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Poinsettias

A bright red flower of the genus Euphorbia pulcherrima, native to Mexico and most often associated with Christmas.

294 Questions

How do you care for poinsettias?

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Asked by Wiki User

If you want to keep your poinsettia for the following year follow these instructions. Keep indoors until temperatures outside are a constant 60 degrees if not keep indoors. Around April prune plant to about 15 cms in height . Don't be afraid! . Also the best time to re pot , place in a pot about 4 cms larger than previous one.

Keep plant fairly dry, water scarcely then start to water more often in May, June. In July prune again but lightly this time to give the plant some shape and balance. Around September bring it in if it's been outside.

Poinsettias need now to be placed at least 12 hours aday in complete darkness. I usually place mine in a wardrobe!. I place mine around 5pm in complete darkness and then around 8am I place it in the window in my Kitchen on a marble shelf above a radiator. It's in a pot stand which has pebbles in it so that the roots of the plant don't touch the water and the plant receives a lot of light but does not get too dry. Fertilize every two weeks or so. Around late November the leaves have started to go red and you can stop the light and darkness routine.

The poinsettia is a native of Mexico, thus it likes the temperate weather and very much dislikes the cold. Thus, keep your poinsettia away from air conditioning, or cold windows. It also does not do well in drafts such as from heat vents or entry ways. Warm drafts can cause the plant to dry too quickly, resulting in curled leaves and leaf drop. Keep the poinsettia more on the dry side, but do not let it dry out completely. Water the plant when the soil 1/2" deep feels dry. A good way to water any plant is from the bottom. Remove the plant from it's decorative pot cover or basket and set the grower's pot into several inches of lukewarm or room temperature water. Leave to soak until the soil surface feels damp. Allow to drain, then place the plant back into its basket. Watering in this way will allow the plant to soak up only what it needs without over watering. You'll actually water less often this way too. To help cut down the affects of drying in a heated home, spread some sort of ground cover around the plant, on top of the soil. Moss or excelsior work well. The colored parts of the plant are bracts, or colored leaves...not true flowers. The actual flowers are the very tiny yellow centers nestled in amidst the bracts. Poinsettias are not poisonous, contrary to popular belief. Much research has been done on these plants. A recent report on this comes from the University of Minnesota. There is more risk to young children or pets choking on chewed leaves (as could happen if any larger leafed plant were chewed). However, the plant does produce latex when stems or leaves are torn. This is a white sticky sort of sap which can produce an allergic reaction in those sensitive to latex. In spring, the poinsettia may be planted outdoors, but should be considered an annual in colder climates. To rebloom, a poinsettia needs about 16 hours of total darkness starting October 1 for about 6 weeks.

What soil is best for a poinsettia?

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Asked by LexiBet

one half sandy

Is the poinsettia a shrub?

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Asked by Wiki User

Yes, the poinsettia is a flower. It's sometimes called the Christmas flower because it's seen so widely in Christmas displays. But, the dominant red display is not the flower, it's modified leaves below the small yellow flowers.

Click on the Related Link below for pictures of poinsettias

Can poinsettias be yellow?

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Asked by Wiki User

Yes, poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) can be blue.

Specifically, this achievement reflects the scientific and technological changes of the 20th and 21st centuries. Among the possibilities that such changes offer is the ability to access a plant's internal structure and affect its biochemistry. For example, red, purple or blue colors are due to the presence of pigments called anthocyanins. Other pigments include the chlorophylls responsible for green colors and the carotenoids responsible for ivory, orange and yellow colors.

What is the color of a poinsettia plant's flowers?

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Asked by Wiki User

crimson

by Jack Mehoff

Actually, the poinsettia flower is yellow; the leaves are red.

by Stew Pidacel
In wild Poinsettias, the sepals are green, with red at the base. Cultivated varieties are usually red -- but the flowers are always yellow, tiny, and at the center of the "bloom".

How long do poinsettias live?

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Asked by Wiki User

A couple years is how long poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) can grow.

Specifically, poinsettias are perennial shrubs in their native southwest Mexican and Central American homelands. Outside that native range, they tend to be grown as annuals whose life and death take place over the course of a year. But they have the potential to live much longer, if such critical conditions as appropriate levels of heat, light intensity and moisture are met.

