Poinsettia, the Christmas Flower

Joanne K., Pitt County Extension Master Gardener Volunteer

You can't miss them! Poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) are for sale in every florist shop, grocery store, green house, and big box store as Christmas approaches. Bright red, creamy white, variations in red and white, pink and white, green and white, the choice is endless. They're even sold in shades of blue or purple or covered with glitter.

December 12 is National Poinsettia Day when this favorite holiday flower is celebrated. Created in 2002 by Congress, this day celebrates Paul Ecke, Jr., who commercialized the poinsettia in the U.S. It also memorializes the death in 1851 of Joel Roberts Poinsett, first U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, who brought the plant to this country and for whom it is named.

This is the traditional poinsettia with its colorful red bracts, Kathleen Moore, CC BY 2.0

Plant breeders introduced shading into poinsettias, Scott Zona, CC BY-NC 2.0

In Mexico where they grow wild, poinsettias are called cuetlaxochitl, which translates to “mortal flower that perishes and withers like all that is pure.” Cultivated by ancient Aztecs as a shrub or small tree, the red bracts were used for dyes and the milky sap for medicinal applications.

Poinsett was also a botanist. He sent these plants home to Charleston, S.C., where in 1825 he began to propagate them in his greenhouse. But it wasn't until the 1920s when California farmer Paul Ecke developed a grafting technique allowing the seedlings to branch into a fuller form that the market for the plants began. His son, Paul Ecke Jr., sold the plants at roadside stands and later marketed them and shipped them across the country.

Speckled poinsettias are another variation created by plant breeders, Scott Zona, CC BY-NC 2.0

The link between Christmas and the poinsettia began in 16th-century Mexico where, as the legend goes, a poor young girl wanted to celebrate the Christ child's birth but she had no gift to give. So she picked roadside weeds for a bouquet to put in the manger where they blossomed into beautiful red flowers, which became known as flor de noche buena (Christmas Eve flower). Because of its red color and winter bloom time, Spanish friars used the plant in nativity processions starting the use of red and green to symbolize Christmas. To them the red bracts represented the blood of Christ.

Creamy yellow is another poinsettia color variation, Joanne K.

Miniature poinsettias are popular holiday gifts, Joanne K.

What are commonly called flowers are actually bracts, modified leaves that turn color as days grow shorter and nights longer. The yellow, green, and red buds at the center of the bracts are the real flowers.

North Carolina is the second top producer of poinsettias in the country after California. At NC State, the Horticultural Science Department grows nearly one thousand poinsettias each year for research on new cultivars and new methods of growing them. At J.C. Raulston Arboretum, more than 140 cultivars of poinsettias are grown and showcased at the annual National Poinsettia Trials where growers can see what's new and will best suit their customers.

Shown here are the poinsettia bracts and flowers, NC State Extension

These poinsettias are grown by the NC State Horticultural Department for its poinsettia research, NC State Extension

When you bring home your poinsettias remember that they are not cold hardy so be sure to keep them away from drafts and where the temperature stays above 50 degrees. Put them near a sunny window but out of direct sunlight. Only water them when the soil is dry. Poinsettias are not poisonous but best to keep them away from small children and pets as the sap could cause an upset stomach.

With care, you can enjoy this symbol of holiday cheer for weeks!