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How to pick the perfect poinsettia

Tips to keep these holiday plants looking good and lasting weeks

Red poinsettia
Red poinsettias are by far the most popular, but shoppers can find pink,
yellow, white and variegated ones as well. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)



A walk through local garden shops and supermarkets reminds us once again: It’s poinsettia season!

Shades of red — from brightest crimson to deepest burgundy — continue to be the most popular poinsettia varieties. But this year, you’ll also find a wide range of other hues — from pure white to butter yellow to vivid pink — as well as many variegated poinsettias.

If you want to keep that poinsettia looking its best, keep it indoors out of the cold, wind and rain. If poinsettias feel a chill, they drop their leaves.

Native to temperate coastal areas with winters in the 70s, poinsettias can be finicky. A member of the euphorbia family, they can’t take too much cold or heat, preferring temperatures between 60 and 75 degrees.

Fortunately, most Sacramento poinsettias don’t have to travel far to get to stores – and your home. Now part of the Green Acres Nursery & Supply family, Eisley Nusery in Auburn grows thousands of poinsettias each year for the Sacramento market.

To get the most out of your poinsettia and to keep it looking good into the new year, follow these tips:

* Purchase a poinsettia with dark green leaves all the way to the soil line; it still has all its foliage. That’s a good sign of freshness; skip plants with yellowed or many missing leaves. Avoid any that look wilted, dried out or overly wet.

* Look at the actual flowers – the little nubs in the center of the bloom. The flowers should be green or red and look fresh. If already yellow and covered with pollen, those flowers mean the poinsettia’s days are numbered.

* Take off the foil or paper wrapping; it traps too much water around the roots. Poinsettias need good drainage and don’t like standing in water. Put a saucer under the pot and, after watering, drain any excess.

* Treat poinsettias like Goldilocks; they want it just right. Exposure to temperatures below 50 degrees, even for a few minutes, can cause leaf drop. Consider that before creating outdoor displays; they’ll last one night.

* Inside, find a spot with indirect light for six hours a day, away from drafts or forced heat. Poinsettias like days in the 60s; slightly cooler (55 degrees) and dark at night.

* Poinsettias prefer soil on the dry side, but don’t let it completely dry out. Feel the soil daily and water when needed.

* After bloom, poinsettias can be fed a balanced liquid fertilizer to prompt new growth. If kept comfortable, they may rebloom next year.

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Garden Checklist for week of Feb. 2

During this stormy week, let the rain soak in while making plans for all the things you’re going to plant soon:

* During rainy weather, turn off the sprinklers. After a good soaking from winter storms, lawns can go at least a week without sprinklers, according to irrigation experts. For an average California home, that week off from watering can save 800 gallons.

* February serves as a wake-up call to gardeners. This month, you can transplant or direct-seed several flowers, including snapdragon, candytuft, lilies, astilbe, larkspur, Shasta and painted daisies, stocks, bleeding heart and coral bells.

* In the vegetable garden, plant Jerusalem artichoke tubers, and strawberry and rhubarb roots.

* Transplant cabbage and its close cousins – broccoli, kale and Brussels sprouts – as well as lettuce (both loose leaf and head).

* Indoors, start peppers, tomatoes and eggplant from seed.

* Plant artichokes, asparagus and horseradish from root divisions.

* Plant potatoes from tubers and onions from sets (small bulbs). The onions will sprout quickly and can be used as green onions in March.

* From seed, plant beets, chard, lettuce, mustard, peas, radishes and turnips.

* Annuals are showing up in nurseries, but wait until the weather warms up a bit before planting. Instead, set out flowering perennials such as columbine and delphinium.

* Plant summer-flowering bulbs including cannas, calla lilies and gladiolus.

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