A Christmas plant to consider buying to decorating your own place, or to give to people who are short of money to buy one for themselves is poinsettia. Did you know that the tradition of giving them commenced in Central America? According to this webpage, christmaslightsanddecorations.com/ christmas-poinsettia.aspx , other plants for the holiday originate from European lore. In fact, poinsettias are wild flowers that are grown for their sharp pink, red, white and multicolored floral bracts, which are leaflike.
A webpage, bookwizard.scholastic.com/tbw/viewWorkDetail.do?workId=1986 , shares a Mexican folk tale that centers on the origin of poinsettia. A girl name Lucida and her mother worked hard without being tired to weave a blanket. Their town was going to have a nativity celebration, and the baby Jesus for it was supposed to wear the blanket. The girl was unable to finish making the blanket after taking it upon herself to complete it after her mother got sick. The blanket was actually being ruined beyond repair. She was ashamed of what she did, thus she hid the blanket at the church service on Christmas Eve. An elderly woman had approached the girl and tells her that "any gift is beautiful because it is given." It was an epiphany for Lucida because she cleverly placed weeds around the manger, and they suddenly evolved into "flaming red stars," or poinsettias. What to Look for It may be helpful to know some things about poinsettias when shopping to buy them. Take a look at each one to see which ones have fully expanded leaves that they have the same constant color. Also look for a plethora of dark green leaves near the bottom edge. Pick a plant that has six to eight pink, red, or white leaves. It is important that you buy the ones that feel very sturdy, almost like plastic and not be easily bend. Thus, feel the stem when browsing. There are few other pointers to know about poinsettias.
Poinsettias need a minimum of few hours of sunlight each day. If you happen to place one in an area that doesn't have any windows nearby, then you should move it to a sunny location have its sun for an hour a day. If you notice any of the leaves begin to wilt, then you definitely need to give the plant some light. The leaves usually within 24 hours restore its rigidity.
Poinsettias are able to die quickly if the owners over water them. Thus, people should only water the plants when the soil is completely dry. They should be watered until the soil is moist and spongy. When you want to know if your plants need water, just place a finger into the inside of the plant pot one inch deep.
The frequency that each poinsettia needs depend on several factors: the humidity in the air, the temperature of the building that the plant is in, and the size of the pot it is in. A poinsettia usually needs only to be watered once a week. Doing it twice a week may be required if it's in a warmer or more arid location.