Are poinsettias poisonous to deer?

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Asked by Wiki User

Not really, no, unless your rabbit munched its way through a LOT of plants. Poinsettias being poisonous to pets and kids is a fairly old urban myth.

Who was the poinsettia named after and what was his profession?

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Asked by Wiki User

Botanist, physician and statesman Joel Roberts Poinsettia(March 2, 1774 - December 12, 1851) is the person for whom poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) are named.

Specifically, Poinsett discovered the plant growing in the wild in its native Mexico. He was impressed with the plant's bright, end-of-the-year bloom. He realized that the plant would generate a lot of interest among botanists in the United States of America. In 1828, he began sending specimens back to his own botanical greenhouses in South Carolina and to select botanist friends. He thereby became the first person known to have introduced the plant north of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Do birds pollinate poinsettias?

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Asked by Wiki User

Yes, birds pollinate poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima).

Specifically, poinsettia nectar also draws such natural pollinators as bees from the Halictidae family, and bugs from the Sphingidae family of sphinx moths. Natural pollinators transport the pollen of one poinsettia plant to another as they go from poinsettia flower to poinsettia flower. Additionally, there are two other pollinator options:

1. A poinsettia has both female and male flowers on one plant so it can be self-pollinating.

2. Humans serve as artificial pollinators when they brush the pollen of one poinsettia onto another.

The advantage of natural and artificial pollinators is that the subsequently seeds will produce true to the parents. Such is not possible with reproduction by vegetative cuttings.

What are good temperature ranges for Poinsettias?

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Asked by Wiki User

Semi-tropical and tropical climates are the climates to which poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) are native.

Specifically, poinsettias are native to southwestern Mexico and Central America. Nowadays they can be grown outside their native range. But success depends upon the meeting of the plant's specific needs. For example, poinsettias cannot be grown in cold climates since the plant is susceptible to fatal injury from the bruising, drying winds of temperatures below their comfort zone of 60-80 degrees F/15.56- 26.67 degrees C.

How much sunlight do poinsettias need each day?

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Asked by Wiki User

there are over 2000 species so unless the variety in known, it is difficult to answer the question. They are adapted to a wide range of habitats, generally, well drained light soil in full sun, moist humus rich soil in light dappled shade or permanently moist soil in full sun

Why do poinsettias change colors?

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Asked by Wiki User

Poinsettias require short days and long nights in order to bloom and for their bracts to turn color. They need total blackness if possible; you don't even want the light from the moon or stars to enter the room where the poinsettias are being kept.

It will take a while but the poinsettias will turn red by doing this.

(http://www.howtodothings.com/home-garden/how-to-make-a-poinsettia-turn-red)

How are poinsettias pollinated?

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Asked by Wiki User

Yes, bees can help pollinate poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima).

Specifically, green bee members of the Halictidae family often visit poinsettias planted outdoors in Florida. The bees are drawn to the plant's color and scent. While sampling the plant's nectar, they pick up grains of pollen. The pollen stays on their bodies until dropping off at the next poinsettia visited. Bees thereby help pollinate the poinsettias that they visit.

What is the common name of poinsettias?

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Asked by Wiki User

Poinsettia is the common name of the poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima).

Specifically, the common name is a made-up name. It is a combination of the last name "Poinsett" and the suffix "-ia." The name honors Joel Roberts Poinsettia (March 2, 1779 - December 2, 1851). Poinsett introduced the plant into the United States of America. Previously, the plant was known only to the indigenous inhabitants and Spanish-speaking settlers of southwestern Mexico.

In which country did poinsettias originate as a symbol?

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Asked by Wiki User

Mexico is the country where the poinsettia originally was grown. The flowering plant in question (Euphorbia pulcherrima) occupies a definite bio-geography which includes Guatemala and Mexico and which may extend to Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

Where did the poinsettia tradition begin?

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Asked by Wiki User

As a shrub growing wild in southwestern Mexico is the way in which poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) started out.

Left to its own devises, the poinsettia matures to a height of 16 feet/4.9 meters. But the beautiful color change that its modified leaves take on by late December got the attention of the indigenous peoples of Mexico. At that point, it transitioned into a cultivated plant whose height was controlled to about one-third of its potential.

