Holiday poinsettias

Poinsettias, more than any other flower, represent an American holiday. Through intensive breeding and selection, new colors seem to appear yearly. None of the pale colors appeal to me the way that the strong reds do, but there are creative uses of all colors in most public buildings in December. These plants are amazingly easy to care for - which may be part of their popularity. They come in all sizes for home buyers, from teacup to 3-4’ bushes, covered in flowers.

Keep these points in mind when you pick a plant. All commercially produced poinsettias come from perfect conditions in the nursery – the right humidity, light, and fertilizer. When they are displayed at the store, they often do not get the best care.

Look for a poinsettia that shows no sign of wilting. As I mentioned in an earlier post, pick a plant from the center where it has been somewhat protected from the changed environment. Don’t buy one from a display near the front doors. These plants have been exposed to the cold as the doors open and close to let customers in.

One of the most important steps in taking care of them is how you get them into your house. If possible, get a poinsettia that still has it plastic protective wrapping on it. In any case, cover the plant completely when you take it into the cold air on your way to the car.

At-home care is simple. Usually the pot comes encased in a spiffy wrapper. This needs to have a hole poked into the bottom so the water can drain. If I can’t remove the pot from the wrapper, I just grab a pointed knife and poke around on the bottom of the pot until I hit one of the holes in the plastic pot. Then I rotate the knife to make a larger hole. I would recommend doing this over the sink in case there is standing water in the bottom. (If there is, don’t water the plant for a day or two. The soil is probably saturated and it will continue to drain for a bit.)

Once you have a hole, you will need to put a pot saucer or some kind of protection under the pot now to protect your furniture.

If you don’t plan to keep the plant past Christmas time, you can put it almost anywhere. Otherwise, follow the instructions on the “plant care” tag. This usually says ‘strong light but not direct sun’ and ‘avoid placing the plant near heat vents’ where the excess heat or blowing hot air will damage the plant.

Don’t let it wilt. It has a lot of foliage that is continually using and losing water, so check it daily until you see how often it needs more water. If it isn’t a gigantic plant, you might lift the pot to feel the weight. Naturally, a dry pot is very lightweight – an indicator that more water is needed.

The actual flower is the kind of fuzzy growths in the center. These will usually fall off in a couple of weeks.

The red petals are actually modified leaves called bracts and unless the plant has been damaged, these will stay on the plant for quite a while. Eventually though, the plant will only have green leaves.

People often ask if they can get their pet-poinsettias to turn red again. This process takes a lot of time and effort because you have to put the plant into total darkness for half of every day for several months to simulate winter daylight and nighttime. For specifics, you can check out directions from Growing a Greener World or Gardening Know How.

For me, as cheap as poinsettias are, I just save the effort and buy a gorgeous new one every December.