It’s time to deck the halls with beautiful flowering plants for the holidays! In fact, I can’t imagine the holiday season without a poinsettia on my sideboard. But there are so many other plants that can brighten up your home this season, why stick with just one? Take a trip to your local garden center and gander at the bounty to choose from!

Consider grouping a bunch of poinsettias to pack a real holiday punch!

Photo Credit: Donna W. Moramarco

Cyclamen are prized for their interesting foliage and swanlike flowers.

Photo Credit: Donna W. Moramarco

For something both beautiful and exotic, try Christmas cactus.

Photo Credit: Donna W. Moramarco

Consider bringing your holiday hostess a poinsettia this year – she’ll be tickled pink!

Photo Credit: Donna W. Moramarco

I’m sure you’ll find a host of poinsettias – in all colors and sizes. In fact, poinsettias are hands down the most popular holiday plants. But as popular as they are, they’re not easy to grow under normal house conditions. For best results, daytime temperatures should be about 70-75 degrees F, and night temperatures shouldn’t dip below 65 degrees F. To prevent leaf drop, always avoid exposing these beauties to drafts or excessive drying heat! And to keep your poinsettias looking their best, follow a weekly fertilization program with a 20-20-20 soluble fertilizer. Finally, when the season is over and your poinsettia is finished flowering, you can discard it and just buy another one next year. (For those of you who love a good challenge, however, you can always attempt another year of flowering.)

Garden centers typically offer a bevy of cyclamens, too. Sometimes called “the poor man’s orchid,” these lovely plants provide a wonderful display of flower color, ranging from white to deep rose. Some blooms are even ruffled! You can find large- and small-leaf varieties, so shop around. Another plus is that some cyclamen are subtly fragrant!

While these tuberous plants are beautiful, there are a few rules to successfully growing them. Here’s how to keep your cyclamen happy: Place them in cool rooms for long-lasting flower interest. Keep the plants away from direct sun and maintain a slightly moist – but never soggy – medium. As with many houseplants, overwatering will rot the roots and underwatering will cause wilting. And keep in mind that these beauties are generally not considered a long-term plant in the home, so if the leaves start to yellow and die, don’t feel bad about tossing it.

Another gorgeous holiday offering is kalanchoe, with its leathery, succulent leaves. These bright bloomers are known as short-day plants, which means they won’t flower unless the day length is less than 12 hours, beginning in October. This corresponds nicely with the holiday season’s naturally shorter daylight.

Kalanchoes will bloom for a month or more with clusters of small, showy flowers in red, pink, yellow or orange. They enjoy bright light and well-drained soils that are allowed to dry out slightly between waterings. Powdery mildew can be a problem when the plants are grown in high humidity, but this shouldn’t pose too much of a problem since many homes tend to be dry during the winter months.

If you’re looking for something really neat, how about a plant covered with bright, round fruit to add some holiday cheer? Christmas peppers and Jerusalem cherries will do just that! For best performance, keep these plants in full sun with uniform soil moisture. To prolong the life of the fruit, keep temperatures on the cool side. When the fruit drops, it’s best to discard the plant due to ungainly growth that doesn’t flower. And word to the wise: Don’t eat the fruit! Christmas peppers are hot, hot, hot, and Jerusalem cherries are actually poisonous!

Last, but certainly not least, is the Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera). This gorgeous beauty is easy to care for when it’s in bloom – as long as you keep the plant away from drafts and fluctuating temperatures. If not, it’s likely that the flowers will drop prematurely. Provide bright light for best results. It’s also important to allow the soil to dry slightly between waterings. Excess soil moisture will cause Christmas cactus to rot.

The trick to growing Christmas cactus is getting it to flower a second year. Here’s how: From April to June, give the plant indirect light and plenty of water. (A monthly fertilization program of 10-15-10 at this time is also recommended.) Come July and August, move your Christmas cactus outside, and keep it on the dry side. This helps initiate bud development. Bring it in by Sept. 1, and start the dark treatment the plant needs until December. This means no light from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. for eight to 10 weeks. (Just put the plants in a closet or cover them with a black plastic bag.) Water sparingly. Flower buds should begin to appear.

So with the holiday season just around the corner, consider making flowering plants a part of your decorating plans this year. A few poinsettias can really pack some punch when placed by a staircase or fireplace. And any of these beauties tucked into cache pots will make a truly jolly statement. No matter which of these beautiful bloomers you choose, they’re sure to carry you well into the New Year with lots of good cheer!