By Valerie Reinhardt, Horticulture Manager
What comes to mind when you see a poinsettia? Christmas, I’m sure. How did this plant become a symbol for this Old World holiday?
Many of the decorative plants we use at Christmas, such as the evergreen Christmas tree, holly boughs and mistletoe can trace their roots to solstice celebrations of pre-Christian Europe. But the poinsettia has its roots in Central America where Aztecs looked on them as a symbol of purity and also as a useful plant for medicine, latex and dye. Early missionaries to Mexico noted that they bloomed around the Christmas season and began using them to decorate their churches for the holiday.
Joel Poinsett, botanist, physician and the first U.S. ambassador to Mexico, brought poinsettia specimens back to his home in South Carolina for propagation after he became enamored with the plant when he saw it in Mexico. The plant gained in popularity and with its bloom time coinciding with the holidays, it found its place in our culture.
The bloom of the poinsettia is actually the small yellow flowers at the center of modified leaves (called bracts) that color up at bloom time triggered by the short days of winter. It can be tricky to get your poinsettia to bloom in your home; the colors of the bracts are created through “photoperiodism,” meaning that they require darkness (12 hours at a time for at least five days in a row) to change color. On the other hand, once poinsettias finish that process, the plants require abundant light during the day for the brightest color.
Also known as the Mexican flame leaf, the poinsettia can reach a height of ten feet and is sometimes used for landscaping in warmer climates. Careful selection has lead to compact plants with shades from darkest red to snow white. There are more than 100 varieties of poinsettias available today!