The Christmas Poinsettia

Poinsettias are named for Joel Roberts Poinsett, an amateur botanist and the first US ambassador to Mexico in the 1820s. During his stay in Mexico Poinsett found the beautiful shrub growing along a roadside. Poinsett took cuttings from the plant and brought them back to his plantation in Greenville, South Carolina. He grew the plants and generously shared them with his friends, giving them out as gifts.

Poinsettia History and Legends

Poinsettias are native to Central America and Mexico. A Mexican legend tells of a poor girl, Pepita, who had no gift to bring to Mass on Christmas Eve. She did not want to go empty handed so gathered some roadside weeds for a small bouquet. As she entered the village chapel the weeds miraculously turned into beautiful brilliant red flowers – poinsettias.

During the 14-16th centuries, the Aztecs used the sap of poinsettias to control fever and used the leaves to make dye. The last Aztec king, Montezuma, is said to have had poinsettas brought to Mexico City by caravan.

The German botanist, Wilenow, is credited with assigning the poinsettia its botanical name, Euphorbia pulcherrima. The plant grew through a crack in his greenhouse. He was so impressed by its color that he gave it a name meaning “very beautiful”.

As the plant increased in popularity the historian and horticulturist William Prescott was asked to give it a new name. Prescott named the plant the poinsettia as a tribute to Poinsett’s discovery in Mexico.

December 12th is Poinsettia Day, declared by an act of U.S. Congress in honor of Poinsett who died on December 12, 1851.

Facts About Poinsettias

In their native habitat and in areas that do not experience any frost, poinsettias are perennials that can grow as high as 10 feet tall.

Your poinsettia is fresh if little or no pollen is showing in the center flower cluster and the flowers are green or red-tipped. Once the plant loses all its pollen it will also drop its colorful leaf-like bracts.

The milky sap or latex of the poinsettia is highly irritating to the skin and eyes.

When purchasing a poinsettia, the more blooms a poinsettia has the more expensive the plant.

According to the University of Illinois, 80% of poinsettias are purchased by women, 75% of Americans prefer red poinsettias to white or pink and poinsettias are the best selling flowering potted plant in the U.S.

Caring for Poinsettias

If you purchase your poinsettia early, before the colored bracts are visible, cover the plant at dusk every evening. Uncover the plant around 8:00 a.m. each morning. This procedure will stimulate the plant to bloom. Continue until the plant colors. Exposure to even low light at night can prevent flowering.

Poinsettias are susceptible to cold. Make sure your purchased poinsettia is well wrapped and bring it right home. Even brief exposure to low temperatures can damage the plant.

Keep your poinsettia in a warm place in your house that receives indirect sunlight. The poinsettia prefers night time temperatures to be 5-10 degrees cooler than day time temperatures. Move it to a cooler room at night if necessary.

Keep the poinsettia away from hot or cool drafts that may be felt from radiators, air registers, open windows or doors.

Either remove the foil from your plant completely or punch drainage holes in the foil. Water your poinsettia thoroughly and wait until the soil is dry before watering again. Empty any water remaining in the saucer.

If you are interested in propogating your own poinsettias from cuttings Purdue University provides excellent online information.