About Poinsettias
The poinsettia is the biggest-selling potted plant in the United States, and almost all of it moves in about six weeks. Two things about it are widely believed and both are wrong: the red parts are not flowers, and it is not deadly to cats. The coloured parts are bracts, modified leaves, and the actual flowers are the small yellow nubs in the middle.
It is a Mexican shrub that reaches several metres in the wild, sold as a compact pot plant through careful control of daylight. Most die in the first fortnight from cold on the way home rather than from anything that happens indoors.
Primary Meanings
- Celebration: Its association with Christmas across the Americas
- Good Cheer: The traditional gifting meaning
- Success: An older association carried from Mexican folklore
- Purity: From the Mexican legend of the peasant girl's roadside weeds
Poinsettias Colors and Their Meanings
Red Poinsettia
The classic; roughly three quarters of all sales
White Poinsettia
Peace, and a more modern look
Pink Poinsettia
Gentleness; increasingly common
Marbled Poinsettia
Variegated bracts, pink and cream
Painted Poinsettia
Blue and glittered plants are spray-painted, not grown
Popular Poinsettias Types
Prestige Red
The commercial standard, strong branching and durable bracts
Winter Rose
Curled bracts that look like a rose rather than a star
Jingle Bells
Red bracts flecked with white
Princettia
Compact modern series in pinks and whites
Care Instructions
Wrap It Home
Ten minutes in a cold car can kill it. Sleeve it properly.
Water When Dry
Water when the surface feels dry, then let it drain fully.
Pierce the Foil
Decorative foil traps water and rots the roots.
Bright, Indirect Light
Good light, no draughts, away from radiators and doors.
Best Occasions for Poinsettias
- Christmas: Effectively its entire commercial season
- December Gifting: The default host and neighbour gift
- Winter Decoration: Bracts hold colour for two to three months indoors
- Día de la Virgen: Long used in Mexican December celebrations
Interesting Poinsettias Facts
- The red parts are bracts, modified leaves; the true flowers are the yellow centres
- It is the best-selling potted plant in the United States
- In the wild in Mexico it is a shrub that grows several metres tall
- Blue and glittered poinsettias are painted, not bred
- It is named after Joel Poinsett, the first US minister to Mexico, who sent it home in 1828
How to Buy Good Poinsettias
Look at the yellow centres, not the red. Those little nubs are the actual flowers, and if they have already dropped or are shedding pollen the plant is past its peak and the bracts will fall sooner. Tight yellow buds mean a plant with weeks left. Check the leaves underneath the bracts are dense and green all the way down, because a bare lower stem means it has already been cold-shocked. Lift the pot: waterlogged and heavy is worse than dry. Never buy one displayed near an entrance where cold air hits it every time the door opens.
Season, Availability and What Drives the Price
This is the most compressed season of any plant sold. Growers start them in summer and control the daylight hours precisely to colour the bracts for late November, and essentially the whole crop sells in six weeks. Prices fall as December goes on and collapse after Christmas, because an unsold poinsettia on 26 December is worth almost nothing. The quality falls with the price though: late-season plants have usually been standing in a shop for weeks under poor light.
What to Use Instead
For winter colour that lasts far longer, amaryllis gives a dramatic flower from a bulb and can be kept year to year. Christmas cactus flowers at the same time and lives for decades. A phalaenopsis orchid costs more but holds its flowers for months and is not seasonal at all. Cyclamen gives the same red-and-green effect and prefers the cool rooms that kill poinsettias. If the point is specifically a cheap, festive, disposable pot of colour, nothing else competes on price.
Safety Around Pets and Skin
The deadly-to-cats reputation is a myth and it has been studied properly. Poinsettia sap is a mild irritant, not a serious poison: a cat or dog that chews a leaf may drool, vomit or have mild mouth irritation, and that is generally the end of it. A frequently cited Ohio State study found no toxicity at doses far beyond what an animal would ever eat. It is still worth keeping out of reach, and the milky sap can irritate skin and eyes, but the plant does not deserve its reputation. True lilies, by contrast, genuinely are lethal to cats.
Florist Tips for Poinsettias
The car ride is what kills it
Poinsettias are tropical and suffer real damage below about 10C. A few minutes uncovered in a cold car park will cause leaves to drop days later, at home, where you will blame your watering. Insist on a sleeve.
Pierce the decorative foil
The foil wrap holds water around the roots and drowns the plant. Punch holes in the bottom or take it off and use a saucer.
Do not try to rebloom it unless you enjoy the project
Getting bracts to colour again needs fourteen hours of complete darkness every night for about eight weeks. It is entirely possible and almost nobody sticks to it.
Common Questions About Poinsettias
Are poinsettias poisonous to cats and dogs?
No, not in any serious sense. This is the most persistent myth in houseplants. The sap is a mild irritant that can cause drooling or vomiting if chewed, and research has found no toxicity even at doses far beyond what an animal would eat. Keep it out of reach, but do not panic. True lilies are the flower that genuinely kills cats.
Why did my poinsettia drop all its leaves?
Almost always cold shock on the journey home, showing up a week or two later. They are tropical plants and even a short spell below about 10C damages them. The other common cause is root rot from water trapped in the decorative foil.
Are the red parts flowers?
No. They are bracts, which are modified leaves. The real flowers are the small yellow structures clustered in the centre, and their condition is the best guide to how fresh the plant is.