Eldest daughter brought it with her at the weekend - Jacob choose it for me, I will probably kill it!
Me and houseplants ...........hopeless.
I've stood it on the kitchen window sill by the sink, so at least I will remember to water it.
But why are Poinsettias associated with Christmas, they are certainly not native to Europe.
I found one answer in a book........of course............... The Ladybird book of Christmas customs.
The Mexicans call the Poinsettia the 'Flower of the Holy Night'.
Their legend says that a peasant girl wanted to take a gift to Baby Jesus but she had nothing. An angel appeared and told her to pick some weeds to take and as she carried them into the stable the top leaves on every stem turned red, making a beautiful gift for the new baby.
Some people manage to keep them from one year to another - I'll try.
Back Tomorrow
Sue
must admit theyre on my death list as well , my gran had one she kept for years
ReplyDeleteMy Dad said water quite sparingly and don't let the pot stand in water but do spray the leaves with water regularly. It seems to work quite well. I've not kept them from year to next (I mean twelve months, not just over the New Year) but I have kept them until Easter which is amazing, given that I used to kill therm within a couple of weeks.
ReplyDeleteIt's also worth remembering that they've likely only just been potted so need the care that one would give any newly potted plant (said Dad!).
xx
I hadn't heard that story. I thought it was just because of the colour.
Deletexx
I'd never heard that story before, thanks for that. Where would we be without Ladybird books?
ReplyDeleteI live near one of the largest poinsettia growers around here (not living in UK). Greenhouse full or poinsettias of all colours is a stunning sight, my children have been working there for their school's work practice program. Newest colours are yellow and orange/coral, but I prefer white and red, the traditional ones. Never had much luck to get them through next Christmas.
ReplyDeleteBe careful, poinsettia's are extremely poisonous to cats if they eat the leaves.
ReplyDeleteMine only ever seem to turn yellow, drop their leaves and die. I don't know how anyone keeps them alive either!
ReplyDeleteI kill poinsettias too, which is why I haven't bought one this year. I'll stick to orchids.
ReplyDeleteMine always lose leaves as soon as I bring them home, I hace stopped buying them.
ReplyDeleteI have only ever had one and that died within a few months. I always thought they were short-living and that they didn't last long. They are a stunning plant though, just right for Christmas.
ReplyDeleteWe laughed to see them growing like weeds in the Canary Islands gardens one year when we had a late winter holiday as we too had limp straggling things at home.
ReplyDeleteMine never survive beyond the new year. I went to Tenerife for the week before Christmas one year, poinsettias were everywhere, all the tubs and flower beds were full of them, looked glorious. I think they don't like UK central heating and dry air.
ReplyDeleteI have never managed to keep a poinsettia for very long. By the time the Christmas season has ended, so to has the life of the plant.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Poinsettias are the biggest waste of money ever. I have never managed to keep one alive beyond three weeks, and I am good with houseplants. I think just getting them home in the icy cold weather finishes them off.
ReplyDeleteI have just read all these comments, hoping to see how to look after a Poinsettia . . . . .
ReplyDeleteI have had my Christmas Poinsettia for over 30 years, and it still looks good every year- but it is made of silk. I have even had people complement me on my skill in keeping it alive, which is quite amusing.
ReplyDeleteI am not good with plants, either!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDelete"Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the feast of Stephen,
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and even."
♬ 🎶 ♫
Poinsettias are, to me, like chrysanthemums, intended to be short-lived. I have a very green thumb and mine would last for years, all spindly and ugly, but I harden my heart and to them at New Years. Water sparingly.
ReplyDeleteThat's funny Angela, I have a silk one as well, and it's still going strong after many years. I once had a real one and wanted to know how to keep it until the next year. What a production, having to keep it in the dark in the hopes that it will turn red again. I phoned the garden center and they said the best thing to do with a poinsettia after Christmas is to throw it out and buy a new one next year!!! Works for me!
ReplyDeleteI have already had a white Poinsettia bought me this year as a present and it is a beauty. If they like you they will live until you are sick of them. At the farm I regularly kept mine until June. My tip is do not water it until you see its leaves just beginning to wilt - more are killed by over watering than underwatering, so be careful.
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh out loud - you sound exactly like me. I cannot keep a house plant alive no matter how easy anyone tells me it is. Even by the sink I forget to water them!
ReplyDeleteI've actually kept one from one year to the next and it flowered! Don't let them dry out! Or over water..
ReplyDeleteThere were several planted outside the apartment building I lived in near the beach. They grew to tree size and were very hardy. My mom planted hers in the side garden and they flourished there as well. Years ago when we'd drive to San Diego there were fields and fields of different colored poinsettias growing in the area of Carlsbad. Today it's all housing tracts and Lego World was built there.
ReplyDeleteThe entrance to the dining room in our other house was an arch with a plant shelf over the entry. The first couple of years we lived there, I filled the shelf with 9-10 red poinsettias. They immediately began to drop leaves. I think it was a combination of being in the cold air between getting them into the car and into the house, along with the warm air in the room rising and drying them out. I ended up watering them every day, and believe me, they were all dried out. They were NOT over-watered. By 3 weeks, they had dropped all of their leaves and the stepladder was a permanent fixture underneath the arch. Eventually, I gave up and put the stepladder away.
ReplyDeleteI mentioned this to a friend a few years later and she told me to buy fake poinsettias and store them from year to year. I hate fake flowers, but these do not look fake. They were less than $4 each, and I'm using them for the 5th or 6th year. From a distance, you absolutely cannot tell they are fake. In fact, I'm about 5 feet from two of them right now, and they look pretty darn good!
Forgot to mention, you are correct that crackers have never really caught on in the USA. However, filling stockings has become a big deal for people of all ages. My husband and I do not do stockings for each other, but we still fill them for our children, who are in their 40s. (They insist on continuing to use the cheesy stockings they got for their first Christmas. We had a hard time finding one just like them for my daughter-in-law). A friend who has 2 adult children and 7 grandchildren have quit exchanging gifts and now fill each other's stockings. Each person brings 9 items and puts one gift in each stocking.
Delete