Poinsettias are sold in their millions each Christmas but how do you get the best from them? These flowers have got a bad reputation as being a difficult houseplant to keep alive through to Twelfth Night. If you want to make sure these plants last as long as your Christmas decorations, follow our guide on how to grow poinsettias.
There is no mystery behind growing poinsettias. They just want to be somewhere warm and well-lit during Christmas and given enough to drink. Sound familiar?
Use this guide on how to grow poinsettias to make sure you get the best festive display possible.
Poinsettia buying advice:
It all starts with making sure you buy a good one in the first place.
- Avoid plants that are being sold near draughty shop-fronts
- Check to see if the poinsettias for sale are waterlogged – if so don’t buy them
- Make sure that you keep your chosen plants well wrapped so they aren’t exposed to draught on the way home
Where to keep them:
Give a poinsettia a location that it loves and you are halfway towards poinsettia perfection!
- Grow your poinsettia somewhere warm and well-lit indoors
- Make sure your plant is positioned so that it is kept away from draughts – avoid placing them close to fireplaces, open doorways and open windows
- Poinsettias grow best kept at a temperature between 15-20C
How to water them:
Get poinsettia watering right and you should avoid the dreaded early leaf drop
- Water poinsettias sparingly with room temperature water each time the compost dries out
- The rootball of the plant should not dry out or become waterlogged
- If your potted poinsettia is kept inside another decorative pot, check every day to make sure there is no water sitting in the bottom of the pot
- If leaves are turning yellow or falling off, reduce the amount you water because this is a sign of overwatering
How to use them as cut flowers:
- Cut the bracts (the coloured parts that are sometimes called the ‘flowers’ off your plant
- Dip the cut ends in boiling water for 20 seconds and then dip them in cold water straight after
- Arrange them in vase and they should last for a week
Poinsettia facts:
- The Latin name for poinsettia is Euphorbia pulcherrima
- The plants are named after Joel Roberts Poinsett, a US ambassador to Mexico in the 1800s, who introduced poinsettias to the US
- The Aztecs, called poinsettias Cuetlaxochitl, which means ‘leather flower’
- Poinsettias grow wild in the highlands of Central America and reach up to 5 metres tall
For more information, visit christmas-star.info.
Read our winter plant profiles in the run up to Christmas.
