor trees. However indoor olive trees are purely decorative as they do not flower or produce fruit.
They need full sun on a patio or close to a sunny window. Let the top 5cm of soil dry before watering and water deeply until the water runs out of the bottom of the pot. Do not over water. Fertilise the tree once a month in summer and trim in spring to keep the tree in shape. For more visit, www.lvgplant.co.za
Images and article by Alice Coetzee.
