At Home: Brighten your home with poinsettias

HOLIDAY WARMTH

Low-maintenance poinsettias an easy way to brighten your home

Grace Wood // Tulsa World Magazine

Like hot cocoa, snowmen and stockings hung above the fi replace, poinsettia plants are synonymous with the Christmas season. There are many things, however, the average person doesn’t know about the special Christmas plant.

Native to southern Mexico, poinsettias are actually considered a tropical plant that can grow up to 12 feet tall in their natural environment. After being brought over to the United States in the 1800s, people began using poinsettias mainly as a houseplant —specifi cally, a Christmas decoration to adorn the insides of their homes.

“Poinsettias provide so much color in a very dark time of the year — as the days get shorter through the fall and into the winter season, those are the shortest days that we have,” said Susan Brammeier, plant buyer at Southwood Landscape & Garden Center. “To have something bright blooming in your house at that time is just

TULSA WORLD FILE PHOTOS At Southwood, they also hand paint and use glitter on poinsettias to create different colors, which actually lengthens the life cycle of the plant. TOP OF PAGE: Red and white poinsettias are popular during the holiday season.

benefi cial for people.”

After witnessing the native Mexican people use the poinsettia plant in ceremonies and rituals around Christmastime (when they’re in full bloom), Joel Poinsett, the U.S. Minister to Mexico, decided to transport the plant back to his native country. Now, poinsettias are a Christmas staple in the United States, and are only getting more popular, said Brammeier.

“We’re getting a lot more interest than we had in past years in this holiday fl ower,” Brammeier said. “We sell 5,000 during the holiday season in all kinds of colors and sizes.”

Brammeier said despite the prominence of poinsettias, there is much that people don’t know or get wrong about the plant — namely, the fact that they are actually not poisonous, contrary to popular belief.

“They’re no more poisonous than any other houseplant — that’s a myth we need to dispel,” Brammeier said. “There’s also over 100 varieties of poinsettias out there. More than just red, we have pink, white, salmon and some that are a beautiful, rich orange. There’s a lot of cool ones to choose from — you don’t always have to have your grandmother’s red poinsettia.”

Brammeier said that at Southwood, they also hand paint and use glitter on poinsettias to create di erent colors, which actually lengthens the life cycle of the plant.

“We’ll take a salmon-colored poinsettia and add blue paint, creating a beautiful purple color,” Brammeier said. “That process extends the life of the plant because we use a special glue that closes up some of the pores that allow water to escape from the plant.”

Garden centers typically start selling poinsettias a little before Thanksgiving. It’s best to buy them early, Brammeier said.

“It’s a good idea to get them early,” Brammeier said. “In spite of what you might think, they’re not delicate at all. As long as you provide the right amount of care for them, you’ll have them in your house until you decide to throw them away next spring. They’ll last a very long time indoors.”

Brammeier said caring for poinsettia plants is relatively simple.

“Most importantly, protect them from the cold — any time spent below 40 degrees can damage it,” Brammeier said. “Keep your home anywhere from 65 to 75 degrees and place it in a nice, bright indirect light, and water it only when the top part of the soil feels dry.”

HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR POINSETTIA

Caring for your poinsettia doesn’t have to be hard.  Temperature: Keep your home between 65 and 75 degrees.  Water: Water your poinsettia when the top soil is dry, or when you pick up the plant and it feels light.  Light: Place your poinsettia in bright but indirect sunlight. bright but indirect sunlight.

BELOW: Garden centers typically start selling poinsettias a little before Thanksgiving. It’s best to buy them early.