About five years ago, we decided that instead of tossing the poinsettias we'd gotten as gifts at Christmas time, we would keep them over the winter, put them outside during the summer months, and bring them in again before the first frost. Since the holiday season is approaching, I wanted to write about how to care for and rebloom your poinsettias.
The poinsettia is a euphorbia in a class of its own. It was first found in Mexico in 1825 by the first U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Joel Poinsett. The ancient Aztecs used the poinsettia for a variety of purposes. The bracts were made into a reddish purple dye and the plant's latex was synthesized into a fever medicine. The poinsettia, which can grow to become a shrub in its native habitat, blooms during the season of Advent in December and so it's used to adorn nativity scenes and other Christmas displays.
Joel Poinsett, as an amateur botanist, eagerly brought the plant from Mexico back home with him to South Carolina. Though not initially popular, pointsettias found their way to Florida and California and grew quite well in those warmer climates. In 1902 German immigrant Albert Ecke noticed poinsettias growing as wild flowers in California. He and his family began growing them as cut flowers. It wasn't until 1920, after many years of selection, that Paul Ecke Sr. developed a cultivar with a compact growth habit suited to container culture. Due to Ecke's efforts, the poinsettia has become a traditional symbol of Christmas.
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