Christmas, the time when the Poinsettias are blooming their beautiful natural red color, which are actually its bracts. So what exactly is a bract? It’s a modified leaf that may change color when the flower is in bloom to attract the pollinator. The flower is the yellow ball in the center of the bracts.

They have become a symbol of Christmas just as much as the Christmas tree and is the number one potted plant that is sold in North America. Its natural growth state is as a perennial shrub and grows to 14 feet in the more temperate climates such as Southern California and it’s native country of Mexico. The Paul Ecke family of Encinitas California, north of San Diego, made the poinsettia popular and accounts for approximate 80% of the sales. They began selling the plant in the 1900’s as a landscape plant and for cut flowers. Over the years, they have hybridized over 100 varieties of the plant, but it was Joel Roberts Poinsett, who was the person to bring it to the United States in the 1820’s, as he first saw the plant in Taxco, Guererro, Mexico. He was the first American ambassador to Mexico.

I am told that the Mexicans call the poinsettia, la flor de Nochebuena or the Holy Night Flower.

The Aztecs used the milky sap, which they call cuetlaxochitl, (also known as latex) to control fever and the red bracts as dye. Although native to Mexico, Montezuma, the last Aztec king, would import the poinsettia into what we call Mexico City today because they could not be grown at this high altitude or climate.

It has always been believed that the poinsettia was poisonous, but the Ohio State University in cooperation with the Society of American Florists completed a scientific study that concluded it was not poisonous. The POISINDEX information service states that a 50-pound child would have to eat over 500 poinsettia bracts to surpass their experimental doses and even at this level, it was not toxic. As with all ornamental plants, they are not intended for human or animal consumption.

Care of your Poinsettia as a potted plant

• It needs bright, indirect light for at least 6 hours a day.
• Likes the temperature of 68-70 degrees F
• Keep it out of cold drafts and when purchasing one as a gift, bring a large paper bag to cover it until you get home. They are sensitive to cold.
• Water when the soil is dry and do not let it sit in water or it will get root rot.
• Buy from a good source and get a plant that has roots. Some poinsettias that are available at Christmas do not have a good root system and will not survive the season.
• If you have a poinsettia from last year, about 8 weeks before Christmas, the plants needs at least 14 hours of darkness, no lamps, or artificial lights. Place a box over it at night if need be so the bracts will turn red.
• Keep the temperature between 60 and 70 degrees or the bracts may not turn red.
• Do not fertilize it during these 8 weeks or when the bracts are red.