3 Holiday Plants Beyond Pointsettias.

The Christmas Cactus is actually a tropical epiphyte from the rain forests of Brazil. An epiphyte is a plant which relies on another plant for support but not for nutrients. Despite the high rain fall, water falls off quickly so that they are dry most of the time. This plant is made for hanging baskets to showcase the pendulus flowers. Be forwarned, if there is a great dip in humidty levels, the blooms will fall of the plant but the plant will be ok. Creating flower in following years requires similar treatments to pointsettias.

Cyclamen are my best bet when it comes to beautiful and bold plants for the holidays. In red, pink and white, the blooms remind me of butterflies in mid flight supported by gracefull stems atop a bed of dark green leaves. What a description if I do say so myself.
To extend the bloom length, place in a cool room with indirect light.

FYI, I believe a bold red cyclamen is so much impactful at Valentines's Day. It can look great for over a month in cool locations compared to a bunch of Central American roses that might last three or four days before drooping over. There is a hard pink cyclamen for this area but I haven't seen it growing.

Moth orchids are a class act in my book. Yes they are graceful throughout the year as seen in homes, businesses and on the pages of of style magazines. But I think a pure white in an elegant cache pot makes a wonderful gift that can last for months. Orchid care is so easy and watering correctly is a big part of it. I had a Saturday ritual of placing the plant in the sink under a spray faucet for ten minutes. BTW, the watering three ice cudes a week orchid campaign is a bunch of BS. P Allen Smith should be ashamed of himself. Like he needs the money and he's pushing a product that will not bloom again.