1. Poinsettia

The quintessential winter plant, poinsettias are a favorite for decorating homes and offices and giving as gifts throughout the holiday season. Poinsettias naturally bloom in the winter because they are sensitive to light and respond to the shorter days of winter. Although many people think their brightly colored bracts (leaves) are the poinsettia’s flowers, their actual flowers are the small clusters of yellow found at the center of the bracts.

You’re likely most familiar with red and white poinsettia varieties, but they come in a range of hues including yellow, orange, and even pink! For a fresh take on a traditional holiday look, we recommend ordering pink poinsettias and mixing them with red and white varieties.

2. Christmas Cactus

We love Christmas cactus plants for brightening up the dark months of winter. They bloom naturally around Christmastime, and other similar varieties such as the Thanksgiving cactus and Easter cactus bloom close to their respective holidays. Christmas cacti are available in a variety of prettily hued flowers that range in shades from whites and pinkish whites to vibrant magenta, red, and orange.

The Christmas cactus is also a great choice for a house with small children and pets. Although ingesting them can cause an upset stomach, no part of a Christmas cactus is actually poisonous. To care for yours, be sure to keep it in a pot with soil that drains well and water it regularly. These cacti are native to the humid forests of Brazil and don’t tolerate drought as well as their cacti cousins from the desert.

3. Azalea

These lush and vibrant flowering plants are absolutely radiant when they’re grown to bloom in the winter, and they’re so pretty they almost don’t look real. Azaleas feature dark-green leaves and abundant blooms of papery, delicate petals. Depending on the variety, they’re available in shades of red, pink, yellow, orange, purple, and white.

Azaleas have pretty hardy bulbs, which means that planted in an outdoor Danvers garden with a healthy covering of mulch, they’ll be able to withstand the winter. If you’re transplanting bulbs from your florist, be sure to plant them during their natural blooming times, in either late spring or early fall.

4. Succulents

Succulents are a perfect choice for growing indoors throughout the year. They’re available in countless varieties that feature segments of all different shapes, colors, and textures. One of our favorite succulents is the kalanchoe plant, which can bloom for months on end from fall until spring. This succulent features clusters of brightly colored flowers in shades of pink, yellow, orange, red, and white. Succulents are desert plants, which means they can survive with minimal attention from their caregivers. Be sure to provide them with plenty of sunlight, a pot that drains easily, and water only when soil is completely dry.

5. Orchids

Another type of plant that blooms naturally in the winter, orchids respond to the changing temperatures, which allows them to provide much-needed bursts of color in the winter. They bloom in literally tens of thousands of varieties all of which feature unparalleled beauty.

Orchids naturally grow from the bark of trees in humid forests. As a result, they like to be kept moist in well-draining soil. We recommend misting them with water occasionally during the winter when your home’s furnace might create a less than ideal level of humidity inside your house.