The holiday poinsettias perform beautifully for a month or more. Then what? Do you toss it? And if not, how to keep poinsettias alive, well and blossoming red (and other colors) again come next season?

But first… a lovely Christmas Poinsettia poem by community member, Martha Grow. (Love that name)❣️

CHRISTMAS POINSETTIA POEM

Long considered
the Christmas flower,
I will brighten your home
for many an hour.

Cheerfully lighting
your Christmas Eves,
Who would have thought
my petals were leaves.

~Martha Stevens Grow, artist, calligraphist

Poinsettias: A Christmas Tradition

Growing poinsettias takes a special environment and dedication to nurturing these tropical plants into their seasonal glory. We are lucky to have a local nursery, Mitchell Nursery, that does a great job of growing poinsettias “en mass”. 

For forty years Jim and Judy Mitchell have been running their nursery and expanding their selections and acreage as they meet the needs of homeowners, landscapers, and both public and private institutions. Mitchell Nursery is a popular go-to source for a vast number and array of poinsettias for the Christmas Holidays. 

The Only Family Farm in the Region

Jim Mitchell said they are only family-owned operation in the region raising poinsettias at scale. Mitchell Nursery provides special deals to Churches and non-profits on quantities sold for fundraisers. By the week before Christmas, nearly the entire greenhouse of poinsettias have sold. 

You’ll see in the video interview with Lori Stone of Mitchell Nursery, the sparsity of inventory on 12/20 versus the photo below from a few weeks earlier.

Growing Poinsettias Commercially

Walking into the “Poinsettia House” is an experience in scope and color. Nearly a quarter acre of floor space is covered in red, white, pink, yellow, and dappled varieties of Poinsettias. Clearly, these folks are the experts on how to keep poinsettias alive, thriving and colorful!

Those colorful petals are really not the flower, they are bracts. The colorful bracts help to attract pollinators to the center where the tiny flowers reside. We see the same kind of design in the dogwood tree blooms. 

The gorgeous color display of poinsettias are not actually of the flower. The colorful leaves, called ‘bracts’, are designed by nature to draw pollinators to the tiny flowers at the center.

Poinsettia Origins

Origins of the poinsettia run deep. Native to southern Mexico and Central America, indigenous people, like the Aztecs, used poinsettia plants for medicine and dye as well as garden ornamentals.

 Later, Franciscan priests used the brilliant flowers in the nativity processions of the “Fiesta of Santa Pasebre”. Because poinsettias flowered during Christmas time, they came to be associated with the holidays.

Poinsettias are tropical plants that can grow outdoors in temps above 50℉.

In 1825, US Ambassador to Mexico Joel Poinsett introduced the plant into the US. Thus, his name identifies the plant as we know it today. The poinsettia’s actual botanical name is Euphorbia pulcherrima.

Today, numerous cultivars have been developed. These have resulted in a multitude of colors, shapes, and sizes as well as improvements in branching, blooming, and retention of leaves and bracts.^[1]https://poinsettias.ces.ncsu.edu/homeowners/poinsettia-history/ 

How to Care for Poinsettias

On our latest visit to Mitchell’s Nursery, we asked the Poinsettia House manager, Lori Stone,  how to keep poinsettias alive after the holidays. In this video, Lori offers some great advice on care and ways to keep poinsettias blooming from year to year. 

We’re excited to bring this gorgeous, locally grown, poinsettia into our home.The red and white speckled bracts induce a festive mood and good cheer. And, we hope to care for it so that we continue to enjoy it’s beauty next year. 

Check out this article if you’re wondering are poinsettias are poisonous?

How to Keep Poinsettias Alive All Year Round

Poinsettia Care by Month

November – December

Light and Water: Provide direct sunlight if available, or place near your brightest window by day. Water your poinsettia water 1-2 times per week. You can tell when it’s thirsty by feeling the soil and also lifting the plant. If it feels really light, then it’s dry and in need of a drink!

Enjoy your new poinsettia for the holidays, and water when dry. Whether that’s once or twice per week will depend on how dry your indoor environment may be. If you’re running heat continuously, you might need to water them twice a week. If not, then once a week may work.

We like to place ours as a centerpiece on our dining room table. However, this means that it isn’t getting the most sunlight, so we also rotate it to a sunny window every other day or so.

January – March

Light and Water: Be careful not to over-water and give it plenty of light, as indicated above.

April

Prune and Fertilize: Now is a good time to prune back any scrawny branches or dead leaves. You can also sprinkle on some poinsettia fertilizer, according to manufacturer’s instructions.

A good fertilizer for poinsettias is EXCEL Cal-Mag 15-5-15.

May – September

Sun and Water: Allow your poinsettia to get plenty of bright light. You may put your poinsettia outside in a protected area, to begin with, and then gradually move it to full sun if you wish, so that it gets plenty of light.

Fertilizer and Pinching: Continue to water regularly and fertilize. Pinching off the top of the poinsettia encourages more branching before September.

September – November

12 Hours of Dark: You will want to begin to shorten the light exposure for your plants. Some say to bring them inside (if they’re not already there), and place a cardboard box over them, or to put them into a closet at night.

The goal is to provide for them the amount of daylight they’d get if outdoors, and to minimize or prevent exposure to artificial indoor light. Winter days are short, so they need at least 12 hours per night of darkness for the best coloration results..

Plenty of Light: Be sure the plants get plenty of light in the day. When the bracts begin to color, you no longer need to keep it dark at night. Do not fertilize after the bracts show good color.

Contributions from the Community

“Saved this one from 2021. This is it, today!”
~Scott Parsons

Enjoy your poinsettia through another holiday season!

Wishing you great gardens and healthy harvests!