Wirral horticulturalist Karen Richards gives her tips on caring for these pretty but tricky houseplants
Wirral horticulturalist Karen Richards gives her tips on caring for these pretty but tricky houseplants
Poinsettias are beautiful houseplants that many of us use to decorate our homes at Christmas. With their striking red leafy bracts and dark green leaves, they provide lovely festive colours.
However, they are tricky plants to keep alive, and are usually thrown away once the Christmas festivities are over. With a little tender loving care, though, poinsettias can be kept healthy throughout the year – even until next Christmas.
According to Karen Richards, a Wirral horticulturalist with over 40 years of experience, poinsettias “are quite difficult to keep”. She said: “A lot of people find that they buy them and within a week or two, all their leaves have dropped off.” Fortunately for us, Karen has some useful tips on how to care for these pretty houseplants.
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Karen’s first piece of advice is to be careful where you buy poinsettias from. “It’s okay buying them from supermarkets,” she explains, “but a lot of the supermarkets keep them outside in the cold. They don’t like that. If you buy them from a garden centre, the garden centre will bring them inside straight off the van or lorry and they’re protected from the cold.”
Karen says that keeping them at the right temperature is extremely important. She told us: “You need to get a sleeve of plastic or paper or a bag to take them wherever you’ve bought them from to the car. It can be that crucial at this time of the year with dropping temperatures. When you buy them, remember they come from South and Central America and so they like those warmer, dry conditions.”
According to Karen, watering the plants correctly is the key to success. “They want dry conditions more than wet conditions,” she says, “so don’t overwater them. If you overwater this plant you’ll be on a sticky wicket – that’s the biggest killer.
“Underwatering is easier to rectify than overwatering. So always touch the compost before you water. When the compost is dry, take the plant to the sink, hold it underneath the tap and let it run through. As soon as the water comes through the pot then it’s watered.
“Put it on the draining board, then put it back where it belongs. Always take the plant out of its decorative pot to water it and don’t let it sit in water – they don’t like it. “
Karen says people with allergies should be careful around poinsettias. “They are part of the Euphorbiaceae family,” she says, “so when you break them, they have this white substance which can be a bit of an irritant, so be careful with that if anyone has allergies. If you see any brown or yellow leaves, take them off, because they’ll never go green again.”
Karen has a useful tip to ensure your poinsettia lives to see another year. She told us: “If you’re lucky enough to have a poinsettia that keeps until the next year, in September time, going through into October, you need to put your poinsettia in a dark room for eight hours. The plant needs six weeks of complete darkness for eight hours every day to become red again.”
