Winter Holiday Plants: A Care and Safety Guide

Holiday plants brighten the darkest weeks of the year, but a few of the most popular ones are genuinely toxic to curious pets and children, and many get tossed out in January for lack of simple care. The classics, poinsettia, Christmas cactus, amaryllis, and paperwhites, plus greenery like holly and mistletoe, are easy to enjoy once you know their basic care and which ones to keep out of reach.

Popular winter holiday plants, care, and safety

Plant	Quick care	Pet and child safety
Poinsettia	Bright indirect light, warm room, water when the soil surface is dry.	Listed toxic to pets but widely over-rated; mild mouth or stomach irritation at most.
Christmas cactus	Bright filtered light, water about weekly, cool nights to set buds.	Listed non-toxic to pets by the ASPCA; one of the safer picks.
Amaryllis	Bright light with some direct sun, keep moist but never soggy.	Toxic to pets; the bulb is the hazardous part, so keep it out of reach.
Paperwhite narcissus	Force in water or soil in a bright, cool spot; blooms in a few weeks.	Toxic to pets and people; the bulbs are the most poisonous part.
Holly	A sunny spot gives the best berries; grow in rich, well-drained soil.	Berries are toxic to pets and children; remove them before decorating.
Mistletoe	Sold as cut greenery, not a houseplant; hang it well out of reach.	Toxic to pets; keep berries and leaves away from kids, though small amounts of American mistletoe rarely cause serious harm.
Rosemary topiary	Full sun to part shade, drought-tolerant; a fragrant culinary herb often trained as a holiday topiary.	Listed non-toxic to pets by the ASPCA; one of the safest festive choices.

Classic Holiday Plants and How to Care for Them

Four potted plants do most of the holiday decorating, and all four are easy to keep alive with the right light and careful watering. Poinsettia wants bright, indirect light near a sunny window and a warm room, and Clemson Cooperative Extension advises keeping it around 65 to 70 degrees F, away from hot or cold drafts, and watering only when the soil surface feels dry.^[1] Christmas cactus likes bright filtered light and weekly watering, and University of Minnesota Extension notes that to rebloom it needs about six weeks of long, uninterrupted nights and cool temperatures starting in fall.^[2] Amaryllis and paperwhite narcissus are both forced from bulbs; Clemson Cooperative Extension recommends a bright spot and soil kept moist but never soggy, with paperwhites blooming just a few weeks after forcing begins.^[3] For the full details on two of these, see our guides to growing poinsettias and forcing paperwhite narcissus.

Holiday Greenery: Holly, Mistletoe, and Christmas Trees

Beyond the potted plants, holiday greenery sets the scene, and a little care keeps it fresh and safe. Holly grows in sun or part shade, but Clemson Cooperative Extension notes a sunny spot gives the best berry production, in rich, well-drained, slightly acidic soil.^[4] Mistletoe is sold as cut greenery rather than a houseplant, so there is no watering to do, just hang it safely overhead. For a fresh-cut Christmas tree, University of Illinois Extension recommends making a fresh cut across the trunk base before setting it in a stand, using a stand that holds at least a quart of water per inch of trunk diameter, and checking the water daily because a fresh tree drinks heavily in its first week.^[5] If you would rather plant a tree you can keep, see our guide to potted living Christmas trees.

Which Holiday Plants Are Toxic to Pets and Children

This is the part worth reading before you decorate: several holiday favorites are toxic, and a couple of the scariest reputations are actually overblown. Start with the famous one. The ASPCA does list poinsettia as toxic to dogs, cats, and horses because of its irritant sap, but describes it as generally over-rated in toxicity, usually causing only mild mouth or stomach irritation.^[6] The National Capital Poison Center is blunter still, calling the deadly-poinsettia story a myth and noting that exposure usually has very little effect beyond possible mild nausea, vomiting, or a skin rash.^[7]

