Tips for keeping holiday plants healthy and green

Part of the fun this time of year is the plethora of holiday plants available — all wrapped in shiny foil and grown to peak bloom.

However, not all holiday plants are created equal. Some can be grown in the home for decades with the right care. Others are difficult to keep alive more than a month. And it is not always you.

Many of these foliage friends are bred and sold to be disposable, so you can throw them out without guilt if they perish. However, with a few steps, they may last for months or years.

First things first, know which plants do well as houseplants in Texas, which ones likely will be tossed out with the trash and which ones can be planted in your yard.

Keep as houseplants Norfolk Island pine: In its native Australia, the evergreen grows up to 200 feet tall. As a houseplant, 4 to 6 feet tall is average. Keep in bright, indirect light and keep damp but not wet. Do not let it dry out. Spray with water for humidity. Outside, these plants have grown to 30 feet around Galveston and parts of Houston, but with the cold snaps we have gotten over the last few years, I doubt many have survived.

Cyclamen: Keep as a temporary houseplant (or plant in the yard); cyclamen blooms long after the holidays, sometimes until April. Soil should stay moist before and during peak bloom. My preferred way to water is to place the pot in a shallow dish of water and let the soil absorb water from the bottom. Unlike many other holiday plants, these prefer cool temperatures. Avoid too much sunlight. The entire plant will go dormant by midsummer. Cyclamen can be kept for a few years indoors but will not bloom as well.

Christmas/Thanksgiving/Easter cactus: These are long-lived houseplants; they are my favorite on the list. Keep in bright, indirect light. Let dry between watering, especially before blooms. Avoid drafts or heat vents and spritz with water. These plants bloom best if pot-bound, so you can repot but only one size up. Flower buds drop with drafts or a move.

Plant outdoors

Rosemary: Plant rosemary outside in full sun in the ground or in a larger pot as soon as the chance of frost has passed. In the meantime, place in the highest light possible in the house and remove wrapper. Use a pot with drainage. It likes to dry out; don’t overwater. Place on a tray of pebbles with water just below the top of the rocks to increase humidity.

Amaryllis: For the holidays, keep by a bright window before bloom and rotate to keep the stem straight. The large, trumpet-shaped flowers are top-heavy, so placing in a heavier pot will help stabilize. Keep moist but not wet. Cut the stalk after blooming. Do not cut leaves, as they provide nutrition to the bulb. This plant can be kept indoors with a few steps, but in our climate, just plant in the ground with good drainage and full sun to start an amaryllis collection. Do not plant the bulb too deep; the top third should be above the ground. They naturally bloom in the spring and will rebloom the following year in April. After a few years, they will naturalize.

Ditch without guilt

Poinsettia: If you haven’t overwatered your poinsettia by now, then you are doing well. Overwatering will kill them quicker than underwatering. That is why it is recommended that you remove the plant from the plastic sleeve, or at least allow it to drain when watered. Keep in bright light. Avoid drafts and temperature extremes. Cold drafts can turn the leaves yellow. Once the small, yellow flowers in the center open, decline starts. Poinsettias can grow in the Houston area if you like a challenge, but they will never look as they did before. Plant outside after the last chance of frost. If you have a latex allergy, you may be sensitive to the sap. Final call — it is easier to toss.

Cyclamen: Do not throw cyclamen away right after blooming. The leaves are attractive, with frost on dark green. Wait until the leaves start dying back to clear out of the garden.

Waxed amaryllis: This is a cool gift to receive, as there is no need for soil or water. The waxed bulb sits on a counter or desk, and once the blooms fade, it can be tossed. These are more expensive for the lack of care required, but after receiving two last year, I am a fan. They lasted about five weeks and each had a second flower stalk. However, I peeled the wax off and planted them anyway. Guess what? They are still growing wellff

Brandi Keller is a Harris County Horticulture Agent with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension.