Poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima)
Poinsettias are synonymous with Christmas and the festive season but where did they come from? and how do you keep the beautiful plants alive throughout the year? (it is possible I promise!) here I will give you a little on their history and some tips on how to keep this beautiful red flower strong and happy during the cold winter months.
Originally Poinsettias come from Mexico and Central America and were first noticed by the European explorers in 1803. They got the name 'Poinsettia' from the first American minister to Mexico Joel Roberts Poinsett who was said to be the first person to introduce the plant to America in the 1820's. Before they were called Poinsettias they were known as 'The Mexican Flame Flower' or 'Painted Leaf'.
The Poinsettia in it's natural habitat is actually quite a large shrub or a small tree, quite different to the small plant we are used to seeing in the shops here at Christmas.
The Aztec's originally called the plant 'Cuetlaxochiti' meaning 'flower that grows in soil' (they must have run out of plant names pretty quickly) and used the Poinsettia's to make red dye and an anti fever medicine.
The Christmas connection begins as early as the 16th century when a poor young Mexican girl couldn't afford to get a present for the nativity in her local church. She was directed by an angel to gather weeds outside the church. She did this and placed them at the alter where it is said that bright red flowers bloomed in their place. The star shaped flowers are said to represent the star of Bethlehem and the red the blood of Christ and so the Poinsettias connection to Christmas was born.
So how do we keep this beautiful plant alive and healthy?
Poinsettias are happiest when they are placed away from draughts or any place where temperatures change dramatically. So try and avoid putting them above fireplaces, heaters or draughty hall ways.
They're not a huge fan of water so they should be kept damp but slightly dry. Test the soil with the tips of your fingers before watering, if it still feels slightly damp, leave watering for a bit longer.
Once Christmas has passed you can keep it healthy by giving a little feed such as Tomato feed once every month or so and placing it in a south facing window. If you have any old coffee grounds these can be placed around the base of the plant as a nutritious mulch.
If you have managed to keep it alive you should prune your Poinsettia in April to about 4'' and keep it in a dormant state at a cooler temperature. It also will need hardly any water at this time. Come May you can repot it making sure your soil is of a good quality and keeping it in a bright but cool (around 15-18C) area.
Now for the tricky part, getting it to bloom again in November!. To produce a new flower the plant will have to have 12 hours of daylight followed by 12 hours of complete darkness (the jury is still out on the numbers some say 14hrs of complete darkness) which can be tricky given are dark Irish winters. If you can achieve this however your Poinsettia will reward you with a just as vibrant bloom as when you bought it.
Not to worry if yours doesn't make it though as they will no doubt be a staple in our yearly Christmas shop :)
Sophie x
