Festive Plants in Small Homes: Gifts That Last, Pet Safety and Bulbs
- The RHS gives poinsettias a minimum of 13 to 16°C (55 to 60°F), which is why one carried home unwrapped on a frosty day drops its leaves within the week.
- An amaryllis bulb flowers about six to eight weeks after planting, so one given in December blooms in late January or February.
- The ASPCA describes poinsettia as "generally over-rated in toxicity", and US Poison Control says it can irritate the mouth and stomach but is not fatal if eaten.
- The ASPCA warns that lily poisoning in cats is often fatal if treatment is delayed more than 18 hours, and that pollen and vase water count as exposure.
- A pot-grown Christmas tree should spend no more than 12 days indoors, according to the RHS.
Most festive plants are bought in a warm shop, carried through a cold car park, stood next to a radiator and watered every time someone walks past with a jug. By the first week of January they are compost. The plants are not difficult. They are mostly being killed by kindness and central heating.
This guide covers the winter holidays from late November to early January, Thanksgiving and Christmas included, for people growing in flats and small homes. It deals with which gift plants are worth buying, what is and is not a poisoning risk, what you can still plant in December, and what to do with the tree.
Which gift plants last beyond the holidays?
The RHS guide to Christmas-flowering houseplants splits them by room temperature, and that split explains most failures. Poinsettias and orchids want a warm room at around 20°C (68°F). Cyclamen and indoor azaleas want a bright, cool one at around 10 to 15°C (50 to 59°F).
Put a cyclamen in a heated sitting room and it collapses. Put a poinsettia in an unheated porch and it does the same.
| Plant | Where to put it | Watering | Afterwards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poinsettia | Bright, warm room out of direct sun and draughts. Never below 13°C (55°F) | Only when the surface of the compost feels dry. Let it drain fully | Most are discarded. Reflowering needs less than 12 hours of light a day from late September |
| Amaryllis (Hippeastrum) | Warm, around 21°C (70°F), to start. Move to 15 to 18°C (60 to 65°F) once in flower to make blooms last | Sparingly until leaves appear, then regularly. No water left standing in the saucer | Cut the spent stalk, keep the leaves growing and feed. The bulb can flower again for years |
| Christmas cactus | Bright light but not full sun. An east-facing sill is ideal | Let the top few centimetres dry out between waterings in winter | Long-lived. Give it a cooler, drier rest from late January to late March |
| Cyclamen | Bright and cool, 10 to 15°C (50 to 59°F), away from heat sources | From below, and sparingly. The RHS says occasional drying out does less harm than overwatering | Blooms for several months, goes dormant in summer and can flower again |
| Potted herbs | Your sunniest windowsill | When the compost is dry a few centimetres down | Divide crowded supermarket pots and repot promptly, or they fade within weeks |
Two details save more plants than anything else. The first is the trip home. The RHS poinsettia guide advises asking for the plant to be wrapped and getting it home quickly, because cold exposure causes leaf drop days later. Avoid any poinsettia displayed by a shop door.
The second is the decorative foil or cachepot, which holds water around the roots. Take the pot out to water it, let it drain in the sink, then put it back.
For amaryllis, plant the bulb in a pot only a little larger than itself, with a good part of the bulb above the compost. The RHS says two-thirds should sit above the surface, and University of Minnesota Extension says the top third. Either way, a bulb buried to its neck tends to rot.
If a Christmas cactus drops its buds, the RHS blames fluctuating temperatures, too hot by day and too cold by night, or overwatering. Once buds form, pick a spot and leave the plant there.
Which festive plants are toxic to pets and children?
Some perspective first. The RHS states that serious poisoning by plants is very uncommon in the UK. Most festive plants cause a sore mouth and an upset stomach at worst. One does not belong in that reassuring sentence, and it usually arrives in a bouquet.
| Plant | Cats and dogs | People | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lilies (true lilies and daylilies) | All parts toxic to cats. Small amounts, including pollen groomed from fur or water from the vase, can cause severe kidney injury | The RHS lists lilies as potentially harmful | Do not bring into a home with a cat. Check mixed bouquets |
| Poinsettia | Irritant sap. Mouth and stomach irritation, sometimes vomiting. The ASPCA calls it "generally over-rated in toxicity" | Poison Control: irritating, not fatal. The sap can irritate skin and eyes | Low risk. Keep out of chewing range and wash sap off hands |
| Amaryllis | Toxic: vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, drooling, tremors | The RHS lists it as harmful if eaten | Keep the bulb well out of reach of dogs that dig |
| Cyclamen | Toxic: drooling, vomiting, diarrhoea. Large amounts of tuber can affect the heart and cause seizures | Not for eating | Fine on a high shelf. Not for a home with a determined chewer |
| Mistletoe | Listed as a hazard by Cats Protection | American mistletoe usually causes stomach upset only. European mistletoe is more toxic | Hang it high, and pick up fallen berries |
| Christmas cactus | Non-toxic to cats, dogs and horses according to the ASPCA. On Cats Protection's cat-safe list | No particular concern | The easy choice for a household with animals |
The poinsettia's reputation is the one most out of step with the evidence. US Poison Control reports that researchers trying to find a poisonous dose in animal experiments could not find one, even at the equivalent of 500 to 600 leaves.
