Poinsettia, a beautiful accent for the holidays, definitely adds to the appeal and spirit of Christmas. However, after time takes its toll, your poinsettia can loose its appeal, but with proper care, dedication, and luck, you can re-bloom your poinsettia bring back the appeal and extending its beauty in to later months of the New Year.

By cutting your poinsettia back to approximately 8 inches in height in late march or early April, and then maintain a regular watering schedule, and giving your poinsettia a healthy all purpose fertilizer, by the end of May you should begin to see healthy new growth.

In the Spring, place your poinsettia outside where it can get the healthy nutrients from natural sun while continuing with your regular watering schedule. Fertilize your poinsettia every 2 to 3 weeks during this time. You may need to do a little pruning in Late June, early July to keep your poinsettia bushy but do not prune later than the first of September.

You can transplant your poinsettia the first part of June. Do not choose a container more than 4 inches larger then its current pot. Poinsettia bloom during November and December but can be difficult to get to bloom for the holidays if not cultivated in a very controlled environment. Beginning in October it is imperative that you place your poinsettia in total darkness for 14 hours out of the day and then ensure they get 6 to 8 hours of bright sunlight a day. Night temperatures must range between 60 and 70 degrees. Any alteration of this will result in delayed or halted blooming. That is why for many it is just much easier to let the professionals grow and bloom your holiday poinsettias. They can be very temperamental, and when you are counting on their beauty to accent your home, for many, it is easier just to order poinsettias delivered.

When you think of winter, generally the first thing good you think about is the holidays. After all, it does help those that don’t favor the wintery winds manage to get through it a tad easier. However, when you think about the holidays, you can’t help not think about Christmas Flowers and Greenery. The first thought of many is their Christmas tree, and so starts the decoration to set off your holidays perfectly.

The fresh pine scent of the evergreen Christmas tree is just the beginning the wonderful aromas that begin to fill your home during the holidays. Of course, you cannot have a Christmas tree without the Christmas greenery – wreaths, swags and more, to accent the beauty you have already started to create. They add more of the holiday spirit to your home.

Mantles, tables, and just about anywhere you can think of are accented beautifully with poinsettias. What is Christmas without a poinsettia or two, or three or more for that matter? While waiting for the time to place gifts under the Christmas tree, poinsettias look extravagant encompassing the tree skirt.

Since the 17th century, it has been customary to have mistletoe adorning doorways. It’s a great way to get that Christmas kiss! Holly has been around even longer and gives Christmas that holly jolly feel.

Christmas table centerpieces can add just that perfect finishing touch. Christmas just wouldn’t have the same feel if not for Christmas greenery and flowers.

Depending on the region you reside in reflects if you will be enjoying the ability to take walks through a winter wonderland full of glistening white snow.  If it is not in the cards for you to be able to enjoy a little glistening snow this holiday season, you can at least get a good feel of the holiday season with some beautiful white poinsettia plants. 

Poinsettias have had a long standing in Christmas Holiday decorations and traditions with the white poinsettia being somewhat of a Christmas icon.  The great thing about poinsettias is the longlivity of their blooming season making it quite easy to deck out a home with a real Christmas feel.  As long as your white poinsettias get at least 6 hours of direct sunlight, is kept away from extreme cold or heat, and water when soil is dry to the touch you can keep this symbol of Christmas around for a very long time. 

If you have friends or family where the snow doesn’t glisten, provide them with the next best thing to a white Christmas – white poinsettias.  A White Poinsettia from Brant Florist can be delivered decorated with Christmas balls and ribbons that can add a beautiful winter wonderland accent to any room of your home.  They also make great office gifts and teacher holiday appreciation gifts.  With Brant Florist, you can even add your own special touches to the White Poinsettia gifts you send such as adding some chocolate to your delivery, a teddy bear, balloons, or other accents.