As a cultivated plant, it became incorporated into the religious rituals of the ancient Aztecs of Mexico and subsequently into the Christmas celebrations of Spanish-speaking Catholic missionaries and settlers of Mexico. The association with the Christmas holidays was continued with the plant's introduction into the United States of America by Joel Roberts Poinsett (March 2, 1779 - December 12, 1851) and its cultivation and promotion through the efforts of the Ecke family in early 20th-century Hollywood, California.

Are poinsettias poisonous to pets?

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Asked by Wiki User

Yes, poinsettia plants are harmful to cats.

Specifically, poinsettia contains a milky sap which is called latex (even though it is not the latex which helps in rubber production). Latex irritates a cat's digestive tract. Cats that eat poinsetta for Christmas will need to be treated for irritated mouths and stomachs as well as for nausea and vomiting.

What does a Christmas poinsettias represent?

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Asked by Wiki User

First of all, technically it isn't a flower and the red parts of it everyone judges to be petals are actually leaves.

Secondly, the poinsettia was introduced by the first ambassador of Mexico, Joel Roberts Poinsett. When he brought it to Mexico the Mexicans were symbolic to the star of David (star of Bethlehem, and that is how the Poinsettia became associated with Xmas.

What Joel Poinsett announced was the Poinsettia was actually to represent 'Courage in the Darkness'

What is the country where poinsettias are grown?

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Asked by Wiki User

Guatemala and Mexico are the countries where poinsettias are grown. The plants in question (Euphorbia pulcherrima) grow natively in the two above-mentioned countries (as well as possible Costa Rica and Nicaragua) and naturalize to countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia, and Europe (either as an indoor or outdoor plant).

Do poinsettias grow in Florida?

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Asked by Wiki User

Yes, poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) can grow in Florida.

Specifically, poinsettias are native to semi-tropical and tropical Latin America. The challenges in Florida come from the threat of bacterial and fungal attacks, high high winds, high temperatures and freezing temperatures. In order to survive, Florida-grown poinsettias need locations that will give them the following:

1. High intensity sunlight from which they are protected from a position of light shade;

2. Humid environment in which breezes are light and therefore do not become bruising or drying;

3. Protection from exposure to herbicides such as weed killers;

4. Soil that is clean and well-aerated; holds moisture but not to the point of waterlogging; and has good drainage and high fertility;

5. Temperatures that range from 60 degrees F/15.56 degrees C at night to 60-80 degrees F/15.56-26.67 degrees F during the day.

How tall do poinsettias grow in the wild?

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Asked by Wiki User

A mature height of 2 feet-15 feet/0.6096-4.9 meters is possible for poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima), depending upon the context.

Specifically, in their native Mexican habitat, poinsettias have a chance of realizing their full potential as perennial shrubs. But in the United States of America, they traditionally are viewed as end-of-year holiday plants to be kept in houseplant containers and treated as annuals whose life is short and whose demise is imminent. In this role, they tend to be cultivated to reach mature heights about one-eighth (1/8) of their potential in the wild.

Do poinsettias need direct sunlight?

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Asked by Wiki User

Yes, poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) need water.

Specifically, poinsettias like humid air and moist (not waterlogged) soil. In fact, they need soil to be fertile, well-aerated and well-drained. They do not like soil to dry out. The soil always must be moist to the touch.

Generally, plants need to be watered every 7-10 days. In between waterings, a simple soil test involves sticking a sharp object such as a pencil, ruler or soil probe down into the soil. If the object comes clean, the soil is too dry. If the object becomes muddy, then the soil is waterlogged. If the object has soil particles clinging to it like little freckles or speckles, then the soil is adequately moist.

Who was the poinsettia named after?

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Asked by Wiki User

The French language is the source of the word "poinsettia" (Eurphorbia pulcherrima).

Specifically, the word adds to the French family name Poinsett the suffix "-ia." Joel Roberts Poinsett (March 2, 1779 - December 12, 1851) is the individual responsible for the introduction of the December-blooming plant into the United States of America. As a trained botanist, he noticed the plant in its native habitat in southwestern Mexico. He realized the scientific interest and the cultural import of such a beautiful, late-flowering plant and began sending specimens to select botanist friends in 1828.