Poinsettia: The Ultimate Guide

th its striking red and green leaves and starry shape, the poinsettia is a joy-bringing plant that we love at Christmas. But there’s far more to this bright beauty than just the annual festivities. Did you know it has brachts? That it comes in lots of colours? Do you know it can rebloom? Or do you know how to work out the perfect spot for it? No? Well that explains why you’ve landed on this blog! Welcome, you’re in the right place. Join us as we dive deep into the red realm of the poinsettia in this guide. We’re going to cover everything from the cultural history of the poinsettia to common varieties, to all sorts of poinsettia care advice (and whether a poinsettia is pet-friendly).

An introduction to poinsettia

Poinsettia are vibrant plants in the family Euphorbiaceae (aka spurge or euphorbias, a family which also includes rubber plants, cassava and castor oil plants). In the UK they’re kept as houseplants and are strongly associated with Christmas, often being given as gifts.

Where are poinsettias from?

Like a lot of popular UK and European houseplants, poinsettias come from far warmer climes. They’re grow natively in Mexico and Cental America and really don’t like the cold (ironic given how strongly we associate them with winter!) – which is why they’re strictly indoor plants and usually very well wrapped then they arrive.

Did you know?

Poinsettias aren’t quite what they seem. You’d be forgiven for thinking the vibrant red colours of the plant are flower petals but in fact, these are bracts. Bracts are technically leaves but are the plant’s way of attracting pollinators in the wild, turning a different colour to entice bees and other bugs to check them out. The poinsettia’s flowers are actually the small yellow buds in its centre!

Poinsettia colours

Generally, we associate poinsettias with the colour red because that’s what we see at Christmas. However, they come all shades, from the traditional red through to stunning whites, pinks, yellow and even variegated versions (where there are patches of different colours).

Common poinsettia varieties

Over 100 kinds of poinsettias have been cultivated in the USA alone! These are ‘cultivars’: plants that have been created by humans, as opposed to ‘varieties’ which have evolved in nature. Some of our favourites include:

• Poinsettia Princettia – which comes in bright pink, red and fresh white tones.
• Poinsettia Winter rose – the clues in the name, it looks a bit like a rose with its fluffy, ruffled brachts.
• Poinsettia Marble Star – a dusty pink colour with white edges = gorgeous.
• Poinsettia Marco Polo – glowy salmon pink, we love the unusual colour.

The Spruce has a great round up of 32 the best poinsettia varieties.

Poinsettias in culture

Why are poinsettias associated with Christmas?

Good question. Trying to track the cultural history of plants can be tricky, like following a winding maze filled with red herrings not red poinsettia. It’s hard to tell fact from myth! One version holds that the poinsettia’s Christmas associations come from Mexico, where the plant is known as Flor de Nochebuena, translated as Flowers of the Holy Night or Christmas Eve Flower. This name is believed to come from a biblical story about a Mexican girl who presented a bouquet of weeds to the baby Jesus. When they were placed before the crib they transformed into the poinsettia in a Christmas miracle. Another idea holds that it’s because the brachts resemble stars, like the star of Bethlehem which we associate with Christmas.

We have a hunch it also has something to do with a canny florist and their marketing savvy. According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, Paul Ecke Snr, an American florist, learned a way to grow a fuller version of a poinsettia in the 1960s. He realised it could be a hit and set out on a campaign to promote it. His success saw him nicknamed ‘Mr Poinsettia’.

What’s the history of the poinsettia?

Poinsettias were named as a new species in 1834, although they will of course have been around for hundreds of years (if not more) before that. They were used by the Aztec civilisation as a red dye and as medicine. They knew it as cuetlaxōchitl.

The poinsettias spread across the world via trading and colonisation, began in the 1800s. It’s common name, poinsettia, comes from Joel Roberts Poinsett an American botanist, politician and slave owner, who sent samples of the plant from Mexico to America in the 1820s. From then its history gets murky, until the Ecke family began to cultivate the plant in the 1900s leading to its boom in popularity.

What do poinsettias symbolise?

Given the poinsettia’s association with Christmas, it’s come to signify many of the emotions of the season including hope, goodwill, celebration and love. Typically flower meaning shifts with the colours of the blooms (or in this case brachts) though, so a pink poinsettia might be seem as more romantic, while a yellow cultivar could indicate friendship.

How to care for a poinsettia

Where to put a poinsettia?

Put a poinsettia somewhere warm

Aim for temperature between 16°C and 22°C. Keep it away from cold window and draughty spots, but also away from radiators – you don’t want to cook them. Try to keep a consistent temperature, poinsettias don’t like being moved around.

Put a poinsettia somewhere with indirect sunlight

They need enough light to photosynthesise but not so much they get sunburn – so no windowsills where they’ll catch the sun.

Here’s a trick to help. Wait for a clear day and when the sun is highest in the sky use your hand to cast a shadow over the top of/near to the plant, like below.

When to water a poinsettia

The soil of your poinsettia should be slightly damp but not soaking. But how often you water it all depends on the size of the plant and where it’s kept. The best way to see if your poinsettia needs water is to check the soil with your finger.

• If the soil is very dry and the pot is light when it’s picked up – soak the plant in the sink (more on that below)
• A bit dry – give it a light water, just a splash, maybe 3 tablespoons worth.
• Damp – great work, this is right, check it again tomorrow.
• Soaking or wet – leave it for a week to dry out, else the roots will be unhappy.

Do I need to mist poinsettia plants?

Yes, poinsettias love a little humidity given their origins in steamier climates. There are two ways you can give your poinsettia a humidity boost.

1. Mist it

Use a spray bottle to give your poinsettia leaves a fine spritz of water. Use room temperature water and spray every other day to keep the plant happy.

2. Use a pebble tray

A great low maintenance way to keep your poinsettia happy in humidity is with a pebble tray. Take a tray or plate that has a larger diameter than the plant pot, and fill it with small round pebbles. Then pour water into the tray, as it evaporates it’ll create a humid environment for the plant sitting above. Clever right? The pebbles separate the plant pot from the water and allow air to circulate over the water. Pebble trays are also ideal for orchids.

Do I need to feed my poinsettia?

A little plant food now and then wouldn’t go amiss. Use a good quality organic liquid plant food and follow the instructions on the bottle.

How to keep a poinsettia alive and flowering year round

A poinsettia is for life, not just for Christmas, and you can encourage this gorgeous plant to bloom throughout the year and then again for the next festive season.

Feed it in February

By February you’ll notice that the central flowers and red bracts on your poinsettia are starting to fade.  The stems will also become thicker and more stick like and you may notice a few leaves dropping or shrivelling. This is your cue to feed your poinsettia with a liquid fertiliser.

Trim it in March

When March comes it’s time to start preparing your poinsettia to flower again. Be brave and cut your poinsettia’s stems down to about 10cm. Now leave it in its pot until early summer.

Repot it in June

Re-pot your plant in June and place it outside in indirect sunlight, then feed it again with fertiliser but at half the recommended strength.

Take it indoors in August

Late August, bring your poinsettia back indoors and place it in a spot where it can enjoy consistent temperature.

Change its light in September

Now is when the proper flowering effort begins! In September you’re going to want to really control the light your poinsettia gets. It’ll need indirect sunlight between 8am and 5pm, and then put the plant in a pitch black room (or cover it with a bucket) from 5pm until 8am. Stopping any light to the poinsettia during this time encourages it to produce that familiar red colour. If you notice little or no change to the colour of the bracts, make sure the plant is in total darkness for 3 weeks (or longer), or try longer periods of darkness or more days of it being subject to darkness. Sounds cruel to the plant, but it will pay off in those vibrant red shades.