As the holiday season approaches, two floral celebrities are taking the stage. Poinsettias and amaryllis have been holiday staples for generations, providing bold color when the rest of the botanical world is tucking in for winter.
Long before poinsettias started appearing in grocery store checkout lines and on church altars, they were growing wild in the hills of southern Mexico. A popular legend tells of a poor girl who wished to honor the Christ child but had no gift to offer. She gathered humble weeds from the roadside and brought them to the church. As she placed them near the altar, the leaves turned a brilliant red. Ever since, the plant has been known in Mexico as “Flores de Noche Buena,” or “Flowers of the Holy Night.”
In 1828, Charleston-born diplomat and amateur botanist Joel Roberts Poinsett introduced the plant to the United States after discovering it during his post in Mexico. He sent cuttings to his greenhouse in Greenville. The rest is holiday history.
Today’s poinsettias are available in red, pink, white and even speckled varieties. The showstopping color doesn’t come from the flowers. It comes from modified leaves called bracts. The actual flowers are tiny and yellow and of no ornamental appeal.
Once they bloom, you’ll get about four to six weeks of color from the bracts, which will be plenty to last through the holiday season and into the new year.
In Charleston, poinsettias are best enjoyed indoors. Place them near bright, indirect light, away from heat vents or cold drafts. They’ll tolerate a spot on the porch, but bring them in when temperatures dip below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Water only when the soil feels dry.
If you’re determined to keep your poinsettia going year-round, it can be done. After the holidays, cut the plant back and, once the danger of frost has passed, move it outdoors to a shady spot for the summer. To get those bracts to turn red again, the plant needs 14 hours of complete darkness every night for about eight weeks, starting around October.
That means closet by night, sunlight by day.
Today’s poinsettias are available in red, pink, white and even speckled varieties.
Christopher Burtt/Provided
Unlike mistletoe and holly fruit, poinsettias are mildly toxic but not seriously poisonous. Consumption will most likely result in a tummy ache.
The amaryllis doesn’t get as much attention as poinsettias but it deserves to be a holiday headliner. It launches sturdy stalks topped with enormous trumpet-shaped flowers. They’re bold, dramatic and completely unapologetic.
There’s something indulgent about a flower that waits for the darkest, coldest months of the year to make its debut. Its name comes from the Greek word amarysso, meaning “to sparkle.”
Caring for amaryllis is straightforward. Plant the bulb in a snug pot with the top half exposed above the soil. Set it in a bright spot and water sparingly until the stalk appears. After that, you can almost watch it grow by the hour. Once it blooms, you’ve got a centerpiece worthy of any holiday table.
After flowering, don’t toss the bulb. Let the foliage grow through spring to recharge. You can even move it outdoors to a shady spot once the weather warms. In late summer, allow the bulb to go dormant by withholding water and storing it in a cool, dry place for eight to 10 weeks. Then start the process again.
Not interested in containers? You can plant amaryllis in the ground. Choose a sunny location with at least six hours of light, mulch in winter and expect blooms in spring. Make sure the soil is well-drained to prevent the bulbs from rotting. They’ll also produce offsets (baby bulbs) that can be dug up and replanted for even more color.
While the crinum lily doesn’t get the holiday sparkle, it’s a landscape showstopper. It shares a similar flower form to amaryllis and delivers a bold summer bloom without the holiday fuss.
As poinsettias and amaryllis usher in the merriment of the season, they can be more than just decorations. They can be a reminder there is still beauty in the darkest days of the year.
Comments are closed.