Merry Xmas: All you want to know about Christmas poinsettias

Hyderabad: Christmas is the perfect time to give or receive plants and flowers. Christmas is not complete without the poinsettia.

Poinsettias are popular garden plants in tropical and subtropical areas and are well-known potted plants associated with winter festivities.

No Christmas Without the Poinsettia

Poinsettias are an indispensable part of Christmas decor worldwide. They are symbols of good cheer and Christmas. The Euphorbia pulcherrima, widely known as the poinsettia, belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae or the Spurge family.

There are more than 2,000 species in this botanical family, and many have common names that vary by region and country.

German botanist Karl Ludwig Wildenow named the poinsettia. He was so impressed by the color of this plant that he called it Euphorbia pulcherrima, which literally means 'very pretty plant'.

Native to Central America

The poinsettia is native to Central America and Mexico, particularly in an area of southern Mexico known as 'Taxco del Alarcon', where they flower naturally during the winter.

Poinsettias are very common in Mexico, and you will often see them growing on the side of the road. Even in the 14th to 16th centuries, this plant was popular among the Aztecs. They called them 'Cuetlaxochitl', which means 'flower that grows in residues or soil'.

Poinsettias had several practical uses, including dyeing clothing and using the sap as medicine, as well as for decoration and midwinter celebrations.

Flowering and Colors of the Poinsettia

The poinsettia is a shrub (or small tree) that generally reaches a height of 60 cm to 5 meters. With dark green leaves and yellow flowers surrounded by large, colorful bracts that look like petals, this plant is a looker.

The bracts are often mistaken for flower petals, but they are actually modified leaves that surround a bunch of small, inconspicuous yellow flowers called cyathia.

In response to the poinsettia plant forming flowers, the bracts can change color, ranging from creamy white to the traditional bright red.

Christmas Star

Because of the colorful star-shaped bracts that are always around during Christmas time, this flower is also called the Christmas Star or Christmas Flower.

The use of this plant in Christmas decor and celebrations dates back to the 17th century, when Franciscan monks in Mexico began using poinsettia in Christmas ceremonies. At that time, the legend of the little Pepita was born, forever linking red and green colors to Christmas.

Legend

According to legend, a young Mexican girl named Pepita was on her way to visit the Nativity scene at the chapel in her small town.

It was customary at the time to honor Jesus by bringing gifts to the church. Pepita didn't have anything to give, so on her way to the church, she picked flowers and weeds from the side of the road and fashioned them into a bouquet.

Upon arrival, the girl is said to have laid the bouquet at the feet of Jesus, and suddenly, the weeds burst into brilliant red petals. From that day on, the bright red flowers of the poinsettia were known as the 'Flores de Noche Buena' or 'Flowers of the Holy Night'.

Most Popular Christmas Plant

The plant remained relatively unknown until Joel Roberts Poinsett introduced it to the United States.

This introduction forever changed how people see poinsettias worldwide, and now no Christmas is complete without them. It is the most popular Christmas plant in the world and is grown globally for December festivities.

Selecting Poinsettias

When selecting a poinsettia for yourself or someone else, make sure it has healthy, dark green foliage, well-colored bracts, stiff stems, and that no roots are coming out of the pot. It's normal for the plant to have a few yellow leaves, but too many indicate stress.

Poinsettia Care

They prefer cooler temperatures overnight and thrive in slightly humid air. Ideally, keep your poinsettia in a cool place that receives at least 6 hours of indirect sunlight per day and keep the soil damp but not saturated.

You can check its watering needs by lifting the entire pot. When the pot is light, it indicates the soil is dry, and you need to water your plant. Besides this, poinsettias require very little care. They hold color for weeks and adapt well to indoor conditions.

As December fills up with events, having a plant that looks good without constant work is a welcome convenience. Simple to manage and visually unmistakable, the poinsettia remains one of the most practical and recognizable elements of Christmas décor.

Colours

The Christmas poinsettia is famous for bright red flowers, yet its showy color comes from bracts, not the actual flowers, which are small and yellow.

Nurseries now offer white leaves, pink, marbled, and even orange tones. Under the right light cycles, bracts can turn red again. These plants appear mainly in pots and sometimes as cut flowers, giving decorators more options for winter decorations in homes, workplaces, and public displays.

Long Lasting

With good indoor care, these plants can stay colorful for six weeks or more after Christmas and remain alive into the next stretch of winter. To rebloom, give the plant strict short days: place it in a dark room for total darkness and complete darkness each night, then return it to light each morning.