The most popular houseplant for the bringing in of Christmas is the poinsettia plant. The plant comes from the tropics so that should tell you it needs some warmth. The most common mistake is when you buy one and transport it to the car and back in your home, it might get chilled. Then that is when all the colorful bracts (top leaves) fall off soon.
After you get it home, remove the foil around the pot so excess water drains away. Place the poinsettia in an east window or south window (careful the light is not too intense). Keep away from touching cold windows or drafts from opening outside doors. Let the top of the soil dry until watering and mist daily.
The plant should retain its color until late spring. Then I throw the plant away. If you want to be challenged, cut back the stems, and move outside in the summer to a light shady area keeping watering and fertilizing. Keep pinching new stems back preventing the poinsettia from getting too big. Bring indoors in late summer. Keep the plant in total darkness from 5 PM to 8 AM starting October 1 until the last of November.
Plants are native to Central America to southern Mexico. Joel Pionsett a French physician discovered these plants and took them back to Europe. The plant has been hybridized to the many colors you see in today’s market beyond the typical dark red.
Is the poinsettia poisonous? The milky sap makes the plant bitter, deterring pests. If you eat the leaves anyway, a dog or cat eats some leaves they will become nauseated and throw up. It is still best to keep the plant away from pets and kids. Two seasonal plants that are toxic are the amaryllis and holly berries.
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