Those red Christmas plants

I have misunderstood poinsettias.

This year, I have nursed a poinsettia, purchased last Christmas, through until now. I didn’t think that was possible. For some reason I had an impression that, once the red decoration had fallen, the species possessed some sort of time limit—like a flowering annual that didn’t even last that long.

So this little plant that has hung on, albeit only in its green garb, has opened my eyes. I headed to Google for more information.

Poinsettias are native to Mexico and Central America. The red adornments we know so well are, indeed, leaves not flowers. They are called bracts. The most interesting thing is the plant requires at least fourteen hours of darkness each night, for six to eight weeks in a row, to fully form these red bracts. This means that, to meet an Australian summer retail market, some manipulation of the light/dark balance must have occurred in the lead-up. It also explains why the bracts drop off and don’t continue to form once the poinsettia is left on the kitchen windowsill into January.

What started all of this for me now is that my poinsettia has begun to form red bracts again. The coming into winter is providing the conditions it needs to flourish. We all do best in optimum conditions and the sometimes humble, sometimes spectacular, poinsettia is no exception.

Maybe today has the perfect conditions for you.

Until later,

Kirsten