A Poinsettia for every personality | The Compleat Home Gardener

The gift-giving season is here, and giving a plant certainly has its advantages.

November 26, 2025 1:00 pm

The end of November is Poinsettia season.

Buy your poinsettia plants now as you get the best plants early in the season and the new poinsettia varieties last for months after the holidays so enjoy them early.

Other gift plants to consider for indoor enjoyment are the hellebores that can do double duty as outdoor flowering perennials after the holidays and indoor gift plants in December. Potted amaryllis bulbs, blooming houseplants and any potted tree or shrubs from a local nursery are other purchases to consider this week as holiday shopping begins.

Why buy plants as gifts?

A potted plant is great for the health enthusiast as there are no calories, and indoor plants give off oxygen. Gift plants don’t need wrapping, often come with cards attached and can be purchased and given away now in the month of November to avoid the Christmas rush. They also come in all prize ranges from the tiny poinsettias for around five bucks to the impressive splurge gifts you will find at nurseries that include hanging poinsettia baskets and gigantic poinsettia trees.

Who gets what plant: (be sure to gift yourself)

RED POINSETTIA

The traditionalist, or someone that loves to host the holidays would love a red poinsettia. Red poinsettias grouped in a basket with evergreen boughs or cut holly from your garden will make an instant, traditional centerpiece.

WHITE POINSETTIA

If you need a gift for a recipient that loves modern furniture, contemporary design and likes to talk about “clean lines” and ‘no clutter” then a pure white poinsettia is a great choice as a gift plant. Once the holidays are over you can be sure your clutter- free freak will quickly dispose of the plant no matter how healthy it still looks in January.

GOLD POINSETTIA

Shop around for the more unusual gold or yellow varieties of poinsettias to give to anyone that loves glitz or glamour. Wrap the pot in gold or silver paper and add more sparkle with an upscale ribbon or added ornaments to the bow. Arrange golden poinsettias on a table or sideboard with candles and tinsel for a holiday sparkle.

MULTI COLORED OR SPOTTED POINSETTIA

A bit of whimsy for the holidays will be welcomed by someone that decorates with Santa décor, Nutcracker candy themes or just anyone that smiles over something a bit different. Add a red and white striped bow and some candy canes to these novelty poinsettias for a sweet gift.

A WHITE HELLEBORE

The hellebore variety “Jacob” is often offered as a gift plant for the holidays. Hellebores are very common in Europe as gift plants but becoming more popular here as well. A potted hellebore needs to be kept cool if you want it to look great for a full three weeks indoors. Just don’t limit giving a potted hellebore to the gardener on your list. I confess to giving hellebores to people that are in assisted living with no gardens at all. Then, a practical solution is to collect the hellebore plant after the holidays and it will just have to end up in your own garden. So you get to regift the hellebore plant to yourself.

PINK HELLEBORE

The pale pink or spotted hellebore varieties are great gift plants for anyone with a garden as they will transplant to the landscape as a long-lived perennial. Just pick a day for the transplant when the ground is not frozen and dig a hole three times as wide as the root ball of the plant. Aim to get any potted hellebore out of the house and into the garden within a few weeks for best transplant success. Pink hellebores tend to bloom later in the year than the white winter varieties, so they are much appreciated by gardeners that want to add more spring color.

Marianne Binetti has a degree in horticulture from Washington State University and is the author of “Easy Answers for Great Gardens” and several other books. For answers to gardening questions, visit plantersplace.com and click “As The Expert”. Copyright for this column owned by Marianne Binetti. For more gardening information, she can be reached at her website, www.binettigarden.com.