The ASPCA's entry reaches the same conclusion for pets. A cat that chews a bract may drool or be sick, and that is usually the end of it.
Lilies are the opposite case: an understated risk. The ASPCA says all parts of true lilies are toxic to cats and that small amounts can cause severe kidney injury. Poisoning is often fatal if treatment is delayed beyond 18 hours.
Cats Protection gives the same warning in the UK. It points out that a cat need only brush past the flowers and lick the pollen from its coat. If a winter bouquet with lilies arrives and you have a cat, pass it on to a neighbour without one.
On mistletoe, Poison Control cites a review of 1,754 exposures to American mistletoe in which the great majority had no symptoms and nobody died. It also notes that the European species sold in the UK is more toxic, so British readers should be the more careful of the two audiences.
Who do you call if a pet or child eats a plant?
If a pet or a person may have eaten part of a plant
For a pet in the UK, phone your vet, or the out-of-hours number on their answerphone. You can also call the Animal PoisonLine on 01202 509 000 at any hour. It charges £35 on weekdays between 8am and 8pm and £45 at other times.
In the US, call your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center on (888) 426-4435, which is staffed all year round and may charge a consultation fee. With lilies and cats, do not wait for symptoms.
For a child or adult in the UK, the NHS says to call 999 or go to A&E if you think someone has swallowed something harmful. Call NHS 111 if you are not sure whether it is harmful.
In the US, Poison Control is free and confidential on 1-800-222-1222 at any hour, and 911 is for an emergency. Do not try to make anyone sick. Take a piece of the plant, or its label, with you.
Is it too late to force bulbs for the holidays?
For flowers on the day itself, usually yes, unless you buy bulbs already in bud. The RHS advice on bulbs for Christmas flowering works backwards from 25 December. Prepared hyacinths are planted in September, kept dark and cool at about 9°C (48°F) for eight to ten weeks, then brought into the light for roughly three weeks before they open.
Paperwhite narcissi flower six to ten weeks after planting. Amaryllis is planted in October. The same arithmetic works for Thanksgiving: an amaryllis planted in the first week of October should be out for the last week of November.
If it is already December, plant anyway and enjoy the result later. An amaryllis started in mid-December flowers in late January or February, which is when a flat most needs something in bloom.
Paperwhites need no soil at all. University of Minnesota Extension notes that they grow readily in a bowl of pebbles and water. Keep daffodil and hyacinth bulbs away from pets and small children, since the RHS lists daffodils as toxic if eaten.
Afterwards, the RHS suggests planting spent hyacinths outdoors at twice their own depth, a job for a friend with a garden if you have none. Paperwhites are best dried off and stored. Amaryllis stays in its pot.
Which herbs can you keep on a windowsill for holiday cooking?
The woody evergreen herbs carry most festive cooking, and they are the ones that cope with winter. Rosemary goes with roast potatoes and lamb, sage with stuffing for a Thanksgiving turkey or a Christmas bird, thyme with almost everything, and a bay leaf in the gravy.
All four will sit in pots on a balcony or doorstep through winter. The RHS advice on herbs in containers says potted herbs survive if they are kept where they cannot freeze solid, become saturated by rain or dry out completely, and recommends a gritty mix with up to 25% coarse grit or perlite.
Soft herbs are harder. The RHS suggests potting up chives, mint, parsley or tarragon from outdoors and standing them on a south-facing windowsill for winter pickings. Basil survives winter only on a warm, sunny sill, and in a northern December most sills are neither.
Supermarket pots need a realistic view. The RHS warns that they are raised under glass and are often too lush and stressed to adapt, and that a pot of basil is really dozens of overcrowded seedlings. Split the rootball into three or four clumps, repot each into fresh compost and you will get weeks more from it.
For December cooking, one pot of parsley treated this way will outlast several packets of cut stems. If you want something sown and cut inside a fortnight, a tray of cress or pea shoots on the sill is covered in our guide to how long things take to grow.
