Best Of The Bunch

Christmas cactus They provide a burst of vivid colour and a touch of the tropics to windowsills during the worst of the winter weather, with flowers emerging from their branching and a rc h i n g stems. Leave them alone, watering occasionally, don''t turn the plants on your windowsill or the buds may drop. Also, avoid putting them in draughts or cold temperatures - keeping hybrids above 15C (59F) to hold their colour.

The Schlumbergera truncata, its technical name, comes in shades of white, pink, red and purple and is generally bought from garden centres in bud and blooms between mid November and late January - depending on the variety. For good flowering provide long nights of uninterrupted darkness - which means no artificial light - in autumn. Just before flowering, the plants should be kept cool and dryish until the flower buds form.