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Keep it or compost it? What to do with gifted holiday plants

Detailed close up of red amaryllis (hippeastrum) flowers showing details like pistils and pollen
TeleMakro Fotografie (Ina Hensel)
/
iStock
Some holiday plants, like amaryllis, will come back year after year. Others are better suited for your compost pile.

If you receive a plant as a gift this month, you might be able to nurture it for generations to come. Or you might just have to add it to your compost pile once the flowers fade. Learn which plants can thrive for years and which ones you should toss.

Many gardeners receive houseplants as holiday gifts, but after the blooms fade, it can be hard to know what to do next.

A general rule of thumb: If it's still flowering, keep it and enjoy! Then consider which ones can be nurtured and overwintered, while others should just be composted.

Keepers or composters?

Amaryllis

This one is a keeper! If you're gifted one of these flowering bulbs, know that it can last years as a houseplant. With proper care, amaryllis will come back every year and flower again. After it flowers, keep the plant indoors in the winter, then put it out in the spring to a partially sunny area.

Once it's outside, water and fertilize it a couple times. After summer is over, bring it back indoors. Towards the end of September, cut all the leaves back, and put it in a dark place. In November, bring it out and the amaryllis will flower again.

Poinsettia

This one is a composter! Once the bracts — those are the petals that look like flowers but are more accurately the plant's leaves — fade, compost the whole plant.

You can get the poinsettia to flower again, but it takes an extraordinary amount of work. The plant needs to be in complete darkness for a number of weeks. If you want another poinsettia, it might make more sense to just purchase a new plant from your local garden center.

Paperwhites or narcissus

This is a composter! This flowering bulb is not very hardy to our region and would not do well as an outdoor plant.

Holiday cactus

This one is a keeper! If you're gifted a holiday cactus or schlumbergera, it can keep for decades and is easy to care for.

Moth orchids

Another keeper. This type of orchid is the easiest one to grow, so long as you find the right location in your home. Place it in a brightly lit room that's on the cooler side, and your moth orchid will thrive. Each fall, it should send out a new flower stalk and bloom again for months.

Kalanchoe

This one is a composter. These bloom with colorful flower clusters, but like the poinsettia, it is really tough to get the kalanchoe to flower again. Enjoy it while you can then compost it.

African violets

As indoor plants, these are keepers and can last for generations. Put them under grow lights or in a sunny window. They'll flower on and off all season long and last for years and years.

Florist azalea and florist hydrangea

These aren't hardy enough to plant outdoors here, so enjoy them then compost.

In search of juniper berries

Q: My friend and I like to gather juniper berries in the late fall for greens for inside and outside decorations. For at least the last three autumns, we haven’t been able to find any juniper with the lovely blue berries. We are not out to start making gin! It seems like others are producing many berries. What's happening? - Patricia, via email

A: Finding juniper berries is more a matter of finding the right trees and shrubs on which they grow. Luckily, our region has a lot of native juniper growing, especially in and around the Champlain Valley. And even though we refer to it as "juniper," it's actually a cedar.

The Eastern red cedar has beautiful blue berries and looks great planted in your own landscape. The common juniper and creeping juniper are both good choices, too. Because the cedar and juniper berries take a couple of years to mature and to grow, it may require some patience.

All Things Gardening is powered by you, our audience! Send us your toughest conundrums and join the fun. Email your question to gardening@vermontpublic.org or better yet, leave a voicemail with your gardening question so we can use your voice on the air! Call Vermont Public at 1-800-639-2192.

Charlie Nardozzi is a nationally recognized garden writer, radio and TV show host, consultant, and speaker. Charlie is the host of All Things Gardening on Sunday mornings at 9:35 during Weekend Edition on Vermont Public. Charlie is a guest on Vermont Public's Vermont Edition during the growing season. He also offers garden tips on local television and is a frequent guest on national programs.
Mary Williams Engisch is a local host on All Things Considered.