Perhaps more than other holidays, Christmas has many flowers specifically timed to have their best display on and around the 25th of the month. Most are tropical perennials and among my favorites are:
Amaryllis: These showy bulbs with large, colorful tubular flowers are a core part of every late year display. I keep them year to year but don’t force them to flower until the months after Christmas through summer. For seasonal displays, I purchase a new bulb or two each year, replenishing my supply.
Paperwhites (Narcissus papyraceus): You either love or hate these fragrant flowers with their delicate and highly scented florets. Though many toss them after they have bloomed they can be kept and replanted outside in Spring.
Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera bridgesii): This differs from its Thanksgiving counterpart (S. truncate) by its rounded rather than pointy edges. Both types are lovely and ready to bloom in abundance with tubular flowers of all colors in North America at the end of the year.
Cyclamen: This is perhaps the most exotic and delicate of the seasonal flowers to me. With many different flower colors and leaf patters, this tuber sends up countless shoots of drooping flower buds that explode into a fantastic shape.
Poinsettia (Eurphorbia pulcherrima): Every store is filled with this Central American native in a variety of colors. My late mother-in-law had one that was over two stories high against her house in Guatemala that bloomed like clockwork every Christmas season. A far cry from the puny specimens we get for our mantle.
