{"id":119,"date":"2017-12-03T00:05:38","date_gmt":"2017-12-03T00:05:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/echters.com\/wordpress\/?p=119"},"modified":"2018-11-13T22:21:12","modified_gmt":"2018-11-13T22:21:12","slug":"everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-poinsettias","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/echters.com\/wordpress\/?p=119","title":{"rendered":"Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Poinsettias"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Peterstar Marble Poinsettia with tightly budded flowers framed by the colorful bracts of foliage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Millions of poinsettias are purchased each year during the Christmas season by people who enjoy the color and warmth they provide to their home.\u00a0 Healthy plants will last throughout the holiday season.\u00a0 How do you choose the perfect poinsettia?\u00a0 Poinsettia plants should be stocky with dark green foliage, well-formed richly colored bracts (modified leaves) and very few open flowers (golden-yellow clusters located at the center of the bracts.) Proper selection will help to insure a long lasting plant that you will enjoy throughout the holiday season.<\/p>\n

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Sturdy branches filled with deep green leaves indicate a healthy plant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Healthy poinsettias have lush leaves and bright colors.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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There are few tricks to get your poinsettia home safely.\u00a0 If temperatures are below 50\u00b0 F, the plant must be sleeved to protect the plant as it leaves the warmth of the garden center.\u00a0 Avoid exposing poinsettias to cold temperatures. \u00a0 A chilled plant will begin to drop leaves very quickly.\u00a0\u00a0 Once inside,\u00a0\u00a0 remove the protective wrapping.\u00a0 It is often easier to carefully slit the side of the sleeve to remove it.\u00a0 Because poinsettia bracts are a little sticky and can adhere to plant sleeves, pulling them down will result in branches breaking.\u00a0\u00a0 Don’t leave them wrapped for more than the time it takes to get your plant home. \u00a0 Leaving them covered can result in blackening, curling and overall plant distress.\u00a0 If you plan to give the plant as a gift at a later time, ask for a second plant sleeve to use when you transport it to its final destination.<\/p>\n

Contrary to popular belief, the Poinsettia is not likely to harm your pets or your children.\u00a0 Research at Ohio State University, working with The Society of American Florists, has proven that no toxicity was evident at experimental levels that would well exceed the amounts likely to be ingested in the home environment.\u00a0\u00a0 Were a person to consume a great many leaves, the result would likely be mild stomach upset.\u00a0 The white sap can cause skin irritation which can be remedied by washing with soap and water.<\/p>\n

How to care for your Poinsettia<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 TEMPERATURE: A cool room (65-70F during the day and 60-65F at night) is ideal. Avoid hot or cold drafts or excess heat from appliances, fireplaces, radiators or ventilating ducts.<\/p>\n

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Glace, the brightest of the white poinsettias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2022 LIGHT: Very bright, indirect light is essential for proper growth and color retention.<\/p>\n

\u2022 WATER: Plants should be checked daily and watered thoroughly whenever the soil feels dry to touch or the pot becomes light. If the plant is wrapped in foil, slit the bottom to avoid water accumulating at the bottom of the pot.\u00a0 If it is in a basket, be sure to discard any drainage that collects.\u00a0 Poinsettias hate to have their pots standing in water and they aren’t very forgiving about it.<\/p>\n

\u2022 FERTILIZER: Plants should be fertilized with a well-balanced all purpose fertilizer like Peter\u2019s 20-20-20 until the poinsettia is in full color. Once in full color, reduce fertilizing to \u00bd strength once every 3-4 times that you water.<\/p>\n

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Reflowering Your Poinsettia<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you have a gardener\u2019s green thumb, you may want to try your hand at reflowering your poinsettia next year. If you follow these directions very carefully, it is possible to have your poinsettia in flower by Christmas.\u00a0 The following describes the cycle of poinsettia color.<\/p>\n

\u2022 December: Full bloom. Water as needed.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Late March to Early April: Color fades. Keep near a sunny window. Cut stems back to about 8\u201d. Water as needed and fertilize with a well-balanced, all purpose fertilizer like Peter\u2019s All-Purpose Plant Food. Around May you should see new growth.<\/p>\n

\u2022 June 1st:\u00a0 Re-pot if necessary in a well-drained potting mix.\u00a0 You can put your plant outside if you would like as long as the night temperatures are consistently above 55 F and it is protected from the hot sun.<\/p>\n

\u2022 July-August:\u00a0 Pruning may be required to keep your plant compact and bushy.\u00a0 Do not prune after September 1st.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Starting October 1st:\u00a0 Provide complete and continuous darkness for 12-14 hours night combined with 6-8 hours of bright light a day. During the night, stray light of any kind, streetlights or household lamps, may delay or halt the re-flowering process.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Remember: The key to success is to follow the strict light-dark requirements very carefully.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Once your poinsettia is in full color, stop fertilizing until it loses its color and the cycle starts again in March.<\/p>\n

Poinsettia Facts<\/strong><\/p>\n

The assigned botanical name is Euphorbia pulcherrima, meaning \u201cthe most beautiful Euphorbia\u201d. The United States\u2019 first ambassador to Mexico, Joel Robert Poinsett, sent several plants back to his home in Greenville, South Carolina in 1825. The common name, poinsettia, comes from his last name.<\/p>\n

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  Millions of poinsettias are purchased each year during the Christmas season by people who enjoy the color and warmth they provide to their home.\u00a0 Healthy plants will last throughout the holiday season.\u00a0 How do you choose the perfect poinsettia?\u00a0 Poinsettia plants should be stocky with dark green foliage, well-formed richly colored bracts (modified leaves) … Continue reading Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Poinsettias<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christmas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/echters.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/echters.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/echters.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echters.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echters.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=119"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/echters.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":129,"href":"https:\/\/echters.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119\/revisions\/129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/echters.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echters.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echters.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}