Is it that time already? It’s almost December 12, which I’m sure you all know is National Poinsettia Day. The day was set aside to honor Joel Poinsett, who first imported them to the United States. Need to know more about the plant? Here are a few snippets taken from Wikipedia.
- First of all, thank goodness for Joel, because without him December 12 would be known as Euphorbia pulcherrimaf day since that is the scientific name of the flower. Also, the bright red part you see is not the flower of the plant. Those are leaves called bracts. The flower is a tiny little yellow thing in the middle.
- Next, poinsettias are not really toxic. There is an urban myth about a child being poisoned but those rumors appear to be false. However, even though you probably won’t die, eating them may make you sick, especially if you are allergic to latex.
- There are exactly 109 varieties of poinsettias, although most Americans prefer the red ones. One grower on the west coast, Paul Ecke used to have a virtually lock on the U.S. production of these plants, but now they are produced in several locations.
- A Mexican legend explains how poinsettias came to be associated with Christmas. Apparently, a child who could not afford a gift to offer to Christ on Christmas Eve picked some weeds from the side of a road. The child was told that a humble gift, if given in love, would be acceptable in God's eyes. When brought into the church, the weeds bloomed into red and green flowers and the congregation felt they had witnessed a Christmas miracle.·
- Your poinsettia is able to rebloom after the first year, but making it happen takes a bit of work. They are a subtropical plant so they need warm, but not hot environment. And to flower, they need two months of long, dark, uninterrupted nights in the fall.
Visser’s Florist & Greenhouses is currently loaded with beautiful, florist-quality poinsettias. Our greenhouses are bursting with the Red, white and pink varieties of these beauties. Come in and see for yourself.
