Winter Houseplants

          Vivid purple lilies making a fine Christmas display, unless you suffer from hayfever!.

We’ve had some frost…yea! 

Thankfully the nasturtiums are dying back and nature will be sorting out the rest of the garden clearance as I watch out of the window from the comfort of the house. I did go out for a while to put up some bird feeders with food to satisfy the smaller birds, which I thought would be robins, blue tits and waxwings, as yet though only the starlings have come to visit but there’s time yet.

My other small job was to pull the fleece over my more tender plants in the polytunnel. I think it’ll be enough to keep the frost from getting to the leaves up to about minus 2 or 3, after that I’ll need to either get some form of heating in there or bring them into the house, which I am not keen to do as we don’t really have any room on the window ledges as these are taken up with wheatgrass production and homemade ceramic clay pots (It’s my new hobby, I’ll tell you more in the coming weeks) 

Festive Plants

This time of year sees a huge increase in festive plants given away as presents or bought to brighten up the dinner table. Both cut flowers and potted plants are in abundance.  I was given a very colourful bunch of lilies this week with the most vivid purple flowers. You’d think they were artificial but know they were real by the powerful smell they give off.  We’ve had to put them in the shed as it was giving one of the family hay fever. 

Other popular cut flowers are white freesias, with a vase life of at least two weeks, white alstroemeria and hyacinths, which are chunkier but also elegant as a single stem are long lasting too. Most of these flowers can be “bulked up” in the vases by adding things we can get from the hedgerow or garden. I like bay leaves on branches – as they dry you can put them in a bag for use in cooking at a later date. Rosemary also makes a floral display more attractive as well as using the old favourites such as holly and ivy for that festive look – check first they come from reliable sources and not from someone pinching the branches from the wild. Wreaths are ever popular this year too and have a long shelf life.

Potted Christmas Plants

Back to the potted plants. The old favourites are here again and even though I have looked around I can’t really see anything new to the market that challenges the ones listed here for the place on the podium for best Christmas plants. 

Orchids. Probably one of the most long lived flowering houseplants you can get. Great colours too.

Cyclamen - this winter to spring flowering plant is excellent for indoor use and is available in a variety of colours, red, pinks, purple and whites.

Christmas Cactus (Zygocactus truncatus) is another great plant to use in your home and will flower for weeks.

African Violet - One of the most popular houseplants here in Ireland and so widely available in a variety of colours with great velvety green foliage.

Ivy (Hedera) - Small ivies make great houseplants.

Ferns – Try the holly or maidenhead ferns, both make excellent indoor plants.

Osmanthus - Commonly known as 'False Holly' it is a great Christmas display.

Poinsettia – Red white or cream, they will compliment any Christmas theme.

Azaleas - Colours including white, red, pink and purple.

Also on the list are: Winter cherry (solanum) Norfolk pine, Kalenchoe, Amaryllis and hyacinth (bulbs), Begonia, indoor Christmas roses and topiary balls.

Plant Care

Most plants need to be pampered to survive in a modern house; central heating is one condition that plants don’t generally like. The air around the plants can get very dry. One method I found quite successful if you’re not prepared to spray them with water every day, or indeed you can’t because the pots are near plug sockets, is to put water on the radiator.  You can get ceramic containers that can be clipped onto the front of the radiator and the heat gently evaporates the water put in it and makes the room more humid which is the condition the plants will prefer, (You may even find it more pleasant too). 

If you keep the festive plants out of cold drafts and moderately watered you will probably have them well into the New Year so they will have done their job graciously.