Christmas Plants Have Colorful Fruits and Berries

In some cultures, red holly berries were considered good luck, and after the holiday season the dried red berries were kept in the house for the remainder of the year. Now we have other plants with red fruits and berries for use at Christmas. These potted plants include the Jerusalem cherry, Christmas pepper, ardisia or coralberry, and even holly.

The Jerusalem cherry, sometimes called Christmas cherry, is one of the least expensive holiday potted plants. Good plants have abundant berries which are about marble-sized and bright orange-red. This plant is a close relative of the tomato, but there is no similarity in the quality of the fruits. The berries of this plant are often listed as poisonous. However, there is apparently no record of anyone ever dying as a result of eating them.

They do apparently contain some alkaloids which have caused gastric upsets. Therefore, the berries should not be eaten, and the plants should be kept well out of reach of small children or pets. The plant uses moisture rapidly and should be kept constantly moist. Keep it in a bright window with some direct sunlight. The plant lasts longer if kept in or moved to a cool room at night where temperatures run close to 50 degrees.

The Christmas pepper also fits well into the holiday color scheme. It also needs bright light and constant moisture in the home. It tolerates higher temperatures than the Jerusalem cherry. The fruits may be very "hot," and caution is required around small children. The small, pointed pepper may be dried and used as other hot peppers, but they can be very painful to toddlers who chew oh them or rub them into their eyes.

Neither of these plants should be kept for more than one season. They grow easily from seeds, and if desired, seeds may be saved from them and sown in pots in the spring. These small plants in their pots should be sunk outdoors into the garden in a sunny location. Lift or turn the pots Ardisia, or coralberry, has deep-green leathery leaves and bright red berries the size of holly berries. It also does best in a sunny window. It prefers rich, acid soil high in organic matter. Therefore, in areas of hard water high in calcium, it is best to water the plant with rain water, distilled water or other available soft water.

Keep it moist at all times. Plunge the pot outdoors in a protected spot in summer, and bring it back indoors in the fall. As a potted plant, holly requires conditions similar to ardisia. It likes acid soil and good light. It prefers cool temperatures and should be placed outdoors for the summer. Since it requires both male and female plants for berry production, and insects for pollination berries are not normally produced indoors.

Source:

http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/hortcult/flowers/holiplts.htm