They're a real Christmas cracker and guaranteed to bring a radiant splash of colour to your festive scheme, says garden expert Geoff Hodge, so you're sure to want to know how to look after a poinsettia plant and keep it blooming for as long as possible.
Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without pots of poinsettias filling supermarket shelves alongside sprouts, parsnips and brandy-sozzled puddings. They’re a very traditional Christmas indoor houseplant, and a fabulously easy centrepiece for a table laden with seasonal food, but there’s lots you can do with a poinsettia to make it look at home in the most modern of festive settings.
Poinsettia varieties to grow
Poinsettia’s Latin name Euphorbia pulcherrima means ‘the most beautiful spurge’. Those large red ‘flowers’ are actually modified leaves, called bracts, and the flowers are the yellow bits in the centre. While Santa Claus red is the most common colour, there’s an incredible range of other hues if you want something that matches your home’s decor in a more subtle way. There are more than 100 varieties with colours ranging from pink and salmon, apricot to yellow, cream and white. There are also speckled or marbled bicolour varieties and those with several colours blended together.
Supermarket poinsettias aren’t always labelled with a variety name, but if you look in garden centres and online for named ones, there are some real corkers to look out for. ‘Chianti Red’ has deep, rich, wine-coloured bracts; ‘Marblestar’ is pink with white margins; ‘Silver Star’ is dusky pink and has the added bonus of variegated leaves; ‘Lemon Snow’ is pale yellow; ‘Freedom Peppermint’ boasts an unusual apricot colour with dark pink flecks; ‘Mars Marble’ has creamy white bracts with a pale pink blaze down the centre; and those of ‘Polar Bear’ are white with green ribs.
With so much to offer, it’s a shame that many of us treat poinsettias as a disposable item – throwing sorry-looking plants out faster than an empty tin of Quality Street, says our garden writer Marc Rosenberg.
With care, poinsettias can last over the festive period, and beyond!
How to pick a healthy poinsettia
If you want your poinsettia to last for months, rather than a few days, buy it from a store indoors and not an outdoor market or garage forecourt, says Geoff. Poinsettias hate cold, winds and even draughts and don’t recover well, even if they’ve been exposed only for a short time.
Make sure it’s covered with a pot sleeve when you buy it – ask for one at the till if it doesn’t – to give vital protection between the shop and your house. And, wherever possible, buy British. Poinsettias are grown here to withstand harsher conditions, so they’re much tougher – look on the pot, sleeve or information label for a Union Jack.
Choose a plant that’s bushy and perky, without wilting, damaged or discoloured leaves, with plenty of colour in the bracts. Disregard any that look less than the peak of health – they’ve most likely been left in cold or draughty conditions during transport and probably won’t live to see Christmas.
Avoid buying poinsettias from windswept shop entrances, and if plants are already shedding leaves, don’t be tempted to rescue them, as chances are the damage has already been done. And get it home fast, adds Marc. Don’t leave poinsettias shivering in your car while you do other shopping.
How to care for a poinsettia
Poinsettias hate chills and draughts, so position yours in a warm, brightly lit spot but one that’s not in direct sunlight.
And avoid fireplaces. Christmas cards often feature festive scenes with poinsettias sitting by a roaring fire. In fact, a spot by a fire or woodburner is one of the worst places you can house your poinsettia! Draughts from chimneys lead plants to shed their leaves fast, while extreme heat from fires will make poinsettias give up the ghost before New Year’s Eve.
Use tepid water in your watering can to give your plant a good drink but allow the compost surface to dry out before you do it again. Poinsettias thrive when watered sparingly. To check, press your thumb or finger against the surface of the compost, and only water when the compost has almost dried out. Never leave plants sat in water, or drench the compost. Central heating reduces the humidity in our homes, but the bracts of poinsettias will last longer in moist environments, so misting plants with a hand sprayer will help. Liquid feed once a month with a houseplant fertiliser.
Poinsettia plant FAQs
How long do poinsettias last?
They can be kept from one year to the next. Keep your poinsettia indoors, then in April, prune the stems using your garden scissors by around two-thirds and repot into a slightly bigger container. Professional growers mix three parts of John Innes No.3 with one-part grit to make a perfect growing medium. Move it outside into a warm, sheltered spot for the summer, watering and feeding it regularly. Bring it back inside in September, and pop it in a spot where it will be in darkness for at least 12 hours out of every 24 to get the bracts to colour up again.
What temperature should I keep my poinsettia at?
They dislike draughts in the home and prefer a constant temperature. If the room’s comfortable for you then your poinsettia will be happy, too, at about 18-21C. Avoid fluctuating temperatures if possible. And although poinsettias like warmth, never place them next to a source of heat such as a radiator.
How often should I water my poinsettia?
Poinsettias must never be allowed to dry out completely but they also hate sitting in water for more than a few hours. Overwatering and cold temperatures are the most common cause of failure. Always water thoroughly, then don’t water again until the soil’s almost dry. You can easily check this by lifting the plant and if it feels light it will be getting dry. Always use tepid water and not cold water straight from the tap. Overwatering leads to leaves going yellow and dropping prematurely.
How do I pick a healthy poinsettia?
Look for a fresh plant with plenty of unopened, green or yellow flower buds in the centre of the bracts.
Check in the base of the plastic sleeve and avoid any plants that have lots of fallen, yellow or mouldy leaves.
Pick it up. If it’s very heavy it’s probably overwatered. The base should be moist but with no water dripping from it.
Choose plants with clean and undamaged bracts. Any damage will be seen throughout the festive season.
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Angela Kenny is features and production editor for Modern Gardens magazine and is always on the look out for new and trending modern garden inspiration.