I thought I’d talk about one of the most commonly used Christmas indoor plants, the Red Poinsettia, Euphorbia pulcherrima.
While this beautiful plant is native to Mexico and Central America, it has well established itself into Australian culture, to the point that when Brisbane City Council was formed on 1 October 1925, the red poinsettia was chosen as the floral emblem!
Poinsettias are amazing plants. They will grow in full sun, full shade, indoors or outdoors. They can handle most soil types, the cold, the dry and the heat. For this reason, I’m amazed we don’t use more of them in our gardens.
Poinsettias at Pohlmans Nursery around October
For me, there really is nothing finer than the sight of a poinsettia naturally blooming. I remember the first time I saw a hedge of Poinsettias in colour, it was going up both sides of a driveway out at Lowood. Oh my, it took my breath away.
Did you know that what we think are the ‘flowers’ of the poinsettia are actually ‘bracts’ or clusters of coloured leaves. The coloured part is actually leaves that have changed colour. The real flowers are insignificant and found in the centre of each of these clusters.
The colour pigmentation of these bracts is triggered by the shorter periods of sunlight that the plant experiences during the winter months. That’s right, the natural time for a Poinsettia to flower is winter. Short days, long nights!
Why do we associate them with Christmas if they flower in the winter? That’s an easy one to answer, because we have always been inundated with the Northern Hemisphere’s idea of a cold snowy Christmas.... they have Poinsettias flowering naturally at Christmas and for them it’s a bright bit of colour on a bleak outlook.
To make Poinsettias flower at Christmas, we need to adjust their lighting. I have included a picture of Pohlmans Poinsettias around October. They put these plants into special hothouses and adjust the lighting over the next few months to bring them into colour. The next picture is what the same room looks like in December!
Poinsettias come in all different colours, it’s just we normally associate red ones with Christmas. However, I do love the hot pink and double bract ones.
Boss lady hates poinsettias as they can be deciduous in the subtropics after and sometimes during flowering time. As a result, some years results in a shabby plant and other years, if it’s a dry summer, you get a full, thick plant. She never knows what they will look like and it annoys her!
The same Poinsettias at Pohlmans Nursery in December
While there are ‘dwarf’ versions of Poinsettia on the market, you still need to trim them back every few years to keep them looking neat. I find if I trim them back harshly at end of winter and give them a good feed of Organic Link fertiliser, they are usually looking lush by October. When trimming, it’s important to know that these plants have a milky sap that can be irritating to some, but more importantly, can ruin your clippers. So make sure you wear protective gear and always thoroughly clean your clippers afterwards.
As mentioned before, I have found Poinsettias will grow anywhere. Pots, the garden, indoors or outside. If planting them in a pot, always use excellent quality potting mix and don’t over pot. If planting them in a garden, use excellent quality garden soil. Never plant your Poinsettia near a street light or an outdoor light that is constantly on, as they will never change colour. I find using Poinsettias in the garden is a great way to make a dark green space bright during our bleaker months of the year.
This Christmas enjoy your red Poinsettia inside and then go plant it in the garden so it can do what it does naturally.