One of the best ways to create a festive atmosphere in your home or office is to decorate it with Christmas plants. Surrounded by other Christmas decorations, the space is sure to transport you into a different world.

Plants are beautiful to look at but they would require proper care and attention to survive throughout the holiday season. Different Christmas plants would require different care and maintenance.

Christmas Cactus

This plant is called as such because it flowers over the Christmas period. To make this plant last through the holidays, it must be placed in an area where a temperature doesn't fluctuate every day.

Keep it in a cool room but near a bright window.

Remember to water sparingly and only when the top of the soil starts to dry out.

If you're planning to keep a Christmas cactus for the rest of the year:

• Make sure to add a half-strength house plant fertiliser every time you water it.
• As the blooms fade, pick them off but make sure to handle with care because the flower buds and succulents sections of the stem can be knocked off easily.
• Water even less when the cactus stops flowering, but water more regularly in late summer.

Christmas Rose

During mid- to late August, repot Christmas roses into a bigger plastic pot. This is one way to make it last longer.
 

• Make sure to add a fertiliser when you repot the plant. Choose one that has a low release effect.
• When late autumn comes, move the hellebores back to a warm wall.

Christmas Bells

Indigenous to Australia, this plant has bell-like flowers with colours that range from pure yellow to deep red with yellow tips.

• Best grown directly in the ground or in a large and deep pot because of its deep rooting system.
• Grow in full sun or partial shade and avoid repotting every two years or so.
• In late summer, use a slow release fertiliser.
• Christmas bells must be watered regularly, once every 2 days.

Christmas Bush

A tree with small green leaves, a Christmas Bush will grow star-shaped deep red flowers by the time Christmas week comes around in Sydney.

• Plant the bush under the full sun to get maximum flowers.
• Make sure to use soil that is well-drained, crumbly and moist.
• When it starts flowering, pruning will help keep it dense and in good shape.
• Feed it with a native fertiliser when it starts growing.

Poinsettia

No other Christmas plant is more popular and common than the Poinsettia, what with their festive colours that are most appropriate for the holidays.

• The plant is best grown in a cool room with a temperature around 20C during the day and even colder during the night.
• Despite the cool room requirement, poinsettias must be placed near a sunny windowsill or close to a bright filtered light.
• Make sure the leaves do not come in contact with a windowpane that gets cold to prevent damage.
• Other popular Christmas pants are Azalea, Hippeastrum (Amaryllis), Mistletoe, and the Holly. Each one has specific care requirements as well.

As for flowers to give out during the holiday season, get them from Clare Florist. We carry a wide range of flowers and floral arrangements suitable for Christmas. Order Festive flowers now for Christmas Delivery.