GARDENING

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HOUSEPLANTS make great Yuletide gifts and if the word “Christmas” is in the name it is a sure sign the colours will last.

CHRISTMAS CHEER is a succulent of the sedum or stonecrop type called Sedum rubrotinctum. It has yellow, star-shaped flowers but its long-term appeal comes from the red tints on the fleshy leaves which develop after a long period in bright sunlight. AFTER-CARE: It should last forever. Just water when the compost is nearly dry and feed the plant with a liquid general fertiliser monthly It is best to buy houseplants from a florist or garden centre where houseplants are displayed indoors, in a fairly warm, humid atmosphere, never outdoors where cold weather will affect the plants.

Each plant should have its own label giving its name and cultural advice. Once the plant is on display at home, don’t water it too much or too often. Over-watering kills more houseplants than anything else.

CHRISTMAS CACTUS is an obvious place to start. It is best bought with the flowers in

LONG-LASTING: Christmas Cactus (left) and Christmas Cheer

bud a couple of weeks before Christmas –the trailing red or rose-pink flowers with long anthers will then appear at the right time and remain for two or three weeks afterwards. It is sold under two Latin names, Schlumbergera truncata and Zygocactus truncatus. AFTER-CARE: Water, feed and keep in a sunny place and it will grow bigger and better for years. If the plant is threatening to grow too big, take cuttings.Asection of two or three of the flat, fleshy leaves will root easily in gritty compost.

CHRISTMAS BEGONIA: Begonia cheimantha, is a pretty plant which needs some support to keep it upright. It grows to 45cm (18in) and produces white or pink flowers 2.5cm (1in) wide. Keep it bushy by pinching out the tips when it is young. AFTER-CARE: It is not worth keeping after flowering but young shoots can be used for taking cuttings.

CHRISTMAS HEATHER: Erica canaliculata, bears long-lasting, tiny white blooms, sometimes tinged pink, with black centres. AFTER-CARE: Either scrap the plant after flowering or trim back the shoots, water and feed with lime-free fertiliser regularly, and stand the pot outdoors in summer, still watering thoroughly.

CHRISTMAS PEPPER, Capsicum annuum, is one of the most attractive in the Yuletide bunch. It is a small, shrubby plant with white flowers in summer and then – more significantly – long, upward-pointing fruits, starting green and then turning yellow, purple or more often red. One variety has even been named Christmas Greeting. AFTER-CARE: Discard the plant when the fruits drop. Seeds taken from the fruits, dried and kept in a cool place will germinate easily in early spring but growing good specimens can be difficult.

FROSTYFAVOURITESFROSTYFAVOURITES

SNOW WHITE: Winter weather lends added beauty to the likes of the silk-tassle bush Garrya Elliptic, left, and the attractive evrgreen leaves of Cotoneaster conspicuous

DON’T frown at frost or sneer at snow. When those delicate white decorations descend, dull foliage starts to sparkle.

The spotted laurel,Aucuba japonica, has large, pale evergreen leaves flecked with gold. It is attractive throughout the year but, during the short days and frosty nights of deep winter, it looks even more attractive.

Despite its name, it is not a laurel at all but a member of the dogwood family and among the toughest shrubs in cultivation.

It is very hardy, tolerant of shade, salt winds, urban pollution and dry soil, and apparently immune to pests and diseases.

If buying one, look for floppy, rather than erect, branches that will show off the leaves best. The flowers are insignificant but female versions bear scarlet berries from autumn if a male form is nearby.

Don’t eat the berries – they are slightly poisonous and can cause diarrhoea.

Cotoneasters are the scarlet ladies of autumn with berries that linger into winter and look even prettier dusted with frost.

As well as scarlet, the berries come in other shades of red as well as purple and, in some, the leaves turn red or bronze. They are hardy and will tolerate poor or dry soil and partial shade.

In spring or early summer cotoneasters produce pink flower buds which open to small white blooms. Many species are smothered with them, filling the air around with their almond scent and attracting bees.

The silk-tassel bush, Garrya elliptica, is a large, glossy evergreen shrub that hardly gets noticed from spring to autumn.

Then, as Christmas shopping starts and most other plants hibernate, the garrya sprouts numerous clusters of silver-green, dangling catkins, silky at first and later fluffy.

As the weeks pass they grow longer, often becoming yellowish-green, until they reach several inches in length.

Come frost, come snow, the catkins sway in the breeze looking delightful well into the new year.Among varieties with the best catkins are James Roof and Evie.