By Bodie V. Pennisi
University of Georgia

The holidays are here. It’s time to decorate our homes in the
spirit of the season. Here are some colorful plants to complement
the traditional poinsettias and evergreens in your home decor.

Christmas cactus. Actually, three
related cactus species dependably bloom on different holidays:
Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. All have been extensively
crossbred to produce flower colors, including magenta, white,
pink, salmon and orange.

All holiday cactuses need bright light and moderate moisture to
grow and flower best. A south window is the perfect spot for
them. After the six weeks of holiday blooming, remove the spent
flowers and apply a houseplant fertilizer.

Christmas peppers are garden
pepper cultivars selected for fruit color and form. The fruits
can be globe- or cone-shaped and yellow, orange, red, green or
purple. Their peak color lasts one to two months. These peppers
can be extremely hot, so keep them away from small children.

The peppers will be brighter and last longer if you’ll keep the
plants in bright light, mild temperatures and moist soil.
Fertilize them weekly with a soluble fertilizer.

Gloxinias have single or clustered
red, violet-blue, pink, white or bicolor, trumpet-shaped flowers.
A 6-inch plant can have a dozen flowers over four weeks, each
lasting up to six days.

Keep gloxinias out of direct sunlight and cold or hot drafts.
Water them from the saucer with warm water. Keep them moist but
not waterlogged. When the leaves start dying back, water them
less often. Let them dry out for two to four months. Resume
watering when new growth appears.

Begonias. Rieger begonias look
much like garden tuberous and nonstop begonias. The leaves are
somewhat glossy and can break easily.

Both single and double flowers may be on the same plant. Riegers
are fairly tolerant of sun and temperature. They prefer slightly
moist soil. A high-quality plant will be at least half covered by
flowers.

Kalanchoes have fleshy leaves and
striking, bright clusters of yellow, orange or red, long-lasting
flowers. New multicolored selections are available, too.

They will be happiest if you keep them warm and dry. Drought
stress, though, will shorten the flowers’ life. Feeding with
houseplant fertilizer once a month helps. Kalanchoes will rebloom
if you place it in artificially short days for six to eight weeks.

Amaryllises have spectacular
orange, red, white, pink and multicolored blooms. They flower
four to six weeks after you plant them, each bloom lasting three
to four days.

To get them to reflower, place them in bright light. Move them
outdoors when the weather warms. Water and fertilize them, and
let the foliage develop all summer. As the leaves begin dying,
water them less often. When they die, let the soil dry out. Keep
the bulbs in a cool, dry place for a month or two. Then start
watering again.

Cyclamens show up in stores from
October through March. They have attractive foliage and white,
pink, lavender, purple, red or bicolor blooms. They can flower
for four months with proper care.

Place them in a cool east or north window. Water them carefully
— not too much or too little. When they stop flowering,
gradually water less often. After the leaves die, let the stem
stay dry for six weeks. When you resume watering then, new
foliage will appear. Bright light and cool temperatures may
sometimes get them to reflower.

Blushing bromeliads have an open
rosette of strap-shaped, toothed, mid-green or variegated leaves,
with the inner leaves purplish to red. The flowers are violet or
lavender.

Bromeliads like bright light and warmth. Don’t overwater them.
But keep the central vase, formed by the leaves, filled with rain
or distilled water. Feed them by spraying the leaves with a
dilute fertilizer solution.

(Bodie Pennisi is a horticulturist specializing in greenhouse
flowers with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences.)