Poinsettia, azalea, cyclamen, winter cherry, hyacinth, Christmas cactus and chrysanthemum are the most popular Christmas plants, but some others have become increasingly popular, such as anthurium, winter begonia, ardisia, jasmine, kalanchoe and peace lily, although these are sold at other times of the year too.

These plants all require the basic needs of water, light, warmth and some nutrients, although the latter is not a big factor at this time of year. The most important aspects are watering and giving the plant the right degree of warmth, not too much but not too little either.

For each of the popular kinds the details given should ensure that you will get good results.

The red floral bracts of poinsettia have become a symbol of Christmas and it flowers for Christmas naturally because of shorter day length from September. Because it is not a hardy plant, it must be grown in a heated room, the temperature not dropping much below 16°C, day or night, and ideally a little more. Most rooms will easily achieve this but the temperature can drop by morning and certainly it would do so behind curtains.

Poinsettia often drops its leaves soon after it comes into the house. This is usually caused by the plants being chilled between the time they left the grower and before they were purchased. Never buy houseplants that have been left outside in the cold.

Cold-favouring plants

The Christmas azalea, or indoor azalea, makes an excellent long-lasting and long-flowering house plant. It is not hardy and cannot be grown outdoors except in very mild areas, but it does not need as much warmth as poinsettia and can be grown successfully in an unheated greenhouse. It benefits greatly from being placed outdoors for the warm summer months with just some light shade in the middle of the day. It is very prone to wilting from becoming too dry and almost equally prone to root death from being waterlogged. But if it is kept in a coolish room – not the warm living area with dry air – it will flower for several weeks and can be kept for many years.

Cyclamen is another plant for a coolish location – it too does not like too much warm or overly dry air. Hardy or very close to being hardy, the large-flowered cyclamen is a very long-lived plant and can be kept for many years, but it is a challenge to do so. It reacts badly to drying out, instantly dropping its leaves. When watered it recovers but not all the leaves stand up again. It is best not to let it dry out, but it also reacts badly to over-watering and should never stand in a saucer of water, because the roots will quickly rot. After flowering, it can be brought to a greenhouse or cool conservatory or porch.

Winter cherry, Solanum capsicastrum, likes a cool room too, and it is almost hardy, being grown outdoors year-round in very mild gardens, although it almost inevitably succumbs to frost. It can be grown in an unheated greenhouse. The seasonal attraction is the round, bright red cherry-like fruits. It is a small woody bush and can be grown to a large size over many years. It is easy to look after, not as tricky on watering as the others mentioned but if it is cared for in the same way as the azalea it will perform very well.

Hyacinths are a hardy bulb that naturally flowers in March or April but has been traditionally forced for Christmas using bulbs that have been specially heat-treated to give them an artificial summer and bring forward flower production. These can be bought as bulbs and grown to flower or they can be bought in flower. Make sure to choose a fairly cool spot in the house with plenty of bright daylight. After flowering, the bulbs can be planted in the garden to flower again.

Plants for dry locations

Christmas cactus is a ‘forest cactus’, one of many kinds that thrive in tropical forests growing in the leaf litter and mosses on the branches of large trees. It is a tough little plant, well adapted for periods of drought, but does best with even watering, never standing in water. It is usually grown on a window sill indoors. If the sunlight is too bright, its green colour fades. It does not need a warm room but flowers more reliably for Christmas if the room is warm. Flowering is triggered by short days in early autumn and artificial light can prevent flowering.

Chrysanthemums flower naturally late in the year, though not as late as Christmas and the typical pot-mum sold at this time will usually have been slightly held back to get plants at their peak. It is a very easy plant to care for in the home. It is a hardy or almost-hardy plant and does not need much warmth. It lasts better in a location that is not too warm or dry and it is more tolerant of occasional draughts than most of these plants.

Long-lasting plants

The red bracts of anthurium, or flamingo flower, have increased its popularity for Christmas but it flowers practically year-round, as does the related peace lily, or spathiphyllum. Both are excellent, long-lasting, long-flowering, easily grown house plants. They need some warmth and cannot tolerate frost but the warmth of almost any room will be fine. Ardisia is a tender shrub, often sold as a small plant with masses of holly-like red berries. It can be grown on successfully and will make quite a sizeable potted plant, perhaps too big for a house plant but perfect for a conservatory. It needs bright light, feeding and watering freely in summer, just moist in winter.

All of the Christmas house plants can give good results – there is no reason why these plants should disappoint.