Poinsettias for Christmas

By Brett Kerley

At this time of the year the stores glitter with winter-flowering plants like amaryllis, cypress and Christmas cactus. To me, though, you can’t beat poinsettias over the winter period. They’re on our Christmas cards, around the fireplace, and positioned neatly next to Santa when the kids visit him at the mall. Where did this plant come from and how do we keep this wonderful little shrub happy, once we get it home?

Native to western Mexico, the original Nahuatl name for the plant we call “poinsettia” is cuetlaxochitl (kwet-la-sho-she). It was cultivated by the Aztecs long before the European colonisation of the Americas. The Aztecs used cuetlaxochitl for a variety of purposes, including decoration, the production of red and purple dyes, and medicines were derived from the plant’s milky white sap.

The timing of the annual bloom for wild cuetlaxochitl began the plant’s association with the Christmas season during the 16th century, when missionaries spread the Catholic faith through the indigenous communities of Mexico.

Pepita and the Poinsettia

As legend has it, a young girl named Pepita was travelling to her village to visit the Nativity scene at the chapel. Pepita did not have enough money to buy a present to give the baby Jesus at the services, so she gathered a bundle of roadside weeds and formed a bouquet.

She was upset that she didn’t have more to offer, but she was reminded by her cousin that “even the most humble gift, given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes.” Upon entering the chapel and presenting her bouquet to the Nativity Jesus, the bouquet of roadside weeds miraculously turned into a bouquet of beautiful red flowers that the locals knew as Cuetlaxochitl.

Cuetlaxochitl to Poinsettia

Poinsettias were first introduced into the United States in 1825 by Joel Robert Poinsett. While serving as the first U.S. ambassador to Mexico, he visited Taxco and found the plants growing on adjacent hillsides. Poinsett, a botanist of great ability, had some plants sent to his home in Greenville, South Carolina.

After supplying his own greenhouses, Poinsett also distributed plants to various botanical gardens and to some horticultural friends, including John Bartram of Philadelphia. Bartram, in turn, supplied the plant to Robert Buist, a nurseryman, who first sold the plant as Euphorbia poinsettia. The botanical name had already been given by a German taxonomist in 1833 as Euphorbia pulcherima. The poinsettia, however, has remained the accepted name in English speaking countries.

With over a hundred varieties of poinsettias, it’s hard not to fall in love. Colours range from creamy white to pink to the traditional bright red. Even sprayed with glitter to enhance the Christmas mood even further, they can fit right into any Christmas colour scheme. 

When I worked at a large greenhouse, we started growing poinsettias in August, keeping them under shade for at least 16 hours per day, until the time was right to bring them out to the shop floor to sell. We grew, watered and fertilised thousands of plants of over 70 varieties. It was tough sometimes when we had crop failures. This is why we grew so many varieties, as each year you’re bound to have some fail.

In our frigid Edmonton winters, even the slightest of drafts can damage or kill the poinsettia. They must be covered right from the store to your home. Pre-heating your vehicle is a wise choice as well. Once home, place them so that they get a minimum of 6 hours of bright, indirect sunlight. Decide whether or not to keep the decorative foil it comes with, but if you do keep it, it’s advisable to poke holes in the bottom of the foil to let the water drain out. Never allow poinsettia pots to sit in excess water. Constant wetness will rot the plant roots.

However, try to keep the soil on the damp side because if they dry out for too long, they will start to wilt, and then it’s hard to recover. To water, set the plant in a sink and water thoroughly, allowing the plant to drain completely. No fertilizer is necessary unless you plan on keeping it past the new year. At this point most people throw them out. If you decide to keep them they can re-bloom, but this is not an easy task as it requires excluding light from the plant for some time while keeping the plant healthy. The reduction in light prevents the plant from producing chlorophyll, the pigment that makes plant parts green. This changes the bracts to red, pink or white, depending on the poinsettia variety.

A cat eating poinsettia on Christmas.

The plant tastes terrible, I mean really bad. If a child or pet happens to take a bite out of a leaf, it’s likely they’ll spit it out and not be tempted to nibble at it any more. Even if they do swallow the leaves, it’s usually nothing to worry about. Poinsettias contain a milky irritant sap. The sap can cause some mild discomfort. This can include irritated skin, upset stomach, and vomiting, but there is no evidence of long-term ill effects from eating poinsettias.

I recommend purchasing poinsettias from a garden centre or greenhouse as they were probably grown right on site and will handle our weather better than poinsettias shipped in from the US or Eastern Canada, where they are grown in warmer weather. Support local stores! 

From all of us at the EHS, we hope you enjoy this festive time of the year.

Happy gardening everyone!