By Bodie V. Pennisi
University of Georgia

Along with evergreens, poinsettias embody the holiday spirit and
help create festive displays. The challenge is deciding how many
and what color, leaf shape, plant size and form to buy.

You can choose among plants with traditional red, strong white,
creamy white, light pink, solid pink, bright orange-red, deep
purple-red and various marbled or speckled bracts. Plants range
from 4-inch pots to 18-inch hanging baskets, living wreaths,
topiaries and 3-gallon floor planters.

You can use poinsettia stems as cut flowers in arrangements, too.
If you supply enough water, as when using florist foam, some new
poinsettia cultivars can last up to two weeks as cut flowers.

Buying the best is easy

• Look for Georgia-grown plants. This year the crop promises to
  be phenomenal. Locally grown plants may cost more, but they keep
  better. They’re usually sold to florist shops and garden
  centers.
• Select plants with fully colored and expanded bracts. (Bracts
  are the colored leaves. The actual flowers are the yellow
  centers.) Avoid plants with too much green around the bract
  edges, a sign that it was shipped before it was mature enough.
• Choose poinsettias with dense, rich green leaves all along
  the stem. They should be well branched and proportioned and about
  two and one-half times the height of the pot.
• Examine leaves for “hitchhikers.” Silverleaf whiteflies get
  on the underside of the leaves and suck the juices. This is the
  giveaway: whiteflies excrete “honeydew” onto the leaves below.
  Don’t buy plants with sticky leaves and dots on the leaf
  undersides. The dots are whitefly nymphs.
• Look closely at the roots. White and light tan roots that
  have grown to the sides of the pot are signs of a healthy plant.
  Brown roots or few roots may indicate disease.
• Don’t buy plants with weak stems, few bracts or any signs of
  wilting, breaking or drooping. Often in stores poinsettias are
  crowded. Sometimes they’re displayed in paper, plastic or mesh
  sleeves. They need their space. The longer they stay sleeved, the
  faster their quality deteriorates.
• When you take your poinsettia home, protect it from chilling
  winds and temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Place it in a
  sleeve or large shopping bag.
• Once you get home, place it where it looks best. It will last
  about three weeks in fairly dark places. Don’t put it near a cold
  draft or excessive heat or near an appliance, fireplace or
  ventilating duct.
• Water a poinsettia only when the soil feels dry to the touch.
  But don’t allow it to wilt, as it may cause leaves to drop.
  Overwatering is a common cause of plant loss. Don’t leave the
  plant in standing water. This, too, may cause leaf drop. Always
  remove a plant from any decorative container before watering it
  and allow the water to drain completely.
• Don’t fertilize it during the blooming season. This will
  cause the plant to lose some of its quality.
• After the holiday season is over, move the poinsettia to a
  bright spot in either a south-, east- or west-facing window.
  Eventually, the bracts will start to fall off. By early April,
  cut the plant back, leaving four to six nodes or segments on the
  stem. At this point, it can be grown outdoors in full sun.
  Fertilize it weekly with a balanced, all-purpose fertilizer at
  the same rate you give houseplants.
• Trim your poinsettia in June and plant it in a 1-gallon pot
  or large indoor planter. Trim back new growth again around July 1
  and again by mid-August. Keep fertilizing through spring and
  summer, applying nutrition once every two to three weeks as fall
  nears. With enough water and nutrition, poinsettias can grow as
  high as 5 feet.
• Poinsettias are nonpoisonous and safe for display around
  children and pets.

(Bodie Pennisi is an Extension Service horticulturist with the
University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences.)