It’s December 24 and you’re desperately looking for a host gift idea to bring to a holiday party? Unless you want to be the umpteenth person to bring a bottle of wine, and thus earn yet another annoyed smile of appreciation, may I suggest that the ideal gift is a pretty flowering plant? Not only will you impress the hostess or hostess, but also the audience, because rather than joining the other bottles in the fridge, your gift will be immediately unwrapped and prominently displayed for all to admire.
Some Flowering Plants to Give as Gifts
Here are a few ideas for flowering plants to give as gifts, all available today from garden centers, florists or any other place where plants are sold.
Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima)
The most enduring of all Christmas flowers. Its bracts can last until May or longer. The range of colors includes red, pink, white, yellow and bicolor, and there are now blue, purple, orange and other dyed poinsettias.
Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera x buckleyi)
Less durable in bloom, but more faithful, the Christmas cactus is the only holiday plant that improves from year to year rather than withering away. The tip of each flattened branch bears a drooping red, pink or white flower.
Jerusalem Cherry (Solanum pseudocapsicum)
The fruits are round and orange-red, like Christmas baubles. They persist through most of the winter. Caution: they are poisonous and the plant must be kept out of the reach of children and pets.
Cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum)
Pretty, heart-shaped leaves, often silvery. Butterfly-like flowers in a wide range of colors. Requires cool conditions, but can then remain in bloom all winter.
Orchid (Phalaenopsis and others)
Why not? You can find very pretty ones at reasonable prices nowadays, and they often bloom for 3 months. They’re not very difficult to rebloom, either.
Christmas Kalanchoe (Kalanchoe blossfeldiana)
Succulent plant with attractively crenate leaves bearing masses of long-lasting red, orange, yellow, pink or white flowers. Flowers last 3 months or more.
African Violet(Saintpaulia syn. Streptocarpus)
No, it’s not a traditional Christmas plant, but its ability to bloom sporadically all year round makes it very interesting as a gift plant.
Cape Primrose (Streptocarpus)
A close relative of the African violet, it can also flower repeatedly throughout the year.
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum)
Its beautiful white, often fragrant, veil-like flowers are very attractive and last a month or more… and the plant sporadically reblooms even under rather marginal conditions.
Give a Plant as a Gift
One of the advantages of floral gifts is that the florist or garden center automatically wraps them in a colored sleeve. All you have to do is present them!
Happy Holidays!
Larry Hodgson published thousands of articles and 65 books over the course of his career, in both French and English. His son, Mathieu, has made it his mission to make his father’s writings accessible to the public. This text was originally published in Le Soleil on December 24, 2006.
Please could you write about any outdoor plants that flower in winter in the UK. Our neighbour has a flowering large mahonia japonica shrub on our adjoining fence which has a solitary bumble bee that is feeding on its flowers in almost all weathers. The bee was flying and whizzing around my garden in all directions during a storm and it’s even there in the early morning frost.
from Patsy Kehela