Nothing says Christmas quite like poinsettias. Bright and bold, the colourful bracts light up the winter months.
The poinsettia comes from Mexico, where it grows up to 16 feet tall and creates crimson mountainsides during December. The first missionaries to Mexico took the colourful stems and used them during Christmas. American nurseryman saw an opportunity and started to grow them as cut flowers for Christmas, after many years of breeding they reduced the size and created a bushy compact plant making it a festive pot plant.
Poinsettias are not harmful to animal or human health. But they should not be eaten.
- The sticky white sap can cause a skin rash, so gloves are recommended when working with these plants.
- Avoid contact with eyes and mouth.
- Wash tools well after use as the sap can make tools sticky.
The poinsettia plant (Euphorbia pulcherrima) has brightly coloured leaves or bracts, the flowers are the tiny green and yellow buds in the centre. Poinsettias are normally red but come in a range of colours
Now a Christmas regular they are inexpensive but are easy to kill, where you buy them can make a difference.
Grown on the nursery under perfect conditions, they resent being packed and transported to stores and often struggle to adapt to the store environment. The leaves are easily damaged.
