By Taun Beddes | December 26, 2025
When it’s time for the tree to come down and holiday decorations get packed away, our homes can feel empty and dreary. Brighten up your space with live plants that bring interesting texture and color to your home. Here are some perfect picks for plants that grow well indoors during winter.
- Holiday cactus – This includes Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter cactus. They are closely related succulents that are easy to grow indoors. The winter blooms are spectacular and can be found in red, white, pink, and yellow. Christmas cactus starts blooming in late November and may bloom all winter. Long nights and cooler temperatures signal flower buds to develop. Keep them near oversized windows.
- Amaryllis – These bulbs are often sold in grocery stores and home improvement stores, but you can find higher-quality bulbs and unique colors at garden centers. They produce elegant, long leaves and huge, striking flowers that last 8-10 weeks. Amaryllis grow best in bright light.
- Poinsettia – Poinsettias provide bold colors, even after the holidays. They can be grown as house plants for many years, but it can be challenging for them to rebloom without greenhouse conditions. Poinsettias will temporarily tolerate any light level but eventually decline without bright light.
- Norfolk Island pine – Norfolk pines look like living Christmas trees, and the soft, deep green needles look great year-round. Norfolk Island pines need bright, indirect light but will manage with low light for short periods. They can tolerate somewhat cooler conditions if they are provided with sufficient light.
- Kalanchoe – These are known for their beautiful blooms and are available in grocery stores and garden centers during the winter. Flower colors include red, pink, orange, yellow, and white. It is not easy to get them to rebloom, but long nights and cooler temperatures may help signal flower buds to develop. Keep them near oversized windows to provide these conditions. They prefer bright light and can be moved outdoors in the summer.
Tips for choosing plants:
- Look for short, bushy plants, which tend to be healthy and maintain their beauty. Inspect plants for signs of disease or insect damage before purchasing.
- Place the plant in a box to support it in your vehicle so it doesn’t get damaged during transport, and put it in your home in a place where you will remember to water it.
- Be sure to minimize a plant’s exposure to freezing weather. Ask the store to provide a sleeve to protect it from the cold during transport to your home. Most holiday plants are native to areas with much warmer winters, and the cold can be a shock.
- Water plants every 7 to 10 days during the winter, but check them regularly to determine moisture levels. Root-bound plants or plants in smaller containers may need to be watered more frequently. If the plant container is covered with a decorative foil wrapper, remove it when watering. Allow the water to drain from the pot into a sink or tub for 30 minutes before placing it back in the wrapper. Watering with the decorative wrapper on can cause roots to rot due to a lack of drainage.
- Look for attractive containers and saucers to re-pot your plants after the holidays. Keep potting soil and indoor plant fertilizer on hand.