POINSETTIA: A CHRISTMAS CLASSIC

BY NINA K. GLASER, THE GAZETTE

A perennial shrub native to Mexico and Central America, poinsettia is the number one potted plant sold in the U.S., with approximately 70 million of them sold in a six-week period. The scientific name for poinsettia is Euphorbia Pulcherrima, which translates to “very beautiful,” and the foliage, widely used for holiday floral displays has other “also known as” monikers, including Christmas Flower, Christmas Star, Flores de Noche Buena (Good Night Flowers), Lobster Flower, Mexican Flame Leaf and Winter Rose.

Poinsettia is named after Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, an amateur botanist who introduced the plant to the U.S. in 1825. The plant has its own holiday, December 12, the date of Dr. Poinsett’s death in 1851.

Mexican legend tells the story of the poinsettia featuring a poor, young girl named Pepita who had nothing to offer the baby Jesus on Christmas Eve. She arrived at church with a bouquet of weeds, picked along her walk. When she placed them on the altar at the nativity scene, they transformed into the red and green poinsettia variety that is known and loved by so many.

Known predominantly in its red and green color combination, there are more than 100 varieties in cultivation, including shades of red, pink, white and yellow.

When shopping for your poinsettia, remember to look for:

Plentiful dense, dark green foliage from top to bottom.

Tightly clustered buds surrounded by fully colored small leaves; the yellow flowers in the center of colored bracts (modified or specialized leaves that are different from foliage leaves) should be small and bright.

The absence of yellow or green-white or sagging leaves, and discolored, faded bracts (the leaves beneath the flower).

Lack of insects.

Poinsettia TLC

With proper care, your poinsettia can bloom four to six weeks! Give your poinsettia a minimum six hours of bright, indirect sunlight daily. Protect your plant from indoor drafts (temperatures must be above 55 degrees Fahrenheit Keep the soil moist, but not wet. Add room-temperature water, as needed, letting it drain through the pot, and be sure to discard any water in the saucer.

After-holiday maintenance

Once flower bracts fall, you do not have to discard the plant (unless you really want to). You can keep it for another year by decreasing your watering (do not let it dry out completely!) and moving it to a cool, dark area until spring. Return the poinsettia to a sunny area around April, water it well and cut branches back. Repot the poinsettia in a container an inch or two larger in diameter during the summer months and move it outside with six to eight hours of direct sunlight. Stems can be pinched back in July and mid-August. Keep the poinsettia moist and fertilize it weekly. In September, take the plant back inside, giving it strong light from a south-facing window, keep it moist and continue its once-a-week fertilization. Come October, through Thanksgiving, your poinsettia will benefit from strong light during the day and complete darkness at night; maintain moisture, warmth and fertilization.

Did you know?

Poinsettias bloom from October to December. The poinsettia is the national emblem of Madagascar. Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey noted poinsettia as his favorite flower.