Poinsettias are everywhere at this time of year, their brilliant red bracts adding a cheerful note against the darkness of the Christmas evergreen. They can also be founds in pinks and creamy whites as well as mottled and variegated. The trick is to keep them happy until Christmas is over.
Poinsettias like an even temperature and don’t like to be chilled. Keep poinsettia out of drafts or too much heat. If the leaves drop, chances are it got a chill on the way home.
The soil should be kept evenly moist, not wet, and water should be allowed to flow freely through the pot, which then should be thoroughly drained. The best advice is to take the plant out of its sleeve or pot and water it in the sink, letting the tap water wash through. Weekly watering should be enough.
They like a bright room but will not do well in direct sunlight. Give it at least six hours of indirect light every day — a spot in your living room should be fine as long as it gets normal light and no draft.
The red parts of the plant are actually leaves, not flowers, which are the insignificant little green to yellow balls in the centre of the bracts. When buying a poinsettia, be sure to check the flowers (properly called cyathia). Choose the plant with the flowers still in a tight green bud if you can. This guarantees the freshness of the plant and will indicate a longer bloom time. The flowers, when open, show bright yellow. Leaves should be dark green and full.
Do not fertilize the plant when it is in bloom.
Poinsettias are from Mexico where, in Spanish, poinsettia is known as flor de noche buena, or flower of Christmas Eve. Legend has it that in its native Mexico, a poor child wept as she made her way to church on Christmas Eve because she had no gift to place before the altar of the Virgin and Child. An angel appeared and told her to pick the weeds from the roadside. When she arrived at the altar, lovely crimson flowers appeared on every stem. In Latin, the name is Euphorbia pulcherrima, meaning beautiful euphorbia.
December 13 has been set aside as national Poinsettia Day where it has been observed in the United States since the mid-1800s to commemorate Joel Poinset. He was the first American ambassador to Mexico, as well as a physician and a botanist, who introduced the plant to the American public.
Poinsettia’s reputation for deadliness is not warranted. While the white sap from the leaves can irritate skin and give a cat’s mouth a nasty burn (like a very hot pepper) and cause vomiting, it will not kill anything. It can be useful, though. The Aztecs made a purplish dye from poinsettia and used the sap from its leaves to relieve fever. The sap from its cousin, Euphorbia peplus, is used to cure skin carcinomas.
If you happen to keep your poinsettia alive until summer, give it a holiday outside in an area with filtered sunlight so that it gets lots of light but does not get sun-burned. Fertilize.
Bring it in before the first frost. Eight to ten weeks (at least 40 days) before you want it to bloom, begin withdrawing light at night. It needs to be kept in total darkness for 12 to 14 hours.
A plastic garbage bag will work (even a small amount of light can interfere with flower setting). Put the plant in the brightest light you can for the daytime. Keep the night time temperature in the 15 degree C range – any higher may require an extended dark period. Water sparsely for this
period.
When you see the bracts beginning to change colour, discontinue the dark periods.
Shelmerdine grows about 10,000 poinsettias every year right here in Winnipeg.
Dorothy Dobbie is the owner of Manitoba Gardner magazine. It makes a great Christmas gift. To subscribe, call Shelly at 204-940-2700 or go to manitobagardener.net.
Poinsettias are everywhere at this time of year, their brilliant red bracts adding a cheerful note against the darkness of the Christmas evergreen. They can also be founds in pinks and creamy whites as well as mottled and variegated. The trick is to keep them happy until Christmas is over.
Poinsettias like an even temperature and don’t like to be chilled. Keep poinsettia out of drafts or too much heat. If the leaves drop, chances are it got a chill on the way home.
The soil should be kept evenly moist, not wet, and water should be allowed to flow freely through the pot, which then should be thoroughly drained. The best advice is to take the plant out of its sleeve or pot and water it in the sink, letting the tap water wash through. Weekly watering should be enough.
They like a bright room but will not do well in direct sunlight. Give it at least six hours of indirect light every day — a spot in your living room should be fine as long as it gets normal light and no draft.
The red parts of the plant are actually leaves, not flowers, which are the insignificant little green to yellow balls in the centre of the bracts. When buying a poinsettia, be sure to check the flowers (properly called cyathia). Choose the plant with the flowers still in a tight green bud if you can. This guarantees the freshness of the plant and will indicate a longer bloom time. The flowers, when open, show bright yellow. Leaves should be dark green and full.
Do not fertilize the plant when it is in bloom.
Poinsettias are from Mexico where, in Spanish, poinsettia is known as flor de noche buena, or flower of Christmas Eve. Legend has it that in its native Mexico, a poor child wept as she made her way to church on Christmas Eve because she had no gift to place before the altar of the Virgin and Child. An angel appeared and told her to pick the weeds from the roadside. When she arrived at the altar, lovely crimson flowers appeared on every stem. In Latin, the name is Euphorbia pulcherrima, meaning beautiful euphorbia.
December 13 has been set aside as national Poinsettia Day where it has been observed in the United States since the mid-1800s to commemorate Joel Poinset. He was the first American ambassador to Mexico, as well as a physician and a botanist, who introduced the plant to the American public.
Poinsettia’s reputation for deadliness is not warranted. While the white sap from the leaves can irritate skin and give a cat’s mouth a nasty burn (like a very hot pepper) and cause vomiting, it will not kill anything. It can be useful, though. The Aztecs made a purplish dye from poinsettia and used the sap from its leaves to relieve fever. The sap from its cousin, Euphorbia peplus, is used to cure skin carcinomas.
If you happen to keep your poinsettia alive until summer, give it a holiday outside in an area with filtered sunlight so that it gets lots of light but does not get sun-burned. Fertilize.
Bring it in before the first frost. Eight to ten weeks (at least 40 days) before you want it to bloom, begin withdrawing light at night. It needs to be kept in total darkness for 12 to 14 hours.
A plastic garbage bag will work (even a small amount of light can interfere with flower setting). Put the plant in the brightest light you can for the daytime. Keep the night time temperature in the 15 degree C range – any higher may require an extended dark period. Water sparsely for this
period.
When you see the bracts beginning to change colour, discontinue the dark periods.
Shelmerdine grows about 10,000 poinsettias every year right here in Winnipeg.
Dorothy Dobbie is the owner of Manitoba Gardner magazine. It makes a great Christmas gift. To subscribe, call Shelly at 204-940-2700 or go to manitobagardener.net.