PoinsettiaEuphorbia pulcherrima

A Bit of HistoryThe species is indigenous to Mexico. It is particularly well known for its red and green foliage and is widely used in Christmas floral displays. It derives its common English name from Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States Minister to Mexico, who introduced the plant to the US in 1825.It is found in the wild in deciduous tropical forests at moderate elevations from southern Sinaloa down the entire Pacific coast of Mexico to Chiapas and Guatemala. It is also found in the interior in the hot, seasonally dry forests of Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Chiapas. There are now over 150 cultivated varieties of poinsettia

LegendThe plant's association with Christmas began in 16th-century Mexico, where legend tells of a girl who was too poor to provide a gift for the celebration of Jesus' birthday and was inspired by an angel to gather weeds from the roadside and place them in front of the church altar. Crimson blossoms sprouted from the weeds and became beautiful poinsettias. The star-shaped leaf pattern is said to symbolize the Star of Bethlehem, and the red colour represents the blood sacrifice through the crucifixion of Jesus.

The Aztecs used the plant to produce red dye and used It as an antipyretic medication. In Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, the plant is called Cuetlaxochitl, meaning "flower that grows in residues.“

Today it is known in Mexico and Guatemala as Flor de Noche Buena, meaning Christmas Eve Flower.

In Spain it is known as Flor de Pascua or Pascua, meaning Easter flower. In Chile and Peru, the plant became known as Crown of the Andes. In Turkey, it is called Atatürk's flower because Atatürk, the founder of the Republic, liked this flower and made a significant contribution to its cultivation in Turkey.

A short summaryThe poinsettia is a sub-tropical shrub or small tree, typically reaching a height of 1–4 metres.

The plant bears dark green leaves that measure 7–16 centimetres in length. The coloured bracts are often mistaken for flower petals because of their groupings and colours, but are actually leaves. The colours of the bracts are created through photoperiodism:• they require darkness, 12 hours at a time for at least five days in a row, to change colour.• they also require abundant light during the day for the brightest colour.The flowers of the poinsettia are unassuming and do not attract pollinators.These plants are not poisonous.

Some Varieties

Ice Punch Monet

Winter Rose Sonora Glitter

Strawberries and Cream

Blue

Red Winter Rose Dummen

OrangeRed White Glitter

Polar Bear Purple

Care and Maintenance – PotsTo keep them looking good give poinsettias a sunny, south-facing windowsill or bright filtered light. Don't press them close to a cold windowpane however, because this can damage the leaves. Keep them at about 200 during the day, and cooler at night, to prolong the display.

It is best to prune poinsettias to have a well shaped plant for next Christmas and the best way to do this is to prune all branches down to the second bud when the flowers have finished; new side shoots will develop at this time so feed them with some complete fertiliser then repeat this again in mid March. Doing this will make the plant bushy. Never feed poinsettias while they are in bloom.

Remember to take your plant indoors as poinsettias are frost tender. To get your poinsettia to re-flower it is best to keep the plant in the dark between 4pm and 8am each day from the end of September until the red shows in the bracts. This will be early to mid December.

Best to have a consistent temperature of 15 C to 20 C then you will have flowers again for Christmas.

Care and Maintenance – Garden

Pruning Poinsettia PlantsCAUTION: Poinsettia sap may irritate your skin, so it is strongly advised using rubber gloves whenever you are doing any pruning or pinching of these plants!Poinsettias that are grown outdoors will often reach 8-10 feet tall, and can become quite leggy, so about every 2 months regular pruning is a must.Pinching the tips of new growth will produce a much bushier plant with many more, but much smaller flower bracts.Thinning the branches out without pinching your Poinsettia will produce much larger flower bracts.

Questions?