Spread Christmas joy with a festive poinsettia Proper care and feeding of this seasonal favourite a must for lasting blooms

EDMONTON -  christmas flowers mexico Nothing adds a splash of gorgeous, festive colour to a room like a poinsettia. And a healthy, robust one will retain its brilliance in your home with minimal effort. But how these holiday favourites are grown and cared for before you buy them is critical. So before you head out to poinsettia shop, it helps to understand what’s best for these plants in greenhouses, retail stores and your home. Here’s what you should know.

First, you need to understand about poinsettias’ native habitat. The plants are indigenous to regions of Mexico and Central America where they grow in rather porous soil that is fairly dry. Unfortunately, far too many commercial poinsettias are grown in soils that are too dense. Because dense soils hold more moisture, there’s less oxygen available and the poinsettia roots don’t breathe as well as they should. This results in underdeveloped root systems. And, of course, poorly developed roots have a difficult time sustaining leaves and flowers.

But how do you know if poinsettias were grown in the right type of potting soil? One thing to look for is bark and pumice (volcanic rock). Both should be present in a medium suited for poinsettia growth. On the flip side, avoid poinsettias grown in a soil that is mostly fine peat moss, which makes a very dense growing medium. This type of soil will have a consistently fine texture and you’ll see lots of short, blond to brown bits of peat.

You can also tell a lot about how poinsettias were grown by the thickness and strength of their branches. Too little light, too much warmth or not enough space between plants can lead to flimsy branches. Plants grown under these conditions are sometimes so weak that merely lifting them into your shopping cart can cause branches to break off. The poinsettia you choose should have sturdy, resilient branches.

When out shopping, the one thing you should avoid at all costs is a poinsettia in a plastic sleeve. That’s because poinsettias (along with many other plants) emit ethylene, a naturally occurring gas. Unfortunately, elevated ethylene levels have a nasty habit of causing poinsettia leaves to fall off. Plastic sleeves are an inexpensive yet fairly effective way to protect poinsettias during shipping, but they trap the ethylene gas that instigates leaf drop (a.k.a. abscission). Most often this doesn’t actually happen until after the poinsettia comes home with you. The last thing you want is a leafless plant, the kind only Charlie Brown could love.

After selecting healthy poinsettias, caring for them at home is pretty simple. They won’t need any additional nutrients, so don’t waste your money on fertilizer. But what is key to keeping them in prime condition are water and sunlight.

Always water poinsettias thoroughly. By that I mean you want the soil to be completely wet and have water run out the drainage holes of the pot. If you haven’t taken the growing pot out of the decorative outer container to water, pour out any water that collects between the two. Complete drainage is essential. Don’t water again until the top 1 cm of soil dries out. To find out if it’s dried to that depth, stick your finger into the soil up to your first knuckle.

You also need adequate sunlight to keep these sun-loving southern native plants looking their best. Place yours as close to a sunny window as possible during daylight hours. You don’t have to keep it there in the evening, though. Move the poinsettia to wherever it will best impress your dinner guests.

So that’s it. Just a few simple tips to help you enjoy your poinsettia throughout the holiday season. Now the only thing you need to do is decide whether you want a traditional red poinsettia, or a pink one, or a white one, or maybe a marbled or a frosted variety … I like Red Glitter with its splashes of cream on bright red bracts and Marble Star with its coral bracts trimmed in white.

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Picking a Lasting Poinsettia Takes Know-How

OLATHE, Kan. - Picking the best poinsettia comes down to knowing how to judge the plant's maturity and health.

"You want it to last as long as possible, but you also want it to peak at just the right time," said Alan Stevens, horticulturist with K-State Research and Extension.

The best way to judge a poinsettia's maturity is to examine its flowers, Stevens said.

That can be tricky unless shoppers know that the colorful parts on top of each stem are not flowers. They may look like petals, but they're actually bracts -- leaves that change color. Poinsettias are a native of Mexico, and their bracts' color switch happens as the days grow shorter, the nights get longer and they prepare to bloom.

"These special leaves' purpose is to attract insects to pollinate the flower, which starts out as a cluster of ball-like structures in the middle of each set of bracts," Stevens said. "When those ball-like buds are still tight, the plant has some maturing to do. So, it might be an appropriate choice to buy in late November."

A few opening buds mean the plant should reach full flower in several weeks, he added. So, it could be a good choice when shopping for christmas flowers mexico  decor in early to mid-December.

"By the 25th, the colorful reproductive structures should be exposed, and they'll even have a dusting of yellow pollen. The plant will be at its peak, its most colorful and interesting," Stevens said. "After the flowers fade and drop, the plant will still be attractive. But you'll be more likely to put it with your houseplants than to feature it on the dinner table."

Plant height can have little or nothing to do with plant health, he said. Traditionally, breeders try to ensure blooming plant height will be about 2.5 times the width of the pot, so plant and pot look in proportion. They also grow what they think will sell best - which tend to be poinsettias in the 15- to 18-inch range (both wide and tall).

But, healthy, shorter poinsettias also are available, Stevens said. And, one of the newer types on sale now is much, much larger. It's a dramatic tree form, encouraged by hand to develop a single 1- to 5-feet-tall "trunk" with a large, round poinsettia head.

Whatever their height, however, quality poinsettias are dense -- lush-looking, he said. For example, one in a 6-inch pot should have at least five sets of bracts.

Healthy poinsettias have sturdy stems. They show no signs of disease, damage or insect infestation (typically, tiny whiteflies or aphids). They're neither drooping nor wilting. And, they have dark green foliage down to the soil line - no yellow intruders and few to no lost leaves.

How they're displayed can be a clue to the kind of care poinsettias are getting, Stevens said. And that, in turn, can be another sign of whether they'll last very long.

Nurseries typically ship the plants in a plastic or paper wrap, to prevent damage. If temperatures are below 50 degrees, poinsettias will also need the protection of a wrap for the trip from store to warmed car to warmer home. Even a few minutes in frigid temperatures can damage the plants' leaves.

While poinsettias are on the shelf, however, they should be wrap-free, the horticulturist said. Wrapping may be a basic for protecting poinsettias, but it also makes the plants deteriorate more quickly. So, the less wrapped time, the better.

Displayed poinsettias need to have enough room, as well. Cramming poinsettias together on a shelf is like asking for bent and broken plant parts, he said.

"I always tip the plant out of the pot and check its root ball, too. White roots are healthy. Brown roots aren't," Stevens said. "At the same time, I check the moisture level of the soil. It should be moist, but not wet. And, a poinsettia sitting in dry soil will deteriorate quickly."

All of those checks are fairly easy to do - which is a good thing, he said. Plant breeders are coming up with so many new "looks" that choosing which variety to buy can be difficult.

Red bracts remain buyers' favorite. But, pink, white and maroon also have fans. Plus, the newer varieties are likely to have several bract colors, due to speckles, marbling or variegations. The color combos can range from looking quite formal to being cheerfully random. Some new varieties also have bracts that are scalloped, twisted or curved, including the increasingly popular  christmas flowers mexico blogs rose and winter rose poinsettias.

Recently, a poinsettia with variegated leaves entered the market. Also, retailers are offering spray-painted poinsettias. (So far, blue seems to be the favorite.) Some plants even come with a dusting of glitter.

Stevens keeps up with the market because he's in charge of the floral field and greenhouse trials at Kansas State University's Horticulture Research and Extension Center near Olathe.

K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus in Manhattan.