Spring Festival Flowers: Auspicious Meanings, Common Varieties and Care Methods

Spring Festival flowers are seasonal flowers that come onto the market around the Lunar New Year and are used to decorate the home and give to relatives and friends; they are also called Nianxiao flowers. Most of them have bright colors and auspicious meanings, adding a festive atmosphere to the holiday, and they are the star of the flower market every winter.

Common Spring Festival flowers include Phalaenopsis orchids, Cymbidium orchids, narcissus, azaleas, cyclamen, kalanchoe, kumquat, anthurium, silver pussy willow and wintersweet. Red and golden-yellow varieties are especially popular; for example, kumquat symbolizes great fortune and prosperity, narcissus symbolizes good luck and happiness, and Phalaenopsis orchids carry the good omen of a happy and fulfilling life. In northern China in winter, water-cultured narcissus and hyacinths are also often placed indoors, as they are both ornamental and fragrant.

Nianxiao flowers are mostly grown in greenhouses, so after buying them home you need to pay attention to the temperature transition. Keeping room temperature at around the teens to 20°C is fairly suitable, away from radiators and cold drafts, to avoid buds dropping from sudden temperature changes. Water by the see-dry-see-moist principle, change the water regularly for water-cultured varieties, no fertilizing is needed during the flowering period, and placing them in a spot with scattered light can make the flowering period longer.

When choosing, give priority to plants with many buds that are just starting to color, as they can be enjoyed for longer than fully open ones, and also check whether the leaves are firm and upright and whether there are signs of pests or disease. For flowers such as Phalaenopsis orchids and kalanchoe, with proper pruning after flowering and normal care, there is still a chance they will bloom again the following year, so there is no need to throw them away in a hurry.