Hues of the Season

In 1828, a common-yet-flashy indigenous plant in Central America caught the eye of Joel Roberts Poinsett, the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico. It’s unique, strong red-and-green coloring contrast reminded him of Christmas, so he couldn’t resist taking a few back to his home in Charleston, South Carolina, for Yuletide decorations.

You know the rest of the story. “Poinsettias,” which were named after Ambassador Poinsett, became must-have plants for anyone decking their halls during the Christmas season.

The bright red of the poinsettia’s bracts countered by its deep green leaves not only made it a Yuletide constant, but also resulted in the plant evolving. Nursery breeders, as they are apt to do, busily worked to develop the next “it” poinsettia. This resulted in, not just one, but many alt-red creations.

White, burgundy, pink, yellow, light purple, peach — these are some of the new hues that have been added to the poinsettia parade so far, along with variegated beauties streaked, splattered or blotched in many combinations of colors. Even the structure of the bracts didn’t escape plant breeders’ attention, as “leaf flowers” sporting wavy surfaces and inward reflexed curves have also been introduced.

Although the classic poinsettia has morphed into a plant of many looks, basic care for it during the Christmas season has remained the same. For starters, if you buy one of these seasonal pretties and it comes in a festive holiday wrap, remove it. Such packaging can act as a water trap that will turn the container into a small, root-drowning swamp. Also, if the pot is plastic and the poinsettia is big, consider moving it into a clay container for better stability.

Do let plenty of light shine on your poinsettia. Either set it in a place where it will bask in at least six hours of strong, indirect sunlight a day or in a room that provides constant daytime exposure to bright indoor lights.

In addition, to help keep your poinsettia looking pretty, it should be kept away from drafts, either hot or cold, and don’t let the tender leaves come into contact with chilled windows.

Watering is, of course, a must, but give your pretty a drink only when the soil surface is dry to the touch, or (especially) when the leaves start to droop. Generally, irrigating every three to four days will do the trick, but use water that has warmed to room temperature to prevent a shock to your poinsettia’s tender tropical roots.

Garden To-Do’s for November

Beautiful burning bush can be a botanical beast.

The burning bush (Euonymus alatus) in autumn is as advertised: a dazzling shrub with sizzling scarlet leaves. But it can also be a botanical beast. Reaching our shores in the 1860s as an Asian import, it readily seeded about to the point of being tagged as invasive. However, several native shrubs sport flaming foliage with similar fall bling but behave better in the garden, such as fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica), chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia), and Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica). If your green thumb still itches for a burning bush, hunt for the new, noninvasive, sterile cultivar “Fire Ball Seedless.”

• The beginning of this month is a good time to force-bloom paperwhite narcissus bulbs by planting them in pots or fancy glass bowls so they will be ready as pretty flowering presents just in time for Christmas. Although they can be planted in soil, a container of water will do, too, as long as the bases of the bulbs barely touch the top of the water.
• If you are finished with your veggie patch for this year, pull up all spent plants and rake up any debris. This tidying up will help rid the garden of ground-borne diseases and overwinter insects that could come back out to play next spring.