With the festive season upon us, let’s take a look at some of the indoor plants we can use to brighten up our homes and offices at this time of the year.

One of the most popular, flame bright, ornamental leafed plants to cheer up chilly days is Poinsettia. After this plant’s stunning display of almost luminous colour is over, it can be pruned back to six to 10 inches in height and planted out in the garden where, with time and a generous amount of tender loving care, it will eventually grow into a magnificent, winter-coloured shrub, as much as six feet tall. It is, however, recommended to cut back, by about six inches, all tall shoots during July-August (you can plant the cuttings, of course). This encourages the plant to bush out and develop lots of coloured leaves — in brilliant to deep red, pale to bright pink or icy white — over the following winter months.

Poinsettias, easily propagated from both soft and hardwood cuttings, taken in early spring or summer, flourish in semi-shade. But they are extremely intolerant of wind, so their chosen outdoor space must be sheltered from this.

If being enjoyed indoors this month and through, until they lose their colour towards the end of February or thereabouts, they relish being placed well away from sunny windows in a location that receives plenty of artificial light. Take care that they are not in the line of draughts from heaters, fans or open doors or they will shed their leaves in protest.

Aside from wind/draughts, the biggest killer of these seasonally attractive plants is overwatering, which also causes them to shed their leaves before dying off completely. Water sparingly, ensuring that any excess can easily and quickly drain away.

When treated with the respect they deserve, Poinsettias, especially small ones in their first year of growth, are a very eye-catching plant and make wonderful festive gifts too.

Try decking out your home with some of these indoor beauties

Pots of Cyclamens and Dutch hyacinths — grown under special conditions so that they come into flower now, rather than in early spring as they would in their natural habitat — are gorgeous winter warmers as well.

Cyclamens have become quite popular here in recent years and, like many other corms and bulbs, are perfectly at home indoors or out providing that suitable growing conditions are maintained.

These lovely plants, with bi-coloured heart-shaped leaves and delicate flowers in a colour range from glowing white and flamingo pink through to ruby red and almost purple, can, with care, be had in bloom for a surprisingly long period of time. Plus, after blooming finishes, they can be allowed to slowly and naturally die back — it is important to withhold water during the dying back stage — with healthy corms then either being stored in dry river sand, for replanting at the beginning of October. Or, if you are prepared to take a chance, they can be planted out, in well-drained soil, in the dappled shade of shrubs and trees and left to their own devices.

Lovers of light shade, when kept indoors, they prefer to be out of direct sunlight yet still have plenty of natural light.

As with most other corms and bulbs, take care not to overwater, otherwise leaves and flower stalks will yellow off, fall over and die and the corm will rot away to nothing.

Dutch hyacinths with their incredible fragrance are, along with Paper-white narcissus, very popular bulbs for both indoor and outdoor use, and both are often commercially ‘forced’ so that they come into bloom now. A single pot of either of these easily perfumes a large room if not an entire house.

A place, be this indoors or out, where they can bask in morning sun only, is ideal.

Requiring more water — this is quickly sucked up inside their fleshy stems and is essential for keeping them upright — than the previously aforementioned two species, it is still essential that the compost/soil is well-drained and that overwatering is avoided.

Dutch hyacinths, largely in shades such as ivory white, pale yellow, deep rose pink and blue, are sometimes grown in specially designed, narrow necked, glass containers — the bulb being balanced in the narrow opening with its base just above, but not in direct contact with, the water below. The bulb sends a mass of fleshy roots down into the water, drinking up as much as is needed.

The bulbs of both Dutch hyacinths and Paper white narcissus can, after flowering, be either dried off and stored in river sand as for Cyclamens, or can be planted out, in half shade, in the garden where, providing they don’t rot during monsoon weather and that rodents/insects leave them alone, they will surprise you by popping up, when they feel the time is right, sometime next winter or spring.

Other bulbs, corms and plants being sold for indoor decoration and appreciation now, include: numerous types of lilies and orchids, highly perfumed Freesias, African violets, velvety Gloxinias. Sparaxis, Ranunculus and miniature Daffodils.

Please continue sending your gardening queries to zahrahnasir@hotmail.com. Remember to include your location. The writer does not respond directly by email. Emails with attachments will not be opened

Published in Dawn, EOS, December 20th, 2020