Top 10 Christmas plants
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Pack your garden and home with these festive favourites and you’ll have plenty of interest to brighten up even the dullest winter day
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Common winterberry
The orange-red berries of this shrub intensify in colour as winter progresses. Unlike holly, the trees lose their leaves in winter to fully expose the handsome berries. Likes a sunny spot and can reach 5m tall.
Latin name: Ilex verticillata
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Christmas cactus
This stunning houseplant blooms on or around the winter solstice. It prefers a steady, cool temperature that’s free of draughts and heat sources. Let the compost dry out between waterings. Place on a sunny windowsill and it will thrive.
![Rosemary](https://www.themomentmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Rosemary.jpg)
Rosemary
Not, at first glance, an obvious festive plant, but evergreen rosemary has its advantages at this time of year. Use the evergreen sprigs to create a dense, aromatic wreath, or use them in Christmas arrangements. It needs a free-draining soil and plenty of sun.
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Holly
Perhaps the most charismatic and much-loved of the Christmas plants, holly will add colour with its rich-red berries and shiny leaves, as well as acting as a feed source for hungry garden birds. Unruly plants can be kept in check by pruning back branches as required.
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Christmas rose
This remarkable perennial blooms outdoors in the depths of winter. The pretty, saucer-like flowers are complemented by thick, leathery foliage that looks good year-round. Prefers dappled shade and makes a great ground-cover choice.
Latin name: Helleborus niger
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Mistletoe
How about having a go at growing your own? Pick plump, ripe, pure-white berries that haven’t dried out and smear these onto the undersides of 20cm-diameter branches in late winter. Suitable host trees include apple, pear, rowan, pyracantha and cotoneaster.
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Poinsettia
A Christmas favourite that needs no introduction! Grow your poinsettia in a bright spot clear of temperature fluctuations. Keep the compost moist but never let plants sit in water. Pinch out the flowers once the red leaves have started to fall.
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Christmas orchid
Try this Columbian native for a splash of sophistication. The orchid reaches floriferous splendor in late winter following an autumn rest period. After flowering lightly mist plants on sunny days to encourage new growth.
Latin name: Cattleya trianae
![ivy-CREDIT-time_anchor](https://www.themomentmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/ivy-CREDIT-time_anchor.jpg)
Ivy
Ivies aren’t dull! They come in a wide variety of shapes, colours and leaf sizes, though all will trail or climb. Plant in spring, setting plants 30cm apart in a shady spot. Ivy can be left to climb up a wall or over trellis. Many produce handsome berries to complement holly.
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Norway spruce
This is the traditional Christmas tree, though there are plenty of others that could claim the crown. Norway spruce is a beautiful tree with short, dark-green needles. Prefers a well-drained, slightly acidic soil. Beware, as it can reach 40m tall!
Latin name: Picea abies
Inside or out, there is a surprising variety of plants that bloom or look their best at this time of year