Did you know the most popular potted plant is not sold during the warm growing season? Nearly all sales of this plant happen between Thanksgiving and Christmas. As the winter days reach their shortest, many Americans decorate their homes with the festive colors of the poinsettia.
Indeed, the poinsettia is a major economic driver for the nursery industry, accounting for a quarter of sales each year. These are impressive numbers for a plant that most will toss once the colors start to fade. But there’s more to the poinsettia than just modern-day economics.
Native to southern Mexico, the poinsettia has a long history with humans, with known cultivation going back to the Aztec civilization. In its native range, poinsettia blooms during December. As Catholic teachings spread through indigenous Mexican communities, the plant was traditionally used to decorate churches to celebrate Christmas.
In 1825, President John Quincy Adams appointed the first U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Joel Roberts Poinsett, a politician with an interest in botany and co-founder of the Smithsonian. Wandering the countryside of Mexico, Poinsett took cuttings from a shrub with red flowers (technically bracts) growing next to the road.
He sent these to his greenhouse in South Carolina, thereby introducing the poinsettia to the U.S. Poinsett has a disreputable history of involvement with the Trail of Tears and slavery, and was eventually kicked out of Mexico for his behavior toward the Mexican government. Regardless, his name has stuck to one of the most popular plants sold around the world.
Today, poinsettias are sold mostly in the U.S., Mexico, Canada and Europe. Greenhouse growers can manipulate the day length to mimic the 12-hour light/dark cycle of southern Mexico to induce the plant to form flowers, even in the northern reaches of Canada.
Each year, poinsettia breeders and wholesale buyers (larger grocer and florist chains) gather at a greenhouse near Millstadt, Ill., to showcase next year’s poinsettias. The wholesale buyers vote for their favorites and place orders for next year’s poinsettia crop. I was fortunate to attend last year and am interested to see what poinsettias will be for sale in 2025.
Poinsettias are also trying to break out of the Christmas holiday market. Imagine rustic orange, tan and dull yellow poinsettias for fall and Halloween. And bright pink, white and yellow poinsettias for spring.
With more than 35 million poinsettias sold in the U.S. each year, it’s likely that you will have to take care of one this holiday season. Here are some tips to keep your poinsettia alive, at least until the relatives leave.
Place your poinsettia in indirect light. Keep the plant from touching cold windows. Keep poinsettias away from warm or cold drafts from radiators, air registers or open doors and windows.
Cooler temperatures of 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and nighttime temperatures around 55 F prolong poinsettia blooms. Move the plant to a cooler room at night, if possible. Check the soil daily. Make sure the decorative foil has holes for drainage, and discard any excess water collected in the saucer.
Luv-U-Pink poinsettias photo Courtesy of U OF I EXTENSION
