If you don’t really love the look of poinsettias, or if you just can’t seem to keep one alive, one of these Christmas plant alternatives may be just the thing you’re looking for!
I love the idea of fresh greenery and live plants as Christmas decor, but I’ve never really loved the look of poinsettias. The fact that I’ve never been able to keep one alive for long may have something to do with it. 🙂 Another reason that you may not pick a poinsettia as your Christmas plant of choice is that they’re toxic to pets. This can limit where you’re able to use them if you need to find a place where dogs and cats can’t try a little nibble. I teamed up with my favourite local garden centre, The Glasshouse, today to share some information about a few different festive Christmas plant alternatives that you can try instead of poinsettias. The great thing about all of these options is that even though you might decide to buy them right before Christmas, they’ll actually keep your home looking cheerful and green all winter long and even into the spring and summer!
Beautiful Christmas Plant Alternatives
Anthurium
This very tropical-looking plant gives you a really beautiful pop of color at Christmastime, but the blooms can also last for months after the holiday. The key it to make sure that you keep this plant in a room with plenty of daylight and that you remember not to touch the blooms. The oils from your fingers can actually make the blooms fade more quickly. This plant is beautiful, but it’s toxic to pets, so either avoid this one if you have furry friends in the house or just keep it up somewhere that they can’t get to it.
Cyclamen
This plant will provide a nice pop of red in your home, but it’s also available in a bright pink and a white as well. The really neat thing about cyclamen is that they actually do well in cooler areas of your home where poinsettias would typically die. You can even place a cyclamen right next to a door that you open frequently and it will be just fine. In fact, a temperature between 50-60 degrees is just perfect for these plants. Cyclamen are known to cause flu-like symptoms in cats and dogs though, so this is another one to avoid if you have pets.
Christmas Plant Alternatives That are Safe for Pets
Rosemary
I just love the look of these rosemary topiaries and I’ve been planning to pick a few up for the holidays since summertime. I think this one is my favourite of the Christmas plant alternatives. Rosemary is also pet-friendly and rosemary oil has been known to reduce stress levels, boost mental activity, encourage clarity, and relieve fatigue. So it’s pretty much perfect to have around at Christmas. 🙂 Keep your rosemary plant where it can get lots of light and it will survive happily right until spring, when you can plant it outside if you want to!
Frosty Fern
Fun fact: Frosty ferns are, in fact, not ferns at all. They’re actually more like a spiky moss and they like the same growing conditions as moss as well! Somewhere like a bathroom or a partly-sunny kitchen window sill above the sink or a dishwasher is a perfect location for these little plants. And of course, they’re pet-friendly!
Any of these plants would make a great addition to your Christmas decor as well as a really interesting hostess gift! Do you have a favourite non-poinsettia Christmas plant?
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Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.