Amongst the houseplants with Christmas names, there are several that will serve as decorous and often long-lasting Christmas gifts. Most are relatively easy to care for. Some may require a little more care, such as orchids, but unlike many of their summer-flowering counterparts they are often resilient and fairly pest-free.
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The Christmas begonia is a common name applied to begonia cheimantha and its hybrids, these and similar begonias being known as Lorraine begonias. Gloire de Lorraine is one of the most well-known cultivars, dating back to the late nineteenth century, which produces pretty pink flowers. Gloire de Lorraine does not die back after winter flowering and needs careful watering in summer.
Growing up to eighteen inches tall, Christmas begonia stems can prove weak and require support as they lengthen. The begonia’s round green leaves, up to three inches across, serve to highlight the pink or white inch-wide flowers. Pinching out tips of young plants helps make the begonia grow more bushy. It is recommended to mist the air around the leaves rather than the leaves or flowers directly. Though direct sunlight from the weaker winter sun can be useful, these begonias are best kept out of stronger sunlight.
Begonia Batik is another attractive winter-flowering begonia with bright, usually apricot- or pink-colored double flowers that resemble roses at first glance. As a houseplant, this is a very nice, compact and showy plant ideally suited to a window sill location. It should be kept out of direct sunlight in the summer.
The Christmas orchid is a term sometimes applied to cattleya labiata trianaei, though it is more commonly known as the winter cattleya. Cattleya labiata trianaei has large, ornate flowers and makes a fragrant houseplant though it needs high humidity so that its prime requirements are protection from direct sunlight, misting of its leaves and a high frequency of watering.
Most Christmas orchids will benefit from being repotted in spring after they have flowered. There are many varieties and some hybrids which have been cultivated to emphasize different aspects of this attractive orchid. As a result, there are several variations in flower color available.
Christmas pepper is the name normally given to capsicum annuam. Though treated as an annual, this plant can flower for several seasons if maintained in a cool environment, though this practice is not a common one and is best used with specific varieties or cultivars. The houseplants are usually dwarf varieties as this species will naturally grow tall outdoors.
The plant exhibits brightly colored red or orange-red spherical or cone-shaped fruits and dark green, fairly robust leaves. Some cultivars, notably “Festival” will produce different-colored fruits on the same plant. While some direct sunlight is essential for these plants, they must be kept misted and the compost should not be allowed to dry out. In either instance the fruits will drop. The recommended watering advice is to aim to water just as the compost surface dries.
Varieties of solanum capsicastrum and solanum pseudocapsicum are both sold as the Christmas cherry or the winter cherry, though solanum capsicastrum has traditionally been regarded as the Christmas cherry. Solanum capsicastrum produces small white flowers which mature into large berries, initially green before turning orange or red, usually around half an inch in diameter.
Solanum pseudocapsicum is sometimes termed the Jerusalem cherry. It is larger than the Christmas cherry so is often grown in dwarf varieties to serve as a houseplant. It can be kept outdoors in the summer, when it flowers, and should be rested in the winter. From late autumn it has brightly-colored berries, usually red but sometimes orange.
The fruit of both solanum capsicastrum and solanum pseudocapsicum are inedible and produce nausea as a minimum if eaten. Fruit of solanum pseudocapsicum can prove poisonous. For this reason these plants are often recommended as not to be grown where very young children are around. Both species benefit from misting when in flower and can be encouraged to become more bushy if pinched out when young plants.
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