Caring for your poinsettia this Christmas

Poinsettia is the perfect symbol of Christmas and this year we’ve put together some of our top tips on keeping the seasonal plant looking good throughout the festive period:

• A plant with a minimum of five heads will give a longer lasting display
• Ensure that the poinsettia is sleeved before taking it outside or back to your car
• Once you get your poinsettia home, you should place it in a warm, draught-free, well lit spot. Not on a windowsill where the curtains are closed at night
• Let the compost dry out between watering and if it’s in a saucer then make sure you empty this out, too
• You could also feed your poinsettia once a week with houseplant feed
• If you want to make the plant colour up again next Christmas, then in June trim it down by about half and pot it up using a multi-purpose compost
• Keep it in natural light from the end of September onwards and make sure you don’t expose it to any artificial lighting, which could prevent the plant from colouring up again in time for next Christmas.

The plant’s association with Christmas began in 16^th century Mexico, where legend tells of a young girl who was too poor to provide a gift for the celebration of Jesus’ birthday.

The tale goes that the child was inspired by an angel to gather weeds from the roadside and place them in front of the church altar. Crimson blossoms sprouted from the weeds and became beautiful poinsettias.

From the 17^th century, Franciscan friars in Mexico included the plants in their Christmas celebrations.

We’ve got lots of lovely poinsettia now in-stock.