Poinsettias play an active role in the holiday season, and because of that you want to keep them just as fresh and beautiful as the day you got them. Here are some do’s and don’ts of poinsettia care to help you extend the longlivity in the beauty of your poinsettias.

Do’s:

Your poinsettia plant should be placed in indirect sunlight for at least 6 hours a day.

For the longlivity of your poinsettia, keep the room temperatures between 68-70 degrees.

Water your poinsettia plant when the soil feels dry to the touch.

If you need to transport your poinsettia outside of your home, cover it in a large roomy plastic bag. Kitchen garbage bags work nicely.

Fertilize your poinsettia plant only after the blooming season. Use a general all purpose fertilizer. Never fertilize your poinsettia while in bloom.

Don’ts

Do not place your poinsettia plant by cold drafts or excessive heat sources such as heating ducts, space heaters, or fireplaces. It is understandable that poinsettias can set off a fireplace mantle beautifully, but if it is a working fireplace, your poinsettia will not be able to withstand the heat.

Do not leave your poinsettia out in the cold. Just because poinsettias are considered a winter plant, does not mean they fair well in cold temperatures.

Do not overwater you poinsettia or allow it to sit in standing water.

By following these few simple do’s and don’ts, your Brant Florist poinsettias will not fail you.

The Christmas Poinsettia has become Christmas’ most famous plant. In fact, the Christmas poinsettia plant (and in particular the red poinsettia) has become a symbol for Christmas the world over. Discovered fairly recently (by traditional standards) the poinsettia is named after Joel Roberts Poinsett, first U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, who imported it from Mexico in 1828.

The legend of the Christmas poinsettia tells of a poor village boy in Mexico who wanted to give the Holy Child a gift, but had no money. In desperation, he picked some weeds on his way to church to leave as his gift. He prayed to God to help him show his love and God answered by turning the weeds into a beautiful star-shaped flower with bright red leaves. The poinsettia has been a Christmas symbol ever since.

Poinsettia plants can last weeks beyond the holidays when placed in indirect sunlight at least six hours a day. Keep it away from cold drafts and excessive heat and water your poinsettia when it feels dry. Remember at Christmas the air is dry or so you might need to water it more. After the blooming season is over, use an all-purpose fertilizer once a month for best results.

It was once believed poinsettias were poisonous, this is untrue – they are safe. However, avoid allowing your pets to eat the leaves as they will likely get diarrhea or experience vomiting. For humans though, scientific evidence of the poinsettia’s safety is ample and well documented, in fact poinsettias are actually helpful in removing pollutants from indoor air.

The history of the poinsettia plant is quite interesting. The plant is native to Mexico and came from a region near the present-day Taxco. In 1825, Joel Robert Poinsett was appointed the first US Ambassador to Mexico and discovered these plants blooming in December. A botanist himself, Poinsett sent some of the plants to his plantation in Greenville, South Carolina, where they flourished in his greenhouse. These brilliant red plants quickly became a favourite during the cold dark months of December and with over 70 million poinsettia sold nationwide each year, the poinsettia is now the number one flowering potted plant sold in north America.

Poinsettia is The Christmas Plant: we’ve written about it before so here are the links to our previous 3-Part series about this wonderful Christmas flower.

1. Poinsettia – The Christmas Plant [Part 1]
2. Poinsettia – The Christmas Plant [Part 2]
3. Poinsettia – The Christmas Plant [Part 3]
4. and click here to Send Christmas Flowers…

The Christmas Poinsettia    

    Poinsettia have become the plant of choice for the Christmas season.  These colorful Christmas plants are sold everywhere from high quality florists to chain stores. The quality and price differential is huge but there is a poinsettia for everyone. It hard to miss this Christmas plant no matter where you go.

     Companies send poinsettia as gifts to their clients, suppliers and staff. They decorate their offices and the entrance lobby or reception. They might use several for their Christmas party and even donate some to deserving places. Almost every home will have a poinsettia. It might be one they bought themselves or it might a gift from afar delivered by the local FTD florist. (more…)