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Commentary by Angel Rutherford
Special to the Herald/Review
To me, this plant is essential for decorating my home for the holidays.
Poinsettias belong to the plant family of Euphorbia.
What is a Euphorbia?
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This is a large group of plants and many Euphorbias are succulents. Just to name a few better known ones: Gopher Plant – E. lathyris, Snow-On-The-Mountain- E. marginata, Crown of Thorns – E.milii, and Pencil Tree – E.tirucalli.
What we call flowers, the colorful bracts on a poinsettia are nothing more than leaves, colored to attract pollinators to the rather non-descript tiny yellow flowers.
All Euphorbia have milky sap that runs as soon the plants stems or leaves are cut. It can irritate the skin.
In the ’70s, I lived for several years in the Canary Islands on an Island called Tenerife. This island claims to be the native habitat of the Poinsettia – P.pulcherrima. On the island, the plant grows into a large shrub or small tree, 10 feet and more. Blooming starts in November, which is when the green leaves on top of the long canes start to color up, and lasts until March.
From the islands, the plants were taken by the conquistadores to Mexico, where they liked the climate and naturalized quickly.
In 1825, Joel Roberts Poinsett was appointed U.S. minister to Mexico. Several years later he got into trouble and had to return to his home in South Carolina. He didn’t come home empty handed. He brought with him cuttings of this beautiful Mexican plant.
The plants we grow now are different from the plant he brought home. The plants in those days usually lost all the leaves quickly and just the colorful bracts remained on naked stems.
In 1963, a mutation was discovered that kept the leaves longer. This plant was used in future breeding. These plants, with the proper care can keep their foliage and their color well into early summer.
A poinsettia needs sun at least for five hours, and it needs a place free of drafts. It likes cool nights and a little warmer days. The soil should dry out slightly between watering, and do not feed it.
Of course, they will lose their leaves and look not good. Most people throw them out at that time, but with proper care they will form buds again and the bracts will color up for many years to come.
The plants form their buds over a period beginning in autumn when the days get shorter and cooler and the nights get longer. In most places, that is induced with placing bags over the plants or placing the plants into a closet. In our climate, this is not necessary. In the desert, the days automatically become shorter and the nights get longer.
If you keep your plant in a room without artificial light, the plant will start to bloom again. The plants we buy are greenhouse-grown rooted cuttings. They lived in a controlled environment. It hurts me to see plants being kept here in outdoor nurseries or hardware stores. Never buy a plant from these conditions. It is doomed from the beginning.
Make sure that the plant you bring home is put in a bag to protect it from drafts and shifts in temperature. Keep in mind, too, that these plants are treated with a growth retardant to keep them small. That will eventually wear off and the plant will grow back to its original size. The more modern varieties might be fixed to stay in a smaller scale.
To me, the original red bracts varieties are the most festive for the Christmas season. I like to decorate my house in red, green and gold.
Every year there seams to be a new variety and some are quite striking. Very beautiful is “Winter Rose.” This one has bracts that are curled under in a very bright red, looking like the flower of a rose.
There also are some with yellow, pink and greenish white bracts. “Marble Queen” has reddish white variegated bracts. I just found one with very small leaves and bracts that are hot pink called “Dulce Rosa” — sweet rose. I came across one this month I absolutely fell in love with, it had ruffled pink bracts and intensive bright green ruffled green leaves, stunning, but the prize tag of $20 kind of cooled me off.
I wish you all a merry Christmas and go and get that beautiful plant to complement your holiday decorations.
ANGEL RUTHERFORD is a Cochise County Master Gardener and member of the Sierra Vista Area Gardening Club. Her column, In the Desert Garden, appears the first Sunday of each month in the Herald/Review.
