Yorkshire's Alan Titchmarsh and other TV gardeners reveal favourite Christmas houseplants

“They love a bright position in a cool room and benefit from being watered once a day with cooled boiled water. Don’t leave them standing in water, but never let the rootball dry out. It’s a great plant for a bright but not sun-scorched kitchen windowsill near the kettle.”

Joe Swift, meanwhile, loves the traditional poinsettia. “You can’t beat a poinsettia for Christmas,” says the garden designer, TV presenter and writer. “When I had a plant shop in Islington, I sold hundreds of them, and the choice was simple – red or white. Being an Arsenal fan that worked for me. I see there’s now an orange flowered variety – I’m yet to be convinced. They look best in a nice pot on a sideboard or table arrangement and sure, they look good by themselves, but as with most of these things, more will create impact.”

The Christmas rose, Helleborus niger, takes a lot of beating, says broadcaster, garden designer and BBC Gardeners’ World presenter Mark Lane. “With dainty, nodding, large white open-cupped flowers these gorgeous plants look stunning in 9cm pots down the centre of a festive table. Place mirrors or reflective materials on the table and their reflected nodding faces can be seen in all their glory. Failing that, remove some of the flowers, leaving a short 2-3cm length of stem attached to the flower and float on water with floating tealights.”

Dobbies ambassador and This Morning gardening expert Daisy Payne has a different choice. “Having sat around the same table year after year as a family since I was little, in the background has always been a beautiful Christmas cactus. It was given to my dad by my great grandmother, Daisy, who of course I’m named after, which is why it’s my favourite Christmas houseplant.

“The flowers on a Christmas cactus are beautiful and delicate, at a time when little else is in flower. They’re resilient too. Come the new year, a houseplant is a great way to fill the Christmas decoration void you feel, when the festivities come down.”

BBC Gardeners’ World presenter Rekha Mistry cites lemongrass as her favourite. “My favourite festive plant is just like me. Tuck indoors in a bright warm room during the autumn-winter months and in the summer lemongrass lavishes outdoors in the suntrap corner of the house.

“Lemongrass, an evergreen grass in my mother’s kitchen garden, was the biggest clump of grass. Around a metre wide, towering over 5ft in height...She would harvest the stalks in special day curries... Now, I dry and whizz the stalks into powder. The fragrance never fails to evoke childhood memories.”