How to choose & care for a Poinsettia

How to choose & care for a

Poinsettia

Originating from Mexico, the poinsettia is the ultimate Christmas houseplant with its vibrant coloured leaves. Here is a guide on how to choose and care for your Poinsettia.

Choosing your Poinsettia

There are over 150 different varieties of Poinsettia, the most popular being the ‘Classic Red’, but they can also be white, pink and orange, such as ‘Astra Red’, ‘Leona White’ and ‘Orange Spice’. The bright colours on the plant are actually leaf bracts, and not flowers. When you buy your Poinsettia from the garden centre, make sure to ask if the plant can be wrapped up or covered in a bag to make sure it keeps warm.

How do I care for my Poinsettia?

Place your plant in a warm room, a Poinsettia is a tropical plant, so it hates being cold. It needs a minimum temperature of 13 degrees, so don’t place it right next to a window (they hate a draught) and not near a direct source of heat e.g. a radiator or open fire
Place it in a room with indirect sunlight so, again, not right next to the window.
To keep the air around the plant more humid, mist the leaves with room temperature water every other day or use a gravel tray with a very small amount of water in. Poinsettia don’t like sudden changes in humidity - switching from wet and cold to hot and dry will damage the bracts.
It is really important that you don’t overwater your Poinsettia. Water the soil daily, using no more than 2-3 tablespoons of water. Alternatively, give it a weekly sink soak by gently pouring water into the soil until it flows through the drainage holes. Allow to drain for 10 minutes and then return to its home. Never let the Poinsettia stand in water and avoid getting the bracts wet.
Remove any dead leaves from the top of the compost.