Hello!

Well, I hope that all of you snow-lovers are satisfied!!! Actually, I must admit that this white stuff does look really nice. Mind you – I said looks really nice. It’s not that great to drive through. And, besides, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!” So let’s talk about some more Christmas stuff.

When you think of Christmas and decking those halls, you’re probably picturing the most stunning Christmas tree, green fragrant garlands, mistletoe, holly and beautiful Christmas plants called Euphorbia pulcherrima.

Euphorbia pulcherrima - yes – they come in all sorts of wonderful colors – from the traditional deep red to peach to white to mottled and speckled flowers. Flowers – did I say flowers? Those wonderfully colored things are not the flowers – they are the bracts. And that beautiful Christmas plant, called the Euphorbia Pulcherrima, is also known as more commonly as the poinsettia.

Yes, the Euphorbia pulcherrima, that poinsettia, comes in a whole array of colors. This plant is a perennial, a plant that should live for many years, but most folks usually treat it as an annual, dumping it after Christmas, after those colorful bracts have dropped. With some extra-tender, loving care, you can get your poinsettia to bloom, or to fire again, for next year.

Did you know that the small green or yellow berries at the very center of the colored bracts are really the poinsettia’s true flowers? These are called cyathia. Those colorful “leaves” are called bracts. These bracts are not the flower part of the plant. And then there are the green leaves on the poinsettia; these are called…uh… green leaves.

Here are some hints on choosing your very own poinsettia.
1. When buying a poinsettia choose a plant with fully colored, expanded bracts. Too much green around the bract edges means immaturity. The poinsettia berries, the cyathia, should look fresh in a healthy plant.

2. Choose a poinsettia plant with abundant, dark green leaves. This dark green foliage should extend all the way down the stem to the soil line. The stems should be stiff. There should be absolutely no sign of any wilting, drooping, or breaking.

3. Be careful about poinsettia wrapped in those protective sleeves. Usually those sleeves are plastic, but they can be paper or mesh. The longer the plant remains in that sleeve, the more the plants quality will deteriorate.

4. Before you plunk down any serious money for that poinsettia plant, examine the soil in that pot. Avoid a plant with water-logged soil. And if that soggy plant looks wilted, it could mean that it has irreversible root rot. And that means that the potted poinsettia is going to soon kick the bucket! It won’t be a perennial for much longer!

5. Also, avoid a plant where the soil is bone-dry. Then that plant is moisture-stressed and it won’t stay in bloom (or in bract!) for much longer! After all, you are paying for a healthy, happy content plant!

6. And to get your poinsettia home from the store safely, cover it loosely with a large bag before going out in to the elements, especially if the temperatures are below 50. Hopefully this bag will also protect the plant from those freezing winds, as well as the cold temperatures. Don’t let this tropical poinsettia sit out in your cold car while you do hours and hours of shopping. Be sure to remove those protective coverings (*the bag and the sleeve) as soon as you get home. And then prepare to enjoy your poinsettia.

7. Set that beautiful plant in a good location where it can get at least 6 hours of bright sunlight each day. Room temperatures should range between 65 and 70. Don’t subject it to any cold drafts. And stay away from excessive heat as well. So don’t set that poinsettia near a roaring fireplace, or a wood stove, or next to any heat registers or radiators.

8. Water that poinsettia when the soil in the pot starts to feel dry to the touch. But don’t flood it out. Water that poinsettia just enough so that just a bit comes out of the bottom drainage holes. And then drain off that excess water.

9. And it might be a good idea to poke a little hole in the bottom of that decorative foil wrap covering the pot. That foil wrap really does look great. Unfortunately it also keeps that excess water from draining out and away from the plant. Result – soggy roots – rotting roots – dead poinsettia – not a pretty picture – not a good thing.


10. Temperature and water extremes will stress out your poinsettia and the green leaves and the colored bracts will soon start to droop and then drop. And then you might be tempted to dump the plant right after Christmas.

11. Don’t worry about fertilizing that poinsettia. It’s not necessary that first blooming season. It’s got enough of a fertilizer charge from that commercial grower to last for months.

So keep it healthy and content and then your poinsettia should stay in bloom all through the winter months.

More Christmas plants next week!

Remember - Eat Smart New York!

And – Bye – talk to you soon!
D