How to Care for your Flower Bin Poinsettia

  

Poinsettias are among the most popular plants for the holiday season, and for good reason. With their wide range of colors—including red, pink, burgundy, and white—they add a unique sparkle to your holiday display like no other plant.  

The botanical name for poinsettia is Euphorbia pulcherrima, meaning “the most beautiful Euphorbia”, an appropriate description for the most popular holiday plant in the United States.    

Poinsettias were introduced in the United States in 1828 by Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first U.S. Ambassador to Mexico. The Poinsettia we know today is a result of the significant contributions of Horticulturalist Paul Ecke Jr., whose innovations transformed the poinsettia into the country’s best-selling potted plant, with many colors to choose from.  

Variegated poinsettias offer multicolor texture.

  

Mini poinsettias are a relatively new trend. These charmers are grown in tiny pots and are perfect for using as place settings, centerpieces, and decorating your desk at work.   

  

At The Flower Bin, we grow all our own standard-sized poinsettias, a process that begins in late summer.  Each step of the way, from planting to bloom, Jose and his knowledgeable staff carefully attend each poinsettia, assuring you that the plant you are purchasing is locally grown and of the highest quality. That’s what makes them legendary. 

Poinsettias have thin foliage leaves that vary in color from pale to dark green. The showy parts of the poinsettia that most people think of as flowers are specialized leaves, called bracts.

The actual flowers are tiny yellow clusters found at the very center of the bracts. In nature, the brightly colored bracts are there to protect the plant and to attract insects to the flowers to spread the pollen.    

We also hand paint a few poinsettias in glittering blue, purple, and gold to add some sparkle to your holiday houseplant display.   

Proper care for your poinsettia begins before you leave the store. If you choose, we will gift wrap your poinsettia in foil and ribbon. We cut a drain hole in the foil on the plants we wrap so your plant will drain properly.  We will carefully bag your poinsettia when it’s cold, to protect it on its way home. Once you arrive at home, unwrap your poinsettia and place it in a room where it will get bright light, but not direct sunlight.  Poinsettias don’t like drafts, so keep your plants away from heater vents, fireplaces, doors, and cold windows. The ideal room temperature should be around 70°F during the day and no cooler than 60°F at night.   

  

Water your poinsettia thoroughly when the soil surface is dry to the touch. Poinsettias don’t like to sit in water, so discard any water that may collect in the saucer under the plant.  With proper care, your poinsettia will last through the holiday season and retain its beauty well into the New Year.  

  

If you decide to keep your poinsettia after the holidays, recognize that it will go dormant once it’s done blooming. This is to be expected. As the leaves brown and fall off, prune the stems back to four to six inches. Keep it in a bright location, out of direct sun, water it regularly. Once you see new growth, resume fertilizing with an all-purpose houseplant fertilizer such as Schultz 10-15-10, plus Super Thrive with Kelp.