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Q: How should I care for my poinsettia so it lasts during the holiday season?
A: The following care tips will help ensure that your poinsettia stays attractive and healthy during the holidays:
- Select plants with dark green foliage and with no lower leaves missing.
- Place your poinsettia in a spot where it will get at least six hours of indirect sunlight each day.
- Keep plants out of cold drafts and out of excessive heat. Ideal temperatures are 60 to 70 degrees F.
- Check plants daily and water thoroughly whenever the soil feels dry to the touch.
- Poinsettias do well in homes and should keep their color until mid- March.
- Contrary to popular belief, poinsettias are NOT POISONOUS.
They are, however, NOT EDIBLE and the milky latex may cause a skin rash. Keep plants out of reach of small children.
Q: How has the poinsettia come to be a Holiday tradition?
A: Long before the poinsettia was introduced to the U.S., it was cultivated by the Aztecs near the present-day Taxco, in southern Mexico. The red 'flowers' were a symbol of purity to the Aztec people. They also processed the flowers to make a red dye and the latex (milky sap) of the plant was used for a medicine against fever.
The first known use of poinsettias for holiday celebrations occurred in the 17th Century , when a group of Franciscan priests settled in the Taxco area. Since the poinsettias bloom during the Christmas season, they began to utilize the plant in nativity processions. It wasn't until 1825, however, that the plant became known to the United States. Joel Robert Poinsette, a botanist and the first U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, had some plants sent to his home in Greenville, South Carolina. He shared the plants with other plant enthusiasts and now December 12, National Poinsettia Day, recognizes Poinsette's contribution to the holiday season and greenhouse industry. Poinsettias are one of the most important floricultural crops in the U.S. Total U.S. poinsettia production was valued at $325 million in 1997.
For more information, contact your local
Colorado State University Extension office.
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