Avant Gardener: Poinsettias

  • By Kyle Valentini
  • November 26, 2010
  • 293
                        
We all enjoy giving and receiving poinsettias each Christmas. They are beautiful plants that symbolize the season. Poinsettias add beauty and moisture to our winter homes. Proper care of poinsettias begins with light, water and temperature. Poinsettias require bright but indirect light while they are blooming. It is important to keep poinsettias watered while they are flowering. It is easy to over water, however so check the soil daily and water only when needed. Poinsettias prefer cooler temperatures. It is best to keep them in a room where the temperature is about 60-70 degrees during the day and a temperature around 55 degrees at night with no hot or cold drafts to disturb the delicate plant. Always buy poinsettias when they are fresh. If you can see a small amount to no yellow powder on the unimpressive flower within the colorful bracts, the plant is fresh. Plants that have shed their pollen will soon begin to lose the colorful bracts that make poinsettias so lovely. Native to South America, poinsettias were first seen in the States in 1828 when Joel Roberts Poinsett, America’s first Ambassador to Mexico brought the fascinating plant home with him. It did not become an immediate holiday sensation right away. Like many holiday traditions, the poinsettia was introduced to the American home via a giant marketing campaign in the 1960’s. With the help of The Tonight Show and Christmas television specials, the poinsettia was seen on nearly every television set across the nation. The Paul Ecke Ranch in California is responsible for making the poinsettia a holiday staple. More than eighty percent of all domestic poinsettias are grown there. In existence since 1906, the ranch convinced a captive audience to purchase poinsettias this and every Christmas. It’s hard to imagine the season without them. Come January, most poinsettias will be thrown away with the rest of the household trash. Poinsettias are persnickety plants and unless you enjoy the challenge, it is not always worth the effort to keep them year round. If that is the case, poinsettias can be composted at home or at your community’s composting center. If you are up for the challenge and would like to see them bloom again next year a little care is required. As the bracts fall off your poinsettia will look increasingly pathetic. Keep your poinsettias watered allowing them to nearly dry out between watering. In March or April trim your plant back so it remains “bushy” and compact. You will begin to see new growth. Now is a good time to repot your plant in a larger container to allow for significant growth. Adding leaf mold or other organic matter will benefit the plant. You can put your poinsettia outside after the danger of frost has passed in the late spring. Keep your poinsettia in a well lit location so that it gets at least 6-7 hours of sun a day. Your plant should flourish. Your poinsettia will have to go back inside as summer turns to fall and temperatures drop. Bring it in when it is below 50 degrees at night. Beginning October 1, your poinsettia will need at least fourteen hours of complete darkness each day in order to flower again. Placing it in a dark room will not be sufficient, a nightlight or street light could disturb the flowering cycle and even stop it altogether. Cover it with a large box or opaque piece of fabric or place it in a closet or basement. You will notice the bracts turning color and by Christmas…it will be glorious. I never said it would be easy…like most things worth doing.


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