If you want to give something a little different as a Christmas gift this year, stray outside the normal holiday sections of your nursery or garden center and peruse the plant aisles for interesting ideas. Many one-gallon landscape plants can make beautiful gift plants. Combine them with the right pot and they can be truly extraordinary.

Your choices will vary depending on which part of the country you're in, but some of the things you might look for are interesting conifers like dwarf forms of ferny hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) or the dwarf Alberta spruce (Picea glauca 'Conica'). Even some of the very common conifers like junipers, Colorado blue spruce or mugho pine make good subjects.

Also consider variegated evergreen plants, such as hollies, winter daphne, nandina or Pittosporum tobira. And, of course, anything with colorful fruit or berries, such as hollies, barberries, citrus, cotoneaster, pyracantha or viburnum, is perfect.

If you want to go even further afield, look for dried ornamental grasses. They can have a wonderful, wispy winter feel. You may even be able to find some that still have seed heads. Or, try plants with interesting bare branches like contorted European filbert (Corylus avellana 'Contorta') or corkscrew willow (Salix matsudana 'Tortuosa').

Prepare your gift by removing dead leaves and, if necessary, cleaning dirt off foliage with a gentle spray of water. Wipe the plastic pot clean with a damp rag and wrap it in foil, or cloth and ribbon. Or, replant in a new, great-looking container. If you repot, use Sunshine Pro Potting Soil. For added holiday feel, run some ribbon or other Christmassy decoration through the plant foliage.

Make sure your gift gets off to a good start by providing some verbal growing instructions. Tell your friend not to let the plant dry out, and place it in a well-lit, cool location away from drafts or heater vents. It shouldn't stay indoors for longer than two weeks.

Article Courtesy of Bayer Advanced