Seasonal trees, plants and garlands make our homes festive and aromatic during the holiday season. There is nothing quite as welcoming as walking into a beautifully decorated home and smelling a fresh Christmas tree. Keep the plants and trees you purchase for the holidays well cared for to enjoy them for as long as possible.

Poinsettias: Keep your new poinsettia in bright light, avoiding direct afternoon sun. Keep the ambient temperature around 65–70 degrees and the soil moist, but not too wet. Avoid drafts and dry heat, such as too near a fireplace or heater, and feed it a well-balanced fertilizer.
With dedication, you may be able to get your poinsettia to bloom next year. In March or April, when the bracts begin to turn a muddy green, cut the plant back to eight inches tall. Keep it near a sunny window, and by May it should have new growth. Transplant it to a larger pot and put it outside during the summer. Fertilize it with a balanced fertilizer twice a month until December. Around the first of October, start giving it 14 hours of darkness and 6–8 hours of bright sun, keeping the temperature about 70 degrees. With luck, your poinsettia will be blooming again next December.

Christmas Cacti: Another popular Christmas plant is the Zygo cactus with its beautiful blooms on the tip of the cactus leaves. One of our customers still has her grandmother’s plant and treats it like an heirloom.

Withholding water will form buds. The plant likes bright light indoors (but not direct sun) and well-drained soil. Water only when the top half of the soil feels dry; water regularly except for three weeks after the blooming is finished. Put it outside in the shade in the summer, then gradually reintroduce the plant to your house in the fall and in mid-October begin the dark treatment mentioned above for the poinsettias. Keep the temperature between 50–60 degrees.

Live Trees: Buy a tree that is suited to your climate zone. Think about where you will eventually plant your tree, as live trees will grow to full size trees before you know it. With proper care in a large enough planter, you should be able to move your tree from outside to indoors to enjoy as your Christmas tree for several successive holidays.

Select the freshest-looking tree available. To test for freshness, gently grasp a branch between your thumb and forefinger and pull it toward you. Very few needles should come off in your hand. Shake or bounce the tree on its stump. You should not see an excessive amount of green needles fall to the ground. Some loss of interior brown needles is normal.

Keep your live tree indoors for no more than 10 days, keeping it well watered and away from heat. After the holidays, move your tree outdoors where it will get filtered sunlight and protection from wind. Allow it two to three weeks to acclimatize, and then put it where it will stay until next December – or plant it. You can keep the same live tree in its container through several holiday seasons, depending on how fast it grows (plant it before it becomes root bound). Be sure it gets the right amount of light and water.

Pick your live tree up by the pot – NOT by the stem. Many live plants start their decline during careless transport. Protect your tree en route to your home.

Cut Trees: Care for your cut Christmas tree as you would a bouquet of fresh flowers. Make a straight cut across the base of the trunk, taking off about an inch and immediately place the trunk in water. Check the water level often. Place the tree in a cool spot, away from appliances.

Julia Strzesieski is the marketing coordinator for Cole Hardware.
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