POINSETTIA'S - NOT JUST FOR CHRISTMAS

Good Afternoon from the Frosted Hills of Kentucky.

I have bought Poinsettia's for gifts before but
have never purchased one for myself.
To tell you the truth it kinda made me sad to see
people discard them so easily after Christmas.

Today, I am sharing two articles on Poinsettia's
that I find informative and interesting.
I was looking through our gardening catalogs and
am amazed at all of the color varieties available.
If you are looking for a last minute Christmas Gift,
Poinsettia's are widely available.
We hope you are Having a Happy Holiday Season.





WHY DO WE HAVE POINSETTIAS?

With poinsettias the most popular flowering holiday plant in much of the world, most may not stop to think just how they got to be so popular. Their history begins in Mexico, in the early 1800's.

Poinsettias actually were around for much longer, having been cultivated by the Aztecs in Mexico before Christianity came to the Western Hemisphere. The plant was native to an area called Taxo del Alarcon in southern Mexico. Growing year round as a woody shrub, to ten feet high, it bloomed during the shorter days of winter. Research in the middle of the twentieth century showed the poinsettia requires a specific number of hours of darkness each night in order to bloom.

Because of its brilliant color, the flower was considered a symbol of purity by the native Mexicans. It was highly prized by Kings Netzahualcoyotl and Montezuma, even though they could not grow it in the cooler climate of their capital (present-day Mexico City).

The Aztecs used the plant they called "cuetlaxochiti" not only for decoration, but for practical uses. They made a purplish dye from its bracts (the colored parts we think of as the flowers), and used its milky sap or latex to treat fevers.

Perhaps the first use of the poinsettia for holidays, due to its time of bloom and beautiful color, predated its "discovery." During the 17th century, Franciscan priests near Taxco used the flower in a nativity procession, the Fiesta of Santa Pesebre.

The first of three people responsible for the poinsettia's popularity was Joel Roberts Poinsett, Ambassador to Mexico from 1825 to 1829. As a sidenote, it is he who later founded what we know today as the Smithsonian Institution. Mr. Poinsett was also a keen botanist, and sent some of these plants in 1828 to his own greenhouses on his Greenville, South Carolina plantation. From there he propagated the plants, sending them to friends and relatives.

One of these that received some of the first poinsettias was the second person responsible for promoting the poinsettia. Colonel Robert Carr, then owner of the famous Bartram Nursery of Philadelphia, introduced the poinsettia into cultivation and trade in 1829 at an exhibition of the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society. In 1834, another famous nurseryman in American history, Robert Buist, introduced the poinsettia to Europe.

This plant is a member of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, and was first marketed as Euphorbia poinsettia. A German taxonomist correctly named it Euphorbia pulcherrima (most beautiful) in 1833, the correct scientific name to this day. The common name we use today was believed to have been coined around 1836.

The poinsettia was shipped around the country during the 1800's, more as an outdoor plant for warm climates. Around 1920 in southern California, a horticulturist named Paul Ecke became the third key person to promote the poinsettia. He felt this shrub growing wild along roadsides would make a perfect Christmas flower, so set about producing these in fields in what is now Hollywood. A few years later, due to development, he was forced to move south to Encinitas where the Paul Ecke Ranch continues to produce poinsettias today.

Through the marketing efforts of Paul Ecke and his sons, the poinsettia has become symbolic with Christmas. An Act of Congress has even set December 12, the death of Joel Poinsett, as National Poinsettia Day to commemorate this man and this plant. Originally only red in color, through the breeding efforts of the Eckes and others, the poinsettia you find today may be in all shades of red to almost purple, pinks, bicolors, and even white.

article courtesy of:
Dr. Leonard Perry,
Extension Professor



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CARING FOR YOUR POINSETTIA YEAR ROUND

People have different opinions about the poinsettia. Some consider it a holiday plant to be enjoyed during the month of December, then discarded with the Christmas tree. Others like to nurture and coddle their plants, coaxing them into bloom season after season.

Me, I subscribe to the former way of thinking. Although it may seem a shame to discard potted holiday plants, such as poinsettias, if you prorate the cost of the plant over the long period you are able to enjoy it, the cost isn't really much. We often spend many times the cost of a potted plant for a dinner or a movie that can be enjoyed only briefly. Besides, I don't have the room to keep this, then get more spring flowering plants, too!

There's also no guarantee that your poinsettia will bloom again next December, even with year-round care. But if you'd like to try, here are a few tips.

First, be sure you choose a plant with small, tightly clustered yellow buds in the center. Look for crisp, brightly colored, undamaged bracts (leaves). Avoid plants that are displayed in drafty areas.

Protect the plant from the elements on its trip from the store to your home. Wrap in layers of newspapers or a double brown paper bag.

Place the plant in a room with plenty of bright, natural light. Keep out of drafts and away from appliances and refrigerators, and never place it on the television set.

Water only when dry; discard excess water that runs through the pot's drainage holes. If wrapped in foil, make sure the pot doesn't sit in water inside the decorative wrap.

A good way to remember when to provide extra attention to your poinsettia is by tieing your care schedule to specific holidays. Here's how:

NEW YEAR'S DAY--Fertilize with an all-purpose houseplant fertilizer at recommended rates. Continue to provide adequate light and water for prolonged bloom for several weeks.

VALENTINE'S DAY--Check your plant for signs of insects such as white fly. If your plant has become long and leggy, cut back to about five inches tall.

ST. PATRICK'S DAY--Remove faded and dried parts of the plant. Add more soil, preferably a commercially available sterile soil mix. Keep the plant in a very bright interior location.

MEMORIAL DAY--Trim off two to three inches of branches to promote side branching. Repot to a larger container using a sterile growing mix.

FATHER'S DAY--Move the plant outside for the summer; place in indirect light.

FOURTH OF JULY--Trim the plant again. Move it into full sun. Continue to water and fertilize but increase the amount to accelerate growth.

LABOR DAY--Move indoors to a spot that gets at least six hours of direct light daily, preferably more. As new growth begins, reduce the amount of fertilizer.

AUTUMNAL EQUINOX--Starting on or near Sept. 21, give the plant 13 hours of uninterrupted darkness (put the plant in a closet, basement, or under a box) and 11 hours of bright light each day. Maintain night temperatures in the low 60 degree F range. Continue to water and fertilize. Rotate the plant daily to give all sides even light.

THANKSGIVING--Discontinue the short day/long night treatment. Put the plant in a sunny area that gets at least six hours of direct light. Reduce water and fertilizer.

CHRISTMAS--Enjoy your "new" poinsettia. Start the cycle all over again.

article courtesy of:
Dr. Leonard Perry,
Extension Professor