LIGHT: Your poinsettia will need bright, natural light in order to stay healthy. A bright room that has windows facing south or west is ideal. If the windows face north or east, place your poinsettia right in the window, without having it touch the window.

WATER: It’s very common to “love poinsettias too much” by overwatering (a great indicator of this is that the bottom leaves will turn yellow and drop). Water the plant thoroughly when the soil surface is dry to the touch. Discard any excess water in the saucer, sleeve or decorative cover after 10 minutes.

TEMPERATURE: Poinsettias are very sensitive to frost and cold drafts. Try to keep them warm and cozy, away from vents and doorways.

OUR GUARANTEE: If you’re not happy with your poinsettia, please bring it back to Shelmerdine before December 23 and we’ll replace for you, no questions asked.

FUN FACT: The poinsettia, like all members of the Euphorbia Pulcherrima family, doesn’t have a large flower. It’s classic colour comes form a ring of coloured leaves, called a bract, that surround the cyathia, a cluster of small, yellow flowers at the center.

Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first US Ambassador to Mexico, found the plant blooming by a road in 1828 and brought cuttings back to his greenhouse in South Carolina. Collectors in the southern states began to ask for it and the popularity of the Poinsettia was born.

SHELMERDINE GROWN: Your poinsettia begins its time at Shelmerdine at the beginning of July! When everyone else is enjoying their gardens, we are transplanting thousands of unrooted poinsettia cuttings (which are a little more than a leaf and a stick!) representing almost 40 varied colours, textures and sizes, to start our crop. Our professional growers nurse the poinsettia crop for 6 months, monitoring and attending to their every needs.