It’s been a record year for poinsettias, the nation’s favourite Christmas flower. Growers in the UK have been cossetting tens of thousands of seedlings ready for the big spike in sales in the festive season – and this year there are more new varieties than ever before, too.
The showy Mexican natives with their huge brightly-coloured bracts are arriving in our garden centre right now, so make sure you get here as soon as you can for the pick of the crop. Vivid carmine red is traditional, of course, but just for a change why not try brilliant pink ‘Princettia’, pale pink ‘Cinnamon Star’, creamy white ‘Infinity White’ or festive red-and-white ‘Ice Crystal’? You could pick up a pot while you’re here in a complementary colour for a truly stylish display.
To care for your poinsettias once you get them home, make sure you don’t overwater – once a week is plenty – and put them on a bright windowsill, but out of direct sunlight which will scorch both leaves and bracts. Keep them as warm as you can, day and night, but away from the drying effects of radiators, and they’ll still be flourishing long after Christmas has been and gone.
