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Ken Lain, the Mountain Gardener, invites you to bring holiday cheer into your home with living greenery and seasonal blooms. From classic Poinsettias to long-lasting Christmas Cactus, Ken reveals how to select and care for plants that brighten the season and continue to flourish into the New Year. He also highlights essential tools that make indoor gardening easier and sets you up for a successful spring. A thoughtful guide to enjoying the holidays through plants, practical tips, and gifts that grow joy year-round.
As Christmas Eve quickly approaches, the spirit of the season should be filling your home. You’ve put up the lights, hung the ornaments, and perhaps even baked a few batches of holiday cookies. But for us gardeners, the holiday warmth isn’t complete without the living greenery that truly brings the season to life.
If you are like many gardeners, you might be rushing around for those last-minute touches. Don’t stress! You still have time to grab three essential items that will not only brighten your holiday but also enhance your gardening life well into the New Year. These aren’t just gifts; they are tools and plants that embody the joy of growing.
Essential #1: The Gift of Lasting Blooms (Poinsettia & Christmas Cactus)
Nothing says “Merry Christmas” quite like the flash of red, white, or pink from a healthy holiday plant. If your festive foliage is looking a little tired or you simply need one more burst of color for that centerpiece or entryway table, now is the time to act.
The Poinsettia, Euphorbia pulcherrima, is the classic choice. It’s a tropical beauty, and the secret to keeping its colorful bracts vibrant is simple: protect it from cold drafts and direct heat. Keep it away from cold windows and hot air vents. When watering, never let it sit in a saucer of standing water. Soggy soil is the quickest way to kill a poinsettia. My best advice? Treat it like a houseplant—bright, indirect light is best.
The Christmas Cactus is for a longer-lasting, more unusual display, a burst of holiday color. These cascading beauties are overflowing with flowers right now, adding a spectacular look to any indoor spot. A Christmas Cactus thrives on neglect, which is why gardeners love it!
Water it sparingly, letting the top inch or two of soil dry out completely between waterings. Place it in a moderately bright spot, and it will often reward you with blooms again for Easter. These festive plants are more than just decoration; they are a sign of life and growth, a bright promise of the spring to come.
Essential #2: The Perfect Watering Tool (Water Can with Water Meter)
One of the most common reasons beautiful houseplants—holiday or otherwise—fail is improper watering. It’s either drowning or drought! This is where the perfect gift for yourself or the gardener in your life comes in: a sleek, functional water can paired with a simple water meter.
Why a water can? Control. A well-designed watering can, especially one with a long, thin spout, allows you to deliver water precisely to the soil and not all over the decorative pot or plant leaves. This prevents fungal issues and ensures the water reaches the root zone where it is needed.
A Moisture Meter is the real game-changer. Forget the guesswork! A water meter takes the mystery out of knowing when to water your Poinsettia, your Christmas Cactus, or any other houseplant. You simply insert the probe into the soil, and it gives you a reading. No more guessing by lifting the pot or sticking your finger in the soil (though that’s a decent backup method). It’s the ultimate tool for avoiding both overwatering and underwatering—the two deadly ‘Ws’ of indoor gardening.
Essential #3: Ready for Spring Cleanup (Trake Hand Tool)
While your outdoor garden might be sleeping under a blanket of mulch, a true gardener is always planning for spring. The third essential you still need is a high-quality hand tool, and I recommend a Trake.
The term “trake” is my nickname for a combination hand tool that blends the functionality of a small, narrow trowel with that of a sturdy three-pronged hand cultivator (or rake). It’s the perfect size for container gardening, working in raised beds, or weeding in tight spaces. You can use the trowel side for planting small bulbs or succulents, and the rake side for loosening compacted soil and clearing weeds around your emerging spring perennials.
The holidays are about giving, and a high-quality, comfortable-to-use Trake is a gift of efficiency and ease for future gardening projects. It’s a physical reminder that just beyond the snow, the earth is waiting to be turned again.
The Ultimate Last-Minute Cheer: Watters Gift Cards
Finally, you truly run out of time or know a gardener with specific spring planting needs. In that case, there is no better choice than a Watters Garden Center Holiday Gift Card.
A gift card gives your gardener the power to choose that special rose, the perfect evergreen, or the exact gardening glove set when the season is right for planting. It’s the simplest way to send beauty, peace, and a little green happiness this holiday season.
You can grab them quickly and easily online at WattersGardenCenter.com
Choose the amount that matches your love, then have it delivered digitally exactly when you want. We’ve made gifting to gardeners easy this holiday.
This Christmas, remember that the best gifts are the ones that grow. A little love for your indoor plants and a few choice tools for the future are the best holiday essentials a gardener can ask for.
Bonus: Watters Online Exclusive Hard-to-find garden gifts
Merry Christmas and Happy Growing!
Until next issue, I’ll be helping local gardeners with the perfect gifts here at Watters Garden Center.
Ken Lain can be found throughout the week at Watters Garden Center, 1815 W. Iron Springs Rd in Prescott, or contacted through his website at WattersGardenCenter.com or Top10Houseplants.com.
Get more gardening tips from Watters Garden Center in the Mountain Gardener Column on Signals A Z.com.
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