By Bodie V. Pennisi
University of Georgia
Poinsettias embody the holiday spirit and help create the most
festive displays. The challenge is deciding how many poinsettias
to buy — what color, leaf shape, plant size and form. There are
so many.
These holiday classics offer traditional red, strong white,
creamy white, light pink, solid pink, bright orange-red, deep
purple-red and various marbled or speckled flowers.
They come in sizes from 4-inch pots for table displays to
18-inch hanging baskets, living wreaths, topiaries and 3-gallon
floor planters.
Poinsettias are versatile. Besides using them simply as potted
plants, you can use stems as cut flowers in arrangements. Just be
sure to keep cut stems in water. Some cultivars can last up to
two weeks as cut flowers.
Despite persistent rumors to the contrary, poinsettias are
nonpoisonous and safe around children and pets.
Buying the best plants is easy if you follow these tips:
Think Georgia-grown. This year’s
Georgia crop promises to be phenomenal. Locally grown plants may
cost more, but they keep better. They’re usually sold to florist
shops and garden centers.
Look for fully colored and
expanded bracts (the colored portions of the plant — the actual
flowers are the yellow centers). Avoid plants with too much green
around the bract edges. This is a sign that the plant was shipped
before it was mature enough.
Choose plants with dense, rich
green leaves all along the stem. Poinsettias should be
well-branched and proportioned with the container, about two and
a half times the height of the pot.
Check the leaves for possible
“hitchhikers.” One common pest on poinsettias is the silverleaf
whitefly. These tiny flies live on the underside of the leaves,
sucking the juices. This is the giveaway: when the insects
excrete the plant’s juices, they drop a “honeydew” on the leaves
below. Don’t buy plants with sticky leaves with dots on the
undersides.
Examine the roots. White and light
tan roots that have grown to the sides of the pot are signs of a
healthy plant. Brown roots, or few roots, may be a sign of
disease.
Don’t buy plants with weak stems,
few bracts or any signs of wilting, breaking or drooping.
Poinsettias are often crowded in stores, sometimes in paper,
plastic or mesh sleeves. But they need their space. The longer
they remain sleeved, the faster their quality deteriorates.
When you buy your poinsettias and
take them home, protect them from chilling winds and temperatures
below 50 degrees. You may need to place it into a sleeve or a
large shopping bag.
Once they’re home, place
poinsettias wherever your decoration plan calls for them. They’ll
last about three weeks in fairly dark places. Don’t put them near
cold drafts or excessive heat or near appliances, fireplaces or
ventilating ducts.
Water poinsettias only when the
soil feels dry to the touch. Don’t let them wilt, though, or the
leaves could drop. Overwatering is a common cause for poinsettias
dying. Always remove a plant from any decorative container before
watering, and let the water drain completely.
Don’t fertilize them during the
blooming season. This will cause them to lose some of their
quality.
After the holidays are over, move
poinsettias to a bright spot in either south, east or west
windows. Eventually, the bracts will start to fall off. By early
April, cut the plant back, leaving four to six nodes or segments
in the stem. At this point, you can grow poinsettias outdoors in
full sun. Fertilize them weekly with a balanced, all-purpose
fertilizer at the same rate you give to houseplants.
Trim poinsettias in June, and
plant them in 1-gallon pots or large, indoor planters. Trim back
new growth again around July 1 and again by mid-August. Continue
to fertilize them throughout spring and summer, applying
nutrition once every two to three weeks as fall nears. Grown with
adequate water and nutrition, poinsettias can grow as high as 4
feet.
(Bodie Pennisi is a horticulturist specializing in greenhouse
flowers with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences.)
