Skip to main content

Add holiday cheer to your home with these colorful houseplants

Low-maintenance plants for furnishing your home this holiday season

Most people think of Christmas trees when it comes to ringing in the holidays with plants. Striking as they may be, Christmas trees don’t last well beyond December, no matter how fun it is to furnish them with bright twinkling lights and sparkly garlands. What can last, however, are colorful houseplants. And luckily, there are plenty of winter plants that thrive indoors and heighten the yuletide cheer. If you’re looking to bring in greenery beyond a chopped-down or artificial pine this Christmas, read ahead!

Christmas poinsettia
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Poinsettia

The cheerful poinsettia is synonymous with the holidays, coming predominantly in red, pink, and cream. Luckily, there’s no shortage of the plant in November and December. You’ll find this bright plant at your local supermarkets and garden centers without a hitch. What is usually mistaken for flowers are actually colorful leaf bracts. To care for a poinsettia, err on the side of underwatering, and give your plant bright indirect light and warm temperatures to help it flourish.

Christmas cactus
TSViPhoto / Shutterstock

Christmas cactus

It’s in the name — the Christmas cactus is one of the most common holiday plants. This houseplant features bright red, pink, or purple blooms and flat succulent leaves. It’s technically a cactus, but you’ll want to go above the typical succulent care to help it thrive. In order to yield blooms, the Christmas cactus needs a period of darkness and coolness. It also appreciates moderate humidity and occasional waterings to keep its leaves happy. With a little extra mindfulness, you’ll have beautiful flowers to proudly display come Christmas.

Red fittonia
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Red-veined nerve plant

How much more festive does it get than with the red-veined fittonia or nerve plant? This compact plant features deep green leaves with stunning red veins to help you ring in the holidays with the perfect color palette. It thrives indoors and only has one main requirement to stay lush: adequately moist soil. The biggest thing to know about this plant is that it will wilt without sufficient water, and it may not survive repeated fainting spells. Additionally, give your plant bright indirect light so that it retains its color.

An anthurium in a pot
Gulsina / Shutterstock

Anthurium plant

The anthurium features long-lasting flowers that will likely last you through the holidays and beyond. The anthurium red plant is an especially festive choice with its scarlet flowers. It thrives in bright indirect light, yielding more blooms with more light. It doesn’t need to be watered too often — just give it a drink when half of the soil dries out. Fertilizers with phosphorus will also help with bloom production, but make sure only to feed your plant during the growing season.

Paperwhites
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Paperwhite

If you want a minimalist look this holiday season, pick out an elegant paperwhite plant to place on your mantle or table. You don’t even need soil — all you need is a tall glass and gravel and water to place bulbs in for beautiful blooms in weeks. In fact, some supermarkets and garden centers even sell bulbs already in water. If you want your paperwhite plant around beyond the holidays, place your bulbs in a potting mix and give them bright light. If you live in zones eight to 11, you can plant bulbs from the water method outside to encourage spring blooms.

Lemon cypress pine tree
S1001 / Shutterstock

Lemon cypress

Don’t quite want to deal with the size of a Christmas tree (or the post-holiday cleanup)? Get yourself an indoor cypress tree that’ll last and exude a lovely lemon scent. The dwarf variety usually doesn’t grow any bigger than 3 feet tall, making it just big enough for decorations, but not so big that it overwhelms your space. As a houseplant, the lemon cypress tree appreciates cool temperatures around 60 degrees Fahrenheit and anywhere between six to eight hours of direct light. Only water your tree when it’s dry, or else brown needles may start shedding.

Several orange miniature roses in a large pot
Totokzww / Shutterstock

Miniature rose plant

If you don’t want to show up to a holiday dinner empty-handed or need an attractive table centerpiece, pick out miniature potted roses — grab white, orange, red, pink, and other varieties! The miniature rose plant will stick around longer than a bouquet. Give it bright light for at least five hours a day, or use grow lights if you don’t get enough natural lighting. The adorable flowers enjoy humidity (either with a pebble tray or a humidifier) and waterings once the top inch of soil dries out. In spring, prune dead foliage and apply a slow-release fertilizer.

Recommended Videos

There’s more to the holidays than rockin’ around the Christmas tree — you can also get festive with colorful houseplants. From poinsettias to paperwhites, there are plenty of Christmas plants that help evoke the holiday spirit while being long lasting and less high maintenance.

Stacey Nguyen
Stacey's work has appeared on sites such as POPSUGAR, HelloGiggles, Buzzfeed, The Balance, TripSavvy, and more. When she's…
5 amazing plants that grow in water, no soil necessary
Start growing plants in water with one of these
Golden pothos cutting rooting in a glass

Gardening can be fun and relaxing, but it can also be a bit messy. If you aren’t fond of dirt and would rather keep your house and your hands clean, then starting a hydroponic garden might be the right choice for you. Hydroponic gardening can sound intimidating, but really all it means is growing plants in water rather than soil.

While you might immediately think of water lilies and lotuses, those plants do actually grow roots in the soil at the bottom of ponds! Hydroponic gardening means there’s no soil at all. Not all plants are suited for it, but here are five plants that grow in water for you to consider starting with.
Orchids

Read more
The 6 best indoor hanging plants to add to your inside garden
Add these indoor hanging plants to your collection
A group of hanging basket plants

Hanging plants that trail over pots and sway in the wind are fun and relaxing. If your hanging plants are outdoors, you can grow geraniums, lobelia, and even morning glories. However, not all outdoor hanging plants make good indoor hanging plants. Some plants struggle to thrive indoors, while others prefer it. If you’re looking for an excellent indoor hanging plant to add to your home, office, or dorm room, then here are a few of our favorites!
Spider plant

No list of the easiest or best indoor plants is complete without spider plants. While the smaller ones make cute desk plants, the larger ones are perfect for hanging baskets. Spider plants are hardy and easy to care for, tolerant of most conditions, and look very lovely with their long leaves and tiny flowers draped over the side of a hanging basket. For the best results, place your spider plant in bright, indirect sun or light shade, and water it whenever the soil dries out. Don’t panic if you forget to water it for a while, as spider plants can bounce back from neglect.
Philodendron

Read more
Hoya care: A complete guide to the ‘wax plant’
Grow your own hoya plant easily with these tips
Pink hoya flowers

Whether it’s a pothos in your office or a philodendron in your dorm room, indoor plants are a fun and easy way to add greenery and color to any environment. If you’re looking for a new plant to add to your houseplant collection, why not try growing a hoya plant? Also called wax plants or wax flowers, these gorgeous plants are known for their glossy leaves and unique clusters of tiny, fuzzy flowers. They’re fairly easy to grow, so here’s everything you need to know about hoya plant care to get started!
Planting hoya plants

Hoya plants prefer light, well-draining soil. A mix of cactus soil and regular potting soil works well, but some gardeners prefer to use a bark-based soil, like the kind commonly used for orchids. Choose a container with plenty of drainage holes to avoid excess water building up in the soil.

Read more