What can you give a gardener for under £20 or $25?
Small-space gardeners are short of room, so the best presents are either consumable or replace something worn out. Prices vary by shop and year, but each of these can usually be found within the budget.
- An amaryllis bulb with a pot only slightly wider than the bulb, and a note saying it will flower in six to eight weeks.
- A pair of sharp snips or small secateurs, which balcony gardeners use far more than a spade.
- A small long-spouted watering can that reaches the back of a windowsill without flooding the front.
- Three packets of fast seed (cress, pea shoots, cut-and-come-again salad) with a seed tray, which is a complete winter windowsill kit.
- A Christmas cactus, for any household with pets.
- A pot of rosemary or bay in a terracotta pot with gritty compost, which looks festive and earns its keep in the kitchen.
- A bag of peat-free compost and a roll of plant labels, delivered in person. Unglamorous, and always used.
Three things to avoid: novelty kits with a teaspoon of compost and unnamed seed, and anything that needs a greenhouse. The third is a lily bouquet for anyone with a cat.
What do you do with a real tree afterwards?
First, keeping it alive until then. For a cut tree the RHS advises sawing 2.5 cm (1 in) off the base, standing it in a holder with a water reservoir and checking the level daily. Treated that way it should stay fresh for about four weeks.
A pot-grown tree is a different proposition. It should come indoors as late as possible and stay no more than 12 days, then go back outside, where it can be grown on in a slightly larger pot each year.
Afterwards, take off every ornament and strand of tinsel. If you have no garden, use the council or city collection. The RHS notes that many UK councils and some retailers shred trees for composting, and that some are used to stabilise sand dunes.
Many US cities and counties run kerbside or drop-off tree recycling in early January. Check your local sanitation department's dates.
With a balcony or small yard you have more options. Snip off the branches and lay them over pots of perennials and bulbs as winter insulation, a use suggested by University of Illinois Extension. Shreddings make a mulch for shrubs and paths.
A neat stack of cut branches in a shady corner will slowly rot down. Illinois Extension adds one firm rule: never burn a Christmas tree in a fireplace or wood stove, because it can contribute to creosote build-up in the flue.
Questions readers ask
Are poinsettias poisonous to cats?
Mildly. The ASPCA lists poinsettia as toxic to cats and dogs because of its irritant sap, which can cause drooling, mouth irritation and sometimes vomiting, and describes it as "generally over-rated in toxicity". Serious poisoning is not expected. Keep the plant out of reach, and phone your vet if your cat has eaten a lot or seems unwell.
Why is my poinsettia dropping its leaves?
Cold or water, almost always. The RHS sets a minimum of 13 to 16°C (55 to 60°F), and a chill on the way home or a draughty windowsill causes leaf drop days later. Overwatering does the same. Water only when the surface of the compost is dry, and never leave the pot standing in water inside its foil sleeve.
How do you get an amaryllis to flower again?
Cut off the spent flower stalk and keep the leaves growing through spring and summer with regular water and feed, since the leaves recharge the bulb. The RHS then suggests a cool rest at about 13°C (55°F) for eight to ten weeks from late September with reduced watering, before bringing it back into warmth. Repot every two or three years.
Can a potted Christmas tree live on a balcony?
For a few years, yes. The RHS advises repotting into a slightly larger container each year using a loam-based compost, up to a pot about 45 cm (18 in) across. Keep it watered through summer. Check the weight your balcony can take, because a large pot of wet compost is heavy.
Sources
- Royal Horticultural Society. Christmas-flowering houseplants; How to grow poinsettias; Hippeastrum; How to grow Christmas cactus. Accessed September 2026.
- Royal Horticultural Society. Bulbs for Christmas flowering; Herbs in containers; Herbs: growing and harvesting. Accessed September 2026.
- Royal Horticultural Society. Christmas trees: types and care; What to do with your old Christmas tree. Accessed September 2026.
- Royal Horticultural Society. Potentially harmful garden plants. Accessed September 2026.
- ASPCA Animal Poison Control. Poinsettia; Amaryllis; Cyclamen; Christmas cactus; Which lilies are toxic to pets?; Poison control contact details. Accessed September 2026.
- Cats Protection. Plants poisonous to cats. Accessed September 2026.
- Poison Control (National Capital Poison Center). Are poinsettias poisonous?; Is mistletoe poisonous?. Accessed September 2026.
- NHS. Poisoning; Animal PoisonLine. Service details and charges. Accessed September 2026.
- University of Minnesota Extension. Your holiday plant survival guide; University of Illinois Extension. Give Christmas trees a second life after the holidays. 27 December 2021.
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