Poinsettias on point

Poinsettias in gardens are all abloom right now! Just like the Chrysanthemums I mentioned a few weeks ago, Poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) naturally flower during short days - in the Southern Hemisphere that means mid-year! They are native to Mexico where they are known as “La Flor de la Nochebuena” (what a pretty name!) or “the flower of Christmas Eve” and because of their beautiful Christmas colours in the red version, they have become popular in Christmas floral displays. Just because our Christmas isn’t in winter though doesn’t mean we miss out - we just trick them into flowering! But plant one out in the yard and it will revert to its natural flowering period.

You can see the stamens start to emerge from the cyathia, and the yellow mouth shaped nectar glands on the sides.

They don’t only come in the popular Christmas-time red though - you can get various shades of pink, orange, lemon and white. The colourful parts are actually modified leaves called bracts. The true flowers are in the centre. Each of these centre structures is called a cyathium (pl. cyathia, from the Greek word for cup), and each cyathium is made up of multiple male flowers and a single female flower. On the side of the cyathia are yellow mouth-like glands that secrete nectar to attract pollinators.

Poinsettias are easy to propagate: take cuttings after flowering (when the plants can normally benefit from a prune!) and pop into well-drained potting mix. Leave for a while until they start to show new growth and then you can pot on or plant out. Hailing from warm and sunny Mexico, they prefer a protected sunny spot, in well-drained soil, or the smaller varieties are perfect in pots! They will take part shade, but won’t colour up as much. Some of the larger varieties especially in more exposed areas can look a bit dead over summer, but my dwarf ones are in a sheltered spot and while they do lose their colour, look reasonably presentable all year round.