The genuine hazards are the berries and bulbs. The ASPCA lists holly as toxic to dogs, cats, and horses due to saponins,^[8] and the National Capital Poison Center warns that holly berries are poisonous to people too, with children having shown symptoms after swallowing as few as two berries, so it recommends removing berries before decorating with fresh holly.^[9] Mistletoe is also listed by the ASPCA as toxic to pets,^[10] though the Poison Center adds useful nuance: American mistletoe is less toxic than the European species, and while you should still keep it away from children and pets, small accidental amounts rarely cause serious poisoning.^[11] Both holiday bulbs are toxic as well: the ASPCA lists amaryllis as toxic to pets from the compound lycorine,^[12] and lists paperwhite narcissus as toxic too, noting the bulbs are the most poisonous part.^[13] The National Capital Poison Center confirms that this bulb family concentrates lycorine in the bulb, where it can cause mouth and stomach irritation if eaten, so store loose bulbs out of reach.^[14]

The reassuring news is that two of the most popular picks are safe for pets. The ASPCA lists Christmas cactus as non-toxic to dogs, cats, and horses,^[15] and lists rosemary, a popular holiday topiary, as non-toxic as well.^[16] A live Christmas tree is a gray area: there is no single ASPCA entry for a fir or pine Christmas tree, so it is best treated as not evaluated rather than proven safe, and the ASPCA points to swallowed needles and the stand water as the real pet hazards, which is why you should use only plain water in the stand.^[17]

Keeping Holiday Plants Healthy Through the Season

Most holiday plants fail from the same two things: too little light and too much water. Give them a bright spot out of direct hot sun, let the soil surface dry before watering again, and never leave a pot standing in a saucer of water, which is the fastest way to rot the roots. Keep them away from heater vents, fireplaces, and cold drafts, since the warm, dry air indoors is hard on plants that prefer cool nights. With that routine, a Christmas cactus or amaryllis can live for years and rebloom, and even a poinsettia can hold its color for months. For a fragrant, pet-safe plant that doubles as a kitchen herb long after the holidays, a rosemary topiary is hard to beat.

Looking for holiday plants that fit your home and your household? Stop by any Green Thumb Nursery and our team can help you choose festive plants and point out which to keep away from pets and children.

Holiday Plants FAQ

What are the most popular winter holiday plants?

The classics are poinsettia, Christmas cactus, amaryllis, and paperwhite narcissus, plus greenery like holly, mistletoe, and fresh Christmas trees. Most are easy to care for with bright, indirect light and careful watering.

Are poinsettias poisonous?

Far less than their reputation. The National Capital Poison Center calls the deadly-poinsettia story a myth, and the ASPCA lists it as toxic but over-rated, typically causing only mild mouth or stomach irritation.^[7]

Which holiday plants are toxic to pets?

Holly, mistletoe, amaryllis, and paperwhite are all listed toxic to pets by the ASPCA, and poinsettia is toxic but mild. Holly berries and the amaryllis and paperwhite bulbs are the most hazardous parts.^[8]

Which holiday plants are safe around pets?

Christmas cactus and rosemary are both listed non-toxic to dogs and cats by the ASPCA, making them the safest festive choices for homes with pets.^[15]

How do you care for a Christmas cactus?

Give it bright, filtered light and water about weekly, never letting it sit in water. University of Minnesota Extension notes it needs about six weeks of long, uninterrupted nights and cool temperatures in fall to set its buds.^[2]

Sources

• [1] Clemson Cooperative Extension, Poinsettia: hgic.clemson.edu
• [2] University of Minnesota Extension, Holiday Cacti: extension.umn.edu
• [3] Clemson Cooperative Extension, Forcing Bulbs Indoors: hgic.clemson.edu
• [4] Clemson Cooperative Extension, Holly: hgic.clemson.edu
• [5] University of Illinois Extension, Caring for Christmas Trees: extension.illinois.edu
• [6] ASPCA, Poinsettia (toxic and non-toxic plants): aspca.org
• [7] National Capital Poison Center, Poinsettias: poison.org
• [8] ASPCA, American Holly: aspca.org
• [9] National Capital Poison Center, Holly Berries: poison.org
• [10] ASPCA, Mistletoe (American): aspca.org
• [11] National Capital Poison Center, Mistletoe: poison.org
• [12] ASPCA, Amaryllis: aspca.org
• [13] ASPCA, Paper White: aspca.org
• [14] National Capital Poison Center, Daffodils: poison.org
• [15] ASPCA, Christmas Cactus: aspca.org
• [16] ASPCA, Rosemary: aspca.org
• [17] ASPCA, Holiday Safety Tips: aspca.org

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