Learn / Ask The Landscape Professional
I love Poinsettias at this time of year, and I've always wondered if the growers paint them red? Sarah
Answer
Although you may see
Poinsettias, Euphorbia pulcherrima, decorated
with glitter and painted wild colors, there
are over 100 natural varieties that come in
various shades of red, burgundy, white, pink
and marbled. The colored part is actually
not a flower but a modified leaf. Poinsettias, a
perennial shrub that was once considered a
weed, are native to Mexico where they can grow
10-15 feet tall. They were named in honor of
Joel Roberts Poinsett, a botanist, physician
and the first United States Ambassador to Mexico, who
brought them into this country in 1828. They were
commercialized in the early 1900s in southern
California, which now produces about half of the
world's supply of Poinsettias. Poinsettias are the
most popular Christmas plant and, in fact, are the
best-selling potted plant in the United States and
Canada. In Mexico and Guatemala they are known as
the Flower of the Holy Night (Christmas Eve).
Getting your Poinsettia to develop colored bracts next
year isn't hard, but you must be diligent. The
colored bracts are created through a process
called photoperiodism. From October 1 until early
December, the plant must have completely dark
nights of 12-15 hours long and bright sunny days.
Around November 1, you will notice the bracts
starting to turn red and by early December, they
should be all red. The bracts should stay bright
for a few weeks beyond Christmas and eventually
they will brown and fall off. At that point, cut
the stems back to about 6", keep the plant warm indoors
and the soil fairly dry. When the outside temperatures
are consistently 60 degrees and above, you
can move the Poinsettia outside to a spot with
indirect sun, put it in a slightly larger pot and fertilize
and water normally. When the weather cools off,
bring it inside and on October 1, repeat the process
all over again. Good Luck and Happy Holidays!
View As PDF
To view a PDF of this article, please
click here.
About Linda Lillie
Linda K. Lillie is the President of Sprigs & Twigs, Inc, the premier
landscape design and maintenance, tree care, lawn care, stonework, and carpentry
service provider in southeastern Connecticut since 1997. She is a graduate of
Connecticut College in Botany, a Connecticut Master Gardener and a national
award winning landscape designer for her landscape design and landscape installation work.
