5 plants that say ‘holiday season,’ and how to care for them

Holiday horticulture tends to revolve around the same handful of plants. So if you don’t already have any or all of these five holiday plants, now is the time to get them: PAPERWHITES The bulbs of these daffodil family members are pre-chilled so they can be planted now and produce flowers in a month to six weeks. Poinsettias should never sit in water, so if you want to keep the decorative foil that accompanies many of them, poke a hole in it to let water out. Then put yours into a cool, dark location so it goes dormant, to be brought out again next holiday season for flowering. CHRISTMAS CACTUS Christmas cactuses, Schlumbergeras, are another great plant that blooms during the mid-winter holidays.