Poinsettia: the Christmas plant with a bright future and a colourful history

In a vast rural glasshouse, remote from the public gaze, a robot is working tirelessly. Ruthless in the precision of its every movement, the automaton selects its target, seizes it, places it on a conveyor belt and proceeds to punch holes in it. A flash of crimson, and then… another potted poinsettia is ready to be sent merrily on its way.

By this most futuristic of means, 2,500 of the traditional Christmas plants are potted up every hour. Berry-red, ivory-white, hot-pink and speckled blooms in all shapes and sizes demand attention in this giant, hangar-like greenhouse in Lincolnshire. An automated irrigation system sprays every plant with just the right amount of water and heat sensors send an alert when they need a little more cosseting. It’s a £6 million, fully mechanised operation in a 10-acre space that is churning out 150,000 of the blooms this season – and business is booming.

“We’re up from growing 20,000 poinsettias last year. Next year we’re aiming for 300,000 and we could potentially produce a million,” says Andrew Fuller, production director for Neame Lea Nurseries in Spalding, which employs 100 staff. 

The company is one of the largest ornamental plant producers in the United Kingdom, having started as a family business 19 years ago, and prides itself on top-quality festive florals. “We pack the plant one day and they’re on the shelves the next so they are in the best condition. If they come from Europe, they can be of lesser quality as they don’t like to travel.”

The nursery is trialling more than 50 varieties of poinsettia to meet demand. ‘Red Glitter’ – crimson with white spots – is proving popular this year. “White poinsettias are sometimes sprayed with colours – blue, gold or red – or glitter for Christmas. It’s quite a personal taste,” says Fuller, “although not mine.”

The same could be said for the plants themselves. But love them or hate them, this living symbol of the festive season is ubiquitous at this time of year. Six million of the showy plants graced our homes last year. They remain one of the bestselling seasonal houseplants in the world, shaded only by the orchid.

Chart-topping success came from humble beginnings. Poinsettias were spotted growing as straggly plants by the side of a dusty Mexican road by Joel Roberts Poinsett, the American ambassador and botanist. He was responsible for introducing them to the United States in 1825. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that the plants started to be produced commercially – albeit a more beefed-up version than their leggier Mexican cousins. A family of growers then had the bright idea of sending plants to the American television networks: one of their charges landed a background role on a Bob Hope Christmas Special, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Such is the demand for the festive florals in this country that buyers now seek them out even before the start of the Christmas season. 

“People used to complain, “why are poinsettias out now, we’re only just past pumpkins and Hallowe’en?” says Marie Jackson, from Pinewood Nurseries, near Slough. “But now they want to buy them from mid-November.”

Jackson’s family bedding plants company runs a two-acre greenhouse primed for the growing of poinsettias – 50,000 red and up to 4,000 of the mixed colours, including white, pinks, and variegated varieties ‘Marble Star’ in salmon and white and ‘Sonora White Glitter’ with holly-shaped leaves.

“The top sellers are always red, but different colours appeal to the younger generation who are after something a bit different,” says Jackson.

Poinsettia has a well-deserved reputation as a temperamental plant that doesn’t last long, so it needs to be sourced carefully. “It’s important that they have been kept in the right conditions or by the time you get them home they will keel over in a week,” Jackson advises. “They despise drafts, so if they are parked by a door or breezy balcony, don’t even touch them.” 

The poinsettias with staying power should have no mottling on their leaves and look healthy and robust. The greenery should be dark, and the buds not yet open. Remember, these are Mexican natives, so at home keep them in a warm spot and only water when the soil is dry to the touch.

Tips from a top florist

Poinsettias may be a conventional Christmas choice, but they needn’t be fusty. Fashionable florists in London hang them from the ceiling or festoon candelabra with blooms.

“They’re versatile and inexpensive and can have huge impact in the home – if you know what to do with them,” says Larry Walshe, who has put together arrangements for big fashion houses such as Christian Dior, among other celebrity clientele. “Just don’t plonk a pot in the corner of the room.”

Walshe advises arranging poinsettia as cut flowers: Wearing gloves, snip the stems and dip immediately into hot water at 140F (60C) for 20 seconds and then into cold water for 10 seconds. This seals in the milky euphorbia sap, a skin irritant.  “You can then arrange them in a wet block of Oasis (florists’ foam) or ideally in fresh, cold water and they will last brilliantly,” he says. 

If you prefer to keep plants whole, create a stylish table arrangement by clustering individual plants, each in a vase, down the middle of the table to act as a solid runner of flowers.  “It’s very Soho House,” Walshe says. “Throw in some candles,  tea lights, winter foliage, berried ivy or senecio for a touch of silver, and the job’s done.”

Walshe also recommends a “woodland table” – several potted poinsettias with bases wrapped in moss (sold in sheets at garden centres), mixed with heather, ferns, twigs, lichen, and pine cones with tea lights dotted throughout. 

Feeling flamboyant? Try poinsettia kokedama – Japanese moss balls – suspended from gnarly branches from the ceiling. “Bind the soil and root ball with flat moss and twine. These can last a month and only need a spritz with water every couple of days,” says Walshe. “Hang from a chandelier over the dining table and they will look dazzling.”